Hello from the Netherlands, which is a beautiful, friendly country located in Europe. Thank you for taking the time to get to know us. We are very excited to grow our family through adoption but can only imagine how hard it must be for you. Although we have not met, we feel a great compassion for you and your journey. We recognize that making an adoption plan for your child is an act of pure love, and we admire your strength and courage.

After our share of infertility issues and heartbreak, we knew we were destined to walk a different path to parenthood; the path of an open adoption. We would love to welcome a child of any ethnicity, background and gender into our hearts and souls. We promise to welcome your baby into our family with all our love and care and to give them a warm and secure place to grow up and develop as a person. Adopting in our country is very difficult, so we are grateful to be able to adopt in the United States! We want to create a stable family that is full of joy and love.

We met in 2008 in Cape Town, South Africa where I was an intern at a guesthouse and Dennis was at a training camp for his race car driving. We stayed at the very same guesthouse. We shared good laughs and talks from the very beginning and started to hang out together more and more. Between his training sessions and my working hours, we went on hikes, went swimming in the ocean and slowly fell in love with each other.

At first we did not think our relationship would survive the distance once I went back to Germany and Dennis went back the Netherlands. However, we found out that our love was something special. We wanted to make it work. After one year of a long-distance relationship I moved to the Netherlands and studied to become a high school teacher. We share the same values and family is very important for both of us. There is a part in us that always wanted to become parents.

I grew up in the Netherlands in a town that is on the coast and not far from Amsterdam. I had a great childhood with a lot of love and support from my parents. After high school I attended college in Amsterdam. In my first couple of years I combined a full-time Sport Marketing & Management study with a part-time job, and was a race car driver at a competitive level. As I competed at a higher level and became more successful in my sport I focused on race car driving and stopped working at my part-time job. In my mid-twenties I had to take a step back because of my health. I was born with Cystic Fibrosis and later in life I got Crohn's disease. I am doing very well and my health is very stable. At the moment I study Photography as a part-time student. It is a 3-year program at a very well-known photography institute. I also love sports and trying new things.

Because I study part-time and Isabelle works 4 days a week one of us can always be at home with our child. I am really looking forward to becoming a dad so much! To love, guide, teach, interact and help discover who she or he is will bring me such joy.

Dennis loves people. He loves life. I have known Dennis for almost 14 years. One of the things that drew me to him is that he was – and still is- perhaps the most decent human being I have ever met anywhere. I mean fundamentally. He is one of those people who asks you how you are doing and he wants to truly hear it. He never judges anyone. These characteristics will make him a great father.

I was born in a little village in Germany where I grew up with my two older sisters on the beautiful Lake of Constance. Right now I am a teacher at a high school and I love working with teenagers. Recently, I started a course in my free-time to become a swimming-instructor for little kids. There I can combine my hobby swimming with interacting with children.

I have always had the wish to travel the world, so I decided to become an exchange student to the USA. During my years in college I had a lot of internships abroad like working in a school in Kenya. It is important to get to know different cultures, traditions, and ways of living so you are more aware and can't build up prejudices. These are values that I want to pass on to my future child. The main thing that I hope is that my future child will learn the message of love and understanding through me and that it doesn't matter what a person's ethnicity or nationality is!

Isabelle can light up a room and has a laugh that will put you in a good mood every time you hear it. She is social, open, loving, fun and keeps on surprising me, even after the twelve years we have been together. Isabelle currently teaches German to high school students and she also mentors a class. I have heard her talk to students and she has the great ability to connect with the children and motivate them. I think she will be a wonderful mother.

We live in Utrecht, a small city in the middle of the Netherlands. Utrecht is known for its friendly, safe and laid back atmosphere and high quality of great outdoors. Schools, day care and several playgrounds are all within walking distance. There are a lot of young families in the area and several of our neighbors have young children. They are already looking forward to a new playmate.

Dennis’ parents live close to us. They are separated but still have a very good bond. His dad is remarried and his new wife has two sons.

Olle, is Dennis’s best friend and his wife Candice and their lovely three kids belong to the inner circle of the family, too. We often see each other for dinner, gaming afternoons and on other occasions like family weekends and birthdays.

Our family weekends are always fun – our highlight was probably, besides the skydiving trip – waterskiing on a beautiful lake. Eating is always one of our favorite things
to do, so we always bring lots of food to these events. We are definitely foodies!

Isabelle’s parents live in Germany, and she has two sisters, one who lives in Zürich, Switzerland with her husband and two kids, and the other who is occupational therapist with her dog Happy in Cologne, Germany.

Both our Dutch and German families are very excited and happy with the arrival of a new family member. Our family ties are strong and we often go on vacation together!

We sincerely thank you for taking the time to read our story and we are honored that you may consider us as adoptive parents for your baby. We know that you want the best for your unborn child. We promise you to unconditionally love and care for them as long as we will live. We will encourage them to be a kind, good person and be at their side in good and bad times. We want our future child to become happy and independent, and we will support them on their ways with all our love and energies.

We wish you the best of courage and strength to make the right decision for you and your baby.

Warm Wishes,
Isabelle and Dennis