Matthew & Jennifer

Weareoneofthosesuccessstoriesyouhearaboutondatingwebsitecommercials.WemetonMatch.comfiveyearsago,andJenniferknewalmostimmediatelythatMatthewwastheone.Still,itwasseveralweeksandlongnightlyemailsbeforeweevermetinperson.Threemonthsafterfinallymeetingeachotherandstartingtodate,wegotengaged!JenniferthenfollowedMatthewacrossthecountrytolive.Matthew’sjobtookustofivestatesinthreeyears,butwehavefinallylandedandhavemadeahouseourhome. Wecanbeoutgoingandadventurous.Ziplining,bowling,mini-golf,whitewaterrafting,skydiving(thatwasaone-timeadventure!),canoeing,hikingandsnowshoeinghavefilledourpastadventurestogether.Buttheyalsolikeagoodnightin-watchingtheirfavoritetelevisionshowsandmovies,playingscrabble,puttinginonepuzzlepieceatatime,andplayingwiththeirtwodogs,BellaandWhale.Andwecan’tforgetaboutallthefamilydinners,activitiesandvacations,whicharealwaysfunandexcitinghighlightsofourlife.

About Us

Jenniferon

Matthew Matthewisincredible.Heiskind,caring,genuine,self-sacrificing,funny,smart,andthebesthusbandIcouldhaveeveraskedfor.HeselflesslyworkedlonghourssixdaysaweektoputmethroughmyMasters’program,hetakesmepaintingbecauseheknowsIloveit,heletsmeventaboutaharddayatwork.Matthewisnotafraidtocrywhenhisfavor-iteteamswin,orshowaffectioninpublic.Hecanmakefriendswithanyone.Heisinmanywaysstillachildatheart,withhisloveofallthingsDisneyandCharlieBrown,andhisexcitementforspendingtimewithfamilyanddeco-ratinglikecrazyovertheholidays.Helovestoplaygameswiththechildrenofourfriends,andIknowthathewillbethemostwonderfulfathertoachild.

Matthewon

Jennifer Jenniferismybestfriend.Forthepastfiveyears,shehasbeenbymyside,alwaysofferingawarmembraceinlowtimesandacelebratorykissingoodtimes.Shehasanadventuroussoulandalwayswantingtotrynewexperiences,fromuniquecuisinetohorsebackridingthruCivilWarbattlefields.Sheisalsoincrediblycreative,whichisevidentfromthesewingandpaintingprojectsthatadornourhouse.Iamsoblessedtohaveherstrengthandresolveinmylife.Shedelayedstartinghercareerasateachertomovearoundthecountrywithmeandmypreviousjob.Nomatterwherewewereliving,Jenniferwasalwaysabletomakeourhouseahome,whichweshecontinuestodonowthatwearesettled.Mostimportantly,Jenniferwasmeanttobeamom.Sheiswonderfulwithchildrenofallages,andmayevenlikereadingkid’sbooksmorethanthechildren!ButthethingthatshowsmethemostthatJenniferwouldbeagoodmotheristhelookinhereyeswhenholdingachild.Thereisgenuineloveinthoseeyeswithchildrennotrelatedtous.Icannotwaittoseehereyeswhenwecancallachildourown.

Werecentlypurchasedourfirsthouse,abeautiful2-story,4-bedroomhomeinaquietneighborhood.Withonlyonebedroomoccupied,wehaveroomtogrowasafamily,aswellasspareroomsforgamesandactivities.Flowersadornthefrontandbackyards,addingsplashesofcolorthroughouttheproperty,andwerecentlyplantedourfirstgarden,withhopesofabountifulsummerandfall.Wealsohavealarge,completelyenclosedbackyard,withplentyofgrasstotossabaseballorkickasoccerball.Wealsobothcatchingourselveslookingoutthebackwindowsandimaginingaplaysetsetupforourchild’senjoyment.Ourcommunityhasbeendevelopedfor30years,solargetreeslinetheroadsandsidewalks,providingshadeinthesummerandbeautifulautumncolorsinthefall.Itisnotunusualtoseeastrollerrollingdownthesidewalk,oragroupofkidsridingbi-cyclestotheirnextadventure. Oneofthemainfactorswetookintoconsiderationwhenpurchasingourhomewastheschooldistrictourfuturechildrenwouldattend.Ourschooldistrictranksinthetop3districtsinourcityandboastsalmostaperfectgradu-ationrate.Ourchildrenwillhavetheopportunitytoparticipateinnumerousschoolactivitiesorsportsaswellasreceiveagreateducationinhopesofpreparingthemfortheirfuture. Weareblessedtohavemanyamenitiesandattractionsclosetoourhome.Wearelocatedwithinwalkingdis-tanceorshortcarridetoseveralparksinthearea,whichofferwoodedbiketrails,baseballandsoccerfields,elaboratejunglegymsandlakestodoalittlefishing.Wearealsofortunatetohavemultipleshoppingcenters,movietheaters,andrestaurantswithinamileofourhome.Finally,severalhospitalsystemsarewithina5-10minutedriveofourhouse,includingoneofthebestpediatrichospitalsinthecountry.Ontheweekends,farmer’smarkets,sport-ingevents,zoos,artandhistorymuseumsandavarietyofparksareallwithinashortdriveintothecity.Withsafety,accesstoamenitiesandtheopportunityforawell-roundededucationavailabletous,wecouldnothaveaskedforabetterhometoliveandstartafamilyin.Wearebeyondexcitedtosharethishomeandcitywithourfuturechildren.

