Adoption Spotlight - Jill & Tyler

Jill & Tyler, and their boys are a happy and loving family in Arizona that is excited to add to their family through adoption.
You can find out more about them by visiting their online profile.

From Jill:

A year and a half ago I had some medical problems that resulted in my hysterectomy.

I struggled with this decision because I didn't feel our family was complete. After much prayer and fasting this was still a struggle because medically this decision was being made for me and I didn't want to accept it. Reality was I didn't have any other options. Physically I could not carry a baby even if for some reason I got pregnant. Finally I had to come to terms with this loss and move forward. I had been doing a pretty good job of convincing myself that we were done. I was grateful for the three boys we had, they are a huge blessing, how could I ask for more. No more diapers, potty training, sleepless nights - we are good, our family is complete!

As hard as I tried to convince myself that our family was complete I knew in my heart it was not. There was another little spirit that was meant to bless our home. I would look at pictures of our family and feel like someone was missing. I would see little boys holding their little baby sister and it would make my heart ache. I wanted a little girl to share things with, play dolls, do her hair, play dress up, have the amazing friendship I have with my mom. I wanted Tyler to experience the love of a daughter. There is a special bond between a daddy and his little girl. I have loved having three brothers to look after, protect, and love me. They are better men today because they learned at a young age how to treat girls and have respect for women. Not that my brothers wouldn't have learned this on their own from my parents, but there is an eternal bond that exists with siblings and I want my boys to have that blessing. Even though I still felt like someone was missing, I didn't have a way for that baby to get here. It has made me really reflect on how precious a gift it is to be able to bring spirits, babies into this world. It is something that I took for granted because I COULD, I brought three incredible boys into this world but now I CAN'T, I no longer have that precious gift.

Awe, but maybe we do...

Tyler and I started talking about the idea of adoption. We have fasted and prayed a great deal about this because to us this is a HUGE responsibility, and a HUGE blessing! Yes, this baby may not physically look like Tyler and I, but we feel that spiritually there is a baby meant to come to our home. It hit me the other night as I was reading a blessing I was given. I have read this blessing a hundred times and this phrase has never had any significance until that day. It said "You were saved until this time to be born to wonderful parents" It hit me and I started to cry...

My feelings were always such: If I was supposed to have another baby, it would have come in one of the six miscarriages I had. It wasn't until that moment that I realized, THAT spirit wasn't supposed to come to the earth at that time. But it is NOW. I can't bring it here, but someone else can...through the miracle of adoption.

We are excited about what the future holds. Our boys are so excited to be big brothers, to take care and love a little sister. Our youngest tells me every time we go to the store, "mommy, I want to buy this for our baby. She will like it." They look forward to helping her explore this life and protecting her along the way. We feel that the Lord has and will continue to guide us, and you, in this journey according to His will.

From Tyler:

The delivery of our second son, Kaden, was especially traumatic and left Jill with a broken back, dislocated hips, tons of pain, and she ended up developing adenomyosis - essentially tumors were growing and causing even more pain. Luckily, we were able to have one more child on our own and Ashton was born a few years later. After Ashton was born the pain and health problems increased until medically Jill finally had to have a hysterectomy.

When Jill came out of surgery she woke up sobbing and crying about her baby. She was crying "I want my baby". At the time I thought it was very strange since she wasn't pregnant at the time. But, it made me realize that our family was not complete. It was clear to me that there was still another spirit destined to come to our family, and maybe she had had an interaction with that spirit while she was in surgery.

Since we have three boys we've decided to try and adopt a girl. Jill has a very special relationship with her mom - in a way that I've never seen before. I can't wait to see her have that same relationship with a little girl in our family.

When Jill & I started looking into adoption, I realized we were completely naive (and probably still are) about the process, the potential pitfalls, and the emotional ups and downs. But, after talking with many people who have been adopted and others who have adopted, we are both more excited than ever. I can’t wait to hold our baby girl in my arms.

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Adoption Spotlight - Holly and Aaron

Holly & Aaron, are a wonderful family in Utah that is excited to add to their family through adoption.
You can find out more about them by visiting their online profile.

Help them spread the word that they are hoping to adopt. Add their adoption button to your own blog by copying the code below into an html gadget in your blog layout.

<center><a href="https://www.itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/24200015/ourMessage.jsf" target="_blank"><img alt="Hoping to Adopt" src="http://meganandshane.com/images/hollyaaronbutton.jpg" border="0" /></a></center>

We are Aaron and Holly. We were married in 2004 and since then we have played hard, worked harder, and learned to love deeply. We have lived in Utah for most of our married life and we were thrilled when we were able to move into our first home in 2005 where we currently live with our dog Goldie. We love to travel, and even though we don't have any children yet, one of our favorite vacation spots is Disneyland. We enjoy being outdoors, and we're so grateful that the mountain is basically in our back yard. During the summer, we regularly take Goldie up into the mountain to hike, nature watch and just enjoy this beautiful earth that has been created for us.

From Aaron: Holly is an animal lover to the core and wants to cuddle every puppy and chinchilla from here to the coast. In fact, when we were preparing to move into our home five years ago, we went to do the final walk through before we signed the papers. The previous owners had moved out, but their animals were still there. Rhonda, the previous owner, said that she was trying to find new homes for them but wasn't having any luck. She said that if she couldn't find a home for them by the end of the week, she'd take them to a shelter. Holly would have none of that. She looked at me with panic in her eyes and said “We have to take them! Can we keep them, please?” I couldn't turn her down. We often joke that Thomas, the old tomcat, and Goldie, our sweet little dog, were perks included in the closing costs. Holly is also an avid reader and cruises through books of varying genres whenever she can, and she's a great storyteller. One of her favorite pastimes involves working with the youth in the ward, specifically with the Young Women, and she has had countless precious moments with them through the years as she has planned and prepared Girl's Camp and weekly activities and lessons for them. Her other hobbies include primitive stitching, cooking elaborate meals, and bringing joy to all who come near her.

