Alfredo and Julie

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From Us to You

We are Alfredo and Julie, a fun, loving, passionate, faith-based couple that has been married since 2012. Yin and yang is how we referred to each other in our early relationship as we are a great complement and balance for each other. Alfredo is joyfully outgoing, big-voiced, a social uniter, and lives for the fullness of each moment, Julie is humbly reserved, soft-spoken, playful, and a bit more structured. We have spent the past 20-plus years teaching and coaching many children with a love and passion that spills out from our hearts and with an infectious energy.

We cannot deny that children light us up and we are excited to begin a new chapter in our family. Coming out of high school we did not know the impact attending college would make. It is where we began our love story and also changed our lives in ways we never could have imagined. At the time we were both focused on being student-athletes, Julie a softball player and Alfredo a volleyball player, and it is through these experiences that we met some of the most valuable people in our lives, built foundations for our careers, provided impactful life lessons, and opened the doors for our future. With the love for one another that has been present since day one, along with endless support that knows no boundaries, we have always lifted each other up to new heights. Our unified journeys helped us set a strong foundation for our relationship, we’ve built many memories together and now look forward to building new ones with your child.

The year 2001 was impactful for so many reasons, but we had no idea how it would change both our lives and lead us here today. Alfredo was in a tragic car accident, which resulted in the car rolling and ending up in a ditch. He would end up in a coma, with memory loss, a whole lot of heartache, and the recovery process was slow and steady. Thankfully he recovered and regained consciousness. Unfortunately, the tragic events of that day would create confusion as he awoke. Just months prior, during an unfortunate softball accident, Julie fractured the orbit of her eye, this would impact her physically, emotionally, and pause her play of college softball. As fate would have it, these moments would lead us to meet each other in college, where we began our unique journey together. We tried to have a child of our own, but doctors found a tumor filling Julie’s uterus and we decided a hysterectomy was best for Julie’s health. We knew God had other plans for us, and never closed the door to the idea of growing our family. Adoption has already been a part of our immediate family and we have experienced how beautiful it can be.

As you are deciding on your child’s future, we want to thank you for opening yourself to us and creating a pathway to parenthood that we could not do without you. The same love and care you are showing is what we will continue to show your child. Your journey has now crossed with ours and we look forward to supporting the relationship you desire for the future.

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Why We are Choosing to Adopt

We tried to have a child of our own, but God has another plan for our family.  It turns out Julie had a tumor filling her uterus, not allowing us to carry our own child. We decided a hysterectomy was best for Julie’s health, which led to our own prayers and conversations about how we would like our family to grow. Knowing we would not be able to carry ourselves, did not close the doors to thoughts of us growing our family.

Our family is not new to the adoption process, two of Julie’s sisters have adopted and we have an aunt who has fostered and adopted as well. We have been blessed with four children in our family, a nephew, two nieces, and a cousin. Because of them, we have witnessed first-hand how wonderful it is to be blessed by a child through adoption. The love, joy, and life each child has brought to our family is one we have enjoyed as Auntie and Uncle, and now we are looking to experience it as Mom and Dad.

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About Julie, by Alfredo

If you can picture the perfect person, then do so, except picture them a little shorter because my wife is all of  5’2″ 🙂 It’s amazing that so much love can fit in her heart. How she cares for people and the way she shows it, is absolutely amazing. Her tender heart has helped me grow not only spiritually but emotionally as well. After years in our relationship, I actually talk about my feelings. Because of the type of person she is, I felt safe and supported to change the stubborn, selfish mentality I had as a young man. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to make sure we are on the same page and to take care of her and our family. She will be the same supportive, safe place for your child too and I know they will grow up to become the best version of themself. 

