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Michael & Kristen 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 Friend(s) There is no way for us to be able to comprehend what you are going through right now, but we pray that you might be comforted. It truly takes a noble and selfless person to consider adoption. God loves you and he is very aware of how you feel. We think of you often. We pray that you may be guided in your decisions and that you will find peace. We greatly appreciate your interest in us and we are excited to share more about our lives with you.


How Adoption Has Touched Our Lives

The beautiful gift of adoption touched our lives deeply when we were able to adopt Jayla. When we first laid eyes on Jayla we were amazed by the instant bond and love we felt. We have so much fun playing with her, trying to get her to giggle, and watching her explore new things. She is our world and we are so grateful that the blessing of adoption has brought her into our lives. Our family is possible because of Jayla’s courageous birth mother. We have witnessed first hand the immense love that her birth-mom and birth-family have for her. Jayla has no doubt of the love that they have for her. From the moment we met Jayla’s birth-mom we cared for and loved her. She is an incredible person and she will always be dear to our hearts. We have found joy in strengthening that relationship through e-mails, pictures, phone calls and visits. We look forward to sharing the achievements and experiences of our future adopted children with their birth-mothers.

We love to tell Jayla about her birth-mom. When tucking her in at night we often tell her the story of her adoption. We want our children to be comfortable with adoption and know that we love them. We also want them to know where they came from and the love their birth-parents have for them. We will teach them how unique they are and help them know about the selfless act that brought them into our lives.

Parenting

We believe it is important that children are taught values and principles with love and patience. We plan to provide an atmosphere of trust, love and support in our home. This is done when parents put their children first. We also feel that it is essential to spend time together as a family. It is important to take the time to help children develop their own talents and interests, even if they are different than our own. We look forward to outings as a family, coaching our children in sports, attending recitals, starting our own traditions, helping with homework and starting a college fund, traveling and enjoying various other activities as we help them grow. Our ultimate goal is that of a forever family. We are so grateful that adoption has brought this hope into our lives.

How we feel about adoption

The easiest and most important decision we have ever made was to adopt. We know that God intended for our little family to grow through the beautiful gift of adoption. We look forward to welcoming other little ones into our home. Love, courage, faith and sacrifice are the means by which adoption is possible. We have found peace and joy in pursuing the path that God intended for us to follow. We pray that you too may feel such peace and joy.

Hobbies and Interests Family activities

We love doing a lot of different activities together. We enjoy playing softball, soccer, basketball, baseball and other sports. We like to hike, camp, have barbecues, snowboard, wake board, travel, listen to music, go for walks, read together,bake cookies, read together, ride 4-wheelers, watch movies, and spend time with family. We also love the occasional water fight and tickle war. We are always up for an adventure.

Michael’s Interests

(Kristen Talking)
Michael is very active and has enjoyed playing sports his whole life. He loves basketball, baseball, softball, racquetball, working out, going snowboarding, wake boarding, and 4-wheeling. He also enjoys the outdoors such as camping, hiking, hunting, fishing and traveling. Since he is an electrical engineer he also enjoys working on computers, cars and learning about new technology.

Kristen’s Interests

(Michael Talking)
Kristen is very active as well and also grew up playing sports and dancing. She enjoys soccer, running, snowboarding, wakeboarding, softball, racquetball, and iceskating. We have many fond memories of going camping, hiking, 4-wheeling, fishing, and going on trips. Kristen also has a creative side to her and enjoys sewing, quilting cooking photography and singing to the radio.

Most of all, we love playing with our beautiful Jayla and doing new things with her. One of our favorite things to do is to introduce her to something she has never done before, or take her somewhere new and watch her eyes light up as she explores. We love to take her camping, swimming, to the park, to the Zoo, to play with friends and cousins, and on trips to grandmother’s house. No matter what it is we always have fun!

Jayla’s Interests and Hobbies

Jayla loves new adventures. She loves playing with other kids and is very social so the more people and little kids around the better. She loves animals, learning new things, telling us stories, swimming in her pool with mommy and spending time in her playhouse with daddy. She loves it when we both chase her around the house as she screams at the top of her lungs. She also enjoys learning sign language and reading, so we take her to the library often.

Extended Family

We both come from amazing families and we spend a lot of time with them. Our grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and cousins all get together every chance we get.

With Kristen's side of the family we go boating, swimming, camping, fishing, 4-wheeler riding, playing games, going out to eat, shopping, going on trips, playing pool at grandma's house, and attending Sunday dinners. We love to laugh and joke around with each other or play games. Some of Kristen's extended family live out of state so an annual reunion is held. There are a lot of cousins everywhere and it is always loud. We love sitting around and talking for hours.

Michael’s family has many traditions. We love to go camping annually, participate in Melon Days, attend Snow Days, go sledding, going egg rolling on Easter, eating all we can at Thanksgiving and Christmas, attending sporting events, hunting, and celebrating birthdays together. In between all those we try to get together as much as possible, which ends up being often. Whenever anyone leaves for home they can't leave until everyone is hugged at least once (this is no exaggeration either).

