Brett and Marissa

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From Us to You

You may never know how truly grateful we are to you and what you have done for our family. There will always be love and trust in our hearts for you.  We will honor what you have done for us by always encouraging your child to focus on their education and extracurricular activities, keeping them routinely busy with healthy learning. To love the world and everything that it has to offer. To travel as far and as often as they want to continue to grow and learn. That we will raise a curious, fun, and smart child. We will always respect and honor where they came from and encourage them to learn about their background and embrace it.

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Why We are Choosing to Adopt

We always knew we wanted to adopt. Brett found out in 2020 that his mother and father used a donor for conception, not just for him but for his brother and sister as well.  After 42 years of believing that his father was biological, it came as quite a shock to find out that wasn’t the case.  While this may have changed our understanding of how his family was started, it did not change the love and respect that the family had for each other. This gave us a different perspective on adoption, while it was something that we had always wanted to do and discussed. It made us feel like we were meant to adopt, to bring the love and respect that we have as a family to a child.

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About Marissa, by Brett

Marissa is the person I never thought I would meet. I spent most of my adult life focusing on my career, never wanting to find enough time to make a relationship work with someone. Then came along this, full of energy, blonde girl that challenged me to make time for her. As we became closer friends, I couldn’t imagine anyone else I wanted to be with. She believed in me and the company that I wanted to create even when others said it was too risky. She stole my heart and made me want to be a better person and made me realize that I wanted a family and a wife.  I never thought I would find the love of my life, but she made sure that I found her. Moving to California was the best decision I ever made. At the time, I thought I was making the move because of a job offer, but now I know it was to meet Marissa. Marissa is going to be an amazing mother, her joy and zest for life radiate from her, and her presence fills every room she walks in. She loves her family unconditionally and I can’t wait to see her embrace everything about motherhood.

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About Brett, by Marissa

One of the things that drew me in when I first met Brett was his confidence. He moves through life with a grace and assurance I truly admire. He always meets the goals he sets for himself and seems to be good at anything he sets his mind to. Brett has this unbelievable flexibility and ability to pivot when things don’t go as planned. He’s extremely hardworking and passionate about his company. He really cares about all of his employees, and he goes above and beyond to make sure they are not only professionally satisfied but also happy in their jobs.

With all of his passion for his career, family still comes first for Brett which is something I really love about him. He puts us first and treats me with all the love and respect I could ever ask for. He also really enjoys spending time with his nephews when we visit, and they have so much fun playing with him—he is such a good uncle! His sense of humor keeps me smiling and makes me laugh out loud every day. He always knows how to cheer you up when you’re down.

Brett is extremely active, and he keeps me on my toes! He gets into the zone when he plays sports and loves to be competitive. Brett’s closest friends have been in his life for 20+ years, and his friendships are extremely important to him. He has a huge place in his heart for his dogs, who he treats like family members. He loves surprises and surprising people, so I am incredibly excited to see all the amazing things he’ll surprise your child with over the years! He’s going to be the most amazing father, and I cannot wait to watch him grow with your child!

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How We Met

We met playing adult recreational kickball. It was during the Fall of 2014, and Marissa was about to take on a huge undertaking: organizing and cultivating a championship office kickball team for her employer. Knowing Marissa’s team was going to need help, a teammate decided to reach out to a few players they knew could help bring the team to glory, so they reached out to Brett. That season ended in success, not because the team won the championship (we did!) but because we both found our match. We became really good friends for the next year or so and became more than just friends in the spring of 2016.

In our time together, we have been through different jobs, started new companies, lost old dogs (we miss AU and the Fenway), celebrated a Leicester City Championship and another Red Sox Championship, found our current dogs King and DD, bought a house, moved, endured a pandemic, experienced our wedding being canceled (twice due to the pandemic), quarantined for two weeks in Hawaii with Marissa’s parents, and got married in Maui on our favorite beach. All of our chapters helped build us to where we are today. We are excited, ready, and prepared to become parents.