From Holly: I think Aaron is going to make a great father. He's patient and kind, adventurous and funny. Like me, Aaron also enjoys reading. However, unlike me, he loves it when it rains or snows and often tries to prod me out of the nice warm (and dry) house to play outside when it's decidedly NOT sunny and warm. Music is incredibly important to Aaron. He sings, he plays the piano, trombone and bass guitar. When he was a teenager, he dreamed that he would, someday, have his own grand piano. A few years ago, we were able to make that dream come true for him! It's been such a blessing as Aaron fills our home with beautiful music in any spare minute he can find. He plays anything from hymns to Beethoven, to some funky rock and roll! Aaron is also crazy about computers. I'm pretty sure he could make a computer sing and dance if he really wanted to. Fortunately for him, his career allows him to play on the computer all day! He loves it and because of that he has excelled quickly.

Families are essential to us, we value our families and their support a great deal and we look forward to a time when our family will grow to include a precious spirit sent from our Father in Heaven. Our struggle with infertility has been full of tears; however, as we have struggled, we have been strengthened by the Lord; our love for each other has grown deep and strong and we have learned that there are many ways that Heavenly Father puts families together.

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Spotlight Saturday - Kathryn & Jeff

Jeff & Kathryn, are a wonderful family in Georgia that is excited to add to their family through adoption.
You can find out more about them by visiting their website or online profile.

Help them spread the word that they are hoping to adopt. Add their adoption button to your own blog by copying the code below into an html gadget in your blog layout.

<center><a href="http://kathrynandjeffadoption.blogspot.com/" target=" target="><img alt="Hoping to Adopt" src="http://meganandshane.com/images/jeffkathryn.jpg" border="0" /></a></center>

We met a few summers ago on a humanitarian service trip to Guatemala, and we were inseparable from the start. At the end of summer, Kathryn moved to Washington, DC for a new job, and Jeff joined her there a few months later. After dating a bit longer, we were married on a beautiful, sunny day the following summer. We returned to Utah for Jeff to finish his undergraduate degree and then moved to Los Angeles so Jeff could attend graduate school. We recently settled in beautiful, friendly Atlanta, Georgia and we love it here!

Jeff spent most of his childhood in Utah except for 2 exciting years when his family moved to Hawaii. His mom passed away when he was 11-years-old and his dad did an amazing job raising Jeff and his 4 younger siblings as a single parent until getting remarried when Jeff was 18. Jeff’s new mom and her 3 daughters fit in perfectly and now all 10 of them are as close as any family could ever be. Jeff is outgoing and such a kid at heart. He can make Kathryn laugh till she cries and has a knack for making others feel special – he is genuinely interested in and cares about so many people. Kathryn adores him and feels so lucky to be his wife! His goal is to “save the world” and he’s currently working as a public health analyst for the federal government.

Kathryn and her 3 younger sisters – who are also her best friends – were raised in Utah by wonderful, loving parents. She has such fun memories of her childhood and thinks she has the best family in the world. Everyone Kathryn meets is instantly drawn to her cheerful personality. Jeff thinks she is incredibly thoughtful, intelligent, clever, loving, and fun to be around. Her job as an accountant is challenging and has allowed her to meet many interesting people, but Kathryn looks forward to being a stay-at-home mom and can’t think of anything more fun than trips to the park, bike rides around the neighborhood, and making cookies!

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Spotlight Saturday - Rob & Tamara

Rob & Tamara, and their boys, Spencer and Tyler, are a wonderful family in North Carolina that is excited to add to their family through adoption.
You can find out more about them by visiting their online profile.

Help them spread the word that they are hoping to adopt. Add their adoption button to your own blog by copying the code below into an html gadget in your blog layout.

<center><a href="https://www.itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/14238604/ourMessage.jsf" target=" target="><img alt="Hoping to Adopt" src="http://meganandshane.com/images/robtamara.jpg" border="0" /></a></center>

We met in Junior High School but our love story did not begin until our paths crossed at church fourteen years ago. Our first date was a three hour drive to a play with a group of our friends. After the play and trip home, we did not want to end the date so we headed to the local waffle house for a 3:00 a.m. breakfast. Our relationship strengthened when we went to another church function at a cabin in the mountains and found ourselves more interested in spending time together than spending time with our other friends who were with us. That night we went on a hike together and then stayed up all night talking. Ten months later we were married. We celebrated our twelfth anniversary this year and can’t believe how quickly the time has gone. We have enjoyed the blessing of three children and experienced the sorrow of our daughter returning home to heaven. Through our experiences we have been a rock for each other and our love has continually grown. We can't imagine ever being apart. No matter what we experience, we have learned to enjoy the little things in life. We have also learned to work together in all we do. Rob brings humor and calmness to our marriage and Tamara brings adventure and fun. This combination helps us recognize and enjoy all the wonderful things life has to offer.

We know our family isn’t complete and that another child will join our family through adoption. We are excited and anxiously waiting for this moment to arrive. We look forward to enjoying family vacations and time together at home, so we can create lasting family bonds and memories. Our extended family is very supportive and excited about this child coming to our home. They too feel love for you and your family. A child touches everyone no matter how long they are with you. We know this because of the impact Alyssa made on our lives.

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Spotlight Saturday - Eric & Julie

Eric & Julie, and their boys are a wonderful family in Utah that are excited to add to their family through adoption.
You can find out more about them by visiting their online profile.

