Welcome!
HELLO family, friend, or stranger...
We might not know each other (yet), but if you are reading this it is probably because someone has connected our family to yours. We (Kyle and Lauren Taylor) are in the process of starting our family by way of adoption. This site is intended to introduce us to you, to give you an idea of the life that baby will become a part of.
About the Taylors
A quiet life on Madison's Near East Side
We met while teaching in the small village of New Glarus, Wisconsin. Kyle still teaches at New Glarus High School in the Social Studies department, and I (Lauren) am in my second year working at Madison College teaching math. The photo above is from our wedding in March of 2018, and includes Pippin, our future baby's big brother.
We just bought a house (right in the middle of the lockdowns last March!) and we've been enjoying making it a home. Painting, removing wall paper, sewing drapes, gardening, and clearing clogged sewer lines have taken up a lot of our time as new homeowners, but we are settling in and getting back to some of our favorite activities. Kyle leads the National Honor Society at school and gets in as much golf as he can when the weather allows. I like to cook and practice yoga, and I am trying to brush up on my French and violin skills from childhood. We enjoy reading and watching stand up at home, or going to live performances (bands, plays, musicals) when not in a pandemic. We also try to travel as much as time and finances allow, usually spending our time on self-guided walking tours and enjoying as much local cuisine as possible. Some of our adventures have taken us to India (Kyle popped the question in front of the Taj Mahal - yes, I am a very lucky lady!), all over Europe (a honeymoon mixed with chaperoning a group of high school students - see the picture above from the canals of Amsterdam), and the picture at the top is from a trip we took to visit my sister who was studying in Vietnam at the time. We are really looking forward to getting back to all kinds of fun once it's safe to be out and about; for now, we are learning along with everyone the small and surprising joys of life at home.
Faith and Philosophy
Our beliefs may or may not be important to you as you consider us as a match. Kyle adheres to a belief system that is a mix of Buddhism and western philosophy (Bertrand Russel being at the top of his list of philosophical thinkers/writers). I am a Christian and active in the life of my church, Christ Presbyterian Church. I teach Sunday school, participate in a women's small group Bible study, and am currently serving on a committee to hire our next pastor.
While we know that raising a family with mixed faiths is done quite frequently in our culture, we want to be intentional about this part of our life. We will give our children full exposure and experience with each of our belief systems, and keep spiritual questions, thoughts, and teachings a part of our daily conversations in the same way that Kyle and I have always enjoyed sharing with one another.
Our Family
Who are we close to?
Kyle's family live close by and we get to see them often. His mom and dad, Cathie and Emerson, live off Lake Kegonsa on the McFarland side, and they open their home to everyone for holidays, lake activities, and any kind of good time we can think of! His brother, Brendan, and his wife, Jamie, live in Deerfield with their three kiddos: Charles (10), Lily (8), and Brooks (5). Here are Kyle, Brendan, and Brooks pictured on the right, after plunging the toilet that Brooks clogged with toilet paper. It was Grandma Cathie's birthday party so we had to have an adventure to make the day extra special :) We also live near many of Kyle's aunts, uncles, and cousins, which make holidays at the lake very special, as well as impromptu gatherings on someone's patio or getting together for different events in and around Madison.
Most of my family live in Colorado: my parents, Robert and Trisha, live in Fort Collins, and my extended family is all scattered around the Denver area and on the Eastern Plains. My sister, Genevieve, lives with her boyfriend, Clay, in Portland, Oregon. We don't get to see them as often as we'd like, but a few weeks during the summer and every other Christmas make for very sweet time to catch up and enjoy one another. Because of our physical distance, we have sometimes met up and vacationed together, which is always a treat! As I mentioned above, we all went to Vietnam for Christmas in 2017 because Genevieve was doing some work for her graduate degree. We've also met up in Italy to learn more about our Italian heritage (on my dad's side), and Sis and I took a summer trip to the Dominican Republic a few years back. We'll take the time we can get! We also consider my godsons, William (11) and Nicholas (7), as part of our family, and we get to see them a bit more often as they are over in Sheboygan with their parents.
Pictures of many of these loved ones are in the photo gallery below.
