James and Sameer

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From Us to You

We are very thankful that you are considering us worthy of raising your baby. We cannot fathom the courage that you must muster to make that difficult decision, and we have nothing but admiration and gratitude for you. We met six years ago, just before the pandemic. Even during our early (and socially distanced) dating it was truly clear that we wanted a child to love, nourish, and share our lives and home with.

We feel immensely blessed with terrific families and friends who love us unconditionally, and your baby will receive the same unconditional love. They will have our hearts, love, time and support to develop their unique skills and follow their dreams. Your baby will enter a home that will have two loving dads and two pups. We will make your child the center of our universe and invest our all into raising a happy, content, safe, educated, and kind person.

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Why We Are Choosing to Adopt

We want to adopt because we have a huge amount of love in our hearts to give, to raise, to educate, and to nourish. We both have older siblings and watched them immerse themselves in the joys of raising kids. Participating in our nieces & nephews’ lives amplified our desire to raise a child. We feel really blessed to have found love in each other, and have great educations, careers, supportive families, and friends. Adoption is clearly the best way for us to realize our dream to have a child to love and nurture.

Your involvement: If you are open to the idea, we would love to meet you during your pregnancy so that we can get to know each other. We believe that you will see our dedication to give your baby a happy, healthy, and rewarding life. We would want to provide any information that you would like shared with them and are open to your involvement after birth.

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Lifestyle

We work hard, play hard and decompress hard! A few times a year we try to bring together all our friends and family to celebrate milestone birthdays, holiday dinners, and Indian festivals that Sameer grew up with. Recently we celebrated the arrival of a friend’s newborn. For such events Sameer has been honing his cooking skills and James is a willing guinea pig on his ‘experiments.’ Our pets are the center of our attention (they would not have it any other way). We regularly enjoy hiking with them up the Hollywood hilltops or more challenging treks in the San Bernadino Mountains. Traveling is a major passion of ours—to visit family in India, friends on the East Coast, and, when we can, visit other international destinations. James loves to explore history & architecture and Sameer focuses on cuisine and adventure.

Careers / Passions:

Sameer is an ICU physician and works fifteen shifts a month and is home about half of the time. James is a commercial architect who works two days a week from home. Our careers have been terrifically rewarding, and we are excited by the chance to share some of our passions with the next generation. We hope that our future child will learn compassion and dedication from their doctor parent, and creativity and problem solving from their architect dad.

Fun Facts About Us:

• We have traveled to 24 countries and counting.
• We got engaged under a hand-made, fiber-optic creation of the northern lights.
• We do yoga together in our living room every morning.

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About Sameer by James

Two characteristics come to mind when I think of Sameer, upbeat and caring. He is the most cheerful person that I know, full of laughter, and he never fails to put a positive spin on things. Sameer’s infectious laugh, smile, and kindness can better anyone’s day. This aspect of his personality is especially vivid considering that in his day-to-day stressful job as an ICU doctor who deals with critical life-and-death issues. He is incredibly caring and nurturing, and he goes out of his way to aid family, friends, and often strangers alike. Because of this our household is full of laughter and caring.

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About James by Sameer

James is very artistic and romantic. When we were dating, he told me that he would propose under the Northern lights, and later he surprised me by creating an elaborate fiber optic display of the Northern lights. It was the best proposal possible.

He is the gardener and handyman of the house. He believes in DIY, and I am his loyal apprentice. He is supportive to my endeavors too; my favorite sous chef who chops onions like a pro.

My caring husband wakes up early and lets the dogs out so I can have an extra half hour of sleep, which I am eternally grateful for. He always encourages me to eat healthy, exercise and take care of myself.

James excels at everything he puts his mind to. I am always mesmerized by how his colleagues love his work ethic and dedication. At the same time, he somehow makes time to follow his passion by teaching an architecture class on the side.

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Our Home

When we purchased our home three years ago, we sought enough space to expand our family. It includes an office where James works part-time at home plus three bedrooms. Our single-family home is about 10 miles from downtown Los Angeles located on a green suburban street in Burbank with old oak trees that change color in autumn. We are lucky to have very friendly and culturally diverse neighbors. We have a beautiful front yard created by James as a succulent garden. We love our open courtyard that has a large picnic table and is where we host many get-togethers with friends and family. The backyard is gated and safe for our dogs, and hopefully a child to run around. It has space for a swing set and sand box, which we dream of. The weather is usually perfect for year-round outdoor activities. We are near various hiking trails that we take advantage of on most weekends. We are also close to the beaches and mountains. We love exploring our city.

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Our Family

We have been blessed with a big family and a network of close friends. We spend a few weeks with Sameer’s family each year, including parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, nieces, and nephews. When we don’t travel to India, they either visit us in California or we meet them internationally. James’ brother’s family lives nearby and they visit us regularly. James’ mom lives next door to us, and we see her daily. One of our best friends in Los Angeles just added a baby to their household, and we would be thrilled to embark on a similar parenting journey.

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Racial and Cultural Diversity

Cultural and racial diversity in several ways already defines our household. We live in a terrifically varied city and participate in its rich diversity every day. James’ background is American white Protestant, and Sameer’s parents are Hindu Indian. We embrace aspects of several belief systems in a way that nourishes our spiritual lives. James’ father was adopted and his nephew was adopted from Kazakhstan. We have friends from all around the world. Our extended family includes “mixed” marriages like ours that have strengthened and enriched our family with distinct cultural traditions—we wouldn’t have it any other way! We hope to expose your baby to diverse views and cultures, to feel genuinely grounded in good morals. We believe in providing an open-minded environment and encouraging good decision-making skills.

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Traditions

Sameer moved from India to the US over twenty years ago, and we try to travel to India each year to see Sameer’s parents as well as his siblings, nieces, and nephews in Delhi. We plan to stay in California, though our child would certainly enjoy regular trips and become very acquainted with the food and culture of India. We are sure, our family in India would love to meet the grandchild as often as possible and spoil them.

James’ mother—the matriarch of the clan—lives next to our home in her small unit and is a great bond for family get-togethers at Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Diwali. We can see her clicking away on Amazon, shopping for the new bundle of joy. We are both into sketching and painting.

Creativity is key to us. We are ready to encourage the child to create art with hand and footprints! Both sides of our families have many elementary teachers, and James taught sixth grade before studying architecture. In this respect education is a family tradition, and we would fully intend to provide all opportunities available—and possibly some tutoring from grandma next door.

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Our Pets

When someone asks what type of dogs we have – we tell them the ‘BEST type.’ Nico is half- Chihuahua and half-Terrier—protective, sweet, and usually quiet. Our second dog, Yeezy, is half-Dachshund and half-Pointer—invariably loyal with a remarkable drive to please. As we both did growing up, we hope to raise a child in a family with puppy companions.

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Our Promise to You

Type of Parenthood:

Unconditional love, intellectual development, individuality, and understanding right from wrong will serve as our pillars to raise your baby. They will be provided with a safe environment and resources to flourish. We will love them and they will be encouraged to formulate their own thoughts, plans and decisions; we will always do our best to steer them away from harm.

We would like to thank you again for considering us as prospective parents for your baby. We want to assure you that your baby will be in the safest hands and the most loving hearts. We promise to provide them with all the resources needed for a joyful, loving life. They will feel the loving support from parents, friends, and our extended family. We will be their biggest cheerleaders! The child will know that they were an invaluable gift from a very courageous and loving mother.