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Jeremy & Leslie are hopeful adoptive parents from Utah waiting to adopt a baby.

If you are pregnant and considering placing your child for adoption, please read the following Dear Birthmother Letter.

Dear Birth Family, Our Dear Friends,

First off, thank you for taking time to read this letter. Thank you for considering adoption. It is because of your brave decision that we have hope and the opportunity to become parents to another sweet little one. We recognize the sacrifice you are making for your unborn child. We are filled with so much emotion for you. We pray that you will be blessed with guidance, inspiration and peace as you make these decisions. There truly can’t be a harder choice to make than the one you are faced with. We know of the love you have for your child and we hope that we may be the family you are looking for. Thank you for being so brave and so full of courage.

An Intro to our Family We met at Utah State University our senior years. It’s actually a pretty funny story. It was the first week of school and our church group was hosting a retreat at Bear Lake that weekend. Leslie had to drive up by herself in her little car that kept breaking down. When she arrived she was told she had to park out on the beach. She begged to park somewhere else knowing her car would get stuck in the sand. Sure enough, Leslie wasn’t more than 4 feet onto the sand when her car got stuck and the wheels started spinning. Everyone just stared at her! After sinking down in her seat from total humiliation she noticed two guys running towards her. She also noticed they weren’t too bad looking either! They pulled her car out and even parked it down on the beach. Leslie didn’t get a chance to learn their names before they ran off. Later that night she noticed one of her “knights in shining armor” was playing beach volleyball so she decided to join his team. It was Leslie’s turn to serve and her “knight” was standing directly in front of her. Leslie went to serve and instead of going over the net, the ball went directly into Jeremy’s head. Leslie claims it’s because she’s only 5’4” and Jeremy is 6’4”. Jeremy claims he was bending over and Leslie needs more lessons in serving a volleyball! Leslie was completely embarrassed and vowed she’d never be able to talk to him again. Luckily, someone was watching out for their destiny and the next Sunday at church, Jeremy and Leslie were put in the same Family Home Evening group. We became best friends instantly. Four months later we kissed for the first time, were engaged 2 months after that, and were married four months later.

We have loved being married and having so many adventures. Our goal is to have fun and enjoy doing everything. We have both lived places neither of us wanted to live and had jobs that neither of us liked. Our one constant was each other and making the best out of it. One experience we fondly remember is first being married and living far away from our families, friends and anything familiar. We were too broke to do much of anything, even going to a campsite. Instead we brought camping into our living room. We pitched our tent, roasted hot dogs and s’mores over our stove, decorated our apartment with glow in the dark stars and plastic bugs, and just enjoyed being together. Our quality of life has improved dramatically since then but out of all the date nights we have since enjoyed, this still ranks one of the highest.

Our adoption journey began shortly after being married. We knew of our infertility struggles but desired to become parents as soon as possible. We waited and waited and finally 3 years later our daughter was born and placed in our family through a loving birthmother.

Emma is now an active 3 + year old who loves to run, giggle, play outside, and do somersaults. She loves to read books with Mommy, wrestle and be tickled by Daddy, and sing and dance. She loves watching "So you think you can dance" and imitating all the dance moves while wearing a tutu, tiara and high heels. It's absolutely hilarious to watch! She is truly the light of our lives and we can't wait for her to be a big sister.

Emma asks us every day and usually several times in a day when she will get to be a big sister. She told Santa at the mall this year that she wanted him to bring her a baby sister please. Santa wasn't able to fulfill that wish but Emma continues to ask and have hope. She asks to hold every baby she sees and we know she will be a great big sister.

Jeremy is a computer software engineer and loves his job. In his spare time Jeremy loves playing basketball, volleyball, racquetball and anything outdoors. He loves huge roller coasters, Disney World, and BYU football. His favorite movies are Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

Leslie is a stay at home mom and very grateful that Jeremy works so hard so she gets to stay home and play dress up all day (she does a few other things too!). When Leslie is relaxing she enjoys anything Disney, scrap booking, singing, performing in the theater, shopping, reading, going on dates with her hubby, and meeting friends for lunch. Her favorite movie is Pride and Prejudice and some of her favorite tv shows are American Idol, Gilmore Girls reruns, and Glee. She also loves photography and has enjoyed taking photography classes this past year.

