Hello!
We are Andrew, Brianna, and Jessica. Thank you for taking the time to look at our blog and for considering adoption; it has already blessed our lives and is very special to us. We can't comprehend the challenges and decisions you are facing right now, but we want you to know we are thinking of you and praying for you. We know that prayers are answered and that God will bless you with the decisions you are making. We know that adoption is an incredibly brave choice, but it is also incredibly difficult. We hope you can feel our love for you and that you will feel peace and strength, no matter what choice you make.
We love being a family and we love adoption! We adopted Jessica as an infant in 2010 and we are so grateful for her birth mom, Melinda, and our relationship with her. We've been able to visit with her, her family, and Jessica's birth father's family, and have loved getting to know all of them and having them in our lives. At times, we have lived close, which was so nice to be able to visit often, but even when we have all moved, we are grateful to stay in touch in other ways when we can't visit as often. We see Melinda as a part of our family and we love her so much! We hope to have an open adoption again (maybe even with you) because we have seen how incredible it truly is!
We want you to be able to get to know us a little, but it is hard to describe your family in a letter without making it a mile long. Well, maybe some people can do it, but we can be long winded, so it is hard for us. Either way, we decided to instead share 10 random facts about our family to help you get to know us.
1. Andrew considers our first date together as the one where his roommate asked me out and Andrew was with another girl. While canoeing, he said he realized he had the wrong girl in his canoe. We still like to go canoeing, but now, we are in the same canoe.
2. Brianna has been skydiving, which is pretty surprising because she is no daredevil and pretty cautious. Side note from Brianna: I didn't jump, but the instructor strapped to me did and he was big enough to pull me out of the plane with him. Never again!
3. We like to celebrate half birthdays in our family. All of our family celebrations are pretty close: our anniversary in April, Andrew's birthday in May, Brianna's in June, and Jessica's in July. This way, we can celebrate all year! We don't do much...half a cake or a fun treat, decorate with our Happy 1/2 Birthday sign and some balloons and streamers (Jessica always wants to decorate with balloons and streams), and of course, we sing "Happy 1/2 birthday to you..."
4. Jessica named her doll Froggy, because the doll has some pajamas with frogs on them. Good thinking, right? Froggy often has birthdays; she is eight now although she has only been around for four years.
5. Andrew hasn't had a cavity in over 25 years! Brianna has had multiple cavities in the last 25 years and as a result dislikes visiting the dentist.
6. In our first home after we were married, we experienced almost every possible disaster! First, we had a septic tank/plumbing catastrophe, a flameless kitchen fire that filled the house and all our possessions with smoke, and a gas leak in the neighborhood which caused us to evacuate. We also had our phone lines ripped off the house by a garbage truck, a flood in the basement, and gale force winds that were tearing the roof off an old shed (don't worry...Andrew climbed up there in those winds to secure the roof). Despite all this, we still loved the place. Check out the full scoop here.
7. Every Christmas, one of our favorite traditions is making and decorating gingerbread houses. We buy way, way too much candy and take hours! We all decorate our own and it so fun!
8. We have lived in all the "aska" states (Alaska and Nebraska). One of those was the most beautiful state in the country. Hint: It wasn't Nebraska!
9. If we could go anywhere on vacation, we would probably all pick Seaside, Oregon. We love the beach, and even though Oregon beaches are cold, it is so beautiful and has so many good memories for us! Jessica has only been once, when she was one, and even she can't wait to go back. We are planning a trip to go there this summer and we can't wait!
10. Andrew can do some pretty funny things with his face. He can move his eyebrows with precision and accuracy, he can make the biggest frown in the world, and he can make a crazy half-frown half-smile. You will have to see it sometime! Jessica loves making faces with him (or practicing staring contests) and he is teaching her how to move her eyebrows too.
That is us in a nutshell, but there is a whole lot more we would love to share with you. We would love to learn more about you as well!
We are excited to have our family grow through adoption! Thank you for giving us hope! We are so grateful for Jessica's birth mom, Melinda. We are amazed at the strength she had to place Jessica in our family. We love having an open adoption and relationship with her and we feel that it has blessed all of our lives! We think one of the most important things in a marriage is having good communication and have seen it strengthen our relationship. We have seen this with Jessica's birth families and we know it will be important to have communication and openness with you as well. We look forward to meeting you and building a friendship. You can get to know us more by texting or calling us at 801-477-6621 or emailing us at andrewbrianna21@gmail.com.
