Thomas and Shannon

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From Us to You

There is no greater love than a mother’s love for her baby and with that said, we want you to know that your selfless act is truly admirable. We will forever be grateful for you, your heart, and your extraordinary bravery to do what you believe is in the best interest of you and your baby during this time in your life. Your baby will be our most cherished gift; one that we have prayed for, hoped for, and dreamed about since the beginning of our infertility struggles 7 years ago. Our struggle to conceive has by far been the hardest thing we have ever had to go through together which is why we are here for you every step of the way, just like our friends and family were for us. It has since made us stronger, individually as well as together. It has taught us to be patient, understanding, and to live life with an open heart each and every day, and to be ready to accept and love at any given time.

We also want you to know that our relationship with you during your pregnancy and adoption journey is just as important as our relationship with you after your baby is born. The bond that we will soon share with you is something so special to both sides that only our two families will understand. It’s something that we will wholeheartedly continue to cherish each and every day. As your baby grows, we promise to share all their milestones and accomplishments with you through pictures and letters, if that is something that you are open to. It is also important to us, just as it is important for you, that your baby knows where they came from, who you, their birth mother is, and how much you love them. We will always encourage them to learn and love their culture.

We promise to love your baby unconditionally and would love to show them the world. We love to travel and can’t wait to share our experiences as a family. We usually go to Hawaii at least every two years for Christmas. We also have a family trip to Bishop, California in the mountains where we love to fish, hike and play board games. Thomas has extended family in Germany and would love to take a family trip there in the next few years. Other places we plan to visit to see family and friends are Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and Texas.

We have a very big support system with loving friends and family who can’t wait for us to start a family. We love to join in on many family and friend get-togethers, with a lot of other kids ranging from ages 6 months to 12 years old, so there is never a dull moment.  Sports are a big part of our life whether it’s playing or attending, and we would love to give that opportunity to your child as their choice. Thomas played baseball in college and still plays adult softball. We both played soccer growing up and have plenty of friends with kids currently playing.  We both enjoy going to the golf driving range and sometimes playing golf together on the weekends. We have had season tickets to a nearby professional baseball team for the last four seasons and look forward to giving that experience to your child as well. The last thing we want to share is how important education is in our family, as we both met in college. We have already set aside funds for your child to have the opportunity to go to college if and when they are ready.

We want you to know that we have been completely raw and honest with you and have shared our love for travel, sports, our family, friends, and the opportunity for your child to go the distance in life. The memories that we will create with your baby are memories that we promise to share with you via letters and pictures as we believe it will create a way for you to have a sense of comfort knowing the decision you made was the best decision. We love you and your baby and we are ready to start this journey with you.

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Why We're Choosing to Adopt

Adoption isn’t something we take lightly as it runs in both families. We truly believe that we are where we are right now for a reason and that reason is to open our arms, our heart, and our home to a child who will forever be loved unconditionally by us, our family, and our friends.

Our journey to parenthood has not been easy, and after 7 years of struggling to conceive on our own and the numerous unsuccessful infertility treatments, we know in our hearts that we are so ready to be parents regardless of how a child joins our family. Our dream has always been to become parents and to get to experience all the joys of motherhood and fatherhood as a couple. It is definitely something that we talk about, dream about, and pray about every day and know for certain that it is our time to adopt.

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About Shannon, by Thomas

Shannon is my best friend and I couldn’t imagine life without her. She is the kindest, most caring, and most selfless person I have ever known. When I first met her in college she was a shy 19-year-old who took a leap of faith on moving away from her family and home to pursue an education. Now my wife is a confident woman who has been through a lot but never stops smiling and never gives up. With all of the infertility struggles we’ve been through over the years, the one thing that inspires me is her attitude to keep trying all avenues until we fulfill our goal of starting a family. If there is one word I would use to describe my wife’s best attribute, it would be “patient”. Her career is working with kids and we all know patience is the biggest key to teaching young, curious minds. She’s one of the few teachers at her school that texts the students’ parents about how they are doing in class and what they can do to improve, which shows me that she cares about everyone. As previously mentioned, we have been through every kind of infertility treatment possible, and still, she is patient enough to continue the journey which has led us to the adoption process, and the belief we will find the missing key to our family.

