We are Andrew, Chara and Joshua! We can only imagine the different emotions you might be feeling as you read this. Your strength and courage resonate with us. It must be difficult to choose a family to raise your child and we imagine you might have many questions about us. Just know that if chosen, we would do our best to make sure your child has a happy and fulfilled life full of adventure, laughter and joy. Ongoing contact with your child through open adoption is part of that. Your child would be raised to know that your choice was one of love and compassion. We would love to welcome you into our extended family and hope you are able to learn more about us throughout these pages.

In January of 2017 we were overjoyed to become parents to Joshua through adoption. We have a wonderful relationship with his birth parents and love them dearly. We both have siblings that we are close to, and we always knew we wanted our child to have the joy of a sibling.

Our love story began almost twenty years ago at the Happiest Place on Earth. Meeting for the first time in Tomorrowland at Disneyland, we instantly recognized each other as kindred spirits. We have been married for 14 years and love to travel and spend time outdoors. With Southern California as the backdrop for our love story, we enjoyed hiking through the Hollywood hills, beach bonfires and trips down Pacific Coast Highway during our dating years. We were married fourteen years ago in a Southern California vineyard, surrounded by family members and friends. Throughout the years, we have supported one another as we both completed our education and established ourselves as successful professionals in our chosen careers. Laughter and affection are important components of our relationship, and we enjoy outdoor activities, such as kayaking, hiking and swimming. Our love is strengthened by our deep desire to expand our family.

I was born and raised in Southern California. Extended family members who were immigrating to the United States from the Philippines provided a wonderful extended family for my sister and me growing up. Some of my favorite childhood memories involve walking to and from school with my grandpa, and visiting my cousins in Oahu during the summers. I work for a large corporation in Orange County that distributes prescription medication. I enjoy the stability and benefits from my job and Chara and Joshua often meet me after work to head to Disneyland for dinner and to ride our favorite ride, Small World. I love to have people over to our house and to BBQ and watch football on Sundays.

Andrew is the kindest and most patient person I have ever met. He is so thoughtful, and he always knows how to make me feel loved. Family is very important to Andrew, and he makes it a priority to spend time with our parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. I love that Joshua is being raised to know the love of a large family, and I can’t wait for our second child to know that love as well. It has been incredible watching him become a dad, and he is so wonderful with our son.

I grew up in Southern California, with my parents, two brothers and one sister. In high school, I excelled on the swim team, and to this day, I absolutely love swimming as often as I can. We used to go camping a lot when I was a kid, and I still love hiking and being outdoors. I am a college professor at the school that I first attended. I am passionate about my work and enjoy mentoring my students when not in class. My job is extremely flexible. I don’t usually work Fridays, and I have weekends, school holidays and long winter and summer breaks off. We are able to go on vacations during the winter and summer months. I am so excited to become a mother again and look forward to planning vacations for our future family of four!

Chara has an adventurous spirit and loves making people laugh. She pushes me to try new things, such as snowboarding or running a half marathon. She loves her job and finds great happiness in teaching and helping her students reach their goals. Chara is Joshua’s favorite person and they have an incredible bond.

Joshua is an energetic and sweet 3-year-old boy! He loves playing ball and snuggling with his furry siblings. He loves Toy Story and his favorite character is Buzz Lightyear. He enjoys all our adventures, such as going swimming in the ocean or building a snowman in the mountains near our home. His favorite foods are strawberries, grilled cheese and birthday cake! When we ask Joshua if he is ready for a baby brother or sister he shouts, “Yes, please!” He is so excited to be promoted to Big Brother!

We are fortunate to have an incredible supportive group of family and friends nearby. Chara’s parents are retired and live with us and Andrew’s parents live about 4 hours away by car. These loving grandparents are thrilled about our decision to expand our family. We both have siblings who live within an hour’s drive, and we spend time with our eight nieces and nephews quite often. From day one, our future child will know the love of many aunts, uncles and cousins. Additionally, we have several close friends who we have known for more than a decade. They have each expressed their love for our future child, and we can count on them to be amongst the first people who will be eager to meet a new baby.

We live in a newer community called Rosena Ranch in Southern California. We enjoy walking our two sweet dogs, Opie and Abby, to the park near our home. We have access to a large community center that provides us with a junior Olympic-sized swimming pool, splash pad, gym and nature trail. Our community is very family-friendly and hosts activities all year long for children and their families. We are just a few minutes’ walk to the local K-8 school. The school and our community is diverse, and our future child will grow up learning about and respecting different ethnicities and cultures. Our home is centrally located in Southern California. In less than hour we can be relaxing on the sand of a beautiful beach or cheering for the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center.

Opie and Abby are both sweet, cuddly dogs who would love to climb in your lap and steal your blanket! Opie was rescued from our local shelter and is especially fond of being cuddled and stealing pieces of cheese! Abby is very playful, and often demands that someone play ball with her all day long. Both dogs are incredibly gentle and sweet with Joshua. We are raising Joshua to love and respect all animals and he is great with them!

We are humbled that you would take the time to consider us to raise your child. We hope our profile has given you an opportunity to see the warmth and love that your child would receive should you choose us to raise him or her. Our desire is that you are able to sense how much we want to add to our family and how much we look forward to welcoming you as a member of our extended family.