When we first started dating, we asked each other the typical getting-to-know-you questions, including, How many children do you want? (Matthias envisioned having three and Jessica said she'd prefer an even number, so two or four.) How far apart would you want them to be in age? (Matthias said every three or four years; Jessica said, "back-to-back.") Would you want a boy or a girl? (We agreed either gender would be a blessing.) We also asked one more question: If we couldn't have kids, would we want to adopt? For both of us, from the beginning of our relationship, we answered, "YES!"

After we got married, we decided to enjoy each other's company for about a year before attempting to grow our family. That way we'd know how to live with each other once our future children left the house! After a year of trying, we sought out fertility specialists and went through three rounds of IUI, with no success. Because of our Catholic faith, IUI is the furthest we would go with fertility treatments, and we began to pray for an understanding of what we should do next. We were diagnosed with endometriosis and "unexplained infertility"; after spending lots of time undergoing tests and procedures, it was frustrating to still have no real answer. After three years of talking with fertility specialists and going through test after test we decided that there is no medical treatment for God's timing.

After seven years of being together, and four years of marriage, we came back to our unusual first date questions and discerned we were being called to begin our journey with adoption. Since starting on this journey, we have found a sense of peace when it comes to growing our family. We have felt God's presence every step of the way and we trust His plan for our family. Not only are we excited for this journey on a personal level, we are also excited to spread the word about the beauty of adoption and how families come in many forms.

Like 22 percent of couples in the world, we met at work. Although we never worked directly together, we knew of each other before a mutual friend/colleague invited us both for a hangout one night and we were officially introduced. With the company chat system at our disposal, we began to talk and learn more about each other. After a few weeks of getting to know one another, we discovered we were both Catholic and looking for a regular church to attend since we had both just moved to a different part of the city. We planned our first date by going to Mass at a church nearby and then went to dinner at P.F. Chang's, where we had to try the steak fried rice (Jessica's favorite at the time). As our relationship continued to grow, our hobbies began to align, we started volunteering together with the youth group at church, and we even played on the company kickball team together.

In 2017, while on a trip to Disney World with friends, Matthias popped the question while we were in the photobooth outside of Space Mountain. What Matthias didn't know beforehand was that it had always been Jessica's dream to be proposed to at Disney World. It was truly just meant to be! The next year, we said our vows and promised to love one another 'till death do us part in front of lots of friends and family, including our team of a dozen groomsmen and nine bridesmaids. It was a beautiful ceremony and a memorable reception with lots of dancing that ended with a spectacular fireworks show.

Since we started dating, it has always been important to us that we don't ever try to change one another but instead work together to grow spiritually and emotionally closer. We do a good job of sharing responsibilities equally; for instance, we switch off who drives to work and, when doing laundry, Jessica handles the clothes that need to be folded and Matthias handles the hanging clothes. We are also planners. We set a monthly budget, so we don't go on spending sprees, and we plan our grocery list at the beginning of each week, because buying too much at Costco is a real issue. All-in-all we complement each other well - if we may say so ourselves.

Howdy! I am Matthias. Although my name is unique and most people mispronounce it, I refuse to go by Matt because that's just not as fun. I am a born and raised Catholic Texan and am decent at most things except making pizza dough, singing, and folding clothes. I have an affinity for problem solving and I spend a lot of my free time doing puzzles, playing single-player action-adventure video games, board/card games, and participating in anything related to sports. I was raised in a competitive family and feed that competitive nature by playing kickball with my work colleagues, yard games with friends and neighbors, fantasy sports, and racquetball. I am part of our church community where I enjoy going to small group meetings most Wednesday nights and to a men's group every other Saturday morning where I can participate in fellowship and spiritual growth. As an engineer who is delegated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), I take pride in how my everyday work improves the safety of airline passengers. As such, I am very safety conscious at work and at home, and I am one of those weird people that actually likes rules (well, most of them). I enjoy cooking, grilling, trying new foods and new recipes; naturally I always follow the recipe the first time.

God could not have given me a more wonderful husband in Matthias. He makes my heart smile more than anyone I know. There is so much to tell you about Matthias, yet I am almost speechless. Matthias has taught me more about sports than I EVER imagined I needed to know but I love that learning more about them gives us another thing to do together. His dad jokes are always spot on and have me laughing and/or eyerolling every day. He has been my rock since we started dating - I can tell him anything and everything (even the raw versions) and he listens, helps find a solution together, and is also amazing at taking feedback and applying it. He brings our family closer to God and together we are always learning more about our faith and how to be good Christian Catholics.

