Greetings! We are Vanessa & Eric from Ramona, California. We are grateful for the opportunity to introduce ourselves to you. Thank you for considering us to be part of this journey.

During our 10 year relationship, some of our core values have been to try to see the other’s point of view, offer support where we can and be understanding without judgment. We hope for an open adoption and want to incorporate these same core values into our journey with you. The environment and upbringing we hope to offer your child is one filled with love. We are eager to dive into parenthood. This includes having a community of family and friends who are very excited to join alongside us.

When we made the decision that we were ready to expand our family we sat down to look at what this road might look like for us. We outlined our expectations, hopes, and boundaries. Neither of us wanted to exhaust all options in order to have our own biological child. Rather, we discussed how adoption felt like a natural choice for us given our backgrounds. We agreed how growing up with other people stepping in for our biological parent(s) shaped our childhood and helped positively influence the people we grew into. We hope that this will give us the unique perspective to be able to relate to our future child and help support them in whatever way we can.

The adoption journey we are on now has given us hope, and we are very grateful to have this opportunity.

We met on a dating app, well before swiping was a thing. Eric was always eager to take the relationship to the next level while Vanessa would say, “not yet”.

After a little over a year of dating, Eric proposed on the ice skating rink at the Hotel Del Coronado. In Vanessa's vows she let Eric know the reason she moved slowly in the beginning. It was because she knew early on he would be the last person she would date and wanted to enjoy it. We were married in 2015 and have worked together to build our home and life together. We are fortunate to live in an area where we do not need to travel far to find an activity we enjoy doing together. From a quick weekend camping trip in the dessert, to snowboarding in Big Bear, or just taking the dogs to the beach for the afternoon. We are also lucky to live close to family and get together with them and friends as often as we can.

I currently work from home as a Senior Software Engineer for Cisco Systems. I have been employed with this company for the past eight years working my way up the ladder. Working from home and being able to avoid a daily commute gives me the flexibility to spend time with my wife, dogs and family. In addition to that, I have time to work around the house and in the yard. I see this as a huge benefit as this will give me ample time to spend with our future child.

I look forward to sharing camping trips, hikes and teaching our child the importance of family and embracing the little moments life has to offer. I consider myself extremely fortunate as many of my family members live within close proximity allowing for many regular get togethers. We are a very close-knit family with so much love to share. I love the fact that my mother Lynn, lives within walking distance from our home and is so excited about the idea of being a grandmother. I truly feel I was born to be a dad and look forward to when that day comes.

Many would consider Eric and I as opposites. I think that is one of our biggest strengths and makes us into a well rounded couple. Areas where I am challenged or don’t have an interest are things that come naturally or peaks Eric’s interest. Things like finances, auto and home maintenance, wildlife and nature, or simply staying organized.

Eric is a doer, he is always up and doing something. Anything from home projects to any of his outdoor hobbies. Eric spends a lot of his time being helpful or doing thoughtful unexpected things for his family and myself. He takes the time to show his love and appreciation for those he cares for. A debate we have is the fact that we both think the other person is the smarter one. For the record, it’s Eric. He is brilliant but never acknowledges it. I can’t wait to see Eric tinkering in the garage with an appliance, doing an oil change on our cars or working on one of the bikes, and taking the time to show, teach and include our child. I know he will be a great partner in raising our future child and a wonderful dad.

The parents I was raised by were actually my biological Aunt and Uncle. They took full-time permanent custody of me when I was 3 years old. They were my mom and dad. They cared for and loved me just as their own, even when they divorced when I was around 6 years of age. I learned family is both DNA and choice and I feel this will give me a unique opportunity to relate, listen to and support an adopted child of my own.

In my early 20s, I moved to San Diego where I began to build the life I have now. In my late 20s, I was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer. Although this was not an ideal situation, it taught me about myself, life and how to ask for help. It showed me a strength I didn’t know I had and that it doesn’t matter what you plan, it can all go sideways and you have to be flexible. I have worked in multiple different fields from retail to dog grooming, but the job I found the most fulfillment in was in the SPED department in an elementary school. It is my goal to return to the educational field, hopefully in the school our child will one day attend.

It’s rare for one to meet someone for the first time with whom you feel an immediate connection.

From day one, I knew my life would never be the same. The love and support I felt from Vanessa was unlike anything I had experienced in past relationships. She showed me a love so unique and unconditional, I knew this was something so very special.

