Bowie and Matty

>

<

From Us to You

Our names are James and Matthew, but feel free to call us Bowie and Matty. We would like to invite you into our world to see if we would be a good match if and/or you decide to proceed with your adoption plan. We know that if you do proceed with the adoption process it is going to be an emotional and trying experience. To help ease your mind and soul, here is a little bit about us, our lives, and our values.

To start off, Bowie grew up in Bowie, Maryland (hence the name, Bowie!). His mother, father, sister, and brother set a wonderful example of how a family with different interests can mesh and grow together into a strong, wonderful, and loving unit. After graduating from The University of Delaware, he completed his military service as an Army officer and then went on to complete medical school with this aspiration of becoming a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation physician.

Matty, a Speech-Language Pathologist, grew up in Indiana until he was 8-years-old with his father, mother, brother, and sister. They are as close as a family can get without it getting “weird”. After living on the eastern shore of Maryland, Matty went to Towson University for both undergraduate and graduate school. He met Bowie in Baltimore, MD while he was helping children and adults with communication/language, swallowing, and cognitive deficits. 

After 3 years of dating, the question was asked and the answer was “yes.” However, Matty’s family received a curve ball on April 17, 2020. He woke up at 3 am to 27 missed calls and at 6:11 am, Matty was told that his father had passed away. Driving the 9 hours from Southwest, VA to the Eastern shore of MD seemed like eternity to be with his family. Although you never truly “get over” such a traumatic event; living with it is now manageable and life has slowly returned back to normal (whatever “normal” is!) because of the support system, love, and understanding that our family has provided us. 

I promise there is a point to this depressing section of the story. If a mother who is going through the dark times that an adoption process must be or (could be) if not done with compassion, patience, understanding, and empathy; please know that we have personally been through moments that felt as if there was no correct choice. We hope that whoever our birth mother (hopefully) becomes, she can see we are trying our best to be worthy of the love, trust, and honor it would take to allow us to start the family we crave for in our souls. We have had blessed lives with loving family, friends, and communities. We would love to share the joy, humor, and fun of life while also teaching the need to have respect, love for others, and having an open heart.

Our dream is to expand our family, share more love, and keep growing ourselves. We cannot image the decision that is running through your mind. However, if there is one take away from this long letter, I hope that it is this: please know that if you choose us your baby will never want for love, never lack support, and have an understanding that family is not only based on blood but it is a choice that we can make to help ourselves become stronger, more loving, and fulfilled people. We both hope that you find the peace and comfort in your decision no matter the parent(s) you may choose.

>

<

Why We are Choosing to Adopt

The most important question we had for each other on our first date was whether we wanted to create a family of our own someday. Luckily, Matty broke the ice early by asking Bowie and we both exclaimed “yes!” before the question was even finished. For us, adoption has always been our foremost goal that we have been working towards since getting married five years ago. Now that Bowie has finished medical school we can take the first steps in fulfilling our dream of having a family. Coming from a large, close-knit family, each having two very close siblings, more cousins, aunts, and uncles than we can count, and watching our siblings and friends grow their families, we are more ready and sure than ever. 

As we continue to create new memories with our growing family we are excited to share and instill our family traditions/values. Those traditions, values, and family ties have always been there to support our true passions in life. We have so much love to give we feel it would be such a mistake not to share that with our own children in the future. Our fur babies, Winston and Norbert, are excited to have a sibling that they can look over even though they know that they will have to share their stroller space on walks and the attention they currently get as the sole benefactors. We know that the adoption process will be full of twists, turns, tears, joy, ups, and downs; but know that it is our time to start our family that has been in the making for all these years. And just like Matty’s dad used to say to family, friends, neighbors, and even some strangers who needed a helping hand: “Come on in! It’s open!!”

