Hello and thank you so much for taking the time to read our profile. We are Antonette & James from El Sobrante, CA about 30 minutes away from San Francisco. We have been married for five years. Our profile, we hope, gives you a glimpse of how much we love each other and how much love we have to give you and our future child!

Our Love Story

We met on the dating website Plentyoffish.com. Antonette looked at James’ profile and read one of the things he enjoyed doing is running five miles a day around Lake Merced in San Francisco. Antonette immediately clicked off his profile thinking we will have nothing in common. Fortunately, the website notifies the other party when someone peeks at your profile and it prompted James to email Antonette asking why she didn’t send a message. Antonette emailed James back stating, “I read you run five miles daily and figured we wouldn’t have anything in common, running is not something I enjoy doing”. James told her that wasn’t a requirement, just something he enjoyed doing so she said, “ok” and the rest is history. 

It was such a breath of fresh air for both of us to meet each other at a time in our lives where we were settled in our careers, settled in our own home lives, and able to concentrate on nurturing our relationship. It had our undivided attention. We were engaged after 17 months of dating, planned our wedding, and married within five months. There was no doubt we were meant to be.

We started trying to get pregnant 6 months after our honeymoon. We met each other later in life, 36 and 37 years old, so we knew the clock was against us. With all the fertility disappointments we experienced trying to have a baby, we asked ourselves do we still want to continue trying to become parents?  Without any hesitation, the answer was “YES!”, as we realized that, at least for us, being a loving mother and father together was what defined parenting, not shared DNA alone.

We are always matching...

As you can probably tell by our photos we like to coordinate the colors of our wardrobe especially if we are going to a social gathering or special event. It used to happen on accident in the beginning while we were dating. We would just show up wearing the same color without any mention from either of us. Now we do it on purpose! We think it shows a sign of unity within our relationship. We complement each other like two puzzle pieces coming together to make the picture complete. We can’t wait to color coordinate outfits among three!

My Wife Antonette...

I can describe my wife in so many ways and give you endless reasons why she will be an awesome mom. Her heart, spirit, and bubbly personality are warm, thoughtful, nurturing, and loving.  My wife is also a hopeless romantic. She enjoys romantic comedy movies or drama based TV shows, especially those that will make her laugh, cry, and anticipate the “happily-ever-after”. She provides me emotional, mental, spiritual, and financial stability. She embodies compassion and heart-felt sensitivity within our marriage and her contagious laugh can make my darkest days lighter. I am blessed that she is the first person I see each morning and the last person before I lay my head to rest. She is more than my wife, she is my best friend. 

Antonette works as a 911 dispatcher, Community Service Officer, and a team member of the Crime Scene Investigation unit for the San Rafael Police Department. Dispatching is her passion, not only because she understands the complexity of community service, but she genuinely loves helping people. Once we made the choice to start our family and because we believe having a more flexible schedule would be beneficial for the baby, for the past three years Antonette has been primarily working as the Community Service Officer. It allows her to create new and interesting events to bridge the gap between the community and law enforcement, also something she is very passionate about.

Antonette also values her relationships as a daughter, sister and aunt (“Tee-Tee"). Not a day goes by that she doesn’t think of, visits with, or call family members just to see how they are doing or ask if they need anything. Quite often our weekends are booked attending our nieces and nephews’ basketball, football, dance, and piano recitals. One of my wife’s favorite things to do is bake. I often find her trying out new recipes just for the fun of it. She is very creative when planning parties, weekend events or social gatherings that aim to bring family together.  She has an abundance of love to give to our future son or daughter, and I can’t wait to see her be the awesome mom she was born to be.

Fun Facts about Antonette...

*Watching reality tv shows, crime documentaries, or a Raiders game with James and Tyson

*Shopping with my mommy

*A good massage

*Drinking a good cup of coffee

*Baking all kinds of desserts

*Having a girls day out with my two besties

 

My Husband James...

I call my husband Mr. Optimistic! He has the ability to see the positive side of people or a situation no matter what. He is thoughtful, kind and patient. One of the things I admire about my husband is how spiritually grounded he is. He teaches me so much about the Word of God in a way that doesn’t make me feel inadequate.  He is a model train enthusiast and has built an impressive layout in our home, which I can’t wait to see him enjoy with our child. My husband is also a great cook. He was raised by mostly women so he picked up skills in the kitchen that I truly appreciate.