Hello, my name is Jessica! I was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, lived in Missouri during some of my college days, and, in 2013, moved to Texas, where I "got bit by the aerospace bug." I've worked in the aerospace industry ever since, which has deepened my love for traveling, trying new things, and learning about every culture. I am an Instructional Designer, which is a fancy way of saying I develop training materials. In my spare time, I very much enjoy organizing, crafting, reading, going to the gym, watching a good show/movie, or laying in the hammock on a beautiful day. I recently joined the new Chorale at work and have enjoyed singing since I was a little girl - I did win first place at the age of six for singing an original song called, "It Could Happen That I Have a Horse." I am also Vice President of the Family Matters group at work, which hosts multiple events a year. One of my goals is to build our adoption community at work. When asked write down my Why (as author Simon Sinek calls it), I wrote that my purpose is to help others succeed to the best of my ability. Since writing this down I've realized that even though I wrote it thinking solely about my job, I have discovered it's my calling in everything I do - as a co-worker, a wife, auntie, daughter, sister, friend, Godmother, and, one day, mother. Another way that I help others succeed is by volunteering with the youth groups at church so they can learn more about their faith.

My wife is amazing! Everyone that meets her absolutely loves her and will tell you the same. She has an extremely kind, caring, and loving heart. I look forward to seeing her be a mother, because she is going to rock at it. Jessica is very organized, which explains why the Container Store is one of her happy places. She's also very creative and her Cricut creations are fantastic, especially the T-shirts she makes. She is a steadfast listener, has amazing emotional intelligence, and she always seems to know the right thing to say. Her willingness to invest her time and energy to learning about others is inspiring and has helped me increase my willingness to socialize. Her faith helps me get closer to God every day, especially when she keeps us accountable and suggests new opportunities to serve our community and to get involved in our church. She is an amazing singer, very good at training others, which is probably why she's so good at her job, and she makes really good pizza dough and green chile enchiladas.

We have two fur babies - Gus Gus, a Maltese Yorkie (Morkie), and Maximus Decimus, a Brittany Spaniel.

Gus Gus (aka Gus/Goose/Gustivson) is the big brother who loves to play the moment we wake up and always greets us with a toy when we come home. His favorite toys are frisbees and balls, because ball is life, with which he really just wants to play tug-a-war with...all the time!

Gus' little, but larger, brother, Maximus (aka Max/Maxipoo), loves food and will do anything for a treat. Max also enjoys using his natural hunting skills to chase flies and scare birds out of our backyard. Both pups love going to the park, taking walks through our neighborhood, and snuggling up on the couch or in bed because personal space is merely a suggestion. They love being social and look forward to friends and family gatherings - in fact, Gus Gus introduced us to our next-door neighbors the day we moved in.

We often tell the pups they can be spoiled but are not allowed to be rotten. They are great at socializing with other animals - their best friends are two large long-haired German Shepherds named Figo and Fozzy - and over the years we have also watched them interact with babies and toddlers and we can tell they are going to be the best big brothers and will share lots of kisses and toys.

We love to travel so much that we've decided it's going to be the theme of the nursery, with one of those wooden world maps that we can mark where we have been with the state or country's flag.

Our goal every year is to take a fun vacation to places like Disney World, Europe, or the East Coast, and a relaxing vacation to places like Hawaii or Pagosa Springs, Colorado. We have travel benefits through work, so we are spoiled when it comes to traveling via plane anywhere. We have a few bucket list destinations to check off like New Zealand, Iceland, and the Holy Land (when safe). Our travels are typically planned with family and friends so we can make memories together.

Most of our trips are road trips to see family and friends in Texas or in New Mexico. When we aren't traveling, we keep busy hanging out with friends, seeing movies, going to concerts, finding new food spots, going to church, going out dancing, and going to the gym. We enjoy supporting Texas Rangers baseball, Dallas Stars hockey, Dallas Mavericks basketball, and any Texas A&M sporting event we can go to. On the rare days that we have sub-100-degree summer days, we love going kayaking around the Metroplex.

Thank you for taking the time to get to know us a little bit. If you choose adoption, we hope you prayerfully consider if we are the right match for you and your child. We cannot imagine what you may be going through at this moment in your life, but we can promise we will do our best to support you in every way we possibly can. Although we haven't met you yet, we have been praying for you and your child daily and will continue to do so.

We pray for your health--physically, mentally, and emotionally. We pray that you make the best decision possible for you and your child. We pray that your family is understanding and respectful of the decision you make. Finally, if you choose adoption, we pray for the adopting family, that the Lord provides them with the skills they need to raise this precious child.