Help them spread the word that they are hoping to adopt. Add their adoption button to your own blog by copying the code below into an html gadget in your blog layout.

<center><a href="https://www.itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/23746214/ourMessage.jsf" target=" target="><img alt="Hoping to Adopt" src="http://meganandshane.com/images/ericjuliebutton.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br />
Julie's thoughts on Eric

Eric and I have been married for 14 1/2 years. We met while attending Ricks college and it was love at first sight. We dated for a few short months and then we were married for time and all eternity in the San Diego Temple. I never dreamed then, how much I could grow to love and admire and respect Eric. He is the man of my dreams. He is my rock, the steadying force in my life. Not only is my best friend, he is the one that I can count on always. He is a worthy priesthood holder and honors that priesthood to its fullest. He is the type of father that I always dreamed of for my children. The boys love it when daddy comes home. He is not afraid to get on the floor and play with them. He teaches them through his example how to work, how to serve, how to treat women and how to love. I could not have asked for a better husband or father.

Eric's thoughts on Julie

Julie is someone who gives anything for anyone. She gives her whole self to anyone in her family. She is the glue in the family; she keeps us all together. She is someone who loves easily and is loved easily. She will do something for her children before herself. She is someone who is a great example to me of how I need to be. She is patient, loving, caring and the best mom and wife I could ever ask for. She is someone we all enjoy being around and feeling of her love. I love her with all my heart, more now than when we married.

We are very active in our church. We are always finding ways to serve those in our ward and neighborhood and are trying to teach our boys through example to do the same. Andrew, our oldest, is 9 years old. He is musically talented, athletic, and loves to watch sports with his Dad. Josh is 5 years old. He loves Kindergarten, playing with his cousins and friends, and spending time outside. Alex is our 4 year old. He is independent and loves his brothers.

As a family we love to spend time together. We love our Friday night movie night together at home, going up to the canyon and roasting marshmallows, camping, boating, going on bike rides and, of course, bowling on the Wii! Anything that allows us to spend time together as a family is what we like to do. Eric and I also take the time to spend time as a couple. We know the importance of this and so we take the time to go out on dates. We strive to attend the Temple once a month together and to teach our boys the importance of this.

We love our family and strive to teach them and raise them to be stalwart sons. We have been privileged to be part of the adoption process 2 times before. All 3 of our boys have been placed in our home through the loving, selfless, sacrifice of birth parents who have only wanted what is best for their children. Our boys know that they came to our family through the miracle of adoption. We tell them the story of how much their birth parents loved them and so they placed them in our homes. We still communicate with Josh and Alex's parents through e-mail and send them pictures and updates. Andrew's adoption was closed but he does have a picture of his birth mom that we share with him as questions arise. Adoption to us is a miracle, an act of love, a gift that we could not give ourselves.

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Spotlight Saturday - Lindsay & Brian

Brian & Lindsay are a wonderful family in Oregon that are excited to add to their family through adoption.
You can find out more about them by visiting their online profile or blog

Help them spread the word that they are hoping to adopt. Add their adoption button to your own blog by copying the code below into an html gadget in your blog layout.

<center><a href="https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/25240818/ourMessage.jsf" target=" target="><img alt="Hoping to Adopt" src="http://i1227.photobucket.com/albums/ee438/lindsaystorrs/AdoptionButton.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br />

We are so excited that you are taking the time to get to know us a little better! We like to say our family is a miracle since we became a family of three through adoption. Our little boy, Van, was the miracle we’d spent years hoping and praying for and he has truly brought light and joy into our lives. We have been eternally blessed by his birth family. Our hearts are full with love for our son, but we also feel that someone is missing. We are now hoping and praying for another miracle.

ABOUT US

BRIAN (written by Lindsay)

Brian is truly my better half. He is patient, kind, generous, handsome and hilarious. The perfect combination! He is always doing little things to surprise me. We love spending time together and often stay up too late just talking. We love to travel and have had many great adventures together but the best by far is parenthood. Brian is an amazing father, the kind every kid should have. I often sit back and just watch as father and son laugh and play together. I have been impressed with how much he loves Van and how involved he is with every aspect of his life. I’m lucky to call him my husband.

LINDSAY (written by Brian)

Lindsay is a wonderful wife and mother. I love her completely and I consider myself lucky to have her. I am impressed with her daily – she can do anything. Lindsay is smart, beautiful, capable, and fun. She is great with our son and I can’t wait to see her as a mother of two. Being parents has brought us even closer together while bringing a new level of happiness to our lives. We have a lot of fun together and over the years we have had some incredible experiences.

VAN

Van is the sweetest, smartest little boy ever (at least we think so). We actually have many friends asking to babysit him! In typical toddler fashion he is curious about everything and is learning new things every day. He has loved books from the beginning and he often runs to snuggle on the couch and read with us. Our busy boy is always on the go and makes us laugh all day long. Every time we ask him if he wants a new baby for our family he says “Yah”! We think he is going to be a fantastic big brother!

OUR FAMILY

Having a teacher for a dad and a stay-at-home mom means Van gets a lot of family time. Summers and holiday breaks are filled with family activities. We love the outdoors and living in the Northwest provides plenty of opportunities for us to get out and have fun. We like to camp, hike, ride bikes, explore the tide pools at the coast, and go on road trips. One of our favorite places is the zoo (we have season passes), but wherever we are, we are laughing and having fun. It is so hard to describe our family in only a few paragraphs. Visit our blog at ourfamilyisamiracle.blogspot.com or if you would like to contact us we would love to tell you more and answer any questions.

ABOUT ADOPTION

We still have so much love to give and we long for another child. Our son is our entire world and we will love our next baby in the same way. We enjoy an open adoption with our son’s birthparents and we would like to have the same with our next child's birthparents. We pray every day that our family will get to experience another miracle and have a sweet new baby join our family.

