“…whoever welcomes a child like this…. welcomes Me.”
Meet John & Lauren
A video message from John & Lauren
A Letter from John & Lauren
Hi there! Thank you for letting us share our story and hopes for the future with you!
Our dream to adopt started with John as a child when he and his mom immigrated from Costa Rica to the United States. His mom was a single parent working long hours, so John relied on families in his community for support. There were many times people opened their hearts and homes to him, and this fueled his dream of one day adopting…a dream that our entire family of 4 shares. We can’t wait to introduce our next baby to some of our favorite activities like enjoying a home cooked meal together, attending a professional soccer game, and biking around the neighborhood. We look forward to getting to know you and embrace an open adoption to the extent you are comfortable.
¡Nuestra familia habla español! Si prefieres hablar en español, el español fue el primer idioma de John y él está feliz de hablar contigo. Gracias por tomarte el tiempo de aprender sobre nosotros.
Our Story
Our relationship began 8 years ago. John, who was living in New Jersey, and Lauren, who was living in California, happened to be visiting Scottsdale, AZ on the same weekend, staying at the same hotel, and on the same floor – which is where we met! Fast forward to a few months later, John was driving across the country to give our relationship a shot, and the rest is history. We believe people are brought into your life at just the right time for a reason, and we know you and your baby will be no different.
Today, we live in sunny California with our two daughters, Ashton and Elena, and our spunky golden retriever, Beau. We spend as much time as possible outside at our community park or kicking around the soccer ball in our backyard. We’re a short road trip away from our cabin in the mountains and spend many weekends there enjoying the lake during the summer and ski resort during the winter. Lauren is excited to teach our children how to ski or snowboard when they’re ready, and John dreams of taking the family to a FIFA World Cup game one day!
Meet John
John is hardworking, loyal, trustworthy, and caring. Throughout his career, he has worked with athletes of all ages – from elementary students to professionals. Currently, he is a teacher and coach at a private high school in our community. He is gifted with the ability to build meaningful relationships with the athletes he coaches and maintains many of these special bonds well into the future.
John is so proud of his Latin roots, and our children will have the opportunity to be citizens of both the United States and Costa Rica! He can’t wait to raise our children to be bilingual — speaking both English and Spanish — and take our next baby on their first of many trips to Costa Rica!
John also enjoys:
- Playing a game of pick-up basketball
- Spending the day at the beach with family
- Cheering on the Costa Rica national soccer team
Meet Lauren
Lauren is nurturing, generous, adventurous, and driven. She is a Program Manager who has spent her career partnering with university students who are historically underrepresented in the technology industry, making sure they are aware of the opportunities available to them and have the confidence to pursue their dreams.
Lauren loves being a mom, and nothing makes her happier than the simple joys of a kitchen dance party or decorating the kids’ shelves with new library books every month. She looks forward to spending evenings as a family of 5 (!!) reading stories and reminding our children how loved they are as they get tucked into bed for the night!
Lauren also enjoys:
- Going for a long run outside
- Decorating the house for every holiday
- Catching a Friday night high school football game with family
Our Daughters and Family
Ashton (3) is our little teacher. She loves to read books to her sister and often tells us how excited she is to do the same with our new baby! She’s a thoughtful gal who always suggests we pack extra snacks to share with her friends, and she dreams of being a gymnast one day. You won’t meet someone more obsessed with the color pink, and we recently celebrated her transition to a big girl bed.
Elena (1) is such a happy little one. At school, she is known for always having a smile on her face, and crushing every meal – the girl can eat! She goes with the flow and loves joining Lauren on a run in our jogging stroller which is ready to rock with a safe spot for 3 kiddos! We look forward to all running together someday soon!
Our extended family is very important to us, and we make sure to see them as much as possible. Lauren’s brother lives on a ranch with horses, and her dad has a sailboat he keeps in a harbor close to our house. We also travel to Costa Rica at least once a year to visit with family. Our next baby will be surrounded by so much love and food; gallo pinto is one of our favorite traditional Costa Rican dishes.
