Choose A Family : Parent Profile
Steven and Vince
Hello, we are Steven and Vince, and we appreciate you taking the time to read our letter and learn about us and our wish of becoming parents. We have so much respect for you and the tough decisions you are making and believe you are nothing but courageous and brave for considering an adoption plan for your child. We wish you nothing but inner peace and trust that no matter what decision you make it will be the right one for you and your child.
About us
We met in June 2004 through a mutual friend (at a parade of all places!), and we were attracted to one another at first sight. After a few months of wonderful friendship, we decided to start dating which we both agree is one of the best decisions we ever made! After that day, we spent several years where we had many adventurous dinner dates, saw many foreign films, took trips to see family and friends, and shared many wonderful conversations.
Then, on a beautiful summer afternoon in 2007, we took a stroll through an outside sculpture garden and charted our current path of getting married and adopting. We got formally engaged that November, and on a beautiful fall day in October 2008, we were married. After spending two wonderful weeks on our honeymoon, we arrived back to Boston ready to begin laying a foundation for growing our family.
Currently, Steven is working for a good company doing high tech work that Vince still doesn’t quite understand. Vince works for a large health care company in the field of human resources. We are both lucky that our jobs have flexible hours, generous vacation time and the option to work from home.
About Steven
I grew up with my parents, younger sister and plenty of pets in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We were blessed with abundant sunshine, beautiful mountains, spicy food and plenty of cultural diversity. I was always interested in other languages and cultures, so it wasn’t too surprising that I decided to become a professional “language nerd” and got a Ph.D. in linguistics with a focus on Philippine languages.
I ended up pursuing a career in speech recognition, combining my interests in language, engineering and statistics. I moved to Boston from the Bay Area for work December 2003. Vince and I met six months later, and we have created a very happy life together.
Vince’s thoughts on Steven
When I think about Steven, I realize that I couldn’t have found anyone better to be my husband. He is one of the hardest working people I know. Whenever there is something we want to accomplish, Steven is willing to research it, create a plan to get it done, roll up his sleeves, and get to work. He is also eager to try new things and enjoy new experiences. For example, if it weren’t for Steven, I don’t think I would’ve ever eaten Indian, Ethiopian, or Afghan food!
Perhaps the best quality about Steven is how much he loves and cares about his friends and family. There isn’t a week that goes by when he’s not on the phone having long conversations with his parents or sister. Personally, I know that whenever I feel in a funk, he is always there to listen and help me feel better. I am truly lucky to have such a wonderful guy in my life.
About Vince
I grew up in San Diego, California with my parents, two brothers, one sister, a variety of pets including at one point, a tank full of fish, two birds, and a golden retriever, and my large extended family. At least once a month, we would all get together for pool parties, BBQ’s, day trips to the beach, and for many, many large family banquets at a Chinese restaurant. In many ways, those large family gatherings were what kept our family close together and now that I’m grown and ready to start a family of my own, I want to keep that tradition alive with our friends in Boston who have grown to be our 2nd family.
Growing up, I didn’t feel much of a connection to my Chinese heritage, despite all the forced Chinese lessons and food that we were made to eat, until I was 7, and we went for my first trip to China. Although I didn’t appreciate that trip when I was young, I look back at it now and realize how important it was to understand my ancestry and establish a connection to a people and a place very different from the US. Since then, I’ve been back to Hong Kong several times, and my parents still travel to Hong Kong multiple times a year to visit my dad’s side of the family who still live there. I have hopes of doing the same with my family so they can see and celebrate some of my heritage and establish their own sense of connection.
When I turned 18, I decided to try living on the East Coast and went to Boston College where I established many of the friendships I have to this day. For the past 9 years, I’ve worked in the field of human resources, where I am lucky to work with a lot of great people, some of whom have become close friends and mentors. I’m fortunate that my boss has also been through the adoption process and understands the many difficulties and joys that adoption brings. At least once a week, she asks how it’s going and always emphasizes that family and life come first, and work comes second.
Steven’s thoughts on Vince
When you meet Vince, you see that he’s a good-natured, sociable guy with a sense of humor. He’s good at establishing rapport with all sorts of people, especially children. When he first met a friend of mine I hadn’t seen in years, we also met her husband and their young daughter. She and Vince hit it very off well, and since, when she hears my name mentioned, she always adds “and Vince”.
Vince is hard working, and he’s very serious about his responsibilities at home, at work and with friends and family, but he’s also fun loving. No matter how busy we may be, he reserves some time and energy for his little pleasures: reading blogs about new local restaurants, recently released music and movies and the latest gadgets. No matter how long and difficult our day may be, I can count on hearing him laugh loudly as he watches an episode of “Modern Family” or some comedy off the DVR. (He’s still grieving the end of “Ugly Betty.”) He maintains a playfulness to buoy all around him. He’ll be a great dad, balancing pursuit of goals with pragmatism and a love of life.
Our life
Not a week goes by when we don’t see our friends and talk to our family on the phone. The majority of our friends are married and have children of their own, so it’s not unusual for our weekends and weekday nights to be spent babysitting or playing with their kids! We also love to entertain and often have friends and their kids over for brunches, dinners and many celebrations throughout the year, including our annual Chinese New Year party.
Living close to the heart of Boston, we get to take advantage of all the city has to offer. On any given weekend, we could be attending a concert, exploring one of our nearby seaside communities, eating at an ethnic restaurant, going to an art museum, or watching a foreign film. We also love to travel whether it’s to San Diego or Albuquerque to see family (which happens at least once a year) or as far flung as Buenos Aires, Argentina!
We are lucky to live in a great neighborhood. Our street is safe and quiet with very good public schools near by. While most of our neighbors have been in their homes for decades, they have been very welcoming to us, inviting us to dinner and attending our housewarming last December. When we wander about our neighborhood on nice days, we see children playing, some people going about jogging or walking dogs and others working in their yards.
We count ourselves fortunate to be at the point in our lives, relationship and careers to be ready to take on the responsibilities of parenthood.
Conclusion
We can’t imagine how difficult your adoption journey has been, but we thank you again for taking the time to get to know us a little better. If you decide that adoption is the best plan for you and your baby, we would be honored to be chosen by you to love and cherish your child, and we will do our very best to raise your child to be a strong and loving individual and to find his/her own special place in the world.
We can’t thank you enough for taking the time to learn about who we are and our hopes and dreams of starting a family. Regardless of what you choose, we wish you all the best in the world for you and your baby.
With Respect and Admiration,
Steven and Vince
If you have any questions for us, or would like to talk to us about adopting your child, please contact an AdoptHelp advisor by Calling 1-800-637-7999 or clicking the “Contact Us” button below.
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