Hello,
We want to thank all those who read this and express our gratitude for taking the time to get to know our family, even if just by reading these few paragraphs. We want you to know our prayers and hopes are with you in this time of trial and decision and we pray the Lord brings you peace in your time of need. Remember, it is often after enduring the moments of our deepest despair that we find our greatest joy.
Our family began over ten years ago when Jamie and Matt met in high school. We were high school sweethearts and have not parted since we were sophomores. On our first date Matt went in for a kiss and Jamie totally denied him! Matt has been coming back for more ever since. We were simply following in the footsteps of our parents. Both our parents were high school sweethearts (Jamie's parents began dating when they were 14!). We both played sports: Matt played football, basketball, and baseball and Jamie played softball and basketball. To this day we both enjoy being active in athletics whether it be exercising together or just playing catch in our backyard. There is definitely some friendly rivalry in our home over athletics since Jamie roots for the University of Utah and Matt roots for BYU. To be honest it's usually Matt against Jamie's entire family but luckily no permanent damage has been done.
After high school Matt chose to serve an LDS mission and spent two years in the Philippine islands and had the greatest time of his life up to that point. While Matt was away Jamie went to college and even went on a humanitarian mission to Africa. She loved her time over there and has longed to return ever since. To this day she loves to rent random movies on Africa or buy random pieces of jewelry because they remind her of Africa. For the entire two years Matt was on his mission, Jamie wrote him every week and after Matt got home we were married within four months in the Salt Lake Temple. Our wedding day was the best day either of us had ever experienced and even now we talk of how great a day it was.
We both love to travel and our first year of marriage we went to Hawaii, Florida, California and St. George (three times.) They are cherished memories. We try to get out of town any chance we get and it is our dream to travel the country watching basball games and other sites throughout the USA.
The best moment of our marriage happened the day our daughter Cierra was born. Jamie was blessed to have a really pleasant pregnancy for nine months but then had to endure a pretty terrible labor. It took 19 hours and a lot of lost sleep for Matt and Jamie. Jamie was just a few minutes away from being taken to have a C section when Cierra finally decided to make her entrance. She was worth the wait. She is the centerpiece of our family and has brought more joy, happiness, frustration, and laughter than either of us have ever experienced.
Being parents to our little CiCi has been amazing. She is a whopping two and a half foot, 28 pound, little spit-fire that never stops going. Her smile and laughter are contagious and she instantly lights up any room she enters. It's hard for us to discipline her because she already knows at three years old that if she can just get us to crack a smile, we're toast and she can get away with just about anything. She enjoys gymnastics and loves performing for us and her other family members. Cierra loves to play with her cousins and asks everyday to go over to their house. She also loves Scooby-Doo and the Walt Disney princesses. We were lucky enough to go to Disneyland not too long ago and now she will dress up in any princess dress she can get her hands on. She constantly talks about her brother/sister that we hope will become a member of our family soon and even prays for them despite not knowing them yet. We love her so much and have wanted to add on to our family since soon after she was born.
We look forward to creating new relationships through the adoption process. At first we were both nervous about the idea of an open adoption but have had experiences and talked with family members who have adopted about an open adoption. Because of this we are looking forward to creating a relationship with the birth parents. We want our child to know the special way that they came to us and the people who made it a possibility.
Again, we want to express our gratitude to you and for taking the time to read a little about us. Our hopes and prayers are with you. God bless.
-Matt, Jamie and Cierra
