Hello! We are Monica & Phil from Oceanside, California. Thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about us. We are more than thrilled to build our family through adoption, and we thank you for considering us for this opportunity. We know this is quite possibly the most difficult decision of your life, and we admire your strength and courage. We want you to know that we wholeheartedly promise to give your child a supportive home where they will be listened to, valued, and loved unconditionally.

Even in our early years together, we talked about how we wanted the honor of adopting a child into our home, and we didn’t have plans for a biological child. However, a recent change of heart led us to want to grow our family through both adoption and pregnancy. Our recent struggles with infertility confirmed that adoption was the right path for us.

Although we’re still trying to conceive, our commitment to adoption has only grown stronger, and our vision of creating lifelong memories with our blended family is a wish we hope comes true.

After growing up in the same city and attending the same high school, we didn’t formally meet until we both worked as food servers and bartenders at the same restaurant. We immediately bonded over our love of family, food, and education (we’re both teachers!) Even though we are no longer in the food industry, our love of food still plays a huge part in our lives. We enjoy watching food travel shows, trying new restaurants, and exploring new cities and cultures through their food. We are both very active and love being outdoors with our dog, Presley. If we’re not enjoying a new restaurant or hiking spot, you can most likely find us with family on the weekends. We are fortunate to both have very tight-knit families with whom we love to spend time & celebrate small and big moments.

I practiced gymnastics competitively for more than 10 years in my childhood. As a young adult, I got into Capoeira, a Brazilian martial art. I still love to be active and competitive and have discovered that pickleball fills that need. It’s a very inclusive, communal sport, and people of all ages can play. I look forward to introducing our child to this welcoming, friendly community as well as experiencing their interests as they grow up.

My dad immigrated to the United States from Mexico as a teenager. As a child (and even now), I loved listening to all his stories about growing up in Mexico. His stories and work ethic helped shape me as an individual and encouraged me to want to learn more about my culture and heritage. So, I started to learn Spanish in college. I studied abroad for one summer in Costa Rica and for one year in Spain. After college, I moved to Peru to teach English for one year. The students I teach today are from all over the world, so I continue to learn about other cultures. I can’t wait to share my interest in travel and culture with our future child.

Monica is easily the most selfless person I know, and I can honestly say that she has made me a better person in all walks of life. She loves unconditionally and values family more than anything else. She’ll meticulously plan and host events for both of our families, from the food, to the decor, and to the games, because creating joy for others and creating memories is her love language. Not only is she an amazing partner, but she’s an amazing auntie to our young niece and nephew who absolutely adore her. When I see Monica with them, I know that she would be the most loving and supportive mom anyone could ask for. She is completely dedicated in everything that she does personally and professionally. When I met one of her co-workers, she said, “Monica is a treasure!” and truer words have never been spoken. I’m so blessed to have her in my life, and I couldn’t ask for a better partner for this next phase in our lives.

From my childhood to adulthood, I was given the opportunity to explore many different interests. I grew up playing baseball and basketball, took piano lessons, taught myself how to play the guitar, and learned to play chess from my mom and mahjong from my dad. In high school, I worked on the school paper and eventually took my love of writing to college where I graduated with a degree in English. I became a Language Arts and History teacher, which is a job that I love. The 2023-2024 school year will be my twelfth year working in education, and I still get butterflies in my stomach on the first day of school.

My love of the outdoors developed later in life, and my favorite thing to do is visit National Parks. For me, it’s a reminder of how big and beautiful the world is, and this passion is something I can’t wait to share with our future child.

