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State We Live in: North Carolina
Our Religion: Catholic
Stay At Home Parent: No
Our Age Preferences: Newborn-3 Months, 3 Months – 12 Months
Our Gender Preferences: Either Gender
Our Race Preferences: African American, African American/Hispanic, Caucasian/African American, Hispanic, Native American
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Call or text Lifetime Adoption at 1-800-923-6784.
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Hi from North Carolina! We are Lauren and James. We have a 4-year-old son, Henry. We are looking forward to getting to know you, and we welcome an open adoption. We are grateful that you are willing to consider an adoption plan for your child. We have been praying for you. We love being parents and are so ready to be parents again to another child. Thank you for the opportunity to introduce ourselves and tell you about our family.
About Us
We’ve been together for 11 years. We met each other through Lauren’s best friend who worked with James. We bonded over baseball. Before kids, we had a lot of fun exploring the country. Along the way, we visited baseball stadiums and National Parks and now hope to visit all of them. Both of our families live close to us. They have been a tremendous help with watching our son, and we love to see how close our son is to his grandparents.
We love these family activities…
- playgrounds
- baseball games
- bus rides to the library
- train rides
- children’s museum
- church every Sunday
We tried to have more kids for two years, unsuccessfully. We felt that we wanted to adopt instead of fertility treatments. This decision has left us with a feeling of peace, and we know God is leading us down this path. We are so excited to have another kid in the house!
About Lauren
James says: My wife Lauren has been a teacher of the deaf and hard-of-hearing for 12 years now at a high school. She also has coached cross country for 11 years. Lauren grew up in West Virginia. Her mom was a stay-at-home mom and her dad worked outside the home. Her brother is 3 1/2 years younger than her. She often talks about how much she loved her childhood. Their house was the house where everyone hung out. Her parents loved education, church, and sports. Lauren attended Catholic school from grades K-12 and played all kinds of sports. Her parents were her biggest cheerleaders when Lauren ran cross country and track in high school and in college.
Besides running, Lauren loves reading and writing. She has published 3 books including a children’s book. There are two words that I use to describe Lauren. They are “warmth” and “light”. Lauren is goofy, patient, loving, and kind. She’s one of those people who celebrates “Friendship Day” and remembers the birthdays of friends. She enjoys national parks and attending baseball games. She is incredibly excited to spread the “travel bug” to our future child and promote a close relationship with God.
About James
Lauren says: My husband James is currently a project manager for a start-up company and works from home. James grew up in a God-loving family. James’ father is an associate pastor. James enjoyed playing and watching sports. He shows love by doing acts of service. He plans and cooks delicious meals, gets my car washed, and picks up dinner or a treat after a long day. He does a good job with our budget, can talk to anyone and make them feel important, and is also an extremely loyal and wonderful father to Henry. Another thing I love about him is his bond with his friends.
James likes:
- Sports, especially baseball
- Working out
- Movies
He’s going to love sharing these interests with our next baby and getting him/her to root for the Atlanta Braves.
Our Son and Family
Our son Henry loves playing!
He likes to:
- Build cities and roads
- Play with trucks
- Dig in the dirt and sand
- Go on hikes
- Make us laugh
He’ll love having a playmate and teaching a younger sibling everything he knows.
Our parents live nearby. We see them multiple times a week. They help with childcare. James’ sister and nephews live nearby too. Lauren’s brother lives in NYC and her dad’s side of the family lives in NJ. We enjoy visiting them often. Lauren’s mom’s side of the family mostly resides in WV, and we usually go up there every year. Our families have always been nothing but supportive of us and have continued to be throughout this adoption. We are excited to include our new baby in all of our traditions.
Our Home in North Carolina
We have a single-family home in a 70-house newly built development. We are surrounded by neighbors with kids who all love to play in the cul-de-sac together.
Our house has…
- An office where James works from home
- First floor living room and kitchen, where we have family meals mostly every night
- Three seasons room
- Backyard patio + sandbox pit + fire pit + kiddie pool for the summer
- Second floor with three bedrooms (One is ours, one is Henry’s, and one is currently a guest room that will become a nursery when the baby comes)
- We have an open loft for ALL the toys and play
Our house is close to a lake and a big park. There are so many parks, museums, trails, and restaurants nearby. We look forward to doing these things with our new baby as well.