One of the reasons why I know my husband is going to be an excellent father is because I see how present he is in the lives of all his God children. They love and respect him as they do their own parents and he never misses a single event in their lives. He is protective and wants nothing but the best for them.  My husband is just a great example of a good man with a beautiful soul, and I will be proud to call him the father of my child. 

Like me, my husband chose and committed himself to a profession that helps people and tries to make a difference.  James is a Human Resource Specialist at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Jackson Mississippi. His responsibility is to seek and provide employment for our veterans after they have completed active duty for our country with an honorable discharge. His position allows him to work full time from home. This is such a blessing as our child will have all the benefits that go along with having a Stay-At-Home Father.

Fun Facts about James...

*Working on my model train set

*Watching my favorite cartoons like Flintstones or Batman and 80’s tv shows like Cosby Show or Roseanne

*Playing video games

*Watching or going to a 49er game

*Going to a café for breakfast with Antonette on the weekends

* Going to the gym

Tyson!!!

We have the most energetic Yorkshire Terrier on the planet!! He loves to stay on the move. He is always ready for a long walk and or running around the house with one of his favorite toys.  He responds to his three nicknames - Daddy calls him Big-Head, Mommy calls him Papa or Boobah - with the same explosive excitement every time.  Kids, friends, family, pretty much every one enjoys his spunky personality. Barking at the birds in our backyard, running down the stairs and through the house at warp speed, or just lying on the couch with us while we watch television, he is our furry baby. We love him so much; he is going to be so excited when he meets our new addition.

Our Home...

We purchased the home we live in specifically with our future child in mind. We wanted to make sure our child had plenty of space to play and explore. Our home has four huge bedrooms, three full-sized bathrooms and our back yard has several different fruit trees. We worked hard together as a team to make the house the perfect space to call Our Home.

Everyone calls our house the “Command Center” because here all birthdays, holidays, and family get-togethers happen. At least twice a month we have our niece and nephews (ages 7 to 9) over to the house for the weekend. They all live in various cities throughout the Bay Area and don’t get to see each other as much. Highlights are playing hide-n-seek, having bake-off competitions, playing bingo and video games. It’s always an adventure at TT and Uncle James house. We can’t wait to introduce our son/daughter to their older cousins.  

We also love El Sobrante because we are conveniently located in the middle of the Bay Area with our family members living just minutes away allowing weekly family dinners. Our quiet suburban neighborhood, where all neighbors (mostly working class and retired families) look out for one another sits at the top of a hill in a cul de sac. On any given day, you will see people walking their dogs around the neighborhood, mowing their lawns, or just taking an evening stroll because of the nice weather. Hopefully soon we can be one of those families on an evening stroll, walking Tyson, while pushing a stroller with our new baby.

Our Promise...

To always be a source of unconditional love and support

-To provide a stable home, good education, and loving extended family

-To nurture and navigate natural talents, dreams, and aspirations

-To always listen, one of the things that we believe makes great parents

-To always exercise patience and compassion when teaching right from wrong.

-To be their parents and life coaches their ENTIRE life

-To expose him or her to different places, cultures, and experiences through travel. (Unlike both of our first times, we want our child to be on a plane before they become an adult.)

 

Things we will teach our child...

*Love and understand the word of God

*Always be true to yourself

*Always do your best

*Stay ready so you never have to get ready

*Life is short, so always have fun

*Being angry takes too much energy

*Always respect your elders

*Don’t wait for opportunity, create it

 

Our Appreciation...

We can’t imagine how difficult this decision was for you. We admire your courage and are honored that you considering us with something as precious as your child. This child is such a gift, not only from God, but from you. Should you entrust us to raise your child, we will never take this precious gift or this journey to create our family for granted. We are committed to an open adoption, in part so that you have the security of knowing your child is loved and nurtured. We thank you for this amazing and beautiful opportunity to become first-time parents. If you’d like to learn more about us, please reach out to our adoption agency Adoption Connection: [email protected] or 415-355-4636.