When we met in college in 2013, we quickly bonded over music and our similar senses of humor. Our strong foundation as friends (and the crushes we had on one another) lead us to beginning our relationship. Eight years later, we’re married and living in the city with our dog, Scout. Gabriella works in the non-profit sector, assisting immigrant and refugee jobseekers. Kelly works as a NICU nurse, advocating for the tiniest patients and their families.

We live for the summers in Chicago – spending most of our days off gardening, floating in the lake, finding a rooftop pool to swim in, or bopping around the city with our nieces and nephews. During our many years together and especially the ones that we have spent as aunts, we have talked at great lengths about having kids and what parenthood would look like for us. These conversations usually conclude similarly – all we want to do is raise kind, empathetic, and brave children that feel confident and loved. Simply put, we hope that our children will make the world a better place.

We feel proud to be queer, to have the opportunity to build a family in the space we occupy in this world, and the possibility to be the representation others might need. We’re incredibly grateful that organizations like The Chicago Coalition for Family Building exist to help us achieve our dream of starting a family.

Gabriella and Kelly are recipients of a Family Building Grant.