>

<

Lifestyle

A typical weekday morning consists of Bowie waking up on the earlier side to get ready for work, making his classic yogurt parfait for breakfast, and taking the puppies on a nice long walk. Matty takes over the responsibilities of the puppies after Bowie leaves and ensures that they have been thoroughly played with to get their excess energy out prior to his workday. Matty is usually done with work in the early afternoon which helps us to ensure that the puppies don’t have to be alone for too long during the day. Dinner during the week is usually an easier dish but always delicious (spaghetti, skyline chili, chicken Caesar salad wraps) and then we have the full-on discussion of what to watch on Netflix which Matty usually wins… The night always ends with the puppies getting their nighttime walk. The weekends tend to be more fun with full-on adventures to local places like the Jamestown City beach (or Yorktown which is also fun) where the puppies love to swim and to the local parks which have lots of nature trails, our favorite is Freedom Park. We also spend a lot of our weekends with family, which is great to have both sides of our family so close to us in Virginia and Maryland. If we’re not at home on the weekend, there’s a good chance we left to go see our siblings or parents (at least once a month)! Regardless of the activity on the weekend, Saturday and Sunday nights are always loaded with home cooked, original dinner ideas that we create together followed by either movie night or board games or both! We are very excited to be adopting and hope that this will provide you with some insight as to just a few of the memories we hope to provide your child in our fun-filled, loving, and exciting household. 

>

<

About Bowie, by Matty

Growing up I was always concerned that I wouldn’t find my match, “partner-in-crime,” and soulmate. That all changed when I met Bowie because as I grew up boating with the buoys in the water, the second I heard his name was “Bowie,” I was hooked. His calm, even keeled, and positive energy soothes my soul and brings me a peace I never thought I could have in this life. When I am with Bowie the world stops and I love to make him happy, laugh, and feel safe. 

When he met my family for the first time my brother said: “Make it work with him or don’t bother bringing anyone else.” The level of gratitude I feel to God for giving me my better half can never be measured. When boating there is a saying: “Make sure the red buoy is on your right to return home.” In land-lover words it means, Bowie is my guide to always come back home and I will always make sure to keep him on my right.

>

<

About Matty, by Bowie

On our first date, I came into the restaurant to see Matty singing and bobbing his head to a made-up song while waiting at the table for me. When he saw me, he came right up and gave me the biggest hug as if we had known each other for years. Matty has always had a charismatic personality that lights up a room and attracts others to him. It is part of what makes him so genuine and why I could not be prouder to have him as my husband! His compassion and kindheartedness are what I love most about him and what I know will make him an amazing dad. He always goes above and beyond when it comes to putting our family, friends, and of course Winston and Norbert, our puppies, above everything else. Seriously though…. they are basically treated as princes in our house! I know that he has so much love to give and will be your child’s compass throughout all the new adventures we will have together.

>

<

Our Home

Our home is a beautiful three-bedroom, four-bathroom townhouse located in Williamsburg, Virginia; a place where we always imagined our journey towards building our family would begin. What drew us initially to our home was the nautical theme that was embodied throughout our community as it reminded us of Matty’s dad who loved boating and for Matty who had grown up sailing as a kid. Also, our home has provided us the opportunity to be close to our families which is important to us. We know that as we begin a family there will be unique challenges and, for us, having our family and friends nearby will make all the difference as we begin this new journey together. More importantly, we are very excited to share with your child the koala-themed nursery that we built!

Our promise to you is that we will always provide an environment that is full of love, positive energy, and family that will be present throughout your child’s life. We want your child to always know what it will be like to be part of a large family with cousins and family that they will get to see all the time. We are so excited to begin creating memories in our home as a family whether it’s learning to swim in the pool, playing mini golf at Pirates Cove, going to Busch Gardens for a day full of roller coasters, or spending time with our family on the weekends. We hope that by showing you what our home means to us, you will be able to experience the love and joy that we plan on providing to your child in our home.

