Our path to adoption has been very straightforward. Annalisa found out early in her life that she would not be able to have biological children. After we started dating, and saw a future together, we began discussing our desire to adopt. That dream came true in 2023, when we adopted our son, Jackson. Now that we have Jackson in our lives, we truly can't imagine building a family any other way.

Adoption is something that is talked about often in our household. We celebrate and talk about Jackson's adoption story frequently and openly. We are very proud of how Jackson became a part of our family and we want to raise him to be proud of his adoption story. We have a collection of books in Jackson's library with themes of adoption. These books are already a part of our nightly rotation. Once he is old enough to understand the basic concepts of adoption, we plan to use these books as a way to initiate the retelling of his own story.

We are grateful that our children will be able to share the common thread of being adopted. While their adoption story, birth families, and heritage will be uniquely their own, they will have each other to lean on throughout their lives.

Annalisa About Kevin: Kevin has the unique ability to light up the world around him. He has an infectious, fun-loving personality that immediately puts his friends and family at ease. Kevin is hilarious. He is very witty and has the corniest "dad" jokes. I always knew that Kevin would be an incredible father, but he has exceeded all expectations. Kevin has an incredible sense of humor and zest for life that has brought so much joy to our family. I love watching our son look at Kevin with the same admiration and love that I have for him. Kevin is smart, dedicated and driven. I am so excited to watch his love and passion for life expand and grow as we welcome another child into our home.

Kevin About Annalisa: Annalisa is the most loving, nurturing and patient individual I have ever known. To complement these traits, Annalisa is also successful and incredibly intelligent, proven by her double degrees in Art and Psychology. It is amazing to watch her collage of traits and talents in action around our friends and family. Annalisa is always catering to others and brings a glow that radiates the room.

My love and admiration for Annalisa was only escalated when witnessing her become a mother. I truly believe that Annalisa was meant to be on this path where she has the privilege to adopt and share her incredible self and love with our children.

We feel very fortunate to live in an area where there is so much cultural and religious diversity. The Bay Area is home to many parades, festivals, restaurants, and gatherings that celebrate cultural traditions. We will raise our children to embrace cultural and racial diversity. We are proud of the fact that we have already found ways to introduce our son Jackson to diverse cultural experiences.

We have made a vow to always celebrate our children's heritage and identity together as a family, even if it is different than our own. Jackson is Hispanic and we prioritize finding ways to honor this part of his identity. We integrate aspects of his heritage into our daily lives. Every night, Kevin and Jackson sit down together and learn new words in Spanish. We have started new family traditions to complement our own cultural traditions. One of our favorite new traditions is tamales on Christmas morning.

We want our children to always be proud of their ancestry. We promise to educate ourselves on important topics, beliefs, traditions and history of the culture that they come from. We will pass this education on to our children through stories and books and by attending events that celebrate this culture. As a family, we will embrace each other's uniqueness and strengths and recognize that our differences beautifully complement one another.

We live in a 3-bedroom 2-bath home in a sunny suburb in the Bay Area of Northern California. When we were searching for homes, we fell in love with the community that we now live in. Our town is consistently ranked as one of the safest towns in California and is very family oriented. Our neighborhood is a short walk from the elementary, middle, and high school which has made it very popular for families with young children. Neighborhood kids still walk and ride their bikes to school and meet up after school at the downtown ice cream shop or park. During the summers, families ride their bikes or golf carts to the neighborhood pool. One of our favorite summer activities is downtown concerts in the park. Neighbors wake up early to claim their spot by laying out picnic blankets and setting up chairs. The kids turn the lawn in front of the stage into a dance floor and have even more fun than the adults.

One of the best parts about living in our town is that we live down the street from Kevin's cousin and family who are also our best friends. They have a son who is several months younger than Jackson. Raising our families alongside each other has been so much fun. We spend summers swimming and barbecuing in their backyard, take our kids to music class together, and enjoy spending time together downtown. We are grateful that we have family down the street to lean on when needed, and that our children will grow up with cousins who are more like siblings.

