Hello! We are Becca & Matt from Maryland along with our daughter, Amelia. We have been married for 10 years and view our life as an amazing adventure. We started our journey as best friends who enjoy camping, playing games, walking, and being silly together, which has grown to fill our home with warm laughter, fun, and a sense of belonging. We enjoy bringing Amelia along for both big and small adventures. We know that our family is not complete, and we are excited to see it grow through adoption. Thank you for taking the time to get to know us and to see if we are the right family for your child.

When we began trying to start our family, we struggled to conceive. This struggle led us to look into adoption because we have always been interested in opening our home to others. Soon after looking into adoption, we found out we were pregnant. After Amelia was born, we still felt our family was not complete, and the door of adoption was still open in our hearts. As we prayed and discussed expanding our family, we became so excited to see our family grow through adoption. Now it's beautiful to see how our hearts are growing and being prepared, and how even Amelia has taken to the idea of becoming an older sister.

We became friends in our freshman year at college, and when we finally started dating in our senior year, all of our friends said, "FINALLY, took you long enough." We might not have seen our friendship blossoming into a relationship, but that strong foundation of friendship has served us well over the last 10 years. We can easily say that our love and foundation in God as our Lord and Savior has gotten us through some major life struggles. On the other side of those hardships, our joy, intimacy, and strength as a team are now much stronger and continue to deepen as we have become parents. We love the adventure of being parents, filled with its own struggles and joys. Our rock-solid foundation of faith, friendship, and a teamwork mentality helps us as we learn to be parents and guide children on their journey.

I think that if you asked my closest friends, they would tell you I am caring, creative, active, and love children, which, in my mind, is a good summary of myself. If I were to open up about my story, I’d start by talking about my love for art—something that’s always felt like a part of who I am. Art for me is a way to express myself in a way I have not always been able to in words. I wanted to share this love with others, so I naturally became an art teacher. I can honestly say I loved teaching, but I still longed for the opportunity to walk alongside others on their journey.
This realization led me to pursue a career as an art therapist, where I can truly walk alongside others on their journey. I can now easily say I have the best job, as I get to be a mom for the majority of the day and still serve others 3 nights a week. The joy and flexibility this job has given me are more than I could have imagined. I knew I always wanted to be a mom, but I didn't realize how much fun or challenging it would be until Amelia. Now I am filled with excitement to watch our family grow through adoption.

We could be having a casual conversation about our day, and she adds that she bought a wonderful gift for our friend or nephew/niece whose birthday is coming up, which was totally not on my radar. She always has snacks and toys packed for Amelia wherever we go, and I have often forgotten something, and Becca smiles and says, “It's ok, honey, I packed it.” One of my favorite things about Becca is her ability to relate and connect with anyone. She is so much fun and fabulous at including others. Wherever we go, Becca always ends up engaged in playing or talking with babies, toddlers, little kids, or big kids (me/adults), making life fun, spreading joy, and being present come naturally to her. Becca is disciplined in her own life and consistently works out 4-5 times a week. This carries over into how she consistently parents. When Amelia faces big feelings or disappointments, Becca responds with patience—gently guiding her perspective, offering understanding, and showing grace. Becca is always thoughtful of everyone.

and I am a 6 ft. tall skinny pillar of silly, nerdy, fun! All of this comes in handy as my day job is being a middle school history teacher. I am often described as a cool history teacher that students are excited to have, and parents are pleased with my balance of rigor and fun. I am a man of integrity, I am teachable, I am goofy, and I have a servant's heart. I love to spend time with my family, and I thrive on hanging out in small groups of friends, having deep, honest conversations. I don’t just have a teachable heart; I also love to teach and guide others in new experiences and discoveries. Although I have experienced this in my career, I truly get to live it out as a father. I take my role as a dad very seriously, and thus, I often find myself being ridiculous with my daughter. I love my daughter's why questions and inquisitive nature. Whether it's talking about God and the way the world works or Star Wars and other fictional topics, for me, the world stops when she asks a question.

He is my comfort I can lean on at any time. Even though Matt is constant, he is not hard-headed. One thing I love the most about Matt is how teachable he is. Matt is usually the first to apologize and always seeks to grow and learn from the situation. My other favorite thing about Matt is his sense of humor. He demonstrates his love and care for Amelia in the way he listens to her, plays her games, and brings fun into the mundane. Whether it is Matt being a dancer in his daughter's pretend dance class or using her as a claw to clean up the toys, Matt always knows how to bring the fun. It is a common occurrence for me to come home only to find him and Amelia up past bedtime, giggling and singing made-up songs. This is nicely balanced with his firm and clear rules. Matt truly embraces his calling in helping children grow into who God created them to be. Matt is a fantastic father and husband! Matt is a steady, secure husband with a twist of silly and fun.