Thanks again for considering us. You are in our prayers,
Andrew, Brianna, and Jessica
We are Andrew, Brianna, and Jessica. Thank you for taking the time to look at our blog and for considering adoption; it has already blessed our lives and is very special to us. We can't comprehend the challenges and decisions you are facing right now, but we want you to know we are thinking of you and praying for you. We know that prayers are answered and that God will bless you with the decisions you are making. We know that adoption is an incredibly brave choice, but it is also incredibly difficult. We hope you can feel our love for you and that you will feel peace and strength, no matter what choice you make.
We love being a family and we love adoption! We adopted Jessica as an infant in 2010 and we are so grateful for her birth mom, Melinda, and our relationship with her. We've been able to visit with her, her family, and Jessica's birth father's family, and have loved getting to know all of them and having them in our lives. At times, we have lived close, which was so nice to be able to visit often, but even when we have all moved, we are grateful to stay in touch in other ways when we can't visit as often. We see Melinda as a part of our family and we love her so much! We hope to have an open adoption again (maybe even with you) because we have seen how incredible it truly is!
We want you to be able to get to know us a little, but it is hard to describe your family in a letter without making it a mile long. Well, maybe some people can do it, but we can be long winded, so it is hard for us. Either way, we decided to instead share 10 random facts about our family to help you get to know us.
1. Andrew considers our first date together as the one where his roommate asked me out and Andrew was with another girl. While canoeing, he said he realized he had the wrong girl in his canoe. We still like to go canoeing, but now, we are in the same canoe.
2. Brianna has been skydiving, which is pretty surprising because she is no daredevil and pretty cautious. Side note from Brianna: I didn't jump, but the instructor strapped to me did and he was big enough to pull me out of the plane with him. Never again!
3. We like to celebrate half birthdays in our family. All of our family celebrations are pretty close: our anniversary in April, Andrew's birthday in May, Brianna's in June, and Jessica's in July. This way, we can celebrate all year! We don't do much...half a cake or a fun treat, decorate with our Happy 1/2 Birthday sign and some balloons and streamers (Jessica always wants to decorate with balloons and streams), and of course, we sing "Happy 1/2 birthday to you..."
4. Jessica named her doll Froggy, because the doll has some pajamas with frogs on them. Good thinking, right? Froggy often has birthdays; she is eight now although she has only been around for four years.
5. Andrew hasn't had a cavity in over 25 years! Brianna has had multiple cavities in the last 25 years and as a result dislikes visiting the dentist.
6. In our first home after we were married, we experienced almost every possible disaster! First, we had a septic tank/plumbing catastrophe, a flameless kitchen fire that filled the house and all our possessions with smoke, and a gas leak in the neighborhood which caused us to evacuate. We also had our phone lines ripped off the house by a garbage truck, a flood in the basement, and gale force winds that were tearing the roof off an old shed (don't worry...Andrew climbed up there in those winds to secure the roof). Despite all this, we still loved the place. Check out the full scoop here.
7. Every Christmas, one of our favorite traditions is making and decorating gingerbread houses. We buy way, way too much candy and take hours! We all decorate our own and it so fun!
8. We have lived in all the "aska" states (Alaska and Nebraska). One of those was the most beautiful state in the country. Hint: It wasn't Nebraska!
9. If we could go anywhere on vacation, we would probably all pick Seaside, Oregon. We love the beach, and even though Oregon beaches are cold, it is so beautiful and has so many good memories for us! Jessica has only been once, when she was one, and even she can't wait to go back. We are planning a trip to go there this summer and we can't wait!
10. Andrew can do some pretty funny things with his face. He can move his eyebrows with precision and accuracy, he can make the biggest frown in the world, and he can make a crazy half-frown half-smile. You will have to see it sometime! Jessica loves making faces with him (or practicing staring contests) and he is teaching her how to move her eyebrows too.
That is us in a nutshell, but there is a whole lot more we would love to share with you. We would love to learn more about you as well!
We are excited to have our family grow through adoption! Thank you for giving us hope! We are so grateful for Jessica's birth mom, Melinda. We are amazed at the strength she had to place Jessica in our family. We love having an open adoption and relationship with her and we feel that it has blessed all of our lives! We think one of the most important things in a marriage is having good communication and have seen it strengthen our relationship. We have seen this with Jessica's birth families and we know it will be important to have communication and openness with you as well. We look forward to meeting you and building a friendship. You can get to know us more by texting or calling us at 801-477-6621 or emailing us at andrewbrianna21@gmail.com.
Thanks again for considering us. You are in our prayers,
Andrew, Brianna, and Jessica