Brian and Sheryl

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From Us to You

Dear Expectant Mother, We believe that the decision you are considering to give your child the gift of adoption is a difficult choice and that you must love your child very much. We are praying that God will help you and your child through this time and that He will give you peace. We seek a relationship that meets your needs and your child’s needs the best and are open to whatever level of openness you are comfortable with.

Thank you for giving us this opportunity to introduce ourselves. We are Brian and Sheryl. We have 4 children who are all adopted. We had known each other since high school but didn’t start dating until after a mission trip in East Africa years later and have been happily married ever since. Once we were ready to be parents, we tried to get pregnant but couldn’t. This was very difficult for us until Sheryl attended a women’s conference where God helped her surrender this to God. He immediately gave her peace and began directing us to adoption. We are confident that adoption is God’s will for our life. We have many friends who have adopted and also a niece who joined our family through adoption.

Our family and friends are supportive and excited for the adoption. Much of our family live nearby so we can celebrate holidays together and all the cousins can spend time together. My brother and his wife are very supportive and helpful with our children and often join us for vacation. We have an excellent school that allows me to teach our children and provide a variety of activities that interest them such as dancing, soccer, or horse back riding.

We have many family traditions we enjoy every year. We always host Thanksgiving and Christmas at our house with my family. And we spend time with both Brian’s family and mine every holiday and our families are also close to each other. Every summer we enjoy trips to the beach or to the lake with family and we enjoy going to Disneyland. We love to participate in dog agility trials during weekends a few times a year and enjoy hosting game nights and BBQ s at our house.

As a family, we enjoy walks on the trail downtown, game and movie nights, or outdoor activities like bike riding or drawing together with chalk on our driveway. We believe in raising our children with Godly values and morals. We teach our children how to respect others and how important it is to show love to one another. Everyone helps with dinner and takes turns setting the table. We enjoy taking a break from school and work every day and having lunch while watching a fun cartoon together as a family. We enjoy reading with our children before bedtime and often get on the floor with our kids after dinner just to play a game or we go outside and ride our bikes.

You are in our prayers as you seek God’s guidance during this time. May God be with you and help you on this journey.

Love, Sheryl and Brian

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About Sheryl

Sheryl grew up traveling and singing with her family in churches, prisons and military bases sharing God’s word. She has always had a heart for children, and even as a young girl God gave her a heart for adoption. She is also passionate about our pets (I call her the “dog whisperer”) and uses that passion to serve others by volunteering in dog therapy programs in senior homes. She’s been doing this for over a decade now. It is not always an easy thing, especially when the people you come to know and enjoy have their health fail, but she continues because it touches lives, and that sacrificial determination is now being demonstrated to our children. Sheryl trains our dogs daily and her favorite hobby is running agility with our dogs. Sheryl has worked with children since early high school, led a Kid’s Club for years at a local church, and led the children’s ministry in Africa. Her greatest joy is being a mom to our amazing children. I trust Sheryl wholeheartedly with our children and am constantly amazed at her skills with children and her enduring patience. It touches my heart when I hear our kids pray for Ma-Ma and how wonderful she is to them. The highlight of my day is the evenings when we can be together as a family, share about our days, and have some playtime together as a family. Equally, I cherish the quality time Sheryl and I have together after our children go to bed. Sheryl is my best friend and she loves me for who I am, and every day is another affirmation of the confidence God gave me in Africa that He truly has designed us for each other.

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About Brian

Brian is a great husband and father. His nieces and nephews love spending time with their uncle Brian. Brian loves our children dearly and they love to play together when he gets home from work. They often greet him with a big hug and a kiss. Brian was born in Africa. His parents were missionaries until his dad died when Brian was 2 years old. Then they moved back to California where his mom raised him and his 3 siblings. Brian is a hard worker and a great provider. He is great with computers and is often the go-to guy among our family and friends whenever they have a computer question. Brian enjoys gardening in his free time and enjoys planting a variety of fruits and veggies that we get to enjoy as a family. He loves his job, yet he always puts family first. When we were dating, we would stay up all hours staring at the stars or going for long walks and just talking about everything, or we would read to each other out of books like Alice in Wonderland or The Chronicles of Narnia. When he asked me to be his girlfriend, he wrote me a poem that I keep framed to this day. He is strong and compassionate, and I am thankful God brought us together.