A room of forty-one seventh graders might sound like a nightmare to most people, but not to Phil. He embraces the chaos with an admirable calm, much like everything else he does in life. And the way his students look up to him is inspiring, but not at all surprising. He is definitely the rock in our relationship and leads by example, reminding me each and every day to focus on the positive and to take every challenge “one bite” at a time. I always feel listened to and appreciated, and I love how we just get each other. I think it’s also really amazing that he still has strong friendships with many of the guys he met in middle school and high school. And even with those strong relationships, he’s great at forging new ones and making connections with people. Just as he won over my heart, he won over my family very quickly with his charming personality, authenticity, and kindness. My niece and nephew think the world of him, and I know your child is going to feel like the luckiest kid ever with the absolute best dad in the world.

We live in the beautiful up-and-coming city of Oceanside, California. Both our city and our neighborhood have seen some incredible positive changes in the eight years we’ve lived here. We’re three miles to the beach and to the downtown area where arts and culture are celebrated. Exploring new restaurants, checking out food and pop-up shops at the Thursday night sunset market, and watching the surfers from the pier are only a small part of what makes our city great.

Our home sits within a safe, quiet cul-de-sac that has more and more younger couples with young children moving in. The elementary school is right down the street, and we see ourselves walking our future child, lunchbox in hand, to school every morning.

Our favorite part of our home is the backyard that has a grass area for lawn games, an outdoor dining table for family dinners, and even a firepit for roasting marshmallows in the mild Southern California winters.

We are both extremely close to our families. Phil’s parents grew up in the Philippines and moved to California in their late 20s. He grew up as an only child, but was surrounded by many cousins who he enjoyed birthdays, holidays, and sleepovers with. Many of his cousins now have kids of their own, which makes for very lively and fun family get-togethers. With his parents less than an hour away, we enjoy meeting up with them regularly to enjoy a homecooked meal together or go for a walk.

Everyone in our family is excited for our adoption journey and is looking forward to welcoming your child with open arms and hearts.

Monica’s father immigrated from Mexico as a teenager and met her mom while working in a restaurant. Monica grew up as a middle child, with a sister 3 years her senior, and a brother 10 years her junior. All her immediate family live in San Diego County, so family get-togethers occur often.

Monica’s mother has four siblings. Each year since Monica's grandma passed away, one sibling chooses a location for a family reunion, and whoever can make it attends. These reunions have been such a fun way to get all generations together in a destination we would not have otherwise visited. The last few reunions have been in Oregon, Montana, and North Carolina.

Holiday traditions mean a lot to us and our families. Every 4th of July, Phil’s dad wakes up at dawn to set out blankets at the lake in the same, perfect spot every year. After a delicious BBQ at his parents’ house, we walk to the lake to see the fireworks show from the blankets his dad laid out for everyone. Christmas Eve is especially big in Monica’s family. For what is believed to be an almost 100-year-old tradition, the entire family prepares a traditional meal of clam chowder and oyster stew that we eat at a long, formal dining table by candlelight. We often have more than 20 people at one table!

We hope to build a family in which we’re supportive of each other and learn from our mistakes, always striving to be better. Our family environment will be one that encourages creativity, open-mindedness, kindness, and gratitude. We want our child to learn the value of teamwork and commitment through extracurricular activities that fit their interests.

We promise to love you wholeheartedly and unconditionally. We promise to surround you with friends and family who love you for you. We promise to give you a home in which you feel comfortable to be yourself and express your interests. We promise to introduce you to a world of endless possibilities where your imagination can run wild and your dreams can soar. We promise to lift you up and empower, nurture, and protect you. Without a doubt in our minds, we will put in the effort day in and day out to ensure these promises are never broken.

We want to thank you for taking the time to read our profile. We hope that you’ve made a connection with us and have found what you’re looking for in adoptive parents for your child. There’s so much more to us that can’t fit into a profile, so please reach out if you want to get to know us better. We’re an open book! We think it’s really important for our child’s birth family to be a part of their story, and we’d love to talk with you more about what that might look like. We are open to staying in contact, keeping you updated and sharing with you all of their important milestones. That being said, we will respect your wishes, whatever they may be. We know this journey might not be easy for you, but we know that whatever decision you make will be the right one.