Cassie and Matt

Dear Expectant Parent(s),

We are Cassie and Matt, and appreciate the opportunity to share a little about our family. We hope this letter provides a glimpse into our life in Portland, Oregon.

We met in graduate school in 2008. What started as friendship quickly grew into a loving partnership built on loyalty, laughter and shared values rooted in social justice. We married in 2013 in one of our favorite places to explore, the Columbia River Gorge. We knew we wanted to grow our family one day, with hopes it would be through adoption.

Adoption has always been an important part of our family. Matt’s mother was adopted, as was his brother, multiple cousins and close family friends. In 2020, our family grew with the birth, placement and adoption of our daughter Eisley. Open adoption is important to us, and we respect and understand that every situation is unique and evolving. We feel very lucky to have a connection with Eisley’s birth family as she forms her own set of identities. We have open dialogue with Eisley about adoption and what makes a family, making sure she is exposed to examples of the adoptee experience through books, media and community.

We are a family with a sense of humor who enjoys laughing together. Matt could be described as a gentle, compassionate and confident guy with a big heart. He is a very patient and fun father to Eisley. Cassie could be described as a loyal and loving human who lives by her values. She is a supportive, nurturing and fun mother to Eisley. Eisley is an inquisitive and intelligent old soul. She is nurturing to and inclusive of others, and loves playing with friends-especially younger buddies. On weeknights, after work and Eisley’s afterschool activities, you’ll find us eating dinner together, debriefing our days, walking our dogs to the park, creating art, dancing to music, watching Eisley perform, or having a game night. On weekends you’ll find us hosting a party, cheering for our local soccer teams, attending community events, going to an art show, concert or play, camping in our van, or building sandcastles at our beach house in Washington.

Thank you for reading our letter, we hope it gives you an idea of who we are and the life we live. More than anything, we love our community and are excited to continue growing our family.

Sincerely,

Cassie, Matt and Eisley