The amazing and beautiful Silva family are having twins! While this is wonderful news, Shauna and Ang have faced some serious and unexpected financial hardships in the last month. As a result they have had to spend all of their savings and will need to short-sell their house just to try and get out from underwater, and will have to be moving when Shauna is 7 or 8 months pregnant! If that wasn’t enough, Shauna has begun experiencing significant cardiac issues associated with having twins, which will likely require her to go on bedrest and stop working much earlier than they had planned. Since they will be losing half of their income , they are now in an extremely precarious financial position and desperately need your help. Additionally, Ang and Shauna need to complete a costly and time-consuming second-parent adoption that includes a home study in order for Ang to become a legal parent and have the same parental rights as Shauna will have as the biological mom.

This fundraiser is to rebuild their savings, defray their impending medical costs, get them what they need to take care of their two babies expected in December, and save up for the adoption costs that they need. Our goal is to raise $10,000 to make sure they can achieve all these goals. Please donate anything you can and spread the word to all your friends. If you know Shauna and Ang, I know you will want to help them with whatever you can, even though they would never ask. If you don't know them, you certainly know someone like them: always doing for others and never asking for anything. Please help them by donating whatever you can afford to make sure their twins get a healthy and secure start to life!

Ang was born and raised in Kauai, Hawaii, moved to Seattle with her family at age 15. She studied business and IT at WSU and works as an "analyst"/project manager at Trupanion Pet Insurance in Ballard. She is a passionate animal lover and very involved in/supportive of animal welfare causes such as rescue and adoption. She spends her free time reading, taking Carbon to the beach or park, playing an alarming amount of computer games, and collecting cards, coins, and superhero memorabilia. I have not known Ang long, but it is truly beautiful to see the way she loves and cares for Shauna and see the excitement she has for her soon arriving son and daughter! A more loyal and steadfast friend you would not find!

Shauna was born and raised in rural Vermont, moving out to Seattle for graduate school at the UW School of Social Work. Since graduating with an MSW, Shauna has been a passionate advocate for homeless teens, foster youth and people with mental illness. She currently works in the emergency room at the UW medical center. In her free time, she is taking care of herself and her family, enjoying the great outdoors, and volunteering on a local non profit Board. I have known Shauna as a colleague and friend and she is inspiring every day.

Shauna describes their relationship like this: “We met in summer 2009 through a mutual acquaintance and pretty much that was that. We immediately connected deeply, especially over our love of the outdoors, our rural backgrounds, our goals and values about raising a family. We got married on the beach in West Seattle right by the ferry dock surrounded by friends and family in November 2010. We live in our sweet tiny house in Shoreline with our 3 year old lab mix, Carbon, and three ridiculous cats. We have had some ups and downs including Ang losing her job of 11 years in January 2010 and having some serious health issues in 2011, but in Spring of this year we were excited to try to get pregnant. With the help of a sperm bank and some luck, I got pregnant with twins in April! The babies are expected to arrive around Christmas.”

They are going to be incredible parents! Please help with whatever you can afford, and spread the word to everyone you know!