Jake and Chris
Dear Expectant Parent,
We are Chris and Jake, and we are so glad you’ve landed on our page. We know the decision to make an adoption plan is not one you’re considering lightly. We know how brave you are, and we are eager to connect with you!
Since we met, we have always known we wanted to grow our family through adoption. Even when we were young, it was clear to both of us that we wanted to be dads! We believe in the power of the adoption process to care for and support birth parents, and to provide a nurturing and loving home for a child to flourish in. We hope our path connects with yours in our journey to grow our family!
![](https://centerforfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ChrisJakeMain-874x1024.jpg)
Dear Expectant Parent,
![](https://centerforfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ChrisJakeMain-874x1024.jpg)
We are Chris and Jake, and we are so glad you’ve landed on our page. We know the decision to make an adoption plan is not one you’re considering lightly. We know how brave you are, and we are eager to connect with you!
Since we met, we have always known we wanted to grow our family through adoption. Even when we were young, it was clear to both of us that we wanted to be dads! We believe in the power of the adoption process to care for and support birth parents, and to provide a nurturing and loving home for a child to flourish in. We hope our path connects with yours in our journey to grow our family!
![](https://centerforfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ChrisJakehiking-2-802x1024.jpg)
About Us:
We are both elementary school educators and met as first-year teachers back in 2013. One of our first dates was actually a picnic dinner in Jake’s classroom (picnic blanket and everything!). We first bonded over our shared love of teaching, and our experiences working with children have only strengthened our desire to be parents through adoption.
We love playing board games together and going out to explore our wonderful city of Chicago. You can often find us trying new restaurants, taking the train to spend a weekend downtown, and enjoying the many concerts and festivals around the city. We also love our close-knit group of friends, who we see once or twice a week. We know children will fit right into our friend group’s routines of fall bonfires, winter movie nights, spring hiking trips, and summer afternoons hammocking in the park.
About Us:
![](https://centerforfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ChrisJakehiking-2-802x1024.jpg)
We are both elementary school educators and met as first-year teachers back in 2013. One of our first dates was actually a picnic dinner in Jake’s classroom (picnic blanket and everything!). We first bonded over our shared love of teaching, and our experiences working with children have only strengthened our desire to be parents through adoption.
We love playing board games together and going out to explore our wonderful city of Chicago. You can often find us trying new restaurants, taking the train to spend a weekend downtown, and enjoying the many concerts and festivals around the city. We also love our close-knit group of friends, who we see once or twice a week. We know children will fit right into our friend group’s routines of fall bonfires, winter movie nights, spring hiking trips, and summer afternoons hammocking in the park.
One special place for our family is Door County, Wisconsin, where we were married in 2019. Our family has spent many vacations “up north” where we love hiking in the state parks, enjoying the shores of Lake Michigan, eating cherry pie, and reading by the fireplace. We can’t wait to continue our trips with our growing family and share these special experiences with a child!
![](https://centerforfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ChrisJakewedding-1024x744.jpg)
![](https://centerforfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chrisindividual-2-924x1024.jpeg)
About Chris:
Chris grew up in New York with a large, loving family around him. Chris’s mom and sister still live there, and we are lucky that it is never more than a couple months between our visits with them. Chris is the principal of the school where he was a teacher, and he loves the special school community that he has worked in for the last 10 years.
Some of Chris’s favorite activities include journaling, going to the movies, and organizing each closet in the house (seriously!). He loves petting dogs he meets in the neighborhood, making friends with new people anywhere he goes, and is always up for ice cream!
About Chris:
![](https://centerforfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chrisindividual-2-924x1024.jpeg)
Chris grew up in New York with a large, loving family around him. Chris’s mom and sister still live there, and we are lucky that it is never more than a couple months between our visits with them. Chris is the principal of the school where he was a teacher, and he loves the special school community that he has worked in for the last 10 years.
Some of Chris’s favorite activities include journaling, going to the movies, and organizing each closet in the house (seriously!). He loves petting dogs he meets in the neighborhood, making friends with new people anywhere he goes, and is always up for ice cream!
