Hello there! We are Emily & Andrew from San Diego, California. We want to thank you for taking the time to get to know us. We understand that you have a very challenging decision to make and we send you love and light to guide you through this time.

We have always wanted to grow our family but are unable to so on our own due to infertility. Although it was difficult to learn that we could not conceive children biologically, we knew it was not the only option for us and have been excited at the prospect of adoption. To us, being parents means providing unconditional love, support, and safety, which is what we will offer your child. Ultimately, we believe that love makes a family—and we have a lot of love to share.

Our story began 20 years ago... When I walked up to Andrew at a party and dramatically said, “Who are you?!” Since that night, our relationship has followed a unique timeline. We started dating immediately, but waited 12 years to get married. When we finally did get married, we secretly eloped in Santorini, Greece and said our vows privately on a cliff overlooking the sea at sunset. This is a perfect example of our relationship and who we are—we lead a simple, quiet life, and we prioritize each other. Throughout our relationship, we have faced a lot of challenges, but have also experienced a lot of joy. By navigating these experiences as a team, we have built a strong foundation for a family, and we cannot wait to start our journey as parents together.

I am…

• An adventure lover - I was raised in a military family that moved every two years and spent vacations camping in the mountains. It is probably because of my upbringing that I love to hike, swim, camp, and spend time outdoors. I recently hiked over 100 miles in Iceland by myself.

• A lifelong learner - I am a professor and a scientist at a local university. I teach courses in public health and I conduct research on how to promote mental health among individuals who have been exposed to trauma. I love that everything I do in my job directly helps someone else and that I get to learn new things every day. I also enjoy that I can take summers off and can work from home most of the time.

• A generous spirit - I think it is important to give back to my community. I bake and decorate birthday cakes for foster kids, mentor students, and volunteer at our neighborhood food bank.

Emily can be shy, but has a sneaky sense of humor—sometimes she is the life of the party! She is always trying to improve the lives of others as a teacher and volunteer. She listens when people talk and tries her best to help them achieve their goals, like when she helped our niece Maya practice the lines for her school play over Facetime.

Emily has a very kind heart. When we play games or watch sports, she wants everyone to win because she doesn’t want anyone to feel left out. She will make sure any child feels included. Because of these qualities, Emily will feel right at home as a mom. She will offer patience, guidance, and genuine love to your child.

I am…

• A sports enthusiast - I love going to live sporting events with friends and family. Emily and I often travel to new cities to see their teams play. I was born in New York and still have family there, so I love cheering for my home teams, especially the Yankees.

• A family man - My parents and siblings live nearby and we spend a lot of time together. Sunday BBQs, Super Bowl parties, and seafood cookouts on Christmas Eve are just a few of our typical traditions. I look forward to continuing these traditions as we build our family.

• An animal lover - I grew up in a house that always had pets including cats, dogs, birds, fish, lizards, and chickens. We have San Diego Zoo passes and like to visit the animals on weekends.

Andrew is a unique combination of silly and serious. He loves to make people laugh, usually by doing very accurate impressions. He taught our niece and nephew how to speak in British accents and it was hysterical!

He is one of those people who always does the right thing. Whether it’s in his job as an insurance broker or when we are babysitting, Andrew never takes shortcuts.

He is very good with kids. When we are babysitting, you can find him leading the kids in elaborate games of pretend, drawing, or playing sports or video games with them. As a parent, Andrew will set an example of what it means to be kind and work hard, while still making time to laugh.

We live in a quiet neighborhood in central San Diego, California about 15 minutes from downtown, the beach, and the famous San Diego Zoo. Our neighborhood has a lot of young families and is very diverse. We have top-rated elementary and middle schools within walking distance from our house. Also nearby are several large parks and playgrounds, which makes it easy for us to take our dog to the park almost every day; in fact, many of our closest friends are people that we met at the dog park in our neighborhood.

We bought our house as a fixer-upper over ten years ago and have worked hard to fix it up. Throughout the house you can find photos and souvenirs from our travels that hold special meaning to us, and outside we regularly work in our garden that is full of native plants and flowers. Our friends and family members from out of town visit us often and like to joke that staying at our house is better than staying in a 5-star hotel because it is so welcoming.

We currently have a 3-year old dog who Emily named Rosie Posie Cutie Baby, but we just call her Rosie for short. She is a Vizsla, which is a breed nicknamed “the velcro dog” because they are so loyal. Rosie lives up to this, as she loves nothing more than to cuddle and play with any human she sees. Rosie is very gentle with kids and will be a great companion for your child.

Your child will be welcomed into a big, rowdy family! Andrew is very close to his parents and three brothers. His entire immediate family, including six of our nieces and nephews, lives nearby. We do family dinners once a month and spend most holidays with them. Andrew’s mom owned a deli when he was young and she makes enormous feasts for every occasion. This is a loud and fun bunch who like to play pranks on each other!

Emily grew up with two sisters who are her best friends, and she also gained five more sisters through marriage and adoption when she was a teenager. Her family is spread across the country in Seattle, Phoenix, Chicago, and Knoxville, but they are able to remain incredibly close by traveling to see each other several times a year. Just this year over 100 family members gathered in Chicago to celebrate her grandpa’s 100th birthday, and soon Andrew and Emily will drive to Phoenix to see their niece perform in her school play.

We have had a lot of time to think about who we might be as parents, and we have also had a lot of practice with kids because we are the godparents of all seven of our nieces and nephews (ages 1-16). Through our experiences, we have come to believe that the most important thing we can offer a child is an environment where they feel safe being themselves. We feel that childhood is supposed to be a time for children to try new things so that they can learn who they are and what they like, even if it means making mistakes. We are committed to creating a home environment where they feel comfortable being themselves and safe to make mistakes; we want them to know that they will be loved no matter what. We also want to teach our children to enjoy their one precious life! We hope to encourage them to ask questions when they are curious, cry when they are sad, laugh when they are happy, and love themselves and others deeply.

We are so grateful that we were able to share our story with you and we would be thrilled to one day be able to include you and your baby in our next chapter. No matter what, we wish you peace and love.