We've been together almost a decade and still manage to make each other laugh every day. Most Friday nights, we relax after a long work week by curling up on the couch with our two pugs and watching movies together. When we have something to celebrate, we like to go to this small, family-owned Chinese Hot Pot restaurant that has insanely spicy food. We love to travel, explore, cook, throw block parties with our neighbors and volunteer in our community.

Toni enjoys being very active and adventurous. She's been rock climbing for the last twenty years and has competed in climbing tournaments across the Southeast. Toni is also passionate about personal growth. In the mornings before work, she spends an hour learning Spanish and an hour learning the piano. She's also an amazing cook, taking great pride in her ability to make Tex-Mex dishes like Migas. Toni has also spent almost a decade teaching youth gymnastics after work and is a certified USAG certified coach.

Nick is extremely social and loves spending time with friends and family. He's an avid reader and huge movie buff. Although Nick's fear of heights keeps him from rock climbing, he still enjoys spending time in nature, whether it be hiking the Appalachian trail or camping with friends. Nick also loves to cook and enjoys introducing Toni and his friends to traditional Greek dishes. Nick is a regular at Catholic Mass on Sunday mornings and is passionate about being someone his friends and family can depend on.

Nick About Toni: I could fill a whole book listing all the things I admire about my wife Toni. Simply put, Toni is the best person I know. She's equal parts compassionate, honest, strong, and intelligent. I admire the fact that Toni puts 100% effort into everything that she does, whether it be caring for her family, leading her team at work, or climbing cliff faces out West. Toni is also the most kind-hearted person I know, always willing to set aside time to help family, friends, or strangers. Toni's strength is unmatched. When her parents passed away, Toni was the source of strength for her younger brother, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. The thing I admire most about Toni is there isn't an obstacle this world could throw at her that she couldn't overcome. She's an amazing person and I know she will be an amazing mother.

Toni About Nick: Nick is the most loving, honest, and dependable person I know. I admire Nick's ambition. He takes tremendous pride in providing a great standard of living for his family. I love Nick's sense of humor. There isn't a day that goes by where he doesn't make me laugh. Nick's honest to a fault and hates keeping secrets. Nick's best quality is he's extremely dependable. I know that I can count on him for anything and everything. He's been my rock through my father's passing, infertility, and everything else life has thrown our way. He tackles each challenge with a sense of optimism and levelheadedness. He's the best person I know, and he's going to be an amazing father.

On our first date, we bonded over our shared love of pugs. We have two dogs, both pugs. Puglet is seventeen years old and is our oldest. He loves laying around the house and begging for marshmallows. Since he's older, we have to put Puglet in a stroller when we take the dogs for a walk. He's extremely loving, gentle, and fun. He's also amazing with children. He snores very loud at night and constantly follows Toni around the house.

We also have a younger pug named Axel who is seven years old. We bought Axel on Nick's twenty-ninth birthday, so Nick likes to say that Axel is the best birthday present he's ever gotten. Axel is extremely affectionate. It's like his sole purpose in life is to give kisses. He loves napping with us on the couch, playing with his tennis ball, and burying himself under all the blankets on our bed. He's also great with kids, constantly wanting to play with the children in the neighborhood.

We live in the town of Marietta, Georgia just outside of Atlanta. Our picturesque neighborhood is very close to the local elementary school and is filled with families with younger children. Most weekends, our neighbors inflate their bouncy house and invite all the neighborhood children to come over and play. During the summer, we can escape the Georgia heat by taking a dip in our neighborhood pool. Everyone that lives in our neighborhood is extremely close, meeting up every Friday evening to sit around the neighborhood fire pit.

Our town has some of the best public schools in the state and prides itself on being a great place to live for families. We live walking distance from Marietta Square, the historic district home to a plethora of restaurants, shops, and a food hall. There's a family focused event happening almost every weekend on Marietta Square, whether it's free summer concerts, arts festivals, or food festivals. The people who live in Marietta are diverse, friendly, and community focused.