About Jake:
Jake grew up in the Chicago suburbs, where much of his family still lives. His dad lives about 30 minutes away and is a big part of our lives. Jake spent eight years working as a teacher and school leader before transitioning to the district’s central office. In his current role, Jake works as a coach for principals and their leadership teams. He loves having a job that allows him to be around students and in classrooms everyday!
Jake is a book lover and makes time every day for reading. He loves getting lost in a good book and has an ever-growing library at home! He also loves connecting with friends over a great meal and traveling whenever he gets the chance
![](https://centerforfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/jakeindividual-2-751x1024.jpg)
About Jake:
![](https://centerforfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/jakeindividual-2-751x1024.jpg)
Jake grew up in the Chicago suburbs, where much of his family still lives. His dad lives about 30 minutes away and is a big part of our lives. Jake spent eight years working as a teacher and school leader before transitioning to the district’s central office. In his current role, Jake works as a coach for principals and their leadership teams. He loves having a job that allows him to be around students and in classrooms everyday!
Jake is a book lover and makes time every day for reading. He loves getting lost in a good book and has an ever-growing library at home! He also loves connecting with friends over a great meal and traveling whenever he gets the chance
![](https://centerforfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chris-and-Jakedog-768x1024.jpg)
About Dory:
In 2017, we adopted Dory, a loving, gentle, and super-cuddly hound mix. She is the sweetest dog who loves sleeping curled up on the couch with us, but also loves her peanut-butter treats and evening walks through the neighborhood. She’ll make a great older sister!
About Dory:
![](https://centerforfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Chris-and-Jakedog-768x1024.jpg)
In 2017, we adopted Dory, a loving, gentle, and super-cuddly hound mix. She is the sweetest dog who loves sleeping curled up on the couch with us, but also loves her peanut-butter treats and evening walks through the neighborhood. She’ll make a great older sister!
Our Neighborhood:
We live in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago, right by many great parks and playgrounds. We love the diversity of our neighborhood and the many young families who live around us. You can often find us out in the neighborhood for family walks with Dory, watching the sunset with ice cream sundaes from The Tasty Freeze, and spending Saturday afternoons reading on a blanket in Palmer Square Park.
Our Values:
We are both driven by a deep commitment to education and social justice, and we continue to work in schools because of our belief in the transformational power of learning. We are avid readers and know that learning can unlock new worlds and opportunities. We are excited to pass on our love of education and learning to our children.
We also believe in living into our values of kindness and empathy, and we know the world is a better place when we all show care and love for each other. We believe that we have been put on the Earth to love those around us and to work to improve the lives of others. These are values we hold dearly, and values we work to impart on the children in our lives.
Our Friends & Family:
We are so grateful for the amazing friends and supportive family members we are blessed with. We feel so loved by our close friends and family, and know our children will, too. We see our close-knit network of friends and family multiple times a week, and know it takes a village to raise a child! Our amazing support system is just as excited as we are to play a part in our child’s life — to be there to celebrate all of life’s joys and to support during the tough times, too.
![](https://centerforfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ChrisJakefriends-993x1024.jpg)
Our Friends & Family:
![](https://centerforfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ChrisJakefriends-993x1024.jpg)
We are so grateful for the amazing friends and supportive family members we are blessed with. We feel so loved by our close friends and family, and know our children will, too. We see our close-knit network of friends and family multiple times a week, and know it takes a village to raise a child! Our amazing support system is just as excited as we are to play a part in our child’s life — to be there to celebrate all of life’s joys and to support during the tough times, too.
![](https://centerforfamily.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ChrisJakeFamily-1024x641.jpg)
Many of our friends and family members have young children or are planning to grow their family soon, including some who are also growing their family through adoption! We’re so excited that a child brought into our family will have a strong network of other children to grow up around.
In Closing:
We are so grateful that you spent some time learning about us, and we hope you will reach out with any questions you have. We know how much love you have for your child, and we, too, share in that commitment to deeply and unconditionally love a child that is brought into our family. We hope to meet you soon! If you would like to contact us directly, you can email us at [email protected]. You can also contact our adoption counselor, Linda, by emailing her at [email protected] or by phone/text at (773)919-5702.