She welcomes challenges of different personalities with open arms, compassion and understanding. I never feel judged and I’m always encouraged to do my best. One of her favorite sayings is: “Progress, not perfection”. This is a true testament to who she is and how she approaches life. I’m always impressed by her ability to navigate my quirks. I look up to her many strengths, including her attitude towards past hardships. If asked to describe Vanessa, simply put: extremely loyal, compassionate, brave, considerate, empathetic, loving and admired. Without a doubt, she is going to be a great role-model and mother to our future child.

Spending time with our family and friends and playing with our dogs. We enjoy going on overland camping trips in our roof rack tent on Eric’s truck. Overland camping is a bit different than camp sites, it’s more isolated locations and more of the “roughing it” style. We have talked about how we would like to continue this style of camping trips when we are a family of three, discussing how our set ups would change and places we would
like to go back and share with our child.

Eric’s Interests: Working outside in the yard, wood working, mountain biking and fitness. For me working out isn’t just a hobby but a priority. I want to make sure I am healthy in order to not just sit on the sidelines and watch our kid but to join in with them. One of my hopes is that our kid will have an interest in soccer. I played through my childhood and teen years and would love to play with our kid, maybe even coach a team they are on one day.

Vanessa’s Interests: Cooking, reading, all things Marvel. I do a lot of crafting, for me it’s about being creative and enjoying myself, less about what the final product. I have dabbled in everything from knitting, crochet, wreath making, wool felting and ceramics. I want my kid to know the value is in being creative, in finding outlets that let you enjoy the process. The value doesn’t lie solely in if it “came out right”.

Just 6 quick months after getting married we bought our first home in Ramona. It is a 3 bedroom 2 bath single family home with a large back yard that is ready to be filled with play sets and bicycles.

We are in the San Diego Country Estates in Ramona, and just around the corner from Eric’s mom’s house, so grandma will be close by to offer support, advise, and snuggles. The Estates is a community within Ramona with close by amenities like multiple playgrounds, two community pools, two elementary schools, and hotel (great for visiting family). Ramona itself is a unique place that has managed to hold onto the small town charm with friendly neighbors and fun and family friendly events. Regularly you hear stories of the community pulling together to help someone down on their luck or participating in the community organized events like the 4th of July celebration complete with parade and spectacular fireworks show. Some of the other events we enjoy and look forward to attending as a family of three are; Concerts in the Park, Rodeo, Classic Car cruise nights, and the Christmas Tree lighting.

A good portion of Eric’s extended family lives close by in San Diego. We get together on major holidays averaging about 15-20 of us getting together to celebrate. In between we don’t let too much time go by without seeing the Aunts and Uncles for a pool day and BBQ or meeting up for dinner.

Vanessa’s closest family is her cousin Wendy, who lives in San Diego with her husband and young son. The rest of Vanessa’s family lives in Lancaster, CA and Henderson, NV, although not as physically close they are thrilled at the prospect of being grandparents and are ready to travel to be present and active in our child’s life.
We are both so incredibly lucky to have friends close by that we would consider family as well. Eric had the unique experience of having a sizable group of friends from childhood who’ve stayed in contact and a smaller group who still remain close today. Vanessa has maintained a smaller group of friends who join in on family events regularly.

Values We will Prioritize and Model: Kindness, open-mindedness, hard work, and happiness by being true to yourself. Making mistakes is OK, but taking ownership and saying sorry is part of that. This includes setting and respecting boundaries, and appreciating other cultures. We have talked in depth on what parenthood might look like and where we will place value. We have decided on the responsive parenting approach, which focuses on emotion identification and regulation. It will take patience and consistency – two things we feel we can provide.

The most exciting thing about our family and friends is the diverse backgrounds and interests they hold and are eager to share with our child. Anything from comic books and Star Wars fans, auto mechanics, gardeners, musicians, artists, zookeepers, and outdoor/nature fanatics who are all eager to share their knowledge. This would be the first baby on both sides of the family and everyone is so excited.

Something Eric Looks Forward To: I want to include our child in daily activities, letting them participate in whatever project I am working on while teaching them along the way.

Something Vanessa Looks Forward To: Being able to share with our future child things that I enjoy. Like reading with them in hopes to create a lifelong book lover or letting them help alongside me while I cook passing along my love for cooking like my dad did with me.

Thank you for taking the time to consider us for this monumental responsibility and know that we are committed and ready to embrace all aspects of raising your child. Be assured that our priorities will always be the safety, security, happiness, and general wellbeing of your child. We hope for an open adoption and look forward to forming a lifelong relationship with you in whatever capacity works best for all of us. We welcome and encourage any questions you may have for us, as we feel this will help support an open and honest communication between all of us. We look forward to meeting you.