Lauren & Andrew

Ethnicity:

Caucasian

Education:

Lauren: BA in English and Secondary Ed; Masters in Education: Curriculum and Instruction, ESL
Andrew: BA in Finance and Economics

Professions:

Lauren: High School English Teacher
Andrew: Vice President of Business Operations

When did you meet and month/year of marriage:

We met at our after school jobs in high school and started dating shortly after. We will be married for nine years this October.

Religion:

Lauren: Practicing Lutheran, but subscribes more to spirituality than a given religion
Andrew: Agnostic

Information on your home/community:

We live in a suburb west of Chicago in a modest home snugly tucked just off of the main road with a large yard filled with big, old trees, and surrounded by plenty of parks with a thriving community.

Number of children:

One biological son, Addison, who is 18 months who adores other children. He’s opinionated, fun-loving, curious, and looking forward to being a helpful, affectionate big brother.

Pets:

We have two eight year old Schnauzers: Pepper and Hobbes. They are our original babies. They are friendly dogs, but mostly remain to themselves around kids unless they play fetch!

Desired contact with a birth family:

We believe an open adoption with flexibility is not only important for the child, but you as well. We are happy to meet you with what you are most comfortable with.

In one sentence, why do you want to adopt a child?

We are in love with being a family and cannot wait to share our love with another child.

Childhood Memory:

Lauren: Friday nights with my brothers watching movies or playing outside until it was dark outside.
Andrew: Spending afternoons on the block with all the neighborhood kids.

TV Show/Movie:

We both see eye to eye on this! TV show: Game of Thrones; Movie: The Way Way Back

Book:

Lauren: A Man Called Ove
Andrew: Freakenomics.

Hobby:

We love being active, being outdoors, exploring new places, and binging new shows.
Lauren enjoys all genres of music, reading & yoga.
Andrew often games, works on the yard, or listens to podcasts.

Food:

We often cook dinner together after work but a fun food for us to get gyros or Chinese food after a long week. During good weather, we like to walk to Dairy Queen and share a Blizzard, too!

Vacation:

Our favorite trips include driving to new places across the US. Whether it’s a national park or a new city, we love seeing all of America: stadiums, monuments, restaurants, etc. We like adventure!

Family Tradition:

We celebrate a lot of little things like kicking off summer with a movie on our deck or buying a pie on Pi Day (March 14); simple rituals like pancakes on Saturdays or walks after dinner to the park.

Holiday Memory:

For our first Thanksgiving together (at 17!), we watched Elf, & ever since we watch a film with our nieces and nephews at Nana and Papa’s house cuddled on the couches. We love how this keeps evolving.

Fun Facts:

We live within minutes to some of our oldest and dearest friends. Many weekends are devoted to hanging out in each other’s yards or basements playing with our children.

“We feel comfortable speaking for the Stewart’s friends and family when we say Andrew and Lauren are an inspiration to us all as people, a couple, and parents. A child would be so fortunate to have [them in his or her] lives, and they both would feel so blessed to share their love and lives with an adopted child.” Ashley & Nate-Friends of 17 years

“Lauren and Andrew will make great parents because they know that relationships of all kinds require hard work and they never tire of giving their time, effort, and love to those that matter most to them.” Brittany- Coworker & friend of 9 years

“Lauren and Andrew have cultivated a familial relationship recognizable but no less special, built on love, patience and understanding, and it guides them in every action they do.”
-Lauren’s brother