About Matt

I grew up in South Carolina, the oldest of three boys. Froman early age, I loved three things: music, swimming, and school. These thingscame to define me: I have a life long love of singing, performing in musicalsand in concerts that took me around the world. I also swam competitively incollege, and even competed afterwards in a Masters league (where I won thenational championship!). But my love of learning is perhaps the most importantof all. I worked hard in school and got into Yale University, where I thrived.And since graduating, I’ve seized the opportunity to learn and grow in everychapter of my life. Today, I have the privilege of working in Hollywood, makingtelevision series for the whole world to watch. This job combines so many ofthe things I love: creativity, team work, passion, and resilience. I’m excitedto pass on these values (and more) to our future child, and maybe even teachthem to swim the butterfly, too!

More About Matt, by Peter

Matt has a big, kind smile that can turn around even thehardest days. Though he has a successful and busy work life, he alwaysprioritizes taking care of me, our dog, home, family, and friends. He is anatural in the kitchen, making the simplest things, like chicken tenders, tastegourmet. His green thumb keeps our home bursting with happy plants. Matt’sempathy runs deep - his eyes are quick to tear up with joy any time his lovedones share their good news, or with sorrow sharing in their difficult moments.Our pup Roger feels it too. Whenever Matt pulls into the driveway, Roger putshis paws up on the window sill and wags his tail until Matt walks in the door,where they share a greeting as if they’d been apart for months. Every nightit’s the same excitement, and every night I can’t help but think how much moreexciting it will be to see our children jumping into Matt’s arms too.

About Peter

I grew up outside of San Francisco, just across the GoldenGate Bridge. During my childhood I spent summers in the Midwest with myextended family, sailing in Lake Michigan and riding roller coasters at CedarPoint in Ohio. I also spent a lot of time studying Spanish and volunteering inGuatemala, lived in Spain for a year, and went to college in New York. I’velived in Los Angeles for over 10 years, where I work as a producer on projectsthat combine creativity and technology, inspired by my love of film and thearts. In my spare time you can find me playing tennis and beach volleyball,visiting museums, or cooking new recipes. I love to make crafts from scratch,from holiday cards to tie dye shirts to Halloween decorations. My favoritething of all, though, is sitting with my husband and our dog Roger watching thesunset from our balcony. I’m overwhelmed with excitement to think that therewill be a child to join us soon!

More About Peter, by Matt

When we met, the first thing I noticed about Peter was howbright and genuine his eyes are. He has the warmest disposition — he isendlessly encouraging, slow to anger, gentle and honest. He cares deeply abouthis family and friends, and will do anything to support them or make theirlives just a little bit brighter. He once flew to his parents’ house just forthe afternoon to help babysit our newborn nephew! He’s also the most tender“dog dad” to our pup, Roger. Seeing him snuggled up in bed with Roger or runningcircles together in the backyard just makes my heart burst. When he’s nothelping others, he cares deeply about self-enrichment: whether it’s learning toplay the piano again after 25 years, or teaching himself to cook so he can havedinners ready when I get home from work, or perfecting his beach volley serveor tennis backhand — Peter’s always learning and growing. I love that, and somuch more, about my perfect husband.

Home & Community

We live in a small, family-oriented neighborhood in thehills of Los Angeles just by the Hollywood sign, with hiking trails,playgrounds, tennis courts, and coffee shops walkable in any direction. Despitebeing in a big city, our neighborhood is quiet and peaceful. The streets arebursting with trees and wildflowers, families are always out walking with theirkids and dogs, everyone is on a first name basis with the mailman, andneighbors will drop off a fresh loaf of bread just because. We love to explore thecity, taking advantage of all of the rich cultural diversity- amazingrestaurants, museums, and attractions. And we will frequently take weekendtrips to one of many nearby spots like Malibu, Laguna Beach, Santa Barbara, SanDiego, and Solvang. In LA, the ocean is never too far. Our dog Roger fitssnugly into a backpack we wear to bring him on bike rides along the beach inSanta Monica. And you can’t forget about our annual trip to Disneyland with ourfriends and their kids.

Interests & Hobbies  

Where to begin! We love to travel. Recent favorites includea trip to Kiawah Island, South Carolina, taking Matt’s mom to Ireland to learnabout her ancestors, a bike trip in Spain, and snorkeling in Hawaii with oursweet little nephew. At the same time, we cherish being at home. One of ourfavorite things to do is host our friends and their kids for pool BBQs in thesummer and board games by the fireplace in the winter. Not to mention, ourhouse is consistently voted best decorated every Halloween by our neighbors! Weshare a love of music, and take advantage of LA’s many concerts. We dabble inour own musical endeavors too, recently participating in our family’s annualtalent show with a duet of Fly Me To The Moon, with Peter on the piano and Mattsinging along. Giving back to our communities is important to us. We’re alwayslooking for new ways to help others, from swimming long distances to raisemoney for cancer research, to making meals for food banks.

Parenting & Openness  

We promise to create an environment where our child feelssafe, supported, and loved unconditionally. We will encourage them to use theirimaginations, to be curious, to be kind to others, and to be healthy in body,mind and spirit. We believe the best way to instill these values is throughquality time spent together. Spending time with our child as a family unit, aswell as with our extended family and friends, will be our number one priority.We will do our very best to model all of these values in our own lives andrelationships. And with these building blocks, we will let our child decide forthemselves where their passions lie and support whatever direction they choosefor their lives. We’re so excited to see how they grow up and what we willlearn from them as well. We’re also excited to share this experience with youthrough an open adoption. We want our child to always understand their adoptionas a completely normal and beautiful thing, and to be proud of their birthstory.

In Closing  

We are deeply grateful for you taking the time to read aboutus, and considering us to be the parents of your precious child. We promisethat we will shower your child with love every day, and will never take forgranted how lucky we are to be together because of your selfless gift. And wewill call upon our supportive family and closest friends to help raise yourchild, as we know how important a loving community is to building andsustaining a strong family. We are intentionally choosing to build our familythrough adoption, not just because of our deep connection through Peter’s ownadoption journey, but also because it is such a beautiful example of the valueswe hold dear.

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