We have always wanted to have kids. Both of us grew up in families that were full of energy and strong values. Since our relationship started, we have had a very open dialogue about what that path may look like for us. After lots of prayers, conversation, and research, we decided that adoption was the path we were called to follow. We are blessed to have strong relationships with our families, a diverse culture of friends and coworkers, and a support system that is uniquely equipped to help us navigate the intricacies of adoption. We look forward to sharing our culture and values and learning so much more from our child and their background.

While we wish we had a cute old-fashioned way of meeting, we met the way most people do nowadays- online. Both of our profiles were designed to show our love for sports, being active, food, and our families. Our first date was in Madison, Wisconsin, and what started as a breakfast date turned into an all-day adventure.

We went canoeing, ate lunch, walked around the city, and had a nice dinner before heading home. We lived in separate states when we first started dating, frequently commuting on weekends to see each other. Distance didn't hold us back as we were able to develop and strengthen our love for each other. When work called with the opportunity for Dominic to move to the West Coast, we decided that we had experienced enough long distance, and Michael came with.

Our first Christmas together out west, Dominic surprised Michael with our English Black Lab named Macaroni.

by Dominic

Michael is a loving, enthusiastic, and passionate individual who wears his heart on his sleeve. When Michael and I went on our first date, he spent almost the whole time trying to help his friend plan for a vacation because they were afraid of flying. If most people did that on a first date, I would've thought they were just not interested. Not Michael, I could tell that the reason he was talking to his friend wasn't a lack of interest in our conversation, but rather passion and desire to make sure everyone in his life feels valued, listened to, and supported when they need it.

Michael is a kid at heart. He loves dad jokes, frequently texting me at all hours of the day, with new ones he saw or heard. He loves to be goofy, often playing music as we make dinner, dancing around our living room and kitchen, much to the delight of our dog. He loves playing sports and being active, often looking for softball or volleyball tournaments to play in. His energy and passion for life are contagious and draws everyone to him.

Michael was born to be a teacher and coach. During his 3 years in the classroom, he was known for making it his mission to turn around the more challenging students and set them up for lifelong success. He truly believes that everyone is good and should be treated with love and respect. Although Michael is temporarily not teaching, he is still making his mark on the education system and children in our area. As an education consultant, he helps fill the massive teaching void by staffing substitute teachers in classrooms. He is also a volleyball coach in his spare time. The passion he brought to the team last year helped them see the best finish in club history at that age/ division and led to 80% of the players jumping one, if not two, league levels the next season.

I can't talk about Michael without mentioning his love for his family. Michael loves his family. He makes it a point to fly back for every family event possible, from birthdays to holidays and everything in between. Despite the distance, he has grown very close to our niece and nephew back in the Midwest. Michael is a fantastic uncle, and I cannot wait to see him as a father!

Fun Facts

• Michael is a huge Green Bay Packers and Chicago Cubs fan
• Michael played on a USA national volleyball team until he turned 17
• Michael named our dog after his favorite dog at the daycare he used to work at
• Michael's first time out of the country was our honeymoon in Bora-Bora
• Michael struck out Gavin Lux (starting 21* baseman for the 2024 World Series champion Dodgers) in High School
• Michael played basketball with Jordan Poole in high school

by Michael

Dominic is extremely passionate, hard-working, determined, and a kind individual who always goes out of his way to make others around him happy. Not only does Dominic have a great personality, but he also has a great sense of humor as well. Whether it is during our family walks with our dog, watching our favorite TV show, or simply cooking a meal, he always finds a way to make people feel welcomed and involved. He truly is the life of the party.

Dominic enjoys exercising, going on walks, finding a new brewery/winery, or simply just getting outside to explore someplace new.

Dominic is also a very passionate sports fan as well. He loves to attend various sporting events, especially when it involves the Minnesota Vikings. He will travel far and wide to go to these games, even if it involves him flying halfway across the world (no, seriously, he went to Ireland and London). Apart from watching sports, Dominic also enjoys playing pickleball, volleyball, and basketball.

Dominic comes from a close family and is one of the oldest of the cousins. During the family gatherings up at their cabin, Dominic is often the one coordinating the meals and setting up the family competitions. Seeing how he and his family interact, I know that any child who comes into our home will be loved and embraced. Dominic also has a lot of great relationships with his friends from high school, college, and his childhood. Some of his neighborhood friends still get together when they are all around to play football in the field they used to play in when they were younger. He has a very strong support system that spans all over the country, and it shows by their continuous group chats and get-togethers, they have constantly.

Lastly, Dominic truly is kind at heart. Watching how he interacts with our niece and nephew in a caring, loving, and playful manner, while also having strong family connections, makes me know that he will make a wonderful father in the future.

Fun Facts

• Dominic is a massive Minnesota Wolves and Vikings fan.
• Dominic has a strong Italian background and brings a lot of this to our kitchen with his family's homemade recipes.
• Dominic has been to 17 different countries
• Dominic loves to go to musicals and plays (especially around the holidays), as this was one of his family's traditions growing up as well.
• Dominic has repelled in Utah and bungee jumped in New Zealand

We live in a three-bedroom two-townhome with a garage and two living spaces. Our home is tucked away in a charming and new development with tons of community parks and green spaces. We love taking our dog Macaroni on walks around the neighborhood, where we often run into both our friends and his. Our townhome takes up all three floors in the complex, allowing us to have good separation of living, entertaining, and sleeping spaces. We are also blessed to have a patio where we love to grill and sit around our fire table.

