Kelly and Matthew

Hello, we are Kelly and Matthew. We are excited for you to get to know us better!

Becoming parents is exciting to us for so many reasons. We both want to experience the adventure of raising a child together; providing a child with nourishment, connection, and safety when they are young, providing guidance and helping them learn as they grow older, and providing the support they need to find meaning, satisfaction, and direction in life as they approach adulthood. We look forward to the many moments of joy and playfulness in connecting with and supporting the child we adopt, while also providing comfort and ease during challenging times.

Open adoption appeals to us for many reasons as it aligns with our values and hopes for the child we adopt. We have close family members who are adopted, and through their stories, we have learned why knowing their birth family and having a relationship with them is so important to their identity. We want the best for the child who will join our family, and we look forward to getting to know their birth family and maintaining a connection with them throughout the child’s life. If they are not local, we are committed to using technology and travel to help maintain the relationship between all of us.

Kelly grew up in the Midwest and moved to western Oregon in 2008 for the natural beauty and to be close to family. She has worked in the mental health field as a mindfulness and body centered counselor for the past eight years. Matthew grew up on the east coast and moved to western Oregon in 2013 for his current job as a university professor.

We both really value our connection to each other, as well as our relationships with family, friends, animals, and community. We enjoy going to public events, such as farmer’s markets or attending art, music, and cultural events. It is important to us that we spend quality time together enjoying our shared interests, such as outdoor activities, meditating, gardening, hanging out with friends and family, walking our dog or cuddling our pets, laughing while watching a TV show, or cooking dinner together to music. We met in 2017 and got married in August of 2020. We consider ourselves to be a good team because we communicate well, support one another, make each other laugh, and balance each other out in our strengths and weaknesses. We have similar values and find meaning and purpose in being caretakers for the environment, taking the time to quiet our minds and connect with our hearts, experiencing care and compassion for others, and honoring diversity and multiculturalism.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read our letter. We look forward to becoming parents and expanding our family.

We wish you the very best,
Matthew and Kelly