Hi! We are Tori & Brian and we are so grateful you want to know more about us.This feels like the most important letter we will ever write. We hope our profile gives you a sense of our family and the life we hope to share with your child.

We like to say we have more of a family bush than a family tree, and that bush can always use more branches. We understand that this is a big decision for you, and respect and admire your strength and the love you have for your baby. We want to honor you and your baby by promising to love them unconditionally throughout their life and making sure they know about you and the incredibly loving sacrifice you made for them.

Together, we love to move! Exploring museums and historical sites, playing softball, or going for neighborhood walks; any way to get out and to enjoy the world around us. We hope to share our love of creating, laughter, and movement with our children.

Classic hometown sweethearts with a little twist. While we went to the same high school, we only started dating after Tori graduated college. Three years later we moved in together and got married. After five years of marriage, we are ready to take the next big life step and add a child to our family. From the beginning, we’ve talked about different options for growing our family, and we knew we wanted to do them all!

Adoption, foster care, and biological kids have always been a part of our family plan. We’ve spent the last two years working with the foster care system and have welcomed four children into our lives and our home ranging from 7-18 years old. We wouldn’t change our time fostering for anything, and still hold a special relationship with each of those kids today. But we are ready for children of our own, and while the biological path has taken longer than anticipated, we are ready to begin the beautiful journey that is adoption.

I love to interact with people! Whether it’s on the basketball court or playing video games with buddies, laughing together and having fun with friends is my favorite way to spend time. I like gaming so much I have recently started streaming my games, which is a great way to meet new friends.

For work: I work for DoorDash where I can customize my schedule to be available whenever I am needed for kids, house needs, or family. I love my job because it gives me a sense of independence and flexibility for my family while still providing a service for my community.

The first thing about Brian I fell in love with was the way he looks at the world. He always sees the best in everyone, never turns his back on anyone, and is loyal to his family and friends. His fun-loving nature is clear in everything he does from bowling, to basketball, to streaming video games. Life has a little more laughter when he is around.

Brian was born to be a father. In 2020, he quit his job to be home with our foster kids and help them with school and stress during the Pandemic. When he went back to work, he kept his schedule flexible so that no matter when a baby enters our life, he will be there for them. I am so excited to watch him father our future children because I know he will love, teach, and support them with everything he has.

I love to create! Arts and crafts, cooking, gardening, and more! It is so rewarding to watch a lump of clay or pile of yarn turn into something beautiful and functional. I also love to cook and have fun trying new recipes. A friend and family favorite are my sourdough crackers! I love to be able to share my creations with those that I care about.

For work: I own my own Physical Therapy practice specializing in Women’s and Pelvic Health. I love being a business owner because I can set my own hours, make time for my family, and still focus on returning my patients to the life and activities they love.

If I had to describe Tori in one word, it would be strong. She works hard and plays harder. She throws herself into everything she does: softball, pottery, baking, etc. I know my life wouldn’t be half as entertaining without her. She tells terrible jokes, loves to quote every movie she can, and tries to sing along with every musical even when she doesn’t know the words. But she puts a smile on my face every day.

Watching her with our foster kids these last two years was special. I got to see a softer and more gentle side to her than ever before. Her compassion and understanding while learning and growing through our foster journey was inspiring. I know she will be a great mom to our children, just ask all her friends whose kids always want her to babysit!

Our home is walking distance to the elementary and high schools, and we have multiple neighbors with young children. We have a 3-bedroom/2-bath house with a large yard great for hosting indoor or outdoor parties for all occasions. We love to entertain and will often have friends and family over even without something specific to celebrate!

In Southern California, we have long summers and mild winters which allow for outdoor sports and activities all year round. Our community has many parks, fields, and courts that are great for picnics, playgrounds, and any sport you can imagine for kids or adults.

We live in beautiful Southern California, halfway between LA and Santa Barbara, at the base of the Santa Monica Mountains. This allows us to be in any setting with a short drive: about 30 min for beaches and mountains, and 2 hours for deserts or snow!

We hold a fond place in our heart for all of our foster children, and two are still large parts of our life. Our foster son is 18 and lives in the town next to us. We talk with him weekly and see him for dinners or family events about once a month. Our foster daughter is 9 and we talk multiple times a week. We have a friendly relationship with her mom and try to see her at least once a month as well.

Our favorite part about holidays are creating memories with our family and friends. We try to make each one special in some way. Tori decorates the house for each season or holiday, and we always have a special meal to acknowledge important days, celebrations, and achievements.

We are lucky enough o know that DNA doesn’t make a family, love does. While both of our birth parent sets are divorced, they are all now in loving and long-term relationships which gives us bonus parents and grandparents! Also, Tori’s dad was taken in as a teenager, and we have good relationships with both his new-found and birth families. We have close relationships with our parent groups and our extended families. These extended family groups range from Hawaii to California, Minnesota, Michigan, Georgia, and the Carolinas.

We are close with our siblings. Brian has one brother who is married with two young girls. Tori has a twin sister who is married with a newborn daughter, a sister with a daughter in college, and three step-brothers. We love our nieces and would love to give them more cousins to grow with. Our parents are great with their grandkids and love to spend time playing and traveling with them. Our entire family is supportive of our desire to adopt and cannot wait to welcome any kids into our family.

Our dog, Duke, loves to snuggle wherever he’s allowed. He is also a big Dodger fan, even going to “Bark in the Park” at Dodger Stadium. Our cats (Cleo, Val, and Dio) love to split their time between sleeping, cuddling, and chasing any ball around the house.

Thank you so much for taking the time to learn a little bit about our life and our family. We have been so lucky to have the support of friends and family during this time. We would be honored to be able to share this love and support with you and your child. We know you have a tough decision ahead of you, and we respect your strength and courage. We would be thrilled to get the chance to meet you! We cannot wait to add a few more branches to our family bush. Thank you for considering us as adoptive parents for your child.