Being a parent is an incredible privilege and gift. It's filled with lessons and challenges, but the role of a parent is about love. We are eager to shower our child with that love through hugs, snuggles, storytime, vacations, family dinners, and so much more. We are ready to start new traditions, have honest conversations, and continue to create a safe space for our family. We believe that, as parents, it is our responsibility to reflect on ourselves as people and make sure that we are modeling compassion, kindness, responsibility, and honesty. We know that being a parent is a wonderful responsibility and we want to make sure that our child feels and knows that they are the most important thing in the world to us. We believe that openness and trust are built through restorative conversations where everyone feels safe sharing how they are feeling and can be confident coming to us with any questions that they have about life. We know that adoption, in particular, is a special type of responsibility and that is one of the reasons we want to make sure that we know what the birth parent needs and wants and is a part of our child's story. We are ready to give so much love and are hopeful to start the most important section of our lives.

We love to keep busy. Kat has been a runner her whole life and has completed three marathons and is currently training for her fourth. Pat has always been creative, playing the drums and bass in many bands in his youth, and has been the resident photographer for all of our travel adventures.

We love to explore the world and its many cultures whenever we can. We've been to Europe, South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean, but Kat's greatest dream would be to visit Egypt and see the Great Pyramids and the Valley of Kings.

At home, we love to cook and learn new cuisines. From making our own fresh pasta and pizza to learning recipes from our favorite Asian chef's cookbook, we're always having fun in the kitchen.

We also really love to be outside, spending time with our friends hiking, taking long walks along Boston harbor, and going to the beach.

During the pandemic lockdowns, we reignited our love for board games! There are so many online versions of our favorite games that we were able to play with our family and friends so that even though we were physically apart, we were still spending time together. No matter what's happening in the world, we always find time to do things together and have fun with family and friends.

We believe that diversity is an essential part of life. All people need to experience "mirrors" and "windows." Mirrors are opportunities to see yourself in books, art, music, careers, and customs. Windows are chances to see into the customs and lives of those who have different lived experiences. It is important to us that our child, whatever their heritage may be, has continued exposure to these windows and mirrors. We are blessed on that front in many ways. One, through the city we live in, which is full of so many different people and cultures. And then also through our friends who are made up of many different races, religions, and cultural backgrounds. We know that all of these special people will play a close role in our family's journey. We want to have active discussions about the wonderful differences and similarities that we all experience in the world. We believe that who is represented in the stories that we will be reading to our child matters. It's important for our child to know their cultural background, whatever it may be, and have the opportunity to know those who share their backgrounds.

Our home is in the "Little Italy" of Boston, the North End. We have a two-bedroom apartment that sits just across the street from Boston Harbor. One of the things we love most about our home is our balcony patio. We will sit outside in the evening and watch the sunset while we eat dinner. We have a large living room space that's attached to our kitchen where we spend A LOT of time! Our landlord, Rocco, own's the restaurant that's on the first floor of our building. He has a deep connection to the neighborhood as his parents immigrated to Italy and moved to the North End. There are only four apartments in the building so it's always quiet and everyone watches out for each other.

What makes this neighborhood special are the number of fun activities that are all within walking distance from our home. The public pool is right across the street along with a large park with baseball fields and basketball courts. The aquarium is only a 10-minute walk. Boston is a city steeped in history. Old neighborhoods like the North End, Beacon Hill, and Charlestown are all within walking distance of our home. We also have a school right around the corner with a playground. Every summer there are festivals every few weekends where a street is closed off and bands will come play, there are activities for kids and families. We love our neighborhood!

We are both really blessed with wonderful families. Both of us were born in Cleveland where Kat's parents still live. We go there fairly often and spend time with Kat's family, especially when Kat's sister comes to town from her home in Ecuador where she lives with our two nieces, Lulu and Sami. During the pandemic lockdowns, we weren't able to travel, so we had these fun Zoom nights where we played Codenames online each Friday. The whole family would join including Kat's brother and sister and their children. It definitely made staying indoors way more enjoyable and we would look forward to each Friday night.

We are really lucky to have Pat's twin brother living in Boston! They've basically been inseparable since childhood and having him around as support is a huge blessing. Pat's family lives in Houston and we get to visit them about once a year. They are very chill and when we visit it's mainly being together watching sports, eating, and talking. Pat's brother-in-law, Tom, is a huge sports fan, just like Pat, and whenever we visit, golf is on the agenda. Tom never had a brother growing up so getting to hang out with Pat and his twin brother is a special thing.

Both of our families are so excited to support us in our journey to extend our family. We are excited and hopeful to bring a child into our loving families!

We were introduced by a friend when we were 19 years old and it was truly young love. After dating for a few years, we decided to move to different places and grew into the people we now are. After seven years of living apart, and thinking of each other often, luck had it that we both were moving to Boston to pursue new opportunities. It immediately became apparent that the world had plans for us and we soon began our journey of building our lives together and got married in 2015.

Kat has worked in education for the past 15 years. During this time she has taught, Kindergarten, 1st grade, 5th grade and has been an Assistant Principal. Currently, Kat is working as the Director of Interventions at a K-7 school in East Boston working with students who need more support academically. Kat loves being with kids while also supporting teachers in creating academic programs that best meet the needs of all students. Kat loves her students so much as has developed relationships with families and students that have lasted beyond the years she has worked with them. There is actually one student that she has known since he was in 1st grade who came to visit her in her hometown of Cleveland and he, his mom, and Kat were able to spend some quality time sightseeing. He is now 17 and they still frequently talk. Kat truly loves the kids she works with.

Pat started a small business, a video production company, with his best friend from high school. Ironically, it's the same friend that introduced us back when we were teenagers! The business has been very successful, just recently celebrating its tenth-year anniversary. He meets new people every day and travels all over for projects, sometimes even abroad! He's had the chance to work with accomplished sports figures like Lewis Hamilton (F1 Racing) and Brad Marchand (NHL) and also entertainment personalities Nick Lachey (98 Degrees) and Maria Menounos. Although it can be very hard work, Pat feels lucky every single day that he's able to have a career that he really loves.

We are so hopeful to grow our family and provide your child with a loving and caring home. We are committed to telling your child the story of their journey to us and your incredibly important role in our lives. We are so grateful for the role you will play, whatever you chose that role to be. You are important to us and always will be. We are happy to share stories, pictures, videos, and document all of the important milestones of your child's life. We are also happy to make arrangements for visits whenever you feel like the time is right. We are so excited to get to know you and work to maintain a strong, healthy, happy relationship. We know this is an incredibly hard decision, and we respect you so much for making a choice that is right for you. Our home is built on love, honesty, and respect and we are excited and committed to teaching those values to every child that comes into our family.

Sincerely,

Pat & Kat