Samantha and Andre
LET'S START
from the
beginning
A FEW of our
FAVORITES g HOLIDAY TRADITION - SAM: 4th of July Fireworks & BBQ ANDRE: Walking to my Uncle's pond on Thanksgiving g APP - SAM: Podcasts ANDRE: Twitter, RedFin, Words with Friends g PIECE OF ART/ARTIST - SAM: Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights ANDRE: Vincent Van Gogh, Sistene Chapel (The Last Judgement by Michaelangelo) g HOBBY - BOTH: Gardening, Yoga, Hiking g VACATION SPOT - SAM: Hawaii, the Big Island ANDRE: Hawaii, Maui g PLACE TO TAKE A CHILD - SAM: The beach! ANDRE: El Capitan Theater, Disneyland g CHILDREN'S BOOK - SAM: Goodnight Moon, it's such a good bedtime story. Also, Where the Sidewalk Ends. ANDRE: The Best of Rube Goldberg, and all books by Richard Scarry and Shel Silverstein, I love the illustrations.
thank you,
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thank you, thank you! We truly appreciate you taking the time to read about us and for considering us as adoptive parents. As artists, CREATIVITY guides all we do, and we are so excited to embark on the most creative journey of all: PARENTHOOD. We have a lot of LOVE to give and can’t wait to welcome a child into our lives! 1. Sam's best photobomb of Andre 2. Sam's second-best photobomb of Andre
Dinner in Hawaii
our S tory e have been together for 16 YEARS! We are artists
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who met in graduate school. We were both teaching
With our portraits at an art opening
assistants and became fast friends when we decided
to throw a party to welcome incoming students. Together, we enjoy working in our studios, going to art openings and museum exhibitions, photography, hiking, road trips, camping, trips to Hawaii, cooking, and most of all, spending time with
AS ARTISTS, everything we do has potential to be a creative adventure!
friends and family. WE WILL TEACH OUR CHILD... g How to ride a bike, swim, and build a fort! g Learn to sew a button, fix a bike chain, and draw a puppy.
g To be curious, to investigate, and to ask the right questions. g To not only eat their vegetables, but to grow them too! g To say please and thank you!
La Push, Olympic Peninsula
MEET
S am 5 THINGS THAT MAKE me happy: g When Andre tells funny stories g A great book g Seeing my students thrive g Finishing a painting g Seeing all my friends at art openings Sam outside
Samantha by andre
amantha is the person our friends come to for advice, and so do I. I always ask her opinion about work, my art or what yoga teacher would be best. I cannot imagine myself without her, not only as my confidant, but someone who, day after day, can make me laugh and smile. I often see Samantha as the professor, who takes her work seriously, but I also get to see her goofy side, having impromptu dances in the kitchen or finding her humorous illustrations left on my desk. Her warmth and personality radiates. I often see children we’ve just met, taking her hand and holding it, or wanting to talk to her. It doesn’t surprise me since she wears her heart on her sleeve, and people just gravitate towards her.
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my career BY SAMANTHA I am both an artist, and a Professor of Art in a four-year university. I am deeply committed to teaching, and even as a kid, used to play school teacher with my friends. Before I was a Professor, I had many jobs, from librarian to gardener to cake decorator and museum security guard! My favorite part of my job is mentoring students and seeing them grow as artists and as people, it is my life's work to help others achieve their dreams through education. I am also an exhibiting artist, I have shown my paintings all over the world!
Sam in the garden
a little about me by Samantha: am an OUTGOING, SOCIAL PERSON who loves to talk, tell stories, and learn about
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people. I love to make people laugh and smile, and will always go out of my way to make others feel welcome and comfortable. One of my favorite things
to do is read...I will read ANYTHING, from the back of the cereal box to Pulitzer Prize winners to reading The Hunger Games with my niece. I also enjoy gardening, working in my studio, hiking, yoga, and going to museums and galleries.