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About Alfredo, by Julie

Alfredo lights up any space he walks into.  He has an infectious passion and energy that dwells within him, and he loves to bring smiles and joy to those around him.  I don’t think he has ever met a stranger, from his students to the cashiers at checkout stands, to elderly people in a restaurant. Anyone in his daily path will receive a genuine interaction from him.  He loves engaging with people and will take time to make a connection and spread joy.  Meeting him in college was so amazing.   He challenged me to become a better person, helped me to grow outside of my comfort zone, and expanded my vision to see life from a new perspective.  He has had many life experiences from living in California, the Midwest, and even Germany. He uses all of those life experiences to expand his growth and anyone around him that he can lift up as well. 

In his career, I was interested to see how he would go from coaching College volleyball to being a Physical Education teacher for Kindergarten through sixth grade. He is a 6’2″ big-voiced guy, and I kind of envisioned a Kindergarten Cop moment to unfold :). Without missing a beat he was authentically himself and his class is a highlight for the students and even parents.  He can’t walk down the hallways without being stopped by kids for special high-five routines and nickname calls. When we travel to see our nieces and nephews or even just Facetime, if he’s not with me, they are asking for him within the first 2 minutes of the conversation.  As soon as he arrives, they yell “Uncle Freddy!” while running and jumping into his loving arms. For years he has coached and taught and impacted the lives of many kids. I’m very excited to see him as a father, I know he will be all of this for your child and even more.

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Lifestyle

During our weekends, you can find us hosting or at family backyard barbecues. We gather for birthdays, milestone celebrations, to watch softball/baseball/other sporting events, or just to get together.  Both our families find any and every excuse to spend time together.  We love going to birthday parties for our nieces, nephew, Godchildren, and friends’ kids. You can hear a collective “Uncle Freddy’s here!” shout of excitement whenever we arrive, Alfredo is always a hit. Throughout the day you will find him covered with kids on his back, chasing the kids around the bounce house, and competing with them in games. Julie is busy keeping music lively, playing games (like corn hole), doing crafts, and keeping a safe space clear for all the fun that needs to be had. She is the memory keeper and photographer and can always be counted on to capture all the good times.

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Our Families

We are so fortunate and have a large loving family involved in our daily lives. In our immediate family, Julie is one of six and Alfredo is one of five immediate family members. We are so blessed as both families have united seamlessly and shared effortless relationships. Relationships are so fluid and strong within our families in fact that you can find our dads will call each other and make plans to hang out together, and our siblings even had Thanksgiving together when we were not with them. G-pop and Grandma V.V (Julie’s parents) celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this year and enjoy time with their grandkids, Gregory (9), Serena (7), and Elliana (5). Pops and Grandma Paula (Alfredo’s parents) have been married for 48 years, love spending time with their grandchildren Aden (13) and Jordan (11), and are excited to welcome one more in late 2023. Combined we have 5 siblings all with amazing spouses, in our tight-knit family. We talk and see each other regularly staying connected through family group chat messages, FaceTime calls, and family adventures together.

Your baby will have 10 aunts and uncles (in and out of state) that are all excited to share their love, engage in their lives, and support us. Additionally, we have local and out-of-state cousins, 2nd cousins, great aunts, great uncles, and other loved ones that have been in our lives for 40-plus years that act as blood relatives. Many of these family members join us regularly for special celebrations, weekend family time, and summer adventures. Every person in our family has a special personality so when we get together there is never a dull moment. There is no “event” too big or too small, family fills our home with love and laughter.

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Family Traditions

Many of our best memories have been created with our loved ones, there isn’t a holiday or celebration that is experienced without a minimum of 15-20 family and friends around. Our home is always open to all, we have always had people beyond just our family in our celebrations. If we had to choose a few holiday highlights it would be our Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Fourth of July celebrations.

