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State We Live in: Illinois
Our Religion: Catholic
Stay At Home Parent: No
Our Age Preferences: Newborn-3 Months, 3 Months – 12 Months, 1 and 2 Years
Our Gender Preferences: Either Gender
Our Race Preferences: Asian, Caucasian, Caucasian/Asian, Caucasian/Hispanic, Hispanic, Native American
Sibling Group: Yes
Oldest up to 2 years old
Open to Twins: Yes
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We're Open To Visits!
Call or text Lifetime Adoption at 1-800-923-6784.
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We are Lauren and Mike, and we live in Illinois with our daughter, our two dogs, and our six chickens. We hope that through this profile, you are able to get to know us better as you make plans for your child.
We are so excited to become adoptive parents and would love nothing more than to grow our family! We can’t wait for the opportunity to help another child grow into a kind and caring individual. We have dreamt of having a big family and have always talked about adopting a child at some point in our future. As life would have it, adoption is something we arrived at sooner than anticipated, and we would not have it any other way! It is so special for us to be a part of the adoption process.
We are praying for you as you go through these steps, and we hope that we can walk alongside you through this journey.
About Us
We love traveling, and especially love taking road trips. Every time we visit a new place, we look for sunset boat rides we can take and interesting things to do. We’ve even gone on ghost tours! We also love going out to eat and cooking together. Since we had our daughter, Mary Pat, in 2022, we have been sure to include her in our long-standing family traditions. We love spending the holidays together as a family!
Our Traditions:
We are so excited to grow our family through adoption. We have struggled with infertility and miscarriages. Prior to having Mary Pat, we were actually going through the adoption process. When Lauren found out she was pregnant, we decided to put it on hold due to high-risk pregnancy factors. We have been anxious to grow our family since then. We truly believe that God has called us to adopt a child, and feel peace and excitement as we imagine the day that we will bring our baby home!
Meet Lauren
I grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago, the youngest of four girls, with lots of cousins and neighbors to run around the backyard with all summer. As an adult, I adore the idea of having a house full of kids, dogs, and love. I am now a speech pathologist, working with young children with severe and profound disabilities. I am passionate about my career, and love getting to play for my work!
When I’m not working, I enjoy refurbishing old furniture and helping Mike complete projects around the house. I look forward to teaching my children how to work with their hands and see the beauty in the world around them. I am so excited to stay home for at least a few months with our next baby, and once I return to work, my mom and sisters will be helping with childcare.
Fun Facts:
Meet Mike
I grew up on the north side of Chicago, in a small family. I always loved working with my hands, which has translated into my career as a union building engineer. I am quite good at adapting when faced with obstacles.
Being an only child, I spent a lot of quality time with my parents and grandmother. I fondly remember building the best forts with my dad, telling funny stories with my mom, and cooking with my grandma. I cannot wait to grow our family. I love spending time with our daughter, Mary Pat, and doing all the things I loved to do as a kid with her, like building block towers and forts. I hope to one day coach my kids in baseball or basketball.
Fun Facts:
Our Family
We married in 2017 and have been excited to grow our family and establish traditions ever since then. We were blessed in 2022 with our beautiful daughter, Mary Pat, who is named after each of our grandmothers (Mary was Lauren’s grandma and Pat was Mike’s grandma). Each of these women were responsible for taking care of us when we were younger, and we wouldn’t be the people we are today were it not for them. Mary Pat is a tenacious three-year old who is going to be a wonderful big sister and a big help as we welcome a new baby into our house!
When we had Mary Pat in 2022, the whole family grew closer together, as she is such a blessing. Our nieces and nephew especially love spending time with her, and we talk about what it will be like when we welcome another little one into the family. We know our future baby will be well-loved by our families. Since we both work full-time, we can’t say enough how grateful we are to have our family so close, and so many people ready and able to help out when we need someone in a pinch.
Our Home in Illinois
We live on a quiet tree-lined street with big yards in the suburbs of Chicago. There are lots of kids in the neighborhood, so it’s a great place for a child to grow up. Our home is a 1950’s farmhouse-style home that is on nearly a half-acre of land. It has 4 bedrooms (we love the idea of filling them all up with children) and we have plenty of room for a large vegetable garden, our chicken coop, a trampoline, and a swing set in our yard, with still more room to play fetch with our dogs, Scout and Ruby.