With Love,

Brian, Lindsay, and Van

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Spotlight Saturday - Rachel & Ryan

Ryan & Rachel are a wonderful family in New York that are excited to build their family through adoption.
You can find out more about them by visiting their online profiile or blog

Help them spread the word that they are hoping to adopt. Add their adoption button to your own blog by copying the code below into an html gadget in your blog layout.

<center><a href="https://www.itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/24585097/ourMessage.jsf" target=" target="><img border="0" alt="Hoping to Adopt" src="http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/sarahmckenna/button2copy.gif" /></a></center>

Rachel and Ryan

Kind, busy, reflective, committed

Lovers of late-night runs, thundering rainstorms, and divine desserts

Who feel grateful when enjoying Christmas dinner with family, frustrated when fertility treatments aren’t working, and content when holding hands on our balcony

Who need God, more sleep, and each other

Who look forward to Ryan walking across the stage with his dental diploma, Rachel singing lullabies to our babies, and our children making us laugh with their crazy antics

Residents of a funky upstairs apartment with colored walls and wood floors

Buffalo, NY

Thank you for taking the time to get to know our family better.

We would like to introduce ourselves by describing our lives—past, present, and future:

Life as it was…

For both of us, growing up was a flurry of fun with family. Rachel and her sisters put on original musical productions in the backyard (we still laugh at the video of “The Cowboy and the Prunes”), while Ryan and his brothers enjoyed spirited athletic competitions in their backyard (sometimes resulting in tears and broken bones). As we got older, Rachel’s family remained close through late-night talks on Mom’s bed after the girls all got home from outings with friends; Ryan’s family remained close through nightly dinners around the kitchen table where they would laugh and share together. Our families have always been, and will continue to be, our closest friends.

Our lives intersected when we were set-up on a “blind date” in 2004. After an outing to the local “Nickelcade,” we sat on a bean bag, sipping Jones sodas and talking about life. Rachel was immediately intrigued by Ryan because of his quiet kindness and cute blue eyes; Ryan was attracted to Rachel because of her contagious energy and her obvious drive to make a difference in the world.

We continued to get to know each other during long evening runs and hours spent studying at the college library. Throughout our year-long courtship, we encouraged each other to grow and seek new experiences, and we found that our personalities complement each other, as we share common core values but have different strengths and weaknesses.

On December 28, 2005, we were married in the Denver Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Because we both share a love for children and service, we decided to spend the first three months of our marriage living in an orphanage for persons with disabilities in El Salvador. The children have become such an important part of our lives that we have returned for a visit every summer since and also run a program that sends college-aged volunteers to live at the orphanage year-round.

Life as it is…

Every day, we wake up at 6:30 a.m. (after pushing the snooze button at least five times), and as Rachel scrambles to find something to wear to work, Ryan makes her a fruit smoothie for breakfast. After a quick hug and kiss, Rachel shouts something ridiculous like, “See ya—wouldn’t wanna be ya!” as she charges out the door. Then at the bottom of the stairs, she adds, “I love you, Babe!” Sometimes she calls him from her cell phone on her way to work, just so they can talk a bit longer.

During the day, Ryan, a senior in dental school, chats with patients, fills cavities, and tries to keep his grumpy professors happy; Rachel, a high school English teacher, attempts to remain sane while discussing The Catcher in the Rye with her juniors and editing 120 research papers between classes. Days are busy for both of us, and we look forward to dinnertime, when we reunite to talk over a hastily prepared meal.

We are happy. We love our lives, and we love being married.

Life as we hope it will be…

We dream of having a big, loud, and loving family, and we are excited about the changes that will occur in our lives when we become parents.

Rachel will be a stay-at-home mom, using her skills as a teacher to plan learning-based adventures for the family, such as a journey to camp by the Mississippi River after we’ve read Huckleberry Finn or a road trip to Washington D.C. after we’ve studied American history. She hopes to use her love of writing to capture family memories in journals, personal narratives, and memoirs.

Ryan will be a pediatric dentist and a devoted father. An avid athlete, he looks forward to bonding with his children during early-morning tennis matches or as he coaches their Little League teams. He hopes his children will find him pouring over the scriptures and other good books during quiet moments at home, just as he often found his own father studying at the kitchen table.

We both love to learn and serve, and we hope to pass these traits on to our children. We plan to continue our work with the orphanage in El Salvador, particularly because the orphanage residents do not have consistent access to dental care. Ryan hopes to provide annual treatments, while Rachel and our kids can assist him as well as teach classes on oral health.

Life is good, and we know that life will only get better as our family begins to grow. We excitedly await the adoption of our first child.

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Spotlight Saturday - Matt & LeMira

Matt, LeMira & Jackson are a wonderful family in Utah that are excited to build their family through adoption.
You can find out more about them by visiting their online profiile or blog

Help them spread the word that they are hoping to adopt. Add their adoption button to your own blog by copying the code below into an html gadget in your blog layout.

<a href="http://mattandlemiraareadopting.blogspot.com/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaS2SytSoPfMWNF8WeQAnLpvBHLbwbJ1cZYHcScFmpq6vPFskS-kmNquvWRGLUlytORnajlOJqKQHVYSwAbtDA_-i4OCvcIv999kOucbEuFkwOQr6i-hP765ypLLmvSJ3qrDtW/"/></a>

We’d like to introduce you to our family; we are Matt, LeMira (pronounced Luh-My-Ruh), and Jackson. Our family began ten and a half years ago when Matt and LeMira met at BYU.