Matt can barely take himself out of a hammock with a good book, and Becca can often be found in the kitchen creating something delicious for everyone to enjoy, whether cooked or baked. Together, we are known to fill our dates with long walks, board games, and exploring new places around town. We love our snuggly dogs and can often be found on the ground cuddling or outside throwing the ball. Ranger and Kona are always down for a good walk.

A significant part of Becca’s childhood was spent attending and serving at a summer camp. However, who says you have to grow out of being at camp? Becca and Matt are now actively involved in that same summer camp, where they have spent several summers serving the community. Camp has been a great way to combine our love for the outdoors, adventure activities, and God all in one place. Matt is now counting down the days until he can attend camp through the child-parent programs. It’s a big and little kids' dream come true to be outside playing along with others as you learn to do archery, tomahawk, slingshot, rock climbing, zipline, and much more. However, our family would easily say that our favorite part happens every night at the campfire, with skits, songs, and beautiful testimonies.

Amelia is a bright light in the world. At just four years old, she overflows with imagination, joy, determination, and a naturally caring heart. She often says things like, 'I cannot wait to help take care of my baby brother or sister.' Usually, while doing a task around the house, she will share how she plans to teach her sibling to do the same task. She loves people and really loves playing with others. She cannot wait to have someone to dress up, fight bad guys, and play school with.

Our dogs are an excellent addition to our family. Ranger is a white male Goldendoodle, and Kona is a black female Labradoodle. Ranger is our emotional support dog. He knows when there is something wrong, and he will quickly run to cuddle up. One night, Becca was crying in the basement. Ranger heard her cry and, without hesitation, got out of his bed and found her. Kona, our affectionate companion, enjoys things on her own terms; however, she is always in the mood for pets. She is known in the neighborhood for teaching the other dogs how to howl every time you hear the police sirens.

Whether it's gathering around the fire pit, the table, or the wood stove, building a home that is warm and welcoming to all has been really important to us. Our home features a lovely, open main floor that allows everyone to gather and be a part of the conversation. We purposely spread the toys around the house, both inside and outside, so that everyone can be included everywhere. Our home is a split-level home that allows for separation but always connection. We love the small-town feel of Damascus while being part of a diverse area in Montgomery County. We have the privilege of being a short drive away from DC, Baltimore City, or Fredrick City, depending on the activity we are looking for. We love exploring zoos, aquariums, various play places, and hikes, both near and far. We love watching Amelia learn to swim in the summer, jump in the most enormous leaf pile in the fall, sledding down our hill in the winter, and picking flowers from our garden in the spring.

We are blessed with a big and engaged family. Family to us is really important, whether you are blood or not; there are a lot of aunts and uncles in Amelia's life. We love having our silly Uncle and loving Aunt 20 minutes away. We lean on them a lot and enjoy spending time together. Amelia looks forward to seeing her silly and goofy cousins every week. We also have another Aunt, Uncle, and nieces and nephews in North Carolina, which makes for a special treat when we gather several times a year. In the summer, Mommom and Granddads' house is a hub of fun for our family, as we are always welcome to drop in for a swim and quality family time. We also enjoy celebrating many holidays at their house, such as Easter, the Fourth of July, and Christmas. Holidays are important to us, and we always make a point to spend them with our family. It is a blessing for us to know that Amelia and our future child have a community of family and friends who provide a space to be known, loved, and supported.

We view every child as a gift from God. We take the responsibility of nurturing their value and gifts very seriously. We genuinely believe in parenting from a place of modeling the behavior because children are not mini adults and take time to really grow into who they were created to be. Children are not mini adults and take time to really grow into who they were created to be. Often, this journey will take us to the end of who we are and even develop something new within us as we transition from hands-on parenting of little ones to coaching and advising in later years. We desire to have an open adoption where our child knows they are loved all around them because the world is not a gentle place, and everyone can use as many people rooting for them. Our biggest desire for our child is for them to know the Lord and show that love to everyone around them. Loving others is not always easy, so we are intentional about living this out in our own lives of service.

Thank you for taking the time to meet our family. I know we do not know you yet but we are so impressed by you! Your courage and bravery to consider us and the decision before you!

We are honored to be considered as adoptive parents to your child. We also want you to know we have been praying for you! This beautiful journey started with you! We might not know you yet, but you hold great value and purpose, not because of anything you have done or will do, but because God created you and loves you.

We are committed to making your child feel at home, ensuring they always know they are loved, valued, and capable of achieving great things. We promise to fill your child's world with laughter, creativity, and imagination. We'll guide them to treat others with kindness and compassion, and we'll create a life where they can truly experience God's love.