Maria and Matt
We are Maria and Matt…
How do we put into words the gratitude and joy you have provided us by just considering us for this amazing gift of a child? The truth is that we can’t. There are no words that will truly express how much we admire your courage and bravery as you consider adoption. Being unable to have children ourselves has brought us much sadness. But we would feel pure joy if we were fortunate enough to have you choose us.
You are not alone in this journey. We want you to be part of our lives. If you decide on an adoption plan, we want this to be as comfortable for you as possible and we will do whatever we can to make that happen.
About Us:
We met at a dinner of about 14 people, seven men and seven women, where the men rotated every 10-15 minutes around the dinner table to talk. We were the last to meet each other but we couldn’t stop talking for the rest of the night. We quickly became close friends and we’ve been happily married since 2007.
We then moved to the northern suburbs of Chicago to be closer to Maria’s family and to start a family. After being unsuccessful in having a child, we turned to adoption. Everything that has happened to us has made us stronger. With the support of tremendous family and friends we know we are ready to be parents.
About Maria:
I was raised on the Northwest side of Chicago in a house where my parents lived for 36 years. I have two older siblings, Andrea and Paul. I love being “Thitsa” (Greek for Aunt) to Eleni (16), John my godson (12), Damastanis (11), and Vasili (9). I’m also lucky to be Godmother to two of my cousin’s children.
I’ve always had a love for dogs. After graduating from college, I went to grooming school and owned a salon for over 12 years. My sister’s family has a six-year-old dog named Scooter. We feel he is half our dog because we love having him at our house all the time.
Currently, I work three days a week grooming at a doggy daycare and I also have a small neighborhood clientele I groom in our home. When needed, I dog sit for friends so there is always a four-legged friend around. The love and care I have for the dogs in my life is only going to be exceeded by the love and care I can’t wait to give to our child. My other interests include playing golf, decorating, reading, cooking, and baking.
About Matt:
I was raised in a far west suburb of Chicago. I have an older sister, Danielle, and two younger brothers Joe and Peter. My brother, Joe, and his wife, Jennifer, have two young boys Tanner (2) and Parker (6 months). When I was growing up my parents encouraged my interests. All year round I was active in soccer, baseball, or golf. The University of Wisconsin offered me a scholarship to play soccer but an injury ended my ability to play. But my love of sports has never ended. I can’t wait to share my love of sports with a child, encouraging them in every activity and coaching every team.
After graduating college, I moved to Chicago to work in the banking industry, then decided to get my MBA. I now work for a large commercial finance organization and manage at large motorsports account and appreciate the flexibility and the financial security it offers my family.
Our extended family:
Your baby will be given so much love and attention by grandmothers on both sides, along with many aunts, uncles, and cousins. Maria’s mom lives nearby as does her sister Andrea and her family. Both Maria’s mom and sister are already working out who gets to babysit more. Maria’s brother and his family live in Chicago. Matt’s mom and sister Danielle, along with her husband Jeff, live close to each other in Madison, Wisconsin. His brother Joe and family live in St. Paul, Minnesota and the youngest Peter just moved to Portland, Oregon. We see them throughout the year.
Our home and community:
We live in a three-bedroom home with a nice size yard for our future child to play in. We love to entertain there too. If we have to be inside we have a large basement where we watch movies, play ping-pong and board games.
Our community has some of the highest rated schools in the state. The elementary and middle schools are across the street and the high school is nearby. We have a wonderful park center, museums, parks, pools, shopping, and restaurants. We also have a working farm down the street that has many activities for children. We are looking forward to being able to share all that our community offers with a new child.
Our lifestyle and traditions:
Everything with us revolves around family, from vacations to just hanging out. We live so close to Maria’s family that we are with them almost five days a week. We take vacations together and have family BBQ’s three Sundays a month. We both love to cook and are constantly trying new recipes but we also love to explore new restaurants. We go to one new restaurant in the city every month.
During the summer we play a lot of golf together or with Maria’s sister and brother-in-law, we call it “nine and dine Fridays”. We love to travel and explore new places and we’re both excited to share those adventures with our child.
Holidays are doubled up in our family so our child is going to get to enjoy them twice as much. We spend the weekend before Christmas with Matt’s family and then Christmas day with Maria’s. Easters are over two different weekends since Maria is Greek Orthodox and Matt is Catholic and those Easters fall on different Sundays.
We want to offer your child every opportunity. Our families are as excited as we are about adopting a child. We have so much love to give and hope that soon we will be able to give everything we have to a precious child.
Please contact us at mariaandmattACFB@gmail.com or you can reach our adoption counselor, Maggie Benz:
800-869-1005 (call)
847-366-6343 (text)
maggie@centerforfamily.com
Gratefully,
Maria and Matt
