Choose A Family : Parent Profile
Pam and Philippe
Bonjour! Hello!
We are Philippe and Pam. We are a very happily married French American couple who share love and respect for each other and our families. We are very close to our families both here in California and in France and they are very supportive of us in our lives and adoption journey. We are open minded and easy going and like to do fun things; explore, try new foods, learn about new cultures, and make our own adventures.
We love children and we have been hoping to have a family since we first met, to share our love and way of life with our child, and would love the opportunity to make our family whole.
We appreciate your taking the time to read our letter and learn a little about us. We understand you want to make the best plan for your baby’s future and we admire your courage for considering adoption.
We hope this letter will help you get to know us and help you to decide whether we are the right adoptive parents for you and your child. Please know that our intent is to love, honor, protect and cherish your child; that is our commitment to you.
With warm wishes,
Pam & Philippe
How we met
We met in August 2005 while working in an animation studio. We were working on different productions and would pass in the company’s shared kitchen. We even made extra trips to the kitchen just to see if one of us was already there. It wasn’t until a power outage in our building that we started talking.
In 2007 we got engaged while visiting La Fonda, Mexico. We spent the day shopping in Ensenada where we bought ponchos and gifts for our family and after a great lobster dinner in Puerto Nuevo, we took a moonlit walk around the condo grounds where we were staying. Philippe proposed on the cliff over the beach near a beautiful fountain (we were wearing our ponchos).
In June 2009 the Mayor of Damgan, a small town in Brittany, France where generations of Philippe’s family are from, married us. It was a fairy tale wedding! We had a parade (An old Brittany wedding tradition) with our family, and our friends (from the U.S., England and France) and musicians with a bagpipe, accordion, and flute. We walked from Philippe’s Grandmother’s home to the Town Hall.
Meet Pam
I was born in Santa Monica, California. I always feel so at home at the beach. I love the salt air and the warm sun.
I am an animation colorist, which is a very child friendly profession. Most of our company events are geared towards children. I love my job because we get to watch cartoons for work. My co-workers are amazing artists and it’s such a fun atmosphere. We move from studio to studio for each different project, it’s nice to meet new people and try new styles. I have been lucky enough to be able to say I’ve worked in animation for over 12 years.
Many times we are afforded the opportunity to freelance or work from home which would make it easy to be home with our child and still be able to do some work. Our hours are flexible and we can go in early or late and take long lunches when needed. I plan to stay home at first and return to work or freelance once we feel the time is right.Growing up, we moved a lot and traveled a bit. I thought it was great! I was able to see different countries; Jamaica and South America, as well as some states; Nevada, Washington, Arizona, Texas and Hawaii. As a child, it was exciting and educational to see different ways people lived and experience their cultures.
I have lived at the beach and in the mountains and now in a wonderful residential neighborhood. Although I moved a lot as a child, I prefer to live in one place and visit other places on vacation. Throughout the years I’ve had many pets; dogs, cats, snakes, rats and some horses. I was a bit of a tomboy growing up and loved to chase lizards and snakes and skateboard and ride my bike and play in the dirt. Not a whole lot has changed, although I enjoy getting dressed up and being a girly girl too.
Philippe describes Pam
Pam is the most gentle, sweet, kind hearted, patient, understanding and loving person I have ever met. We have the same taste in many different ways; we’ve been having the best of time since we first met. She’s just a beautiful woman on the outside and on the inside, and we definitely complete one another. I also love that we have the same sense of humor, we laugh a lot together, but she makes me laugh even harder when she starts singing! She understands me very well and makes me a better person.
Meet Philippe
I was born and raised in Paris, France and have lived in California for the past 16 years, where I work as an artist for animated movies.
I love my job, I get to work with amazing talents from all over the world, work on great movies and television shows, and get to draw funny characters for kids to laugh and enjoy. I started to draw at a young age, like most kids. My parents where always very supportive of me wanting to become an artist, I always drew or painted or made model kits.
As kids we spent our summer vacations in Brittany where my mom and my grandma are from (and where Pam and I were married), we used to go to the Mickey Mouse club on the beach where we did a lot of fun activities. During the day, we had sand castle contests, evening theatre shows and costume contest. Those were the best!
Now we speak often by phone and Pam and I see get to see the whole family when we visit for the holidays or when they come to the U.S. for visits.
Growing up we’ve always had pets around; dogs, cats, birds or even squirrels. Pam and I adopted, Danny, our cat on Valentine’s Day last year. He’s the boss of the house, and we are his staff. He is waiting for treats as soon as we walk in the door and likes to curl up with us while we watch t.v.
When I’m not working, I like to do kickboxing, to paint, to draw, to go to the beach and swim and surf (Pam calls me Fish boy) and to snow board.
Pam describes Philippe
I like to say Philippe is my “good boy in a bad boy’s body”. He is so loving, intelligent, considerate, and thoughtful and has such great manners. He says “thank you” even for the small things that a lot of couples might not. He’s open to new experiences. And he’s so handsome! He’s an incredible artistic talent. My friends love him and my parents adore him. He makes me laugh and not just because he’s told a funny joke or said something silly, because he understands me and we can share a laugh together. He makes me a better person.
Top 9 Favorites
1 Favorite Hangout as Kids
Pam: The pier at the beach
Philippe: Vacant lots to build stuff
2 Favorite Vacation Spot
Both: Hawaii
3 Favorite Movie
Pam: The Hot Chick or Amélie
Philippe: Dances with wolves
4 Favorite Musical Artist
Pam: Too many! Elvis, The Clash, AC/DC, etc.
