Hello!
We are Jeanette and Mai Lien from Sunnyvale, California, south of San Francisco. Six years ago, we fell head-over-heels in love with each other. Since then, we have been together in a loving, committed relationship. It has been a dream of ours to start a family, and we are excited about adopting a baby. We deeply respect your care and courage in considering adoption during this difficult time for you, and we hope to have the opportunity to share in this journey with you.
About Jeanette
As soon as people meet Jeanette, they feel instantly at ease and comfortable around her. She is optimistic and fun-loving. Our nieces and nephews love to chase Jeanette around the house, and squeal with delight when she runs after them! She loves to laugh and enjoys caring for other people. Her work as a psychologist at a veterans' hospital helps patients improve their lives and well-being. Our friends and family members often come to her for advice and a sympathetic ear.
Jeanette grew up in New Jersey, went to college in Connecticut, and received her Ph.D. in California. She discovered her love for traveling in college when she rode her bicycle through the hilly countryside in France and England. Traveling, taking walks, bicycling, and cooking hearty breakfasts are just a few activities she enjoys regularly. Her homemade blueberry muffins, waffles, and omelettes will make your mouth water!
Jeanette looks forward to sharing her cooking, joy of reading and learning with our child. When she was young, Jeanette often took home tall stacks of books from the library. We anticipate having a special shelf of our favorite children's books in the nursery so we can read with our child every day. Jeanette will love seeing the world through our child's eyes. Mai Lien knows that Jeanette will be a fun, devoted, and loving Mom.
About Mai Lien
Mai Lien is a compassionate and sweet person. Both children and adults are drawn to her gentle and open personality. As a former high school teacher of 12 years, she has an academic side as well as a playful, funny side. She loves to create and play fun games with her students, and our nieces and nephews. She currently works as a college counselor and mentor to help underprivileged high school students get into college. Her students appreciate how she listens to them, and they are often the first in their family to go to college. Jeanette fell in love with her great smile, honesty, playfulness, and smarts!
Having grown up in Hawaii, Mai Lien loves to sit in the sun and listen to the sound of ocean waves. Her sense of adventure took her to the East Coast for college, and then to Japan for two years where she taught English. She came to California to go to graduate school and work as a high school teacher. Mai Lien can't wait to show our child all the best places to swim, eat, and play on our next regular visit to Hawaii!
Mai Lien likes to watch movies, play her violin or basketball, and learn new things such as Hawaiian hula dancing and Chinese lion dancing. She often hums and sings around the house, or just listens to music. Mai Lien will enjoy singing our child to sleep, playing sports with our child, or dancing around with him or her. She also has fun shopping for toys and games for our nieces and nephews-she's good at picking out their next favorite toy! Jeanette knows that Mai Lien will be a kind, loving, and patient Mom.
Our Family
We both grew up in loving and supportive families and continue to be very close with our parents and siblings. Coming from Taiwan 50 years ago, Jeanette's parents settled in New Jersey, where her brother lives, too. They regularly visit us during holidays and summer vacations. Mai Lien's sister's family in Virginia also visits us every summer. Whenever we are with them and our other relatives, we talk, play games, watch movies, and eat tons of great food!
Like Jeanette, Mai Lien has a large extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins. Growing up in the multicultural environment of Hawaii, Mai Lien has always valued different cultures and ethnicities. Her extended family includes cousins from many different backgrounds, including Vietnamese, Australian, African American, Chinese American, British, and Guamanian. Mai Lien's parents settled in Hawaii 35 years ago from Vietnam, but now live in California, where her brother lives, too. They are only 10 minutes away from our house. We enjoy seeing them for regular dinners and get-togethers. Mai Lien's mom loves children and has already enthusiastically volunteered to babysit her newest grandchild! Jeanette's family has a tradition of camping, hiking, and canoeing. Jeanette and her mom also shared time together going to the ballet, art exhibits, and museums in New York City. We look forward to carrying on such fun family traditions with our child. Jeanette's brother also can't wait to introduce his children to their newest cousin!
Both sides of our families are excited about welcoming our child and showering him or her with lots of love, attention, and family fun time.
Raising a Child
We believe that it is important to provide our child with a safe, loving, and supportive home where he or she can grow up to become a healthy and happy individual. Our relationship is based on strong communication, trust, openness, and love. We will raise our child with these things in mind and work together as a team. We both will be able to take time off from work to be with our baby when he or she first arrives. Our home is a relaxing and comfortable haven filled with books, music, and games located in a quiet, family-oriented neighborhood. We live close to several good schools, neighborhood parks, and playgrounds. Our child would have many playmates as several of our neighbors have small children under the age of five. We share our home with our cat, Josie, who is gentle with babies and young children.
Education is very important to us. We will encourage a love of learning, a curiosity about the world, and an appreciation for the arts, music, and sports. We believe it is equally important to teach our child self-respect, compassion for others, and perseverance to overcome any obstacles in life. Our child will have numerous opportunities to discover and develop his or her strengths and talents, and to cultivate his or her confidence and creativity. As a family, we will also spend time volunteering in our community as well as traveling to new places to learn about different peoples, cultures, and ways of life. We hope to be able to show our child California and the world.
Thank you!
We look forward to sharing a life full of happiness, laughter, and joy with the child placed with us. We will love and nurture the unique individual he or she is, and provide a secure foundation for a happy and successful life. We look forward to learning more about you and for you to get to know us. Thank you for reading our letter and for considering us as possible adoptive parents.
If you’d like to contact us, email us at happyadopt@gmail.com or call our adoption attorney, Susan Romer at 800-823-6788.
Warmly,
Mai Lien & Jeanette