Jackson was born in January 2004. (He's almost 7! Where does the time go?!) Being parents has been the most refining experience in our lives and in our marriage. Some days go wrong from sun-up to sun-down, others are just perfect, and most fall in between. Despite the ups and downs, we really, truly love being parents. Our abilities to laugh and find humor in life sure have gotten us through. Guaranteed everyday are moments of laughter and smiles.

We know something of loss and grieving. About a year and a half after we had Jackson, in September 2005, LeMira gave birth to a little girl at 22 weeks. Since she was not old enough to survive on her own, she passed away within an hour of being born. We had to say good-bye to our little Clarissa and send her back to her Heavenly Father. That is the hardest thing we have ever had to do. Knowing we would not see our little girl for a long time was hard to accept at first, but we have felt peace and comfort from our Heavenly Father as we have grieved. We miss her dearly but are comforted by our belief that we will see her again one day.

Within a few weeks of giving birth, the doctor told LeMira that she should not have any more children, as pregnancy and birth would surely endanger her life. After a year of grieving, thinking, the Spirit nudging, and many prayers, we received the answer that we were to adopt.

In the four years that we've activity pursued adoption, we have learned so much. We understand the pain and loss, the sacrifice, and the commitment that surrounds adoption. We have a high respect for anyone touched by adoption or through adoption, and we've met some wonderful people along the way.

We believe that adoption is a lifelong journey for everyone involved and doesn't end with placement. We believe that children deserve to know their own unique story, and the best way for that is to have an open adoption. Our first concern is and will always be for the child. We look forward to visiting with you and deciding just how open our relationship will be and what will be the best for all involved. We are willing to keep you updated with letters, pictures, emails, phone calls, and even visits throughout the years to come. We understand that your desires and wishes could change, and they will be given the utmost respect. We want to keep an open, honest, continual dialogue with you.

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Tony & Amanda are hoping to adopt

Meet our new friends, Tony and Amanda. They are hoping to welcome their first child to their family through adoption. Take a minute to get to know them by visiting their adoption blog, then add their button to your own blog to help them in their adoption efforts!


<a href="http://adoptiontonyandamanda.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i53.tinypic.com/xx95.jpg" border="0" alt="Tony and Amanda" /></a>

Adding a web button is easy.

• For Blogger, log in to your blog dashboard, and click on Design.
  
• Click "Add a gadget", and choose html/JavaScript.
  
• Then just Copy-and-paste the code from the box above into the box labeled "Content".

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Shawn & Alicia are Hoping to Adopt!

Please take a moment to get to know Shawn & Alicia and their boys. They are excited to have their profile back up after experiencing a failed placement!
We'd love for you to help them in their adoption efforts by adding their adoption button to your own blog.


<a href="https://www.itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/10440835/ourMessage.jsf"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-Q3_WBd6RYOFakipulUiC7CHm6cbOzBruLCX_VMtzNcuAOVDZW6C0n_TWoPWLvL0gBBWE5z0alEkAlkgyocSBkP7xDed-kNIHOF8mmK99SoV6uiaGUduwUdtn0GV0gAkovk7/s220/blog+button.jpg" width="150" /></a>

Adding a web button is easy.

• For Blogger, log in to your blog dashboard, and click on Design.
  
• Click "Add a gadget", and choose html/JavaScript.
  
• Then just Copy-and-paste the code from the box above into the box labeled "Content".

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Spotlight Saturday - Mark & Ginny

Mark & Ginny are a wonderful family in Nebraska that are excited to build their family through adoption.
You can find out more about them by visiting their online profiile

Ginny’s view of Mark:

Mark is the youngest of 3. His family is overjoyed for us to be chosen for a baby. Mark’s mom, Lori, is already knitting like crazy for our future baby. Right now Mark is finishing his third year of graduate school at Creighton University’s Pharmacy School. He has one more year, in which he will be doing clinical rotations. We are very excited for this next year of rotations, as he will be able to spend much more time at home with family. We will be most excited in May, 2011, when Mark will finally graduate with his Doctor of Pharmacy degree! He is the kindest, and most caring man I have ever met. He is hard working, thoughtful, responsible, and lots of fun. In our church we work with the 18 month to 3 year old children, and he loves it! He also gets to work with the youth 10 years of age in Cub Scouts as the Webelos leader. He loves everything that has to do with scouts, including Girl Scout cookies! He is an Eagle Scout, also.

He is always anxious to help others, and almost always cheerful. I say almost always, because someone once told me that you should avoid saying always and never, otherwise I would say always. When we were married 5 years ago, Mark was instantly the favorite of all of my nieces and nephews. I know that he will be a wonderful father to your baby.

Mark’s view of Ginny:

Ginny (you know, pronounced like Ginny Weasley in Harry Potter) comes from a large family, with 6 older siblings who all have their own families. They are thrilled for us to bring home a new family member. Ginny will be graduating with her associate’s degree in May, 2010. She has already started working on her Bachelor’s degree in Education at the University of Nebraska Omaha. She hopes to be a Math and Spanish teacher for middle grades. She also works at Metropolitan Community College as a Student Services Assistant. She says she is going to school to one day be a school teacher, but her real desire is to be more actively involved in teaching our children.

She has been an aunt since she was 13 and has loved helping out her siblings with raising them in any way she can. If you were to ask her nieces and nephews who their favorite aunt was, I’m confident that they would all vote for her. This is because of all the love and attention she gives each one of them. I know she will be a great mother who will love our children and raise them to be great people.

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Spotlight Saturday - Greg, Allyson and EvieJane

Please take a moment to get to know Greg, Allyson, & Evie Jane a wonderful family in Utah that is hoping to adopt.
You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption profile or blog

A little about us…

Allyson was born and raised in Arizona, and all of her family still lives there. We enjoy getting down there a few times a year to be with them. Greg was born in Saudi Arabia while his family lived in the Middle East for his dad’s job. However, he spent most of his life in Northern Virginia and definitely considers that “home”.