Philippe: AC/DC
5 Favorite Place to Take a Child
Pam: The Park & Disneyland
Philippe: The Beach
6 Favorite Book
Pam: To Kill a Mockingbird
Philippe: The Alchemist
7 Favorite Concert of All Time
Both: AC/DC
8 Favorite People to Spend Time With
Pam: Philippe, “The Gals,” & our family
Philippe: Pam, my family, the guys from my band
9 Favorite Crazy Food Combination
Pam: Doritos & egg salad
Philippe: Asian/Hawaiian/Island style food
Meet Danny Zukow (our cat)
On Valentine’s Day in 2010 we adopted Danny Zukow our Russian Blue mix cat. He’s 8 years old. He’s the most sweet, fun easygoing cat we’ve ever met. When we found him in the shelter he was a mess. He had a cold and runny nose and his skin was flaking, his hair was falling out and his teeth were black. Philippe pointed to him and said “this one” and I was surprised and asked “him?” He really needed some TLC. Now he’s the softest, shiniest, and relaxed kitty. He has breakfast every morning with us and loves to snuggle and get belly rubs every chance he can, although he spends most of his time sleeping.
We love to come home and see him waiting for us by the door. He probably is just waiting for treats but we love him and he’s a wonderful, loving part of our family.
How we spend time together
We do mostly everything together. Philippe and I love to be outside when we’re not working. We like to go on bicycle rides, go to the beach, horseback rides, skateboarding, going to art shows, music shows, go to the movies, we love to go to Disneyland our favorite attractions are Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion, we also like to go to antique and vintage shows.
We love to travel. We’ve been to England, Mexico, Hawaii, Seattle and Tennessee together and every year we visit Philippe’s family in France.
Any activity we can do together we do it, we are members of The Surfrider Foundation and Tree People and we usually help clean up the beaches once a month.
We love music. Philippe sings in a band and our lives are full of music. We visited Memphis, Tennessee in 2006 for 9 days to see; Sun Records, Graceland, Stax Museum of American Soul, and so much more. We had such a great time! We’d love to go visit again. We love Elvis, Johnny Cash, AC/DC, The Ramones, The Clash, Motorhead... just to name some favorites.
Where we live
We own a large 2 bedroom condo build in 1964. We love the light that shines into the rooms. We’ve painted it sunny yellow and citrus green in one of the bathrooms and aqua blue in the other bathroom. We like a mix of furnishing and decorations; Mexican styles, American Indian artwork, Polynesian artwork and tikis, Americana vintage and a mix of old and new. We have a pool in our building but don’t use it very much; we’re usually at the beach instead.
Our condo is located next to one of the best Elementary Schools in the county. The parents donate time to the school either being a crossing guard one morning or helping out in the classrooms here and there. We hope we’ll be able to lend a hand someday too. We also have a great Middle School nearby. Our neighborhood is peaceful and we hear birds chirping all day. We often go walking or bicycling (sometimes skateboarding) on the calm residential streets behind our condo. Whenever we pass someone on the street they smile and say hello. It’s really idyllic.
Additionally, a friend has a French English daycare for children after potty training age that is just a few blocks away. They have amazing activities all day long and prepare healthy meals that all the kids love. She’s become so popular that there’s a waiting list to get in but we’re sure she’ll be able to accommodate us when we’re ready.
Friends and Family
Philippe’s family, (brother, sister, Mom and Dad), live in The South of France on the French Riviera and his Grandma lives in Brittany. They are the best role models a kid could have growing up. We are truly blessed with that; we have a really strong family bond.
They are all very supportive of our plan to adopt a child and only want us to be happy and fulfilled; we think they would make wonderful grandparents, as they are amazing parents.
They all love Pam very much and consider her like their own daughter/sister. We talk to them on the phone at least once or twice a week, sometimes daily on facebook, and see them for about two or three weeks when we go to France.
We also have a lot of good friends in Paris, and keep in touch with them on a regular basis. Especially two of Philippe’s oldest best friends, Fred and Marco, he has known them for about 25 years. And even though they live in France, they are always there for us and we are always there for them.
Pam’s Mom and Dad love horses and live close by, on their ranch. Her sister and her children are close by too. We all call each other often just to see how everything is going and get together for breakfasts, birthdays, holidays, dinners and when Dad is singing with his band. They all love Philippe and we all have such a good time when we spend time together.
We also have many Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins and all their children, that live in Texas and they come to visit often. We hope to go visit them too, one day, as Philippe hasn’t been to Texas yet. Aunt Debra has an adopted daughter who is now in High School, she is such a wonderful girl!
We have such a diverse array of friends such as artists, musicians, teachers, nurses and psychologists, from all over the world including; India, France, Spain, England, Peru, Greece, Hawaii and even Brazil. Our friend’s are like our second family.
Most of our friends have children and we have babysat and gone camping and to birthday parties and been able to share in some of their good times.
Everyone is so supportive of our decision to adopt and they are all hoping to welcome a new baby into their lives as well as our own.
Thank You
We wish we had the perfect words to tell you how much being parents means to us! Hopefully you feel you know us a little better from our letter and you can be assured that we will provide a stable, warm and loving home, a good education, fun weekend activities and we will make discoveries together.
Your child will be our priority. We will have less sleep, more joy and laughter and a lot of baby food on our clothes. And for all the sleepless nights, in return, there will be unlimited happiness in having a child in our lives.
Sincerely,
Pam & Philippe
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