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Lifestyle

We love playing in adult recreational sports like kickball (how we met) and softball, participating in obstacle races like Spartan/Tough Mudder, and going to major sporting events like LAFC games. We love to stay active with Brett playing 2-3 weekly soccer games and Marissa going on daily walks and taking Pilates 2-3 times a week. Brett hopes to be able to coach your child’s soccer or baseball team one day, as well as eventually be able to play a bit together when they’re old enough. In our downtime, we love binge-watching our favorite shows together!

We love to travel and go to Maui every year to celebrate our love. We love Maui so much that we got married there, and now our trips to Hawai’i are part of our anniversary celebration. Brett is a die-hard Boston Red Sox (baseball) and Leicester City (English soccer) fan, and Marissa is passionate about crafting and dance. Growing up as a dancer, Marissa has always had a passion for the arts, music, and general creativity. Whatever your child’s interests and passions may be, we are excited to engage in it with them.

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Home and Neighborhood

Another big part of our lifestyle is the time we spend at home and in our neighborhood. We love hanging around our home where we can float in the water or have fires by the lake. We really enjoy taking sunset cruises with our dogs, playing cards (on the shore & in the water!) or even just driving our golf cart around the community. We cannot wait to take your child on their very first sunset cruise around the lake as a family!

In 2019, when we were looking to leave the city, we did so with raising children on our minds. We wanted a quiet neighborhood, on a cul de sac, so we could feel comfortable knowing our children were safe. We wanted somewhere that resembled the childhood neighborhoods we had grown up in, Marissa grew up in a private community that had many amenities to keep children active, and Brett grew up on a quiet street where the neighborhood kids would get together and play. We were fortunate enough to find the perfect home that has many gorgeous parks all with updated equipment and well-kept playgrounds.

We live in the back of a quiet cul-de-sac, where all of the neighbors are friendly and look out for each other. Marissa enjoys gardening and interior decorating, which gives the house a fresh and welcoming look. Marissa loves to hang onto keepsakes and display them throughout our home, making it feel like a living memory box of our amazing life together!

Your baby will have their own room, and the nursery is right down the hall from our bedroom. Marissa cannot wait to decorate the nursery! She is already planning a “world travels” theme. A giant world map will cover one entire wall, giving us and your child the perfect opportunity to talk about their heritage and ancestry.

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Our Pets

Brett had dogs his whole life, and they were always purebred Boxers. When it was time to welcome a dog into our home, Marissa encouraged Brett to consider rescue mix-breed dogs. He went to a foster home where there was a small black, mixed-breed dog that had an abscess on her head and was going to be put down.  After two or three throws of a tennis ball, Brett fell in love with the puppy and promptly named her DD. Marissa was right, getting a rescue dog was a rewarding experience. We decided that DD needed a playmate and we welcomed a purebred Boxer into the family and named him King. King and DD are 5 years old and love bouncing around the house, barking at boats, playing with tennis balls, and snuggling with whoever will give them love. They have both been around newborns, toddlers, and young children many times and love having new playmates!

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Our Families & Friends

We both have large immediate families, 18 people in total! Brett’s parents met in high school in Massachusetts, they were married shortly after his mother graduated high school and were together for almost 50 years until the passing of Brett’s mother in 2020. They had three children, Brett, his younger brother, and his older sister and they were raised in Connecticut. Both his siblings have large families of their own. Combined, Brett has 6 nephews and 1 niece!

Marissa is very close with her mother who lives in Oregon with her partner of 15 years. Marissa’s sister lives in Colorado and has been married to her husband for 4 years. Marissa and her older sister are best friends. Her sister is unable to have children and is very excited to be an Aunt! Marissa’s father lives in Florida and was a captain at a major airline for 40+ years until his retirement in 2018. Her mother (a former flight attendant) and father met on a flight, were married a few years later, and had Marissa and her sister and raised them in Florida. Marissa always jokes that she was “born with the travel bug” because of how her parents met. Love for traveling is something special that we have always shared.