Our Pets

Winston and Norbert are the newest additions to our family. They are half-brothers and came into our lives at the moment that we needed them most. Norbert is soft spoken and a cuddle bug, he does not leave your side, while Winston is more outspoken and loves to get into puppy trouble. Both of them bring out the best of the other and love to play together! We know that the love that Winston and Norbert have given to us will be even greater when they become big brothers. We are excited for them to share their love with your child in all the new adventures they will create as they are there by their side watching them grow up. 

>

<

Our Family

Family and friends are two of the most important things to both of us. We come from very similar families with a brother and sister each. The only difference is that Bowie is the oldest and Matty is youngest; roles that we both play very well and compliment one another. While Matty’s family is more emotionally driven (like saying “I love you’’ 3 times before hanging up), Bowie’s family is more actions over words. Both families have been so supportive while both of us were trying to find ourselves, realize our truth, and live that truth without any apologies.

Getting the groups together often is vital to our happiness. However, if we can’t get the whole clan (or clans) together; we can have fun weekends that are more one on one. Leah (Matty’s sister) and Barb (aka Barbie-Girl – his mother) typically come to spend at least the weekend once per month. Matty’s sister and brother have 4 children between them and adding a new cousin into the mix always gets the cousins more excited than they can handle. We have helped his siblings with babysitting, diaper changes, build-a-bear workshop outings, soccer games, and so much more that gave their parents some time to sleep, eat, or take a shower. Knowing that this foundation and support is there for us gives us confidence and we plan on using that support as our family grows. The one thing that we love the most about our families is the automatic love, support, encouragement, and guidance. They are willing to jump into action when we need them; and we will need them. The unconditional love that our families have shown us is exactly what we hope to instill and show any future children of ours.

>

<

Family Traditions

The big 5 holidays and gatherings for us are Christmas, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, Easter, and birthdays. Christmas, of course, is one of the biggest and most amazing family get-togethers that we celebrate. The only problems we have are which house to go to first and how to hide Santa’s true identity. We are lucky because our families live within easy driving distance. Not having to drive more than 2 hours to get to see all of our loved ones means we get to celebrate and see all those that we care about. 

The next two big traditions that we love in our family are the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. Whether we plan a huge firework event for the family, especially Bowie’s mother (who loves fireworks) or a massive Thanksgiving day where everyone has a seat at the table; we feel blessed beyond belief. Easter is also a fun event where we are reminded why we need to always put family and friends first, hide little plastic eggs, and maybe put in a note where you “owe the Easter Bunny $5.”

>

<

Our Relationship with Our Child's Birth Mother

Although the adoption process will be very challenging, emotional, and unpredictable the one thing that could be an easy decision is our relationship with you, the mother. We would be so happy to not only bring an amazing child into our family, if we are selected, but also an amazing mother. However, we also completely understand if a relationship is not desired by you at this time or ever. For reasons that we may or may not understand, we will accommodate and respect totally and unquestionably the decision that is made by you. We are ready and prepared to welcome anyone who wants to join our gang and family. Whatever the decision made by you, we are also open to creating a game plan as we proceed through these steps and life events.

>

<

Our Promise to You

We have been looking forward to adoption since the first day we met. Our number one promise to you is that we will always place your child first in everything that we do and decisions that we make as parents. Your child will always have a safe, nurturing, and above all, loving home where we will create fun-filled memories that we all will have and remember forever. We hope to always encourage your child to explore their own passions through education, extracurricular activities, and most importantly to enjoy their new adventures as they find what makes them happy in life. As we begin this new journey with you and your baby, we want you to know that your child will always be our primary focus. They will be provided for emotionally and physically, have as many opportunities as we can give, but also not be spoiled rotten. Our sole job will be to ensure they have a deep knowing and feeling that they are loved so very much. We are so happy that you took the time to get to know us and we hope that we have provided you with a well-rounded snapshot of the fun memories that we like to have with our family. We know that looking at a profile isn’t always the same as getting to know someone firsthand and we would love to answer any questions, feel free to reach out! We hope to hear from you soon!