| Dad | Dad | |
| First Names | Christopher | Gordon |
| Religion | Raised Catholic | Christian |
| Ethnic Background | Italian | American/Dutch |
| Education/Degree | Undergraduate: Psychology, Masters: Counseling, Licensed Professional Counselor |
Undergraduate: Aviation Management, 1st Masters: Military Operations, 2nd Masters: MBA |
| Profession | Therapist | Pilot/Military Officer |
| Ages/Names of Children | 4 ½ Brennon (adopted son) | |
Our Story
Hello! We are Gordon and Chris, welcome to our page and thank you for taking time to get to know our family!
We met on Match.com (before online dating was cool). We started talking every day and eventually met in person. We both enjoyed doing outdoor activities and our first date was a day of canoeing in nearby Princeton. We were (and still are) complete opposites… Gordon likes mornings and is introverted. Chris is a night owl and is extroverted. We both fill in each other’s missing pieces so well.
In 2015, we came to a turning point in our lives. Chris was being promoted, and we knew wanted a family. We made the difficult decision to leave Alexandria but not before getting married in our favorite town. The only person at our wedding was our best man, Jaxson. Jaxson also happened to be our golden retriever, but goldens are just furry, friendly people.
After returning to New Jersey in 2015, we fostered an infant from 6 months to 18 months. His biological dad was able to raise him after that, and we became close friends with him and kept close contact. We even had a couple of visits with each other long after the period of fostering had ended. The state asked us to foster teenagers. We followed our hearts and said yes. We maintain contact with one of the teenage boys we fostered. He is now an adult and although we don’t hear from him often, he knows he always has a support system with us.
In July of 2018, Gordon was traveling home from work on the train when he received an urgent call from the state of New Jersey. We have a baby, he needs a home, he is a safe haven… do you want to be considered? After some of our fostering experiences, we were not phased by making a life-altering decision in a matter of minutes. We said yes and within 72 hours we had a week-old baby in our arms.
Almost 5 years later, Brennon is talking, walking, and giving us a run for our money. We love him more than we love ourselves and would do anything for him. He makes us laugh and smile. We are blessed and content with our lives, but we always felt like our family was incomplete with one child. Brennon would love to become an older brother, and we want nothing more than to share the love we have by growing our family.
Family Life
Both of us would describe ourselves as spiritual and not religious. We both respect and value the religious views of others. Neither of us believe any religion has the market cornered on truth. All religions lead back to one central truth. We focus on raising Brennon by using his mistakes as teachable moments rather than as a reason to punish or embarrass. Time outs are used as needed. We also remove certain privileges (like screen time) if needed. We use integrity and citizenship as our moral compass. Brennon reflects who we are, and we want him to grow up to be happy, well-adjusted, and contribute to a greater good in his community.
We have really enjoyed creating our own traditions as the years go by. Christmas has the most tradition attached to it. Every morning in December, we wake up, find Chippy (the Elf on the Shelf), and open our advent calendar. We make sure to write Santa a letter, we place cookies and milk near the fireplace on Christmas Eve, and we place carrots outside for his reindeer. Birthdays are always a good excuse for cake and balloons. It’s no different for our golden retriever. Oliver Charles Martin the first (or Ollie for short) just turned one. Unfortunately, Ollie can’t eat cupcakes, but we made him a plate of his favorite doggy treats. We sang for Ollie and Brennon blew out a candle on a cupcake which he was kind enough to eat on Ollie’s behalf.
Lifestyle
All of us enjoy exploring the Pine Barrens by hiking and exploring the forest. On Thanksgiving, we spent most of the day in the woods on a scavenger hunt (Brennon won). We were recently blessed with a small beach house in Harvey Cedars on Long Beach Island. We frequently travel to LBI for the weekend. That’s our unplugged time when we focus only on our family. We explore the beach. You never know what the last storm may have blown in.. seashells, cool driftwood, or maybe a horseshoe crab. We also enjoy kayaking and Brennon is happy to commandeer one of our two kayaks while we paddle into Barnegat Bay to watch the sunset together. If it’s too cold for one of those activities, we go to one of LBI’s family parks or play arcade games together at Fantasy Island.
At home, Brennon usually goes to school (daycare) during the day. We try to pick him up early as often as possible so we can go to the park together. If the weather is bad, we go to a nearby indoor playpark. In the summer, Brennon convinces us to eat ice cream before dinner at his favorite ice cream spot. We have a small above ground pool that Gordon puts up in the summer, and we love splashing together until the sun goes down.
Adoption
Adoption is a beautiful thing because it allows families—and love—to grow. We would love for you to be a part of your child’s life as they grow up if that’s what you wish to do. We would also like to have you become a part of our extended family. It truly takes a village to raise a child, and there is no such thing as too many people providing love and care for a child as they grow.
Diversity is extremely important to us. Raising a son who is multiracial has opened a whole new world of perspective to us. We want him to grow up with kids from a variety of ethnicities. We are so thankful for the diverse group of friends and family members we have. They are always here to support us and help us raise Brennon so he can be a happy little man who feels loved and accepted by his family, friends, and community.
Brennon is an energetic, funny, warm, loving boy who is always ready for an adventure. He is so excited about the idea of being an older brother. His future siblings could not ask for a better brother!
Favorites
| Dad | Dad | |
| Genre of Music | All genres | Indie Rock |
| Holiday | Christmas | Labor Day |
| Bedtime story | Giving Tree | |
| Dessert | Ice Cream | Cake |
| Singer | Janet Jackson | Sigur Ros |
| Mac or PC? | Mac | Mac |
| Coffee or Tea? | Tea | Coffee (by the gallon) |
| Eat in or Dine out? | Eat in | Eat In |
| Early Riser or Night Owl? | Night Owl | Early Riser (see coffee) |
Best Wishes
We promise to give your child unlimited hugs and kisses. We promise to do our best every single day to make sure we provide guidance, stability, support, and most of all—LOVE. Every morning is a chance to snuggle before the day starts, each day is an opportunity for fun, and each evening is a chance to gather at the dinner table to talk about our adventures. Thank you for considering our family! We are so excited about taking this next step with you!
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