Hello! We are David and Oren. Thank you for taking the time to learn a little about our family. We admire your courage in considering adoption. We look forward to expanding our family through adoption again and to sharing our love and joy for life with another child.
OUR LIFE TOGETHER
We are a happy, stable and committed couple who have been together 12 years. We met in Massachusetts while Oren was in law school and David was working for a bank in Boston. After graduating from law school, Oren felt that he had enough of cold New England winters and moved out to California for work. David soon joined, and in 2001 we bought our house in a great family-friendly neighborhood in San Francisco.
Our personalities are distinct from one another, yet balanced and complementary. David has a "life is short, eat dessert first" philosophy. Oren is a bit more cautious and practical. But we also have lots in common. We both love to spend time at the beach and at a little cabin that we own on a nearby river. We enjoy playing tennis and roller-blading together, and we like taking nature walks in the parks around our home.
Our relationship is based on love and mutual respect. We feel that it is important to spend time together and make it a point to eat dinners together so we can catch up on each other's day or talk about current events. We feel fortunate to have found each other.
To us, adoption is a very natural way to build a family. Two years ago, we adopted our son Elder from Guatemala, and we love him with all our hearts. We would like nothing more than to add another child to our family.
ABOUT OREN (by David)
Oren grew up in Texas, and is the youngest of four children. Before settling in San Francisco, he lived all over the country (including Baltimore, Nashville, San Diego, Boston, and Los Angeles) and even in France for a year when he was little.
Oren loves to swim. He swam competitively when he was growing up and still likes to go to the pool - and especially the beach - every chance he gets. He is musical and enjoys playing our piano - everything from classical to popular songs to Christmas carols around the holidays. He is also a big reader, and the bookshelves in the house are always overflowing. He loves reading Dr. Seuss, "Goodnight, Moon," and other stories to Elder. He also cooks a lot - nothing too fancy, just tasty home-cooked meals like casseroles and stews.
Oren is warm, caring, creative and funny. He has always stood up for "the little guy," and he went to law school to learn how to do that as a lawyer. After graduating law school, he worked as a Legal Aid attorney, providing free legal services to people in need. He does similar work in his current job as the Associate Director of a non-profit civil rights organization. His job is very flexible and allows him to work part-time while we are raising our family.
ABOUT DAVID (by Oren)
David grew up in the Boston area, the third of 5 brothers. He is kind-hearted and generous to a fault, and is wonderful with children. He's a bit of a kid himself, with an incredible sweet tooth and a fondness for miniature golf.
David has an amazing green thumb and loves to spend time in our backyard tending the garden, pulling weeds, and planting flowers. He's also a whiz around the house, doing everything from handling all the household computer stuff to building fires in our fireplace when the fog rolls in.
Professionally, David owns his own business and works from home, preparing documents for banks and exporters. Being his own boss means his time is flexible and allows him to spend lots of time with the family, both during the day and in the evenings.
OUR HOME AND COMMUNITY
We live in a wonderful residential neighborhood just south of downtown San Francisco. Our cozy home is on a quiet tree-lined street and is full of love. It was built almost 100 years ago and has lots of "old fashioned" touches, but has been updated with all the modern conveniences. There's a sunny yard and garden out back, with a deck and a fishpond.
Our neighborhood is ethnically diverse and is mixed with young families and older people who have lived here for years. We're stroller-pushing distance from a big park with a playground and baseball diamond. A library, restaurants and stores are just around the corner. There are lots of community events, like a Halloween parade for the neighborhood kids.
We have 2 cats, Pecos and Eisenhower. They are both ridiculously affectionate. Eisenhower is big and fuzzy and never met a lap he didn't like. Pecos is slightly less fuzzy, but also can't get enough attention. They are both easy-going, and don't even mind too much if a little one tries to pet them with sticky hands!
OUR FAMILY
Elder came into our lives two years ago, and he is a wonderful little boy. He is very affectionate, loves other kids, and is always pointing out babies at the playground. He will make a great - and very protective - big brother.
We are lucky to have a large extended family, with lots of brothers, sisters, cousins, nieces and nephews. There's always a trip planned or a reunion scheduled. Our family includes all kinds of different families. In addition to our 7 year old nephew and 4 year old niece who joined the family through adoption, Oren's brother Eric is a stepfather to 3 sons. David's brothers and cousin have 7 kids between them - with more cousins arriving every year!
Oren's mother and father live in Austin, Texas where Oren grew up. Oren's father is a retired French professor and his mother was a stay-at-home mom. They are in great health and still travel extensively. They also love spending time with Oren's sister and her 2 kids, who live in Austin. Oren's brothers are in Colorado, so we're close to the ski slopes when we go see them. And enticing family to come see us in San Francisco is never a tough sell!
David's family lives mainly in Massachusetts. His parents, who have been married for nearly 50 years, can't wait to be grandparents again. David's brothers and a cousin Joanne, whom he grew up with, are also in the area. Whenever we want a taste of snow, or to see New England fall colors, we go back for a visit. Our favorite time to visit is the summer, when we can spend time at David's parent's cottage on the beach at Cape Cod.
OUR HOPES FOR A CHILD
We believe the single most important thing for children to have is unconditional love. That gives a child both strong roots and the wings to fly. We will do our best to raise a child to be confident and caring, with the ability take on any challenges in life. Education is very important to us, and we will make sure a child has all the best educational opportunities. That means not only good schools but also learning from all that day-to-day life has to offer. The San Francisco Bay Area in particular has tons of fun kids' museums and art and cultural activities, as well as many natural wonders to explore.
We both grew up with lots of family traditions and believe that these are important for children. That can mean "big" traditions like stockings on Christmas Eve, "smaller" traditions like a yearly trip to a favorite lake, or "everyday" traditions like bedtime stories and a kiss good-night. We believe that family traditions make a child feel safe and secure, which is important for building high self-esteem.
A FINAL THOUGHT
Our greatest blessing would be able to expand our family and share our lives and love with another child.
We understand that choosing adoption is an extremely important and personal decision for you. Our promise to you is that we will love, protect, and care for a baby with our whole hearts. We wish you peace of mind during this emotional time. If you are interested in talking to us please call us toll free at 1-888-268-0642 or email us familysfo@sbcglobal.net. You can also contact our friendly adoption attorney, Susan Romer, at 1-800-U-ADOPT-US (1-800-823-6788) or at adamsromer@aol.com.
Take care and best wishes to you,
Oren, David & Elder
