We are Stephen and Devin from California

What do you love about life? What do you hope your child will love about life?

For us, the answer is the simple, everyday experiences that ultimately lead to lifelong memories of happiness. These experiences don’t have to be elaborate or expensive; instead, they are just moments where all the senses and emotions of the scene are held in this precious instant of time. It is these scenes that we will carry with us throughout the remainder of our lives and will remind us of how great life is when times are tough. Finding out you have chosen us to share in the miracle of life with your baby will become one of these scenes ‘out of time’ in our lives, where we will remember the feeling of nervousness, but utter excitement that we will soon be fathers.  It will be a moment that we will forever cherish in addition to all the other moments we hope that we and your child will have together.

We promise you that we will love your child as much as humanly possible. When we talk about how we would raise a child, it is impossible to not think about all the experiences we had when we were young and how those memories continue to put a smile on our face when they pop up in our head from time to time. Those are the kind of moments that we can only hope to give a child. We imagine taking them to the park every day to play on the swings, late nights at Disneyland where they are in awe of how spectacular fireworks can be, walking with them to their first day of school and listening to them contently about how their day went when we go to pick them up and, of course, embarrassing them as we cheer as loudly as possible during their sports games. We live in Southern California where the sun shines brightly almost every day and provides us ample opportunities to teach a child something new, while building lasting memories.

Throughout our lives, we both have been met with trials and tribulation stemming from who we chose to love or what paths we decided to walk in life. We want you to know that your child will be raised in a home without fear of expressing themselves in their most authentic way. They will be given all of the emotional support and every tools imaginable to follow their heart’s desire and will receive all the support and strength to achieve their dreams along the way. We would raise your child in a home without the judgment and boundaries we witnessed, but at the same time, we would raise them to seek out and embrace challenges in life; to push the bar a little higher, to strive to make the world just a little bit better for those around them.  And in those instances where life seems to come crashing down, our hope is to have given your child so many fun and joyful experiences that it cushions the blow and reminds them that his or her parents love them so much and would do anything for them.

Even though we have never met, we want to thank you for even giving us your consideration. This will probably be the most difficult decision you make in your life, but just know that your decision will give us something that we never thought would be possible and, for that, we will be forever grateful. Your selflessness and generosity are two attributes that we will strive to instill in your child.

Thank you again and we wish you the best throughout your journey.

Stephen and Devin