Network Engineer / IT Service Coordinator
New Hampshire
Caucasian
None / Catholic
Hello! We are Jason and Patrice from New Hampshire, thank you for getting to know us a little better. We have been together since 2014, married in 2016, and are looking forward to many more years to come. We are a very laid back couple who enjoy spending time together and with our close family and friends. Our little family is rounded out by our beautiful black lab mix, Cauldwell. He is a bundle of energy and keeps us on our toes; we love to spoil him with treats and cuddles and get as much playtime in as possible!
Jason and I were both born and raised in New Hampshire, and even grew up in neighboring towns! We both went to the same high school and were 2 years apart, Jason graduating in 2005 and Patrice in 2007. Shockingly, we were both in our high school’s marching and concert bands, and while we were likely in the same classroom, or on the same field, for practice and rehearsals many many times, we never met! It may sound strange, but we’re both thankful for having not met when we were younger and are very glad we each had time to grow and mature before finally meeting in 2014!
Jason and I both work in the IT Field, though in very different ways, and even worked together for a period of time while we were engaged and early on in our marriage. Jason is a Network Engineer at a local IT Company and works directly with creating and implementing the infrastructure for their clients. I work as a Service Coordinator at a different, nationwide, IT company, in a more semi-managerial and administrative role. While Jason very much intended on working in IT, I definitely feel backwards into it! Jason and I both enjoy the flexibility our jobs offer us, and while he works at their company's office most days, he has the ability to work from home when needed. I, on the other hand, work full time from home and get to enjoy doing a job I love in the comfort of my own home while spending plenty of time with our pup!
Jason and I enjoy all sorts of hobbies, especially those that center around our family and friends. Patrice loves to cook and entertain and has taken to making many delicious meals for those who visit, and Jason is becoming quite the gardener and is slowly growing more and more of our vegetables to enjoy right off the vine! Our newest hobby is taking Cauldwell out and about for as many walks and adventures as possible! We love exploring local trails and parks and letting our pup sniff to his heart's content!
Our biggest love, however, are the holidays! Jason’s favorite is Halloween and mine is Christmas. We spend lots of time making our home look festive with plenty of decorations, entertaining family and friends for as many get-togethers as possible, and finding fun new places and activities to do together as a couple. We aren’t specifically religious, so for us the holidays means spending time together with loved ones, carrying on traditions from our childhoods and building new ones for our own little family together. We cannot wait to share those moments and traditions with a child, and look forward to the day when an extra jack-o-lantern and stocking join our own!
Jason and I have each known that our own personal dreams were to be married and start our own families, however, it was only a matter of time before we realized that these were things that we dreamed of doing together. Just after we got married in 2016 we started trying to get pregnant, and unfortunately, it wasn’t that easy for us. With my history of reproductive health issues, we knew there could be issues with my conceiving a child. Jason and I had many open and honest discussions regarding how to grow our family through adoption.
In the summer of 2018, I was diagnosed with Reproductive Cancer and quickly started to receive treatment. Jason was my rock at every appointment, surgery and post-op; without him I don’t know how I would have coped. Sadly, the treatment was ineffective and in February of 2018, I had a full hysterectomy to remove any further risk to my health. Through this time we have grown stronger together as a couple and we know in our hearts adoption is the right path for us to start our family!
Our home is a classic New England Garrison with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths in a quiet wooded neighborhood. We purchased our home back in 2019 and have been slowly renovating over the past few years. We love to spend warm nights out on our back deck, grilling, and enjoying the sounds of crickets and peepers. Our neighborhood is full of families with young children, couples who have lived here many years, and lots of dogs, including our own! We are closely located to all the stores and amenities a family could need, but are far enough removed that we enjoy lots of peace and quiet.
Jason and I are both very close to our families, and have been growing much closer over the past few years. Jason’s family includes his parents, Mo and Marlene, his younger sister, Lydia, and her son, our nephew, Zerxes! My family includes my parents, John and Patricia, my older sister, Lauren with her own pup, a Corgi named Cheddar, as well as my younger brother, Mark, who is married to his wife, Mia, and they are the parents to their daughter, our niece, Eliza!
Most of our family lives just a short drive away and we see them often for every day visits as well as holidays. The exception being Mark, Mia and Eliza, who live just outside London, England. We were lucky to finally get to meet Eliza in November 2021 for her first trip to America and got to see her again when they traveled out in December 2022! We are looking forward to raising our families alongside each other and hope to have many play dates in the future!
About Jason, by Patrice:
Jason has always been the most thoughtful and supportive person in my life. He has an amazing sense of humor and an ability to make me smile, even when I may not feel like it. I was lucky enough to work alongside Jason for 4 years of our relationship at a local IT company, and while a lot of our coworkers were concerned that we’d be spending a little too much time together, it was by far my favorite time in any job I've ever had. It was really fun to see the two sides of Jason: the sweet, silly, romantic and loving version at home, and the professional, witty, all business, and sometimes sarcastic, version in the office!
Jason has an amazing work ethic and dedication to any project he starts. Working with Jason gave me a deeper appreciation of how hardworking and committed he is to all that he does.
One of the things I love about Jason the most is how much he is looking forward to being a father. Almost daily he will turn to me, completely unprompted, and start a sentence with ‘you know what I can’t wait to do with the kids’ or ‘do you think the kids will like’ and then tell me all about what he’s most excited for. I know Jason will make an incredible Dad and I am so excited to see him become the amazing father he is meant to be.
About Patrice, by Jason:
Patrice is the kindest, most caring person I've ever known. She wears her heart on her sleeve and is always there for people she cares about. It's almost unbelievable how well the two of us get along. Even when we were working at the same office and in the same room together 24/7 we would still be laughing together the entire time, taking walks around the area on our lunch breaks.
Patrice would always talk about how she's wanted kids her whole life, even when we were dating, and the fun activities she wants to do with them, like filling a kiddie pool with pillows and having them jump in. When we found out about Patrice's diagnosis it hit us really hard, but Patrice has handled it all extremely well, all things considered, and I am incredibly proud of her. I know Patrice will make a wonderful mother, I can see it in all the small things she does for me and those she cares for everyday.
Jason and I met through an online dating site back in 2014 and immediately hit it off. Our first date was a bit like a scene out of a movie: dinner at a small Italian place in town where we stayed well past closing time talking and getting to know each other better, all while the staff shut down the restaurant around us. We did eventually realize the time and quickly made our way to our separate cars with tentative plans to go out again soon!
After our first date, we went out several more times before Jason finally made our relationship official. On our fifth date, while getting some shopping done, we were jokingly arguing about who would carry the shopping bags I had in my hands. After a few minutes, he finally just announced ‘I’m the boyfriend, I carry the bags!’ and took them from my hands as we wandered the store together. From there, our relationship blossomed and we began forming our lives together. We moved in together in November 2014, were engaged in December 2015, and married in November 2016, and it's been an amazing adventure!
Live your life as unapologetically authentic as possible; you are a wonder of all your strengths, weaknesses, talents and quirks and no one will be a better version of who you are than you!
Love every part of your story. It's yours! Even if it hasn’t always been a fairy tale.
We have known for a long time that we have wanted to raise a family and are so grateful that adoption will give us the opportunity to finally do that. We feel an open adoption that is built on trust and respect for the birth parents will give us building blocks for a relationship that has the opportunity to grow and evolve for the best interest of your child. We wish you love, support and a peaceful mind as you are guided through your journey.
Jason
Patrice