Hello! We are J.R. and Bree along with our daughter, Eden, from Upland, California. Thank you for taking a moment to get to know our family! Hopefully, this is where our journey together begins. As adoptive parents, we have seen firsthand how difficult this decision is to make. The weight of that decision is not lost on us, and whether you choose to parent or place, we wish you nothing but peace on your journey and thank you for choosing to bring a beautiful life into this world!

We are firm believers that everything happens for a reason. Although we were never able to conceive a child, after adopting our daughter we quickly realized that that's how parenthood was always supposed to come to us. We are so excited to be in the adoption process again. We can't wait to grow our family and watch our daughter become a big sister.

We began dating in 2010 after several friends and family tried to get us together. Our first date, which was supposed to be a ride on J.R.’s Harley to grab lunch, turned into a Harley ride to meet J.R.’s entire family! It seemed to all work out because we’ve been together ever since that day. After four wonderful years together, we got engaged Christmas morning 2014 and decided to go to the courthouse the very next day to make it official. They say time flies when you’re having fun...We can’t believe how fast the years have flown by and feel fortunate that we keep growing together. We have a deep respect for one another, which is where our strength as a couple lies.

We live a life of adventure together; camping, fishing, boating, water skiing, dirt bikes, mountain biking, road trips, and random dance parties in the kitchen.

My greatest joy in life is my family. I love spending any extra time I can with them. I have been a firefighter/paramedic for 18 years in our local area. I have an incredible career, and I am very proud that Bree can stay home and raise our family because of that career. I am very fortunate that I get a lot of time off; We take full advantage and are always going somewhere fun. Some of the things I enjoy at home are: working in the garage on dirt bikes, working on projects for the house, working in the yard, and working on our vehicles. Through my job with the fire department, I volunteer in the community that I serve. I learned at a young age to always find ways to give back. If I get a little time to myself, my biggest passion is riding my dirt bike with my dad and brother.

J.R. is the hardest working and most loyal person I have ever met. Watching him become a dad over the past few years has been a joy. He's a very hands-on dad. He always puts our family first without a second thought. When he's not working or getting us ready to go on a camping/dirt biking trip, he is usually taking our daughter to play with her cousins at his brother's house up the street or cooking us dinner. If I am the baker, J.R. is the cook. Even though I'm the Italian in the family, he makes the BEST pasta in the whole world. He can also make a mouthwatering steak or sushi hand rolls. Music has to be blaring at all times whether he's working in the garage or whipping up dinner. He's super handy, whether he's changing oil on our cars or rebuilding his engine on his dirt bike or building side rails for our daughter's bed! He has the greatest sense of humor and the best laugh. He understands what's important in life and doesn't sweat the small stuff.

I am a homemaker, and it is by far the most rewarding “job” I’ve ever held. I take a lot of pride in serving my family. Before staying home with my daughter, I was a freelance, licensed court reporter. I love living a simple life and try to make our home a peaceful place to grow. I’m always interested in learning new skills and researching subjects that pique my interest. I try to keep our home as homemade as possible, whether it’s sewing curtains or making all of our bread from scratch. My happy place is either baking in my kitchen, wandering an antique store, or being out in nature with my family. Some of the most magical moments in my life, besides marrying my husband and the birth of our daughter, have been the days where we get the perfect boat ride up the Colorado River or camping and waking up next to a cliff in Big Sur, CA, or blaring music in our side-by-side as we’re driving all the mountain trails we can find in Panguitch Lake, Utah. There is nothing I am more grateful for in this life than quality time with my family.

Bree is smart and beautiful. She keeps our family moving in the right direction. I love watching her as a mother. Eden and I both know we would be lost without her. I feel so lucky to have the most amazing relationship with Bree. She is the one person I want to talk to at the end of my days. I look forward to long road trips together just for the chance to talk to her. We never run out of interesting things to talk about. I am proud that Eden gets to see what a positive and healthy marriage looks like. Bree keeps our home running smoothly. She is an incredible cook. Our home is always stocked up with endless possibilities for meals. I have loved watching Bree become this very confident homemaker. I love how much of herself she puts into it. The house during Christmastime is pure magic all due to the amount of time Bree puts into all the details. Bree and I both take a lot of pride in our home and I know it shows. Bree is always up for a good laugh and has a kind heart.

