We are Frankie and Janford from San Diego, California. We are grateful for the opportunity to share about ourselves and our lives with you as you consider us as adoptive parents for your child. We know that you are making a brave but difficult choice and we hope that getting to know us will help ease your decision.

With love and compassion, we wish you the best.

Early into our relationship, we both knew that we wanted to have kids and raise a family. We had our first experiences of fatherhood as foster parents. We were fortunate to be able to care for multiple children who needed homes and people to love them unconditionally until they were able to safely go home with their families. Each child holds a special place in our hearts as they continue down their journeys without us, but will always be a part of us.

During that time, we learned so much about ourselves and who we were as fathers, and we knew that this was something that we deeply wanted for each other. We know that families come in all shapes and sizes, and that any child’s life is made better by all the people that love them. We are looking forward to sharing our love with a child of our own and helping them become the best version of themselves.

It was a stroke of luck over how we met. We first met as random college roommates during our senior year at the University of California, Los Angeles when Janford’s previous roommate moved out. Frankie needed a new place to live after his previous roommate graduated and moved away. We spent a lot of time getting to know each other first as roommates, becoming close friends after finding that we had so much in common, and eventually falling in love. After graduating, we decided to move together to Ventura County for Janford’s first job and for Frankie to get his Master’s degree.

After dating for five years, Janford proposed to Frankie over a homemade candlelight dinner in our apartment after Frankie returned home from a trip. We still keep the menu of the dinner Janford wrote on our fridge as a reminder of that wonderful memory. We were married on July 7, 2014 in a small ceremony in front of our closest friends, celebrating over a round of mini-golf and Korean Barbeque afterwards. After living away from family for more than 10 years, we decided to move to San Diego, Janford’s hometown. Now we are minutes away from siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and ready to start a family of our own.

I was born in the Philippines and moved to San Diego, California when I was 5 years old because my parents wanted a better opportunity for us to live the American Dream. I grew up with my parents and my older sister, Jantzen. My parents came from big families and much of my childhood was spent at family celebrations with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and over 20 cousins.

One of the biggest values I learned from my childhood is the importance of quality family time. Dinnertime was always spent together and it was a time for us to catch each other up on our days and play board games. When I was older, we were fortunate to be able to take family vacations to New York, Washington DC, and Hawaii. Even now, we try to take vacations together with our growing families.

I have a degree in Chemical Engineering and work as a software consultant for a biotechnology company. My day is spent helping software developers build new programs to help the scientists at our company. I am fortunate to be able to travel for work and see cities and countries that otherwise I never would have had a chance to see. My job is very supportive of our adoption journey and I am hoping to be able to work from home at least a few days each week to take care of our future child.

I was born in Montreal, Canada and moved to California at 3 years of age! A civil war in my parent’s birth country led us away, but family helped my parents escape from potential harm. I grew up in various places in Southern California, but set roots down in Perris, California. I have very fond memories cooking with my grandmother and finding many excuses to celebrate life through food and gatherings.

My parents did not have a lot of money as I was growing up, but I had a very happy childhood where I learned quality time with family was more valuable than monetary possessions. I grew up with an older sister, mother, father, and grandparents. My family instilled in me the value of spending time with others and a love for cooking.

I went to UCLA and double majored in history and sociology. After graduating, I continued my education at Pepperdine University where I received my teaching credential and masters in education. Currently, I am an elementary school principal and I love getting to work with students every day! My schedule allows me to balance home and work life pretty easily. My district is really supportive of family and the journey of starting a family through adoption.

Both of our families have expressed such excitement with the addition to the family and look forward to spending time together as a new family.

Janford’s family still lives in San Diego, minutes from where we currently live. Janford’s mom, Aleli and dad, Wilford are both retired and enjoy spending their time gardening and spoiling their grandkids. His older sister, Jantzen, lives in our neighborhood with her husband, Ken, and their daughter, Kayden, and son, Alexander. We try to see each other at least once a week to have dinner, taste test one of Janford’s latest baking experiments, or to celebrate our niece and nephew’s latest achievements.

Frankie’s dad, Ruben, is a truck driver and lives less than an hour away from our home when he’s not working. His sister, Karla, lives in Irvine with her wife, Julia, and their son, Landon. Though we don’t get to visit with each other as often, we always make time to see each other for birthdays and major holidays. Frankie’s grandparents live in Houston, Texas, and we hope to be able to visit them with our future child.

We have a small circle of really close friends, including a few who have young children of their own whom we would want to be close with our future child. We like to take trips together, and have a tradition of spending New Year’s Eve together.

We live in the northern part of San Diego, in a family-friendly area called Rancho Bernardo that has a great school district. Our 2-story house is walking distance to our local elementary school and is surrounded by other families with school-aged children. We’re looking forward to taking our future child on long walks around the neighborhood to enjoy the pleasant Southern California weather. There is also a nearby community center with tennis courts, a playground, and a pool.

Our home is a short drive away from the best of what San Diego has to offer. We are a 15-minute drive from the San Diego Zoo, a 20-minute drive from the beach, and a 25-minute drive from downtown San Diego and we are looking forward to visiting each of these places with our future child. For a longer drive, we can visit our friends in Los Angeles or Frankie’s sister in Orange County. We love to explore other neighborhoods in the city to find new places to eat and foods to try from all different cultures. It’s a great reminder of why we wanted to move back to San Diego.

We are big animal lovers and have many pets at home. We rescued our cats, Yogurt, an orange domestic shorthair in 2014, and Sophie, a grey domestic shorthair in 2016. Their favorite activities are resting on our laps when we sit on the couch and sleeping. They are great with children and will play with toys, or just sit near them.

We are also owners of a guinea pig named Denzel. We got him from a pet store over 6 years ago. He loves to eat carrots and other green veggies like lettuce. His favorite activity is to squeak to ask for food. Over the last few years, we have also cared for other small animals like hamsters, rabbits, and other guinea pigs. Children really enjoy feeding them carrot sticks and petting them.

Thank you for taking the time to get to know us and for considering us. You will always hold a special place in your child’s heart and in our hearts, and we will honor your role in helping us become a family. Your child will receive nothing but unconditional love and support from us. We send you love and compassion as you navigate your journey.