Jorge & Jessica

About Jessica by Jorge

Jessica is 43 years old. She grew up in San Diego, CA and has lived in San Diego her entire life. She loves being near her family. Growing up, Jessica loved spending time with her cousins. She played field hockey and was a cheerleader in high school.

As an adult, Jessica worked at her family's construction supply company before going to school to study hospitality. She then started her journey in hospitality, hotels specifically. She currently works as a sales manager for a luxury resort in Sedona, Arizona. Jessica loves the opportunity to work from home with the occasional work travel in her schedule.

Jessica was bit by the travel bug when she participated in a study abroad program in Salamanca, Spain. She loves international travel as well as a good road trip. Jessica is passionate about cooking and has an extensive cookbook collection. She also loves practicing hot yoga, singing karaoke with Jorge, reading, dining out and spending time with her nieces and nephews.

Jessica grew up in San Diego in part thanks to her grandfather who was a US Marine stationed in San Diego. He decided that he would set roots here 50 years ago. Jessica is very close to her family. Most of the family lives nearby so we see each other often. We spend holidays with both families. Jessica’s grandparents live 20 minutes away and they spend time with them at least once a week, if not more. Jessica parents, Steve and Denise, live 7 minutes from their home. Jessica has a big family.

Jessica’s mother, Denise, raised Jessica and her brother and sister as a single mother with the help and support of her extended family for about 4 years until she met Steve. Denise is loving, supportive, wise and the spiritual advocate for the family. Jessica’s stepfather, Steve, is a strong, hard-working man who was a supportive father to Jessica from the age of 10. Steve is a contractor and looking forward to retirement soon. Jessica and Steve even worked together in the family construction business. Jessica's biological father, Peter, was a strong, loving and charismatic man. Although he didn't raise his children, he loved his three kids and they loved him. Peter had a big heart and was always proud of Jessica.

Jessica also has a younger sister, Lorraine and brother, Joseph along with a stepbrother named Travis. All four siblings are close to each other and call or see each other often.

As the eldest child, Jessica is a natural caregiver…we even call her the “family manager”! She cares deeply about her friends and family and will always do her best to make sure their needs are met. She is intuitive and very easy to talk to. I think this is what makes her great at her job in hospitality and also will make her a great mother.

About Jorge by Jessica

Jorge grew up in San Diego with his tight knit family and plenty of extended family. He grew up loving baseball and played as a child. He still loves to watch the Padres games with his dad. As an adult, Jorge attended San Diego State University where he graduated with a B.A. in Communications. Jorge worked in radio broadcasting for 15 years before changing careers. He currently works for the Department of Homeland Security. Jorge likes playing guitar and piano, listening to music. He loves to fish, play tennis, golf, and baseball. his favorite Pastimes are watching the San Diego Padres, taking road trips and working on our yard. Jorge likes to attend local wrestling shows, the rodeo, comedy and live music shows.

Jorge’s parents are Mexican immigrants from Tijuana, Mexico. Jorge and his sister are first born American citizens and primarily spoke Spanish while growing up until they had to attend school. Jorge’s mother, Juanita, was a stay-at-home mom while they were growing up. She now works as a nutritional consultant. Jorge’s father, Jorge Sr, worked hard every day as a self-employed pool man. He loves to jog and travel with Juanita. Jorge’s mother calls our family "the eight" and are hopeful to change that to "the nine" or even "the ten". The Espinoza family is very excited to welcome a new little one into our family.

Jorge is the funniest guy I know! He makes me laugh every day and people love to be around him for his wit and humor. Jorge is also very patient and gentle. He is excellent with the kids in our lives and shows genuine interest in whatever is happening in their lives at the moment.

Career

By Jessica

I work in hospitality as a sales manager and sell a luxury resort in Arizona. I love connecting with my clients to discuss the needs of their corporate retreats and making their vision happen! Hospitality is my passion and I aim to provide the best level of service possible. I do love the bit of travel that comes with my job as it provides an opportunity for Jorge and my family to come along and experience the destination with me! During the pandemic, my job was made remote and I love working from home! It allows me to care for my family, cook and keep valuable time for the family as opposed to commuting, etc.

