Welcome! Meet:

Nate + Laura

Nurse / Non-Profit Program Manager

Missouri

Caucasian

None

All About Nate & Laura
Video
Why Adoption?
Gallery
Family and Home
How We Met
Advice to Future Child
Perspectives on Open Adoption
Favorites

All About Nate & Laura

Hi there!

We met in 2005 in college and have been together ever since. We now have a lovely marriage (married in 2011). We are really good at communicating with each other. We’ve had ups and downs in life, like the loss of Laura’s mom to cancer, moving cities, new jobs, having a kid, and so on. The one constant is each other. We disagree on stuff, but we rarely (if ever) fight. We are so good at talking through the problem. It’s never me against you – it’s us against the problem.

We laugh every day. Whether its dropping lines from movies or talking in silly characters, we have fun together all the time. We just enjoy being around each other. I remember saying to Nate during the pandemic lockdown that it was amazing we had been together almost non-stop for months and still were happy to be around each other!

Some fun facts about us:

We love to quote our favorite movies and shows to each other (The Office, Always Sunny, CHiPs, Anchorman, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, etc.)
We love going to see stand-up comedy! Brian Regan is our favorite, we’ve seen him 5 times)
We both run, and now take turns cheering each other on at races. At Laura’s last race, Nate and Del surprised her along the route with a huge cardboard cutout of her face (it was pretty funny)
We like being active, playing pickleball, tennis, and more.
Though both raised in religious households, we are not religious now. We believe in a higher power, and most importantly, we believe in being good people and accepting others as they are, perfectly imperfect.
We think it’s fun to name stuff - like our cars (Tammy and “Katy Perry”), our house, etc. We joke that if we ever got a boat, it would be a pontoon boat but we would name it “The Yacht”

Why Adoption?

Reading this website might not have been part of your plan, but you have always been a part of ours. We have always wanted to build our family through adoption. Before we even got married, we talked it through and committed to our choice.

I think this sets us apart because for our family, adoption IS our first choice. This is an intentional decision; we are doing this on purpose to build our family. Our views on adoption are so positive – and having a biological child only makes us respect it more. We’ve been on the same side as you, and truly understand why it’s a decision made from love.

Our call to adoption is hard to explain. It’s just woven into us. It’s sort of like a car trip. You get everyone in the car, start backing down the driveway, and it’s like “hey, who are we missing?” And that’s how we feel now – there’s this one more spot in the car.

We are so ready. We are settled in our home in St. Louis, have stable jobs that we both love, a happy daughter, and space for one more.

Family & Home

We bought our current house when we moved back from living in Florida for nearly a decade. We loved our time there, but we really missed our people in St. Louis.

We now live a few blocks from my sister, and behind us live our best friends from college. Our children are now friends and play together all the time. Our house is a happy place. Having friends and family “pop in” is our favorite part of living here.

We live across the street from a playground. We gather there with friends and neighbors almost every day (unless it’s completely freezing!). We have a block party every year that we help plan.

There is a good sense of community. We watch each other’s kids, we borrow sugar, etc. – we just take care of each other and are really welcoming and warm. There is always someone to talk to, for both kids and adults.

How others describe me

Nate: Enthusiastic, Kind and Loyal

I was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. My mom is Cuban and I am fluent in Spanish. I have one older brother, and we are really close. My family loves surprises! We surprise each other a lot, and always in a good way. Some surprises are small (hey, we got donuts!) and some are bigger (Surprise, we flew in town!).

I lived in the Galapagos Islands for a year, teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). I continued to teach for a few years, and then returned to school for nursing. I worked in the Emergency Room for several years, and now I am a Family Nurse Practioner. While the day-to-day of those roles are different, I enjoy helping people feel better and feel that they’ve been heard. They come in with an issue and are trusting me to help them through it.

My mom was a teacher for children with special needs. She cared so much for her students, and that definitely shaped me. In high school, I started a program that provides free tennis clinics to special needs athletes that still exists today. It has expanded to 10 cities across 4 states and I now sit on the Board of Directors.

I love to run and play sports. I am very close to friends I have made in all stages of life, and I am good at staying in touch. I also organize ways (like virtual poker and “Dad Nights”) to keep all my friend groups connected.

Laura: Positive, Energetic and Funny

I was born and raised in St. Louis. I’m the youngest of three girls, and very close to both my sisters. They are LOUD and loving! In 2016, I lost my mom to cancer. We talk about her often, and I think she knows our family is doing well. Now, her best friends are my stand-in moms and I’m so grateful.

I briefly worked in the corporate world, and realized that I was in the wrong place. I am a mission-driven person. I need to be working for something that actually matters. I have worked in a shelter for women and children escaping domestic violence and workforce development. I have spent the last 11 years working for a program that uses running to empower girls (my two passions – running and empowering women & girls!).

I loooooove to run (half marathons are my favorite). I also love to cook, but more importantly I love to cook for other people. I love to cook up a big pot of lentils or black beans and invite the neighbors over!

I’m a good friend, and proud that I still have close friends from all stages of my life, literally including pre-school! I’m into “fun facts” about random stuff, like did you know elephants can’t jump!?

How We Met

We met in college in 2005 and started dating soon after. We impressed each other with our many movie quotes, especially from the movie Wayne’s World. We knew pretty quickly that we had found our person.

Advice to Future Child

We are careful with our advice. Most often, people know what the right thing to do is – they just need some help organizing their thoughts. Our first job is to be a sounding board, and then give advice if and when it’s right for the moment.

We want our child to know that they are SAFE and they are LOVED. No matter what – that’s our job as parents, come what may. In our home, we recognize and accept our child’s thoughts and feelings. We believe that you can feel however you want to feel, but that doesn’t mean you can act however you want to. When our daughter is mad, we tend to start with a gentle "do you want a hug?" And more often than not, she does. She's not really mad. She's just three and having big emotions, and it's ok. She needs to feel safe.

Finally: Somewhere up there is a star with your name on it. We've got pretty strong shoulders, and you can stand on them while you're looking for that star. For as long as you want. Stand on our shoulders and reach, my darling. Reach.

Perspectives on Open Adoption

We are lucky to adopt a child because it means there are more people in their life that love them! Our views on adoption are so positive – and having a biological child only makes us respect it more. We’ve been on the same side as you and truly understand why it’s a decision made from love.

Favorites

Nate

Favorite Movie: The Shawshank Redemption and The Big Lebowski
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: Every Thanksgiving, we run a Turkey Trot and then make gingerbread houses with our best friends/neighbors. It’s a really fun way to kick off the holiday season!
Hobbies/Interests: tennis, running, being with friends
Dream Vacation: family trip to snorkel in the Galapagos Islands
If I Could Choose a Superpower: speak and understand any language

Laura

Favorite Movie: Point Break (Keanu Reeves version)
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: For St. Nick's Day (Dec. 5th), we leave our shoes outside our door and they are filled with candy and a Christmas ornament that best represents your year. For example, when I turned 16 I got a car, when I made Varsity Soccer, I got a ball ornament, etc. My husband and I now continue this tradition with our daughter; and it's so fun!
Hobbies/Interests: running, baking, nature walks, hosting friends/family
Dream Vacation: huge beach house with my close friends and their families can all stay and play together
If I Could Choose a Superpower: make other people have instant empathy