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| Family Type: | Traditional Couple |
|---|---|
| Children: | Yes |
| Location: | IL |
|---|---|
| Religion: | None |
dear expectant mother
How brave and strong of spirit you must be to consider a decision like this. It is so selfless to choose to place your baby with a family that will love and support them. The amazing result is that you also will be making a hopeful couple’s dreams come true. We hope to be that couple because our greatest wish is to complete our family. We both come from loving, stable homes and are surrounded by family. We want nothing more than a chance to be parents again and to follow the example our parents gave us. We hope that is what you want for your baby as well.
We’d like to share with you an excerpt from a poem by E. E. Cummings that reminds us of the vast love we already feel for your unborn child.
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)
It is hard to know what you must be thinking, but we hope you are comforted by how much joy and love you will be giving whichever couple you choose. We wish you much peace and comfort as you move forward with your journey.
About Us
Our names are Merissa and Matt, and we’ve been together for over 10 years. We both love traveling, and our most recent trip was to visit our son’s birth family down south. Matt is a director in the IT department at a large insurance company. He is a die-hard baseball fan and loves to hop on the train and take the short ride down to the stadium to catch a game. Merissa served two years teaching in the Peace Corps in Thailand. She now works part time at a local garden center and is a stay-at-home mom as well as a nanny to a few neighborhood kids. She loves gardening and doing mosaic work in her free time. In addition to sharing our love of other cultures and their delicious foods, we are looking forward to sharing our love of sports and the arts with our children!
Our Home & Pets
We are lucky to live in a 100-plus-year-old house that we split with Merissa’s parents and grandma. This means when we welcome our new baby home, they will live one flight of stairs away from their grandparents and great-grandmother, and we can't think of a greater gift to give a child than the strength of a close family. Our home is in a lovely, historic, tree-lined neighborhood that is in a city, but it feels like a suburb. We have two wonderful cats, and we enjoy their strong personalities and antics. Demi is our old lady cat who loves to snuggle. Mr. Darcy is our sweet, fat kitten who has proven to have unending patience with children.
Our Extended Family
We are so lucky to be surrounded by so many family members on both sides. We both have parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins who live nearby. Matt grew up about 45 minutes outside the city, and his parents and his older brother all live nearby. Merissa grew up in California but has happily relocated to the Midwest, along with her parents and grandmother. She has several cousins in the city with young children of their own, so every family gathering has many kids running around.
A few years ago, we gut-renovated our house into the two-flat that we share with Merissa’s parents and grandmother. Now that we’ve adopted our son, the house is home to four generations. We love getting together for big family dinners. Our favorite is hosting Thanksgiving dinner for both sides of the family.
What Led Us To Adoption
When we first married, we began trying to start our family. After a year and a half without success, we discovered that Merissa had a few fertility issues that led us to try IVF. After another year and a half without any IVF success, we were ready to move on to our next chapter. We were always interested in adoption and had discussed adopting after we’d had a child, so adopting was an easy choice. We successfully adopted our son two years ago and are excited to complete our family with a second adoption. We have a strong open adoption with our son’s entire birth family and are so pleased that our families have grown close through our mutual love of our son.
Fun Facts
About Matt
| Occupation | IT director |
|---|---|
| Education | B.S. in marketing and M.S. in management info. syst. |
| Race | Caucasian |
| Favorite Movie | Pulp Fiction |
| Favorite Sport | Baseball |
| Favorite Music Group | Vampire Weekend |
| Favorite TV Show | Saturday Night Live |
| Favorite Book | To Kill a Mockingbird |
| Favorite Tradition | Trick-or-treating around our neighborhood |
| Favorite Animal | Cat |
| Dream Vacation | South Africa |
About Merissa
| Occupation | Stay-at-home mom and nanny |
|---|---|
| Education | B.A. in theater and M.A. in theater education |
| Race | Caucasian |
| Favorite Movie | The Princess Bride |
| Favorite Sport | Ninja Warrior |
| Favorite Music Group | Paul Simon |
| Favorite TV Show | The Wire |
| Favorite Book | Harry Potter series |
| Favorite Tradition | Cracking confetti Easter eggs |
| Favorite Animal | Octopus |
| Dream Vacation | Spain, Portugal & Morocco |
Contact Matt & Merissa
Choose a Family for
Your Baby With Confidence
As you browse our list of hopeful adoptive parents, you can feel confident in knowing that all of the adoptive families working with Angel Adoption are prepared to offer your baby a safe, stable, and loving environment along with a wealth of opportunities for a happy and fulfilling life.
Each adoptive parent has been thoroughly evaluated through a home study course conducted by a licensed agency. A completed home study means the family is emotionally, physically, and financially ready to adopt a baby.
The home study process includes assessments of each parent’s character, marital stability, financial situation, lifestyle, and medical history. The agency also runs background checks to verify there is no record of criminal activity or child abuse. In addition, a social worker will inspect the family’s home to ensure it is a safe environment for a child.
Furthermore, Angel Adoption requires each family to be educated on adopting and parenting. After a baby has been placed with the adoptive family, a social worker will continue to monitor and supervise the family. We go to great lengths to make sure all the families you have to choose from are going to be excellent parents for your baby!
Not sure how to start? See our How to Choose an Adoptive Family resource page.
If you need more help, you’re always welcome to contact us any time!