We are truly thankful for your consideration and for taking the time to learn about us and our journey together. We are hopeful that you can see our love for each other and what we can provide for children in our home. Family is the most important thing, and we wish to show you what that really means to us. We understand the difficult and emotional task you are undertaking, and we admire your strength.

Matthew & Katie

We have been attempting to grow our family since we got married. After years, with no success, we explored medical help. Again, no success, so we then started exploring adoption after learning that one of Matthew's co-workers recently adopted through Gladney.

Matthew always had a place in his heart for adoption, and even if we were able to conceive, we would still adopt in the future. Caring for a child is something we have always wanted; however, it was meant to happen.

We were both raised in North Texas, but didn't meet until we were adults. In 2012, while Matthew was working for a health and wellness company, he met Katie's best friend, Lauren. During their training together, she could immediately tell we were a fit. We met for one blind date, which Matthew thought was very brave. We connected immediately, like we had been dating for years.

After moving in together and adopting our fur babies, we got engaged in December of 2014. Since we knew we were ready, we got married in under a year on October 10, 2015. While trying to grow our family, we both concentrated on our careers, family, and each other.

Soon after, we bought our first house together in 2020, staying within a 3-mile radius of Katie's family because we knew we would be grateful for their support when we welcomed a child into our home. We both love our families and spend a lot of time with them.

By Matthew

Katie is the best thing that has happened to me. I know that sounds a little cliche, but it is the truth. She is smart, strong, caring, understanding, patient, kind, loyal, and loving. It is for these things that I know she is going to make an AMAZING mother. Whenever we are around our nieces and nephews or with her friend's kids, it makes me fall in love with her all over again.

She has the hardest work ethic of anyone I know. She started working for her father, as a contractor, at 15, on the weekends, and quickly knew that she wanted to do that as a profession. She started her own contracting company 5 years ago, which she runs with the highest standard of quality and customer service.

She enjoys reading, her plants, architecture, and most importantly, doing activities with her family. Kaite loves fantasy culture! She enjoys Dragons and Swords and has influenced me to get into the genre. She has even started a collection of wands and hardback covers of her favorite books. When we have a costume party, she is very involved with our costumes and is very crafty with her hands. Halloween is her favorite holiday, and we always do it big at our house!

About Katie

• Favorite movie: All the Harry Potter movies
• Favorite place to be: My back porch with a good book.
• Favorite TV Show: Supernatural
• Spirit Animal: Honey Badger- small but mighty.

By Katie

I consider myself lucky to have watched Matthew grow over the past 13 years into the most loving and doting husband, and I cannot wait to see him with a child. He is fun, playful, and loving, things that I know will make him a great father. He is supportive and caring in a way that really shines through when he is around children. He has the most incredible sense of humor and can make anyone laugh, regardless of their mood. He brings life and joy to a party and makes everything a good time.

After we got married and decided to try to start a family, he went back to school to change careers to IT, something he enjoys more and would provide better opportunities. A choice that proved to me how determined he really was. His strong principles and desire to provide for his family are what hold us together.

He enjoys playing video games or getting outside for golfing, and is the biggest movie buff. We can have whole conversations in just movie quotes. He has an eclectic taste in interests, often jumping from one hobby to another. Like brewing Mead, competitive knife throwing, and Legos. His newest interest is cooking, and he has recently become the main chef in our home.

About Matthew

• Favorite movie: Star Wars, Original trilogy
• Favorite place to be: On the golf course, or anywhere with Katie
• Favorite TV Show: Supernatural
• Spirit Animal: Wolf-fiercely loyal and protective

Our home is in an older, well-established neighborhood close to where Katie grew up. We have a large park with a newly renovated rec center and public pool with slides and a splash pad. There are also all 3 levels of school within walking distance. We bought this home knowing it was really too big for just the 2 of us. We always planned to fill it with children. Inside the home, we both have our own spaces for our individual interests and hobbies. Katie has her library/office, and Matthew has his gaming/man cave. And still 1 empty room ready to be filled.

