Hello!

Have you ever done something adventurous or spur of the moment?  Last year we had some good friends that stopped by our house on their way to the “happiest place on earth” and half-jokingly invited us to pack up and join them.  Next thing we know, we are stuffing our car full of hastily-packed bags and hitting the road.  Next stop, Disneyland!  We returned with no regrets, having made many happy memories.  Our point isn’t to say that all decisions should be made on the fly, but rather to show that life can be an adventure, and we are excited for our adoption adventure to begin!  We would love for you read through our profile to get a feel for who we are.

Our Love Story (written by Sarah with comments by Ted in italics)

When we first met: The first thing that attracted me to Ted was seeing his ginormous smile (I remember the girl with the bright eyes and flashy smile). Nine years ago I met him as my teacher at church in a classroom full of women (I was in heaven!).  He would throw out a joke just waiting for the girls to all giggle at him (believe me, they were laughing).  Finally 9 months later, after setting me up on a date with his friend, meeting me at the airport dressed up like Wayne from the 90’s show “Wayne’s world”, and dunking me in the Snake River on a rafting trip (she was asking for it – I thought), he asked me on a date.  I was so excited I went home and couldn’t sleep! 

The proposal: I love sharing with others how Ted asked me to marry him. It consisted of a romantic dinner and then a stroll in the rain with a big umbrella, a blindfold, and a huge sign on a park fence (btw, it wasn’t just rain – it was more like a hurricane).  The best part of it all was during the walk in the rain Ted told me 100 reasons why he wanted to marry me… I LOVED IT! This small example shows that his whole goal in life is to make me a happy woman… and now to make our little son Drew happy, too.

Getting hitched: One year and one day after our first date, we were married.  I remember a ton of our friends and family (we are both very social), a lot of sweating (mostly me! It was 106 degrees!), and Ted busting a move on the dance floor (I have to give the people what they want!).

Our Road to Adoption (written by Sarah)

After a couple years of marriage, we were blessed to give birth to our son, Drew.  Things went so smoothly, we never imagined that we would struggle with infertility as we tried to grow our little family. Throughout the difficult time of infertility, the thought of adoption is what brought us peace – like a light at the end of a tunnel.  Having watched my cousin adopt a darling little girl and see how much happiness it brought their family, I have always felt like adoption would play a significant role in my life.  Both Ted and I can see the benefits of an open adoption.  We would love to explore this further.

Our Little Buddy Drew (written by Sarah)

Drew is now a five year-old boy who is full of spunk, humor, and a lot of love.  He spends a lot of his day making art masterpieces… he tells us that his “work” is to decorate the house with his art.  He loves to make people laugh with silly faces or silly words (he got Ted’s sense of humor and they can laugh over things such as “stinky diapers” forever).  Drew is a social boy who loves to have friends and cousins join us at home playing hide-and-seek or swimming in our neighborhood pool.  Almost daily when Ted walks in the door from work Drew will run and hide and Ted loudly asks where his “little buddy” could be and searches the house for him.  Then Drew will insist on giving him a “tackle hug” and run and tackle Ted to the ground.  After talking about adoption to Drew, he can’t wait to become a big brother. 

Some Fun Facts About Us (written by Ted)

Now that you know a little bit about our background, it is my turn to share a few tidbits about us.  Use the bolded headings below to fill in the blank in the next sentence: Sarah and Ted are the _________ couple in the world!

·         Coolest: Coolness comes easy when you ride in style with the '98 Honda civic like I do. It also doesn't hurt that I have a collection of a dozen or so of the baddest wolf t-shirts around (Sarah doesn’t like it when I wear them in public).  Wolf t-shirt or not, you'll usually find us rocking out to some U2, Coldplay, or Mumford and Sons. Oh, and did I mention that Sarah takes an adult tap dance class?  Ain't no dream. 

·         Best-at-making-others-laugh: We try. Correction: I try.  Probably too hard. I just really love thinking that I helped someone chuckle.  I consider one of the greatest triumphs of my life is seeing Sarah finally embrace my humor. There is nothing better than making her laugh when she doesn’t want to.

·         Most travel hungry: We are really quite frugal (Sarah keeps us in line with the monthly budget – sometimes I think she should have been the accountant), but there is one place where we like to splurge: travel.  We had both traveled through Europe separately before we started dating.  Since we have been married, we explored my mission area in Northern Spain, Sarah went to Amsterdam with her Dad and brothers, I drove across the country with my brother on an epic road trip (our destination was Washington, DC, but we decided to go through Canada), Sarah and I visited friends in New York, and the list goes on and on (we hope!). 

·         Most hungry: As in, we both love food.  Cooking pasta, eating pasta, baking brownies, eating brownies, scooping ice cream, eating ice cream – you get the idea.  Going to a new restaurant or strolling through the farmers’ market is one of our favorite dates.  Food + friends/family = fun…for us, at least. 

·         Smartest: This is my turn to brag about my wife.  As the daughter of two school teachers, she had no choice but to put herself through college.  Not only did she work and fight and scrape her way through, but she excelled in school while she did it.  She was elected as a Senator at Utah State and got excellent grades.  She was honored to be the Valedictorian of her class in the College of Family Life.  How lucky am I?

·         Least contentious: At the risk of sounding cheesy, Sarah and I are in many ways an extension of the same person.  Neither of us likes to see a fight (although one of my favorite memories is watching Sarah shake her fist and yell at a stranger for pushing her friend into some mud).  We are lovers.  Not haters. 

·         Most adventurous: I am deathly afraid of heights.  As in, I rode "Wicked" once at Lagoon and Sarah won't let me live it down because I spent the whole time hyperventilating out loud like a teenage girl (no offense intended if you are a teenage girl).  Meanwhile Sarah could yawn through a death-defying ride (like she did at the top of the stratosphere in Las Vegas) because it wasn’t “scary enough”.

·         Most family centered: Both Sarah and I grew up in families of six kids (we are both the fifth kid and we both have four brothers and one sister).  Never wanting family time to end, you can basically count on the fact that we will be the last to leave any family gathering.  Both of us just despise the thought of family getting together without us being there.  Besides numerous family dinners, my family has been spending a week at the beach (every other year) and Sarah’s family goes to Bear Lake every summer.  Let me say that our families are super-excited about the idea of us adopting. 

·         Loving-est: This is where Sarah shines. Her job as a child life specialist is to help kids cope with the craziness of the hospital by making sure kids feel more comfortable about what is happening to them there. How cool is that?  She is the perfect person for the job – although she only works a few times a month now so she can focus on her real work: being an amazing mother.  As for myself, I show my love for others through my job as well.  Not!  (I sit in front of a computer and do taxes all day.)  In regards to love, I will say this: Sarah and Drew mean everything to me.

We can only imagine how overwhelming this process must be for you and your families.  We truly hope that you can find peace in any decision you make.  Thank you so much for taking the time to read our profile and getting to know us better.  We would love for you to find out even more about us!  

Sincerely, Sarah and Ted