Living in California
Our home is located in the Bay Area. It is a 4 bedroom house nestled in a desirable and diverse neighborhood full of children ready to play and the kindest people who truly look after one another. Our future baby’s room is ready with a crib and comfy chair, and we are excited to add things like pictures, artwork, and more toys as they grow older. Just a few steps from our front door is access to a trail that runs alongside a creek, and the neighborhood park is a short bike ride away. We are very fortunate to live in California where the weather is incredible, and the schools are fantastic!
Our Promise
We are committed to reminding our child we adopt that they’ve been so deeply loved since the very beginning. Along with the well-being of your baby, earning your trust is very important to us. We will never make promises to you we don’t intend on keeping and will answer all your questions honestly. We promise to provide a loving and stable home for your baby, and are open to sharing letters, pictures, and visits with you as your baby grows. We are eager to learn more about your dreams and the kind of relationship you hope to have with your baby. We’d love to talk or answer any of your questions. Please call or text Lifetime at 1.800.923.6784.
Learn More About John & Lauren
| John | Lauren | |
|---|---|---|
| Our Education | Master of Science in Applied Exercise Science | Bachelor of Science in Business Administration |
| Our Professions | Head Strength and Conditioning Coach | Senior Program Manager |
| Stay-At-Home | No | Part-time |
| Our Racial Background | Hispanic/Latino | Caucasian |
| Some of John & Lauren's Favorites | ||
| Holiday | Christmas | Halloween |
| Vacation Destination | Anywhere there's a beach | Our family's cabin |
| Sport | Soccer | Football |
| Food | Gallo pinto (Costa Rican beans and rice) | Taco night at home |
| Athlete | Lionel Messi | Serena Williams |
| Dessert | Ice cream sundae | Chocolate chip cookie |
| Thing About Being a Parent | Seeing their sense of awe | Living in the moment |
| More About Our Family | ||
| A Love for Learning | Our family believes education leads to opportunity, but we also acknowledge that everyone has their own learning style. We are products of a public school education (which we loved!), and we continue to prioritize ways to further our own knowledge and skills – John just graduated with his Masters Degree in 2022! We are grateful to live in a neighborhood with fantastic K-12 schools; however, John teaches at a catholic high school and so our children will have the opportunity to receive a private school education if the environment is one where they will flourish. We are committed to sending our children to a school with teachers and peers who look like them and is an environment that nurtures their uniqueness! | |
| Our Family’s Cabin | Cabin weekends are some of our favorites! At our cabin, we have access to a pool, private lakes, tennis and basketball courts, a snack shack, and tons of activities during the summer – things like inflatable water slides and outdoor movie nights. During the winter, we always hope for snow on Christmas morning, and our family loves to go skiing, drink hot chocolate by the fire, or build a snowman off our back deck. | |
| Our Community | Our friends are family. We've both known most of our closest friends for 20+ years. We prioritize these relationships and catch up with each other often. The best part is our crew keeps getting bigger as friends grow their families! This makes for the most lively, loving get-togethers. We spend July 4th at our friends' neighborhood parade – the kids decorate their scooters and the dads BBQ. December is for the annual Ugly Sweater Christmas Party, and in between, there is always a birthday to celebrate – families go all out with bounce houses, ice cream trucks, and themed goodie bags. The memories are the sweetest, and everyone is looking forward to welcoming and celebrating our new baby! | |
| Our Traditions | …and the best is yet to come as we start new traditions with our future baby! | |
| We Prefer a Child Who Is... | ||
| Age of Child | Newborn - 12 Months | |
| Gender | Either | |
| In Closing | ||
Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to share what makes our family unique. We take our responsibility as parents very seriously and will always put the health and well-being of our children first. We hope it gives you a sense of peace knowing your baby will be loved unconditionally and supported through all of life’s ups and downs. We look forward to hearing from you soon! Love, John and Lauren |
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