Welcome!!
After 7 years of just
the two of us and our three dogs, we are looking forward to and are waiting
with anticipation and open hearts to start our own family. We've been planning
to adopt since before we were even aware of our infertility problems, so we are
very excited to begin this next step towards a family.
We met through mutual
friends back in March of 2004 who both felt we were a perfect match- and they
were right! We were inseparable after the first night we met,and ended up talking
until 7 am. We knew we were meant to be together and were married 9 months to
the day we met. Clint made the first move and it took 3 tries before Lauren
said yes. We never even made it to dinner that first night because we just kept
talking and eventually our first date meal was gas station hot dogs and shared
bags of Dorito's since that was the only thing open!
We've been married now
going on 8 years. We started trying to have a baby after Lauren graduated with
her Masters in Counseling and we had moved back to Texas to be near our
families in 2008. We expected to have difficulty getting pregnant due to long
family histories of infertility so we were shocked to get pregnant on our 2nd
month trying. That ended a few short days later in miscarriage, and we
eventually entered the next few years of infertility diagnoses, treatments and
an eventual diagnosis (on top of many others) of premature ovarian failure.
Lauren had very few eggs that were very good by the age of 28, so we gave it
one shot at IVF and then we were officially done trying. We knew adoption was
our path at that point, even though we had always talked about the option.
We have had infertility
struggles over the last few years, but we definitely still have a very full
life- we travel, we camp, we go to sporting events, as well as to art museums
and cultural events and family outings. You might find as at the Jazz Festival
on Tuesday, the Irish festival on Friday and hiking on Saturday! We love to get
out and have different experiences, as long as we do it together and we can't
wait to have these experiences as a family. We can't wait to teach our children
about the outdoors and appreciating nature, as well as music and the arts.
From Lauren, about
Clint:
Clint is honest, loyal,
supportive and hard working. Clint is great around children and seems to
be a baby whisperer. I love his ability to be understanding and patient as he
really takes the time to explain things to kids. Our niece and nephew love
making cookies with us every year at Christmas and Clint is always patient,
even when icing and sprinkles and flour are all over the counter (and sometimes
on his face!)
Clint
loves sports and the outdoors, and enjoys having the family over for cookouts
and dinners. He particularly enjoys playing golf and football, and
even played in college. Clint is silly and funny and makes me laugh constantly. His other passion is music. He can
play the guitar, the piano and other instruments and he even sang our vows at our wedding! Clint always makes
sure that music is a big part of our life and will teach our children a love of music as well.
Clint was raised in a home with two loving parents who have been married for over 30 years. His childhood was very active in church and volunteer work and this is still part of who he is today. Clint is not what I call a stereotypical "jock", despite playing fooball and being active in sports for all of his life. I'll admit that I was a bit skeptical of him when we first met, because I'm a bit more of a book nerd and wasn't all that active in sports (I"m a dancer!). But he's so calm and gentle, and is very committed to sticking up for the underdog! After he played college football for a year, he moved to California to study at Patton University and be a part of an Urban Ministry group called Masters Commission.
I know he will be a great teacher and father to children! He is very loving and very calm. Where I seem to be very energetic, Clint is the laid back one in our family but still funny and goofy
Clint's thoughts about
Lauren:
Lauren is thoughtful,
patient, and honest. But more than anything else, she's seems to always
be laughing. My wife is not only the woman I love, but she's my best friend.
She has a terrific sense of humor with a great smile. She inspires me to be a
better person. She's one of the strongest, funniest and most inspirational
people I've ever met.
I can't imagine anyone
meeting her that didn't automatically love her- everyone always seems to feel
at ease when they are around her. She's surely a very special person. But
most importantly I know when I wake up each morning next to her, I know she is
someone who will be there to love and support our family.
Lauren is very close to her mother and grandmother and was raised to know and believe that women can achieve great things through education. She graduated high school early, and had her Bachelors before she was 20. Her Masters degree was non-negotiable and she still loves to learn and read to this day. I know that she'll teach our children to be avid readers and to love learning instead of dreading school and the learning process. She motivates me to do the same and if it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't have finished college. She pushed me to see that I could do it, and because of her I now will have a Bachelors degree myself. I know that she'll do the same with our children.
Her training as a counselor as well as her natural personality have also made her really invested in creating a magical childhood for our children. She is always telling me about family memories and traditions that she can't wait to create, like we already do with our nieces and nephews. She values childhood and protecting children and can't wait to be a loving, caring mother. She has a very flexible schedule because she can set her own hours and she can't wait to stay home with our kids.