Leading up to Christmas we have several family fun festivities from a baking party hosted by Julie’s mom and homemade posole (with lessons) made by Alfredo’s mom, and then home decorating moments. We are SO fortunate that our family lives within 20 minutes of one another, and both of our families get along so well that we combine all our family celebrations, it is an amazing blessing! We celebrate Christmas for two days. The host’s home rotates and we all gather, bring our favorite dishes, engage in entertaining games, we often sing, connect with each other, and celebrate the story of Christmas. Recently for Thanksgiving, we have chosen a local destination and made a mini family vacation out of that time as we celebrate. We all drive or fly to this new destination and enjoy our days in a big rental house together. Fourth of July combines our family and as many friends that can make it, in our parents’ neighborhood. Streets are filled with cars, tables are out in front of everyone’s homes, and food is everywhere, and we walk around from house to house enjoying the day and the community. When night falls the sky is lit up with fireworks as far as the eye can see.

We can’t wait for your child to grow up knowing the love and comfort of being surrounded by a supportive family and having fun traditions to look forward to each year.

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Racial & Cultural Diversity

We feel fortunate growing up in a family that taught us to honor, love, and respect everyone. We both appreciate the values, traditions, and cultural diversity we experienced not only within our families but within other families as well. While in college we built close relationships with teammates who would become lifelong friends, many of who come from different racial and cultural backgrounds. It was great to experience a variety of traditions and the love of their families as they opened their hearts to us. We engage regularly with many different people especially living in a diverse city like we do. As teachers and coaches, we also interact with students and families of many different racial and cultural backgrounds. We value our diverse experiences and as a result, we and our family are prepared to welcome a child of any background with loving and open arms.

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Home & Neighborhood

Living in southern California, we take full advantage of beaches (Julie loves to walk in the sand and take sunset pictures), hiking mountain trails, and enjoying games or summer concerts in the local park. There are so many experiences we have at our fingertips. We have a 3-bedroom home in a family-oriented neighborhood blocks away from an elementary school. Our big backyard has great space for sunshine, family entertainment, and play. Our front yard has the best shade tree and where we watch the kids playing outside and the walkers in their exercising routes. The living room and kitchen are where the biggest messes are made as we spend a lot of our family time making memories here. A room right next to ours is prepared and ready to be the nursery, loved ones are generously filling it with gifts and all the materials needed so we are ready.

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Careers & Passions

We have both been teaching and coaching for the past 20-plus years. Alfredo teaches Kindergarten through 6th grade, and Julie teaches 7th through 12th grade students. We find great joy in our students’ individual journeys, and they have prepared us in so many ways for parenting. We know that each age group has its own set of characteristics and appreciate seeing the growth through each phase. One thing we know to be true is that every child is perfectly made with unique qualities and gifts. It is our hope to guide them into the person God has made them to be, to positively impact those around them, and be a vessel of love. Not only are we in education but also, 5 of our siblings work in schools, universities, special needs communities, and have access to the support needed in opening opportunities for your baby’s future.

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Travel

We love to travel and our careers allow us the flexibility to go exploring whenever we can. During summer, winter, and spring breaks you can find us traveling on a plane flying to our siblings, or driving to an excursion. When we travel to Washington and Oklahoma, we enjoy our time in our siblings’ homes as well as our auntie and uncle time. We take our nieces and nephew to local beaches, museums, and the latest “cool” playground. We teach them new sports skills and play board games. We are fortunate that we connect in person with them regularly. One of our most memorable field trips recently is when we spent a 14-day road trip with our brother, sister, niece, and nephew. We drove from southern California to the Grand Canyon, on to Zion, then back through Las Vegas, and back home. The trails explored, the beauty of all the sights seen, and the moments in the car ride and hotel are unforgettable. During our trips anytime Alfredo can get on a golf course he will take full advantage. Julie likes to sleep in, explore the local shops, and find a good deal, and we both enjoy trying new restaurants and exploring new places. It is a beautiful country we live in, and we will show your child all the wonderful places it has to offer.

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Our Promise to You

Our family is ready with open arms to be the village around your child and to support us all. Our nieces and nephews are ready for a new cousin to dote on and both sets of grandparents could not be more thrilled to do some more spoiling.  We know there is a plan greater than ours in motion and ready to be parents when our time is called.