Our house is a three-story townhome built in 2018 that boasts four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and an open floorplan that is perfect for families. In the morning, you can walk from the kitchen to the exterior balcony on the second floor and enjoy a cup of coffee while watching the children play outside at the park. We bought this home four years ago specifically because it was the perfect home to start a family in.

Family is the most important thing in our lives and we're both fortunate enough to have very large, close-knit families. Nick grew up with his amazing parents (Jim & Linda) and younger brother (Alec), although it was never just the four of them. Nick comes from a very large Greek and Polish family made up of many aunts, uncles, and cousins. Whether it's celebrating the holidays together or going on large family vacations, Nick's family events are always loud, centered around amazing food, and filled with love and laughter. Nick's immediate family and godmother (Judi) all live no less than twenty minutes from our home, so impromptu family game nights are a regular occurrence.

Toni grew up with her parents (Robert & Cheryl) and younger brother (Austin), but she has a very large, extended family that lives mostly in Texas. Sadly, Toni's parents have both passed away, but they left her with many amazing memories and an extremely strong set of values. Austin is a big part of Toni's life. Austin and Toni rarely go a day without talking on the phone and enjoy going to tons of concerts together. Toni is also extremely close with her grandparents, Mimi and Pop. When we visit Toni's grandparents in Houston, all of Toni's aunts and uncles make the drive down from Dallas to see her. Her family gatherings are centered around amazing Mexican food or Texas barbecue, lots of laughter, and even more love.

Both of our families are beyond excited to surround our future child with all the love and support in the world. Our future child will grow up surrounded by plenty of doting grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. They will grow up with a family that loves to celebrate even the smallest of accomplishments, loves spending time with one another, and prioritizes family.

We've been together for eight years and our love for one another continues to grow every day. We are each other's best friend, partner, and soulmate. As a couple, we've lived through our fair share of challenges, whether it be the death of parents and friends or the loss of multiple pregnancies. But we face every challenge together and always come out stronger on the other side. Our shared love for one another gives each of us the strength to overcome whatever the universe decides to throw our way.

On our third date, we bonded over the fact both of us always envisioned eventually adopting a child. Toni's adoptive father Robert was the most important man in her life prior to his passing, having raised her as his own since she was two years old. One of Nick's best friends from childhood was adopted and he grew up witnessing the love and appreciation his friend had for his adoptive parents. After our second miscarriage, we realized this was the universe telling us we we're meant to adopt a child all along. As parents, we can't promise that we will be perfect. We're human and we're going to make mistakes. But there are four promises we can honestly make.

First, we promise our child will be surrounded by love and affection. We're strong believers that when children are raised in a house filled with love, they gain the confidence needed to be successful, confident, and happy. Our child will be loved not only by us, but by a large extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins as well. There will never be a day where our child doesn't feel they are loved.

Second, we promise we're going to nurture our child's future interests. We believe the best parents are the ones that help their children achieve their dreams. We're willing to sacrifice anything and everything to make sure our child knows they are supported and can try new things without the fear of failure. Whether it's taking our child to soccer practice every day or hiring someone to teach them how to play an instrument, we will do whatever we can to support them as they pursue their dreams.

Third, we promise our child will be raised in a stable household with strong values and a strong financial foundation. We will work extremely hard to be excellent role models for our child. They will be raised to value family, community, and service. Our child will have everything that they need, but not everything they want. Our child will grow up with a mother and father that love, admire and respect each other.

Lastly, we promise to include you in the journey. Whether it's through letters, video calls, or emails, we believe it's crucial our child knows where they come from. We're passionate about our child knowing and celebrating their cultural heritage.

Words cannot express how grateful we are for your selflessness and bravery. We're extremely thankful you are even considering us as adoptive parents. We understand this is a big decision and wish you all the best in your journey.

Nick & Toni