Being Parents We love being parents. Emma has brought incredible joy into our home the past couple of years. Someone once asked us if we thought we would be able to love another child as much as we love Emma. We were a bit surprised at the question because it has never occurred to us otherwise. We promise you that your child will be incredibly loved in our home. We greatly look forward to the day when our family will increase and we can fall deeply in love with another little one.

As parents we want our children to have many opportunities to learn, travel, serve others, and experience new things. We have had many amazing opportunities to travel around the world since having Emma. It has been so fun to share these experiences with her. Leslie's parents live abroad currently so our family is often immersed in amazing experiences and various cultures. As our little family of three, we take opportunities to spend time with each other. Each week we dedicate one night just to our family. We might play games, go to a museum, or do something for a neighbor. This is usually Emma's favorite night of the week and if we forget about it she reminds us that we need to have our family night soon!

We have never desired for our children to be the best at anything. We only want them to be happy and have opportunities to help them decide what they love. We will give our children every opportunity for music lessons, going to the theater (or performing in it!), sports, etc.

(written by Leslie) Jeremy is an amazing husband and Daddy. Emma calls him "Prince Charming." He certainly is! He is the most patient person I’ve ever met. The absolute joy of his life is his family. His favorite time of day is walking in the door from work and having Emma run towards him screaming “Daddy! Daddy!” The smile on his face tells it all. He is a wonderful father. From the beginning he has changed diapers, taken care of middle of the night feedings and bedtime baths. He and Emma go on regular Daddy-Daughter dates and enjoy chatting with each other as part of their bedtime routine. I look forward to expanding our family and watching Jeremy be an amazing father to each of our children. I love him!

(written by Jeremy) Leslie loves being a mother. Her favorite part of the day is each time Emma wakes up from a nap, opening the door into the nursery and seeing Emma stretch her arms out for Leslie to pick her up and snuggle. She loves to read to Emma and is constantly buying new books for them to read together. Leslie and Emma fill their days by dancing, playing dress up, singing, ballet and gymnastics lessons, discovering a fun toy, reading, swimming, and shopping.

As a family we love to have fun. We love to be silly and to laugh as much as possible. We enjoy being outdoors whether it’s going swimming, spending time up in the canyon, swinging on the playground, enjoying a great water fight or making snow angels in the freshly fallen snow. We have many great family traditions such as Santa letters, hot air balloons and water fights on the 4th of July, and having a green feast on St. Patrick’s Day. When we’re at home we play games or snuggle up in bed watching a movie and eating popcorn and M&M’s- a family favorite snack.

Our Feelings about Adoption and You We are so grateful for adoption. We love our birth mom dearly. We know that we would not be parents if it weren’t for her love and ultimate sacrifice. There is not a day that goes by that we don’t offer gratitude for her. Each night at bedtime prayers, we ask Heavenly Father to watch over her and keep her safe.
The first night we brought Emma home from the hospital we rocked her in the nursery and told her about her birth mom. She may not have understood the words we spoke but we wanted her to know about her birth mom and the love she had for Emma from the beginning.
Each night as Emma goes to bed she asks us to hand her the picture frame that is on her shelf. It is a picture of her birth mom while pregnant with Emma. Emma talks to her, tells her about her day, and kisses her. Then she says "I love you tooooo much!" Even as little as Emma is, she knows her birthmom loves her and did what was best for her.
While we don’t want our children growing up feeling out of place because they are adopted, we want them to know how special they are because they are adopted and the wonderful birth mom’s in our lives that allowed us to be a family.

We thank you for reading our letter and taking the time to get to know us. You are welcome to contact us if you have any questions for us or would like to get to know us better!

Love,

Jeremy and Leslie