Matt & Erin

Matt + Erin

“For I know the plans I have for
you,
declares
the Lord,
plans for welfare and not for
evil, to give you a future and a
hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11
This has been a hard letter to write for us. How can one little
letter express our gratefulness for you and the bravery we know
you have. And how can we tell you everything about us so you
know you are making the right choice? It’s pretty impossible but
we’ll do our best!
We do know that you are making a selfless and courageous decision
and we are holding you in our hearts as you choose loving
parents for your child. And we promise to be the best parents
we can be and to love and nurture your child.
It’s always been our dream to be parents. Becoming parents
hasn’t quite unfolded like we originally expected. We didn’t anticipate
infertility struggles, but that’s how it unfolded for us.
Throughout our struggles we continued to feel a calling to grow
our family through adoption and are now more excited and
hopeful than ever. We always knew that what is most important
is that we are able to provide a loving & nurturing home to our
child and we know we can do that.
hello!
We promise to be the best parents we can be through nurturing
and loving our child, providing them stability, and guiding them
as they grown and learn. We have both had a lot of life experiences
and have spent many years growing ourselves spiritually
and professionally. This has taught us so many things about parenting
that we would never have known when we were younger.
We live in a charming home in an established and diverse neighborhood.
We have a fun and supportive extended family and
love to take adventures every chance we get. We look forward
to sharing this all with our child.
We thank you for taking the time to learn more about us and for
your consideration. We hope the next few pages will give you a
glimpse into our lives, the love we have for each other, and the
love we will have for our child.
We pray that you will find peace and comfort as you search for
loving parents for your child. Hugs to you!

HOW WE MET
We met in high school & had crushes pretty immediately but a few
years passed from our first meeting until our first date. We both
attended different small-town high schools that competed against
each other in sports and we both competed on the cross country and
track teams so we were always seeing each other at competitions.
We both were pretty competitive and Matt was usually winning the
races and Erin was always up front too – so we both stood out to each
other. As fate would have it, we ended up at the same college and
ran into each other the first day of school – moving into the dorms!
Up until that point we would see each other here & there throughout
high school and say hi and watch our crushes grow. So, to run into
each other the first day of college was pretty special! A few months
after that first day of college we started dating. We spent our college
years dating, competing on our cross country and track teams, and
spending a lot of time with friends. (Along with many trips to Dairy
Queen and a few road trips too!)
our story
OUR WEDDING DAY
Our wedding was a three-day celebration – we didn’t want it to end!
Erin used to be an event planner so she loved making the wedding
weekend personal & unique. We enjoyed Erin’s mom’s delicious
homemade spaghetti (and famous among our friends) for the rehearsal
dinner in our backyard. On the morning of the wedding, members of
our wedding party and our family attended a private yoga class to
help us relax before the celebration began. The wedding ceremony
took place on a Friday summer afternoon in the gardens of a historic
home. It was a perfect setting for a perfect day. We were able to
enjoy beautiful weather, delicious food, and music with about 60 of
our family & friends. After the celebration we took a trolley to a local
festival to celebrate our German heritage. Erin wore her wedding
dress & the night ended with fireworks! But the celebration didn’t
end there – the following day we celebrated again with more family &
friends, a pig roast, and a live band. It was a casual party with lots of
dancing and so much fun! Our guests still tell us how much fun they
had. We were truly blessed to have such a beautiful weekend with our
family & closest friends.

