Justin & Lauren

We feel extremely blessed that you are considering us, and would feel like the luckiest couple in the world to be parents. We promise to never forget that. We look forward to building a lifelong relationship with you. We have a very strong bond based on respect and love, and promise to bring your child into our family with the exact came levels of those things. We promise to listen to your child and dedicate our lives to making sure they know who they are, where they came from, and how they joined our family. We promise to put your child first. To be honest with them, to set them up to be the best person they can be, helping them reach their full potential. Finally, we promise to address tough times with love first. Oh, and we promise to have a lot of fun!

Lauren grew up in Ohio, studied religion in college, went on to work in media and publishing in New York City after living alone in Rome for a year, and eventually launched her own media company named after Tinker Bell! She loves everything Disney and goes several times a year. Family is the most important thing to her. She calls her mom everyday and on Saturday and Sunday mornings, she spends hours on the phone with her dad. Cookie and Dad are her best friends and biggest supporters - and they are beyond excited to meet their first grandchild. They travel with Lauren and Justin all around the world and enjoy going to Italy together every year. Justin and Laureneven have a family call with Lauren's parents, aunt, and grandmother once a week. Lauren used to be a competitive runner and won the Disney Half Marathon in 2015 wearing a Tinker Bell costume. She also worked in book publishing for years and is a big book nerd. Before the pandemic, she volunteered with immigrants trying to become American citizens pass their citizenship test. Lauren brings light and laughter to every situation and used to do stand up comedy! She was also raised Catholic and tries to think about the life of Jesus and his teachings everyday. Going to church is a ritual that makes her feel connected to her mom, grandma, and great-grandmother, and it's something that grounds her and makes her feel at peace and full of love. She especially loves singing at church!

Justin was born and raised in a small town in Ohio. As a Taiwanese-American in Southern Ohio, he often found himself and the only Asian kid or minority in the room. He has two older brothers and a pair of loving parents. Justin's parents have always been supportive of him even when they didn't always understand the cultural differences growing up in the midwest as a kid just trying to fit in since they grew up in Taiwan, which was a lot different. Justin is a long time athlete, playing soccer, running, and rock climbing. In 2014 he ran in the original marathon near Athens, Greece. In his free time he loves watching soccer (Let's go, Arsenal!) and NBA basketball. He first job in the city was at Sesame Street where he worked down the hall from Elmo. Twelve years later, he now works as a product designer at Facebook. One word to describe Justin is kind. When he left his previous job at iHeartRadio, his colleagues made him a goodbye video. In it they were crying and saying he was the best listener and problem-solver he had ever met. He is the most nurturing member of the family and is most beloved by their cat, Monty. (It maybe because he has a habit of sharing his grilled fish with Monty - if Monty has been well behaved.)

People tell Justin and Lauren that Monty is "dog-like" and they think it;s because he is so social. Whenever Justin and Lauren have guests over, he wants to be the center of attention. You cannot sit down without Monty crawling into your lap. Each night he enjoys "Pengey time," when Lauren and Justin put treats inside a small toy penguin. When Monty bats the penguin around, the treats are distributed for him to eat! They are convinced this is the only way he will get exercise. He is the sweetest boy, you can pick him up and spin him around, he loves being held upside down. He has never hissed or bit anyone. Just a total sweetheart. (Who is completely driven by food. He enjoys shrimp, dried lamb lung, sardines, roast chicken, and popcorn.)

The neighborhood we live in is in downtown Manhattan, home to a community of people from all walks of life, a gazillion places to eat, and never a dull moment. New York City is like a big playground. Every time we step outside there are friends to say hello to. It is a bit like Sesame Street. We have a diverse group of friends of all reces and backgrounds. There are several parks near our home catered to young families with lots of playground space where there's always something to see (traveling musicians and magicians and dancers) and we're also just a short walk away from both the Hudson River and East River with tons of activities like boating, walking paths, street performers, skate parks, etc... With the exception of the pandemic, we love traveling. We usually try to take at least one trip to Italy with Lauren's parents in the fall. Because we're kids at heart, Disney World is a happy place for both of us where we love visiting each year. When we're not visiting family in Ohio or Colorado, we're seeking adventure visiting friends in Asia, Africa, and Europe.