We met in college almost exactly ten years ago. We clicked right away and found ourselves spending as much time together as possible. Greg blames his bad grades that year on spending all his time with Allyson. Although we weren’t dating yet, we definitely had a strong bond. Greg went on a church mission to Singapore and Malaysia for two years, while Allyson continued her education and began teaching elementary school. Shortly after Greg came home, it was clear our friendship was ready to grow into something more. The timing was right and we were married about a year later.

We were blessed to have EvieJane join the family a year and a half after we were married. Little did we know, she was our miracle baby. We didn’t find out until a few years after she was born that we would not be able to have more children naturally. We are so grateful to have her in our life. She is almost five now and has been a blast since day one. Evie is a bright girl with a sweet personality. She is very social and loves dancing, dressing up, and going to preschool. Teaching her and raising her together has been an amazing experience and has strengthened our relationship immensely. Evie is very excited about the prospect of a baby brother or sister.

Allyson's thoughts about Greg

Greg is wonderful! He shows his love for our family in so many ways. He gives compliments and heads up kitchen dance parties. He helps make dinner and goes on daddy-daughter dates. He works hard at his job and still has energy to spend quality time at home. He knows when to be serious and when to be fun. He is patient and loving and serves in and out of the home. He always shows support and never criticizes. He creates a confidence in me that I didn't even know I had. He truly is my best friend and I feel blessed to have him in my life.

Greg's thoughts about Allyson

It’s hard for me to put into words for everyone to read exactly how I feel about Allyson. The day I met Allyson, it was clear she was someone special. I noticed how everyone gravitated towards her. People are drawn to her personality because they immediately know she cares. Her personality is genuine. She laughs with others; I think she is one of the most humorous people there is. Her humor is the type that is quick and witty, without going too far. She celebrates and hurts with others. She is extremely sensitive to individual situations, and is deeply affected by other’s joys and disappointments. Allyson also has this amazing ability to relate to children of all ages. I love to watch her and Evie play together. A lot of Evie’s creativeness has definitely been inspired by Allyson; I think I may have learned a thing or two as well. The reason I love Allyson the most is her selflessness. She always tries to be there for me and that helps me want to be able to do the same for her. She is my best friend in every sense of the word and I love her.

If you'd like to help Greg and Allyson spread the word, you can add their button to your own blog!
Copy and paste this code into an html gadget.

<a href="http://gregandallyson.blogspot.com/"><br /><img src="http://meganandshane.com/images/gregallysonbutton.jpg" alt="We're Hoping to Adopt!" border="0" width="150" /></a>

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Spotlight Saturday - Ben & Sherrie

Please take a moment to get to know Ben and Sherrie, a wonderful family in Arizona who are hoping to adopt.
You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption profile:

Benjamin and Sherrie have been married for eight years and they look forward to adding children to their family through adoption.

Ben and Sherrie are actually very dear friends of ours. We moved from Utah to Arizona and Shane and Ben started working together that same week. We didn't know then that we had even more in common than we could imagine, and that we'd end up connected through our adoption journeys as well. We even got certified at just about the same time (us for our second adoption and them for their first). We easily grew to be close friends and Carter adores them (and their little dog, too!).

Ben and Sherrie have been hoping to adopt for nearly three years now. They have been chosen twice, but both matches ended in the birth parents deciding to parent. They have continued, with hope, to search for the child(ren) meant to be in their family. We hope you will click on their links to learn more about our good friends. Ben and Sherrie will be wonderful parents and we can hardly wait to see their family grow! Please think about passing on their information to anyone who might be considering an adoption plan for their child or reposting their information. Remember that adoption miracles are often the result of word of mouth from family or friends and help us help Ben and Sherrie!

Blessings,
Shane and Megan

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Spotlight Saturday - Wes & Kara

Please take a moment to get to know Wes and Kara, and their boys, Brandon, Spencer, Tyler, and Justin,
a wonderful family in Utah hoping to adopt.
You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption blog:

We met in June of 1993 and quickly hit it off. We were married in March of 1994 and are still just as crazy about each other as we were back then! We still take time to go on weekly dates. We enjoy trying new restaurants, going on walks together, playing games, and shopping. (OK, Wes doesn't really enjoy that part, but he tolerates it.) Every year we go on a getaway together. Sometimes it's a local bed and breakfast, sometimes it's a cruise. We cherish those times together and the memories we have made.

Raising a family is hard work, but we absolutely love it! There is nothing that brings us more joy than teaching our children and watching them grow and develop. We have four boys, and they are the highlight of our life. Here's a little about each of them:

Brandon is 15 years old and is an awesome older brother. He is kind to everyone, and has endless patience with his younger siblings. He enjoys playing basketball, reading, and playing the piano. He is also a math whiz and has a photographic memory. After watching a movie just once, he can quote all the funny lines. Like a typical teenager, he is always hungry.

Spencer is 12 years old and loves sports. Basketball is his favorite, followed by baseball and football. He is blessed with lots of natural ability, and almost always has a ball in his hands! He loves math and science and is a great student. Spencer is great with little kids and all of Justin's friends adore him.

Tyler is 9 years old. He has a great imagination and is a master lego builder. He has recently developed a love of reading, and is constantly staying up way past his bedtime totally engrossed in a book. He is also an awesome soccer player. Tyler has a great sense of humor. Although he is very reserved in public, he is a total ham at home!