meet my wife
Erin
Erin is so amazing I don’t
know where to begin.
Erin is so amazing I don’t know where to begin. She has the biggest heart and is the sweetest person I know.
She is smart, fun, and determined. She is my best friend.
I honestly believe she can figure anything out. Erin started her own business when everyone told her it would
be a challenge and was not the safest thing to do. Her successful bridal shop business is built on what makes
Erin great and that is kindness and love. She wanted to create a family environment for her customers &
employees and she did. She can actually fix any computer problem too!
Erin is supportive of me both in and out of my career - if I experience a challenge or problem she does not
hesitate to help me fix it even if it means putting a hold on her day. Erin is an amazing cook and can make a
meal out of anything we have in the house. She also makes sure we are eating organic and healthy foods! It
is just nice to be home talking around the table rather than eating out in restaurants all the time - Erin makes
this happen!
Erin loves to travel and is always up for new adventures which encourages me to travel and try new things.
And to live life to the fullest!
Erin treats our nieces and nephews like her own. She loves spending long days with them doing everything
they love - going to parks, shopping, museums, crafts, and the zoo. Erin will make an amazing mom and I
cannot wait to see that dream come true.
HOW I KNEW ERIN WAS ‘THE ONE’
When I first met Erin, I could tell instantly that she had the biggest heart and was the most caring person I
knew. She is also extremely determined and puts others first. There is not a day that goes by that Erin is not
thinking about how I am doing or how her friends/family are getting along. She’s a caretaker! And I just knew
that she was someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with right away. Erin’s energy for the outdoors
and exploring new things keeps me on my toes and challenges me constantly. She has the biggest heart for
her nieces & nephews and cares for them as a mother would. I know that she’ll be such an amazing mother
to our children.

meet my husband
Matt
Matt’s so special & I feel like
the luckiest girl in the world
to have found him
He has a very calm nature and is always reassuring me and encouraging me. He calms my nerves when I get
anxious and is always great at reminding me that “things happen for a reason”.
From the moment I met him he has impressed me with his determination. He has been a competitive runner
since high school – running races all over the country and even the world. He took that determination and
created his own successful coaching business. He also coaches middle school and high school runners and
the kids love him. He really has a way with connecting with the kids & bringing out their potential. He can’t
wait to coach our kids some day!
He loves sports – he has quite the memorabilia collection. And loves music! He’s always game for going on
any adventure I suggest and has just always been a very supportive husband. He was by my side when my
father passed away unexpectedly and I can always count on him for taking care of me and our family. He will
be a wonderful role model for our children.
I know he will be a wonderful father. He’s determined and will be that dad that does anything for their kids
to help them make their dreams come true. He’s also so silly with kids - our nieces & nephews love playing
with him. He’s always making up silly games for them to play. And he has the kindest heart. He’s does little
things like always making sure my car is filled with gas and sending me texts of encouragement every day.
HOW I KNEW MATT WAS ‘THE ONE’
From the moment I met Matt I knew there was something special about him. Hard to explain but I just
wanted to be by his side! He can be quiet at times and then surprises me with his sense of humor. In the
beginning of our relationship he impressed me with his determination as an athlete. He also has a very
calm nature & has always been encouraging to me in everything that I do. I just knew he’d be a wonderful
husband and father and couldn’t think of spending my life with anybody else. He doesn’t take life too
seriously, is always fun to be around, and truly cares for me.