Both of our families have expressed to us how much they love Jayla and they can't seem to get enough of her. They are all very excited for us to adopt again.

Our Family How we met

(Kristen Talking)
Some of my friends decided to go to Snow College after high school so I decided to tag along. I was a little skeptical when I first laid eyes on the tiny campus. I thought to myself that there had to be more to it. I thought I would give it a chance. At the first dance of the year I met Michael. He asked me to dance with him and I remember thinking if there were more guys like him around campus then this was going to be a great year! I gave Michael detailed instructions to my house, which were very easy to follow (to this day he claims that I gave him the wrong directions). Two months went by and no Michael. Finally he found me (by accident!) because one of my roommates was in his class.

(Michael Talking)
The last year of my mission my older brother was attending Snow College so I asked him to fill out an application for me and register me for classes. When I got home from my mission I found out that two of my closest cousins and a few of my friends from Green River were also going to go to Snow... now I had roommates. We all decided to go to the Snow College opening social for the first dance of the year. Toward the end of the dance I saw Kristen with her friends and thought to myself "I have to ask her to dance before I leave." So after waiting a few songs I made my way over to her and asked her to dance. She gave me her address and told me to come over and visit sometime. Later, I tried to go to the address she gave me but it didn't exist. I figured she gave me a fake address because she didn't want anything to do with me. As the semester continued I, unknowingly, became friends with one of Kristen's roommates. It was only a matter of time before we came together. We dated for just under 2 years before deciding to spend the rest of eternity together. And for the record, she really did give me the WRONG address.

What We Are Doing Now

We have been married for 5 years now. Kristen received a Bachelors of Nursing 3 years ago. Michael has earned a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering and is now a 3rd year PhD student in Electrical Engineering and will complete his degree in 2010.

Four years after being married we adopted our amazing daughter Jayla. We have loved being parents ever since and look forward to having our family grow through adoption!

Michael

My best friend Michael grew up in a small town with a big family. He has 7 brothers and 2 sisters so there was always someone to tease. In high school Michael participated in baseball, basketball and track. He is a natural athlete and enjoys all sports. He also loves fixing cars and computers, going to sporting events, and learning about new technology (of course, his favorite activity is hanging out with me and Jayla!). Michael also served a mission in Veracruz Mexico where he learned Spanish, which he still speaks. Currently, Michael is getting his PhD in Electrical Engineering and will be graduating August 2010. He plans on eventually becoming a professor. He likes that his chosen career path will be flexible and enable him to spend a large amount of time with the family and allow me to be a stay-at-home mom.

I was immediately drawn to Michael because of his natural happiness and sincere concern for others. He is the type of person who people seek out to receive comfort from their troubles. He has a contagious laugh that radiates throughout his entire body. He has a talent for spreading that joy to others. He is always singing some crazy ‘old school’ song around the house making me laugh. I appreciate his ability to see the good in everyone and his love for life. I also appreciate how he always puts his family and the Lord first. Michael is a great example to me and I love him.

I am always amazed at his many talents. One of which is his genuine love for children. The first thing that he says when he comes home from work is, “Where is Jayla?” Then he literally mauls her with hugs and kisses… poor girl, although I think she is finally getting used to it. Michael absolutely loves being a daddy and he freely offers Jayla his most valuable possessions, his time and love. My favorite thing to do is watch Michael chase, hug, dance with, and sing to, our precious little girl. Jayla has him wrapped around her little finger.

Kristen

I would like to tell you about my beautiful wife Kristen. She was raised on a dairy farm with her parents, 2 brothers, 1 sister, and around 200 cows. The dairy was in a rural area just outside of the city so Kristen got the best of both worlds growing up. She knows how to have fun in the country and the city. How she grew up has made her a very rounded person and she feels comfortable no matter where she finds herself.

She is a very happy and enthusiastic individual. She is a real 'go-getter.' She is very driven and never does anything half way. She learns very quickly and is always picking up new skills. She is very spiritual, loving, and genuinely concerned for others. I trust her completely and depend upon her for love and support. Nobody can make me laugh and bring joy to my life like her.

Kristen is very athletic and grew up dancing, and playing sports of all kinds (especially soccer!). For three years she started varsity for her high school soccer team. She has always been very intelligent. She graduated high school with high honors and was on the dean’s list every semester in college. After graduating with a Bachelors degree in Nursing she began working in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. As a Newborn ICU nurse she learned valuable skills that she seamlessly applies in motherhood. She always knows just what to do when Jayla is sick or not feeling well. Not only is she our families nurse, Kristen is a perfect little mother. She is always taking Jayla on walks, reading to her at the library, inventing fun games around the house, or teaching her new skills. She truly loves being a mother and has a passion for helping Jayla develop mentally, physically, and spiritually.

We hope you feel our love and concern for you. You are in our thoughts and our hearts. We pray that you will be comforted and that God will guide you in your decisions.

With all our love,

Michael, Kristen and Jayla

Please feel free to Send us a message. We would love to answer any questions that you might have.