It's nice to meet you!
Looking at art, is of course, a big part of my life! I am a playful person who likes to make up silly songs (all of our cats have had theme songs), dance while I’m cooking, and make funny cartoons that detail our lives. I can’t wait to start drawing our new family member too!
Sam with her work
U At Space Needle Park in
U
Seattle A few
of Sam's paintings
Touching up a painting
MEET
Andre 5 THINGS THAT MAKE me happy: g Samantha having coffee with me in the mornings g Alice our cat g Musicals g Our Cactus Garden g Hanging out with my brothers, nieces and nephews! Cookie making is always so fun!
Andre on the garden steps
Andre
by samantha efore Andre and I started dating, I had an “art crush” on him
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because I admired his artwork. Sixteen years later, I admire him more than ever. I am always peeking in his studio to see what he
has dreamed up. He is very talented and creative. When we were in school, he would leave little notes and silly poems in my studio, sometimes he’d leave sweets too! Andre is always thoughtful and kind, generous and supportive, and Andre and Sacha in Half Moon Bay
is one of the most intelligent people I have ever known. He’s also very handy, he can fix anything! Andre brings out the best in people, myself included. He is every child’s favorite uncle, always running around and playing hide and seek with our nieces and nephews, and making up silly games. I know he will be an incredible father, wise and patient, loving and compassionate.
Hey, thanks for reading about me!
a bit about me by Andre: love hanging out with my friends for coffee, going
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to Dodgers and Clippers games and jogging around the Rose Bowl. I also enjoy doing yoga and
planting cacti in our cactus garden (although I have a bit of a brown thumb, I’m working on it!) Being raised in Texas, I love telling stories about my family. I have 2 brothers I’m very close to (one is my twin!) and several cousins that I try and hang out with whenever they’re in town. The best part of seeing my family is hanging out with my nieces and nephews. I can’t wait to have them meet our newest member of our family!
my career BY ANDRE I am an Artist, Designer and Developer. As an artist, Sailing in Marina Del Rey
I’ve shown my work in Berlin, Amsterdam, Seoul and all over the US. As a Designer and Developer I’ve worked for large entertainment agencies like Sony Pictures, Dreamworks and Disney as well as corporations such as Cisco, Lexus and Pentax. The great part of my job is that I can work from home. Since the CEO and CFO of our company just had babies in the past 2 years, our company has an excellent policy on “Family First”.
Andre at work
Andre looking through the flat files
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ANDRE'S ART
Front of our house
e are 20 minutes from the Beach &
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the Mountains! Our two-bedroom,
two-bath house sits on a hillside with sweeping views of hills and the city. Our backyard is terraced, with lots of room to play, and several vegetable gardens and fruit trees. We have an outdoor kitchen where we take most of our meals during warm weather. In the back of our property, we have two studios where we work. Our neighborhood is family oriented, with lots of kids and friends close by, as well as quality schools and parks. We are also within 15 minutes of world class museums, galleries, and cultural institutions. We bought our house with a family in mind and can’t wait to welcome a child into our little slice of Los Angeles.
Our Home w e live in a cozy bungalow on a hillside, with
terraces that lead to two art studios, several
outdoor living spaces, and a spectacular view!
We have a cactus garden, fruit trees, roses, and vegetable gardens….we grow food year round. Andre built the fire-
5 THINGS in our home THAT REPRESENT US...
pit, and our garden shed, and we designed all of our own
g OUR ART COLLECTION, it consists of work we have traded with friends over the years g OUR WEDDING PICTURE: it’s the first thing we brought into our new home g OUR BOOK COLLECTION: it’s a timeline of our lives and all we have learned g THE PILE OF SHOES BY THE DOOR: Our shoe-free home is a part of Andre’s Korean heritage g THE UPPER DECK: We love to watch the sunset each night, and say goodbye to the day
with art and books, lots and lots
landscaping. Our home is filled of both! Our home is a bastion of creativity.
