Hi there,

Thank you for considering us as potential adoptive parents for your child. We hope that you feel supported and loved no matter where you are in your journey. We admire you so much for choosing life and for considering adoption, and we want you to know that we are prepared to give your child a life filled with love. We would like to share a little bit about ourselves and our home so you can begin to get to know us.

All our love, Russ & Amy

“Family is not just an important thing, it is everything.”

Our Story

We met in March 2015 and played pool on our first date. We ended up enjoying our conversation so much, we forgot we were playing pool and only completed one game! We bonded over our love of family and our faith. In December 2016, we got engaged and walked hand in hand while we enjoyed the Christmas lights. We were married in June 2017 at a small chapel in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

After we discovered we were unable to get pregnant, we knew adoption was the way we would build our family. In 2020, our lives changed forever when we adopted our son, Ryan. He is the light and joy of our lives and we are so excited to bring another child into our family. He will be an amazing brother!

Interesting Facts About Us

•Amy owned a potbelly pig and chicken in middle school

• We went hot air balloon riding and would love to do it again

• Russ went to an NHL game and caught a hockey puck

• Russ hiked half dome in Yosemite

• Amy’s poetry has been published

• We both love going to the theater! We have seen Hamilton, Nutcracker, Mamma Mia, Wicked, etc...

• Amy’s painting was hung in a gallery

• Russ plays in an adult softball league

• Amy loves coffee and Russ doesn’t

About Amy, by Russ

My wife is my best friend. She is a very beautiful person inside and out. She is very loyal and honest, and someone you can always count on to be there for you. She is patient and encouraging. Amy is always up for a good time, and there is never a dull moment when she is around. She has been around kids her whole life but started working with them when she was 19. I also see how great of a mother she is to our adopted son and every time I see her interact with children. It makes me excited to add to our family again.

Amy has a heart for animals and loves donating to organizations and participating in helping them. She likes being creative in her free time, not only with experimenting with new recipes but in knitting as well. She is part of a group that meets once a week, where they create prayer shawls for those who are going through tough times and blankets for expectant mothers. Amy is such a beautiful person inside and out, and I am so proud to be her other half.

More about Amy...

Occupation: Educator/small business owner

Favorite movie: The Wizard of Oz

Favorite musical: Mamma Mia!

Favorite place: Santa Cruz

Can’t live without: Music

Perfect day: BBQ with friends and family

About Russ, by Amy

Russ loves to surprise me. It does not matter if it is with flowers or tickets to a show. Children and animals love Russ, and he loves them. I love watching him with our adopted son because he is a natural nurturer. The ladies at church line up to get their weekly hugs. Russ says, “Everyone needs a hug and to know that someone cares about them.”

He is very task-oriented, and I know I can count on him to get things done. I can’t stop telling people how sweet and kind he is. He is devoted, authentic, empathetic, and generous. He’s smart, dedicated, trustworthy, and hardworking. Handsome, delightful, and the perfect gentleman. He is very attentive and does not think twice about putting the needs of others before himself. Russ has a great sense of humor. He steps up to the plate when the situation calls for it, and he follows his heart and does what he knows is right. He is my rock, my world, and one of life’s biggest blessings. Russ is a caring person—a nurturer—who can be counted on to look out for others.

More about Russ...

Occupation: Accountant

Favorite movie: Star Wars trilogy

Favorite place : Hiking in the woods

Favorite meal to cook: Enchilada pie

Can’t live without: Sunshine

Perfect day: A long hike through nature

Our Extended Family

We both come from small, close-knit families that live nearby. Since both families live close, it gives us the opportunity to be together for holidays and other special occasions. We are continuously thankful for the love we share with our families and that we can always count on them for anything. Both of us have parents who have been married for more than 50 years, and we love getting everyone together and enjoying some time with our nieces and nephew!

Amy has a younger brother who has been married for 2 years, and he and his wife live only 10 minutes away. Every year Amy and her mom make her grandma’s fudge recipe. On New Year’s Day, Amy’s mom always makes black-eyed peas. It is thought to bring prosperity in the New Year.

Russ has an older sister who has been married for over 25 years. Russ is an uncle to three nieces and one nephew. One of Russ’s family traditions is they make Christmas cookies at Christmas time. For Father’s Day every year the guys get together and go to a baseball game.

Our Community & Home

We live in California in a lovely sun-drenched 3-bedroom single-family home near great schools, lots of parks, Rec centers and places with child- friendly activities. The library is in walking distance from the house, as well as one of our favorite parks — which has paddle boats, kayaking, swimming, and a playground. There are a lot of children in our neighborhood and we look forward to watching a future little one play in the backyard with Ryan and our puppies.

Our Friends & Loved Ones

Like our extended family, our friends are thrilled and have been supportive of us in our decision to adopt again. We have a very diverse group of friends of many ages, cultures, experiences, and interests. We have been blessed with friends who live across the country. We have several friends who have grown their families through adoption along with us, and we are excited for the chance to do it again. They have a variety of adoption experiences, including adopting trans-racially and internationally, and we value learning from and with them.

Our dogs, Nate and Pennie are friendly, affectionate, and goofy dogs. Nate and Pennie are both Boston Terriers and 2 years old. Nate is a rescue who is a bundle of energy and loves to be everyone’s friend. Pennie is an extremely sweet and loving dog, always excited to cuddle with everyone. They both are wonderful companions and playmates.

Our Hope & Promise to You

We believe that every child deserves a loving home where they are accepted for who they are. We promise to be there to lovingly bandage every boo boo, wipe every tear, hug, and hold him or her when they are afraid. We promise to read them their favorite story and sing them their favorite songs no matter how many times they ask for it! We promise to celebrate every moment with him or her no matter how big or small because they are the gift we have been waiting for. We will nurture his or her interests and present every opportunity for them to explore the world around them by fostering education, arts, science, or anything else they would like to explore.

We vow to give our total support and to help them succeed as they grow into a person of character. We want to share our Christian faith with them and encourage a healthy and intellectual mind that thinks through the hard questions in life. We promise to teach good morals and to have compassion for others, but most importantly we will teach them to always treat others with the same love, care, and respect that they would want for themselves. Your child will grow up knowing and appreciating their story.

Why Adoption

We both always knew we wanted to be parents. Adoption has been a conversation in our home for many years and after being diagnosed with infertility, we knew why adoption had been on our hearts. We have experienced the uniqueness and joy of a family grown through adoption. While our path to parenthood has not been straightforward, we have not given up hope. We believe that the struggles have strengthened our marriage, and we are looking forward to adopting again because family is not just an important thing, it is everything.

5 Activities We Enjoy Together

-Playing frisbee with the dogs

-Walking and exploring the outdoors

-Taking classes and learning new skills

-Cooking meals together

-Exploring local events such as farmer’s markets, festivals, plays, etc.

5 Family Traditions

-Christmas: we pick out a new Christmas tree and ornament, have hot cocoa with a candy cane, and look at Christmas lights.

-Halloween: we go to the pumpkin festival, pick out a pumpkin, through the hay maze, and eat pumpkin pie (because that’s Russ’s favorite).

-Super Bowl party with friends because Russ loves sports and Amy loves the commercials.

-Friday nights are for pizza and a movie or board games.

-Every summer we go to the county fair. It is where we first held hands. Amy loves the animals, pig races, and chocolate covered bananas. Russ loves the fair food, art, and concerts.

With L O V E

Thank you again for taking the time to read about our family and getting to know us. We would enjoy the chance to connect with you. Please know we are praying for you to experience huge peace of mind as you make this important and difficult decision.

With Love, Russ & Amy