We are a very outdoorsy family. You can usually find us riding bikes, paddle boarding, camping, fishing, hiking, off-roading, boating, and swimming. We feel very fortunate about all the places we’ve been able to take our daughter over the past few years and have always made it a priority to camp in new places and see new things. We’ve already been up and down the California Coast multiple times and spend a lot of time off-roading (dirt bikes and side-by-sides) in our local deserts during the winter. We love visiting our second home in Arizona during the summer to boat along the Colorado river or camping at our favorite resort with family and friends in San Diego or fishing the Eastern Sierras (Bishop, Mammoth, June Lake).

As much as we love being outside, we have perfected the art of a slow morning when J.R. is home. You can usually find us sitting around the kitchen for a couple hours every morning enjoying our coffees, making breakfast together, reading books around the table, and listening to music or a podcast while Eden colors or paints. Depending on the day, you will find us walking to the park, swim lessons or ballet for Eden, watching Eden ride her STACYC around the yard, family story hour at the library, or meeting up with all of our family or friends that live around us.

After lots of saving and years of sacrifice, we were able to buy our home in 2017 in one of our dream neighborhoods in suburban Southern California. We are lucky to have a couple of our closest friends and their kids, J.R.'s brother and wife and kids, and Bree's parents, in her childhood home, all less than a mile away from us. We can get to everyone's house in a 30-second side-by-side ride, and we have a huge park down the street from us that we walk to often. We live at the base of Mt. Baldy and are a 15-minute drive to the snow in the winter. We live about an hour from the beach, where J.R.'s parents live right off PCH.

Our vacation home is located in Arizona and is about a 15-minute drive to launch our boat on the Colorado River or a 20-minute drive into Laughlin, NV. On the days we don’t want to go on the water, we have a community pool and spa. We also enjoy bringing our side-by-side out to our vacation home during winter because our house backs up to the wide-open desert. We can take trails from right behind our house to an old mining town called Oatman to pet wild donkeys.

She is sweet, whip-smart, will talk your ear off, and has a wild spirit. If she is riding in or on something with wheels, you will usually hear her screaming "faster" and giggling her little heart out. She has proudly been telling everyone that we are going to get a "bebe" and can't wait to be a sister. We are constantly in awe and beyond grateful that we were chosen to be her parents.

We are lucky to be constantly surrounded by family or friends that are considered family. Almost all of our camping or river trips are spent together. Every Thanksgiving we spend the week camping in our RVs in the desert, doing a large potluck and riding dirt bikes. This is where we got to announce to everyone that we would be adopting for a second time and everyone lost their minds with excitement that our family was growing again. We meet up with everyone often for backyard cookouts and swim parties or down the street at our favorite Mexican food restaurant or simply a fire pit in the driveway. Both of us were fortunate to be raised road-tripping and camping all over the country with our siblings and is probably where our sense of adventure comes from. Both of our parents have been married for over 45 years and gave us such a wonderful foundation of what a marriage should be.

Fun Fact: J.R. grew up next door to Bree’s uncle and aunt and his little brother is married to Bree’s cousin. So, our families have all known each other for forever and makes get-togethers a lot more fun. Between Bree’s parents (retired) and our sister-in-law and girlfriends up the street (all stay-at-home moms), we have created a little community where we help each other out when needed for appointments or what-not.

In our home love is unconditional and mistakes are okay. Manners, respect, and gratitude are a daily practice. Work ethic and confidence will be taught by example, adventure is guaranteed, and we always try to find balance in all things. As parents, we think it’s our duty to encourage and support a child’s passions and creativity and provide every opportunity possible to achieve their goals. We hope to inspire a love of learning in our children and believe education takes places everywhere, not just a classroom. It’s our hopes and dreams to give your child a life that most children could only dream of. We feel very fortunate that we’ve been able to maintain contact with our daughter’s birth parents by way of text messages and pictures, and it is our hope to have a similar relationship with you. We can’t wait to share our hearts and our home with another blessing.

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for taking a moment to learn a little about us. Family means everything to us, and it’s our wish that our family matches the future you see for your child. We can’t wait to get to know you. Life is such a beautiful roller coaster ride of twists and turns. We are firm believers that everything happens for a reason, and we’re hoping that fate has brought you to us. Thank you, again, for taking the time to get to know us. We hope to hear from you soon and start this next chapter of our lives together.