Meet Mike & Emily
A video message from Mike & Emily
A Letter from Mike & Emily
We are Emily and Mike – Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us. We are excited to grow our family of three through adoption! We love traveling and experiencing new cultures, and are currently blessed by our adventurous life in Japan. We look forward to sharing these once-in-a-lifetime experiences with your child. We hope to get to know you better throughout this journey too and are open to scheduled visits.
About Us
We’ve been married for over 5 years, and feel that our relationship gets better over time!
As a family, we love to be outside:
• taking walks around our neighborhood or to our local beach
• visiting new parks & playgrounds
• hiking new trails in the mountains
We also love to do a few indoor activities like:
• eating at local restaurants & cafes
• reading, especially stories to our son
• going to church
We discussed our hopes for adoption on our third date and have always had it in our plans for the future. After the birth of our son in 2020, we were met with fertility issues and knew that it was time to focus on our adoption plans. We are so excited to finally be on this journey! We can’t wait to include your child in our outdoor adventures of walking, hiking, & playing at playgrounds, as well as experience our multicultural endeavors of trying new international restaurants and traveling stateside and beyond!
Meet Emily
Whether it’s in a classroom or our playroom, I LOVE teaching. I have been a teacher for almost 20 years and my favorite part of the job is the opportunity to mentor teenagers. I also get to use my love of planning for our family trips, as well as coordinating events at our chapel. I grew up in a musical household, and I love to sing too – whether I’m leading worship at church or singing (& dancing) to our son’s favorite songs.
I enjoy:
• being active outside – walking, paddle-boarding, bike riding, ANYTHING!
• reading books on personal growth
• painting
• spending time with family – immediate & extended
I’m so excited to sing with your little one around our house and use our everyday life as teachable moments to help him/her grow into the person God has created him/her to be!
Mike says: “Emily’s outgoing & social personality helps me enjoy my time with her, and I appreciate that she is naturally confident. Every decision she makes is always for the good of those she loves. She has high standards and is unlike any other woman I have ever met.”
Meet Mike
I love staying healthy by working out & eating well, and I share this passion by cooking & food prepping for the whole family. Outside of playing with our son & finding new ways to make him laugh, my other interests include studying history, current politics, and international relations.
I enjoy:
• playing board games
• feeding (rescue) animals & playing with our own cats
• reading books on history & leadership
• trying new international foods & restaurants
I look forward to helping our next child smile and laugh by reading his/her favorite books, playing with his/her favorite toys, encouraging him/her to play with our cats, and feeding the animals at our local sanctuary!
Emily says: “Mike has a wonderfully calm personality and can make any situation fun. He is very considerate of others and an extremely hard worker. He is the least judgmental person I know. He constantly strives to lead by example for our son.”
Our Son & Extended Family
Our son, Castin, is a loving, social, and curious 4-year-old. He loves our family walks around the neighborhood, reading his favorite books at home, and RUNNING anywhere & everywhere. He especially loves our two cats, Hoshi & ‘Kuka’. He loves being around people – the more, the better! He’s excited to have a little brother or sister to play with at the playground, help around the house, and share his love for cars and trucks with. We know he’ll be a loving big brother!
Our Extended Family
We have family all over the country and love going to see them when we travel. If you’d like, we’d love to add regular visits to see you too – no matter where you live! We may live many miles from our extended families for now, but we are very close to them and video chat regularly with them. Our parents & extended family are very supportive of our adoption plans and can’t wait for another grandchild to spoil!
Our Home in Japan
Although we do not currently live in a stand-alone home, we live in a wonderful gated community where children are safe & can thrive. Our 2 covered balconies are extra safe with netting so kids can play outside on them, plus they overlook the quaint river that runs by. We are blessed to watch the sunrise over the Pacific Ocean every morning while drinking our coffee and getting ready for the day.
Multiple families live in our building with young children ready to welcome new friends. Our favorite thing about where we live is all the places within walking distance. Over 10 parks, playgrounds, and beaches are 1.5 miles away or less and we love walking to them in the evenings!
