Our family traditions include holidays, taking trips/adventures and enjoying time at each other’s homes. Our families have always been a part of important celebrations like birthdays, promotions, and life changes. We like to enjoy concerts, the men play a lot of golf, the women enjoying shopping and cooking. At any family gathering there is always music playing, lots of food and laughter. We often travel to see Gillian’s parents and brother to spend weekends or holidays and usually take at least one trip a year. With Matt’s family we take an annual beach trip each year to Florida. We also often travel to their lake house here in Georgia to spend weekends together especially in the summer months. Our families enjoy spending time together as one big group as well usually at the holidays.

One tradition we have with Gillian's family is "The Wing Ding." On years we spend Thanksgiving with her family, we get together with friends and family the day before Thanksgiving. On this night, Matt, Gillian's Brother, and Gillian's Father will make 200-300 chicken wings for the guests. There is never a shortage of laughter at this event, especially when Gillian's father wears the famous chicken wing hat.

A tradition we have with Matt's family is, what we call, "Breaking the Bread." At Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, we gather all of the family/friends at the table and go around the room telling each person one thing we are grateful for about them.

Matt About Gillian: When I think of qualities that would make a great mother, I end up thinking of everything I admire about Gillian. Gillian has always been the person in the room who tries to make her guests comfortable. Gillian is one of the most selfless people I know and is always striving to pursue the best version of herself. She is the same way with close friends and family. Persistence comes easy for Gillian, as she has shown, in both her professional life as well as her personal life, exactly what it means to be a strong woman. Whether we are spending time with our families or enjoying a lazy Sunday on the back porch, Gillian always has a smile on her face and is in a positive mindset.

Gillian About Matt: Matt is a kind and loving person. We have a similar sense of humor which makes time together fun and exciting. He is a self-starter and one of the hardest working people that I know. He is very loyal to his friendships and enjoys being social. He is a true partner in our marriage and is always seeking to make our bond stronger. He is a source of comfort and security that I am so privileged to have. He will be a wonderful father, dedicated to sharing caretaking and time with a child. I know he will be actively involved in helping pursue their dreams and making sure they get all the advantages life can offer.

Our dog Brody is our loyal and loving companion. Brody is 10 years old, and Matt rescued him at 8 weeks old while living in Virginia. He is Gillian’s office mate while she works from home. He enjoys long walks, hikes or just laying out on the deck in the sunshine. He is a very affectionate and gentle dog who makes friends with everyone he meets. We often joke, and are a bit biased, that Brody is the best dog in the world due to his easy going demeanor and great manners. We know he is looking forward to having a little brother or sister to look after and share in new memories with. And yes, his ears are that cute in person too!

We live in a wonderful family friendly neighborhood and many of our neighbors have kids. Our neighborhood has two pools, multiple playgrounds, tennis courts and sidewalks throughout. There is a swim team in the summer months that many of the kids join. The neighborhood also hosts holiday parades and home decorating contests. We live in a vibrant town with a bustling downtown that is pedestrian friendly with multiple large playgrounds, dog parks, shops, restaurants, weekend farmers market and amphitheater for summer concerts. Being 30 minutes from downtown Atlanta allows us to take advantage of great activities like the aquarium, zoo, museums, baseball games, and concerts. Our local schools are close by, and our home is at the top of the street, which is convenient for being one of the neighborhood bus stop locations.

We love to entertain in our home, we have a big fenced in flat backyard that is perfect for playing sports. The grass leads to a covered patio that is under our deck and meant for all weather activities where we have lounge furniture to hang out on and enjoy the outdoors while listening to music. Our favorite room in our house is a combination between the family room and kitchen, we have open floorplan that combines these rooms which always turns into the hangout spot for guests during events. We can have the TV on in one room and be in the kitchen enjoying something Matt grilled on his Green Egg while cheering our favorite teams.

Family is one of our top priorities in our lives. We are both extremely close to our families and they have shown tremendous support and excitement for our adoption journey.

Matt is the oldest of three boys. Matt’s parents live nearby as does his youngest brother. Matt’s mom is a preschool teacher at a local church and his dad is in construction. Matt’s middle brother lives within driving distance and works as a paramedic. We often travel with Matt’s family to the lake and enjoy spending time boating, fishing, and playing board games at the kitchen table.

Gillian has one older brother. Gillian’s parents and brother are within driving distance of a few hours. Her parents are retired and often visit in Georgia; while visiting, they spend time golfing, cooking meals, and listening to music. Gillian’s parents look forward to becoming grandparents, planning family holidays and going on family adventures. Gillian’s older brother and his wife are looking forward to being an aunt and uncle to this child.

This child will be the first grandchild on both sides of the family, they are sure to be treasured and loved unconditionally. Our families are loving and known for spending time together laughing, taking trips, going to see live music, and enjoying each other’s company.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us. We are exceedingly honored to be considered as potential parents to your child. Our promise to you is that we are looking forward to embracing your child into our nurturing, safe, and compassionate home. Please know that we keep you in our prayers as you take this journey and wish you comfort as you make your decision.

We have been married for four years now and have built a wonderful life together. However, we are looking forward to the opportunity to expand our family. We both were raised in homes with parents that have been together for thirty plus years and have truly shown us the definition of dedicated marriages all while raising families. Their examples have been the perfect blueprint for our marriage and our future family. We look forward to watching our child be embraced by our families and loved unconditionally for the wonderful blessing they are destined to be.

We wish to be parents and to share our lives with a child who is destined to be loved unconditionally and raised to be a kind and confident human being. We discussed the possibility of biological children, but our plans changed when we discovered it would not be possible at this time. The decision of adoption was something we came to easily and truly bonded through in making together. We feel that adopting is a privilege. If we are given the opportunity to adopt it will be one of our most profound life achievements and blessings.

For our future child, we hope to impart the values of education, inclusion, respect, and moral character. We want our child to embrace all the opportunity in life and be courageous as they make decisions, meet new people, and have new experiences. We want to encourage and participate in their interests or endeavors. And want to raise a kind, honest, responsible member of the community. We plan to share with our child the beauty and blessing that their adoption is from a young age. We wish for them to be proud of their story and to share in our joy of being chosen to be their parents.

We will wish for you to share in the child’s growth and experiences. Our hope is to share those moments through photos and letters or emails if desired. We are also open to making arrangements for visits when the time is right. We want you to know that you will be treated with respect and kindness always in both our words and actions. We are committed to working together with you to create a healthy relationship for the benefit of not only the child, but also for the benefit of all families involved. We are extremely excited to be given the opportunity to become parents and know we will do everything in our power to provide the best life possible for the child.

Adoption is a journey, a journey that takes a lot of courage and strength to decide or move forward with. We are prepared and excited to join in this journey with you and thank you for allowing us to share our heart with you. We wish you comfort with your decision and in your journey ahead.

Matt & Gillian