It is with sincere hearts that we express our appreciation for your interest in us and in viewing our profile. While we hope this profile brings you into our world, we would gladly welcome the opportunity to get to know you as well. While it is true that we may not be able to understand all your feelings at this time, we believe that your decision is a brave, selfless one, and you have our genuine respect and compassion. We feel that it would be a great blessing and honor to partner with you to give your child a life filled with unconditional love, security, and family joy. We hope that it brings you comfort to know that your child will be cherished by us every single day.

We hope that this profile shows the love we have to give, a love that would be given while holding you in the highest regard every step of the way.

We met in 2006 during Christmas break, when we were freshmen at different colleges, at a party hosted by a friend we had in common. We found that we had a lot in common and a similar, cheerful approach to life. We became a couple soon after.

We dated throughout college and got engaged shortly after graduating. We were married on a picture-perfect day in September at Melanie’s childhood church. We’ve been married for over eleven years, and we feel no less enthusiastic about our own relationship and our closely-knit families.

In 2021, we welcomed our son, Johnny, into our family through the adoption process. He changed our lives in the best possible way. Based on the wishes of Johnny’s birthmother, we have a closed relationship with her, but we would be willing to have an open or semi-open relationship with her in the future if she were to change her mind.

We initially tried starting our family in 2014. We enjoyed good health and were reasonably certain that a pregnancy would happen for us. We hoped it would happen sooner rather than later, but we were unsuccessful. After years of medical intervention, we were ultimately diagnosed with infertility. It was heartbreaking, but we never lost hope. We both had a strong desire to be parents and decided that we would grow our family through adoption. In 2021, we matched with a birth mother, and she gave us the biggest blessing of our lives, Johnny.

We would like to grow our family through adoption again because we have more love to share.

Melanie grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, the oldest of three girls. She is incredibly close with her two sisters and parents. In her youth, Melanie loved being involved in theater with her sisters. She also grew up playing sports. Although she was never a great athlete, she participated because of the extra time it allowed her to spend with her dad.

She was the camp counselor at age 16 who never lost her patience and was the first to hug a child with a scraped knee. At age 20, she was the dinner server at the nursing home who stayed after her shift ended to look at photos of grandchildren or to paint the residents’ nails.

After college, Melanie used her degree in Human Development and Family Studies to continue caring for both the youth and the elderly. She has been the activities coordinator at three nursing homes and currently works at the preschool that Johnny attends. Melanie is known by other parents and teachers for her patience and kindness. In her free time (what little there is), Melanie enjoys baking, exercising, and making crafts.

Melanie is the “fun” aunt to our 5 nephews and 2 (soon to be 4) nieces. She builds gingerbread houses at Christmas, runs around in the backyard sprinkler, and plays wiffle ball in the backyard.

Melanie is a loving and caring mother to our three-year-old son. She enjoys seeing the world through his eyes and sharing all the sweet and silly stuff he says. Melanie loves having sisters and is looking forward to providing our son with a sibling because “a sibling is a lifelong friend who knows you better than anyone else and will have your back no matter what.”

Matthew grew up in Delaware with his parents and two sisters. Both sets of his grandparents lived close by and were there to support him in his youth. Matthew has a group of friends that he met in middle school, whom he considers brothers. They are still close today, and our son refers to them as “Uncle.”

Many of Matthew’s favorite childhood memories took place outdoors with his cousins. Matthew loved crabbing on the Wye River and hiking and boating in the Poconos. In grade school, Matthew developed an enthusiasm for playing ice hockey, and he continues to play today.

Matthew obtained a degree in accounting, but transitioned careers and now works in federal law enforcement. For several years, we lived in New York, but his job allowed us to transfer to Maryland, and we feel like we are now in our forever home.

Matthew enjoys home improvement projects, video games, exercising, reading, and being an uncle. Matthew’s favorite activity is playing with our son: chasing him around the playground, constructing tents, racing cars, building Legos and trains, and playing sports. In addition to playing sports, Matthew shares his fandom of all Philadelphia sports teams with our son. He has already taught Johnny the Eagles’ fight song, which they sing together after every Eagles’ touchdown. O

We promise that our home and family life with your child will be filled with unconditional love and safety. We also promise that we will instill in your child feelings of understanding and admiration toward you for making the loving and generous choice of adoption. We promise, as well, to read bedtime stories and give endless hugs and kisses. We promise that we will keep your child warm and protected from cold and rain in winter, and in the warm months, we will teach him or her to swim, build sandcastles, frolic on the playground, ride a bike, play games, and, very importantly, to be a good friend and sibling. We promise to teach him or her the importance of school, homework, and studying as well. We will tell him or her that they are loved every single day, but most of all, we will show that love in every way possible.

Thank You!

We thank you for taking the time to get to know us through this book. We hope that it helps you make the choice that best fits what you desire for your child. We understand that it is a decision that is made equally with your heart and your intuition, and that it is a decision that takes time and much reflection.

The life into which we would be greatly honored to bring your child would include borrowing stacks of books from the library, making holiday arts and crafts, spending summer weekends at the beach, having pizza and movie nights, watching Saturday morning cartoons over pancakes, and taking Sunday strolls to church. But beyond all those things, what we have to offer most of all is unconditional love, as well as an esteem for you and a great appreciation that will endure forever.