Our Promise to You
We look forward to welcoming your child to our family with open arms and promise to love him or her unconditionally. We can’t wait to guide and help your child grow into the person God has created them to be. We’re excited to share our passion for travel, diverse cultures, and exploring the great outdoors with your child. We promise to provide your child with a safe and stable environment and to comfort, pray for, laugh with, and support your child through every stage of his or her life. We also look forward to meeting you and staying in contact with you at whatever level you are comfortable with.
If you would like to learn more about us, please call or text Lifetime at 1.800.923.6784.
Learn More About Mike & Emily
| Mike | Emily | |
|---|---|---|
| Our Education | Bachelors - Business | Masters - Education |
| Our Professions | US Marine Corps Intelligence | Substitute Teacher & Chapel Coordinator |
| Stay-At-Home | No | Part-time |
| Our Racial Background | Hispanic, Native American | Caucasian |
| Some of Mike & Emily's Favorites | ||
| Color | Gray | Blue |
| Holiday | Presidents Day | St Patrick's Day |
| Dream Vacation | WWII sights throughout Europe | Riding hot air balloons in New Zealand |
| Creature | Humuhumunukunukuapua'a fish | Elephant |
| Hobby | Weightlifting | Singing |
| TV Show | Impractical Jokers | Survivor |
| Thing to Do with Our Son | Make him laugh (usually by wrestling & tickling) | Listen to him talk, sing, and dance |
| More About Our Family | ||
| Adoption in Our Extended Family | From friends to family, adoption has been in our families for many years. We have lots of friends that are foster or adoptive parents, and we love to glean wisdom from them. Mike's aunt, Emily's cousins, and our nieces have all been adopted, and each has their own unique adoption story. Not only does our family support our adoption plans, but they are excited to share such an amazing experience with our future child. | |
| Our Cats | We have two super friendly indoor cats, Hoshi (2 years) and Kuma (5 years). We love playing with them and laughing at them playing with each other. They are both great with babies and children and are very sweet. They've also been known to occasionally snuggle up with our son for naptime. | |
| Typical Weekend with Us | We love using the weekend for family time! On Saturdays, we try to find a new place to explore. Some adventures include taking a ferry to a local island to ride bikes, visiting the local animal rescue to feed birds, and meeting many new friends at nearby playgrounds. If nothing else, we at least try to take a walk around our neighborhood or down to our local beach. On Sundays, we try to make it to church in the mornings and use the afternoon to rest. Making forts, reading books, and singing songs help us wind down from a busy weekend and help us prep for the full week to come! | |
| 3 Things We Love About Where We Currently Live | 1. It's safe and healthy! Our home (in a gated community) has safety windows and nets on our balcony to make sure nothing can fall. Japan is also one of the safest nations in the world and is extremely kid-friendly. The stress-free island mentality, healthy eating choices, and active lifestyles make this a wonderful place for children. 2. There are endless places to visit close by. Whether we're looking to play at a new playground, walk along a new beach, explore a new museum, hike a new trail, or experience a new culture, we are only a few minutes (to a few hours) away from it ALL. 3. There's a strong sense of community. From the building we live in, to the church we are involved with, to the international school that our son attends, the people are not just helpful and friendly - they are family. Being so physically far from family, it is so nice to have people that fill those gaps. | |
| We Prefer a Child Who Is... | ||
| Age of Child | Newborn to 4 years old | |
| Twins | Yes! | |
| Gender | Either | |
| Sibling Group | Yes, with the oldest up to 4 years old. | |
| In Closing | ||
Thank you so much for taking the time to learn more about us. We're excited about this adoption journey and look forward to sharing it with you. We're open to any level of contact you're comfortable with - photos, phone calls, and occasional visits! We promise to embrace your child with love and patience and to give them a strong sense of hope and stability. We hope to connect with you soon! |
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