Getting to Know You

Hello,

We are Amanda and David from Utah. We are ready to give our unconditional love to a child and expand our family through the miracle of adoption.  Thank you for taking the time to learn about our little family. 

Even though we do not know you yet, we have a great amount of respect and admiration for you.  We cannot truly understand everything you are going through but please know that we offer our sincere support and prayers.  We can only try to understand the difficulty in the decisions that lie ahead for you.  It is obvious the plan you are making is being made out of love, courage and selflessness and that you are trying to make the best decision for this child.  We hope that by looking at our photos and reading about our lives you will find comfort in knowing how much we want to share our lives with another child. 

Why we are Adopting

We have always known that we wanted a large family.  Thus, nine months and two weeks after we were married, our oldest - Emma - was born. Our joy and gratitude for her quickly led to another pregnancy, which ended prematurely in a life-threatening miscarriage for Amanda.  Heartbroken, we were told that due to the damage caused by the miscarriage, infertility may be an issue.

And so it has.

In the coming years, three siblings would miraculously join the family. A sister, Grace , and two brothers , Ashton and Bennett.  Some came easily and others took a lot of time and effort (like our four year wait for Ashton). But we are so grateful to have them, no matter the struggle.

Last January, our youngest – Bennett – passed away unexpectedly in his sleep. He would have been  20 months old the following week.  Even after an autopsy, we have no cause for his death. The last eighteen months have been grueling but we have clung to God and are holding each other close. It’s amazing what beauty and perspective can come out of ashes.

Due to continued infertility issues, we have decided to grow our family through adoption.

Our Story

David and Amanda met while attending college on the East Coast. David was on a baseball scholarship while Amanda was on a vocal scholarship. We both shared the same major and – as seniors – shared many of the same classes. After a year of studying, interacting, socializing and – eventually – dating, we found that we were a perfect fit. Not because we are alike but because our differences compliment each other so well.  We had our first kiss on the 4th of July and were married the following September. 

Best. Decision. Ever.

David and Amanda

David is a wonderful, playful and very “hands on” daddy and husband. Whether it is coaching Ashton’s t-ball team, bringing flowers to our girls after their theater or music performances or massaging Amanda’s feet at the end of the day. He is completely dedicated to being the best daddy and husband he can be. 

Before getting married, David was a gifted student and college baseball player who was a three-time captain and eventually went on to coach college baseball. He is deeply loved and respected by all who know him and can get along with just about anyone. 

After obtaining an MBA at a top business school, David has gone on to several business ventures. His passion is organizational development and training. We are blessed to have such a wonderful provider for our family so that Amanda can stay at home with our children and that we can provide the security and opportunities that we desire for our family.

Amanda is blessed to be a Homemaker and Stay-at-Home Mom. Outside of her routine mommy duties,  she enjoys writing, singing, cooking, developing new recipes, decorating, traveling and reading.  

Before getting married,  Amanda had opportunities to travel and study abroad  in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Mexico and the Caribbean. She loves taking the lessons she learned from her travels and sharing them with her children as they dream and plan their own adventures. She feels blessed to be married to the Man she respects and adores most and equally blessed to be a Mother.

Our Children

Effervescent Emma - Emma is ten years old and is such a blessing to our family.  She is a gifted Harpist, a budding Artist, a lover of babies, an Organizer of all things, and is one of the most  kind and thoughtful people we know. To know her is to love her.  

Giggling Grace - Grace is eight years old and brings so much Joy to our family. She loves creating beautiful music on the Piano, completing secret acts of service for others and creating handmade gifts for  those she loves. Our family would not be complete without her.

Adventurous Ashton - Ashton is four years old and is boy, boy, boy. He is passionate about all-things-wheels and prays nightly for "the monster truck show to come back to town." He loves dirt, rocks, riding his big wheel and is currently begging Mommy and Daddy for a puppy.  Above all, Ashton has a tender heart. If he thinks he has hurt someone’s feelings, his big blue eyes fill with tears as his lip starts to quiver. How we love our sweet boy.

Our Sweet Angel Bennett - Bennett is our little boy that moved to heaven one year ago. Though he is not a physical part of our home at this time, he is still very much a part of our lives and an integral component in our Eternal Family unit. We look forward to being reunited with him again. We can’t wait.

