The most exciting day of our lives was when we learned that we would become Matilda's adoptive parents. It was a tremendous honor for us that her birth family chose us and entrusted her to us. We fell in love the moment we first met her and we knew that she was the child we had waited for so long. We can't imagine not having her as part of our family and are grateful for her birth family every day.

It is important to us that she knows about her birth family and understands how much they love her. Shortly after she was born, we made a book that includes pictures of her family and on the first page is a picture of her birth family. We have read this book to her often since she was born, and she loves to see pictures of her birth family! We have visited with her birth family and regularly share pictures and letters with them.

We all love being outdoors, and where we live there are so many different things to do. We love to spend summers at the beach and lakes and hike on trails nearby. We also enjoy gardening and exploring botanical gardens and garden centers.

Matilda really loves music, so we have lots dance parties in our living room. She enjoys arts and crafts, especially painting, kinetec sand, and playdoh. We play lots of games, like Candyland, Chess, and Crazy 8's. We build with train tracks, Lincoln logs, Legos, and wood blocks. She also enjoys puzzles and reading,

One of Dave's passions is music. He is often singing, writing songs, or playing the piano. Sometimes Dave will write a song with Matilda where she will pick the notes and he records them. He also enjoys reading non-fiction and history books, astronomy, and experimenting with new recipes for cooking or baking.

Aly loves knitting, sewing, and art projects. She and Matilda are always coming up with new things to paint or create. Recently, Aly has been sewing neck warmers to donate. She's usually listening to a cozy mystery audio book while she knits or sews.

On date nights, when Grandma and Grandpa are spending time with Matilda, we like to do escape rooms, go bowling (and maybe play some arcade games while we wait for an open lane), or play board games with friends.

Being a parent is a lot like growing a garden -- every flower will grow to be unique in its own ways, but it needs love and care to get there. Our favorite part of being a parent is nurturing and teaching the child so that they grow into the unique person that they are. With our daughter Matilda, we love to explore and introduce her to as much as the world has to offer. When a child lights up with fascination at finally doing something or learning something, we are gratified not only to see and be a part of that success but also by having been there to support and encourage them through all their hard work and struggles to get to that success. The first couple years of life have been so fun to experience as they become their own person with their own personality and interests but we also are excited for the years to come. Will they keep the same interests or develop new ones? Are we going to be cheering them on at sporting events, plays, or piano recitals? 

Our house is on over an acre of land in a semi-rural area in Maine. We have a large yard with beautiful stone-walled gardens throughout the property. A forest surrounds our yard except for the side that overlooks our neighbor's farm fields. We love sitting at our table for breakfast and watching the sun rise over the field and going out to watch the tractors as they cut and bale the hay. We play soccer and set up the slide on the flat areas of our lawn in the summer and make snow angels and give rides on the sled in the winter. We have a small pond that is great for exploring and watching wildlife. We have a long driveway great for riding a tricycle. We have three bedrooms and two bathrooms. This child's bedroom will overlook the pond and gardens. We have a living room upstairs with lots of toy bins and bookshelves filled with children's books and a small basketball hoop. Downstairs we have a family room with the play kitchen and more toys. The dining room/kitchen area has a shelf for art supplies and a kid-size table for snacks and crafts.

We are close to the local beach. We like to go there for walks all year and swimming in the summer. There are quite a few parks, trails, a wildlife park, and fishing spots within a short driving distance. We also have lots of fun classes nearby such as swimming, gymnastics, music, and soccer.

David's Family: Most of David's family lives only a few hours away. His parents visit several times a month to see Matilda and we see the rest of his family frequently as well. His brother and sister-in-law have a new baby and Matilda is ecstatic to have a baby cousin. His sister and brother-in-law live a little farther away, but we see them for holidays and special occasions. When we all get together, we go to sporting events, cook out, go to the beach, or put together puzzles. David's grandma lives close by and makes sure we have Polish kielbasa, golumpki, and other traditional foods for our holidays.

Aly's Family: Aly's mom is retired and, although she lives down south, she visits several times a year and we FaceTime regularly. Aly's dad and stepmom also live farther away but FaceTime frequently and visit when they can. When either of Aly's parents visit us, they are focused on spending as much time as they can with Matilda. We go to parks, the beach, or the aquarium. When we visit Aly's dad, he often takes us out fishing or boating or we spend time relaxing by the lake. Aly has a twin sister and an older brother who is married with two kids. When we get together, we spend time with the kids during the day and we play board games such as Clue or Settlers of Catan or go to Escape Rooms if Nana or Grandpa are there to watch Matilda.

We want to start by letting you know that we are thinking of you and praying for you. We don't know your situation or feelings right now, but we hope our prayers support and encourage you as you continue to make decisions about your child's future.

We have been married for 8 years now and have known each other for more than 10 years. We discussed having children before we were married and were excited to be parents. We had hoped to have several children. We wanted to share our faith and interests with children and discover our children's individual personalities. Would they like dance or soccer or reading? Would they like to be dressed up or play in the dirt? Maybe all of the above? Would they want to play clarinet like Aly, the trombone like David, or would they want something completely different?

After several years and many doctors' appointments, we realized that we were not going to conceive a child. We started talking about adoption. We prayed to God for help in discerning His will. Were we meant to raise a child, or did he have other plans for us? We really felt that we were meant to be parents.

A couple years ago, we were blessed to adopt our daughter, Matilda. She has been growing from this little baby into an amazing little toddler full of her own personality. She adds so much to our lives. We would love to add another child to our family. We want to share our lives with more children and nurture and support them as they grow.

We both grew up with siblings in our homes. We played boards games with them and ran around outside with them. We went to each other's band concerts and sporting events. They are still an important part in our lives. We think Matilda will be an amazing big sister. She wants to read to the baby, sing them songs, and teach them how to play with toys.

We both grew up with a stay-at-home mom until we started school and we both felt that we benefited from having a parent stay at home with us. We are blessed that Aly can stay at home to care for our daughter and future children. Aly looks forward to having another child join us on our trips to the beach, parks, and children's museums during the week. We look forward to larger family dinners, game nights, and church on Sundays.

Should you choose us to raise your child, we will send letters and pictures to you. We would also be open to emails if you would prefer. As the child gets old enough to communicate, phone calls would also be an option. We would also be interested in a visit with you while this child was still under 5 years old. We want them to know that you love them and want the best for them.

Thank you for taking the time to get to know us.

Best Regards,

David & Aly