We grew up with similar interests and lifestyles. We both enjoy spending quality time with friends and family as well as staying active. We go hiking, camping, kayaking, going to the beach, and watching baseball games. We try out new restaurants, especially for breakfast/brunch. When we don't feel like going out, we do jigsaw puzzles and play card games. We spend many hours in our garden and like to harvest the food we grow and make homemade meals from scratch. We both did well in school and gravitate towards educational activities. Individually: Jessica crochets, and enjoys working with the woman's ministry team at our church putting together events like the Christmas Gala, Woman's Tea Time, and many others. She loves getting together with her friends and spending time with family. She also stays current with financial news and current events. Kyle is a woodworking enthusiast who builds furniture and toys for kids. He likes to practice calligraphy and write in his journal that he has kept since he was 15. He studies physics and is a history buff, who likes building mechanical miniatures and watching all types of documentaries.

Being loving parents is a reflection of the love that we receive as children. Growing up in loving families and knowing that we are loved by God drives us to want to pass on that love to our children. Parenting is not just about raising kids, but raising them to love God, love others and love themselves. Parenting is about sacrifice for your children. Sacrifice to us means putting others' needs above your own, and providing what is needed instead of what is wanted. We desire to be parents to share this love with our children, who will then share their love with the world. We are aware that parenting can bring great joy, great pride, great complications, and sometimes great sorrow. Navigating life's waters is a journey made easier by being prepared for what lies ahead. We are excited to prepare our future child to not only navigate these waters, but help guide others as well. Being strong and loving parents means having unconditional love for our children; to love them always and forever. Not being able to have children of our own does not mean that we cannot be parents. The same love that we feel for each other in our marriage will reflect the love that a child would have in our home.

We were raised in the same hometown. We both grew up in Christian homes and spent most of our youth in church. Although we went to separate churches and elementary schools, in our town, all the 7th and 8th grade students go to a single middle school and high school. We first met through mutual friends and classes but never dated while in school. After we graduated, we went in different directions until God put us both on our paths to meet again 10 years later. While attending our 10-year high school reunion, we saw each other from across the room and both knew that something special awaited. We had both recently ended long term relationships with people we thought we would marry but turned out not to be our soul mates. We spent most of the night catching up and making plans for the next day to meet for morning church service. Although at the time we lived an hour and a half drive from one another, we both knew we wanted to be together, so we continued our relationship long-distance. Each weekend we would see one another, and we would talk on the phone every day. After two years, Jessica moved back to San Diego and shortly after we married and bought a house.

Our neighborhood is in the heart of our charming town, and is next to parks, within walking distance to schools, and more.

Our yard is filled with flowers, vegetable garden boxes, and windmills that Kyle has made in his wood shop. We are avid gardeners.

Our home is part of an HOA with 50 homes, so we have a community kid-friendly swimming pool, jacuzzi, and grass areas for dogs to visit. Our community has children playing in their driveways rollerblading, swimming, riding their bikes, or skateboarding.

For the 4th of July, our neighborhood gathers to watch the fireworks, some have BBQ's that you're invited to, or a fire pit at night to make some s'mores. Most of our neighbors are military service and have children that play in the common areas.

Our home is always decorated for the holidays, and we go big for Thanksgiving and Christmas! We have a comfy dining table for six as we enjoy hosting and having friends, family, and neighbors visit. Jessica loves cooking, so we have an open kitchen space to make the meals.

We are blessed to have several family members nearby. We have built a community, so this child is surrounded in a loving, respectful, and supportive way. Kyle's family lives mostly in California. This includes his parents, sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, and second cousins. Each month we gather to celebrate family birthdays, holidays, promotions, graduations, baptisms and more. From these celebrations many traditions have been created. Selecting funny birthday cards, deciding who gets the wish bone, putting up decorations, cousin gift exchange, and of course watching sporting events together. The table is always filled with laughter and words of encouragement. Everyone is excited for our adoption and can't wait to welcome a new member to our family.

Jessica's family lives in different places that include California, Texas and Mexico. Jessica's parents live in the same town as us, so there are frequent gatherings for birthdays and visits. Jessica's parents are retired and thrilled that we're growing our family through adoption. Her brother and his family are bilingual and live in Ensenada, Mexico. Our family also has time shares in two different places where the immediate and extended family gather twice a year - Big Bear Lake in the spring/fall, the beach during spring/summer. Amenities include playgrounds, swimming pools, and mini golf. In addition, it's a family tradition to celebrate birthdays with children by creating new life experiences such as surprising them with trips to amusements parks and going on outdoor adventures.

We are Kyle and Jessica, and even before we were married, we both prayed to become parents one day. We have been patiently waiting to become parents for nearly 6 years. Even before we were married, we both had a strong desire to have children. We hoped to start a family right away and then adopt later in life. Once we were married, we started on our journey to have children naturally. After nearly 3 years of trying, we went and saw fertility specialists and tests that revealed that both of us had medical issues that would make it very difficult for us to conceive. We immediately started looking at alternative options for becoming parents. We attended webinars and spoke to friends and family about foster care programs, international adoption and domestic adoption. We found that domestic adoption was how we would become parents.

We have taken the time to build a home and be surrounded with various supporting communities such as church, friends, family, and an adoption group. This process has reinforced that we know we will be good parents because we've had to explore our feelings on our own life challenges and experiences while on this journey. We want to teach, laugh, and love the child that we adopt. We have been discussing parenting styles and having other conversations involving raising our children. We also continue to educate ourselves on changes in parenting styles because the world that we grew up in has changed since we were children. Our hearts are aligned in all areas of parenting, one main one is being supportive and available. We tell everyone how we can't wait to show up for those important events like our parents did for us when we were young. We share open communication in our marriage. It is a core value in our family, as this support is extremely important. We will support our children in their endeavors whether it's school, arts, hobbies, or anything else. We can't wait to support their gifts, talents, wants and needs.

When we started this journey, we met with friends from our church that were in the matching process of adoption. Since then, they have finalized their first adoption and are starting on a second. They have been an invaluable resource and continue to be supportive of this journey. They have open and supportive communication with the birth mom for their child to where they text and chat on a regular basis. We have seen through their experience that maintaining a relationship with the child's biological family can be a very beautiful thing. We are open to providing letters, sharing photos, emails, and visits when availabilities match up. As we know that you're also busy, we'll work with your availability. We also do a birthday, Christmas or New Year's card to family members and would share that with you. We want to honor the blessing that you chose by bringing a child into this world. To be on this journey with you, would mean answering God's call for this child. To care for, to love, to support, and raise a child brought to us by God is a treasure. To continue this child's journey through life is only possible through your great sacrifice.

We thank you for considering us in your decision,

Kyle & Jessica