Meet Lyndsay & Michael (Matched)

• Received her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and substitute taught for seven years.
• Currently a Stay-at-Home mom to our daughter, Scarlett.
• Has a passion for children and learning. She is an aspiring Montessori teacher and is taking classes part-time for certification.
• Introverted. While she enjoys being around people, she doesn’t like to be the center of attention.
• Loves Halloween. It was a holiday her Dad taught her to love through horror movies, haunted houses, and obnoxious decorations.
• She shares a birthday with her brother, Alec, who is five years younger.
• A natural storyteller with plans to write a children’s book one day.
• Her Christian faith is very important to her but she didn’t enjoy her upbringing in the church. She believes we should never be afraid to ask questions and learn about others’ religions.
• Loved high school because of her theatre program. To this day, her closest friends are those from her choir/acting classes.
• She’s very empathic and connects to other’s emotions easily.
• Owns many cookbooks. She loves how food can be a vehicle for storytelling and is much more likely to make a recipe if she knows an interesting story behind it.

• Received his Bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training, and then went to Medical School at our alma-mater in Michigan.
• Currently, Mike is a Spine Physician.
• His physical health is very important to him. He enjoys being active, working out, and educating himself on food and nutrition.
• Loves nature. When the kids are older, he wants to get us into camping and exploring the national parks out West.
• Has one brother, James, who is three years older than him.
• He’s the most humble person I know. He doesn’t see himself as better than anyone.
• Mama’s boy. Mike and his mom are very close. Abuela, that’s what Scarlett calls her, comes out to visit us from Michigan several times a year.
• Spent his summers on Michigan Lakes. His mom was a school teacher with their summers off, so the family would stay on the boat during the week, come home on weekends to do laundry, and go back out.
• Can’t stand pop music and pop culture. (We have differing opinions on this topic!)
• Fall is his favorite time of the year. He loves cider mills, cinnamon baked goods and drives out in the country to see the fall foliage.
• Plans to raise the kids to be fans of Detroit sports teams. We will allow some Philly love too.

• She’s a very precocious preschooler who is strong-willed, fearless and smart.
• She loves to run and will likely be running 5k’s with us in a couple years.
• Learning Spanish. Her favorite word is ‘mariposa’ which means butterfly.
• She’s a natural performer and actress.
• Likes messy hair, jelly shoes, horses, playing with chalk, and puzzles.
• Dislikes mean cats, pickles, the news, and wearing socks.

We have been learning and adapting a Montessori lifestyle in our home. We think it is important to follow the child, let their unique personality develop and to nurture it in ways that inspire them. Scarlett loves performing arts, so we play lots of “pretend,” at home and are constantly finding ways to engage her learning of other subjects through the arts. Like our daughter, we will foster whatever joy your child seeks. Whatever your child is curious in, we will support them and seek out tools necessary to support their learning.

Our dog, Clooney, has been in our family for the past eight years! We rescued her in Michigan. She’s a Dachshund-Collie mix… we think! We are all obsessed with her, and yes, Lyndsay did name her after George.

While we are originally from Michigan, moving to Philadelphia has been the best move of our life. We live in a charming, three-story row-house in a family-friendly neighborhood right outside of the city center. It’s spacious for city living, with a cute little patio in the back that we use for outdoor dining and gardening.

There are multiple parks scattered throughout our neighborhood and we have some of the best public schools in the city. We have become tightly knitted into the community here. Our neighbors have become like family and we look at our block as an extension of our home. It’s safe, diverse, full of great ethnic food, history, and art!

Right now, Scarlett is attending a half-day, bilingual Montessori school. It’s about an eight-minute walk from our home and is a lovely stroll past blocks of murals, mosaics, parks, coffee shops, and friendly neighbors.

One of the greatest gifts we will give your child is the gift of travel. Lyndsay was very fortunate to travel to many countries as a child and they were some of her best childhood memories. When we met, it was a priority to make travel a big part of our lives.

Since having Scarlett, our traveling hasn’t slowed down. As a family of three, we’ve been to eight major US cities and abroad to Ireland and Portugal. We want your child to share with us the taste of new foods, the experience of unique traditions, and the understanding of different lifestyles. We hope that travel will broaden the kids’ vision of the world, and help them develop respect and empathy for others and their beliefs. We look forward to sharing these rich and joyful memories with your child!