Adoption Services
Creating loving homes since 1947
Steve & Lauren
How we met
We met in 2003 as friends on a Catholic retreat for teens, but lost touch shortly afterwards. Over the next 10 years, Steve started his Air Force career and Lauren graduated from college and started her career in accounting and finance. We reconnected over social media and started a long-distance relationship.
We dated for about 3 years during which time, we traveled to see each other occasionally and Steve eventually moved back to the area. We also spent time traveling together and growing in our relationship. Steve moved his career to the Air National Guard so he could stay close to home.
Steve proposed in February of 2016 and we were married later that year surrounded by family and friends. We continued to build our life together and shortly after marriage started trying to grow our family. We planned for welcoming children by purchasing a bigger home with a yard and a family sedan. Over the course of the next few years, through many doctor visits and several medical procedures, we learned that we are unable to have biological children.
While we worked through the difficulty of infertility, we continued to appreciate the blessings we had, especially our nieces, nephews and Godchildren. We have a niece and three nephews on Lauren’s side and three nieces and a nephew on Steve’s side. Steve also has a Godson and a Goddaughter who are children of his good friends. We love spending time with them whether it be a holiday, special outing or time spent at home. We envision activities like this with our own children one day. Even though we still long for a child, we recognize the opportunity to devote time to our nieces, nephews and Godchildren as well as travel more freely.
Our Home and Community
Our two story home sits on a cul-de-sac in a family friendly neighborhood. We have four bedrooms, 2 full and 2 half bathrooms. The inside of our home has a large open space which includes the living room, eating area and kitchen. This is where we spend most of our inside time. We have a shelf of toys and games that our nieces and nephews know they can dive into whenever they visit. We look forward to the way our space will change as our child grows and develops their own tastes and interests. We have a large yard where we currently spend a lot of time with the dogs playing fetch and watching Max chase squirrels. We have plenty of room for a child’s play set, tag, kickball, other outdoor activities, and countless memories.
We often walk our dogs through our neighborhood which has helped us get to know our neighbors. Young children live in the houses on either side of us. We sometimes join them and their parents in the cul-de-sac for evening chats and playtime. We love greeting our neighbors as the dogs make friends during our regular walks. Many of our neighbors have young children who ride bikes on the street. We can easily see adding a stroller to these walks and later letting a child ride their bike around our neighborhood.
In addition to walking the neighborhood, we also visit our local parks of which there are several. We live in a mid-size community near St. Louis, Missouri. We enjoy being close enough to visit the city, but in a large enough community to have almost all we want locally. In addition to the many parks, there are excellent schools, restaurants, festivals, youth sports teams, regular library events, fun runs, live band concerts, community plays, church picnics and many other children’s activities. We appreciate the seasonal festivities like the Summer and Fall festivals in our town center as well as a Christmas Float that travels through the community in December.
We are also active in our Catholic Church. It is the same church Lauren grew up in. We also occasionally visit the church where Steve grew up. Both churches are very family friendly. Over the last several years, the priests at our local church have been missionaries from Nigeria and we have appreciated learning their perspective on our Christian faith. In the past we have been involved with youth ministry, adult faith, the church picnic, youth retreats, adult retreats, parish administration boards and additional volunteering. Currently, we typically attend weekly services, attend family friendly events and a couple gender specific or adult only events. All of these activities include family and/or friends. We are very excited to include our child in our weekly attendance and provide them with a Christian foundation. While we embrace our Catholic faith and hope that our child will also, we also recognize the need for each individual to build their own faith and relationship with Jesus. We would welcome questions from our child and provide the Catholic Church teaching as well as encourage healthy debate on Christian teaching and their application in the world. Our love and support for a child is not dependent on their continued belief or participation in any faith.
Extended Family
Both of our families have been supportive through our journey and are hoping to add a niece, nephew, or grandchild to the family. They have already been asking how soon they can visit if we are blessed with a child.
