We are Erin and Robert. We are so grateful for you taking the time to get to know us. We know this choice you are discerning is not an easy one to make. Your child will always be precious to you, and more than anything you want them to grow up in a home filled with love. As you read about our story, the first thing you should know is that you have been on our hearts, and in our prayers for many years. When we first learned about our infertility, we knew that the only way we were going to create a family would be with the help of a woman like you.

Childbirth is not an option for us, but we still have so much love to give a child. We hope you will let us share it with your little one. And we sure hope they inherit your generosity and capacity to love! We are so excited to meet you and learn your story.

Our story began at law school, as next-door neighbors in student housing. We sat next to each other in every class, which Erin soon learned was not by coincidence! Rob sent Erin funny chat messages and made her laugh during class. We studied together, and Rob made Erin meals every night. We realized that we had many shared values and goals and grew up close to each other. When Rob was studying abroad, Erin realized that she was in love with him and instantly told him when he returned home. Both of our families loved camping in Yosemite during the summer. So, when we got married, Yosemite felt like the natural place to bring our families together.

We are truly best friends and view each other as equal partners. Rob loves Erin because she is empathetic, open and patient. Erin brings out Rob's silly side. Erin loves Rob because he is always steady, consistent, and there for her. Rob's kindness makes our home warm and welcoming. Most importantly, we are held up by the love of family and friends. We are close to our community and our school friends, whose growing young families continue to enrich our lives. We are looking forward to seeing our child grow up with these amazing people.

I grew up in Pomona, California with a younger brother. We are a close family. One of my favorite memories is having my mom's home-cooked meals as a family every night. Most of our family vacations were camping at national parks in our RV and going to Disneyland. I still love camping and Mickey Mouse! I also played competitive soccer from six years old through high school and competed all over Southern California. Sports taught me a lot of lessons like sportsmanship and discipline. I think passion for an activity is an important part of childhood.

I am the first in my family to become a lawyer. I always loved community service and helping people. I started my own law firm a few years ago. This has given me a flexible schedule. I recently had the privilege of helping a woman from East Africa escape persecution and seek asylum in America.

I love being at home, decorating, watching movies, and making meals. We have a wonderful community, and we are close to our family and friends. We see my parents for a family dinner every week, along with my brother, his wife, and their 2-year-old baby, Olive. Olive cannot wait to have a little cousin to play with! And Erin's mom, who is a teacher, is a super involved grandma! Rob and I are excited to bring a baby into our lives.

I am the youngest of nine, and I cherish the experience of coming from a big family. We came from humble means, with an abundance of love and friendship. My fondest memories growing up are camping every summer, holiday celebrations, and all of us in the kitchen cooking with my mom.

I went to college and earned my bachelor's degree in History. I still love reading about History, and I am the de facto tour guide when we travel to historic places like Rome, Jerusalem, New England, or Budapest.

After law school, I went into transactional work, and I now focus on estate planning and business law. I take the role as “counselor” to heart and feel that listening with empathy is the best service I can give my clients, most of whom are coming to me discuss intimate family planning decisions. I am also thankful that my job allows me the ability to work from home.

We live in a charming 1920’s storybook-style home, in a historic neighborhood in Southern California. We take a lot of pride in our home, and it is important to us that it feels like a place of warmth and welcome for our community.

Our neighborhood is a short drive from the beach, amusement parks, and Los Angeles landmarks like Santa Monica Pier and the Griffith Observatory. Although, since we recently ditched our long commutes, we try to keep car travel to a minimum. We are fortunate that we can walk to our favorite places like the Huntington Botanical Garden, old town Pasadena, and the Rose Bowl. Our home is surrounded by delicious restaurants and stores. There are so many families with young kids in our neighborhood, and we have regular get-togethers like BBQs, potlucks, and game nights. In fact, some of our closest friends in our community have recently adopted or fostered children.

Our Pets, Francis and Janim! Janim (black and white) means “sweetheart” but these days he is Erin’s “old man.” Francis (orange) is the world’s friendliest, and most photogenic cat. Francis loves his big brother Janim and can’t wait to become a big brother too!

We are blessed to come from examples of great parents. Both of our families live very close to us and we are blessed to see them multiple times a week. We get together for BBQs, birthdays, holiday celebrations, movies and even going on vacations together. Rob is from a very large family and has 12 nieces and nephews, who love to come over and play games. They are thrilled to have a new baby cousin and have volunteered to help babysit!

Erin's family is smaller in size but equally close with a lot of love to go around. Erin's brother has a little girl, and we love to play with her and teach her new things.

We hope you can tell from the photos that your child will be welcomed and embraced into a family who cannot wait to shower him or her with love!

We are also fortunate to have so many friends with young families in our community and send their kids to schools we plan to send our future child to. Our hope is to integrate our child into our community so they can grow up around families we know and trust. These friends are also sources of advice, hand-me-downs, and babysitters! Our future baby will have so many friends to play with, and future schoolmates.

We want to thank you again for reading about us. We hope you can see that your child has a home filled with love, laughter, and gratitude, waiting for them. We also want you to know that our door is not going to shut behind us. We want our little one to know, as they grow up, who they are, and where they come from. As you can see, we are all about extended family and community, and we would be grateful to have more people in our child’s life who can love and support them. Our sincere promise is that you will not be forgotten by us, or by your child.