waiting families

We met at work and were immediately drawn to each other. We were married in August 2015, six short months after getting engaged. Fatima still works for the same law firm, and Kaitlin works for a plastic surgeon. Fatima loves to write and watch tennis. Kaitlin loves yoga and spending time with her friends. We balance each other out, with Fatima being the “Type A” planner who also cares deeply about people and with a boisterous sense of humor and Kaitlin flying by the seat of her pants, always calm, cool, and collected. Together we are each other’s risk taker and safe space, bringing out the best versions of each other. We love trying new things, especially restaurants and learning to play golf. More than anything, we enjoy creating random adventures at home and laughing as much as possible.

Our favorite part of our house is our back patio and yard. Over the last two summers, we have had more family barbeques than we can count. It has enough space to fit our extended family and enough yard space for our two pups, our future children, and a friendly game of cornhole. When we are not enjoying the sunshine with our family and friends, you can catch us at the table playing a game of Scrabble or watching our favorite movies or finding new ones. We have a three-year-old black cockapoo named Lucy and an eight-year-old white rescued maltipoo named Daisy Mae.

On Kaitlin’s side of the family, we have her mom, Alison, and her grandmother, Mary. Together they are a singing trio, constantly making up their own songs and singing about life. Growing up, their favorite tradition was matching pjs for Christmas. After getting married, we shared that Christmas tradition with Fatima’s mother Ann, her brother Mujaahid, her sister-in-law Trish, their two children Janei (24) and Malik (20), and her sister Sa’Aadah.

Since getting married, we have hosted family gatherings, and that has now become our favorite family tradition. We like to surprise the family with snacks and meals they haven’t tried before, and the evenings would never be complete without a friendly game of Monopoly. Fatima’s family has been playing Monopoly as a family since her niece and nephew were young, and it’s a tradition we are so happy to continue!

While we explored adoption early in our marriage, we ended up trying to conceive with IUI. It wasn’t until recently, when a friend of the family reached out inquiring about a temporary home for a young child, that we realized how ready we are to open our home and our hearts to a baby. From the moment we connected with LifeLong Adoptions, we knew that this was meant to be and this is the path that our family is supposed to take. We are so excited to have the opportunity to adopt, and we are incredibly grateful for the path that led us here.