We have always known we wanted to be parents. When we began talking about what our future family would look like, adoption was always something we considered as a part of that plan. Once we got married and found out we couldn’t have biological kids together, it only solidified our desire to adopt and grow our family.

Matt has a daughter named Scarlet who is in middle school. Erica has always wanted to be a mother and loves Scarlet like she’s her own. Adding a child through adoption will be no different.

When we told Scarlet we wanted to grow our family through adoption she was ecstatic! The first thing she did was get on Amazon and look at different decorations for the nursery. She has always wanted to be a big sister and has told us this often. She has friends who are adopted so she’s always known that families are created in many different ways. Scarlet is passionate, energetic, and loves life. We know she will be a great big sister and this child will be absolutely loved by all of us!

We love being outdoors, traveling, and going on adventures. Whenever there's downtime we try to find something to do outside, whether that be fishing, hiking, biking, or just going on a walk. We like to go on weekend trips where we find a new bike trail or find a new place to go fishing.

When we're not outside, we're usually spending time as a family playing games and cheering on our favorite sports teams or simply picking out a movie and relaxing on the couch.

Many times when we've traveled to hike a new mountain, we've looked at each other and commented on how we can't wait to make these memories with our future children. We can't wait to teach them how to bait a hook and reel in their first fish or teach them how to ride a bike. We can't wait to share our adventures with a child and look forward to making new family memories together!

Erica About Matt: Matt is the most loyal and hardest working person I've ever met. He treats everyone he works with like they are an extension of his family. He has this unique ability to always bring joy to every room and he can talk to anyone he meets like they've been friends for years. I love how family is the most important thing to Matt and how he immediately turns into a big kid every time he's playing with our nieces and nephews.

Matt about Erica: Erica is one of the most caring and patient people you will ever meet. She has been blessed to have all the great qualities to be a loving mother. The way she interacts with all the children in our lives is truly amazing and she makes everyone feel welcome. She always puts others first and her nurturing personality is one of the reasons that this child will always feel loved and safe in her arms.

We live in a private and quiet suburb community in the Midwest. We both grew up in small towns, so it was important to us to find an area that felt like a small town in the city. We feel fortunate to have found a secluded place where multiple neighbors have kids that are always outside playing with each other in the cul-de-sac.

One of the best parts about our home is that it sits on an entire acre of land with a huge backyard that's ideal for big family barbecues and kickball games. Also, our home backs up to a wooded forest area where we see deer and wild turkeys graze in our backyard every day. It truly feels like our own private oasis. We like to sit on our back porch and watch the deer graze and ultimately laugh as they always seem to find their way to our flower garden and eat the newly planted flowers. We joke that our rows of plants are a salad bar for them, but we don't mind because watching all the wildlife brings us a calming joy that most people don't often find in the city.

Although our neighborhood feels like we're in the country, we get the benefit of only being five minutes away from work and in one of the best school districts in the state. We truly feel like we have best of both worlds and we can't wait to raise our family here!

Family is extremely important to us and when we decided to move for our careers, the number one goal was to be close to family. We grew up in neighboring rural towns in the Midwest and as a result, our families have always known each other (even before we started dating). When we decided to get married, it was very easy for our extended families to come together as one. When we have family gatherings, we usually have both sides of our families at these events.

Erica is the youngest of 6 and Matt is the youngest of 2. Erica has a brother and sister who live nearby and we are only a couple minutes away from Matt's brother, who's family we see at least once a week. We are constantly over at their house watching sporting events or their kids are at our house playing in the backyard or hitting ping pong balls in our basement. On Sundays, we all go to church together in the morning and then in the afternoon we eat and cheer on our favorite NFL teams, which usually results in at least one of the kids telling grandma that she's cheering too loud!

We look forward to adding another child to the mix knowing that they will always have so many close family members who love them.

We are so grateful that you have taken the time to learn about us and consider us as a family for your child. We can't even begin to imagine how hard this decision may be for you. Please know that we respect and admire the strength and courage it has taken for you to get to this point in your journey. It's our promise that this child will grow up knowing the love and sacrifices you've made and that this decision did not come easily for you. We wish you peace in knowing that this child will forever know they are loved by you.

Growing our family through adoption has always been a dream of ours. We talked about adoption even before we were married, and then when we found out we couldn't have biological children together, adoption became the natural choice for us. Our journey with infertility was hard but it has lead us to this moment and now we could not be more excited for the path God has chosen for us. Expanding our family through adoption feels like what we were meant to do and we will love this child with all our hearts just like we would a biological child.

We met when we were 9 years old and have been friends ever since. We began dating in college and have now been married for over 3 years. Matt is a Medical Doctor and Erica is a Registered Nurse. We are passionate about what we do and love that our jobs allow us to care and advocate for people. We take pride in treating people with care and respect and that's a core value we hope to pass on to our children.

We are very close with both of our families and have lots of people in our lives who are not biologically related to us that we consider family. Our family is very loving and supportive of us and can't wait to embrace a new addition with open arms. On top of that, Matt's daughter cannot wait to be a big sister! We have multiple siblings that live nearby and lots of nieces and nephews that are so excited to have another cousin to play with.

As you consider adoption, please know that we hold you in the highest regard. We want to make sure your story is a part of this child's life. We will always be open and honest with your child about their adoption background and your story will be reflected with nothing but respect and positivity. We believe it's our job to honor your role as this child's birth parent and we are open to sharing letters and pictures with you as he/she grows up. We want this child to know where they came from and we are open to working together to maintain a healthy relationship. We know that this relationship will evolve over time and our goal is to make sure everyone involved is comfortable with the amount of contact in the future as this child grows.

Lastly, we want you to know that even though we don't know you, we are thinking about you and praying that you may find peace and strength as you make this difficult decision. You are a vital part of this child's story and are not only important to the child, but important to us. We would be honored to get to meet you and be considered as parents for this child. We look forward to getting to know you and walking with you on this journey.

Matt & Erica