We absolutely love our neighborhood. There’s a bustling little downtown area about a half mile away where they host farmers’ markets, concerts, and street fests all summer long! Our town is actually becoming known for its St. Patrick’s Day parade, which runs right through the downtown area. We have quick access to the train, which takes us directly into downtown Chicago. This past December, we took Mary Pat on her first train ride that was totally decked out in Christmas decorations and played holiday music all the way to the city. We look forward to making more memories together as we continue to grow our family.
Our Promise to You
If you should choose us, this is what we can commit to you:
We’d love to talk or answer any of your questions. Please call or text Lifetime at 1.800.923.6784.
More About Mike
Education: Some College
Profession: Stationary Engineer
Stay-At-Home: No
Racial Background: White/Caucasian
His Favorites:
Food: Beef sandwich dipped with hot peppers
Movie: Goodfellas
Color: Red
Musician/Band: Metallica
TV Show: Cops
Way to Spend a Saturday: Doing something fun with Mary Pat & Lauren
Vacation We've Taken: Colorado
More About Lauren
Education: Master's Degree
Profession: Speech Pathologist
Stay-At-Home: No, but I work in a school so I'm off in the summers!
Racial Background: White/Caucasian
Her Favorites:
Food: Cheese Fries from Portillo's
Movie: Jurassic Park
Color: Green
Musician/Band: Paul Simon
TV Show: Stranger Things
Way to Spend a Saturday: Going to the Farmers' Market & going out to dinner
Vacation We've Taken: Traverse City, Michigan
Gallery
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More About Our Family
Our Special Interests
Mike really enjoys tending to our chickens, and is growing more interested in lawn care each summer. Lauren loves all the holidays, and really enjoys spending time decorating the house for each one.
Our Faith
We were raised Catholic and have each had our own journeys with our faith. Since we moved to our current neighborhood, we have become much more consistent in attending weekly Mass, and love watching Mary Pat learn more about our faith. Mary Pat is in 3-year-old Pre-K this year and attends a Catholic school. It is important to us to instill a strong faith foundation for our children to rely on throughout their lives.
Our Musical Interest
Lauren's dad instilled a love of music at a young age, so much of her musical taste is in the Classic Rock genre. Her dad even used to play the game, "Name That Song," with her and her sisters every time they were driving in their van together.
Mike loves music, and was raised primarily by two strong women, so his musical taste is very eclectic. As we said, he was a DJ for a period of time in his twenties, and still enjoys creating playlists for parties.
We knew that music was important to both of us, so we have tried to foster a love of music in Mary Pat. Her favorite songs right now are 'Mama Mia' by ABBA and 'I Miss You,' by Blink 182! It's quite the range.
Extended Family
We are blessed to have Lauren's mom and oldest sister live nearby, so they can care for Mary Pat while we are at work. We are very close with Lauren's family and see them multiple times a week. We spend all of our holidays together, and like to get together for BBQs throughout the summer. Last year, we started a mini watch party with Lauren's sister and brother-in-law to watch the Golden Bachelor & Golden Bachelorette. It gives us a little break during the work week to eat dinner together and have a little laugh.
Mike's mom lives a little further away, but makes sure she sees us at least two to three times a month. She really enjoys doing fun things with us like going to the beach, finding a local concert to attend, or finding fun themed restaurants to check out. When we can't get together, Mike's mom likes to FaceTime with us so she can catch up with Mary Pat. She is so excited for us to bring another baby home who she can snuggle.
Every year since they were little, we have taken our nieces and nephew to the pumpkin patch in the Fall. They love to continue this tradition with Mary Pat and look forward to welcoming another baby into the family fun! We are beyond lucky to have so many wonderful family members close by with whom we can make memories!
In Closing
We want to thank you for taking the time to get to know us and look over our profile. We are praying for you as you walk through this journey, and we're sending you peace and love as you make this decision. When you're ready, we'd love to talk or have a video chat to get to know you better, and for you to get to know us better!
-Mike & Lauren