Our Story

REUNITED

After finding out that her childhood crush lived only a couple of miles away, Renee invited Adam to a Cubs game. On our walk to Wrigley Field from Renee’s apartment, her shoe accidentally broke in half, but she insisted on continuing to walk to the ballpark and back home again. Renee was excited that Adam still wanted to go on another date even after the shoe disaster!  We have been together ever since and have been married for nine years.

Not only were we attracted to each other’s kindness and sincerity and our shared values and ideals, but we also discovered our similar interests in exploring cities, relaxing on the beach, searching for an out-of-the way restaurant, or visiting with family and friends. What makes us happy are the simple things in life – our quirky sense of humor, singing to a song on the radio, a kiss hello, a morning love note, a shared milkshake, and even a balanced checkbook.

WHY ADOPTION

We always imagined that our lives together would include raising a family. As we struggled with infertility, we realized that raising a child is most important to us, not whether the child is biological or adopted. Our family and friends are supportive and excited to welcome our child into their lives. We have been able to observe the adoption process around us: Adam’s cousin adopted a child, we have a close family friend who adopted a child, and one of Renee’s best friends was adopted. Having seen both closed and open adoptions, we know that the advantages of open adoption can greatly benefit the child. We are happy to have an open adoption with you and to work together on our adoption journey. 

ADAM ABOUT RENEE

Renee’s kindness and inner beauty always shine through when she breaks out a smile, offers a shoulder to cry on, or just lends an extra hand to shovel our neighbor’s sidewalk or help an elderly passenger off the bus. She has a wonderful sense of humor and can laugh about life’s daily situations. She has as much fun staging a finger puppet show for our nieces and nephews as she does discovering a delicious new ice cream shop. And she knows just when to surprise me with her fabulous homemade rice krispie treats after a long day. These are just a few of the many reasons why I married Renee and know she will be a wonderful mother! In addition, Renee is an architect, city planner, and grant writer, and she enjoys music and sports. She even played a musical instrument, the oboe, through college and was a disc jockey at her college radio station. She was a good athlete growing up, playing soccer and tennis on the school team, and she still enjoys exercising, bike riding, and other outdoor activities. 

RENEE ABOUT ADAM                                                                                         

Adam is a caring and thoughtful person who would give someone the shirt off his back and who tries to include everyone in a conversation or activity. I have always been attracted to his contagious smile, his magnetic personality, and his warm playfulness with me (and now with our nieces and nephews). He will never turn down a game, even when asked by our niece to be the “big sister” when playing House. Adam always makes me laugh, and his ability to love and to take care of people will make him a wonderful father! In addition, Adam is a movie fan and enjoys challenging games, and he is a geography expert who has traveled the world. His current “dream job” as an executive at O’Hare Airport combines his love of airports, transportation, and city planning.         

OUR FAMILIES

Renee has two sisters and Adam has one sister, all of whom are married and have young children. We are very lucky that one of Renee’s sisters is a stay-at-home mother who lives only a half hour drive from our house. We cherish our tight-knit families, and we visit our siblings and parents regularly and get together on holidays and special occasions where nobody ever leaves hungry! A visit never goes by without Adam giving piggyback rides or without a spirited family card or board game.  

AS A COUPLE                                                                                            

Not only do we share career interests but also many of the same hobbies and passions. We enjoy traveling to exciting places all over the country and the world, like Hawaii, Canada, and London. We visit our friends for a meal or to play games with their children, and we often go to Renee’s sister’s house to join in the family barbecue or just to play with our niece and nephew (from legos to chess to video games). Adam is always the center of attention as he acts like a human jungle gym on which the kids climb, and we have as much fun as the kids blowing bubbles together! In the summer you will find us biking around the neighborhood in search of a new street or a unique house, competing at miniature golf, filling our stomachs with ethnic food at a neighborhood festival, planting our vegetable garden together, and going to Cubs and White Sox games (are we the only Chicagoans who like both the Cubs and White Sox?). We also enjoy just curling up on the couch with homemade nachos and laughing at a Seinfeld rerun or doing the weekly food shopping as a couple. Above all, we appreciate spending time together and making each other laugh, no matter what we are doing. 

OUR HOME AND NEIGHBORHOOD

We live in a comfortable single family house where the sun drenches each room and where a child can play in our fenced backyard in a quiet, suburban neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicago. Our community has playgrounds and parks, as well as one of the City’s best public elementary schools. In the summer we enjoy going to block parties and neighborhood parades, while in the winter we watch the neighborhood mini-marathon run down our street.   

CHILDCARE AND PARENTING

We are very fortunate that Renee is able to be a stay-at-home mother. We will instill in our child what we most value, including family, education, and helping others, and we will insure that our child will always know that he or she is supremely loved. We will teach our child to respect himself or herself and will nurture individuality, and we will make sure that our child knows that he or she can always talk to us about anything and that we will never judge but rather support him or her. 

We hope to expose our child to museums, musical events, festivals, and sporting events, as we take advantage of what Chicago has to offer. We look forward to our child playing in the yard with the neighbors, riding a bike down the street, and making a snowman in the winter. We are confident that we are ready to meet the challenges and savor the joys of adoption, and we will always give our child the utmost love and attention no matter what.

We thank you for taking the time to get to know us. We know we could never put ourselves in your shoes, but we can assure you that if you choose to place your child with us, your child will grow up in a loving, safe, happy, and vibrant home where there is warmth and joy in one another and in the pleasures of life and a strong appreciation for all that you have done and for how much you love him or her.

Please feel free to contact us at the Cradle’s toll free number (800) 272-3534 or email us at adoption@cradle.org.

Warmest Regards, Renee and Adam