Our Home

About Jennifer: Occupation:ElementaryTeacherEducation:Master’sinEducationFavoriteColor:PurpleFavoriteTV/Movie:Teachers/MyBigFatGreekWeddingFavoriteFood:SushiFavoriteVacation:SeeingtheNorthernLightsinIcelandFavoriteHoliday:ChristmasFavoriteCartoon–HeyArnold!FavoriteChildhoodMemory:MyfirstbananasplitwithmyDadHobbies:Reading,painting,traveling,bowling

About Matthew: Occupation:HighSchoolEngineeringTeacherEducation:BachelorofScienceCivilEngineeringFavoriteColor:OrangeFavoriteTV/Movie:TheBigBangTheoryFavoriteFood:Mom’sMeatloafFavoriteVacation:DisneyCruisetotheBahamasFavoriteHoliday:ChristmasFavoriteCartoon–AnythingMickeyMouseFavoriteChildhoodMemory:PlayingcatchwithmyDadHobbies:Reading,travelingandsnowskiing

Wearebothveryblessedtohavelovingandsupportivefami-lies.Itallstartswithourtwofur-babies.Whale,a7yearoldbeagle/retrievermixandBella,ourLhasaApso,showuswhattrueunconditionalloveis,alwaystheretocheerusupaftera“ruff”dayorhumoringuswhenwearefeelinggoofy.Bothdogswererescuedatanearlyage,WhalebyMathewandBellabyJen,andmeteachotheronourseconddate.Theyhavebeeninseparableeversince.Welovegoingonwalksintheparks,rollinginthebackyardgrass,andgoingonfamilyroadtripstonewlocaleswithourgirls.Theyarebothlookingforwardtohavingahumanbabyinthehousetosnuggle,protectandlove,noquestionsasked. Matthew’sparentsliveafewmilesdowntheroadandareal-waysoveratthehousehelpinguswithourprojects.Mathew’sfatherisahighschoolteacherandhismotherisanorthopedicsurgeon,workingforthelocaluniversity’smedicalschool.Theyaretwoofthemostactivepeopleweknowandtheyarereadytohaveagrandchildtocoach,travelto,andspoil.Matthew’ssistercurrentlylivesontheWestCoastandworksasaphysicaltherapist.Eventhoughwemayonlyseeherafewtimesayear,westayintouchviatextsandphonecalls,sowhenwedomeet

up,it’slikewehaven’tmissedabeat.Matthew’sextendedfamilylivearoundOhioandfamilyreunionsanddinnersarealwaysexcitingtogoto!Jennifer’sparentsliveontheWestCoast,stillinherhometown,wherewemet.Hermotherisahospitaldirectoratoneofthatcity’shospitals;whileherfatherownsanelectronicrecyclingbusiness.Jennifer’ssister,Meghan,isarecentcollegegradu-ateandisamarketingtempatasocialmediasite.Jennifer’sbrotheristheonlyotherfamilymemberoutsideofJen’shomestate;heiscurrentlyworkingasapilotontheEastCoast.Jennifer’ssiblingsareexcitedtobethe“cool”auntanduncletoourchildren,whileherparentsareequallythrilledforgrandchildren.Therearealsomanycousins/aunts/uncles/grandparentsresidinginherhomestate,soitisalwaysabigfamilyreunionwhenJennifercomeshometovisit. Wealsohavealovingandsupportivegroupoffriendsandcoworkerswhoarefullybehindusinouradoptionadventure.WelookforwardtojoiningMommyand/orDaddygroups,aswellasmeetingwithotheradoptionfamilies.