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About Thomas, by Shannon

Thomas has so many qualities about him that make him the most amazing person I know. It’s hard to find someone who is as compassionate, genuine, thoughtful, trustworthy, hard-working, and caring as Thomas is while also having a playful spirit about him. He is such an all-around nice person who I am incredibly blessed to call my husband and most importantly my best friend. Having met Thomas and his parents back when we were in college, I learned that he came from a really small family whereas my family is big. So being able to see him with my niece and nephews when they were younger as well as all of our friends’ kids over the years has given me a deeper love for him as my husband. Some examples that make Thomas that fun-loving and outgoing uncle are the moments when I see him gather all the kids to go play soccer or baseball at our family get-togethers. Thomas volunteers his time to take our friends’ kids to the backyard to practice putting on the putting green and helps them with their golf swing at the driving range and hitting cage in our garage.

Being able to see him interact with kids of all ages gives me all the confidence in the world that I chose a man who has always been ready to be a dad. Thomas is everything to me and I know I can confidently say that the amount of love that Thomas has in his heart for me is a million times more for this child that we haven’t even met. His heart is open and I cannot wait to see the love he gives as a daddy.

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How We Met

We met at college in 2004 in a film studies class. We were both included in a group project that we spent a lot of time in together. The funny thing is we fell out of contact for two years and reconnected on social media (Who remembers MySpace?). In 2006, we went on a date and have been inseparable ever since. Both of our families get along great and Thomas’s dad said to him, “This one is a keeper.” We dated for a few years before Thomas proposed in Palm Springs at the top of the tramway to Idyllwild. We got married at a local golf course in front of a large group of family and friends in 2013 and the rest is history.

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Lifestyle

We are a team that works together. We both work hard at our jobs and enjoy every moment we spend together. Shannon works at a preschool where she enjoys the company of kids every day, and Thomas works at a golf company that is successful and rewarding. On our time off, we enjoy slower days spending quality time with each other, as well as having fun with friends and family. On the weekends we both like to play golf, hike, and do any physical activities that get us out of the house.

Once we become parents, Shannon is planning on being a stay-at-home mom for the first few years of your child’s life. Her mom has run a daycare for 40 plus years, and we know the importance of quality time during a child’s critical years. We look forward to taking your child to the nearby community park and having play dates with the kids in the neighborhood. Thomas has been given the opportunity to work at home a few days each week and looks forward to playing with your child on the putting green in the backyard during breaks. Shannon can’t wait to start teaching your child before they get to kindergarten, and Thomas will have a golf set waiting for them to whack balls in the golf hitting cage in the garage.

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Our Dogs, Mia and Jax

After living together for a full year, we decided we wanted to add to the family, so we decided to adopt a rescue dog, Mia. She is a black lab and was a mom to 8 puppies. We were excited to provide her with the home and life she deserved. She was two years old when she “rescued” us and was the life of our household with roommates, friends, and family.

After a year with us and moving into our new house, we wanted her to have a companion so we visited the same rescue organization and adopted another black lab who we named Jax. They are both the loves of our lives and we love to spoil them. Mia is now 14, Jax is 10 and they are two peas in a pod. Both of them have been around kids since we’ve had them, whether it’s been our nephews spending the night or our friends and their kids coming over for BBQs. As pet parents, they have taught us responsibility, patience, and love. We know they will both welcome your baby into our family with open paws.

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Home & Neighborhood

Our home is a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom in California. We’ve lived in our home since we were married in 2013. Our home is on a safe, end street which doesn’t bring a lot of traffic. Our backyard has artificial turf and a putting green which Thomas practices on and teaches our friends’ kids on. Nearby, we have parks which include kid playgrounds, tennis courts, dog runs, as well as a city pool. We are friends with our neighbors and active in our surrounding community. We have an elementary school half a mile away from our house and walking trails all around the neighborhood. We have lived in this neighborhood before we bought our house and made it a point to look for homes in this same area. It is a great community to raise a family in.