Erin’s Family
Matt’s Family
I grew up in a small Wisconsin town. So, I spent my days hanging out
with my sisters riding bikes, playing outside, and playing sports. My
parents were very supportive and always attended all of my sporting
events and other school activities. I was also fortunate enough to have
my dad as a teacher and a coach. We were a running family – both of my
parents ran a lot of marathons and my dad was a track and cross-country
coach – so they would take us to runs every so often on weekends. At
the time we weren’t always happy about getting out of bed early to go
running – but they are some of my best memories I have of growing up
and have instilled so many values in me that I am grateful for.
I’ve always been close with my parents & sisters but as we grew up we
truly became friends. We travel together often – we spend a week in
the Colorado mountains every summer and usually do several weekend
getaways every year as well. My older sister lives about 90 minutes away
and has two girls that we adore. We see each other at least twice a
month and talk all the time. My younger sister lives in Denver and has
two boys that we try to visit several times a year. They adore Matt and
can’t wait to wrestle with him every chance they get!
Sadly, my Dad passed away unexpectedly at 64 years old right before
one of our Colorado vacations. He was the most amazing father & friend.
He taught me so many values that I am beyond grateful for especially to
never give up and that you only live once – so take as many adventures
as you can and enjoy them! I am really close with my mom – we actually
own a bridal shop together! We love to travel together too and have
taken many trips just the two of us – one of our favorites was a week in
Paris.
My family is beyond excited and very supportive of our decision to
adopt. Our nieces can’t wait to babysit and have more cousins to join in
on our family adventures.
I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin. I am the oldest of 3 brothers
and 1 sister. We lived in the country so our days were filled with loads
of outdoor activity like work and sports. My parents always encouraged
us to be active and play sports. I started to play baseball at a very early
age and played all the way up until college. Baseball was our families
favorite sport and we played from dawn to dusk in the summertime and
when it got dark out we watched baseball on TV.
Every summer our family rented a cottage on a small lake so we could
swim, fish, and just enjoy the outdoors. We also road tripped to several
baseball stadiums growing up to watch our favorite teams play.
My sister and brothers currently all live within an hour of us and we
see them every month. Together they have six children and we enjoy
spending time with them. We often get to babysit our youngest
nephew Isaiah, who is about 18 months.
I was close with my parents growing up and they were very supportive.
My mom stayed home to take care of us until I was in 8th grade. Both
of my parents attended all of my sporting events and school activities.
My dad grew up on a farm and enjoys hunting. So, he introduced me
to farm life and to hunting at a young age. I have many memories of
helping on my grandpa’s farm while I was younger. I like to join my Dad
on his hunting adventures when I can. It’s really fun seeing him in his
element!
My mom passed away unexpectedly recently and she was the most
caring woman I know. She raised me to be a caring person and to not
take life too seriously. We really look forward to sharing the wonderful
memories we have of my mom with our child.
My family is very supportive of our adoption and they are looking
forward to seeing our family grow.

our life, travel, and traditions
Fun Facts!
Matt knows an amazing amount of sports
trivia.
Matt loves live music and has seen every
rock band in concert that you could
imagine – some of his favorite concerts
were AC/DC, Pearl Jam, Metallica, and
Weezer.
Matt ran for Team USA in the World Half
Marathon championships in Portugal.
Erin has been running with her family since
she was two years old. She has gained so
many friends and has travelled all over to
run. She now loves to get outside and run
on the trails.
We love to road trip and have explored
places all over the US – Maine, California,
Smoky Mountains, Rocky Mountains, and
Yellowstone National Park are some of our
favorites.
Erin loves to read and to learn new things.
She enjoys cuddling up on the couch with
a good book and listens to audiobooks all
the time.
We are fortunate enough to both run our own businesses, which gives
us a more flexible schedule to do some of our favorite things! We
aren’t tied down by a typical “9-5” job like many others. We really
enjoy evenings at home making dinner and watching a little tv. But we
are also super active and love to travel, get outside to run or hike, go
to concerts and festivals, farmers markets, and spend time with family.
One of our favorite traditions is our summer trip to Colorado. We
spend a week in the mountains with Erin’s family – mom, siblings &
their spouses, and nieces and nephews. The time is filled with hiking,
running, and fishing in the mountains. We’ve been visiting this small
mountain town for years and it has been so fun to watch our nieces
& nephews grow up on these trips and to spend quality time with our
family. Our nieces & nephews (11 and under) can now hike miles with
us! We can’t wait for our children to be able to experience this amazing
trip and to spend a whole week with their cousins. We also make family
dinners every evening and always find time to hang out in the little
town and enjoy our favorite restaurants. And we always make sure to
visit the local toy store too!
We also love attending the annual Germanfest in our town. We actually
took our entire wedding party to this festival the day of our wedding.
We’ve been attending this festival for at least 15 years.
For the holidays we have many traditions. We love to head out to
the country to pick out our Christmas tree every year. Two years ago,
it was snowing which made for a fun adventure! It’s also the perfect
time to spend with family. Matt’s family usually has several family get
togethers around the holidays that we like to attend and Erin’s sister
hosts Christmas in Colorado every year which we try to go to when we
can. We also always participate in the Santa Scamper with Erin’s family.
It consists of running a mile along the holiday parade route and then
watching the holiday parade after. Erin has been running this with her
nieces and sister for many years.
Matt was also a professional runner and has travelled all over for races.
So, we have enjoyed many trips & have experienced so many new
places going to his races. We now like to run more fun runs close to
home with our family and friends.
We love to travel and have visited so many places over the years. We
love to spend time outdoors. And we enjoy spending as much time
with family as we can. We look forward to introducing our traditions to
our children as well as creating new ones. We can’t wait to show our
little ones the world!
FUN WITH FRIENDS
We really enjoy our time with our friends. We have a small community
of friends that are very supportive of us and are excited
to see our family grow. Our child will have a lot of “aunties”
and “uncles”!
We’ve made it a priority of ours to have a good work/life balance
and to make sure we make time to spend with our friends.
For Matt that means running with an old college friend or going
to baseball games with friends. For Erin that means going to
her neighborhood book club, running with friends, and going
out to dinner.
Because running is a huge part of our lives we have met so
many friends from this. Matt has become friends with many of
the runners he has coached and consistently meets up with
them to catch up and to go for a run.
Erin loves to host girls’ nights! She has her friends over and
enjoys cooking for them. And sometimes enjoying a fire in the
backyard.
For the pasts five years we have travelled to Florida to spend a
week on the beach with some of our closest friends.
We truly value our friendships. We consider our closest friends
family!

