Dear Expectant
Parent,
We are excited about the possibility of connecting with you at this time of your life. We have known we wanted to adopt since we were dating and are eager to grow our family through adoption. We believe a great adoption provides kindness, care, and respect to birth families in addition to a loving home for a child to grow in. We look forward to having the chance to meet you and to learn more about you.
About Us
We are Cady (31) and Jack (36). We have been married for over seven years and live in Chicago with our daughter Clementine (4) and our dog Goose who we rescued about 5 years ago. We talked about wanting to be parents and growing our family by adoption early on in our relationship and got to know several kids with unique adoption stories during our years as volunteers, which solidified our desire to adopt in the future.
While Clementine is our biological daughter, we know that we would love any child the same way that we love Clementine, regardless of the way that they come into our family. Cady grew up with three adopted cousins and we know firsthand that genes don’t define a family.
Cady is originally from Minnesota and Jack is from Illinois. Cady moved to Illinois after high school to attend Wheaton College, and we met while volunteering as small group leaders for high school students at church. We volunteered together and established a friendship for a few years. We were drawn to each other’s sense of humor and were always looking for ways to make each other laugh. As we spent more and more time together, the laughter continued, our values aligned, and we began dating in 2013. We got engaged 9 months later and were married in December 2014. We continued to volunteer with students for 5 more years and haven’t stopped trying to make each other laugh.
About Cady
You may have already wondered how to pronounce my name. If you’ve ever seen the movie “Mean Girls,” then you can guess that it is pronounced “Katie.” I grew up in the suburbs of Minneapolis with my parents and older brother. They still live in Minnesota, but we see each other many times a year and on FaceTime between visits. My brother and his wife have a 2-year-old daughter and my parents are enjoying every bit of their roles as Grams and Grampy.
Music was a big part of my world growing up and I come from a musical family. I studied Music Education in college thinking I would become a choir teacher, but determined that working in higher education was a better fit for me. I recently transitioned out of higher education to a new industry and am working as a Project Manager.
A few things that I love include anything cozy, oat milk lattes, handwritten notes and words of affirmation, chocolate, organizing, listening to podcasts, and watching reality TV with Goose after Clementine goes to bed.
About Jack
I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago as the middle child of 5 kids. There are now 8 grandkids (Clementine is #7) and they all have great friendships with each other. My siblings and their spouses have become our closest friends and we love that we get to raise our kids together.
I work as a computer programmer and in my free time I like to play video games, work on coding side projects, and watch sports – the Bears, the Bulls, and the Cubs. I try to stay in shape and regularly run with my older brother and sister.
About Clementine
Clementine, who is most often called Clem or Clemmy, is growing into her little self and we’ve loved witnessing each new stage and interest. Goose and Clementine have a mutual love for each other and like to share snacks. Goose is gentle and calm and has proven to be wonderful around small kids. Besides dogs, Clementine’s other favorite things include being outside, FaceTiming with family, playing games on Nintendo Switch, dancing and singing with her ukulele, coloring and painting, and running around the house in her Spider-Man costume.
We began pursuing adoption after Clementine’s first birthday and are so excited to welcome another child into our home and watch their relationship grow through the years.
Who We are as a Family
We live in Chicago with our two cats, Thelma, and Louise. When we can, we love to get out of the house and do things— museums, street fairs, concerts, comedy shows, and hanging out with our friends. We love living here and value the opportunities that Chicago will provide our children to meet diverse people and pursue their passions. This is an extraordinary city. Our family will live within walking distance of both public transportation and miles of parkland. Here, our children will have all the advantages of growing up in a vibrant international city and spending time in the natural world. We want to help them reach for their dreams and achieve their fullest potential.
Most of our family lives far away, but we maintain close relationships with them. We typically spend Thanksgiving with Alex’s dad’s family in Milwaukee and Christmas with Shawn’s family in Boston. Alex’s mom, who lives in Argentina, visits for 2-4 weeks every summer. Shawn’s brother has three young children of his own, and Alex’s brother and his wife are hoping to have children soon. We also plan to adopt a second child, so if you choose us, your baby will have a younger sibling and cousins close to their age.
Although we aren’t religious people, we have strong moral and ethical values. We donate money to a variety of causes, including organizations that promote racial justice, LGBTQ+ rights, and environmental causes. Alex picks up litter from the woods where they hike, and Shawn is a devoted caretaker to the people he loves.
Our Values:
As we raise our family, our guiding values are honesty, open communication, and inclusion. We work together as a family team and we laugh together every day. We are making every effort to raise children who have integrity, empathy for others, and look for ways to improve the lives of those around them. We believe that everyone is worthy of love and kindness and there is always something to be thankful for.
We welcome any questions you may have about us and our family. We know that you are leading with love as you make this decision. We know that there will be challenges as our lives intertwine through adoption and we, too, will lead with love. We are ready and waiting for the child and birth parents who will join our family and we trust we will find each other. We are thinking of you and can’t wait to meet you!
You can reach us by contacting our adoption counselor, Linda Fiore, by calling 1-800-869-1005 (toll-free), emailing [email protected] or texting 773-919-5702. You can also contact us directly by emailing [email protected] . Or you can email our adoption counselor Linda at ,text her at or call her at .