Since moving in, we have done work to make it feel more of our own. We love to cook and entertain, so the first thing we did when moving in was remodel and upgrade the kitchen. We love wine and exploring new wineries, so our accent wall in our kitchen features wine racks with wine from places with significant meaning to us. We have also continued to print and frame pictures of ourselves and our adventures, both on the West Coast as well as back home in the Midwest and across the rest of the world. We love the holidays, frequently decorating for the new season.

Our home was purchased with two things in mind. One was the location to work, but the second and more important consideration was whether it would be a good place to raise a family. We are excited to expand our family walks from a party of 3 to 4 . With close proximity to hiking, beaches, museums, and parks, we look forward to continuing to explore the area and expand our child's horizons.

Dominic's Family

My family has spread out all over the country. I have two younger sisters, both 2 years apart. My youngest sister, Isabel, is graduating from law school and is excited to have a job lined up as a lawyer that she will be starting right after graduation. My middle sister, Celia, is finishing up her schooling to become a doctor and has been traveling around the country for her rotations. My parents are still based in the Midwest at my childhood home, where they have lived my whole life. We are a close family, keeping in touch through phone calls and group text messages. In addition to my immediate family, I am also close with my extended family. We grew up with Sunday dinners on my dad's side prior to my grandparents' passing away, and we go to the cabin routinely with my mom's side of the family. Although we have spread apart physically, we are still always there for significant milestones, events, and holidays. I look forward to carrying on the family-first values with a child of our own.

Michael's Family

My family has a great, yet complicated, relationship and story. Although my parents are divorced, we still have a positive and loving household. I have one older sister, Taylor, who is married and has two wonderful kids who are a big portion of my life. I do not live close to my niece and nephew; however, I still call, FaceTime, and visit them as often as I possibly can. Even though my family is in different parts of the country, we still do the best we can to stay connected and close. I have been blessed to also gain a new stepmother, stepbrother, and stepsister. They have been a great addition to our family and have helped continue to grow our family traditions. Currently, my sister works in HR for a landscaping company. My father is a director of parks and recreation, and my mom is a high school teacher. My stepbrother is playing collegiate football, and my stepsister is working as a vet technician.

Regardless of the complexity of our situation, we still have amazing bonds and traditions that I am excited to continue with a family of my own.

We have many traditions that we continually follow as a family, especially around the holidays.

On Michael's side, his family has a highly competitive cookie decorating competition. This tends to turn into an all-out battle of design, precision, and creativity. Michael's extended family also holds a highly competitive gia spoons game around the holidays. This tends to lead to broken chairs, jey, etc., and the winner getting the infamous spoon trophy.

Dominic's family has a yearly tradition of doing a family kids vs parents es room competition. Every year, they pick out a new room to try and escape the kids and parents race in separate rooms to get out first. To this point, the kids are still undefeated in this competition.

As a tradition of our own, one of our favorite times is getting our home ready for Christmas. We enjoy putting our tree and decorations up and baking cookies. We love to play music in the background and wear our ugly sweaters. It truly helps us ring in the Holidays and makes our place a home.

Outside of the Christmas holiday, Dominic's family has a lake cabin that we visit every 4th of July. During this time we share family meals, games e boat rides. Competing in the annual cornhole tournament, playing card games, completing puzzles, and enjoying family meals always make for a great long weekend.

We both love to travel and explore new destinations. Since starting to date back in 2021, we have traveled all over together. Our first trip was to Nashville, and after that, we road-tripped from Iowa to Florida to visit Michael's grandparents. We have traveled to 9 states together, from California to Florida and Minnesota to Texas. Our honeymoon was in Bora Bora, which marked Michael's first time out of the country! We swam with sharks and stingrays and made our own Poisson Cru. We had a fantastic time, making it a hard place to top. Our most recent adventure was traveling to London together to explore the city and attend the Minnesota Vikings game.

In addition to a love for travel, we love going on more local adventures here on the West Coast. We fell in love with Carmel and Monterey, ultimately choosing to get married there. We love taking trips to different areas to hike, explore, and try new foods. We are avid volleyball players, playing at least once or twice a week on top of coaching three days per week. We love to cook and try new foods. We live in an amazing place to try foods from all cultures, and we are actively enjoying working our way through the top 100 restaurants in the area.

Although adoption is never an easy choice, we hope that our profile helped to show you that, should you choose to take that path, your child will have loving and supportive parents. Regardless of the decision you make, we want you to know you are loved and supported.

Should you find adoption as your path forward, we promise to love, support, and cherish your child as our own with our whole hearts.

We promise to always take the best interest of the child into account, and to strive to build them up every step of their life.

We promise to provide a safe and fun home that promotes family, friendship, and Christian values.

We promise to never take the adoption for granted, as we know what weight this decision holds.

No matter the path you take, we promise you have our love, admiration, and support. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us. Thank you for considering us as adoptive parents. Thank you for taking the difficult steps needed to explore all options in order to ensure your child has the best possible life.