Steve’s family consists of his parents, his brother and sister-in-law and their four children. They all live in the town Steve grew up in which is about an hour away from our home. We visit with Steve’s family about once a month often ensuring they have the opportunity for extended stays so we can spend plenty of time with family. We celebrate birthdays and holidays with Steve’s family and they very excited about the potential adoption. Steve’s sister-in-law is an only child, but has always wanted to be an aunt. Since she is an only child, our nieces and nephews on Steve’s side don’t have cousins. Our oldest niece on that side is especially excited at the prospect of her own cousins.
Lauren’s family consists of her parents, older sister and her two children and older brother, sister-in-law and their two sons. All of Lauren’s family lives in the town where we live. Lauren’s extended family owns farmland and lake property where we have full access and larger extended family functions are sometimes held. We attend community and church events with Lauren’s family as well as birthday and holiday celebrations. Everyone in Lauren’s family is supportive of our adoption plan. We have consulted Lauren’s cousin who is adopted in addition to sharing our hopes with many family members. All of our family members are supportive. The one family member outside of us who is the most excited for adoption is our oldest nephew. He often shares that he would very much like another cousin and that biology is not important.
Our Pets
In 2020, Lauren started working from home due to the pandemic. This allowed us to get a puppy since one of us would be home to let him out during the day when he was still potty training. Our Max is a male standard poodle. He was adorable and so much fun, but a little mischievous when we had to leave him alone. We knew Lauren would have to go into the office at least one day a week so as our friend said, we got our dog a dog. We (well Steve) brought Piper home in 2021 and she quickly became our little snuggle bug. She is a medium sized poodle and has no problem keeping up with Max or snuggling up to any of us when she has tuckered out. These two pups quickly became our fur babies and while they have helped us focus our attention on something other than infertility, we believe they are training us for a future with children. And thankfully, Max has settled down with Piper around so they are both pretty chill when we have to leave them home alone. We have loved getting out in our community with our dogs. They have helped us get to know our neighbors and explore more parks in our area.
About Steve
I grew up in a small town on the Illinois side of the St. Louis metro area with my parents who have been married for nearly 50 years and my younger brother. Before starting school I was looked after during the day by my paternal grandparents. I attended Catholic and public schools. I spent birthdays and holidays surrounded by loving family and friends.
Following High School, I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. After being unable to find a job near my parent’s home, I joined the United States Air Force as an enlisted airman. A few years later I was able to commission to an officer. During my time in the U.S. Air Force I lived in Missouri, North Dakota and California and had various trainings, exercises and deployments. I separated from active duty to return to Illinois. From there I joined the Air National Guard which allows me to avoid relocations working during the week as a military technician and supporting my unit roughly one week a month in the Air National Guard role. Even during “Guard weekends”, I am only gone during working hours and still have time for family time in the evenings.
Outside of work I enjoys being a dog dad, playing video games and spending time with Lauren and other family and friends. In our home, I generally cares for the outside of the home as well as large projects and contributing as needed with laundry, dishes, cooking and cleaning.
I have loved being an Uncle and hope to expand that role into fatherhood.
Steve’s Favorites: Food-Mexican, Color-Orange, Place to visit-his parent’s house, activity-relaxing at home with Lauren and the dogs or mowing the lawn, Plant/Flower-calla lilies, fruit-peaches, game-euchre, dessert-ice cream, candy-Dots, holiday-Thanksgiving, Ice Cream-Rocky Road, Sport to Watch-Hockey or baseball, Sport to Play-Soccer, Sports Team- St. Louis Blues and Cardinals, Hobbies-playing with the dogs/video games, Subject in School-Science and Children’s Book-“The Pokey Little Puppy”
Lauren about Steve: Steve is full of love and life and is a fantastic example for children. He can be counted on for playful activities, friendly competition, comforting hugs, warm protection and can easily be talked into an ice cream run. While I can’t imagine loving him more than I do now, I think watching him as a father will make me love him on a different and deeper level as we work together to raise our child or children. He is my best friend and I am grateful every day for him.
About Lauren
I also grew up in Illinois near St. Louis, in the same town we live today. I was surrounded by my parents, celebrating over 45 years of marriage, my two older siblings, a large extended family, and many friends. I attended Catholic Schools and spent summers, birthdays and holidays with my loving and large extended family and friends.
