Ethnicity: Caucasian
Education: Emerald: J.D. from W&L University Law School, BA from Baylor Univ. Matt: B.A. in Film and Digital Media from University of California – Santa Cruz; getting an MBA from Lake Forest School of Management
Professions: Emerald: tax attorney. Matt: corporate learning sales at a graduate school
When did you meet and month/year of marriage: We met in August of 2016 and got married in 2019, three years later to the day.
Religion: Emerald: agnostic. Matt: Christian /Jewish
Information on your home/community: We live on a quiet street a block from the library, elementary school and park. Neighbors are out with kids and dogs daily. Our house has 4 bedrooms and a big backyard complete with a tree swing.
Number of children: None
Pets: 2 – Malcolm and River, our two rescue lab mixes. Both are sweet, rambunctious, and love people of all ages. River is smaller but definitely in charge.
Desired contact with a birth family: We are happy to accommodate the level of contact you feel comfortable with. We are big believers in found family.
In one sentence, why do you want to adopt a child? We are excited to love, sing to, play with, and support our future child as we do for each other.
Childhood Memory: Emerald: sitting on her mom’s lap while being read Anne of Green Gables. Matt.: hiking Cowles’ mountain at five and earning a Bat Cave.
TV Show/Movie: Emerald: 10 Things I Hate About You and a tie between Justified and The Good Place. Matt: Back to the Future and Community
Book: Emerald: Let’s Pretend This Never Happened (Jenny Lawson). Matt: Don Quixote
Hobby: Emerald: woodworking and baking. Matt: cooking and interviewing Power Rangers (and other pop culture figures)
Food: Emerald: chicken tikka masala. Matt: katsu don
Vacation: Our honeymoon in Costa Rica. We went zip lining, horseback riding, and white water rafting as well as several days of relaxing in the jungle and on the beach.
Family Tradition: Emerald: building new Christmas traditions, like picking a special ornament every year (she wasn’t allowed to celebrate as a kid). Matt: going to Comic-Con every year since he was three with his dad.
Holiday Memory: Emerald: her first Halloween with Matt, handing out full size candy. Matt: our first thanksgiving together, my first time making a turkey.
Fun Facts: We both do silly voices for the dogs. Matt wrote and recorded a TV show theme song. Emerald is working on learning Spanish and obsesses about DuoLingo. We regularly participate in 5ks together.
