Michael and Ketul

Dear Expectant Parent

Thank you for viewing our profile. We realize this is a big decision, and we are deeply grateful that you would consider us to parent the child you will be bringing into this world. We admire your strength and bravery and would be honored to go through this process with you.

We are very excited about becoming parents and take the responsibility of raising your child with the utmost respect. Your baby will grow up with two devoted parents who have roots in the Midwest, but also with international family. Your child will grow up living in a great city and will also have the unique experiences of playing at Michael’s family farm in Wisconsin and visiting Ketul’s family in India!

Our Story

We are very close and have a strong loving partnership. It has been our plan to have children from nearly day one, and we are excited to take this next step as a team. We met in the Spring of 2016 after Michael moved back to Chicago from California. We met online, and at our first meeting, we discovered that we actually lived only one block apart from each other.

In the Fall of 2018, we got married in a small ceremony at the Chicago Cultural Center with our close family in attendance. We currently live in a condo near downtown Chicago and enjoy life in the City and the diversity of our neighborhood. We make use of all the opportunities of the city to see new sites, attend museums (members of the Art Institute), go to new restaurants, and to hang out with friends. Michael is a member of the condo board and both of us are very invested in the neighborhood.

Our home is filled with books, which attests to the seriousness with which we both approach education and learning. We often introduce new books to each other (Ketul introduced Michael to his favorite mysteries and international authors while Michael introduced Ketul to sci-fi and contemporary non-fiction) and like discussing our perspectives after we both have read the book.

In addition to exploring the city, we have also enjoyed exploring the world through various travels together including to Mexico and hopefully to India soon. We also love camping and have explored various natural wonders in camping trips to Glacier National Park, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana. We enjoy these opportunities to explore the great outdoors while connecting with friends and family.

We are proud of all of our accomplishments, and the foundation that we have built that is necessary for a family and are eager to share our life with a child. While there may be other options such as surrogacy, we believe that adoption is the best choice for us as we want to make sure to help others to the extent that we can. We are ready to bring a child into our lives and into our family. It is something that we have always dreamt of doing.

About Michael

I was born and raised in Wisconsin. My dad is a retired farmer, and I grew up on my family’s dairy farm. My brother lives nearby with his wife and youngest daughter, and we meet up often when visits are made to the farm and to visit our father.

I have a large extended family in the region and grew up with a lot of cousins from both sides of the family. Everyone is ready to welcome a little one into their lives. While my mother is no longer with us, I was very close to her and hope to instill the values I received from her, like generosity and kindness, in my child. Trips to the family farm in Wisconsin would be a common occurrence for our child.

I studied Biology in school, have worked in the Biotech industry in the Bay Area, and currently work in University research administration in Chicago. I spend a lot of time reading, biking, and running. I look forward to reading bedtime stories and taking our child on bike ride through our wonderful city.

About Ketul

I was born in Gujarat, India and moved to the US when I was nine with my brother and parents. I have been in the Chicago area for most of the past 20 years.

I grew up with a large extended family having a lot of cousins around Chicagoland and in India. Family get-togethers were a big part of my upbringing, especially around Hindu holidays. I hope to share these traditions with our child while also making sure our child appreciates and has respect for all cultures, especially that of his or her birth parents.

My parents, brother, and sister-in-law live in the suburbs of Chicago and we see them several times a month. Family time often involves board games (Michael introduced Yahtzee and my sister-in-law regularly hosts weekly virtual Indian bingo with friends and family), viewings of Indian TV shows (Michael is now becoming familiar thanks to subtitles), and tasty meals (often cooked by my mother). We hope to share these experiences with our child, and know our families are excited to welcome a baby into their lives. I received my MBA and have worked as a consultant and corporate strategy professional since college. Outside of work, I enjoy reading a good novel, biking to explore new neighborhoods in our great city, and getting together with friends for dinner or board games.

Our Promise to You

We promise to provide a loving and stable home. We will always put our child’s best interests first and make sure they grow up with a full understanding of their family history. In addition, we will make sure to have an ongoing connection with you to allow our child to grow up with an appreciation of their entire family tree. We are so excited to be embarking on this journey and greatly appreciate you considering us for this honor.

Please feel free to reach us directly at MichaelandketulACFB@gmail.com. You may also contact our counselor, Linda, by phone at 800-869-1005 at Linda.centerforfamily@gmail.com.

Sincerely,
Michael & Ketul