Clair and Patrick

Hello, we’re Patrick and Clair and we would love to become parents again through adoption.

Who we are:

In January 2016, Our first date was over pizza and beer on the Northside of Chicago. We quickly bonded over the fact that we both graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and had several acquaintances in common. We just keep chatting is was such an easy connection neither of us felt that we needed to try to impress each other we could just be ourselves.  We immediately made plans to go bowling the next weekend. We quickly developed a deep mutual respect for each other. We’ve leaned on each other the hard time and the good times. We are teammates and balance each other out perfectly. 1.5 years later Patrick proposed to Clair in front of the Pizza place they meet for their first date.

In November 2018 we got married in Chicago in front of family and friends. We officially committed to lifelong relationship, to lifting each other up, and to raising a family together. It was such a special day to bring together people we love. It was full of laughter and dancing too!

In April 2022, We got the best call of our lives from ACI’s social worker. She said someone was interested in us as adoptive parents. 3 days later back in Chicago we met birth mom and social worker at a diner and had a wonderful conversation . Then the following day, birth mom went into labor. After a successful delivery, both birth mom and baby were healthy. We hurried to a local hospital to meet our ACI social worker and then the nurse placed our  daughter Gracie into our arms. We were so filled with love and joy holding our sweet precious baby.

Gracie is now 4 years old. She is such a brilliant, vibrant, curious, and adorable pre-schooler. She makes us belly laugh everyday. She loves playing soccer, bike riding, coloring, and doing water color painting. At school she is learning her letters and numbers. She loves talking about playing at recess with her school friends .Gracie loves playing outside. Hanging out with her cousins is her absolute favorite; full of laughing and playing tag. Grandma’s house is her favorite place; always stocked with her favorite cookies and candies. She loves her grandparents!

Our families are very important to us. We both come from large families and have strong relationships with our siblings, parents and extended family. We spend lots of time with our young nieces. Gracie get showed with love and affection from her grandparents. Our families are always together for big and small life events – whether it’s celebrating a new child, new job, or just watch a baseball game and eat pizza together. Additionally we live near life long friends that we often get together with to hangout. We are grateful to have such a large support network.

Oh and of course we can’t forget our dog Roscoe. We got him from a local rescue as a puppy in 2019. We love going on walks and playing  fetch with him. He’s fast, energetic and will do anything for a tennis ball.

After years of saving, we  bought our house on the far northside of  Chicago in 2025.  We have more space and backyard in the new house. We chose this neighborhood because of how family friendly it is. It has great schools, parks and coffee shops.

Thanks for taking the time to get to know us and for considering us! We wish you all the best in your decision making.

Sincerely,
Patrick and Clair (and Gracie)