Maria was born and raised in the United States, while Serafino grew up in Italy and moved to the U.S. in August 2019. We met later that year, got engaged in April 2021, and were married that September.

We now live in a small New Jersey suburb with Maria’s mom and our sweet dog, Lucky. Serafino is hardworking, quiet, and enjoys cooking, gardening, landscaping, and working with his hands. Maria loves the beach, event planning, making memories with loved ones, and spending time in the garden.

We both come from strong, family-centered backgrounds and deeply value culture and tradition—especially after each of us lost a parent at a young age. Those experiences shaped our belief in the importance of love, support, and shared moments.

We are excited and hopeful to grow our family through adoption and look forward to sharing our lives, home, and traditions with a child.

We have a small, close-knit family that we love deeply. While Serafino’s family lives in Italy, we stay closely connected through weekly phone and WhatsApp calls. We currently live with Maria’s mom, who has always been her biggest supporter—and vice versa. Though Maria’s father passed away when she was 14, she holds many cherished memories of him.

We’re very close with Maria’s brother, sister-in-law, and niece, who live nearby in New Jersey. While we don’t see them daily, we talk often and spend meaningful time together. We’re also close with several cousins and their children, who lovingly call us Zia and Zio.
Maria has one goddaughter, now 18, and has been an important part of her life through many milestones.

Family traditions are a big part of our lives. We celebrate holidays together—especially Christmas Eve with the Feast of the Seven Fishes, games, desserts, and homemade Italian sausage. In August, we gather to make tomato sauce from scratch, a full-day event filled with laughter, teamwork, and memories.

These traditions are full of love, joy, and connection—and we can’t wait to share them with a child while also creating new ones together.

We live in a small suburban town that’s diverse, close-knit, and rich in Italian culture. Though smaller than surrounding areas, our community has so much to offer—great schools, shopping, a movie theater, bowling alley, parks, and a town pool. We’re lucky to have neighbors who feel more like extended family, always looking out for one another.

Our home has four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, with a fenced-in backyard filled with flowers, a vegetable garden, and peach, pear, and fig trees. Our 7-year-old Shihpoo, Lucky, brings so much joy to our lives.

We’ve built a stable and loving home—Maria has worked at a pharmaceutical company or 24 years, and Serafino has been with a landscaping business since 2020. It’s a beautiful place to raise a child.

We have always dreamed of becoming parents. After marrying later in life, having a child biologically was no longer an option, so we began exploring adoption. Adoption had been on our minds for years, but we wanted to wait until we could take that step together.

In 2020, our focus shifted when Maria’s mom was diagnosed with APL leukemia during the pandemic. Thankfully, she’s now in remission, though the journey has come with challenges, and we’ve been committed to supporting her along the way.

After many heartfelt conversations, we knew the time was right to move forward. We are excited and hopeful to grow our family through adoption and look forward to creating a loving, stable home filled with warmth, support, and lasting memories.