Bennett is Contentment, Joy and Peace personified. In his short 19 ¾ months on earth, he touched many lives. We believe he served his mission on earth and is now on an adventure that is beyond what we can even imagine. We are so blessed to have him in our family.

Our Family

We are a family that loves to have fun. We greatly cherish the time we spend together, whether it is just the five of us, or if we’re with our extended families. 

We both come from very large families. David has two sisters and a brother while Amanda has two sisters and four brothers. We are fortunate enough to have a large family with 11 nieces and nephews. Our family gets together often and the children all enjoy playing together.  Holidays, birthdays and special occasions are best when spent with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins.

Our Faith 

Our faith is central to where we have come from, the choices we have made, and the values that guide our decisions and perspectives. Our religion is not what we do, it's who we are.

Before getting married, both David and Amanda served full time missions for our church. Though our experiences in our prospective areas were different, the take away was the same. Each of us were left with a concrete desire to live a gospel centered life and serve others while sharing our love for God and all His children with the world. Our belief of a Loving Father and His perfect plan is the center of our Marriage, our Family and our Home. Our faith has only strengthened since Bennett's death. Any child that joins our family will inherit the Legacy of Faith that we have been given and will be taught from Day One that they are a valued, cherished and beloved Child of God.

P a r e n t i n g   &   E d u c a t i o n

We will provide a life where a child feels secure in the love and support of their family. We will raise our children with Christian values and we will promote respect for all people.

Our children will be encouraged to pursue their dreams, whatever they may be.  As college graduates (Amanda – one language class away from a bachelors,  David – Masters) , we will work with our children to provide a college education and other opportunities for growth and development.  We do our best to introduce our children to new adventures ~ music lessons, swim lessons, art classes, tennis lessons, soccer, t-ball,  etc.  We believe that some of the greatest educational opportunities in life, happen outside the classroom. And so we strive to provide as many of these opportunities as possible for our children. 

We also enjoy simple things like going to the park, taking Sunday strolls around the neighborhood, going on family bike rides after dinner, visiting friends and family, visiting local attractions or simply making our favorite caramel popcorn recipe and hunkering down for a Family Movie Night. We love being together and would love the opportunity to share these experiences and all of the love that we share with a little baby.

Our Home & Community

We recently built our final home in a charming, family-oriented neighborhood that is bookended by two horse pastures. This fall, we are beginning the landscaping process that will include a white picket fence, extensive flower beds, trees, flagstone pathways, large paved patio, outdoor dining area, fire pit, sandbox, raised vegetable garden boxes, fruit trees, playhouse, memorial garden in honor of our Angel Bennett and an outdoor spa area. We can hardly wait.

We are blessed to live among strong, dedicated families who share our values. We also have many parks, hiking trails and amusements within walking and driving distance.  Our home is two stories and has 4 large bedrooms with a basement to finish as needed in the future.  Our favorite place in our home is our large kitchen that opens up to a two-story great room that overlooks our backyard and the barns and pastures that border our property. It’s truly a little piece of heaven.

Our neighborhood is full of traditions: an annual summer bbq, july fireworks/dessert night, soup and rolls before trick-or-treating on Halloween and a Christmas Party for the ladies in the neighborhood. We can’t imagine living anywhere else.

How Adoption has touched our Family

Adoption has always been part of our lives and has touched our hearts in so many ways. After a four year struggle with infertility, we were in the process of adopting in 2007 when we found out we were miraculously expecting our first son. We also have friends and family that have adopted children and we have been in awe as we have watched the beauty of the process. We are fortunate to have these people in our lives so we can talk with them about their roles in adoption and how it affects everyone involved.  We definitely feel it has helped us to gain a better appreciation, insight and understanding.  

In conclusion, we have so much love to share with another child and we are excited to have the opportunity to expand our family through adoption. If we are given this privilege to adopt your baby, always know we will unconditionally love and cherish your child and they will forever know the sacrifices you have made out of love. 

Thank you once again for taking the time to read our story.  We wish you all the best in everything you do, especially in the coming months when you will be faced with some tough decisions. We respect your decision to follow your heart and pray that God will give you the strength and courage to do what is best for your child.

Love and Light,

David, Amanda, Emma, Grace & Ashton

Our family while hiking at Zions National Park