Most of Kevin's extended family, including his parents, live within an hour-and-a-half drive which makes day or weekend visits easy and frequent. Kevin's brothers and their families live in Colorado and Hawaii. Our trips to visit our Colorado family almost always include endless board games, trips to the children's museum, park visits and ending the day with s'mores around the fire pit. Visiting our family in Hawaii is a blast! We love to drive around the island together, find the best local food, and make Hawaiian leis.

Annalisa's parents live in Texas where she grew up. Despite the physical distance, her parents are very involved in Jackson's life. They are both retired and love to come visit their only grandchild! We see them monthly and spend almost every holiday together. One of our favorite traditions is Thanksgiving in Texas with family friends and the Dallas Turkey trot. Annalisa's extended family is ever-growing as her cousins continue to grow their families. We love watching the newest generation run around the family cottage on Lake Michigan, just as Annalisa and her cousins did.

One of the best surprises has been how much our parents love spending time together. We are grateful that our children will grow up celebrating holidays with both sets of grandparents. Our parents are the most incredible grandparents to our son. They are elated that we are growing our family and can't wait for another grandchild.

Our story began in 2015 when we met on a blind date. We had been dating for four years when Kevin Proposed to Annalisa at a local winery with friends and family hiding behind the grapevines. As soon as Annalisa said "Yes", our friends and family ran out to celebrate with us. We got married in the fall of 2020. With the pandemic in full force, it was not the wedding we had intended, or the wedding we had imagined, but it ended up being perfect and we wouldn't change a thing. A few months later we bought our first home together. When we were searching for homes, it was important to find a house in a neighborhood with a strong sense of community. We knew that this would be the house that we would one day raise our children in.

As cheesy as it might sound, our home is full of love and laughter. Our household is bursting with toddler energy and on any given evening, you will find the three of us chasing each other around the island, dancing in the silliest ways possible, laughing until we cry, and ending the evening by reading books together. Our lives are not perfect, but the three of us are a team and there is no place we would rather be than with each other. Our hearts are full, but we know we have room for another piece. The three of us have so much more love to give.

As we are sitting here writing this letter together, we are realizing that this is the most important letter that we will ever write. Not only because it is our first introduction to you, but because this is where we will make our first promises to our future child. We are very loyal. We are loyal to each other, and we are loyal to the promises that we make.

This is what we promise to you: We promise to share with your child as much about you, your family, and your culture as you would like us to. We promise to teach your child to keep a special place in his or her heart for you. We believe that talking about adoption is not something to shy away from, but something to embrace and celebrate. We will celebrate your child's adoption day with as much attention as we celebrate his or her birthday. We promise to keep you updated with pictures, videos, and letters. If you wish to be more present in your child's life, we would love that! We promise to learn and adapt along with you. We will navigate this experience together.

This is what we promise to our future child: We promise to be committed and supportive parents. We both feel lucky that our own parents have been wonderful examples of this. We promise to be at every school event, recital, and sports tournament. We also promise to be the loudest cheering parents on the sideline! We promise to help our child become the person they are meant to be. We promise to provide a strong and well-balanced education that sets him or her up for the future. We will stay up late to help build science fair projects and help study for math exams. We promise to teach our child about culture, nature, spirituality, and compassion. We promise that our child will be surrounded by friends and family who love him or her fiercely. He or she will have the BEST and most compassionate big brother. We will provide endless family adventures, whether it be trips to visit grandparents in Texas, family in Hawaii, our family cottage in Michigan, or a quick trip to lake Tahoe. We promise to provide a home that feels cozy and safe and is full of love and laughter.

There is no way for us to fully understand what you are going through. We know that you have tough decisions ahead of you, and we hope that you find peace in what you decide. We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you for taking the time to learn about who we are and our life together. We are far from perfect, and like everyone else, we will make mistakes along the way. But one thing is for sure. If pursuing an adoption plan is what you decide, and if we are lucky enough to be chosen to parent your child, we promise to spend the rest of our lives making sure that your child is supported and LOVED in every way possible.

Kevin & Annalisa