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Why We Chose to Adopt

Our children are all adopted. Kiana is 15 years old and was born in China. Our twins, Jaeden and Caleb, are 9 and were also born in China. They have Albinism so they must always wear glasses and hats to protect their eyes and sunscreen to protect their skin when we are outside. They have some delays that are connected to visual impairment but they manage well in their surroundings and we provide them with any additional help they need through the school. Our youngest daughter is Kaelyn who is also 9. She was adopted at birth and we got to be at the hospital when she was born. Our kids are amazing and are very excited for a new sibling.

We chose adoption for our family because we cannot have children by birth. Sheryl has always had a heart for adoption ever since she was 9 years old and always dreamed of a big family to do life together with. After finding out we could not give birth to children we were quickly led to adoption after attending a Steven Curtis Chapman concert where he shared his journey with adoption. We felt God’s tugging at our hearts and began our journey with our oldest daughter. We feel blessed with each of our children and know that another child will be a great addition to make our family complete.

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Our Relationship with Kaelyn's Birthmother

Kaelyn is the only child in our family with an open adoption. Kiana, Caleb, and Jaeden were adopted in China, so we don’t know their family history. We have a great relationship with Kaelyn’s birthmother. We send her updates and a ton of photos every 3 months, but we also email or text each other in between. Recently we started sending her pictures that Kaelyn likes to draw for her. She requested an open adoption but not visits and we respect her choices. If she ever changes her mind, we are open to visits as well. She is a very kind and caring person and it is a joy to have her be a part of our family. 

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Meet our kids!

Kiana is in high school and enjoys spending time with her friends. She loves to go horseback riding and learn all about horses. She started reading at age 4 and has loved books from day one. She loves to do crafts and her favorites are painting, crocheting and sewing.

Jaeden enjoys playing outside and jumping on the trampoline. He likes to go to the beach. His favorite thing is cars and he learns all he can about cars and will talk your ear off about cars if given the chance.

Caleb has discovered he loves to read just this year and reads every day. He loves to play outside and enjoys our weekend trips to see his aunt and uncle. He loves rollercoasters, telling jokes and he likes dogs.

Kaelyn loves school and her favorite subject is Science. She loves all animals but especially dogs. She is always drawing pictures to give to others to brighten their day. Kaelyn enjoys her dance class and playing the piano. She enjoys going on outings to just about anywhere.

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Lifestyle

We enjoy being able to work from home so we can also be home with our children. Brian works for a software company and has recently been able to work from home. Sheryl does dog training and boarding on a small scale so most of her time is dedicated to raising our children. She enjoys homeschooling our children through a charter school.

We enjoy weekend trips to the city to spend time with Sheryl’s younger brother and his wife, where we have fun outings to the lake or the beach and sometimes even Disneyland. We enjoy get-togethers like BBQs or game nights at our home. We enjoy hosting family for the holidays and spend a lot of time with both sides of our family because we are very close. We enjoy spending time with our cousins and friends who also have children and our families enjoy celebrating birthdays together and just gathering together. We often go to Sheryl’s mom’s for dinner (or she comes to our house) and she enjoys time with her grandkids – a highlight of her week. We enjoy taking our children to their dance classes or horseback riding lessons.

We live in the country and have 7 chickens, 2 dogs and 2 cats. The children love to help collect eggs and like being able to play in our large fenced-in yard. We always enjoy lunch together as a family and have a tradition of watching fun cartoons like Bluey with the children while we eat. They also like to help with meal preparation. Sheryl enjoys time running her dogs and taking an Agility class weekly. Brian likes to work in his garden and our children enjoy helping out. In the evenings we enjoy playtime or reading with our children before bed, and then we spend some alone time together sharing about our day or watching a favorite show together.

