Hello!
We are excited to share more about ourselves with you! Married in 2017, we have desired children from the very beginning. Through the journey of infertility and our own mental health challenges, our marriage has grown solid & our genuine love for one another has intensified. We feel we have built a house on solid rock, a firm foundation, and we are so excited about the idea of adding children to our lives. Our hope is that this book conveys how honored and thrilled we would be to raise your baby within our home and community. Please, browse away, and we would love to talk more if you would like to get to know us more!
We can only imagine the gravity of the decision you are facing. We want you to know that we, as potential adoptive parents, want you to make your decision with full freedom and not at all out of pity for us or our situation. When we think of you, we are in awe of your bravery. We want you to know that, if chosen, we would follow your lead on the extent of a relationship you’d like to have with us and your child over the years. No matter the circumstances, our family would always remember you, honor you, and pray for you. We have come to know that God, in his infinite goodness, blesses our decisions, no matter how uncertain or confused we feel. He brings good out of seemingly impossible, difficult situations. We trust that He has done this in our own life, and we pray that you will receive peace knowing He is doing this for you, too.
Thank You
We are thinking of you during this time, and pray that you feel peace about whatever you decide for your baby. Know that we are open to meeting or talking if you would like to get to know us more.
Our Growing Family
HOPEFUL ADOPTIVE PARENTS
About Lauren
Occupation: By day, I am a pediatric occupational therapist who leads one-on-one sessions with children with special needs to assist in meeting developmental milestones, such as writing their name, learning to eat solid foods, or tying their shoes.
Favorites of Summer: I love reading. My favorites are The Mortal Instruments or anything science fiction.
Favorite Movie: A Walk to Remember
Favorite Food: Cheese breadsticks, salt and vinegar chips
Favorite Place: Colorado Mountains
Fun Facts: I am a complete tomboy. I grew up on a farm with four brothers. I love swimming, biking, and camping. I believe spending time in nature restores the soul.
About Sam
Occupation: I am a registered representative with a financial advising company where I get to help others plan for their current and future financial goals and retirement. My father has been in the financial industry for 25+ years, and is also a financial professional at the same company. It has been quite the journey learning the ropes from him
Favorites of Summer: Washington’s Spies
Favorite Movie: Bad Boys
Favorite Food: Pizza or buffalo wings
Favorite Place: The beach
Fun Facts: I love to play baseball and once upon a time, I even tried out at Wriggly Field. In my free time, I like coaching Gavin’s little league teams, spending time with my family, and going to the movies. I was adopted by my stepdad when I was little and have a step sister.
Our Story
In a family, modeling a healthy, thriving relationship through the witness of our marriage is of the upmost importance to us. The difficulties of infertility, moving states, overcoming mental health challenges, and discovering our career paths taught us how to face both the joys and trials of life hand-in-hand. We believe one of the most important things for a healthy marriage is to be willing to seek counsel when needed, and we ourselves attended marriage counseling for a few months when we needed help building communication skills. Quality time has also helped us thrive, making time for sushi date nights, long walks with our dog, slow Saturday morning coffee, and nightly dinner time at our table. These little day-to-day moments make up the greatest marriage
About Lauren, by Sam
It’s truly hard to put into words the amazing woman that Lauren truly is. She is strong and steadfast in her beliefs and fiercely loyal to her family and friends. I was drawn to Lauren because of her personality. She has an infectious laugh and can joke with the best of them, but also can be ready for a deep theological discussion at any point.
Although Lauren at times may disagree with this, she is a very outgoing individual, who holds our family accountable for trying new things and taking advantage of opportunities to meet new people. Whether it be in our neighborhood, our church, or a work event, Lauren is always ready to be bold and make new friends. In addition to all of these things, Lauren is by far the most organized individual that I know. Considering that I am the opposite of organized, it’s been such a blessing to be married to someone who is always planning for the future and keeping our family prepared. Whether it’s buying someone a birthday gift, wishing our friends a happy anniversary or having our car insurance paid on time, Lauren is ready and planned for it.
Having the tremendous blessing of getting to live life with this woman has been nothing short of just that, a blessing. I have never come across someone so compassionate, encouraging, loyal and loving. I have had the extreme pleasure of getting to see Lauren interact with our nieces and nephews and foster children, and I feel confident in saying that she is going to make the best mother when given the opportunity. Lauren will take so much joy in getting to read to, play with, and sing to a baby, excited to love and nurture a child.