Our Family
After reading the
story of how we met, the rest of the story is that went on to get married in 2004.and moved to Indiana for Lauren's Master's Program right after our wedding. Lauren graduated
with her Masters in Counseling and we moved
back to Texas to be near both of our families. We settled within 30 minutes of
both families in “the burbs”. We choose it because it has the BEST school
district within 4 counties. After plenty of years living in apartments, we
finally bought our first home in 2008! In 2008, Lauren started working as a
Licensed Therapist and is still working at the same clinic today
after 4 years. Lauren works with military veterans returning from war who have
PTSD or addiction. Lauren specializes in working with trauma and attachment and
she truly loves her job!. Clint went back to school in 2008 to earn his degree
and will graduate in May. Clint works at Starbucks and will soon be a store manager!
When we moved into our
3 bedroom home in 2008, everyone in our family showed up to help us paint and
organize. It was such a big help and our family is always happy to help and
pitch in! We love to work outside in the yard, although we're not so sure we're
very good gardeners.... our flowers don't seem to make it very long! But we
keep trying every year just in case we figure it out one day! We think we've
figured out that we just like hanging out no matter what! | Our house, in a
suburban neighborhood, with a park and a pool merely 4 houses away! We love to
go to the pool and feel very safe since it is gated and children cannot access
it without adults
"In family life,
love is the oil that eases friction, the cement that binds closer together, and
the music that brings harmony" -- Eva Burrows
Adoption is important to our family. We are
very close to our families! We often all get together for holidays, special
events or "just because". Our mom's are very close and we know how
lucky we are that all of our family members like each other! We are also a
family made by adoption. Lauren's has family members who adopted from China and
Guatemala. Clint's family members have adopted domestically, creating
multicultural families. Our families understand adoption and how important it
is to welcome the first family into our lives. My Mom traveled to China with
her sister Anne and was there the day Anne and Noah met for the first time. We
have the best support in our family and friends and we can't say enough about
how loving and supportive they are of us and of adoption!
Our friends have one
shared quality and that is that they love us unconditionally and would be there
for us at the drop of a hat. All our friends range in character and
personality, in culture , race and religion. If there is one thing that we
appreciate most about our friendships, is that every one of them have something
unique to teach and offer to us. We enjoy spending time with them and have
loved being a part of their kids' lives. We frequently get together for
barbecues, concerts and we travel together. Our friends are so excited for us
to become parents and they tell us that they think we'll be really great when
we become parents to our own kids!
We are a family wanting very much to add a child into our home. We have ideas for a nursery; we have a large backyard waiting to hear a child’s laughter. We live in a neighborhood filled with other kids waiting for someone new to play with, swing with, swim with, run with and learn with. We have a large and extended family and friends who are just as excited about the addition of a child to our family and are eagerly waiting to meet him or her. We love to camp and travel! You'll notice many pictures on our facebook or on our blog of traveling, and nothing makes us feel as home as we are in the outdoors! We camp and hike at least once a year, but we try to get out doors as often as possible. We've hiked in over 15 states and camped in over 20!
Our family is unique in their experience and understanding of the adoption process, as well as the importance of everyone in the adoption triad, including the birthmother. We both have multiple family members who have been adopted or who have adopted children. We are touched by the willingness of their birth parents to place them with their individual families and our family as a whole. Adoption has brought much happiness into our families and we can’t wait for adoption to add to our own little family. As a result of family experience, our families are educated and understanding of the process and we think that makes us pretty unique!
We have wanted
children for some time. Given the honor, we will nurture this child through all
the ups and downs life has to offer. We will provide a loving and stable home
with a healthy and open understanding of their adoption story and their birth
family. We want to be involved in every aspect of child's life from parenting,
to school projects, sports, plays, to nightly bedtime stories. From warm
chocolate chip cookies to help with their homework. We want to be hands on
parents to offer comfort, guidance, and to be there for them on all their
victories. We will be there to cheer and praise them for every accomplishment.
The values that are important to us which we would like to instill in our child
is honesty, integrity, respect, and compassion for others in every walk of
life. We promise to love them unconditionally and provide them with a solid
foundation to become the best they can be.
We are so excited
about the possibility of sharing our life with this precious child and hope
this has given you a glimpse of what that life would be like. We want you to
know that our home is warm and happy and will always be a place of love and
encouragement. Together, will we celebrate life . . . and we will always
celebrate you. You will always be in our hearts, and your child will grow up
knowing about you and your selfless gift. If it is your wish, we would like to
extend our family by welcoming you. We would always describe you to your child
in a respectful and loving light. We want to keep the relationship open with
you as long as you desire and will always respect your privacy. Whomever you
choose, we wish you continued strength and courage in this important decision.
From the bottom of our hearts we wish you love, happiness and success in the
future. Thank you for learning more about us and we welcome any contact that you might want in learning more about us, either through email, a phone call or our facebook page.
Thanks for stopping by
and learning more about us! Feel free to email us at laurenclintadopt@gmail.com
