It’s a chilly fall afternoon, but all is cozy inside the Strauss house. Eddie sits at the kitchen banquette while Sam begins making soup from scratch. Their children, Ruby and Eli, are upstairs napping, and their two small dogs are snoozing by the fire flickering in the living room.
The calm will break once the kids wake up, yet this day is a dream come true for Sam and Eddie, and one they could hardly have envisioned just two years ago.
While the couple had settled in to life in Madison — after years spent in Chicago, San Francisco, New York City and Seattle — in 2015, they weren’t sure if they’d be bringing kids into the picture. The arduous adoption process had already led to disappointment and heartache for Sam, a lawyer at Turke & Strauss, and Eddie, vice president of men’s, home and outfitters at Lands’ End.
But everything changed in January 2017, when a woman they’d connected with through an adoption agency gave birth to Ruby. Eddie and Sam traveled to Texas for the delivery, and their families from Texas and Indiana joined them back in Wisconsin to welcome the baby.
They did not remain a family of three for long, though. While everyone was celebrating the arrival of Ruby, the couple got a call on a Friday about a baby about to be born in Indiana. If Sam or Eddie could make it to Indianapolis by Monday morning, they could adopt this little boy as well.
With little time to think, Sam and Eddie followed their hearts. Eddie and his mom stayed in Madison with Ruby and Sam drove down to Indiana, went to court and met baby Eli. Soon, the foursome reunited at home.
“It feels like it’s been a whirlwind ever since,” says Sam.
That included the first bleary-eyed weeks of little sleep and adjusting to life with two babies — not twins, but nearly so since Ruby and Eli were born just twenty days apart.
“We used all our collective airline miles and flew friends in to help,” Eddie says. Those friends came from all over the country and allowed the new parents to get a few nights of needed rest. The Strausses also utilized the Mother’s Milk Alliance, a breastmilk-sharing service in southern Wisconsin.
Since then, they’ve embraced the chaos of day-to-day life with two kiddos under the age of two. And they’ve built an extended family in Madison. Their nanny plays an integral role in the their lives, and she invites them to all her family gatherings. “The babies always need to be there,” Eddie says with a smile. “They need to be in all the pictures.” And Sam’s business partner hosts them each week for Sunday dinners, during which her five daughters dote on Eli and Ruby.
Sam and Eddie have also grown in their appreciation of Madison, where family is a natural part of life. They love taking stroller walks, and often cover more than five miles at a time, perhaps exploring Monroe Street or taking the kids to the Memorial Union.
And while their lives have changed dramatically in a short stretch of time, and each day brings its own adventures, Eddie and Sam are grateful for where they are and the family they have today.
“We worked our whole lives to get these kids,” Eddie says. “I couldn’t imagine either without the other.”
Photos by Jen Lucas.