A Family For Every Child
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Heather and Derek
Heather and Derek

Heather and Derek
Montana

Basic Info

Heather

Age: 36
Sex:
Race/Ethnicity:
Religion:

Derek

Age: 39
Sex:
Race/Ethnicity:
Religion:

Child Preferences

Age: Infant to 7 years old
Sex: Either
Max Number of Children: 2
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian, Unknown


Special Needs the Family is Open To: Defiant, Difficulty in Attaching, Lying, Stealing, Wets the Bed, Failure to Thrive, Low Birth Weight or Premature, Prenatal Drug Exposure, Physically Disabled-Mild, Intellectual Disability - Mild, Vision Impaired, Academically behind due to poor attendance, Speech or Language Impairment, Exposed to Domestic Violence, One/Both Parents Have Had a Mental Diagnosis, Child in Residential Treatment, Child has had a disrupted adoption, Multiple Placements, ADHD, Depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Reactive Attachment Disorder, Willing to Maintain Contact with Past Foster Parents, Willing to Maintain Contact with Bio Siblings

Environment

State: Montana
Neighborhood: Suburban
Residency: Single Family Home
Years Together: 9
Children in the Home: 2
Pet(s): Dog(s), other

Work

Heather

Occupation: Homemaker

Derek

Occupation: E-Business Manager

Adoption Agency

Agency: A New Arrival
Worker: Carmen Nelson
Worker: carmen@anewarrival.com
City: Twin Bridges
State: Montana
Zip: 59754

Preference Description

We would like a child with no to moderate behaviors/needs (though not severe or treatable/manageable). We would like a child that would fit into our family, share the joys of our lifestyle, and who would thrive in our home.

The Hildreth Family Profile

We would like to adopt 1 or 2 children who are younger than 8 years old. We are open to boys or girls. We feel we can accommodate a sibling group of up to 2 kids. We prefer to adopt a child of Caucasian or any ethnic background. We are open to children with some special needs.

We do not mind having continuing contact with the child's former foster parents, by email or by mail .

In general, we would like a child with no to moderate behaviors/needs (though not severe or untreatable/unmanageable). We would like a child that would fit into our family, share the joys of our lifestyle, and who would thrive in our home.

Introduction

Our names are Heather and Derek Hildreth.

I am currently 27 years old and was born in Rapid City, SD. My husband is currently 29 years old and was born in Helena, MT. We have 2 kids. Our children's names are Qeirstyn Hildreth and Kaden Hildreth and they are 7 and 2 years old, respectively Like us, our children have a caucasian ethnic background.

I like to read books (mostly young adult novels), quilt, craft, play boardgames, spend time with family, go to our family cabin, take road trips, watch my hulu tv dramas, take walks, play racquetball, go bowling, 4-wheel, volunteer, and learn.

Derek likes to camp, hike, ski, hunt, 4-wheel, dirt bike, work on/with computers, design websites, ride bikes, read, spend time with family, go to our family cabin, play racquetball, and learn.

I am a stay-at-home parent and have a flexible work schedule.

My husband works full-time for Technologic Systems as a E-Business Manager and has a flexible work schedule.

We believe in treating people good and with respect, obeying the laws, standing up to what is right, obeying God's commandments, not judging, treating your elder's with respect, and more. We believe in the importance of education, working hard, setting goals, and living life to the fullest.

We are a Mormon (Latter-Day Saint) family who believes in God, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost. We attend church most Sundays.

This household doesn't really watch sports. However, both our immediate families like to watch football and baseball (Cowboys, Packers, Dodgers, etc). We like to listen to country music (George Straight, Rodney Atkins, etc), popular radio (Imagine Dragons, Fall Out Boy, Nickleback), and 80's music (Well, Heather does). Heather likes to watch Bones, Law and Order:SVU, Sleepy Hollow, MasterChef, Top Chef, Arrow, Biggest Loser, etc. Derek likes Doctor Who, The office, Parks and Recreation, documentaries, etc. The kiddos like Curious George, The Wild Kratts, Littlest Pet Shop, etc. As a family we love Disney and Pixar movies. We don't watch rated-r movies.

When we gather, we usually gather at the dinner table or in the living room.We spend most of our time at home as a family. We will play games, watch movies or tv, play outside, and so forth. We have together time and alone time.We take time to travel together as a family.

Home and Community

We live in the State of Montana. Our home is a single family home. We live in a Suburban neighborhood. We are good friends with our neighbors. We have one or more dogs and some other animals .

We would do lots of things outside. Skiing, sledding and snowman building during the winter. Swimming, hiking, camping, 4-wheeling, bike riding, walking, and playing at the parks during the summer time. We would go to our family cabin in the mountains, or to Billings/Butte/Lewistown to see family. We watch a family movie or play board games weekly. We like to take road trips, go to the zoo or museums. We just like to do things as a family.

There are sidewalks all over our subdivision that allow access to playgrounds to play on, a pond to swim in, parks, a community building, and a convenient store you can buy sweet treats at. There is also a water/splash park near by and a walking trail near the river that is close by. We also live real close to the mountains, malls, restaurants, museums, etc.