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Our Faith

We are Christians and attend a local Baptist church. Brian has played the keyboard on the worship team and Sheryl has taught various children’s programs and worked in Vacation Bible School over the years. Sheryl always enjoys working in the nursery during mid-week programs and it has been her favorite volunteer job over the years. We both taught Kids’ Clubs for many years. Our relationship began when we went on a mission trip to Africa together. We believe in sharing Bible stories with our children and our love of God. Our Faith is a key part of our family.

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Home and Neighborhood

We live in a four-bedroom and two-bath home in the country. Our kitchen is large and overlooks the living room. Your baby will have his/her own room when he/she is a bit older but will begin in our room. The kids have 2 bedrooms and the 3rd room is currently the office, but we can later convert it into the nursery. We live about 10 minutes from downtown. We have a row of neighbors on the same side of the street as us and an orchard across the street. We have a large fenced-in back yard with plenty of room to play and run. We live a short drive to many parks. We have gotten to know our neighbors and we often share produce from our gardens or we bake cookies or share eggs with one another.

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Our Pets

We have 2 dogs. Coraline (6 years old) and Kaia (3 years old) are both mini Aussies. Coraline is a licensed Therapy dog and visits with Sheryl in senior homes. They love everyone they meet and enjoy our visits. Hopefully, Kaia can follow in their footsteps soon. Both dogs can be great lap dogs but also can enjoy a great game of fetch or tug. Sheryl also trains them in obedience skills and tricks, and competes with them in agility. They are very good with children. We also have 2 cats, Hailey and Zara. Hailey is 17 years old and mostly keeps to herself now. Zara is 4 years and she is very social and enjoys playing together with Kaia. She also enjoys cuddles and sometimes we feel she thinks she is part dog! We also have chickens. We chose friendly breeds so our children could enjoy them as well. They love to follow us around when we let them roam. Sheryl has even taught one of our chickens a few tricks!

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Our Families

Brian has a large family with two brothers and a sister. His dad passed away when he was two years old. Brian was born in Africa as his family were missionaries, but when they lost his dad in a plane crash they moved back to California. His sister and her husband live in Nicaragua, and the rest of his family is near to us and we get together with them a few times a year. Both his brothers are married with children and the cousins love to play together. His sister also visits once a year. Brian’s mom lives close by and often enjoys watching our children as we go out on date nights. We often take turns getting together at each other’s homes as we all have nice yards that the kids can enjoy playing in.

Sheryl also has a large family with two brothers and a sister. Her sister lives nearby with her family. Sheryl’s mom is close as well and loves being a grandma to our children. Sheryl’s younger brother lives about 3 hours away with his wife, but they visit often and we travel to see them, too. We enjoy game nights with them or going places together such as Disneyland or the beach. We enjoy going to Starbucks together and having BBQs or ordering pizza together. Her older brother lives in England with his wife, so we don’t see them very often, but we do keep in touch online regularly and they have started making yearly trips to see us in the summers.

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Family Traditions

We have many traditions as a family. We host Christmas and Thanksgiving at our house every year with Sheryl’s family and we all share in the meal preparation. Sheryl’s brother and his wife always make the turkey and Sheryl makes hen and noodles or another family favorite. We enjoy decorating the Christmas tree as a family, watching Christmas movies, having hot chocolate and taking walks down “Christmas Lights Lanes”. We always go to Brian’s mom for the holidays and she really loves entertaining the whole family. She tries new recipes on us every year.

For birthdays we always let each family member choose a theme for the cake and one thing they want to do. Oftentimes we have movie nights and pizza or a party with all their friends and family.  For Easter, we enjoy taking family photos after church and doing an Easter egg hunt with friends and cousins.

We also celebrate Lunar New Year together as a family by going out to eat and handing out red envelopes. And on Junteenth we celebrate with a BBQ On Halloween, we dress up and often go to the Fall harvest events and the pumpkin patch near us that also has a steam-powered train, hayrides and a corn maze.

