Mike & Lauren

Hi there! We are Lauren, Mike, and our daughter, Mary Pat. Our lives are filled with love, laughter, and backyard fun with our pets—and we have so much room in our hearts to welcome another little one. Adoption is a journey we are incredibly excited about!

As you make these profound plans for your child, please know that we want to listen to you. We would love to get to know you, understand your personality, and learn about your wishes and goals for your baby. Knowing your heart will help us be the best parents we can be, and we are committed to making sure your child grows up proud of their story and knowing the deep love you have for them.

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:

• The Birthday Flower Nursery Trip: For Lauren’s birthday, we visit a local nursery where the rows of flowers are named after women. We always take a sweet photo of Lauren and Mary Pat under the “Mary” sign.
• Fall Pumpkin Patches: We head out for hayrides, pumpkin picking, and—of course—warm apple cider donuts.
• Mike’s Thanksgiving Meatballs: Mike honors his great-grandmother by making her secret-recipe meatballs for our family feast.
• Christmas Morning Magic: We open presents in matching family pajamas, followed by Lauren’s homemade biscuits and gravy.
• Spring Gardening: We plant a vegetable garden to tend all summer. Watching Mary Pat help out and see the magic of growing things has been pure joy.
• Our Town’s Special Benches: Every year, our town lines main street with unique benches, and we love taking a stroll to vote on our absolute favorite.

Adoption has always been close to our hearts. In fact, we were happily moving through the adoption process before we were blessed with Mary Pat! While we chose to pause our journey to focus on a high-risk pregnancy, our dream of adopting never faded. We truly believe that God has called us to this path, and we feel an overwhelming sense of peace and excitement as we look forward to the day we 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:

• I love to knit! Just scarves for now!
• I am an avid gardener; fresh veggies are my fav!
• I love Halloween and picking out my next costume!
• I love music! ABBA to Paul Simon & everything in between.

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:

• I was born on the day the Chicago Bears won the Super Bowl
• Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday
• I used to DJ when I was in my 20’s (my name was DJ Squad)
• I recently started golfing and I love it!

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 we are blessed to welcome your baby into our family, we promise to:

• Nurture a relationship on your terms: Your desires for connection are incredibly important to us. We promise to respect, honor, and happily maintain whatever level of openness, communication, and updates you feel most comfortable with now and in the future.

• Keep your love constant: We promise that your child will always know who you are and the deep love that brought us together. You will always have a celebrated place in our family’s story.

• Surround them with unconditional love: We will build a life for them filled with security, laughter, and a strong foundation of family and faith.

• Champion their dreams: We will encourage them to explore their unique talents, interests, and passions as they grow.

We’d love to talk or answer any of your questions. Please call or text Lifetime at 1.800.923.6784.

In Closing

Thank you so much for taking the time to read our profile and get to know our family. Please know that we are praying for you and sending you so much peace and love as you navigate this journey and make your decision. Whenever you feel ready, we would truly love to connect through a phone call or video chat so we can get to know each other better.

With love,

— Mike & Lauren