Hello!

We are Tamae and Peter from Northern California. Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to build a family of our own. We admire your love, strength and courage. We are grateful that you have made this decision. We hope to show you what a fun and loving couple we are and how we will make great parents.  We would also like you to see the warm and caring home we can provide to your child.  We have been longing to have a family of our own for years.  Ever since we started dating, we have been talking about how we would raise a child, what we would name him or her, and how we would enrich this young person’s life. We often talk about how wonderful it will be traveling around the world with our future child. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to make this dream come true.

Our Story

We met through an online dating site 7 years ago. For us meeting this way was natural because we are both very shy when it comes to dating.  Peter was immediately attracted to Tamae’s warm smile and Tamae fell in love with Peter’s big heart and his caring personality. We quickly saw that we were very different people:

• Peter wakes up early; Tamae wakes up late.
• Peter eats quickly; Tamae eats very, very slowly.
• Peter likes Rock music; Tamae likes Latin Jazz.
• Where Peter sees the forest, Tamae sees the trees.

It’s true, opposites attract. Because we respect each others’ point of view, our differences open new perspectives for each other.  We like to believe that diversity enriches our lives and makes the world more interesting, whether it is diversity in culture or in thought. 1 + 1 is greater than 2 this way.  In the end, however, we share the same core values as a couple including raising a family of our own. We are very happy together.  We both knew from the beginning that we wanted to raise children together, but we have not been able to do it biologically.  We are very excited about adopting a child.

Things we love to do together:

• Cooking any kind of cuisine, from Asian to Cajun
• Traveling around the United States and the world
• Hiking in the beautiful mountains of Northern California
• Trips into San Francisco and Oakland for cultural events
• Cheering on our local basketball team, the Golden State Warriors
• Watching a movie at home with a projector on a big screen
• Relaxing in front of the fireplace
• Relaxing under the redwoods

Meet Tamae

Spelled like Tamale without the “L,” but pronounced “Ta – Ma – Eh.” Tamae was an avid basketball player throughout school and this taught her valuable lessons in her life: dedication, teamwork, the joy of winning, and learning through losing. Tamae came to the US at the age of 27 from Tokyo Japan, because she wanted to learn English. While studying, she found that she enjoyed computer programming and was able to make a career out of her new passion as a software developer in Silicon Valley.

Tamae enjoys:

• Good food
• Going to the farmers’ market for fresh vegetables
• Trying to grow vegetables in our backyard
• Coming up with healthy but tasty recipes
• Exercise
• Yoga, Pilates, and swimming
• Salsa dancing
• Continuous learning
• Taking piano lessons
• Learning new dance moves

More about Tamae by Peter

Tamae is a ray of sunshine.  Her smile and her bright personality bring sunshine into my life every day.  Everyone around Tamae knows they can trust her and rely upon her when they need her help. Tamae lives a very active and full life; whether she is playing basketball at the office or swimming at the pool.  She is also always trying to learn a new skill.  When we first met she was taking horseback riding lessons.  Then, she took piano lessons for the next few years. Tamae is a very caring person. She is very supportive of others in times of need and I know she will make an excellent mother.

Meet Peter

Peter was raised on a farm in the countryside north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (and is still a Steelers fan). There he cared for horses, goats, sheep, chickens and much more. Peter is passionate about learning and experiencing different cultures. He lived overseas for 15 years in Japan and Singapore. He is fluent in Japanese and speaks a little bit of a lot of languages from Chinese to Finnish.  He has traveled to almost 60 countries and wants to continue to travel for the rest of his life as a family. In line with his interest in other cultures, Peter loves to take photos of people.  It takes a lot of courage to walk up to someone you don’t know and ask to take their photo, but it is very rewarding. Peter loves to make people smile using facial expressions or jokes, especially kids; he can’t pass one without trying to make them smile or laugh.

Peter enjoys:

• Being outdoors
• Hiking, especially long multi-day hikes in the Sierra Mountains
• Camping with Tamae, including cooking by a fire
• Walks on the beach
• Reading all types of books from biographies of great people to novels
• Taking photos of people and places

More about Peter by Tamae

I still remember the moment when I saw Peter for the first time; he had a shy, but warm and kind smile. Ever since that day, Peter has kept me smiling and happy.  Peter is very charming with his glasses and beard, and quirky jokes. We have shared good times and bad and through it all, Peter has always been supportive. He is a precious person in my life. Peter will be an amazing dad. Every time we see a child, he always tries to make them smile. He is also extremely patient and takes the time to teach English to my nieces during their weekly lessons with us.

Our Families

Tamae is the oldest of three sisters.  Although they live in Japan, Tamae has frequent contact with her family on Skype. Technology makes the distance so close! Peter and Tamae also teach her nieces English via Skype once a week. They enjoy it, even their uncle’s silly jokes. Tamae’s parents visit us every year from Japan.  They enjoy Peter’s company and have also explored many parts of California together. Tamae also goes back to Japan regularly to see her family. Tamae is thankful for all the love and support her family gives her. She wants to create the same supportive and loving environment for our future child. Peter’s parents are no longer with us, but like the two of us, they were very different from each other but had a great relationship.  His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father, like Peter, was a businessman. Peter is very close to his two sisters and the three of them talk regularly on the phone. Christmas and other traditions were very important to Peter’s family and we are very excited about starting new traditions with our future child.

Where We Live

We live in our dream house located about an hour south of San Francisco in the Santa Cruz Mountains. It is a wood cabin surrounded by redwood trees. We have a large backyard with plenty of grass to play on and trees to climb. The neighborhood is very close knit with the entire street getting together for dinner once a month.  There are also young children in the neighborhood that we look forward to introducing to our future child. Our location has the best of all worlds: we live in the mountains, but we are close to the ocean; we live in the country but can easily go to the city. The booming economy of Silicon Valley means there are plenty of jobs nearby. Also, it is in a great school district.

We promise to:

• Love and support your child unconditionally
• Open every possible avenue for your child’s unique personality and abilities
• Raise your child in a stable, secure and multicultural environment
• Honor your place in his or her life

We are very grateful to you for considering us as adoptive parents. We look forward to learning more about you and your hopes for your child.  We would like to know about you and are open to continued contact throughout your child’s life.