Racial & Cultural Diversity

Cultural diversity awareness is one of the most important topics in the world we live in today. We are very open-minded to the possibility of adopting a child from a different culture or ethnicity than ours. We have friends of all ethnicities and backgrounds and look forward to raising your child while learning and celebrating different cultures. The best thing we can do is learn about all the different cultures and their values, and respect our similarities and differences, while accepting we are all human and equal. Our love for your child, no matter what culture or background they come from, will never change the way we look at them, raise them, support them, teach them, and bond with them.

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Passions and Careers

Shannon is a teacher, which was always her dream job. In 2013, Shannon started her teaching career as a preschool teacher. Shannon’s passion for teaching 2-5-year-olds is so rewarding for her because she is able to watch them learn, socialize with their friends, use their imaginations, and grow into the beautiful little humans that they are.

Thomas has worked in the golf industry for over 15 years. He started in retail while in college and then transitioned to a golf course where he became an instructor, teaching players of all ages and skill levels. He now works for a golf manufacturer in the fitting department, helping staffers and instructors throughout the nation. His passion is seeing golfers succeed in their goals and grow their passion for the game.

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Our Families & Friends

There is so much to say about our families and our friends as we have the most incredible support system in them. They have all been with us on our journey to start our family and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We both think very highly of our friends and our families and value all of their opinions. They have continued to express their support and are excited for what is to come for us as we venture on this journey to adopt. Most of our friends have kids ranging in age from infants to teenagers. Our families have similarities, they are also very different. Shannon was raised by her parents who have been married for 45 years. She has two older brothers and her cousin who she considers to be a sister as her parents became her legal guardians when she was just 4 years old.  Between Shannon’s three siblings, your child will have cousins as old as young as 8 and as old as 25. In addition to them, your child will also have many other cousins as Shannon’s side of the family has cousins ranging from 3 years old to 18 years old. With this wide range in age, we know that every single one of these kids is so ready to welcome a new cousin to our bunch.

Shannon’s family also loves to have big family get-togethers for holidays, birthdays, and any excuse to be together as a family. Thomas was raised by his parents as an only child. They would have been married for 45 years, but unfortunately, Thomas lost his dad when he was just 22 years old. He is very close with his mom and she only lives a few hours away.

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Family Traditions

Some of the traditions that are most important to us as a couple are those that were started by our parents and their families before we were even born. Our dream is to carry on these same traditions, as well as create new ones, with your child. Our favorite trips are with family members. Every year, we go to Bishop, a quaint little community in the Eastern Sierras, where Shannon’s grandparents started visiting almost 50 years ago because her uncle had built the cabins there. It’s a little community made up of cabins in the mountains, and its beauty and peacefulness always draw us there every year along with all the hiking trails, fishing spots, boating fun on the lake, and most importantly the quality time we get to share with our family. Another tradition of Shannon’s family is camping at one of the nearby state beaches. Her parents have been camping there for over 40 years and Shannon’s first camping trip was when she was only 3 months old.  It started out as a weekend family trip that has now grown to a week-long event with friends and family. This is where we had our first real date.

Family trips to Hawaii are one of Thomas’ top family traditions. These trips are special and sentimental to us because it is where we spent our honeymoon and the first place we visited as a married couple.

We have some casual weekly traditions too, like going to our local pizza place every Friday night for pizza and sports games on TV. One of the owners is a friend and neighbor of ours. It’s a family-friendly place that we look forward to going to every Friday night to end our busy work week.

Along with our traditions that were carried on, we also want to be able to create new traditions like wearing matching pajamas at Christmas time as a family and having weekly family movie nights. These kinds of traditions are simple, creative, and fun and will be fond moments for your child to look back on when they are older.

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Our Promise to You

Our promise to you is that we will nurture, care for, unconditionally love, and include your baby in all aspects of our life. We want nothing more than to create a family bond that is strong, caring, and compassionate, and to give your baby the best life possible. We promise to provide for your baby as best as any loving parents can. We promise to give your baby every opportunity to succeed in life and support their dreams and aspirations. We also promise to empower your child by telling them about their cultural background, where they came from, and who you are. Love is a very strong word, not to be taken lightly, and we promise to love your baby with all of our heart.