A child in our area would probably be interested in the mountains and outdoors. Skiing, hiking, camping, fishing, 4-wheeling, dirt bikes, swimming, getting dirty/muddy, playing outside, riding bikes, etc. Really a child in Montana could love anything and be happy here. Although, the ocean and constant warm weather isn't something Montana is known for.

We have an elementary school that our daughter attends just a few blocks away from our home. It is a great school, with kind/well educated teachers. It has great safety measures set up. The middle school and high school our about 5 minutes away from our home. They are also good schools. All of Belgrade, MT schools are public schools. They have great special needs classrooms, counselors, and teachers.

I am a part of the following Organizations: Ridge View PTA (Vice-President); D.R.E.A.M (Secretary on Board); Bozeman Project Search; the Mormon Church (also a Young Women's Leader at church).

Parenting Experience

The 2 children that I have are great experience. They are of different ages, genders, and abilities. My son has Down Syndrome, which has given me personal practice with special needs. I have tons of friends with children between the ages of 0 and 9 that I have watched. I have a B.S in Child Development which has given me lots of parenting practice. I have worked directly with children at a daycare and a children's fitness center. I have a niece and lots of second cousins who are all my children's age.

Derek has also been a great parent to our two children. He changes diapers, feeds, bathes, reads stories to, plays with, comforts, etc. Derek and I share our parental roles pretty equally. He has been able to watch our friend's kids for a few hours several times. He plays with his niece and second cousins frequently. We have kids at our house all the time, that he has lots of fun with.

Some strengths are my love for kids, goofy sense of humor, crafty ways, and supportive nature. I love being nurturing, with a good listening ear. I am organized, which allows me to keep my life (and my children's) less crazy. I am compassionate and considerate. I am a good friend. I am intelligent and good at finding needed resources. I am great at volunteering, leading, and guiding.

Derek is physically active, optimistic, caring, kind, thoughtful, and intelligent. He is great at what he does professionally; he works hard and always strives to do better. He loves learning; he is very inquisitive. He is incredibly helpful as a father, spouse, and bread-winner.

We have learned that parenthood doesn't go at all the way you plan. Having a child with Down Syndrome has taught us many skills needed to parent a child with unique, more special needs than the average child. We are good at learning and using our resources within the community. We have no problem seeking out help in regards to therapists, counselors, doctors, etc if it is needed. As an entire family we are fairly flexible and open. We are open with each other, to an age appropriate level, and work well together as a family.

We do have a child with Down Syndrome who has required therapy and lots of doctor's appointments. We have learned patience and other ways of parenting him. I have learned ways to communicate the things that he needs to the doctors, therapists, insurance companies, etc. I have found ways to supplement insurance coverage with grants to assist in his physical/medical needs. My B.S. in Child Development has also given me a broad education in children. I learned about special needs, trauma, community resources, development, etc. I am good at finding and using all the resources I can to their fullest abilities.

I don't think our daily life will change too much. We do have to increase the size of our car, which we are in the process of now (we are getting a van). We will have to adjust rooms. A couple children may share rooms (which would be new); but we are also looking into adding a room to our house this summer so all the kids will have their own room. We will have to balance out one-on-one time with all our children, something we have already been working on with out 2 children.

We have taken Foster care classes and researched some on the internet. Heather also has a B.S. in Child Development that has required many classes relatable to adoption and the needs of these children.

It will help us better understand the needs of the child(ren) we adopt. It will help us to help the child by being able to provide the resources/structure needed. It will assist us in patience and understanding.

Support

Our son attends The Cozey Nest, which provides him with great PT/OT/SP therapy. We have been given some names of some good psychiatrists/counselors for children and family. There is several state programs such as Family Outreach that come to the home to assist as well as link us up with other resources within the community. We have friends that also have adopted who have had to deal with severe emotion/behavioral issues that would be able to direct us in a good local path. We also have a great pediatric doctor.

Myself, a stay-at-home parent with the assistance of the father, Derek, who works from home and can assist occasionally during the day.

Our kids have been a part of this entire adoption process from start to finish. We are open to them about the struggles we will have, along with the child(ren) we may adopt. We actively try to allow them some say in who we choose, what we are looking for, and if we should keep going through with the process. Our oldest has looking through profile pics with us, has read interests about the child, and has given us her input.

Our families and friends. They are there for us when we need them, check up on us frequently, and are always a phone call (or weekend trip) away.

We have our Down Syndrome group, our adoption agency, our doctors and therapists, and our church community.

Motivation to Adopt

We have had difficulty having children in between our two children. There is a large age gap, made larger by the special needs of our youngest.

The child(ren) we are seeking to adopt we will fully adopt and make an equal part of our family. We will love this child like we do our biological children. We will provide him/her with the best possible childhood we can. He/She will be given ample opportunity to discover themselves, be educated, make friends, and be active. This child will be accepted and loved by a very large family.