Justin is 6 years old. He loves cars and has an extensive matchbox collection. We find them lined up all over our house. He is very social and doesn't feel like life is complete unless he plays with a friend every day. His smile is contagious! Justin can't wait to be an older brother, and prays every day that we will find our baby sister.

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Spotlight Saturday - Meghan, Kenny & Sam

Please take a moment to get to know Meghan, Kenny & Sam, a wonderful family in New York hoping to adopt.
You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption blog:

We are hoping and praying that we will add to our family through adoption a second time. Our first blessing is Sam, he came into this world in October of 2007 and made us Mommy and Daddy. We would love for Sam to be a big brother and we would love nothing more than to give our love to another baby. We have an amazing open adoption with Sam's birthmom and her family. We look forward to cherishing another special relationship with our new baby's first family!!

A Little Bit About Us
We have been married for a little over eight years and together for a little over 10. We were both born and raised in New York, and still live here today. We own a home in a nice neighborhood, in a town with good schools, about 25 minutes from New York City.

We adopted our son Sam, who turned two, in 2007. He is all "boy" but as sweet as can be as well. While he loves playing ball of any kind, he is just as quick to push around a baby stroller. He loves his dog and cat, cars, his mom and dad and of course ice pops! He adores babies, making him perfect "big brother" material.

I am a stay-at-home mom and my husband works nights, so he is able to spend a lot of quality time with us. I guess we would be considered pretty traditional. We are Catholic and go to church fairly regularly, we do miss some weeks. LOL!

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Spotlight Saturday - Kevin, Nicole & Noah

Please take a moment to get to know Kevin, Nicole, and Noah, a wonderful family in Nebraska hoping to adopt.
You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption profile:

Believe it or not, our story goes back to when we were children. We first met each other when we were nine years old and have been the best of friends our whole lives. We dated in high school and then had a semester together at college before Kevin left to serve a mission for the LDS church. Nicole was still available and missing her best friend when Kevin returned two years later. We were married in the Portland LDS temple just after Christmas in 1999.

Now that we’ve been married for over ten years, our friendship has only grown stronger as we’ve shared our lives together. We are both from Oregon originally, and we still call the Pacific Northwest our home in our hearts. A new job brought us to Nebraska just over a year ago and we love living in the beautiful Midwest: tornados, corn, and all! Both of us attended BYU in Provo, UT for our undergraduate degrees, and then we moved to Indiana while Kevin completed law school and Nicole finished her master’s in Public Health. Kevin now works for the federal government and Nicole stays at home with Noah. Both of us couldn’t be happier at the moment.

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Spotlight Saturday - Uriah, Melinda & Sarah

Please take a moment to get to know Uriah, Melinda & Sarah, a wonderful family in Utah hoping to adopt.
You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption website:

Let us tell you a bit about us. We met during our sophomore year of college and quickly became good friends. Whether having a snowball fight, going to a play or just talking, we enjoyed being around each other. After dating for a while, we decided that we wanted to be together forever. Since our marriage in May of 2000, our friendship has continued to grow. We love being married! Our goal is to make our family a place where everyone feels included and accepted, a place of love.

Our daughter Sarah joined our family in May of 2005 through the miracle of adoption. Since her arrival, we have been busy learning about the joys of parenthood and watching Sarah develop into her own little person. She has been such a blessing to us! We are anxiously awaiting the day we can bring more children into our home.

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Spotlight Saturday - Josh & Savannah

Please take a moment to get to know Josh & Savannah, a wonderful couple in Utah hoping to adopt.
You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption blog.

Josh says:
I love the outdoors. Every chance I get I am outside doing something, Hunting, fishing, playing cowboy. If I can be outside, I’ll be outside. Next to Savannah, that is my passion.

I love to hunt, some of my most cherished childhood memories are of following my dad around hunting. I can’t wait to share some of the same experience with a child of my own.

I also love to play cowboy. I was raised on the back of a horse. Being a cowboy is a big part of me and I am very proud of that. Aside from hunting, many of my childhood memories come from doing things on the family ranch. I learned how to work hard and play hard. How to ride a horse and I loved every minute of it, and how to love and respect the great outdoors.

I also like to cook. Savannah is the big dessert maker of the house but I like to cook the main course. I especially like roasting a turkey or a fancy dish that I have is a rice stuffed Cornish game hen.

I also like to read. I just finished the Twilight series, and I loved them. I think that reading is wonderful, my mom is a school teacher and she taught me that reading gives you the world, I would agree with that. From the comfort of my own home I can go anywhere and do anything with a good book.

Savannah says:
Where do I start? My favorite thing to do is read. I am very passionate about it and think that is should be a regular part of everyone's life. I have started my own library where I have over 250 books. I have also started children's book collection and look forward to finding some of my favorites from my childhood.

I love to cook. This is actually a new love for me that I didn't really discover until we had been married for a few years. Josh complains that my cooking is too good which is causing him to get fat. I offered to ruin his portion of the food, but he said good food is not worth giving up.

Just random quirky things about me: I love earrings! Especially ones that dangle. I'm not talking huge earrings, just an inch or two long. Halloween is my favorite holiday and I only have snowman for Christmas decorations.

If I am not reading or cooking, chances are that I am blogging. I stumbled into the blogging world in the fall of 2008 and love it. Not only do I have this blog about adoption, but I also have a blog where I seem to speak whatever is on my mind or what is going on in our lives, a blog dedicated just to cooking and a blog for our local FSA chapter. I hope that blogging will be a great way to keep family updated on our family. I plan to keep lots of pictures and stories on there so our birth parents and their families can stay current on what going on in our lives with our children.

I am very passionate about adoption. When I say "our" children I mean to imply not only Josh and I, but also our wonderful birth parents who gave their child life. We love birth parents and have so much respect for them. We are active in our local Families Supporting Adoption (FSA) chapter and currently we are serving as the head chairman of our chapter.

