Welcome! Meet:

James + Joelle

Teacher / Payroll Professional

California

Asian / Caucasian

Christian

All About James & Joelle
Why Adoption?
Gallery
Family and Home
How We Met
Advice to Future Child
Perspectives on Open Adoption
Favorites

All About James & Joelle

We are James and Joelle and are hoping to adopt. We are excited and anxious to grow our family through adoption. We feel incredibly fortunate with the opportunity to be considered as adoptive parents and look forward to witnessing how our adoption journey unfolds. We hope that our story will connect with you and provide a small glimpse into our life. Thank you for taking the time to get to know us.

We enjoy and love watching movies at the theaters together, and have been avid movie goers since our high school days. We also consider ourselves “foodies” and are interested in trying new foods and restaurants. In fact, when planning our summer vacations, figuring out what places to eat at is high on the list. We truly believe that variety is the spice of life! We enjoy being active and going on hikes on our traveling adventures. Overall, we complement each other and make a great team!

About James:

At a young age, I started participating in after-school sports such as flag football, basketball, and track and field. As a result, I developed a love of sports and learned about discipline, work ethic, and teamwork. These invaluable experiences shaped my character and led me to pursue a career in education. Currently, I am a middle school science teacher. My teaching philosophy is simple: find ways to connect with students and make learning fun.

My favorite sport is basketball and I am a proud Lakers fan! I continue to watch NBA games and play basketball with friends today. I strive to live an active and healthy lifestyle by going to the gym regularly. A hobby of mine is video editing. I truly enjoy capturing and piecing together photos, video clips, and songs for school-related and personal projects. I hope to one day create new everlasting memories with my wife and kid(s).

About Joelle:

I currently work as a payroll professional, where I have a hybrid schedule working from home and in the office. Aside from work, I am part of a Bible study group where I meet with other women to build community, learn more about God’s word, and to provide meaning in my life. During my leisure time, I enjoy indulging in movies and TV shows. I also enjoy spending time with friends, traveling with my husband, going on food adventures, and drinking boba!

More than anything, I have dreamed about the day when I would become a mom. As a young girl, I grew up cuddling with baby dolls and playing with Barbies. Family has always been a main part of my life and I look forward to the opportunity when I am known as “Mom”.

Why Adoption?

Due to infertility, we have struggled to conceive a biological child after years of marriage. Our longing to start a family has led us to adoption. We believe this is our calling and are whole- heartedly putting our best foot forward on this journey. We are praying and looking forward to the day when we become parents and get to hold our bundle of joy.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.” - Romans 12:12

Family & Home

We live in beautiful Southern California and love that our home is in a safe and quiet community alongside friendly neighbors. It is conveniently located to both of our jobs with a short commute to work. We are also within walking distance to nearby dining, shopping, schools, and parks. More importantly, we promise to provide a safe and nurturing home filled with love to our future child(ren).

Know that we are surrounded by an amazing, loving group of family and tight-knit friends. With their support, we are excited to bring our adopted child(ren) into this mix. We look forward to spending quality time with family and friends during birthday parties, holidays, reunions, vacations, game nights, etc.

How others describe me

My Husband James:

I love that James has a cool, calm and collective demeanor about him. When we first met, I was attracted to his mild-mannered personality and how good of a listener he is. ‘Till this day, whenever I want to talk about my day, he kindly lends an ear and just listens. It is his positive mindset and optimism that helps me get through difficult times.

I also love James’ patience and compassion. Being the wife of a teacher, I see first-hand his passion for teaching and how much he cares about his students. He is an awesome teacher and has made an impact on many of his students’ lives. He is always willing to go the extra mile to help or motivate his students to achieve their goals. In addition, his dad jokes reaffirm the kind of funny and loving father he will be to our future child(ren). I cannot wait until that day comes!

My Wife Joelle:

I love Joelle’s innocent, generous and loving nature. She has a sweet smile and a kind soul. It is evident in the way she treats people with respect. Her family, friends, and coworkers all speak highly of her. She absolutely adores and loves her nieces and nephew. I love seeing her eyes light up and her smile brighten whenever she is around them. Known as “Aunt Jojo”, she consistently remembers their birthdays, FaceTimes them, and does not hesitate to spoil them.

Moreover, I love that Joelle embraces her sense of humor and enjoys a good laugh! Her playfulness and laughter has surely rubbed off on me. Other qualities I love about Joelle are that she is organized, responsible, and dependable. She handles our bill payments as well as books our travel accommodations and activities. She is the ultimate team player and her willingness to selflessly help others is a trait I deeply admire. She is my rock and I am grateful to call her my wife.

How We Met

It all started in our American Studies class at college. James was a senior and Joelle was a sophomore. Interested in Joelle all semester long, James finally decided to add Joelle as a friend on Facebook during the last week of finals. Through a series of back-and-forth messages, we got to know and learn about each other. We then started to meet in person on campus and eventually had our first date with dinner and a movie. We have been married for over 8 years and counting.

Advice to Future Child

We promise to love you unconditionally and do whatever we can to help you have every opportunity to succeed in life. Trust your instincts. Be kind to yourself and others.

Perspectives on Open Adoption

We feel it’s beneficial for our adopted child to know where they came from. We are open to staying in touch with our future child’s birth parent(s) by sharing updates with letters and photos.

Favorites

James

Favorite Movie: Lion King, Remember The Titans
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: Christmas - spending time with family sitting around the Christmas tree opening gifts
Hobbies/Interests: basketball
Dream Vacation: Italy and Japan
If I Could Choose a Superpower: time travel

Joelle

Favorite Movie: Beauty and the Beast, The Notebook
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: Christmas - taking a walk and enjoying the festive lights
Hobbies/Interests: watching movies, spending time with family
Dream Vacation: Europe (Paris, France, and Italy)
If I Could Choose a Superpower: flying