Welcome! Meet:

Chris + Amanda

Insurance / Sales

California

Caucasian

Catholic / Other

All About Chris & Amanda

We met online 10 years ago in Southern California and it’s been a blast ever since.  We hit off with a similar sense of humor and positive outlook on life.  When a job promotion took Amanda to Seattle, Chris quickly found room for his things on the moving truck and our life adventures have not stopped.  During our time in Seattle, we got married and purchased our first home. We’re now back in SoCal enjoying the daily sunshine, living close to the beach and we bought a house with space to grow our family. 

Most weekends you will find us attempting home improvement projects, watching sporting events, biking along the beach and seeking out new restaurants.  We enjoy going to concerts and trying to become the next top chef at home. Our extended family lives close by; a couple of times a month we have dinner as a group.  While our parents are a plane ride away, they remain a big part of our lives and we do see both sides every couple of months.

Why Adoption?

We always knew we wanted a family and adoption has always been the way we saw our family growing.  For biological reasons we’re not able to conceive children of our own.

Family & Home

Upon moving back to Orange County, CA 4 years ago, we purchased a house close to the beach, in a good school district, room for our anticipated growing family plus a guest room for visiting grandparents and space for us to use as a home office.  Our house is in a kid friendly neighborhood (lots of school aged kids around) with a playground a block away and walking distance to schools.  The best part of the neighborhood is everyone is super friendly and out and about.  We spend most of our free time in our backyard BBQing and enjoying the pool.  

While both our immediate families live a plane ride away, we see them often.  Amanda’s parents and brother are located in Colorado.  We enjoy visiting them and spending time in the mountains.  Chris’s mom lives in Northern California, close to where Chris went to college.  Our visits up north are always full of outdoor adventures and enjoying small town life.  We both have extended family that we see and visit often. Family is important to us.  Throughout our lives, we have fostered friendships that have turned into our chosen family. We make a point to see them as often as possible.  

We both love the adventure of travel and have incorporated our love of sports by visiting major league ballparks around the US.  So far we have seen 14 stadiums.  We love a quick weekend getaway to see the sites California has to offer, most of the time encouraging friends to join us.  Our love for travel extends internationally as well.  We can’t wait to show our child what the world has to offer.

How others describe me

Chris from Amanda’s point of view-

Besides Chris being the reason I can find my car keys every morning, I never put them in the same place twice he will tell you, Chris is always thinking about others and what he can do to help them.  I will mention something in passing and three months later he will bring it up and/or find a way to get it done.  Chris is a SoCal native who has a passion for the local sports teams and continues to show me the must know sights of California.

Kids gravitate towards Chris, he is the fun “uncle” who is willing to get wet from a water balloon or take some whip cream to the face (during a game of pie in the face).  He does it with a smile and is looking forward to the next time it can happen again.  Chris will be the dad who is there for the good and bad, ready to support a child no matter what, the same way he does me.  When I had an opportunity to take a big leap in my career by moving to Seattle, Chris didn’t skip a beat and said take it we will figure this out. I know Chris will be the supporting loving father to our child as he is to me.  I can’t wait to see him as a father-it’s going to be wonderful!  

Amanda from Chris’s point of view-

Amanda is the reason I wake up early every morning (even the weekends) with a smile on my face.  She has the ability to assess any situation and light up the room when she needs to and be the supportive rock when it’s called for.  I feel as though we’ve grown together in large part because I attempt to emulate how she conducts herself in a loving, structured manner.  She is very driven in everything she does and has a huge heart.  Amanda is always willing to step out of her comfort zone with the hope of discovering something new.  I look forward to the look of joy on a child’s face when Amanda lets them know about our next adventure.

how we met

How We Met

We met online 10 short years ago.  The dating website said we were a 94% match, so Chris emailed Amanda to see what the 6% difference was.  After messaging back and forth we met for our first date at a Chili Cook-off. We both soon realized neither one of us is huge chili fan, but the company and conversation flowed naturally.

Advice to Future Child

  • Take risks, knowing you have strong support network of family and friends behind you
  • Always look for the positive in life
  • Be honorable
  • Laughter is the best medicine
  • Be humble and be bold
  • Never stop exploring
  • Always strive to be the good other people see in the world

Perspectives on Open Adoption

We feel strongly that open adoption is beneficial for all parties.  This way the child knows where they came from and understands their story.  We’re open to quarterly communication and will be flexible/open to supporting a relationship with the birthparents.

Favorites

Chris
  • Favorite Movie: Big Lebowski
  • Favorite Holiday/Tradition: Our yearly Thanksgiving trip to some place we have never been before
  • Hobbies/Interests: Dodgers baseball, concerts, guitar, pickleball, home improvement projects and exploring near/far
  • Dream Vacation: Backpacking through Europe
  • If I Could Choose a Superpower: flying
Amanda
  • Favorite Movie: Field of Dreams
  • Favorite Holiday/Tradition: Christmas time sawdust pie, a tradition I grew up with.  The sawdust pie requires each participant buy small gifts, wrap them and then place them into a container full of sawdust.  From youngest to oldest we go around and pick the first present you touch-the coveted prize being a deck of cards.  The tradition was introduced to Chris and his mom, they loved it so much we’ve brought the tradition into their family celebration.
  • Hobbies/Interests: concerts, home improvement projects, travel, the beach, board games, pilates, live sports and spending time with friends/family
  • Dream Vacation: Australia
  • If I Could Choose a Superpower: teleportation-easy way to see the world

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