Our Promise
We never could have imagined how rewarding and how difficult being parents would be. Before our son was born, we truly had no idea how much we could love him. We know more than anything that we are meant to be parents to more children. We have so much room in our hearts to love another child.
We promise that we will love our child with all our hearts and continue providing a loving home, just like our parents provided for us. We are so grateful for you and your love in making this decision. We would love to talk with you and get to know you more. Please call or text Lifetime at 1.800.923.6784. God Bless!
More About James
Education: Bachelor's Degree in History
Profession: Project Manager for a startup
Stay-At-Home: No
Racial Background: Black
His Favorites:
Vacation Spot: Arches National Park
Sport: Baseball
Podcast: The Ramsey Show
Food: Tacos and seafood
TV Show: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Singer: Stevie Wonder
Holiday: Memorial Day
More About Lauren
Education: Bachelor's Degree in Deaf Education and Master's Degree in Reading Education
Profession: Teacher of the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing
Stay-At-Home: No - only when off for the summer
Racial Background: White
Her Favorites:
Vacation Spot: Yosemite and Acadia National Parks
Sport: To do/coach - Running (Cross Country); To watch - Baseball
Podcast: The Bobby Bones Show
Food: Anything Mexican and lobster rolls
TV Show: The Office, Parks and Rec, and New Girl
Singer: The Eagles, Eric Church, Zac Brown Band, Brooks N Dunn
Holiday: Christmas and Friendship Day
Gallery
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More About Our Family
Our Special Interests
Lauren: I enjoy blogging and sharing my passion of writing with others. I am inspired by the Bible verse that says, "Neither do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house. Even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." I blog about gentle parenting, the benefits of sign language with babies and toddlers, antiracist education, mental health and chronic illnesses, running, and reading and literacy. My hope is to educate people and help them become better versions of themselves.
James: I like finding ways to help our family grow financially and enjoy taking on "side hustles." For example, it was fun to drive for GrubHub for about a year, and now I have started a shoe cleaning business, which enables me to showcase my love of cleaning shoes and my love of before-and-after photos. (Thanks HGTV!)
Our Faith
We both grew up as Christians. Lauren grew up going to a Catholic church and school, and James grew up going to a non-denominational Christian church where his dad was the pastor. We believe that our goals as parents are to raise kind humans and help our children become sons and daughters of Christ who aspire to get to Heaven.
We strongly believe in the corporal works of mercy: feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, visit the sick, and visit the imprisoned. We make it a point to set aside 10% of our income to give to charities, causes, and our church.
We attend church weekly at the Catholic cathedral where we are surrounded by so many families with children. It's beautiful. Praying is important and done often in our household. Going through infertility made us rely heavily on our faith.
Our Musical Interest
Lauren: I love what my parents love - The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, and other classical rock groups. The Eagles are my favorite band, and I have seen them twice plus their tribute band a few times. I was probably the youngest in the crowd by 10-20 years. I also love country but do like some pop artists. James has even influenced me with his musical taste.
James: I jam out to 90's R&B and Hip-Hop. I also have a special affinity for early to mid 2000's Hip/Hop & Pop because I was a DJ in college. I also truly dig 80's power love ballads and 70's R&B groups before their main singers started solo careers.
Our Adoption Experience
Lauren: While I do not know anyone close to me who has adopted before, my parents were part of the Big Brother program. In 2013, they were matched with a 10-year old boy. He quickly became part of our lives. While I was finished with college and working/living in NC, I would frequently visit this boy, DJ, at my parents' house in WV. We loved him so much. He would come on family trips with us, and my parents did a lot of activities with him (baking cookies, ice-skating, movies). I could tell that they missed having kids in the house, and DJ brought so much joy to them, and me as well.
James: I have two first cousins that were adopted. My dad was unofficially adopted by his grandparents as a newborn. Also, my god-brother is adopted. Adoption has never been a stigma for my family. It's been looked at as a blessing; to share love unconditionally with someone you're not biologically related to.
In Closing
Thank you for taking the time to get to know us! We are looking forward to getting to know you as well. We are so excited to welcome a new baby into our home having him/her join the neighborhood group, building cities and tracks with his/her big brother, and join our family tradition of traveling the country to see baseball stadiums and National Parks. If you’d like, we welcome openness with you! We've been praying for you and your baby.