About Sam, by Lauren
When I look at Sam, I am drawn to his goofy wit and gentle heart. I am convinced I haven’t gained much weight in marriage primarily due to how much this man makes me laugh. Within our marriage, he is slow to speak and quick to listen, slow to anger and quick to apologize. Whenever I call my nieces and nephews on Facetime, the first question I always get is “Where’s Uncle Sam?!”. He has a way of charming the hearts of children, likely due to him creatively playing as if he is one of them. He will wake up at 3 am when a foster child is crying and offer to go downstairs, because he loves being the one to calm them down and make them smile.
Sam did not grow up in a Christian household, but in college boldly made the decision to pursue this on his own and make positive changes in his life. He is always seeking to better himself and the world around him, whether it be by watching YouTube for hours until he learns how to replace our broken toilet or reaching out to a friend he knows is struggling. He has overcome, by the grace of God, his own mental health challenges, including anxiety, and it makes him very relatable and compassionate towards others that he meets in challenging situations.
I love getting to live life with this man. He has made the most amazing godfather, uncle, and foster father, and I cannot wait to see him become a father to our forever family.
Foster Care: Our Call to Love Kids
We quickly realized that adoption can be a long waiting process. Tired of staring at each other every evening and vacuuming the dust out of two empty bedrooms every Saturday morning, we felt we had the time, money, and space to begin caring for children more immediately. In response to this desire, we became foster parents in 2022 so that we could begin meaningfully spending our time while waiting for our forever children. We love getting to support birth parents as they strive to better their lives and reunify their families, and it is a true gift to walk alongside
Extended Family
Lauren’s Family
Texans through and through, Lauren’s family provides experiences of camping out at the deer lease, learning to drive tractors, and Polka dancing at every family wedding. Lauren’s parents, Marcus and Cheryl, live south of Houston, and taught Lauren the love of spending as much time as possible outdoors. Lauren’s parents own a lakehouse, and her uncle owns a river house, and summer holidays are frequently spent swimming or learning to wake-board. Lauren’s sister, Shannon, and her husband and 3 kids (ages 8, 7 & 5) live in Austin, and we spend multiple school breaks and all of Christmas with their family. A Christmas Eve tradition, Lauren’s numerous cousins create a ridiculous family photo, eat bacon-wrapped-deer meat, and occasionally create a family music video. When we lived in Houston, we had breakfast after mass every Sunday morning with Lauren’s grandparents at Cracker Barrel, and treasured celebrating their 65th wedding anniversary with them. Your child would enjoy many trips of Texas as a winter reprieve and quite possibly learn how to drive a tractor or boat before driving a car.
Sam’s Family
The only person potentially more excited than us about adoption is Sam’s mom, who can’t wait to be called ‘Nana Lana’. Sam’s parents, Ken and Lana, live 20 minutes west of us, close to where Sam grew up in Bonner Springs, KS. In the fall, Sam enjoys watching Chiefs football with his dad, while Lana and Lauren cook up numerous tailgate dishes. Lana’s well-known love is Christmas; she decorates every year with at least 8 (yes, 8) Christmas trees in her house, and initiates an all-day Hallmark and cookie baking day every December. They have 3 Dachshund dogs that they pamper. Sam has a brother, Kyle, whose family lives in Arizona, and with whom we most recently vacationed to Hawaii. The first day we got a foster care placement, Sam’s parents immediately came to coo over him. Sam’s family is thrilled and excited about the possibility of a little grandbaby entering their lives. Your child would likely become a Christmas tree decorating professional, dog-lover, & irrevocable Chief’s fan in his family.
Our Home
Our Pets
Marley was found on the streets of Houston in 2020 by a good friend of ours. Lauren had always refused to have an indoor dog, but after one weekend of dog-sitting Marley, she caved and fell in love! Marley is about 4 years old, very playful, and adores children! She can’t wait to have a little friend in the house to lick their toes and eat their dropped crumbs.
Our Favorite Traditions
In the day-to-day, we value nightly home-cooked meals around the dinner table every night, with the exception of our lazy Sunday dinners full of nachos or popcorn in front of the TV. On a yearly cycle, we adore celebrating the holidays.
Christmas: Baking cookies, nightly Advent wreath prayer time, driving to see Christmas lights, dressing to the nines for Christmas Eve mass, and slowly opening presents one-at-a-time on Christmas morning.
Easter: Immersion into the season of Lent and an Easter egg hunt Sunday morning
Halloween: Annual BYOP (Bring-Your-Own-Pumpkin) carving party & always dressing up (no matter your age) and handing out candy
Birthdays: ALWAYS a cake with candles & being queen/king of the day
Valentine’s Day: For now, Sam has doted on Lauren, but we hope to include our future children in a fancy at-home dinner, complete with white table-cloths
Our Adventures: We LOVE to Travel!
Our favorite place: Rome, Italy
Our favorite food: poke nachos in Hanalei, Hawaii
Greatest experience: hiking through vineyards in cinque terre
