Hi there! We are Joren and Marc from San Francisco, California. Thank you for giving us the chance to introduce ourselves and tell you about our family. Our son, William, joined our family through open adoption a year and a half ago and our life together has been a loving, wonderful journey ever since. We are ready to expand our family and we welcome the chance to do so again through open adoption. We look forward to getting to know you and sharing more about us.
ABOUT US
We met over ten years ago when we both lived in Alaska. We really got to know one another while doing things together like hiking and skiing. We became best friends and fell in love. We moved back to California in 2000 and have spent the last nine years building our life together. Our relationship is based on love, respect and friendship. One of the things that drew us together was our shared desire to have a family. William joined our family at birth in September 2007 through an open adoption. Becoming his parents - nurturing him, watching him grow and develop while sharing in the responsibilities of parenthood - opened a wonderful new dimension in our lives and our relationship.
We are both active in the daily routine of parenting. Marc spends his days with William as a stay at home dad, exploring the city, going to playgroups and the pool, and Joren takes over when he gets home from work, making dinner, giving William his bath and putting him to sleep with a bedtime story or two. Our routine works really well for all of us.
MARC
I was born in Los Angeles and raised in a small town in Oregon with my three brothers. We are second generation Mexican-Americans born in California, my parents being the first. Our extended family is close and we visit many times a year, especially for the annual tamale making party.
I went to the University of Oregon in Eugene and then moved to Anchorage, Alaska to work with my parents and brothers in our family business. My parents traveled half the year back to Oregon, allowing me to learn how to run a 3 store, hands on. When Joren and I moved to the Bay Area, I managed retail stores until I became a stay at home dad. I love being being able to watch our child grow.
My interests include cars, movies, home design and home improvement projects. In fact, Joren and I just remodeled our kitchen together, all by ourselves! My three brothers have eight kids between them and we travel to their homes in Oregon and Sacramento to visit often. Grandma and Grandpa live in Southern Oregon and we visit each other many times a year.
JOREN
My twin brother and I were born and raised in California, living most of our lives in the Sierra Nevada Mountains near Yosemite National Park. Our nearest neighbors lived a mile away and we loved to explore the fields and woods around our house. Whether climbing the local mountains or learning where certain wildflowers grew each spring, I grew up loving the outdoors.
Going to college at Yale University in Connecticut and working for a few years for a law firm in Washington, D.C. gave me the chance to explore the East Coast and to get to know my many relatives in Virginia, Florida, Indiana and West Virginia. I also realized how much I love living in California, where my friends and close family still live. I returned to San Francisco for law school.
After law school, I spent a few years in Alaska, where I met Marc. Since moving back to California, I have worked as an attorney representing technology companies involved in lawsuits. My job offers a flexible family-friendly schedule. Most days, I can feed William breakfast before I leave for work and be home to make him dinner and get him ready for bed. Reading bedtime stories is my favorite time of day.
Cooking is my favorite hobby. I made homemade baby food and I can't wait to bake birthday cakes and holiday cookies with our kids. I also love to read and look forward to rainy afternoons curled up on the couch reading "Harry Potter" and "Willy Wonka" aloud. I also enjoy trips to our local art museums, nature walks in local parks and Sunday afternoons watching baseball. My mom, "Gramma Judy," lives just a mile away and loves to play with William, and my twin brother and his family, including his two kids, live just a few hours away. We visit often.
WILLIAM
William is a happy, loving, curious 18 month old boy. Whether he's giving hugs to friends on the playground or chasing our dogs around the house, he is always sweet natured and affectionate. His interests are always changing, but William always loves going to places where there are other kids to play with, including swim class and the playground. He will make a wonderful big brother.
OUR HOME
We live in a quiet residential neighborhood full of families and pets. Our home is a short walk to playgrounds, parks, and some of San Francisco's best schools. Museums, theaters, and the Golden Gate Park are also close by. We have two dogs, Ceja, a dachshund and Oso, a fun-loving terrier. Both dogs love William and are great with children.
We spend as much time as we can outdoors, hiking in local parks with William in a backpack or running alongside us. We love to spend summer days at our family's cabin at Lake Tahoe, hiking, biking and playing at the beach. We host a 4th of July weekend party every summer where we barbecue and watch fireworks over the lake. We also appreciate time at home, cooking, reading and gardening. We love to travel and look forward to exploring new places with our children. William has already visited Hawaii, Disneyland, Oregon and Utah!
OUR FUTURE AND VALUES
We believe in open adoption, and we look forward to making it work for all of us, with whatever degree of openness you are comfortable with now and in the future. We have had regular contact with William's birthmom by phone and mail, and it has been extremely positive for all of us. We appreciate that William will grow up knowing his birthmom throughout his life and feel fortunate that we have a close, comfortable relationship with her.
We will raise our children to be happy, confident, and curious people. We will provide our children with a strong education, exposure to art, music and books, plenty of exercise and fun outside, and lots of time with family and friends. We will travel to experience other ways of life. It is important to us that our children experience different cultures, here in California, other parts of the country and in other parts of the world. Most importantly, we will love our children unconditionally and will encourage a child to follow whatever dreams they may have and to believe that any dream is possible.
THANK YOU!
Thank you for reading our letter. We are excited for our family to grow and look forward to providing a loving, nurturing and stable home to another child. We look forward to meeting you and to beginning our journey together. We hope to hear from you soon. If you would like to contact us directly, please call toll free at 1-866-737-2857 or email us at marcandjoren@yahoo.com. Or you can call our friendly adoption attorney, Susan Romer, at 1-800-U-ADOPT-US, (1-800-823-6788) or email her at adamsromer@aol.com.
