Alex and Lauren

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From Us to You

Dear Expectant Mother,

We first want you to know that you are not alone while you are on this journey. We are here for you and assure you that your baby will know you, your bravery, and your strength. You will always be a part of us – if you are open to it, we’d like to be a team. A team that will work together to do anything to give your baby the beautiful life you envision for them.

We have always talked about adoption, but had no idea that it was already in God’s plan for us. After two years of trying, we found out we were not able to get pregnant. This is due to the life-saving treatment Alex received when he had Leukemia at age 19. When we found out about our infertility, we found so much peace knowing that we would still be able to grow our family through adoption! We feel blessed for the opportunity to join you on your journey.

Our house is always filled with so much love, music, and laughter. We both play musical instruments (Lauren plays piano and Alex plays guitar) and we have fun writing songs together! We both value family time so much and are thrilled that our parents became best friends with each other. Our families frequently get together for family dinners and even spend several holidays together! Your baby will be surrounded by such a strong family unit.

We have many family traditions that we can’t wait for your baby to be a part of. Between annual family beach trips, dressing up in silly Halloween costumes, family game nights, and summer pool days in the parents’ backyard, there’s no shortage of future memories!

We hope you know that everything will be okay. We are here for you. Even though we can’t fully understand the position you are in, we do understand your selflessness and strong desire to find your little one their forever home.

Warmly,
Lauren and Alex

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Why We are Choosing to Adopt

We always talked about the possibility of adoption, but we had no idea that it was already in God’s plan for us. We tried for 2 years to get pregnant before we found out that it would not be possible. When Alex was 19, he was diagnosed with Leukemia. A few rounds of chemo and a bone marrow transplant later (Alex’s brother was actually a perfect donor match!), Alex is now approaching his 10-year anniversary of being cancer-free. Early on we learned that life is precious. We want to grow our family through adoption, and want to give you peace and confidence that your baby will be so incredibly loved and cared for.

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About Lauren, by Alex

She knows how to brighten my day and those around her! She never loses patience, even after a long day at work. She has the sweetest soul and is still able to be her goofy self.

Lauren is very creative. She loves photography and drawing, she also plays the piano and is learning guitar! She loves to watch movies or read a book next to our dog, Nala. She makes the best grilled cheeses (her secret – mayo instead of butter!) and can make a world-class quesadilla. She’s the queen of tasty appetizers, she always has something new to make whenever we have a social event.

Lauren works with kids each day, and I can see the passion that she brings to her job to make sure that her kids are learning. It’s that same passion that I know will make her an amazing mom – she’s kind, thoughtful, and encouraging while at the same time ensuring that her kids follow directions. I know she will be your child’s biggest cheerleader.

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About Alex, by Lauren

Alex is the most genuine and funniest person I have ever met! Seriously – the amount of times I have almost peed my pants because he made me laugh so hard is unreal! Sometimes I will find him singing made-up songs in the kitchen while cooking. Other times, I will find him playing hide and go seek in the house with Nala, our dog!

Alex has a true passion and talent when it comes to music. He enjoys spending time playing guitar and writing songs. He loves getting creative and creating something original! This applies to food too – he knows how to add his own touch to a meal to make it taste so delicious.

Alex is going to be such an amazing dad. Our best friends recently had a baby girl and seeing his eyes light up when he held that baby was a moment I will never forget. He has so much love to give and will be your child’s biggest fan.

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Lifestyle

We value hard work and taking responsibility in our lives. Between all that goes on in our daily lives, we try to keep things balanced. We take our careers very seriously and are fortunate enough to love what we do (Lauren is a pediatric speech language pathologist and Alex works in digital marketing). We make time to enjoy those little moments with our family and friends as much as possible. We feel that making memories and having strong relationships with important people in our lives gives us a strong and loving family foundation. We grew up with the same religious background and continue to honor our faith. We don’t take life for granted and we live each day to the fullest. We enjoy being active – whether through exercise, taking a walk or bike ride through our neighborhood, or just playing catch outside with our dog in the backyard. We can’t wait to teach your child to ride a bike so we can go on family bike adventures in the neighborhood park.  We enjoy cooking new recipes and perfecting our tried and true favorites. We would love to know your favorite recipes so that we can try them and teach your child how to cook them as well.

