John and I met at Ricks College (now BYU-I). I was the choir director for our ward and one day John was the only tenor to show up for practice. When I realized I could still hear his voice amongst all of the other sections, he got my attention. Over the next few months we became friends but he would never ask me out on a date! Finally one of my FHE brothers (family home evening) said he would set me up on a date with John if I would set him up with one of my high school friends. We spend our first date doing a scavenger hunt at the mall, playing miniature golf, playing Pictionary in chocolate pudding and dancing at a school dance. It was great! We instantly realized we had more there than friendship and we were soon spending every spare minute we had together. I even scheduled my class exams during the times he worked at the testing center.
A few months after we were married we started to feel like we should try to start expanding our family. Things didn’t go quite like we had hoped. We went through all sorts of unpleasant testing to try and find out why we weren’t getting pregnant. We finally had tried all possible methods available at the time and the next thing we could do was either try to do In-Vitro Fertilization or adoption. We decided on adoption. We went to all of the group classes that were offered through LDS Family Services. We met with several wonderful birthmothers who were kind enough to share with us their experiences so we would know what to expect. As we were getting our paperwork all filled out, I found out that I was pregnant.
So, after five years (that felt like fifty) of disappointment, Ali joined us. I think sometimes you appreciate things more when you really have to work for them. Ali is no exception. She has been a joy since day one. She is now almost 8 and really smart. She learned to read at age 3 and hasn’t stopped. Sometimes we have to beg her to put the book down so she can eat. The last three Halloweens she’s dressed up as characters from a book. She is a funny girl too. She loves telling and hearing jokes. Each day we write a different joke or riddle on her napkin for her school lunch. Ali is extremely caring. She is always making sure that everyone feels included and is having a good time. Sometimes this is hard for her because she is also very shy but she makes herself do it because she is more concerned about others than herself. Ali loves all sorts of sports: gymnastics, golf, tennis, swimming and she just started soccer.
About a year after Ali was born I started thinking we should try to get pregnant again. After all, I wanted my kids to be close in age and if it was going to take 5 years to get pregnant every time, we’d better get a move on. Again, we were disappointed. Again we tried all sorts of scientific ways to get pregnant. This time, we decided to try In-Vitro because our insurance would pay for it. We had the first meeting with the doctor and were just waiting to start the medications when I found out I was pregnant.
When I was around 20 weeks pregnant, we found out that the little boy we were expecting had some serious birth defects, some of which were life threatening. We had a lot of tough decisions to make and, against the recommendation of all the doctors, we decided to take measures to help our little Angel survive. Andy was born right on schedule and four days later went in for his first of three open heart surgeries. He has had two so far and will have the last one around four years old. Andy is doing so well! He is proving all of the doctors wrong and surprises us with all that he can do every day. Andy loves to laugh, give kisses, give hugs, get tickled, and hear funny sounds (like the crows outside).
As for me, I also love reading, making cards, doing service, watching movies, playing games and being a Mom. I am currently going to school to get my nursing degree.
John likes BYU football, reading, movies, music, fishing, playing games, and camping. If you say a quote from a movie, there’s a 99% chance he can name that movie. John currently works for an internet search engine company as a Training Designer.