Hello! We are Stacey, Kei and Josephine from Torrance, California. We are thankful and humbled that you are giving us the opportunity to introduce our family to you during this very important time in your life. We have been married for 11 years. We would love to add to our family and share all of our loves and passions including sports, Disney, travel and just having fun with each other. As two people who both work in education, we are passionate about learning and helping our daughter become the best that she can be. We would love the opportunity to share this love and family with your child.

Even before we got engaged, we had discussed our openness to adopt a child together. After we got married, we struggled with infertility for many years. We were finally blessed with the birth of Josie. We tried again for a second child, but we were not successful. Rather than take this as a negative, we viewed this as a sign that our early discussion of wanting to adopt was meant to be! We would love to add to our family and provide someone else for Josie to play with in our home! We have so much love in our little family unit and within our huge extended family. From the bottom of our hearts, we are confident that your child will be loved and cared for as a member of our family.

We met through a mutual friend at a fundraiser. Stacey was in charge of it and Kei was brought by the friend to help clean up. Stacey thought Kei was cute, and Kei just thought that Stacey had a lot of stuff in her car (she crammed her car with things for the fundraiser). We got to know each other better by playing co-ed softball together. Then one night at an Asian American film festival, Kei smoothly got Stacey’s number (she didn’t even know what was happening it was that smooth). The early years of our courtship includes several softball teams, hanging out with friends and playing movie trivia games late into the night, trips to Hawaii and Dodgers games. We don’t play as much softball nowadays. But our shared values have never changed – love for our family and commitment to each other through both good and challenging times. We are a team.

I come from a big family. I’m oldest of five kids. My dad is oldest of five, and my mom is second of nine sisters. I’m the oldest grandchild, niece and cousin. During the day, I am the communications director at a local community college. I love and feel passionate about my job. My family instilled in me the importance of education and service to others. Outside of work, I run 5k, 10k and half marathon races. I love all things Disney. When we bought our home 10 years ago, I was happy to find a large garden for me to putter around in. My indoor garden at work and at home is steadily growing larger. I’m very passionate about giving back to my Asian Pacific Islander (API) community. I served in various nonprofit boards for more than 20 years. I currently serve on an organization that is dedicated to helping API domestic violence survivors, and another that is dedicated to creating a monument to remember the Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during World War II.

Stacey is an intelligent, sentimental, passionate, organized, and goal-oriented individual. While I am the extrovert of the group, she is the backbone of our family and the one that allows us to thrive. She is the stalwart of everything we do and we cannot have fun without her. She takes care of us both by organizing our family. Seeing Stacey’s success with her personal trainer has motivated me also to work on my own health. She is the one taking care of our doctor appointments, setting up our workouts, planning healthy meals, and helping our family keep a positive outlook. If it wasn’t for Stacey we would never have had our daughter Josie. She was the point person in keeping up with all the appointments with the infertility doctor. Her passion, love and organization was crucial in overcoming the several different disappointments before we finally conceived. Josie is lucky to be able to have Stacey as her mom.

I grew up with parents from two different ethnic backgrounds. My mother is from Mexico and my father is from Japan. I grew up in Southern California and graduated with honors from high school. I went to UCLA and graduated with a degree in History with a specialization in business. I did my graduate work from National University. I graduated with a Masters in Special Education. My passion is teaching and I love going to work, where I get to show off my patient and goofy side on a daily basis. Even though I teach kids on different levels, I make sure I accommodate each student to their individual level. I am great at figuring what makes kids tick. I am a big advocate for helping all kids succeed. Personally I love playing sports. I grew up playing lots of baseball, soccer and basketball. I have a men’s softball team I play weekly. I also love comedy and love going to comedy shows. I love being a dad and seeing things through the eyes of my child. I love seeing Josie grow and develop.

Kei is the heart of our family. He's the one who takes care of our emotions with his funny, goofy, and patient nature. He’s fun and incredibly smart, and I can’t imagine a more wonderful dad for Josie. I affectionately calls him the ‘Tiger Dad’—not because he’s strict, but because he has an amazing way of bringing out the best in her, especially when it comes to school. He taught Josie how to read before she was in Kindergarten. Kei is also an outstanding elementary school teacher, and I have been lucky to meet some of his students’ parents who’ve told me how much he’s changed their children’s lives. Kei is definitely the fun and more social half in our marriage. But my favorite thing in the world is watching him shower Josie with love.

Josie is 7-years-old and has been asking for a little brother or sister for ages! Josie is very creative – she loves to color, draw and has even authored/illustrated her own books. She loves singing and dancing. We are very proud that she is one of the top students in her class, especially in reading. She’s entering the 2nd grade and she’s already reading chapter books! She will be an awesome big sister!

Stacey’s parents moved to Torrance, California years ago because of the excellent school district (Stacey’s dad is also an educator). Stacey grew up in Torrance. So when it came to a place for us to settle, it was going to be Torrance. Our nearly 100-years-old home is located in what’s called the “Old Torrance” area. It has four bedrooms and plenty of yard to run around in. Our neighborhood is full of kids, so there are plenty of playmates around. We can walk to different parks and restaurants from our house. Torrance is 15 minutes away from the beach. Josie and Stacey often go there to run (Stacey), ride bicycles (Josie), or just lay out and make sandcastles (both). The best part about Torrance is the fact that we are surrounded by the majority of Stacey's family.

Stacey: My immediate family and I are very close. We all live in Torrance. I come from a large extended family as well, and most people live within an hour’s drive-radius. We love getting together and celebrating family traditions like making dong-tays (Chinese versions of tamales), celebrating Chinese New Year, or meeting up at the local Buddhist church for the Obon Festival (the Japanese version of Día de los Muertos). We find any excuse for a family gathering beyond Christmas and New Year.

Kei: My immediate family, my mom and two brothers, live in Fontana. I also come from a large extended family who all live in the Inland Empire. We love getting together for birthdays, holidays and important family traditions like baptisms. We have been adding more new family members, and have been attending more weddings and baby showers. My godson is a new father, and we have been keeping in close contact about his new experiences with his daughter.

Halloween is a big deal for Kei, and we always look forward to planning our group costume—like the year when we dressed up as Mary Poppins, Bert, and a penguin! During Christmastime, we search for polar bear or penguin ornaments to add to our tree, and we always pick out our Christmas tree together. In the summer, we're lucky to have three-day weekends to spend as a family. and we cherish our annual vacation. While we usually go to Hawaii, this year, we decided to change things up with a road trip around the state.

There are no words that can describe our feelings towards you right now. Know that if we become your final choice or not, we are so thankful that you have decided to fulfill a family’s wishes and hopes for a child. There is no greater gift than what you are providing right now and for that we want to share our thanks and love to you in this part of the process as you make this important decision. If we are lucky to be selected by you, we promise to love our child forever. We will provide the best life possible for our child. They will grow up surrounded by love and support not only from us but also our large circle of family and friends. Thank you again for taking the time to get to know us better and we wish you the very best from the bottom of our hearts.

~Stacey, Kei and Josie