Hello! We are Christine & Matt along with our daughter, Eleanor, from Burbank, California! Thank you so much for getting to know us! We’re looking forward to getting to know you too.

We know you must love your child very much and, if you honor us with the opportunity to parent them, we promise we will work hard every single day to be worthy of your trust and raise them with strong values and the tools and opportunities they need to become whoever they want to be. Our hearts are open and our little family is warm, silly, and so very ready to welcome your child (and you too, in whatever way feels best for you).

Since we met in 2012, we have been certain that adoption would be our path to starting our family. We experienced the adoption process when our daughter’s birth family chose us to parent her in 2020. We have been so honored to witness her birth family’s strength, love, and courage, and they’ve become members of our family too. We all are so excited to welcome a second child to our family!

We met online in 2012 and have been inseparable since our first date. We were married in 2016 on top of a building in downtown Los Angeles. We served up huge towers of donuts (our favorite!) and danced all night with our closest family and friends.

We’re in love and we’re best friends and, while we’re not perfect people, we work hard and do our best for each other. Our marriage and our parenting style are founded on a few commitments we made to each other from the beginning: to set aside our pride, to listen before we speak, to apologize when we’re wrong, to learn from our mistakes, and to never take life too seriously.

Hi! I'm Christine! I was born and raised in Southern California and I love it here. I work as a therapist and the patients I work with inspire me daily as they discover their strength and conquer anxiety, depression, and trauma.

I can’t start the day without my early-morning boxing class and a LOT of coffee. Boxing melts away my stress and reminds me to never stop trying to get stronger, smarter, and better. I will know I lived my life right if others remember me for being kind.

I take every opportunity to help others whether I’m baking cookies for a neighbor, swapping tips and supplies with other moms, or reaching for the item on the highest shelf at the grocery store for a stranger.

Being a mom has taught me so much. It has always been my goal as a mom to give my kids all the love, compassion, snacks, and support they need to chase their dreams and become exactly who they want to be, and I approach motherhood like boxing - as a fun challenge that keeps me humble and reminds me I always have more to learn and room to grow.

Christine is an incredible mother and wife with an uncanny ability to create a loving environment in every situation. Sometimes that means surprise holiday decorations, hot cocoa, or a hug after a hard day.

Her patience and understanding are boundless as is her ability to recall the lyrics to every song she has ever heard, now including many children’s songs and lullabies. The impact of her caring and supportive nature is visible in Eleanor. Who is absolutely confident in her ability to befriend any zoo animal, climb any rock, and win any foot race.

Christine is tireless and holds space for everyone in her life. Not only do Eleanor and I always feel loved and cherished, so too do Christine’s friends and family, all while she works and enjoys hobbies like boxing, video games, and searching for that next perfect cup of coffee in Los Angeles. I am always amazed at how she does it all - without even needing a nap! I couldn’t ask for a better wife or mother for our family.

Hi! I'm Matt! I came to California after college and have lived here longer than anywhere else. I grew up in a military family and we moved around a lot. I was born on a US base in Germany and I’ve lived in 7 cities across 4 states since. I work in Finance and Clean Energy, but my real passion is being creative. I love to draw and make up stories for my daughter and I’m always excited to learn new things. My friends and family can always count on me and so can my community - I donate blood and volunteer planting trees and restoring wildflowers after fires.

Being a dad has taught me a lot. I strive to always be present and make time for family and to embody the lessons I try to impart, like always saying “please”, putting my shoes where they go, and pushing in my chair (which I now do most of the time). As a dad, I try to be warm and supportive, to help my daughter cope with her feelings in healthy ways, and to teach her to solve problems, even when they are hard. I want my kids to know I’m here to help and they can tell me anything.

Matt is basically the coolest dad ever! He’s the biggest kid up on the jungle gym, super creative, and he doesn’t mind making a mess (and cleaning it up afterward). Eleanor adores him and I think his support and respect for her has been a big part of how she came to be the magnificent, funny, passionate little spirit she is.

One of my favorite things about Matt as a dad is that, no matter where we are, he spends most of his time on the floor - even though he’s 6’2”, he folds himself up, crawls into tiny spaces, and wears out the knees of all of his pants making sure he’s always right at kid-level.

He’s a great partner too. As long as I’ve known him, every single time I’ve asked Matt for help, he’s smiled and said “okay!” In his marriage vows, Matt promised to remind me to always say “yes” to adventure. He’s held up his end of the bargain beautifully by encouraging me to follow my curiosity everywhere it leads, whether that’s the top of the Eiffel Tower or to the animal shelter where we adopted our two scruffy little dogs.

Eleanor is our three-year-old daughter and she absolutely can’t wait to have a little brother or sister! She’s excited to run and play with them, teach them to go down slides, and she can’t wait to read them her favorite books.

She was placed with us a few days after she was born. Her birth family chose an open adoption and we’ve stayed close with them through regular visits and lots of text messages.

We live in Burbank, a family-friendly suburb of Los Angeles. With great schools, an airport, a library with a big room just for toddlers, brand new playgrounds, and a rock-and-roll music school for kids, plus lots of movie studios and celebrity sightings, just a quick drive from the big city, the beach, and the mountains.

Our home is a bright, airy townhouse on a quiet street, just a short walk from our favorite local shops and restaurants. We’re close with our neighbors and all the families in our building walk to the farmers market together every Sunday morning. Your child will have a bedroom with high ceilings, lots of space, and a big window that looks out into tall, green trees. We will snuggle in around the kitchen island to bake together every weekend, and we will gather for family dinner every night at our big family table, we will plant flowers in our garden and splash in the pool on hot summer afternoons, and we will bundle up with hot cocoa to join the neighbors caroling along with the Christmas Eve parade that comes down our street every December.

Montgomery (“Monty”):
• Talents: Very soft fur, takes long naps, and he’s blind but he gets around just fine
• Favorite Snack: Pupperoni
• Hobby: Protecting the house from the mailman

Mildred (“Milly” or “Meatball”):
• Talents: Can yodel, will sit and roll over for snacks
• Favorite Snack: Whatever you’re having
• Hobby: Car rides

Our families are so excited to welcome another little one! Some of our family lives close by and others are further away, but when we get together, there’s always lots of laughter. Our parents are loving, involved grandparents and our brothers and sisters are the coolest aunts and uncles - plus their kids are sweet, gentle cousins, who love to hand down their favorite books, toys, and games.

We visit or talk online with our families every day and everyone has their own special way of keeping in touch. Christine’s dad visits a few times each week and her mom got us special connected lights so she and Eleanor can send each other “colors” whenever they think of each other. Matt’s parents love to FaceTime to help Eleanor bake something for breakfast each weekend. The cousins have formed a book club and we read along with them. We all take turns flying across the country to visit in person a few times each year. Eleanor’s birth mother has become a part of our family too, and we visit with her for dinners, adventures, and playtime.

Thank you for getting to know us! We can’t wait to get to know you too. We would be honored and absolutely thrilled to welcome you and your family to ours in the way that feels just right for you.

We know this is a tremendous decision and if there’s more you want to know or see from us, please reach out anytime, and know that our hearts are with you.

With our sincere respect and appreciation,
Christine and Matt (and Eleanor too)