Hello from Northern California! We are Tanya, Jack, Gotham and Melody. We know this time must not be easy for you and we can't imagine what you must be going through, but we know you are strong and smart. We respect and admire you, your strength and send showers of love and positivity your way.

Why are we choosing adoption? Tanya’s second pregnancy was very difficult, and we were told a third pregnancy was too risky. We knew then that adoption would be the beautiful way we would continue to grow our family.

We met and fell in love all thanks to Jack’s charming personality, his musicality, and a cookie-dough ice cream sundae. Jack met my brother, James, in college. One night, Jack had to throw a last minute 21st birthday party for his friend and scrambled to find guests. He called James in a panic and begged him to join. James agreed but only if he could bring his sister. I had no intention of going to that party. James had to bribe me with a sundae before I finally gave in. (And I am glad I did!)

Three weeks after we met, Jack left to serve a two-year mission for our church in Florida. We wrote letters to each other for the entire two years, and 6 months after he returned Jack proposed underneath the fireworks at Sleeping Beauty’s Castle inside of Disneyland.

We have been married for 9 beautiful years full of hiking, kayaking, dancing in the streets amid skyscrapers (or in the kitchen—we aren’t picky) and cooking way too much delicious food.

So here’s the thing about Tanya--she’s ambitious. But not in the work-your-way-to-the-top kind of way. Her ambition is focused on serving and building others up. Here’s an example: Tanya competed, trained, and taught dance. She was a professional dancer and teacher who saw her students confronted with toxic relationships and difficult family situations. So she wrote a whole novel series just for them so they could learn what healthy relationships were. But she took it to another level when she earned her BS in Marriage and Family Studies so she could amplify the stories of child abuse survivors, and provide guidance and support to those survivors as they looked to start the next chapter in their lives.

Tanya is a writer, advocate, and an incredible mom. She’s home full time with our children—and is always doing science experiments, dance parties, crafts, baking cakes, and providing lots of snuggles. I may be a little biased, but I think she’s pretty cool.

The thing I love most, is that Jack is an extraordinary dad. Jack is my best friend and my rock. When I have rough days, he’s there to help me get through it (usually by making cookie dough). He always makes me laugh. As a father, he’s always playing with the kids, coaching their sports teams, reading stories, skateboarding—he’s the one that brings the excitement and playfulness into our family.

Jack runs his own marketing agency and has an office upstairs. He’s home all the time and because he’s the boss, he can pause at any time to help a crying child or throw a culinary-masterpiece-of-a-snack together.

Gotham is that child who goes out of his way to make sure everyone feels included and loved. He is exceptionally outgoing and makes it a point to meet new friends everywhere he goes. He is also a proud older brother. One day at the beach, a child called Melody “weird rainbow unicorn person” and he (very kindly) verbally defended his sister by correcting the child.

Melody is intuitive and smart. If she wants something and is told no, she finds a way to get it anyway (one day she stacked placemats and tablecloths on top of a chair to grab sprinkles for a science experiment, Tanya gave in since she was so persistent.) If someone is feeling sad or scared, she notices quickly and quietly finds a way to make them feel better.

Favorite Food:
Gotham: Pasta with cheese
Melody: Avocado with salt

Gotham’s Favorite Activities: Sword battles, anything moving (soccer, baseball, climbing trees, imagination games)

Melody’s Favorite Activities: Dancing, creating her own potions with food coloring and sprinkles, swimming

We live by the beach in California in an old Victorian home —it’s a 10-minute walk to the beach and a 15-minute drive to the redwoods. Rain or shine, there are dozens of magical nature adventures to embark on at any moment. We have a nice sized yard with a garden, jungle dome, swing and a patio that makes entertaining (and birthday parties!) easy to do. As a family, we spend most of our time in the kitchen, but we also like to hangout in our playroom.

Our neighborhood is charming. It’s flat and easy to ride bikes and scooters around, and the neighbors are always happy to greet us. Our neighborhood playground is a 5 min walk away, with views of the Ocean behind the dog park. Our community is open and accepting. It empowers diversity and individuality.

Family is the most important thing to us— and we believe family goes beyond blood. We are a multigenerational household that includes Jack’s mom, Claire. She is a marketing executive in Silicon Valley who also hand-embroiders Christmas stockings for every family member. She is a great addition to our family and as a trained chef, is always ready to cook with the kids.

Jack’s sister Melissa (called “TiTi” by our kids) lives up in Seattle and comes to visit as much as she can. Jack’s dad Barry lives “over the hill” from us and we get together to hike or play sports as often as we can. Tanya’s siblings are in Utah, speaking to each other once a week and getting together at least once a year.

Our kids so far have 3 cousins their age who we exchange pictures with constantly and get together with at least once a year. We love to throw parties. We get together with friends on a weekly basis and either cook or go adventuring with them.

Shelly Belly is the sweetest dog you will ever meet. She is 5 years old and loves to snuggle. She’s also up for running, jumping and climbing with Gotham and Melody and especially loves to go hiking with us. We rescued her from Taiwan through international adoption 4 years ago and she has been an invaluable member of our family ever since then.

We respect and admire you so much and are so grateful that you took the time to learn about us a little bit more.