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What We Will Teach

We will teach our children to always do their best in everything they do, and that doing their best doesn’t mean we expect perfection – just being the best “you” God created you to be. We will teach your child about God’s love for them. We will teach them to be honest and to care about others. We will teach them about their own history and culture and will help them learn to pursue their dreams and passions, and most importantly we will stand by them always. We will teach them to be polite and respectful to others. We want them to learn life skills to help them become successful and thrive as adults.

Brian has a B.S. degree in Ag Business and Sheryl has an A.S. degree in Child Development. Sheryl was homeschooled as a child and Brian went to a Christian High School. We plan to teach our children through an at-home charter school. We have many opportunities to enrich their curriculum and individualize it, plus there are so many opportunities for social gatherings for our kids and they can partake in sports, dance, and almost anything that interests them. We especially love that we get to be their teachers – like traditional homeschool – but also have a whole team working with us and providing our kids with every possible opportunity.

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Hobbies

Brian likes gardening and plants a garden nearly every year. It’s a great family project, too. We have so many homegrown vegetables every year and always end up with an abundance of zucchini. We enjoy sharing produce with our neighbors. Brian loves to go camping and hiking – sometimes with friends and other times alone for an introspective weekend. Brian also enjoys computers and is the go-to guy in our family for technical questions. Sheryl loves dog agility and competes in agility trials. We take advantage of agility trial weekends to spend time together as a family. At home, Sheryl practices running our dogs in courses she set up, and she also takes classes. Two of our previous dogs have earned their agility championship titles. Sheryl also enjoys teaching our dogs fun tricks like catching a frisbee or freestyle dance.  As a couple, we enjoy swing dancing together. We have taken a few lessons and sometimes go on dates to swing dance events hosted by a local group. We also enjoy playing games together and with friends and family. We enjoy games like Dominion, Catan, and Splendor. We are both musical and enjoy the arts. Sheryl plays trumpet, guitar, and ukulele (ukulele being her favorite) and Brian plays the piano. Brian enjoys drawing and computers and Sheryl enjoys photography. Outdoor photography is her favorite. Reading each night before bed is another one of Sheryl’s hobbies.

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Vacations and Leisure Time

We enjoy taking day trips to the beach. We enjoy wading in the water and Sheryl especially likes practicing her photography at such a beautiful place. We enjoy weekends at Disneyland with our family, taking trips to the lake to feed the ducks, ride a boat or play games, and simply to get a change in scenery. Sometimes we go to the mountains when it snows or go to a lake in the mountains that has boats, biking, hikes and a fun diner with great milkshakes. Our favorite vacation spot outside of our state is Hawaii. We enjoy the warm ocean, the rich culture and one year we were even able to get in the ocean with the dolphins with a guide. We regularly travel on weekends to participate in agility trials with our dogs – Sheryl competes with our dogs and Brian watches the kids. Our kids just love watching all the dogs and playing outside all day. We also regularly visit Sheryl’s brother and his wife in LA. Sometimes we just stay in and play games with them. Other times we visit museums, aquariums, go to the lake, or plan trips to Disneyland together. We also have weekly game nights with them via Zoom. This way we can still play games together every Saturday despite the physical distance between us. We also enjoy an occasional movie night or going to Starbucks with friends. We like to have BBQs at our house for family and friends throughout the year, too. We prefer smaller get-togethers with family and friends over large gatherings, where everyone can be part of the fun.

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Racial & Cultural Diversity

We believe that it is important to embrace our children’s cultures because it is part of who they are. For example, we celebrate Chinese New Year and share about our children’s history because it is a part of them. We also celebrate Juneteenth every year with our kids. If our children express interest in learning about other holidays we are open to adding them to our traditions as well. We have friends and family with various backgrounds. We take great care in making sure our books and toys are diverse for our family. We pay attention to our children’s needs and help them understand their history and their story. Cultural diversity is very important to us and plays a big role in how we raise our children.

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Our Promise to You

We promise we will love your child with all of our heart and will be sure to give him/her many rich and memorable experiences. We promise that we will follow through on your desires for openness in the adoption and respect your choices of openness. We will love your child always and forever. We promise that your child will know about their adoption and you from an early age. Your baby will know who you are and how much you love him/her.