I love Josh so much. He is my best friend. He makes me laugh and he holds me when I cry. The most comfortable place to be is in his arms.

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Spotlight Saturday - Jacob & Lisa

Please take a moment to get to know Jacob and Lisa, a fun-loving couple in Florida hoping to adopt.

You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their online adoption profile:

Hello,

Thank you for choosing to learn more about us. We’ve always liked the John Lennon lyric, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Life’s pathways have led us to where we are now; and it is love that has placed us on our own adoption journey. We hope that by learning more about us, you will feel confident in our desire and ability to care for, love, protect, and raise a child through their own journey in life.

Introductions

Our names are Jacob and Lisa. We are both originally from the Pacific Northwest and moved to sunny Florida over 2 years ago. We like to joke that we literally had to chase each other around the world before we found one another and fell in love—we grew up only a few hours from one another; we attended the same university, overlapping by one semester; we lived in the same small village in northern France (Lisa as an exchange student and Jacob as a missionary); and we have traveled all over the world. But, it wasn’t until we were introduced by a mutual friend four days after Lisa moved to Seattle that our paths finally crossed. The rest, as they say, is history. Since that meeting we have become the best of friends and enjoy spending as much time as possible with one another and our two dogs—Boo and Luna.

Lisa is a naturally nurturing and caring person, and she is blessed with job opportunities that allow her to use her skills and personality to help others. She has worked with people from many different backgrounds and cultures and quickly finds herself at home in most situations. Lisa currently works from home as a curriculum developer, creating trainings for health workers in developing countries. This plays to her desires to do good in the world, sample new adventures by sometimes traveling to other countries, and still stay where she is happiest--spending leisurely time with her husband and her dogs. Lisa grew up the oldest of three children in Oregon and at one point lived on a Christmas tree farm.

If you need to know a random fact, Jacob is your man. His natural curiosity and love of learning, mixed with a vast bank of sports and music facts make him a prime partner for any trivia game. Combine that with a healthy dose of humor, thoughtfulness, and a knack for gourmet cooking and few people can resist wanting to spend time with him. Jacob is the oldest in his family, growing up in Washington with four younger sisters. He is an avid photographer and is currently training for his first triathlon.

Both our families still live in Oregon and Washington. Luckily we are able to visit each other regularly.

Enjoying Life

We are both explorers at heart and enjoy traveling near and far—be it a safari in Africa or finding the best fish tacos on the Florida coast. While they were never extravagant or expensive, both our families valued taking family vacations and discovering what this world has to offer. We’ve continued this tradition in our family—making time to travel together and explore new places. We both grew up active in sports (both playing soccer) and continue to love attending sporting events like baseball and basketball games when we can. We also love winter sports and attempt to ski/snowboard whenever possible, although this has proven to be a bit tricky now that we live in Florida.

Learning about people and cultures is important to us, and we try to appreciate the beauty in the world around us. We often will spend time visiting museums and participating in cultural experiences. We also enjoy simple things—like trying new restaurants, listening to music and going to movies. Most importantly we love being together and creating our own new family traditions like making tamales and key lime pie every Christmas. We enjoy life and hope to share these things with our children.

What we value and hope to teach our children

Both of us grew up in families that allowed and encouraged us to explore and develop our talents. There was no shortage of love and encouragement to dream big and achieve our goals.

We hope to give our children every opportunity to explore and learn about the world, both near and far. We want them to find what they love in life and be able to develop their unique talents and gifts. We’ve both been blessed with advanced educations and will encourage our children to take those same opportunities as they relate to their own goals and desires. Most importantly we hope to raise our children to be confident, happy and optimistic through their life’s journeys, to have a testimony of the Savior, and to know their value as a child of our Heavenly Father.

Conclusion

Adoption is about love and we are excited to grow our family in this way. Thank you for your time and consideration. We invite you to contact us if you would like to learn more about us.

With love,

Jacob and Lisa

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Spotlight Saturday - Ray & Lois

Please take a moment to get to know Ray & Lois and their two boys, who hope to be big brothers soon.

You can find out more about them and contact them by visiting their adoption blog:

http://www.makingourfamilycomplete.com/

We are a family of four hoping to be a family of five in the future. We want to add a little princess to our family to compliment our two princes.

Hello and thank you for taking the time to learn more about our family, and our life. We have so much to offer a child: a family filled with stability, love, potential, and two boys excitedly waiting to be big brothers.

We are Ray and Lois. Our family consists of a father, a mother, two loving sons, and an energetic dog. Being parents has brought us days filled with joy and laughter. We desire to have another child to cherish; love and nurture, and we look forward to expanding our family.

We are an extremely close family who love spending time together. Whether we are watching our oldest play soccer, swimming at our swim club, walking on the Jersey Shore, visiting Lancaster, or playing on a local playground, we are always on the go and love being outdoors. The boys enjoy spending time with their grandparents who live close by and who love to spoil their grandkids rotten. They also love going fun places with their uncle. During the winter, you may find us all curled up on the couch watching a football or hockey game, or just hanging out in our family room that is overrun by toys.

Laughter is a huge part of our life. There is nothing as infectious as the laughter of a child, and both our boys sure know how to laugh. Believe us when we tell you that our two little men can make pretty much anything or any situation humorous. Just hearing their laughter cannot help but bring a smile to our faces.

After the birth of our second son, we felt our family was just not quite complete, and that we were still missing a member. We would love to add another child to make our family complete, which is why we have begun our adoption journey. We are praying that God will bring the right addition to our loving family, as well as help you in making one of the most important decisions in your life.

Best wishes,

~ Lois and Ray

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