Hello! We are Ayana & John from Lakewood, California. We are truly appreciative of your decision to place your child with a loving family. We understand that this is a truly difficult decision, and one that is close to your heart. We hope that through our profile, you will be able to see the love we have for each other, our families, and your future child. We have a very strong relationship based on our faith, love and trust in one another. We have many extended family in our lives, including many nieces and nephews for your child to love and interact with.

Thank you for taking this time to get to know us more, we hope to hear from you soon.

We have always wanted to be parents and tried to get pregnant on our own with no success. We finally decided that adoption would be the best option for us. A few years ago, we adopted a son and he is an awesome little boy. We feel very blessed to have him, but now we want to complete our family with another little one. It has always been our dream to have two children. We are so excited to have the opportunity to privately adopt another child.

We met 18 years ago at a Christian college and career group, and we went out on frequent outings with our friends to Disneyland and many other places. After a few months, fewer and fewer friends started going out with us, until it was only us. At first, we just wanted to be friends, but then we grew closer and closer together. In Winter of 2006 we were married in front of all our closest friends and family. Our marriage is so strong, because it is God centered and we were very good friends before we began dating.

Today we have a nine year old son and all of us are looking forward to getting another little one in our lives. We are both educators and our son is getting the best possible education and all the support two loving parents can provide. We will provide all the needed love and support for your child as well.

I was born in Detroit, Michigan and relocated to California a year after graduating with a BA in Advertising. I stayed with relatives who introduced me into the teaching field. I fell in love with educating young students and pursued a multi-subject teaching credential. Later I earned a Masters degree in Curriculum Instruction Technology. I’m currently teaching 3rd graders.

I love inspiring young students with simple things like a class pet to adventurous field trips and school plays. Teaching has also allowed me lots of quality time with our nine-year old son who is also adopted. My son and I enjoy learning martial arts together. I’m doing my best to catch up to his purple belt ranking.

We also enjoy kayaking, horseback riding and biking together. Our son has an interest in piano so we are exploring fun places to help him learn. I also like to travel and I’ve been to Spain, France, Mexico, Hawaii, New York and many other states. I am excited to be able to share my favorite experiences with our future child. Adding an infant to our home would bring even more joy into our lives.

Ayana is the most loving and caring person I know. She is my best friend, my partner and the person I fell in love with. She is a great aunt to over 20 nieces and nephews, mother and teacher to so many young people. Ayana loves children and is very good with them, especially with our adopted son, Kayden. She is the best wife I could have ever hoped for and I feel privileged to be her husband.

Fun Fact: Ayana recently won a bronze medal in a Karate competition. Our son Kayden has a silver medal and several participation medallions from previous competitions. Kayden and John have helped Ayana to learn several sparring techniques.

I was born in Long Beach, California and I’ve lived here in California, all my life. I had a very active and busy childhood being the oldest of six children. In 2005 I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Communications. I later went on to get my teaching credential in Biology and Earth Science. Today, I am a middle school teacher here in Southern California. Currently I teach Seventh Grade Integrated Science. I enjoy teaching and mentoring students through their time in middle school and I really love spending time with our nine-year-old adopted son through a bunch of activities, such as: swimming, body boarding, karate and going to the local theme parks such as Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studios California. I really enjoy traveling, I’ve been to France, Michigan, New York and Hawaii with my wife Ayana and today we still go on family vacations on our breaks from teaching school.

I am really looking forward to experiencing new adventures with our future child. I am really looking forward to being the dad of an infant again.

John is the most kind, intelligent and loving person I have ever known. He treats me with such grace and respect and has been my greatest source of comfort and unconditional love. John is like a magnet to children because warmth just radiates from him. He comes from a big family who has eagerly welcomed me into their fold and have made me the sixth sister. John has always put the needs of our immediate family first while still being very attentive to our extended family. I’m beyond grateful for such an amazing husband and partner in life.

Fun Fact: John is highly skilled with his 3D design and using his 3D Printer. Recently, he learned how to airbrush his creations. He is self taught and highly intuitive with picking up new design ideas. He prints many Star Wars Replicas and many designs that Ayana has used as rewards in her classroom.

Kayden is an amazing little boy. We adopted him from the foster care system when he was two-months-old. Today, he is 9 years old and a very active third grader, who loves his karate classes, his dog Blaine and going to Skyzone to jump on trampolines. He is a well-mannered child with a real heart for God. Kayden is very excited to be a big brother and can’t wait for us to adopt an infant. We are confident he will be an excellent big brother.

Fun Fact: Kayden attends a STEM elementary school which focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. He has already shown a strong interest in science and says he wants to be a biologist or discover a cure for diseases like cancer. No matter what he chooses to do we are so happy to have him at a school that suits his personality.

Recently we celebrated our sixteenth wedding anniversary and our love for one another is stronger than ever. About 5 years ago we moved to a new home in the Los Angeles area and are close to most places like Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and Universal Studios. As teachers, we also love to travel on our summer, winter and spring vacations. We enjoy hiking, going to the beach and vacationing in San Diego or other places.

We also go to church locally and have a strong connection to our “Church Family.”

John’s Family: John comes from a very large family, he is the oldest of six children. Collectively, we have a total of 24 nieces and nephews of all ages. We see our extended family on just about every holiday, graduation or other major event. Thanksgiving and Christmas at our relatives’ houses are amazing, usually everyone is there and it is a great time to catch up with everyone. Christmas and the Fourth of July are big events for us in the sense that we have so much fun swimming, playing games and eating lots of food.

Ayana’s Family: Ayana’s dear sister, Valorie, loves to visit from Illinois. Her favorite places to go during her visits are Griffith Observatory and to the canals in Naples. She enjoys cruising along the harbor where all of the extended family members meet up. Ayana has earned her boating license due to the influence of her in-laws. We have kayaks and paddleboards stored at our father’s home along the canals. He allows us to use his boat for couples’ date nights and family entertaining. This is the perfect place for Valorie to spoil her only nephew. She will be thrilled to be an auntie to a new infant.

We believe in parenting and teaching to the whole child. Their childhood is a time for them to develop as many interests as they possibly can without stress or pressure. Whatever they choose to do in life we will support them.

We don’t believe in corporal punishment but instead we like to use a token economy which teaches self reliance and useful life skills. Our son gets paid an allowance and can earn tokens towards our own home store and for fun outings. By earning his own money and tokens to buy toys, he seems to appreciate them more.

We want our children to feel safe enough to tell us anything. Mistakes are a part of life and we are here to help guide them through all the ups and downs.

As teachers we value education but not to the degree of limiting fun and making learning a chore. We believe that a person will excel in learning by pursuing the path that is best for them. Our son seems to be an engineering type so we encourage his building with Lego’s, battle bots and Beyblade spin tops.

We are very excited to grow our family. Our son has many cousins to play with but being a big brother would truly uplift him. We have asked God to bless us again with a wonderful baby. The time of bonding with an infant went too quickly the first time for us. We will savor every moment with another opportunity.