Hello and Thank You

We’re a family of 3 – Chris, a funny guy and loving father, Amanda, who adores being a mom and volunteering at school and cub scouts and Andy (8), a kind, funny and artistic boy – who dream of growing our family through adoption. Adoption has always been something we’ve considered in building our family: Amanda grew up in a birth family and met her birth sister, Dawn, when she was 9 and Dawn was 20. We respect the decision you’re making and how much love you have for your baby in a way that few people can, and we can’t wait to meet you!

Getting to know us
We met when Amanda was a student. Chris was friends with her neighbor and happened to be there one day when she was baking cookies. She’d popped a batch in the oven and was taking the trash out when the door swung shut and locked behind her. Chris stayed and chatted with her until someone brought a ladder, then gallantly climbed the ladder, through the window and let her in the front door. That cookie batch didn’t make it, but we got to know each other better over the next batch and quickly became inseparable. We’ve been married for 10 years and have had so many adventures together. But, our favorites have all been over the past 8 years with our son, Andy. In our family, we really value different experiences. We think it’s super important to see and try different things – especially for kids, so they find things they enjoy most and have a solid foundation to support them no matter where they go or what they do. We plan one family outing each weekend. Austin has a ton of local music, and we enjoy going to farmers markets, picking strawberries at a local farm, volunteering, hiking, kayaking and going to art and science museums. We really can’t wait to be a family of four, trying more new things that our children are interested in and watching them explore the world together!

Meet Amanda – by Chris
Meeting Amanda you wouldn’t know she’s a super smarty – with a science degree followed up with a law degree followed up with a self-education in marketing – because she’s so down to earth, kind, loving, and thoughtful. She’s the rock of our family and keeps us all active in our community with outings, races, and fun. I’m not certain where she finds all the activities we get involved with, but there’s always a list of events to choose from each weekend. Her commitment to Andy is amazing. While she spends time as a Cub Scout den leader, and as a room mother, it’s the time she spends with Andy and his friends that’s remarkable. She always has a kid’s project, baking, experiment that they are working on. She is a great teacher and guide to the kids. Amanda is outgoing and fun, and has a devilish sense of humor that she reserves for those close to her. She’s a great friend to have and I’m lucky to have her as my partner in this life.

Meet Chris, by Amanda
Chris is very funny and open – it’s easy to get to know him and he likes to joke around a lot. Behind all that, he genuinely cares about the people around him, and from the people he works with to his friends and family, Chris makes sure people know they can count on him. He makes sure that Andy and I always feel very safe and supported in everything we do. One of my favorite gifts from Chris was two maps he framed. One was titled ‘Adventure #1’ and showed the places we lived in the San Francisco area, and the other was titled ‘Adventure #2’ and shows the Austin area. I love that he sees our life this way, as an adventure. It makes life more fun! Chris is a creative director and likes working with Andy on different projects. Andy’s learned to paint from Chris (with some help from Bob Ross, who they both love), they’ve built Pinewood Derby cars and rockets, and many LEGO creations. Chris patiently helps Andy through each step and helps him to think through different solutions as they go.

Where we live
Our neighborhood is on the outskirts of Austin with schools in the top 3% in Texas, tree-lined streets, and a hiking trail along the stream winding through it. We live in a single-story ranch house, with a kitchen that’s open to the main room so that cooking time can be family time and a huge deck with a gazebo that helps keep us cool in the summer. The neighborhood kids love running from house to house on weekends, and our house is the go-to for art, science and baking projects, and the swings that hang from the large cedar tree in our backyard. From baking unicorn poop (multicolored sugar cookies with sprinkles) to creating a ‘snow’ day out of flour and baking soda, we love helping kids with creative projects and watching them try new things.

Meet big brother

Andy (8), loves to have fun and joke around!! He’s into LEGO, Ninja Warrior classes, art, music and trying new ‘science’ experiments with his best friend and neighbor, Niki. From the time he was two, he’s wanted a baby brother or sister to love and play with.

“I can’t wait to meet my baby brother or sister. When they get bigger, I want to teach them how to do somersaults and how to make slime.” – Andy

Meet the people we love

We are both fortunate to have supportive and loving families. Our parents have been married 40+ years and are actively (and we mean actively) retired. Our vacations are spent visiting or traveling with our families: hanging out on the beach in California, visiting the Grand Canyon, walking through history in Boston (3 of our parents are teachers!). Within our family we value their unconditional love, ability to laugh (even at themselves), and their willingness to always be there for each other. We also love spending time with our close friends – we really value our deep “family” ties with the people we’ve grown up with. As we consider many of our close friends to be family, we seek the same qualities of trust, commitment, and constant laughter.

AMANDA: My parents still live in the home I grew up in, in Fountain Valley, California. My brother Ben, his wife and their three kids live near San Diego, and my sister Dawn and her wife live a few miles from my parent’s house. Growing up, we had big gatherings for Christmas, special birthdays and sometimes just because. Andy adores his cousins and we all love being together…we’re lucky to have plenty of visits and spend at least 4 weeks a year together.

CHRIS: Like Amanda, I grew up with attending large family barbecues, parties, and holidays with my Dad’s Italian family and my Mom’s Irish family in New Jersey. My brother Dave lives in Las Vegas with his wife and son. My parents have a house in Las Vegas and are making their home base in Austin. We are so excited to have them closer to us!

Our life as parents

PROMISES ARE HARD – TOO MANY OF THEM DO NOT LEAD TO ACTIONS.

How do we act? We smile, joke, and laugh. We are inventors of silly games, create funny stories on the fly, and have dance parties when the moment arrives. We are explorers that believe in experiences over things. We are builders and creators. We cry at things on the TV and mock each other for doing so. We love and support each other unconditionally.

WHAT WE DO PROMISE:

• We promise we will be imperfect at times, but we will always try to correct our course.
• We promise to continue singing, laughing, joking, and smiling.
• We promise that family always comes first.
• We promise to never give up on this little one from his or her first day to our last.
• We promise that your child will always know how much you love them.
• We promise to show our love through actions.

A special message to you

Thank you for taking some time to get to know us. As much as we have tried to put our personality on paper we hope you take the next step in talking with us – we’re much more fun in person! Growing our family, and all the love and joy that goes with it, through adoption is something we have both believed in for many years. We are humbled by your courage and wish you the best no matter what path or family you choose.