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Our garden
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The office - Andre built the desk
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Our back yard
THINGS ABOUT OUR HOME WE LOVE: g 1. Watching the sunset from our deck g 2. The succulent plants g 3. Our bookshelf g 4. Kids on the fridge!
4.
our
Family w
E HAVE A LARGE, MULTI-CULTURAL FAMILY WITH MANY MIXEDRACE NIECES, NEPHEWS, AND COUSINS. A mix of Korean, Chinese, Philipino, Latino and
At the Zoo in Cleveland
Caucasian cultures make our family the quintessential American melting pot. Our strong bond with our families has made our marriage even stronger. Andre has a large extended family with two brothers, three nieces, and one nephew. He has a zillion cousins, we are always going to weddings and celebrating the arrival of second cousins! Samantha’s family is smaller, her parents grew up in the South and many southern traditions,
Mom and me at Thanksgiving in Texas
especially food, remain. She has a sister with two nephews and one niece. Although they live in Ohio, we travel to see them often. Andre’s parents will be relocating to California so that they can be closer to us, we can’t wait to have big Sunday dinners together! One thing we believe is that family does not consist only of blood relations. we consider our best friends to be family as well. In fact, one of our closest friends officiated our wedding. Perhaps this is part of the reason that adoption seems so natural to us…you CAN choose family.
Andre and his dad on Andre's Birthday, they dress alike!
Grandma with all her grandchildren: future playmates!
family traditions WE HAVE AN INTERESTING MIX OF
Visiting the graves of our elders in Korea
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1.) FIRST BIRTHDAY: dol - This is the most important celebration for a child. Family and friends gather for a Korean feast of traditional foods, and a child is given their very first Han-bok, the traditional Korean dress. It’s a light-hearted event with lots of laughter. 2.) THANKSGIVING: Thanksgiving is always spent in Texas at Andre's uncle's farm. Every year, the whole clan flies in from all over for the holiday and we have a huge feast.
Annual Family Reunion Pool Party in Ohio: Nephew Joey
DON'T FORGET
Alice
3.) CHRISTMAS - We spend Christmas at home in Los Angeles. Samantha loves to cook the meal for everyone. Baking cookies and pies the week before the holiday is a tradition from Samantha's childhood.
4.) NEW YEARS - On New Years Eve, we gather and cook. We also have the “lucky potluck” tradition, where we invite friends over to make a meal of lucky foods from different cultures. 5.) FOURTH OF JULY - We can see all the fireworks from all over the city from our back yard, including Dodger Stadium! Every year, people come over and we cook out and watch the show. 6.) ANNIVERSARIES - Each year on our wedding anniversary, we do something new, or go someplace we have never been before.
As Parents, we promise to:
1.) unconditionally love, nurture, and cherish your child. 2.) remain open and honest, to share our adoption story and your courageous choice from the start. Your child will always know how much you loved them. 3.) provide a loving, safe, and stable home where every new day is a wonder. 4.) be patient, to allow our child to experience the world on his/ her own terms. 5.) set a good example, to teach and to guide, to always place the needs of our child first. 6.) see that our child has a superior education and the tools he/she will need in life. 7.) instill good values: compassion, empathy, grit, responsibility, and kindness. 8.) teach respect for all people, races, and belief systems. 9.) value art and culture and all that is beautiful in the world!
"Adoption has the dimension of connection — not only to your own tribe, but beyond, widening the scope of what constitutes love, ties and family. It is a larger embrace. By adopting, we stretch past our immediate circles and, by reaching out, find an unexpected sense of belonging with others." - Isabella Rossellini We are incredibly thankful and appreciative that you have taken the time to learn about us, and we greatly admire your courage and strength. Truly, from the bottom of our hearts,
thank you!
contact us!
If you would like to speak to us about adopting your child or have any questions for us, please contact your case worker at AdoptHelp by calling 1-800-637-7999.