Lauren & John

Dear Birth Mom,

We are Lauren and John. It’s so nice to meet you, and we hope you are well. We have never been in your position, but we can relate to making difficult choices. Thank you for considering adoption, and thank you for taking the time to learn about us. If you choose us to raise your child, we promise to love them unconditionally and to honor you from the very start and throughout their life. We will always be here with love and gratitude for what you have given us, and we are happy to answer any questions you may have. We hope you enjoy reading about us and that we can get to know each other more after you have made your decision.

With love and respect,

Lauren & John

Our Adoption Story & Promise To You

We have always wanted to have a family together. After trying to get pregnant naturally for four years without success, we decided that adoption was the path for us. In fact, deep down, we knew this was the right path for us long ago. Lauren has long had a soft spot in her heart for adoption. When she was 20, she spent six months in South India volunteering at an orphanage. The memories of babies and children being connected with adoptive families made a lasting impact on her life. To witness the joy, positivity, and hope from those experiences solidified our commitment to adoption.

We live a pretty unique life – together, we manage a 700-acre working livestock farm in upstate New York. The farm is home to a large herd of cattle, a flock of sheep, and various poultry that we raise using regenerative farming principles. We care deeply about the animals in our care as well as the land we have the privilege to steward. Life on the farm is stimulating – the possibilities are endless, and we are excited to bring your baby into this environment. We promise to nurture and love your baby unconditionally, to encourage and support them in all that they do, and to teach them all that we know. We think that your baby will integrate wonderfully into our world here. We are surrounded by a loving community of families and children who love to come play on the land – whether it’s a summer lunch, a walk in the snowy woods, a cozy dinner made from food that we grow, or picking wildflowers and berries, people are always welcome here. We know your child’s upbringing will be incredibly special.

We promise to honor you as part of their story. We will celebrate your culture, your beliefs, and, of course, your selfless love for them. If you are open to sharing, we would love to learn what is important to you as part of this process. We will give your child a life filled with love and joy and will be there even in life’s difficult moments.

About Us

We met in 2022 when Lauren was cooking at a restaurant in the town near the farm. The restaurant bought meat from the farm, which John would deliver, and we’d always chat during the deliveries. We got to know each other a little more when Lauren started a compost program with the restaurant, bringing food scraps from the kitchen to the farm for the pigs to eat. She loved coming to the farm for these compost drop-offs. Over the next couple of months, we fell in love, and she moved to the farm six months later. We have both been married before and felt like those relationships were not the right fit, so when we found each other, it was absolutely wonderful. John says that he manifested me, and I feel the same way about him.

We both work full time on the farm and see each other throughout the day. We don’t have typical weekends, but we love what we do, so we do not feel like we need weekends in the traditional sense. We sometimes say that ‘every day is Saturday’. Our schedules are flexible, and we can plan our days accordingly. We have support on the farm for when we travel or need time off. Winter on the farm brings a much slower pace; we rest a lot more, cook big meals, go for walks in the snowy woods, read books, listen to the record player, and watch movies on the projector. We make an effort to spend time together off the farm, too – we go out for dinner once a week, and we take trips now and then. We also like to take motorcycle rides on the quiet country roads. Friends and family visit often on weekends, and there is a beautiful guest house here on the farm where people can stay. New York City is only twohours away, so it’s an easy trip.

We’re really excited about having a child in our lives, and we both feel ready for this next big step. We feel that our life here together is strong, and we share a vision of what our family would look like. We are excited to see your baby thrive and grow, learn, and experience everything in the world.

About Lauren

Written with love by John

Lauren is a beautiful, funny, strong and dedicated partner. I am continually blown away by the amount of care and love that she puts into the world. She is a nurturer to all those around her, selfless with her time and energy. She is not only an amazing cook, having spent the past few decades in various restaurants around the world, but she is also an avid gardener and preserver, making jams and canning everything she picks at local farms and grows in her one-acre garden. No small feat! Suffice it to say, we eat very well, all year round.

Her love and compassion are such a gift to behold on a daily basis. On the farm, we have two elderly, semi-retired livestock guardian dogs who she immediately loved on her early visits to the farm when we were first getting to know each other. She would spend beautiful moments with these dogs, and I knew then what a loving soul she was. Lauren is curious and engaging, she asks lots of questions and is genuinely always interested in what people have to say. She is also very funny, and we have lots of opportunities to joke around and be playful. There is no one I would trust more than Lauren to care for and raise a child with.

About John

Written with love by Lauren

John is a great person. He is extremely loyal, supportive, and fun to be around. He can fix anything, build anything, raise animals, raise vegetables, hunt, dress, and cook a deer and on and on. He is very capable, which is one of the things I admire most about him. He is very protective and makes me feel safe and taken care of. For example, for my birthday a couple of years ago, he bought me good-quality winter tires. It’s not a flashy present but a very useful one, and one that keeps me safe. John is fun to travel with and someone I’m always happy to introduce to people – I never worry about him in social situations. He has a handful of good friends, and he is always there for them and will go out of his way to support them. He is generous with his time and resources, often inviting friends to the farm to hang out, to hunt, and to share meals. His closest friend is a 75-year-old local farmer who he invites for dinner at least once a week and who he takes motorcycle rides with often. John will be a supportive, patient, silly and loving dad, because that’s how he is already.