The large backyard is perfect for our 2 dogs and has room to add a playhouse set. The first improvement we made was to add a patio cover so we can sit out in the shade.

• Jade (JadyPoo, Jadles, BabyGirl)- Female, Terrier Mix, 13 y/o
• Roc (RockyRoo, Rocco, Gorignak)- Male, Boxer Mix, 13 y/o
• Castiel (Cas, CassyPoo, Buddyboi)- Male, Tabby Cat 1.5 y/o

Jade is our Momma-dog. She runs the house when we aren't home. She loves to guard anything smaller than her.

Roc is our lovable goofball. He can get really silly and always makes us laugh. He would follow Jade to the ends of the earth if she gave him the right look.

Cas is our newest addition and brought new life back to these old pups. He is a curious, playful cat that learned how to play fetch with a Nerf gun from the couch! We love watching them all curl up in one bed, even though there are 6 beds in the house. These 3 bring so much joy and entertainment to our home!

• I am the youngest of 6 kids and have 3 stepsiblings. With a family this large, it is always a party!
• My siblings are my closest friends and the ones I hang out with on a daily basis.
• I have been an aunt since I was 8 years old, and I love my nieces and nephews more than anything. They range in age from 28 to 4!
• I worked for my dad for 15 years and still consider him one of my best friends.

• I have 1 sister who is an elementary school teacher. She is an amazing aunt to her husband's nieces and nephews and can't wait to play games and teach our little ones.
• My parents are a big part of our lives, as we see them regularly and go on multiple vacations together. Both can't wait to become grandparents.
• When our dogs had puppies together, we gave the boy puppy to Matthew's parents. It's so great to see Chester and watch him grow.

We love to go out on a date night at least once every two weeks or so, to reconnect. When we eat at home, we always make it a point to eat together, whether at the table or not. Once we are blessed with a child, this tradition will not change. We feel that it is important to spend this time to talk about the day and stay caught up with what is going on with each other.

When we visit Matthew's parents, we tend to make home-cooked meals. Once dinner is over, we like to play poker, or a form of poker we call GUTS. Which has been a staple in Matthew's family for generations.

With Katie's large family, it seems like there is a birthday at least once a month. The whole family gets together to celebrate, which can be anything from dinner out to a party at Grandma's house.

Every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, we have a wonderful routine. We spend the night before the holiday with Katie's family, and the day of the holiday is spent with Matthew's.

We look forward to starting traditions of our own.

Twice a year, we go camping with Katie's family at a state park in Texas. One trip is taken in April and the other in October. These are filled with long talks around the campfire, hiking, meals cooked on an open fire, crafts, bike riding, and most importantly... S'mores. Katie's Dad also gifts the family a "Christmas Activity Present" every year. Which can be anything from zip lining, indoor skydiving, Treetop obstacle course, or horseback riding.

Every other year, a trip with Matthew's family is taken to the beach or a cabin in the mountains. Again, GUTS is played, along with board games, dominoes, and a lot of reading in the quiet nature.

Along with the family trips, we enjoy going to the State Fair of Texas every year and to the Renaissance Fair. We enjoy the Renaissance Fair by ourselves and tend to make it a whole day, the two of us. Also, travelling around and visiting small towns and learning about their history is something that we find not only interesting, but fun as well.

First and foremost, we want to assure you that we promise to respect you and never take for granted the gift of parenthood you are giving us. We promise to love and cherish your child with our whole hearts and to provide a safe, happy home full of opportunities, laughter, and support.

Once we started on the adoption path, we knew it was how we were meant to grow our family all along. Adoption is a huge sacrifice and a blessing. It is a selfless decision for the birth mother who loves her child, but at the same time, it is an amazing blessing for the family where the child is placed. All of this is out of true love from both the mother and from the adoptive parents. We are so excited for the amazing, crazy journey that is parenthood.

We hope that this profile will give you a glimpse of who we are and how much love we have to give.

Matthew & Katie