After High School, I earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting. I then started her career in Accounting in St. Louis. Over ten years, I worked various roles at my first employer, but left to avoid relocation. I now work in the office three days a week and two days from home. I love the flexibility of the hybrid schedule. While I enjoy my career, I am willing to adjust it as needed to ensure the needs of my family are met.
I walk the dogs almost daily and would love to add a stroller to those walks. Due to living close to my parents, my mom often joins the walks and would happily welcome the added stroller. I spend about four evenings a month volunteering at church where I enjoy contributing to my community and spending time with my friends at church.
I have loved being an aunt, but have always hoped to join the ranks of motherhood. I am a strange mix of messy and organized while managing our inside chores and finances. I enjoy cooking and baking, but not the dishes. I love to smile and laugh, hugs, especially from Steve or one of the kids in our life and I continue to work to see the blessings in each day. I am very much looking forward to the future of our family.
Lauren’s Favorites: Food-Mexican, Color-green, place to visit-the mountains, activity-walking the dogs/playing a game with family, plant/flower-gerbera daisy, fruit-strawberries, game-Euchre or Dominos, Dessert-Chocolate chip cookies, candy-Rolos, Holiday-Thanksgiving, Ice Cream-Cookies ‘n Cream, Sport to Watch-Baseball, Sport to Play-Softball, Sports Team- St. Louis Cardinals, Hobbies-Reading, Cooking, Baking, Subject in School-Math, Children’s Book-“The Monster at the End of this Book”
Steve about Lauren: Lauren is the sweetest most compassionate person I have ever met. She is the greatest aunt and dog mom that ever lived and I’m sure she would be an outstanding mother. Lauren is intelligent, a problem-solver and really good at math…ready to teach and nurture a child. She puts family first and makes sure everyone knows they are loved…and she laughs at my jokes!
Life Lately
We have continued to go on adventures both for the two of us, some with the dogs and others with family or friends. Our activities are generally low key and would be very welcoming to a child. We will occasionally need a date night. During those times, we will ensure that a family member is available to care for our child in our absence. In fact, our parents, siblings, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews are very excited to spoil another child and would enjoy one on one time with them.
While we enjoy our adventures, we also enjoy our time at home. We both work Monday through Friday roughly 8am – 5pm. If we were to adopt a child, we would likely have to utilize childcare while we are working. We have many excellent childcare facilities in our community and know several people in those facilities. Because of this we feel comfortable that our child would be secure and cared for while we are at work. Despite that security, we will stagger our work schedules and utilize the flexibility in Lauren’s work schedule to ensure our child spends as little time as possible at a childcare center.
As we get ready for our day, Lauren often walks the dogs or Steve plays with them in yard. After work, we make dinner, eat together and then work on dishes. Our remaining time is currently spent on watching shows together, playing with the dogs, other housework, working on our own projects or volunteering in our community.
On our weekends, we take extended walks with the dogs, enjoy movie nights at home, spend time with friends and family or attend church functions. Our time at home is generally laid back and focused on relaxation and family fun. We feel that they have the space in our hearts, our home, and our lives to love and cherish a child.
A Note to You
We hope the preceding pages have helped you learn more about our family. We have dreamed of having a child in our loving home. We have had to grieve our infertility, but that experience has helped us communicate better and grow stronger in our marriage. We are very excited at the possibility of adopting and have so much love to share for a child as we expand our family.
Please always know that we will unconditionally love and cherish your child and we will make sure that he/she will be proud to be adopted by discussing adoption regularly and sharing age-appropriate information with them. We are open to a single child or multiples of various races and backgrounds. We both enjoy and appreciate having siblings, but our desire to adopt more than once will likely depend on how easy this first time is.
We welcome many levels of openness in adoption to your comfort level. We would be very comfortable sharing photos and updates through the agency, text or email. Additionally, we would be willing to include in person visits a couple times a year. Regardless of your comfort level, we will ensure that you are always spoken of in a loving and positive light ensuring he or she knows that their adoption placement was an act of love.
Thank you again for taking time to view our profile, we hope to meet you soon. No matter your decision, we wish you all the best for yours and your baby’s future. While we don’t know your name, you and your baby are in our prayers for health, safety, happiness and peace.
Warmest Regards,
Steve and Lauren