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Our Dog, Nala

We have a 4.5-year-old dog named Nala, who is a beautiful black lab mix. We adopted her from a shelter in 2017 right before Christmas. She is such a loving and loyal pup, who constantly cracks us up with her goofy personality. Between us playing hide and seek, teaching her tricks, and having her find where we hid her favorite toys, she is always keeping us entertained. Nala loves meeting new people and playing with other dogs – she often gives kisses through the fence to our neighbor’s dog, Henry.  As much as she loves zooming around the yard, she loves lounging in the house by her humans just as much – she’s a big time cuddler! Your child will get to cuddle up next to her while watching classic Disney movies. Nala is definitely ready for another family member that she can love and protect.

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Home & Neighborhood

We have been very fortunate to have been able to buy a new home in a beautiful community. Our home is warm and comfortable, and we definitely are all about making memories in it. A friend once told us that when they are in our home, they feel like they are being hugged because the atmosphere is so cozy. Our home is also filled with music and laughter. Music is something we enjoy since we both play musical instruments. We can’t wait to see if your child develops an interest in music too – we will let them explore different instruments to see what they like! The sound of laughter in our home when we host others warms our hearts. We have a game room upstairs in our loft, with a basketball game, more board games than one could count, and even Legos! We love to have a little friendly competition while playing games together. We look forward to going on nature walks with your child and taking them to the neighborhood pool. We will help them set up their first lemonade stand and bake cookies for the neighbors. We also plan on joining play groups in the community so that your child will get to play and make new friends.

When we’re not inside our house, we enjoy sitting on our front porch talking to our neighbors as they stroll by. The community we live in was built to be neighbor friendly. There are walking trails, community pools, and playgrounds throughout the neighborhood. On any given day you will see children riding their bikes, playing in the yard, and even running a lemonade stand. We are lucky to have found our dream home in a community that very much embodies “love your neighbor”.

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Our Families & Friends

We were both blessed to have amazing family relationships growing up that continue to this day. We both shared similar family values, bonds, traditions, and stability in our childhood. Our close-knit families’ love, commitment, support, and encouragement anchored us to be happy, successful adults. To grow up in a household of unconditional love, happiness and understanding is a gift that we both have benefitted from. In good times and bad times, we are all there for each other. We share the joy and heartache that family members experience, and we are committed to caring for each other. We celebrate all holidays and milestones, along with anything else we can think of just to have an excuse to get together.

Our extended families are so amazing that both sets of our parents are the best of friends! Our friends also have an important part in our lives. We have many close relationships with our friends and neighbors, and we all consider each other family. Sarah and John are our next door neighbors who have become such great friends for us. They recently had a beautiful baby girl, and we make sure to visit with them multiple times each month. Your child will grow up playing with their child, and other children that live on our street. It’s a joy to share happy moments with them and to have them part of our life. We are also excited to meet our first nephew who will be born in March! It will be great to see your child playing with their cousin in the backyard for family play dates. Between our families and friends, we are blessed with an amazing loving support group.

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Family Traditions

Our family traditions bring our family together throughout the year. We always celebrate birthdays and try to make sure that as many people can attend as possible. Every family member, from young to old, looks forward to the holidays. It ranges from Easter egg hunts, breaking the egg contests, trying to unwrap presents with oven mitts on, to the thrill of looking for the pickle in the Christmas tree. We can’t wait to color and decorate Easter eggs with your child – we are all about creating messes with paint and making memories! Your child will also get to experience a yearly gingerbread making party that is hosted by Grandma and Grandpa (Alex’s parents). And not only do we have amazing holiday traditions, we also have 2 separate family reunions at the beach each year. No matter the age, it’s great fun to see all the adults channeling their inner child and competitive nature as games unfold, all while laughing and cheering. Your child will spend beach days building sandcastles, looking for seashells for fun art projects,  and playing mini-golf with Nona and Pappy (Lauren’s parents). We are looking forward to creating new traditions with your child and including them in our current ones.

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Our Promise to You

We promise to cherish, protect, and love your child unconditionally! We will encourage your child and support them in whatever passions they discover and paths they want to explore. We promise to be their biggest cheerleaders in life and to never break their trust, or yours. We promise that your child will know your love, strength, and courage. We promise to not let you down!