We have been married for 8 and half years now, and we've never been happier.

We're both in jobs that we love, we can take time off when we want, we can and do travel when we want, and we enjoy each other's company.

We love our house, our cats, and our friends that we see every weekend. We love to cook at home, we love to eat out. We go to Los Angeles when we want some variety, or spend the weekend in San Diego to see friends and family.

We are both in a good place, and we're ready to start a family. We have the support of both of our families behind us, and we have each other, as always.

We're both strong believers in the importance of education for self-fulfillment and being able to provide for oneself. Sarah earned her Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate in engineering and now enjoys an interesting and fulfilling career. Chris is currently working his way through an Electrical program at his work that will certify him nationwide as an Electrician.

Sarah also has a great love of reading, and a child of ours will be surrounded by books and be read to and encouraged to read, as Sarah was, for as long as we live. We also imagine teaching our child to play and build things and create art projects. Chris will teach him or her about investing wisely, saving money, and balancing a budget. Sarah will teach him or her to write code, to sew, and help with homework. We see our knowledge as the most important thing we could give our child.

Our home is an older home, in an older neighborhood, with large shady trees along the street and grassy lawns. We have a towering cherry tree in the front yard that has pink blossoms in springtime. In the back, we have a pear tree and an apple tree: both are covered with beautiful white blossoms in spring and fill the yard with the most wonderful fragrance. The house has 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a closed in back porch that we call the Sun Room. It has screened windows on all sides so when we eat dinner out there, we can see and hear the beautiful outdoors.

Our neighborhood has a lot of families and children of all ages. The area seems an ideal place to start a family; the city itself has 450 acres of parks, the largest one is less than a mile from our house. When the weather is nice, we love to stroll through the nearby parks and observe the rabbits and birds and people playing basketball or kids playing baseball. Chris grew up in this area, so it's not unusual for us to run into one of his coworkers or an old acquaintance from school that he hasn't seen in years.

In our same town is Chris's dad and brother, both of whom we see regularly. Nearby in Arizona is Sarah's brother, sister-in-law, and 2 nephews and 1 niece, all under 4 years old. We visit them several times per year, usually coincident with a visit from Sarah's parents, who are retired in Florida.

Sarah's family is quite close, and stay connected with weekly FaceTime calls. We also visit Chris's dad, who is also retired, every week or two.

Both sides of our family would adore having a small baby to gather around and spoil and love endlessly. Sarah's brother and sister-in-law have been the most supportive of our adoption journey because they know how much joy a child brings to a home. We spend holidays with the little niece and nephews and the grandparents, cooking, laughing, playing, reading, and they truly are the center of our family. Last Christmas we all went to Hawaii, where Sarah's mom is from, and the kids loved the beach, the sand, and the closeness of all the adults in the same hotel. It was truly a family Christmas event.

We met 8 years ago in a remote desert town, 2 hours outside of Los Angeles. Chris was working at the mine (he still does), and Sarah just finished her PhD at UCLA. She was starting an internship at a rocket company and all the testing was done in the desert. Her coworker suggested she share a house being rented by a mine worker (Chris) instead of commuting from LA. Sarah's coworker brought her to the house to introduce her to the mine worker, and she heard his voice before she saw him. His voice was deep and gentle and kind. When Sarah saw Chris for the first time, she knew she was going to like him. Chris's first words to her were, "Make yourself at home." That was fall, and we got married the following summer.

Since then, we've enjoyed being happily married, being our own team, traveling the world, living in San Diego for a few years, spending time with family, and pursuing financial security. Now we're finally ready to share our home with our own child and expand our little family circle through adoption. Chris has always wanted children and Sarah dreamed of adopting a child since she was in graduate school. We imagine family vacations, just the 3 of us, but also sometimes with our close-knit extended family ... When we spend time with our little niece and nephews, we read books together, we take slow walks around the neighborhood, we go to the pool. Chris imagines building a swing set in the back yard, Sarah imagines helping with schoolwork and teaching a child how to read.

Adoption means a lot to both of us. Chris and his older brother Mike had a difficult childhood. Both of their parents were unable to take care of them, and growing up, they relied on the kindness of neighbors. People in their community would stop by to check on the boys and drop off groceries. Chris and his brother would get ready for school each day, on their own, and take care of themselves as best they could. Chris hopes to provide a safe, happy home for our children in which they have everything they need to have a happy childhood.

Sarah's parents had jobs in which the family moved around the world, stationed in Somalia (the horn of Africa) and Bangladesh (near India). Her father worked in agriculture, implementing programs to help farmers produce more food. Her mother worked in health and education, working to improve the schools and medical care available to the public. During her childhood, Sarah was surrounded by children who had nearly nothing, but still laughed and played. To this day, it is hard to see children who don't have access to food, water, education, everything the average American takes for granted. If she could, she would provide those basic things to every child, so they can enjoy their childhood to the fullest.

After adoption, we’re open to phone calls (video or voice calls), letters, email, exchanging pictures, and visiting birth parents in person. We often take vacations to visit family on the other side of the country, so anywhere in the continental U.S. is doable for annual visits.

We're both deeply committed to give the gift of stability and security to a child for the rest of our lives, and we thank you for considering us from the bottom of our hearts.

Chris & Sarah