Our Home

We live right on the farm in a converted barn. Our apartment is upstairs above the farm office and garage. The apartment is beautiful, bright, and built entirely out of wood. There are built-in bookshelves filled with books (including a small collection of children’s books) and a big couch. In the summer, we cover every table with flowers from the garden, and there are big windows to watch the snow fall in winter. Our home is spacious and feels light and airy. When we are lucky enough to become parents, we plan to build a house with more space, right here on the farm.

There are many small, vibrant towns nearby with amazing elementary and high schools, including a Waldorf school. There are day camps, public swimming pools, libraries, grocery stores, restaurants, movie theaters, local kids’ baseball teams, healthcare – everything that one needs.

We realize our life here on the farm is unique, but it is one that we are very proud of. We are so excited to raise your little one here, where they will have all the beauty of nature but still never be too far from city life.

Our Loved Ones

From John – Both my parents are from Portugal, and I grew up in Queens, New York. My mom, Odete (76), lives between her apartment in Queens and her house five minutes down the road from the farm. She usually spends her weekdays in the city and weekends upstate. When she’s upstate, we always have dinner together, and I help her around the house with work that needs doing and gardening. I’m the youngest of 3 brothers. Paulo (55) lives in Queens, and Orlando (47) lives on Long Island with his wife Paola and their twin girls, Abby and Emma (17). I’ve loved watching the girls grow, and I love being their Tio Johnny. Orlando and his family come upstate often, and we always spend time together on the farm or at his mom’s house, working on projects, doing target practice, building things for his mom. Orlando and I are close and speak throughout the week.

From Lauren – I have 1 brother, Michael (44), who lives in Montreal, Canada, with his partner Charlotte (41) and their newborn baby Henry. Michael has a son, Jonah (9), from a previous relationship. I adore Jonah and love spending time with him walking around holding hands, chatting, and eating. And I am so looking forward to spending time with Henry and watching his personality grow. Michael and his family come to the farm every year,and I go to Montreal a few times a year, often on the Jewish holidays, so I get to see my extended family too. My mom died 13 years ago, and my father is not actively in my life, unfortunately. Even though this is the case, I cherish both my parents and am thankful to them for everything for all they gave me. I have photos of them around the house, and I look at them every day. I will tell your child many stories about them both and the love that John and I want to carry on from them.

From John and Lauren – Eric, the farm owner, is not related by blood, but he is an important person in our lives. Eric and John know each other from living in Queens, NY, and have been friends for nearly 15 years. Nine years ago, they started the farm together, Eric purchasing the land, animals, and equipment and John caring for and running the farm. Now that Eric’s 4 kids are grown up, he lives and works full time on the farm. We see each other daily, often working together, and we have dinner together once a week. He is reliable, generous, capable, and a good teacher, not to mention very funny and loving. He has been extremely supportive throughout this whole process and is excited for us to become parents through adoption.

Igor

Igor is our amazing four-year-old dog. He loves people and other dogs, he’s with us all day, riding in the Gator and trucks, running around fields and hunting for mice. He is a wonderful companion, full of life and enthusiasm. He has always been very gentle with kids and loves to cuddle.

Holiday & Traditions

On Thanksgiving, John’s whole family comes upstate, and we have a huge meal. Lauren and Odete do the cooking. We raise turkeys and process them ourselves, so Lauren takes pride in cooking and serving the food to family. John’s brother Orlando and niece Emma often come to help out on the farm, and there are often board games and movies as well. Christmas and New Year’s are spent either with John’s mom or with neighbors and friends, and we often host people for dinner during the holidays. We always find a little pine tree in the woods and decorate it together.

Lauren makes all our Christmas presents – preserves from the garden, cookies, cakes, teas, and so on. John’s birthday is the same weekend as the first day of deer hunting season, so there are always a lot of people around – friends, family and neighbors gather at the farm throughout the weekend to eat a hot meal, process their deer or take a rest. Because the farm has a lot of acreage, people love hunting here. Lauren uses the opportunity to cook hearty and seasonal food, and she loves nothing more than to feed hungry people.

We’re excited to bring your baby into these traditions with family and friends. Our families are very excited to welcome a new baby into their lives, and we can’t wait to make new memories as a family.

Thank you for reading our story and learning about us. We appreciate you taking the time and considering us to be the parents of your child, and hopefully a part of your life too. No matter what you decide, we wish you luck and strength with your pregnancy and adoption, and we are honored just to be considered.

With love and gratitude,

Lauren & John

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