Tate just finished his first season of football... which means Emma finished her first season of unofficial cheerleading! :-) He did awesome and was quite the tackler and didn't have any problems going up against kids almost twice his weight. Tate is now in 4th grade and Emma is in 1st grade and they are doing great in school. We can't believe they are growing up so fast!
We went to Nauvoo on a family vacation in July so the kids could experience where Joseph Smith and some of their family members actually lived so they could be more real to them. We think they had a good time. Emma's favorite thing was the Nauvoo temple; Tate's was the fudge shop across the street from our hotel. All in all a success I think!
Well, it has now been 4 years since we've been approved to adopt. We are still having faith that a little one is out there for us. It has been quite a while since we've been waiting and it gets hard to be patient. The kids pray for a brother or sister while praying for their birthmoms. We pray for all birthmoms to have the strength to go through with their adoption plans, and are praying extra hard that ours will find us soon.
We are a fun family of 4 waiting for a little miracle to complete our family. We feel that there is a little someone missing from our family. We hope that by learning a little more about us on this site you will be able to see how much we love each other, how we love being together, and how we love adoption. We hope you are the one to bring a miracle to our family.
A Little About Our Family
We met our first year at college at our first social and went on our first date a month later. We didn't exactly 'mesh' after our first date, but proving that ice cream works miracles, we ended up spending a lot of time together. By February we were together every waking minute that we could, and decided to make it a permanent situation. We got married for all eternity in the Idaho Falls LDS Temple that May. We have now been married over 17 years and can't remember what it was like without eachother.
We love doing things with our extended families whenever we can. The majority of our family members live relatively close to us and we keep in regular contact with those who live further away. Both of our families are wonderful and support us in everything we do - we are lucky to have such great families!
We love doing things with our extended families whenever we can. The majority of our family members live relatively close to us and we keep in regular contact with those who live further away. Both of our families are wonderful and support us in everything we do - we are lucky to have such great families!
About Earl
Earl currently works as a Physical Therapy Assistant and absolutely loves his job. He is very much a socialite, so this really helps him in this line of work. In his time away from work Earl likes to go biking, hiking, kayaking, lifting weights, boating, snow and water skiing, playing basketball, and wrestling with the kids.
About Katie
Katie currently works as an accountant at a local hospital. She works 5 minutes away from home and her job gives her the flexibility she needs to tend to be with the kids when they need her. Our goal is to have her be able to quit her job altogether by the summer of 2011 so she can stay home full time. Katie enjoys doing things around the house, especially painting, and also camping, hiking, boating, snowmobiling, swimming, and playing with the kids.
About Tate
Tate is a 9-year-old in training to be a rock star. He is already scouting people for his band! He tries to write his own songs that he strums his guitar along to. If that does't work out, he also wants to be a professional football player and make the big money... "$2000 a year!" He loves to play basketball, football, soccer, and anything you can do outside. He is now in 4nd grade and does awesome at reading, spelling, and math, although he says his favorite subject is recess.
Tate was placed with our family when he was 2 days old. We were able to meet with his birthmom, her sister, and her mother at the hospital after he was born. Although it is her wishes not to communicate any more, we still think about her and pray for her. We tell Tate all the time the cool things he got from Karrie, his birthmom, like his olive complexion, the shape of his nose, and his love for race cars.
Tate was placed with our family when he was 2 days old. We were able to meet with his birthmom, her sister, and her mother at the hospital after he was born. Although it is her wishes not to communicate any more, we still think about her and pray for her. We tell Tate all the time the cool things he got from Karrie, his birthmom, like his olive complexion, the shape of his nose, and his love for race cars.
About Emma
Emma is 6 years old and has the world in the palm of her hand. She loves life and often says, "This is the best day in my whole life!" She is in the 1st grade, although she could easily fit into 2nd grade and do well there. She loves reading, writing, coloring, playing Little Pet Shops, and playing with her friends. Emma has the gift of socializing and makes new friends where ever she goes. She talks 99.9% of her waking time and is very much an entertainer at our house!
Emma was placed with our family when she was 5 months old by both of her birthparents. She had no adjustment or attachment issues and snuggled up to us from day 1. We have loved having an open adoption with her birthmom. We get to see her, talk to her on the phone, and exchange letters and pictures. She, too, prays for Rebecca, her birthmom, and knows that that is who she got her cute little nose from!
Emma was placed with our family when she was 5 months old by both of her birthparents. She had no adjustment or attachment issues and snuggled up to us from day 1. We have loved having an open adoption with her birthmom. We get to see her, talk to her on the phone, and exchange letters and pictures. She, too, prays for Rebecca, her birthmom, and knows that that is who she got her cute little nose from!
About Adoption
We have had our ups and downs during our adoption experiences, but we would not trade them for anything. We know that Tate and Emma are supposed to be in our family and we love and admire their birthparents. Both of the kids have always known they were adopted and love looking at pictures from their placements and of their birthparents, and they love to hear their adoption stories. They pray for their birthmoms that they will be happy and know they are safe.
We want you to know that not only will your baby be a part of our family, but you will too. We consider you and your family as new extensions of ours and will strive to treat you as such. You are always welcome to our home and in our family, and you will always be a part of our lives.
We have loved having Emma's adoption open and would definitely be willing to have another open adoption. We are willing to write, send pictures, send little gifts, call, email, etc., to whatever degree you would feel comfortable with as we go along... just let us know what you would like!
We want you to know that not only will your baby be a part of our family, but you will too. We consider you and your family as new extensions of ours and will strive to treat you as such. You are always welcome to our home and in our family, and you will always be a part of our lives.
We have loved having Emma's adoption open and would definitely be willing to have another open adoption. We are willing to write, send pictures, send little gifts, call, email, etc., to whatever degree you would feel comfortable with as we go along... just let us know what you would like!
