Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for taking the time to get to know us. We understand that you and your family are going through a difficult time and we pray that you will be comforted and will have peace in your heart. We would like to start off with how we met... Breanna was working for a bank at the time of us meeting. Joe walked in with a friend. While we were chatting, Joe's friend cut in and asked Breanna out on a date for Joe. Apparently, Joe was taking to long to ask her out so his friend did it for him. YES! We know what you are thinking, "Why in the world would Breanna even consider going on a date with him if he couldn't ask her himself?" Well, we will let Joe answer that... To be fair, my friend jumped the gun. I was getting to it. Breanna didn't even answer right away, she made me stand in the corner of the bank while she finished helping the customers. Once she was finished with her work for a bit, she basically interviewed me, like I was applying for a job or something. Brea, do you remember the first question you asked me? Yes, I do! I asked you how old you were and then asked if you had been on a mission. When you said yes, I was sold. Oh and to be fair about the "JOB INTERVIEW", you were applying for a job. You were APPLYING to date me! During our first date we discoverd that Breanna had gone to school with Joe's cousin, which makes family gatherings fun. It is always nice when you have friends that become family. After dating a few months, we were married in the Manti, Utah Temple in August of 2000. We always knew that we wanted to start a family, but after trying to get pregnant, we realized that having a family was not going to happen the traditional way, so we began looking at our options and adoption was at the top of the list. Even though our children may not be ours biologically, we will love them just the same. We know that we are extremly blessed to get the opporunity to have a family no matter how it is created. We know this to be true because we have other adopted children in our extended families. Breanna's sister's oldest daughter was adopted. We all love her just the same as we do the other kids who were not adopted. Breanna comes from a family of three siblings, one brother who she is close to. He is fun and outgoing. She has one sister who is a bit younger, but they are still close. She has a fun and outgoing personality. Breanna also has two parents who love their children and would do anything for them. They support them in all they do. They are all very close and participate in many family activities, such as camping, fishing, and weekly family dinners. Breanna has two nieces and three nephews whom she loves to death. Joe comes from a family of seven siblings (one sister and six brothers). Even though there is only one girl, they still like to wrestle around and tease each other. His sister can hold her own. On this side of the family there are five nieces and three nephews. Joe is really close to his brothers, sister and parents. When the family is all together, there is sure to be lots of energy and fun. Joe served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Knoxville, TN mission. Joe loves karate and anything that goes with it. He has a black belt in Kishindo which is a Japanese style of karate. Joe loves collecting guns, swords and knives. He likes to go camping, hiking, 4-wheeling and just spending time with family and friends. Joe is also really good at remodling homes. There is always a project going on at our house that keeps him busy. Joe also works construction which is where he gets some of his ideas. Breanna loves, and I do mean loves NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt Jr. She likes gymnastics and cheerleading especially the University of Utah. She loves doing crafts, but mostly enjoys scrapbooking. Breanna loves to go 4-wheeling with the family, fishing, camping, and hiking. She also loves to go on long drives up the canyon to see the pretty scenery. Breanna has her Accounting Degree, but loves the tax side of accounting the most. In fact so much so that she works very limited hours during the tax season. She is commited to being a stay at home mom once we become parents. Our hopes and dreams for our children are that we can teach them to be honest in their dealings with others. We want them to get an education. We feel that it is important that they experience family vacations, camping and sports. We want them to succeed in whatever their hopes and dreams are. It is very important to us that our children always know that they are adopted. We will tell them stories about their adoption and our experience. We want them to always know where they come from. Adoption is a very open topic in our home and with our family and we want it to stay that way. We are wanting to keep our options open for pictures, letters, emails and possible visits in the future. We will always have a blog set up that will be centered around our family and different activities. Again, our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this time. We hope you will find peace in your decision, whatever that might be. Best Wishes, Joe and Breanna

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Adoption Conference

On Monday we attended the Adoption Conference that was held at UVU. It was amazing. We learned so much from the classes that were held.
The BIRTHMOM panel was really good. I love hearing their stories. There was a girl who had been promised visits from the adoptive couple and she has not seen her child in 2 years. I really felt for her. I see why our case worker has stressed that we should not promise things we are not comfortable with. It just breaks the birthmoms heart even more when promises are not kept.
It is no secret that Joe and I have a special love and respect for these birthmoms that place their babies so people like us can have a chance to raise a family.
We love the idea of an open adoption. We want to know the medical history just in case we need it. We want our kids to know where they come from and not have this fantasy of their birthparents. We want them to be comfortable talking about adoption and how they came into our world/lives.
The lunch seminar was given by Barb Smith from ABC 4 news. I had heard her story before on the news, but to actually hear it in person, was incredible. There was not a dry eye in that place. We went up to shake her hand afterwards and out of the blue she gave me a hug. It was so cool.
To all of those birthmoms out their we love and respect you and your decision. We know and understand that making that decision is not an easy thing to do.
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Saturday, November 20, 2010

Manti Utah Temple

I know I have not finished our trip pictures yet, but I promise to get to them as soon as I can, but for now, I wanted to leave a few thoughts about the Manti Temple:

Today Joe and I took a drive to Manti to attend the Temple. It is the Temple that we got married in.
And I hate to admit it, but this was the first time we have been back there in 10 years, but it is true. We always seem to just go to the Timpanogos Temple for the convenience of it being closer, but today we made the drive and I am so THANKFUL that we did.
I love the feelings that I get when we attend the Temple and today was no different. The spirit that is there is so amazing that it is hard to describe, but lets just say I felt peace.
There are times when I sit and think about our life and how we have struggled with infertility and wonder why us? I wonder what life would be like with a little one running around...I wonder what the holidays would be like with our own children...
I don't know the answers to these questions, but I do know that when I am in the Temple, I don't think of those things. I think about the many blessings I do have in my life...like...my wonderful husband who works so hard and who holds the priesthood...our family...our home...our friends...our wonderful ward and neighbors...I am just so thankful for the things I do have.
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Thursday, November 11, 2010

Last Leg of the Trip prt 1

This is the 2nd to the last day of our trip. We made it as far as the Grand Canyon entrance before it got dark and started to rain. This is were we set up camp for the last time...




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