When we first started dating, we often talked about how starting a family was important to us. We both wanted kids and knew we had so much love to share with a child! Melissa has known for a while that it may be difficult for her to have children, so adoption was something we talked about very early on in our relationship.

While we did try some infertility treatments, the next set of treatments were higher risk and we decided to start our adoption journey instead. The moment we left the Gladney orientation, we knew we had found an incredible partner to help us through this process. We know that adoption is difficult, but we hope that we can find comfort in each other, and we want to support you in any way possible.

We met in 2020 during Covid. With social distancing rules in place we met like most people do: using an online dating app! Melissa had just accepted a new role at work which relocated her from Minnesota to North Carolina. When she got to North Carolina she joined Hinge and swiped right to Bobby. We started talking and it wasn't long before Bobby asked for a date. Our first date was on a cold November night and we were sitting outside at a wine bar as we got to know each other. We immediately bonded over our love of travel, adventure, and music!

We continued dating, going on hiking adventures, attending many concerts, and taking trips around the world! A year and a half later Bobby popped the question while we were in Joshua Tree. When you find the one, you know! We didn't have a long engagement, we ended up eloping 4 months later and got married in the Azores, Portugal, in August 2022! And we have been dancing together ever since!

by Melissa

Bobby is the BEST! I am so lucky to call him my husband! Bobby comes from an amazing, loving family with his parents, 3 younger siblings, and 3 nieces/nephews. They have all been so supportive through this process and cannot wait to meet the next member of the clan.

Bobby was originally born in DC and moved around a few times, but grew up mostly in North Carolina. He is an incredibly kind, caring, and a selfless person. Some of his biggest strengths are his loyalty and patience. He holds his relationships with friends and family above anything else. This has helped him with his successful career in real estate but also makes him the most amazing husband and my best friend.

Bobby loves music and when we are not traveling or headed to a concert, he is playing the guitar or making music in Ableton with friends. He was also part of the Big Brother program here for many years and continues to stay in touch with the 3 brothers he met as they grow up. I cannot wait to watch Bobby become a father. I know this is something he has been looking forward to, and even though there will be a few too many "dad jokes" in our future, I know he's going to be the best dad!

About Bobby

• He learned to play the guitar in college.
• He can surf down a mountain on a snowboard.
• He shoots a basketball left-handed and throws a football right-handed.
• He's 5'10 in his dating profile but 5'9 IRL
• He loves adventures! (And can't wait for our next big one with a family!)
• He gives the best hugs :)

by Bobby

Melissa is a kind, fun-loving midwestern gal hailing from the chilly Twin Cities in Minnesota. As it turns out, she actually hates the cold, and decided to move down to North Carolina in the middle of the pandemic for warmer weather and a career opportunity!

Melissa has many hobbies. She enjoys hiking in the mountains, listening to thunderstorms with a glass of wine, and going to concerts to see live music. She also loves DIY projects and is very handy. Her kindness, courage, and empathy stood out from the start. As I got to know her better, I was impressed by her ambition (she's a manager at a large Fortune 500 company), her killer math and Excel skills (she's definitely the numbers person), and the love and loyalty she shares with her friends and family. She's one of a kind!

Melissa always wanted to be a mother and I can say, without reservation, that she's going to be the best mom to a lucky boy or girl. She has so much love to give, and she has already built a caring and nurturing home. She's made me a better person, and I love her fiercely!

About Melissa!

• She has dimples!
• She LOVES to travel. She's been to almost a dozen countries and we like to plan one international trip a year.
• She's always working on a DIY home project and has recently started building out her workshop.
• She's 5'10" and athletic.
• She loves watching The Bachelor!

Hi! My name is Rufus! I am a mini-bernadoodle and I love EVERYONE! I get really excited when I meet new dogs or people friends. Sometimes I still pee on them accidentally (we're working on it). Mom likes to teach me new tricks. I just learned Spin Around!

I'll do anything for food and am a very friendly dog. I'm so fluffy that my parents sometimes call me "Flufus". I also like to bounce around a bit when I'm happy.

I can't wait to meet my baby brother or sister. We will have lots of adventures together and I will play with them every day. I will love them forever and we will be the pawfect little family!!

Our home is truly our happy place! We both work from home and love spending time together, whether that be cooking or taking on our next home improvement project.

We recently bought a new home with a large backyard, perfect for Rufus, and one day soon, our child! Our home is a place of safety and comfort for us. It's our launching pad for all of our family travels and adventures!

The neighborhood has a lot of young families with kids and is also zoned for the highest-rated elementary school in the area. We love where we live!

There's never a dull moment when the family gets together. We might be a little loud, but we love hard and family is important to us!

We have family that live in Hawaii, NYC, and California. While we're all a bit spread out now, we stay in touch and are present in each other's lives. We love to get together for Christmas and other big holidays.

We have a large family with more aunts, uncles, and cousins than you can count, and they are some of the nicest people in the world. While most of them still live in Minnesota, we love getting together to catch up, especially over a cozy fire.

Family gatherings revolve around food and games, and you can always count on them to have plenty of laughs, fun, and you will never leave hungry!

• A lot of our traditions revolve around our family. Since they do not all live close, we travel to see them as often as we can. Every year for the 4th of July, we travel to Minnesota to spend the weekend at Melissa's family lake house. All of our aunts, uncles, and cousins spend the weekend on the lake boating, fishing, jet skiing, and playing games around the fire. A few years ago, we all got matching president shirts and everyone brings them back to wear each year.

• Christmas is one of our favorite times of year. We live close to Christmas Town USA which is a town that lights up each house in the neighborhood... almost like of the house from Christmas Vacation! Every year we grab a hot chocolate and walk around to see the lights and feel like a child again at Christmas! We also visit family whether that be to NYC, Hawaii, or Minnesota!

• On weekends we spend as much time together as we can. We love our pizza nights- every Friday night we look forward to baking pizza and watching a movie. We make homemade dough and always go for a pepperoni pizza! We also spend most Sundays during the summer out on the boat with friends enjoying the weather! Rufus loves to join us on the boat and although he is not a big swimmer he loves being around everyone!

We tend to look at life as an adventure, and as such, like to spend our free time and money on experiences rather than buying things. If we ever won the lottery we would spend years traveling the world. We love to experience different cultures and are very curious about the world and how things work. Our first international trip together was to Greece after we had been dating a few months. As we were sitting on the balcony of our hotel, overlooking the sea, we said "I love you" to each other for the first time.

Bobby took Melissa to her first music festival, Austin City Limits in 2022 and we've traveled frequently to see live music. We try to take at least one international trip each year. So far we've been to the Greek islands, the Azores (in Portugal where we got married!), and Turkey together. We're always debating our next trip, and looking for the best deals on airfare.

In the winter we both enjoy snowboarding and try to go at least once per season. This past year we were lucky enough to go out West and snowboard in Colorado. It snowed 40 inches while we were there!

We are building a life full of incredible memories and experiences together, and are hoping and praying for a baby boy or girl to share in this one incredible life we have together.

We promise that we will surround this child with all of our love from the day we meet, until the day we leave this earth. We'll build a supportive and nurturing environment, a safe home, where they can grow, learn to be themselves and thrive. We'll put this child's needs and interests above our own, in the hopes that they will grow up to live a full, loving, and meaningful life. Simply put, we'll look out for them at every turn, and support them as they grow into their own person! They'll always know where they came from and know their story. We promise that we will do our absolute best for them and love them in this world and the next.

-Melissa, Bobby and Rufus