By Jorge

I work for The Department of Homeland Security as a Border Patrol Processing Coordinator. I enjoy using my expertise to support Border Patrol Agents with humanitarian care and intake processing of detainees and provide other clerical/administrative support to agents and other Agency personnel. Working on a federal level allows great pay, benefits, retirement and opportunities for advancement to support my family.

Home and Community

Our home was built with love and family in mind.

Jessica and Jorge sold their first home in 2017 after living in it for 6 years. After months of searching for homes, Jessica's father suggested she buy an empty lot and build their next home with his help. Her brother, Travis, designed the home. We had to go through a rigorous permitting process and our home has all of the safety precautions that are required these days. We have built this home with a family in mind. The "baby" room is situated just next to Jessica and Jorge's bedroom with a walk-in closet with space for their clothes and all of their treasured items. There is plenty of space for playing. We added a freestanding bathtub to the bathroom with space for plenty of bath toys at bath time! Our living room is open concept with the idea of always being together whether we are cooking, eating or watching the latest movie kids show! Our electric fireplace was added to create a warm and safe environment. The home is 1785 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.

Jorge and Jessica have been living in their new home for a little over a year now. The home is situated in the town where Jorge and Jessica grew up and spent most of their time with friends and family. Their home has a room specifically for a child and has a yard to play in. They live in a safe neighborhood. San Diego is a diverse and vibrant city. It is often called America’s finest city. Both of our families live no more than 15 minutes from us. The neighborhood is home to mostly families with nearby parks, schools, and recreation.

Interests and Hobbies

Together, we love to travel, sing karaoke, cook, dine out and hosting parties for the family! We plan on introducing a child to different types of music. Jorge loves to play piano and guitar while we sing (or screech) along. I am really looking forward to cooking and baking with a child! I want to teach them my recipes for lemon cake and penne arrabiata! We are also looking forward to attending baseball, lacrosse and soccer games in San Diego! Of course, Jorge will recruit his littlest team member to play home run derby and go fishing…I will be in charge of the picnic!

Personal Values

Jorge and Jessica are blessed with fantastic families that they treasure, but they want to grow their own family and share their daily lives, love and future together. We plan on continuing to grow in our catholic faith and teach this to our children. If they decide to take another spiritual road, we will support them. We plan on placing an importance on education and have plans on enrolling our child/children in a private school in San Diego and will encourage a college education and extracurricular activities.

Jorge will continue to work and Jessica will be at home full-time. Jessica is excited to share her time nurturing, loving and sharing our lives with a child. We plan on continuing our travels as a family. We love to visit family in Santa Fe, NM and Guadalajara, MX. Our favorite trip was to Paris for the romanticism, London for the shopping and dining and Liverpool for the Beatles magical mystery tour. We also love celebrating the holidays. We go big on thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, 4th of July...or any reason to celebrate!

Openness

We have always thought a level of openness in an adoption is important. While realizing the birth mother and the adoptive parents need to do their best to agree on the level of openness, we also understand this can change as we develop a relationship with one another. It is up to us to have an open dialogue to a child on how our family came to be, using clear and kind dialogue. It is very important for a child to understand where they came from, their background and information on their birth family. We will always refer to you in a loving and kind way. We want them to think of you lovingly.

Parenting

We were both raised with big, fun, supportive and loving families. Our best memories of growing up were with our siblings and cousins. We both have always had dreams of getting married and starting a family. Ever since I was a child, I had thought about adopting. Jorge and I took the journey together to research adoption and have decided this is how we will start our family. We look forward to sharing our life with a child or children and look forward to making new memories. Our extended families are so eager to support us in this journey.

In Closing

Thank you so much for being so brave. We appreciate your kindness and openness. Your courage and selflessness will a be blessing our family for generations to come.

If you choose us we commit to

Give a child our love, time and attention.

Make him/her our #1 priority over extended family, career, other interests...everything.

Sharing information about their adoption and their birth parents with only love and respect.

Allow communication with birthparent and child based on both agreed level of openness

Provide a safe environment where open communication is encouraged.

Practicing faith, patience, affection and respect.

Encouraging them to be their true self!

Love always,

Jessica and Jorge