Here we are with Bella and Whale

Kickball Champs Hahn Family Snowshoing in UtahMatthew with his sister

Surprising Jennifer’s Mom for Christmas in Las Vegas

Shain family with Rocky in Philadelphia

Our Family & Friends

Matthew & Jennifer

What does adoption mean to me?Jennifer: Simplyput,adoptionmeansthatIcanbeamothertoachildIamotherwiseneverabletohave.Itmeanshavingtheabilitytoloveachildasmyownandwatchingthemgrowintoawonderfulperson.

Matthew:WhenIheartheword“adoption”,thefirstthingthatcomestomindisopportunity.Opportunitytogrowourfamilybyacceptingawonderfulgiftfromanotherperson.Opportunitytocallachildmyown,tolovethemuncondi-tionallyandshareourliveswith.

Why do I choose adoption?Jennifer: Idecidedthatadoptionwasthenaturalchoiceformeafterhavingfertilityissues.MyhusbandisunabletofatherchildrenandIhadcontradictorytestresultswhenweconsideredIVF,whichwasaprocedureIalreadywasn’tcomfortablewith.IknowIwantchildrenandIbelieveadop-tionisthebestwayforustostartourfamily.

Matthew: Forme,adoptionwasaneasyandlogicalchoiceafterfindingoutIwasunabletohavechildren.Ihavesev-eralfriendswhowereadoptedandwatchingtheminteractwiththeirfamily,onewouldneverknowtheywereadopted.Theyarepartofhappyandlovingfamilies,andIknowJen-niferandIwillsharethesameloveandaffectionwithourfuturechild.

Dear Birth Parent Fromthemomentwem

et,weknewwewererightforeachotherimmed

iately.We

learnedveryearlyonthatwehadcommoninte

restsandgoalsforourlives,and

couldn’timaginespendingourliveswithanyone

else.Overthepastfiveyears,we

havesharedmanyexperiences,grownstronger

asacoupleandmadeanalmostper-

fectlifetogether.Thereisjustthisoneadventur

ethatwehaveyettopartakein:the

adventureofbeingparents.Evenbeforegettin

gmarried,webothknewwewanted

tobeparents,andthattheotherwouldmakea

greatMommyorDaddy.Physically

becomingparentsisn’tinthedeckforus,thoug

h.

YetifJennifer’sownlifehastaughtheranything

,itisthatabiologicalconnectionisnotnecessa

rytomakea

parent.Herstep-fatherhasalwaysbeen“Dad”.

Hetookhertodanceclass,coachedinswimm

ing,ordered

herherfirstbananasplit,andwalkedJenniferd

owntheaisle.Whetherheshareshergeneticshasnever

beenthepoint.HehasalwayslovedJennifera

shisown.

Sowebothknowthatthisloveispossibleforus

,aswell.Wealsoknowthatbothofourfamilieswilllove

thischildastheirowntoo,andneveras“adopte

d”.Lovedoesn’tneedanyspecialvocabularyto

describeit.

Loveislove.Andwehavesomuchlovetogive

toyoursonordaughter.Whetherwesharethesam

eethnic-

ityofcomefromcompletelydifferentculturesdo

esnotmattertousandwillnotchangehowwe

feelabout

yourchild.Wewillembraceandcelebratethesedifferences,

andmakesureasyourchildgetsolder,he/she

understandsandrememberstheircultureandhi

story.

Wefeelweareuniquelyqualifiedtobeparents.J

enniferisafourthgradeEnglishandSocialStu

diesteacher,

with6+yearsofteachingandworkingwithchild

renofallagesandabilities.Shehasalsobaby

sitfornumer-

ousfamilies,taughtswimlessonsforcountless

summers,andtutoredreadingandwritingont

heside.

Matthewisanengineerandteacher,withalove

ofsports,allthingsDisney,andaneagerness

tobuildthe

bestpillowfort!MatthewcannotwaittocoachLi

ttleLeaguebaseballorsoftball,cheeronthesi

delinesasour

childmakestheirfirstgoalorparticipateintheir

firstrecital.Wearereadytoshareourliveswithachild,tobe

handsonandencouraginginwhateverinterest

stheytakeon,andtolovethemunconditionally

.Thankyou

againforconsideringusasadoptiveparentsfor

yourchildaforlettingusshareaglimpseofou

rlifewithyou.