Hello! We are Jean and Steve from California

Dear Birth Mother: We are so very grateful to have the opportunity to introduce ourselves to you. We know that the decision you are making was not an easy one, so we do not take the responsibility of raising your child for granted. Even since before we were married, we both knew we wanted to have children. Unfortunately, we have not been able to conceive a child on our own, so pursuing adoption felt like the best way to build our family. It would be such an honor to take this journey with you, and we will dedicate our lives to providing a safe, loving, and nurturing home for your child.

The Chronicles of Jean and Steve: We met on an online dating site. It started off with a “wink” from Steve, followed by Jean reciprocating. After several emails and phone calls, we had our first date and, the spark was instant. We went to a Mexican restaurant and quickly discovered that we could talk with each other about anything. We have been married for 5 years, and it has truly been life changing for both of us. Each day is full of laughter and goofiness, and we are both very grateful to have found each other; we truly are blessed.

Shortly after getting married, we decided to start a family. We were unsuccessful in getting pregnant naturally, so we spent the next 3 years going through fertility treatments. However after a few miscarriages, we realized that having a child of our own was not in the cards. Since we both have family and friends who have adopted, pursuing adoption was the natural path for us. We are excited to build our family through adoption and begin this next phase of our lives. We have so much love to give and can’t wait to be parents!

In Our Free Time We Enjoy:

• Traveling and sightseeing
• Watching sports (hockey and football)
• Trying new restaurants
• Going to concerts (we love Imagine Dragons)
• Streaming new movies and shows

On weekends we will just hop in the car and drive to a small town and window shop, sometimes stumbling on neat knickknacks to put in our home. We are avid travelers, and enjoy trying new restaurants, so we would naturally want our future child to experience all this with us!

5 Things That Make Us Happy:

Jean: Food, music, comedies, sunshine, and food

Steve: Family visits, dinner with friends, a good movie, a really bad “dad” joke, and food

Meet Jean

I was born in Singapore and my family immigrated to Vancouver when I was 5 years old. I have an older brother (Jess), and we were trained as kids to speak Mandarin to my dad and English to my mom. I have a lot of fond memories of my childhood. I remember going to the local playground and, every weekend, my dad brought my brother and I to McDonald’s for breakfast and then headed to the library. Almost every night, after a full day’s work, my parents would prepare home-cooked meals and we would share our day’s stories around the dinner table. We eventually moved back to Singapore when I was 13 years old, where I completed middle and high school. I returned to Canada for college and graduated from the University of Toronto. After graduation, I worked in finance, which led me to California in 1999. I went back to college in 2003, where I earned an MBA at the University of California, Berkeley.

In 2003, around the time I started my MBA, I lost my father to lung cancer, even though he was a non-smoker. Experiencing this made me realize that life doesn’t always work out how we want it to, and while I do miss my father, I have learned to be grateful and blessed for all that we have. Overall, I always strive to be the best possible person, which includes being the best wife, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, and hopefully soon to be mom.

Fun Facts:

• I have the most acute sense of taste and smell. I probably should have been a food critic but unfortunately don’t like the taste (or smell) of strong cheeses.
• I like to play with pillow case corners (since young) and still do. It relaxes and calms me.
• I love breakfast food and can eat it all the time, even for dinner. I’m trying to master all the main breakfast dishes.
• I’m an inventory master and have stockpiles of many household items like toilet paper, tissue paper, ziplock bags, and detergent.
• I am double jointed.

Meet Steve

I was born and raised in northern Indiana, and spent most of my childhood living in a small town of less than 1,000 people. During the summers, we would swim in the lake, ride our bikes around the neighborhood, and have regular family reunions on the 4th of July while watching fireworks. I was very active, playing several different sports, including tennis, golf, and baseball.

In high school, I played varsity tennis for three years and was on the swim team for two years. After graduation, I attended Purdue University, where I earned a degree in Genetic Biology and Biology Education. I taught high school science for a year, but then decided to pursue a career in the medical device industry, which led me to California.

Given my upbringing, I have a fierce loyalty to family and friends, along with a strong sense of values. My motto is you have to fill life with lots of laughter. Secretly, I hope to be the “fun” parent with a knack for remembering silly jingles and Disney movie songs from my childhood (and I can’t wait to tell horrible dad jokes to our future child).

Fun Facts About Steve

• I can sing every Taylor Swift song.
• I love Disney movies from childhood and know all the words.
• I used to have a lisp.
• I love to garden but I’m terrible at it.
• I have poor taste in clothes so Jean picks out stuff for me when we shop.

Our Loving Families

Jean’s Family: My family lives in the Bay Area, and I visit my mom on a weekly basis to help with chores and just catch up over lunch. When not visiting in person, we are regularly chatting on the phone. My brother (Jess), sister-in-law (Christina), and 8-year old niece (Channing) live about 20 minutes away, and we often go over for dinner and attend Channing’s ballet recitals. Since my family is in the Bay Area, we often spend Thanksgiving and Christmas together, unless we decide to alternate in a given year to visit Steve’s family.

Steve’s Family: I am the middle child in a family of seven children. With the exception of one sister who lives in Texas, all of my family (including both  parents) live in the Midwest. We get to go back at least once a year to visit, usually during the summer around the 4th of July. Recently, my siblings have started to visit regularly as well, which is nice as we get to show them what we love about the Bay Area. We have fifteen nieces and nephews on my side of the family, so there are lots of children around during our get-togethers.

Our Favorite Tradition: For the holidays, we usually have family potlucks and enjoy a very informal setting where we get to catch up on life. Jean absolutely loves Christmas, and she can’t wait to decorate the house and the tree. We also have a tradition of getting a new ornament for the tree each year.

About Our Faith: We currently attend a non-denominational Christian church located about 20 minutes from our home. While we plan to raise our future child in a Christian home, we recognize that we are merely stewards for their journey. We plan to openly explore other religions with our future child as they grow, encouraging him or her to find their own path that helps them find peace and meaning as they live their life.

Our Home and Closing Thoughts

The Place We Rest Our Heads: We live on a quiet double cul-de-sac in a neighborhood of about 40 single-family homes nestled in the hills above downtown San Carlos (California). We chose to live in San Carlos because it is a very safe community with great schools. Each year, we attend our neighborhood community barbecue/pot luck where we visit with all our neighbors. We also regularly interact with our immediate neighbors, who have children of varying ages. Our home is less than a five-minute drive to the local elementary, middle, and high school campuses. There is also a nice park within a three-minute walk of our home and a weekly farmer’s market. Additionally, each summer, the city of San Carlos has musical events in all the parks that residents can attend.

Our Values As Parents:

• To love our future child unconditionally, no matter the circumstances.
• To protect them always and provide them a safe and nurturing environment filled with fun, learning, and joy.
• To foster, inspire, and encourage their talents, confidence, and whatever brings them joy.
• To be there for them so they can turn to us in joy and sadness.
• To be their biggest cheerleaders.
• To share their story of being surrounded by so much love from their birth and adoptive parents.

We have learned that life does not always go according to your plans. But when one door closes another one opens. Often the unexpected leads to a richer and fuller journey than you ever imagined. The journey to parenthood has been long and hard for us, but we know even more than ever our desire to be parents and we have so much love to share with our future child. Whatever choice you make will be the right one for you and your baby. We would be so incredibly honored if you chose us and are so grateful you took the time to get to know us.