Jess & Mike

I am the weekend manager at a local restaurant where I’ve worked for 3.5 years. I started out in their bakery and after a year I couldn’t work the early mornings anymore so I moved up to the restaurant and started managing. I’ve served and managed in a few different restaurants for the past 10 years and love the flexibility of hours that it gives me! I’ve been able to work a schedule that’s opposite of Mikes so that we don’t need to put our girls in daycare. I love managing, but I have a hard time dealing with conflict, and discipline because I’m a people pleaser. Luckily I’m not the disciplining manager, I feel like my role is to be the peace keeper. I also have a good relationship with all the employees and strive to make sure that they feel comfortable to come to me when they have concerns. I love everyone I work with so much, and call them my work family. They have been some of my biggest cheerleaders in this adoption journey.

I have had a love for baking for many years. About 4 years ago my sister had her first baby and experienced some pretty severe post-partum depression. I wanted to help her find some kind of hobby that she could look forward to that would help her keep going through her depression. I wanted to learn how to decorate Royal icing sugar cookies so we started learning together. Not to long after, we got our first order and it has now become a business where we have several orders a month. I love being able to do this with my sister who is also my best friend. You can see more if you want @cookiedoosutah I actually used to dream of doing wedding cakes for a living, so I’ve learned how to decorate cakes and take orders for all sorts of occasions. I would love to have a food truck or maybe even a store front some day.

We have called our sweet Alice Ali-Bear since she was tiny because we never knew if we were getting a happy bear or growly bear. She recently got student of the month and her teacher said she is kind, a friend to everyone, a friend who helps others, and loves to learn. I couldn’t agree more! She makes friends everywhere she goes, she even has adult best buddies that just adore her! She has a little mommy instinct in her and is always trying to help others around her, take care of them, and correct them when she feels they are wrong. She has a huge heart and loves so deeply, and is also very tender hearted. She makes us laugh everyday with her spunky little attitude. She has wanted to be an excavator driver when she grows up since she was about 2. She loves all diggers and trucks, being rough and tough, but also asks for her makeup to be done everyday and is obsessed with flamingos! Alice can’t wait to have a baby in our home! A few days ago she came and snuggled me in bed and quietly asked me, “Mom when are we gonna ‘dopt our baby?” I sometimes think it’s just as hard to wait for our girls as it is for me.

Our darling little Emmy is 7 and was born with a rare life threatening genetic disorder that can be tough at times. But since she was a baby I have said that she is just happy to be in this world and to have a body. She was the happiest baby that hardly cried, and she still just loves and lives life to it’s fullest. It can be harder for her to learn things but she has this drive in her to work at the things she really wants to do until she has mastered them! Emmy loves with her whole heart and has a very tender little spirit. She loves to spend her time playing with toys, watching shows, and riding a scooter or roller skates outside. You can find her doing at least one puzzle a day which which she is crazy good at! She LOVES cats and even has her own kitty that is her emotional support animal. She also adores Snow White and wants to marry her! When she grows up she wants to be a chef, swimmer, and ballerina. This girl has taught me more in my lifetime than anyone else. I strive to be like her because she is just absolutely amazing! Anytime we see a pregnant mommy she wonderingly asks me “where is our baby mommy?” She can’t wait to have a baby of our own to snuggle all day and love.

Our beautiful Lucy is 10 years old. Her kindergarten teacher once told me that Lucy has a heart of gold, and I can’t think of a better way to describe her! She is kind, caring, silly, and the best big sister and friend in every way! She protects her little sisters and loves helping them and playing with them. Lucy has done gymnastics and dance and loves them both! She would love to compete in gymnastics when she is in college. She has also done some horseback riding lessons and asks me all the time when she can have a horse of her own. Lucy has wanted to be a vet when she grows up for as long as I can remember. She loves all animals but especially loves pandas, horses and her dog Milo. Lucy is beyond mature for her age, I often have other adults tell me they would never guess she’s only 10. We are so grateful for her and couldn’t be more proud!

I would describe Mike as a big teddy bear. He may seem a little gruff when you first meet him but he is actually just a big softy! He is absolutely the cutest dad! He loves spending time with our girls, teaching them to run in the rain, and have fun without caring what anyone else will think. He is a big time teaser and loves to make others laugh. Mike is extremely handy and loves making things out of wood, working on cars, and doing all the home improvement projects around the house that I ask him to do. He also really loves to work out and do Spartan races. Mike works for the state as a fleet manager and really loves his job. When I think of a word to describe a father figure a protector comes to mind. Mike would do anything to protect his family, his children are his pride and joy and he makes sure they know it even if it annoys them how often he tells them he loves them. He strives to teach our girls to be good people, to be respectful, kind, courteous, and teaches them that they can do anything they want in this world if they work hard at it. Mike is always the life of the party, and there’s very few people he knows that wouldn’t consider him a friend. His biggest weakness is that he is to hard on himself and feels like he’s not good enough. So he is constantly trying to better himself in one way or another. I think he is a pretty amazing husband and father and couldn’t ask for a better partner. He would, without a doubt, love and adore any child added to our family.

When you think of the most incredibly talented, kind, generous, loving, caring, and amazing person, who comes to mind? For me it’s Jess. She is the glue that keeps our family together. She not only gives the girls an incredible example of what a mother and wife should be, she always finds time to do more for others than I think is humanly possible. From cutting hair, to sewing to her current side hustle of baking, she picks up everything almost immediately, and seemingly effortless. Everyone who meets her is better because of it. She can brighten the darkest day with a smile, and everyone goes to her with their problems. She is an amazing listener and loving enough to tell you the hard truths you need to become better. My only problem with this amazing lady is that she has never learned to say no. She will take on more than she can handle because she wants so much to please everyone. I hope she will strive to set boundaries with the people in her life for the me time that we all need. Twelve years ago she became my companion and partner forever. She is the reason I push to become better everyday. I’m just trying to get myself to her level. We couldn’t ask for a better mom or wife in our lives, and know that any child blessed to become part of our family, will have the best mom in the world who will quite literally, move heaven and earth for them.

We recently celebrated our 12 year wedding anniversary. First of all…how did we get so old? Time sure flies! Second…I am so grateful that we have had each other to lean on and to go through this crazy life together. We have had way more trials than our fair share but they have only made us stronger and brought us closer as a couple. We met in February 2010 at a singles activity for our church at a place called Man Camp! It was an overnight thing where we could play all sorts of games and they had a dance. I saw Mike and his big broad shoulders across the street in the dark and thought to myself “I’ve gotta go find out who this guys is!” I headed inside and saw him walking down the hallway in his cowboy boots, big belt buckle, and button down plaid shirt and thought “eh, never mind!” We ended up playing polker all night with a group of friends. About two months later he had won me over and we went on our first date. Three months later we got engaged and three months after that we were married!

This is probably my all time favorite photo from our fall break adventures.

I think it’s safe to say that as a family we all love Fall time!! Enjoying pumpkin patches as a family is one of our favorite things to do.

Getting together with family is always one of our favorite things to do. This last weekend we got to have several play dates, sleepovers and fun at the pumpkin patch.