contact us
414-533-5861
MATTHEWANDERINADOPT.COM
our home
We live in a charming bungalow in an established neighborhood in a larger
city. Our community is diverse and our neighborhood has tree-lined streets
with a combination of younger and older families. We have 4 bedrooms & 2
bathrooms and it is a large yard for the city – plenty of room to play in the yard
and for cookouts and evenings by the firepit. When we purchased our house it
was very much a fixer upper and we have updated the majority of the home. It’s
now quite cozy! We have a special loft area with built in bookcases that will be
perfect for toys & books for our children and a cozy little play space.
Our neighborhood has a very active association that hosts many family events.
Our favorite is Halloween which includes a full day of fun – it starts with a
children’s costume parade in the morning and ends with trick or treat in the
evening. We also have ethnic festivals every weekend in the summer in our
city that we love to attend. The Farmers Market is nearby which we like to go
to as well.
We are located close to several schools – both public and private – and 4 of
them are within walking distance. We also have several playgrounds and parks
within walking distance. Our nieces & nephews visit quite often and those visits
usually include a trip to one of our neighborhood playgrounds. We love to be
outside whether it’s relaxing in the yard or running in the park. We also hike
quite often in a state park which is only about a 30-minute drive from our house.
why
adoption
We have always wanted to have children. We’ve always pictured a life with kids - taking them
on adventures, attending their school events, introducing them to our love for travel, and
giving them an opportunity to experience life to the fullest! We spent several years building
our careers so we could get to the point in our lives where we would have the time and
flexibility to be more present in our children’s lives. And then we experienced unexplained
infertility for several years and tried fertility treatments for awhile. However, during those
treatments we felt a calling to adopt. We decided against IVF and other invasive treatments
as our hearts were pulling us towards adoption. In the end, we reminded ourselves that
what is most important to us is that we are able to provide a loving & nurturing home to our
children. We want to support our children and guide them on their journey to figuring out
who they are.

“Love recognizes no
barriers. It jumps
hurdles, leaps
fences, penetrates
walls to arrive at
its destination full
of hope.”
- Maya Angelou