We love being parents and we both knew we would want to have multiple children someday. Being a parent is so humbling and rewarding. Being parents to Johanna (Jojo), has been the biggest blessing in our lives. Watching her grow, explore and now create, is the most beautiful thing. We love teaching her how to express herself and show kindness to others. We also love sharing our interests/hobbies with her and seeing how they impact her life. She is a very bold, independent toddler and although she loves our hobbies, she has carved out her own interests, especially her love of trains and dinosaurs.

Nicole has learned as a mom, to set aside her own expectations of being a mom, and focus on the current moments with Jojo. Time goes by way too fast and the moments that impact her most are those that come naturally, like cuddling on the couch at the end of the day, or singing a lullaby before bedtime. Matthew has learned as a dad, that all children are so completely unique in how they learn and how they need to be loved. He has found it most rewarding as a dad to Jojo, to spend one-on-one time with her. This could be drawing dinosaurs with chalk on the driveway or hiding her stuffed animals around the backyard for her to go on a safari with her binoculars. The little moments with Jojo are the most precious and priceless.

Matthew's family has a deep history of adoption. Matthew was impacted by adoption at the age of five when his parents adopted his sister, Malia, from China. It was one of the most memorable, joyful days he can remember. As he grew up, his family would spend so much time at adoption play groups and they would celebrate Malia's Chinese culture by having special dinners or events. Coming into the family, Nicole saw the beauty of adoption and hoped she would some day experience the same joy of adoption. We have learned a lot through Matthew's sister, Malia, as she continually navigates her emotions through adoption. She traveled to China as an adult to experience her culture and see where she came from. It has been a journey for her to not know her birth mom or any specifics of who her birth family was, so it brings us great joy in knowing that the child we will adopt will know who his/her birth family is and have the option to remain in contact with them through the years.

Malia has since married a man who is also adopted. He was a baby when his parents brought him home from Guatemala, and so our family continues to grow culturally which is so exciting. We know God has called us to adopt and are overjoyed to be able to grow our own family through adoption.

We have a very relaxed lifestyle. Our jobs offer a lot of flexibility and so our week looks different than most people. Our mornings are usually nice and slow as a family and each evening is typically spent together at home. Nicole leads worship at our church and so Sundays we are at church in the mornings and Johanna loves to play with her friends in class and learn about Jesus. Sunday afternoons we RELAX and watch sports or have friends over for a campfire or spend time with family. Monday we both have off work so we use this day to catch up on house chores or do something intentional as a family, like go to the bay or go on a hike. Tuesday through Saturday Matthew works. He is a manager and wood worker for his parent's wedding venue/rental business. Tuesday and Wednesday Nicole and Johanna do house chores, run errands or go on mommy daughter dates. Nicole also works from home to run the wedding venue's social media accounts. Thursday and Fridays Nicole works as a veterinary technician at our town's Pet Emergency Hospital and so on Thursday Jojo will spend the day with Matthew's mom and on Fridays she will spend the day with Nicole's mom. We are so fortunate to have family close by and more than willing to help babysit!

Apart from our normal schedule, we love setting aside time to go on vacation. We love to travel as a family!

We live in the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside, driving distance to many large east-coast cities but remote enough to enjoy the rugged outdoors. Our community is very family-focused with so many great public and private schools. A week does not go by without numerous family friendly events to go to in the community. Our community also has local theaters, museums, amusement parks, petting zoos, and a pile of other tourist attractions.

We love to go on walks through our neighborhood and always meet other families. We have lived in our house for over 10 years and have loved working on landscaping to create a backyard paradise. We have three bedrooms and spend most time either in the basement (playroom/exercise room) or in our backyard on the playground. We recently welcomed a puppy into our family and Marty brings so much energy and laughter into our lives.

Our favorite place to go as a family is to our local park which has the most amazing playground and walking trails. We also have a membership to a local favorite farm adventure attraction where Johanna spends hours on a weekly basis learning and exploring. She also loves the amusement park just two miles away from home.

There are also many sports opportunities for kids and we hope to introduce Johanna to sports this year and cannot wait to see her playing on a team.

We both have very large families. Nicole has her mom, dad, and three sisters (older sister Alyssa, twin sister Natalie, and younger sister Jess). Our daughter, Johanna, calls them Grammy, Grandpa, Aunt Lyssa, Aunt Nat, and Aunt Jess. They all live close except for Aunt Jess who visits yearly. Johanna has three cousins on this side and they are her best friends. They spend so much time playing together and we love spending time together at Grammy and Grandpa's farm.

Matthew has his mom, dad, two sisters and one brother (Megan, Malia and Micah). Johanna calls them Mom-Mom, PawPaw, Aunt Megan, Aunt LeeLee and Uncle Micah. They all live close by and we love playing games and going on vacations together.

Mom-Mom babysits Thursdays and Grammy babysits Fridays when we both work. They take Johanna to so many local attractions, petting zoos, community parks, and the library. Jo's favorite places to go are the train museum, mini horse farm, local amusement park, and a local Adventure Farm experience.

We have quite a few family traditions. Nicole's dad's extended family has an annual Labor Day weekend Camping trip on the family farm in the woods along the creek. Matthew's mom's extended family has an annual New Jersey Beach week.

We simply cannot imagine the emotions you are experiencing on this journey, but we hope your mind and heart are more at peace knowing that our hearts are 100% for you and for your baby. We are in awe of the fact that you have chosen to consider to join our story of adoption and we understand this decision has been one of the hardest things for you to make. In the same way that we are committed to each other in marriage for life, we see the commitment with adopting a child and the relationship with you in that same way. We understand the weight of this journey, for both us and for you, and we believe by God's grace, our stories will be made beautiful together.

We have been married for over 10 years but have been a couple for half of our lifetime, 16 years! We have been through so many ups and downs and are prepared for this next chapter in our lives. We tell our daughter, Johanna, each day how excited we are to welcome another baby into the family. And as a three year old, our daughter longs for a sibling with whom she can giggle, share secrets, explore the world and become best of friends. We pray each night for this baby's family and ask for God to prepare our hearts and our home for this huge blessing. Jojo says she is most excited to share all of her favorite places with the baby. Whenever she is sitting in a seat with room next to her, she says, "I need a brother or sister to sit next to me." Watching her grow up has been our biggest joy, and coming from large families, we love the idea of having multiple children. We especially have a heart for adoption and look forward to seeing how Jojo is touched through the adoption journey. We know she will love taking photos of her baby brother/sister and sending them to you. We hope that the letters and moments we share with you will bring you joy and comfort as you see your baby grow in our family.

Our entire church is looking forward to loving this little baby. They have watched Johanna grow up in the church and watch her fall in love with music, just like her mommy. Our church has celebrated adoption and makes a special celebration each year to share stories about adoption. There are so many children in our community/friend groups that are adopted and so we know we have so many options for play groups and friends to support us as we navigate the adoption journey.

And our families...well let's just say we will need to set some boundaries after they meet baby! Your baby will receive so much attention and affection from so many people in our lives. We know you love your baby and want the absolute best for him/her. We hope that you will feel the love overflowing from our family/friends as you enter this journey with us.

Sincerely,

Matthew & Nicole