Along with us visiting Connecticut a few times a year, Brett’s family has a family reunion vacation each year that they have done for basically his entire life. Since we have been together, our destinations have included Arizona, Puerto Rico, Florida, and the Dominican Republic.

We regularly facetime with our family members, and do things like play “Outsmarted” which is a board game meant to be played with families who are long distance! Our next-door neighbors are our closest friends. Their son and daughter-in-law just had a child that we have really been enjoying spending time with! Brett’s best friend James has 3 daughters who will be over the moon to learn that they have a new friend on the way – and Marissa’s closest friend has a 6-month-old! Along with limitless love and support, your child will grow to have beautiful and meaningful relationships with their family members and our close friends.

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Racial & Cultural Diversity

We are eager to embrace your baby’s culture and learn along with them! Brett’s sister married a Chilean-born immigrant whose family has many cultural traditions that are different from his family.  They predominantly spoke Spanish, which made communication difficult at first. Over time, we all learned as a unit to embrace our families, cultures, and differences. We will make every effort to ensure that we are educating, and exploring the culture of your child so they can grow to understand who they are and where they came from.  We plan to include our extended family in celebrating and embracing learning the culture that your child comes from.

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Family Traditions

The Fourth of July is a big day where we live. There is a huge town fireworks display and each year we take the boat out to the middle of the lake for the best view of the fireworks, while avoiding the traffic!  On Thanksgiving morning, we start to watch the Thanksgiving episodes of all our favorite shows. While they are playing, Marissa finishes cooking the feast that she started to prepare the night before. Brett begins to prepare the table for the festive photo of ourselves in front of our dining table prior to eating. The next morning we go pick out a real Christmas tree, something that Marissa had always wanted because she only had an artificial tree growing up. When we get home, Brett begins to take down all the Christmas decorations that are in the attic.  Marissa starts to decorate the tree and get the house ready for the Christmas Village set up in the living room. The next couple of days are filled with decorating and watching holiday movies like “Christmas Vacation” and “The Santa Clause.” On Christmas morning, Marissa makes a big breakfast while we turn on the Christmas episodes of our favorite shows. We then open presents and catch up with our families. In the afternoon, Marissa begins to prepare for Christmas dinner while holiday movies play in the background. We are looking forward to creating new traditions like Elf on the shelf and leaving cookies and carrots out for Santa and his reindeer. Brett’s father visits every year just before New Year so that he can spend New Years’ Eve with us and stay for two weeks. We play card games, and Marissa and Brett’s father go on bike rides and we enjoy the community.

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Travel

Marissa’s father was a Captain for a major airline, and luckily Brett loves to travel as much as Marissa does. Traveling to different places gives us the opportunity to grow and learn about other cultures. We cannot wait to show your child Maui in Hawaii, it is a place that we both hold dear to our hearts. It is where we both discovered ourselves, which brought us closer together as a couple, and confirmed us as husband and wife. We go back to visit every year and are excited to share our love of traveling and Hawaii with your child.

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Our Careers and Passions

Brett started a company in 2015 working out of his bedroom. The company has grown tremendously since then and now has over 30 employees. They have offices in California, Connecticut, and Florida. Brett is a golf cart ride away from the office nearest to our home. Marissa is the home and life manager and juggles our busy schedules while making sure that the home is in order and the appointments are made. Marissa will be a full-time stay-at-home mom as we feel it is important to have as much parental interaction as possible.

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Our Promise to You

We promise your child will never know what it feels like to be truly lonely. We have wanted to raise a family together since the very beginning of our relationship, and we always hoped we would have the opportunity to be able to adopt. We will raise your child to really learn and appreciate their heritage and ancestry while we learn right alongside them. We will raise them to be proud of who they are and where they came from.  We promise to fill our home and your child’s heart with so much love, warmth, and support. We promise to keep our extended family units strong and communication consistent so your child can grow up with stable, healthy relationships. Most of all, we promise to love and provide for your child with everything in our hearts.