The first time we met was through an event posted on the Reddit for a local free showing of a movie, but the seats ran out so a group of us decided to get some food at a nearby cafe. Monte had a board game with him, so he invited Kaitlin to play the game.

We got to know each other over the next couple months and at a 4th of July party, Monte asked Kaitlin out on a date for the following weekend. We went to a local grocery store to grab stuff for a picnic and saw a play at Shakespeare in the Park. After around ten months of dating, we moved in together in Kaitlin's college town. We spent a few years finishing up our college degrees. During this time, we got married on paper for health insurance reasons, but kept it secret since we thought we would have a wedding later on. One of our friends got ordained online, and we were married on our couch in our tiny college apartment. After signing the marriage license, we high-fived on the couch, snapped a few photos, and went to a nice dinner.

On our fourth anniversary of being together, Kaitlin proposed on stage at Shakespeare in the Park in front of a large crowd during the intermission of the play. We then saved up money for the wedding, but ended up deciding that using the money to buy a house would support our future together much better.

Together we enjoy using our free time to play games, cook, camp, and spend time with our friends. We often play a game called Dungeons and Dragons, which is a group game where you play as a character in an adventure story. In addition to Dungeons and Dragons, we both play plenty of video games and we have a shelf full of board games that we like to bring out with friends around. Trying new recipes is something we do together often, though sometimes if it doesn't turn out well it instead ends up being a surprise pizza night! We go camping with family or friends a few times a year, where we enjoy hiking as well as hanging around the campfire. Also, each Thursday we go out with our group of friends to chat and enjoy some good food together.

Aside from things we do together, we are also very independent people and have some hobbies that we each do on our own. Kaitlin likes to sew and do other various crafts, read manga, bake, and collect postcards. She considers herself a "hobby collector" and tries out new crafts or activities frequently. Monte enjoys his science fiction book club, weekly hiking group, paddleboarding in the summer, and listening to podcasts and audiobooks. He enjoys most things that involve hanging out with others or learning about something new.

We have three cats: Bucket, Puddles, and Smudge. Bucket is a 12 year old large white medium hair cat with gray on his ears and tail. He is our oldest cat and certainly our laziest. He tends to like sleeping all day and enjoys being in the same area as us, and occasionally will beg for some attention and pets. Puddles is a 11 year old chunky brown tabby that is quite shy, but has come out of his shell since we started working from home permanently.

He and Bucket are bonded and often spend a lot of time together. Smudge is a 9 year old small black cat that absolutely adores people. He's curious and cuddly, loves to play, and is a total lap cat. He acts as Monte's shadow and work co-pilot as he spends all day in a heated bed on Monte's desk.

These three boys are an important part of our family and really make our house feel like a home.

Our families both live in Texas, where we are both originally from, and we visit them multiple times a year. Kaitlin's family is full of young children, since her cousins have had many kids in recent years. It's always energetic and loud around the holidays with her family, since they love to talk about anything and everything. Monte's family is absolutely massive, with six living generations, and they love to get together to camp, play games, and cook delicious food. Both of our families are very excited about our adoption plans and are looking forward to meeting the new addition to our family.

Every year, Monte's mom, dad, and often his two brothers come to visit us here in beautiful Colorado during the summer to camp in the mountains together. We also go on camping trips with them all over the United States. Each year, we spend Christmas and New Year's with Kaitlin's family. For the week, each adult couple makes a different dish for dinner each night, including meals like smoked brisket, gumbo, as well as plenty of traditional holiday food too.

In addition to our extended family, we have a large community of close friends here in Colorado that we love to spend time with. Each year, we host a Friendsgiving potluck at our home with around thirty people attending, including our friends' young children. At the end of the meal, everyone says what they are thankful for.

Our neighborhood is just down the street from an elementary school and not far from a middle and high school, so there are plenty of families with young children around.

We often see families walking their dogs and kids riding bikes throughout the neighborhood. Two of our direct neighbors have multiple children and they often come knocking to get a stray ball from our backyard.

Our house has four bedrooms, two living rooms, and two bathrooms. The kitchen is big and open and we found the biggest dining table we could for when we have people over for dinner or board games. Monte's favorite spot in the house is the upstairs living room, which we call the sunroom due to it's skylights and big windows that bring in lots of natural light. We often read here and our three cats enjoy napping in the sun.

Kaitlin's favorite spot in the house is the basement living room where we like to watch shows and movies on our big cozy couch. The darkness in the basement makes it a great place for our home theater.

Locally, there is a recreation center and library with lots of fun programming for kids, as well as a swimming pool. There is a large park with sports fields and a big playground just down the road, within walking distance. We often take our little nephew there for an afternoon of fun.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us as a family, and we are grateful that you would consider us as potential parents to your child. We understand that this is an emotional process and that considering adoption is something that requires a lot of courage and compassion.?We would love to have?a lifelong relationship with you and we believe that there is no such thing as too much family, and that having more?loving people in our child's life can only help. We are open to our child having frequent contact with you, whether that be through phone calls, letters, or in person visits. We?would also?send regular updates with photos celebrating important life events.?We are open to all of these things, but of course will be happy with whatever level of contact that?you are most comfortable with.?You would always be part of our child's adoption story.

We met in Texas in 2012 and got married in 2015.?Our love is strong and we?value our commitment?to each other. While we are very close with each other, we also make sure to spend time independently and have our own individual hobbies. The time we spend together is important to us, and we are excited to include our child in that quality family time. In our regular daily life, we like to play video games, watch anime, cook, and play board games together. Hosting small dinner parties is something we really enjoy, and we often have couples dates where we cook a nice meal together. We visit our families in Texas a few times a year, and go on the occasional vacation to state and national parks or to other major cities in the US.

Our hope is to raise a strong, independent, and empathetic child that will one day be a?kind and caring adult. We know that raising a child will be difficult at times, but we are looking forward to both the good times and the tough times.?Children are so full of energy and curious about how the world works. We are excited to share?our interest in learning, science, and nature with our child. We plan to take them to the park down the street, take them swimming in the summer, and to the Children's Museum where our little nephew has had lots of fun with us. We will read lots of books together and teach our little one all about cooking. Many of our friends?have young children and we are?looking forward?to our child being able to grow up alongside them. We also have a large extended family that is growing, so our child will also grow up with many cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

Our plan is?to always be open and honest about adoption with our child. This will be an important part of their story and we hope to give them the knowledge they will need to navigate their unique experience. We want them to know that they can come to us with any questions they have and that they can trust us to tell them the truth. We want our child to have control over their story and to be able to view their adoption in the most positive light.

We sincerely thank you for taking the time to learn about us, and we hope that we can learn more about you and your hopes for your child in the future. Adoption can be an overwhelming decision and we hope that, in choosing us, we can help to remove some of those worries about your child's future. We promise to raise your child with love and acceptance, and to give them the best environment to grow and learn that we can provide.

With love and gratitude,

Monte & Kaitlin