Letter
To Our Expecting Mom/Dad
We have a strong belief that you can never have enough people who love and care about you and we want this child to know that they were so loved by you
Our hearts are open and ready to love, to love unconditionally. He will always know where he came from and this outcome was built on a foundation of love from all involved.
As we try to figure out how to really say, and express what we are feeling tears are often brought to our eyes. I don’t know if we can adequately express all the words in our hearts but just know that we feel so much love and connection to you already.
Through our immediate family we have seen part of what adoption looks like and have been able to really take the time to understand many sides and aspects of it. Adoption hits us on so many emotional levels. But the one that always stands out to us the most is just have STRONG you are. We know that there are different options when it comes to pregnancy and that what you are doing takes a strength that not everyone has. You are a hero in our eyes and we will always let everyone know that.
We want to honor whatever openness you are comfortable with. We promise to always be honest and truthful even if it can be hard or uncomfortable. We have a strong believe that you can never have enough people who love and care about you and we want this child to know that they were so loved by you. We want to have open communication and want you to have constant access to photos and videos of him through social media. We would like to remain in contact if you are ready for it and hopefully have visits and phone calls.
We want you to know that we understand that although this is an exciting and happy time for us that our happiest day will most likely be one of your hardest. We mourn with you and our hearts will forever be grateful to you. You will forever be a part of our lives and hearts.
We know how to advocate for our children and help them with whatever they need. Our family is full of fighters. We fight hard and love hard. We are resilient and know how to look out for each other. You will always feel welcome and comforted when in our family. Our family is full of trust and honesty.
As a family, we have talked endlessly about what adoption is, who it effects, and to show grace and love through the process. We are confident in our entire family’s ability to love this baby and to be his biggest cheerleaders. Not only to love and root for him, but to do the same to you.
Our hearts are open and ready to love, to love unconditionally. He will always know where he came from and this outcome was built on a foundation of love from all involved.
We know this decision is full of emotion and hard choices.We pray that you will pray and ponder what is best for you and your child. We hope that you can find peace and clarity and you move forward. No matter what the decision is, we appreciate the strength, power, love, and selfishness you have already shown and we pray that you will be blessed immensely with whatever your outcome is.
Stayton and Ashley
Through our immediate family we have seen part of what adoption looks like and have been able to really take the time to understand many sides and aspects of it. Adoption hits us on so many emotional levels. But the one that always stands out to us the most is just have STRONG you are. We know that there are different options when it comes to pregnancy and that what you are doing takes a strength that not everyone has. You are a hero in our eyes and we will always let everyone know that.
We want to honor whatever openness you are comfortable with. We promise to always be honest and truthful even if it can be hard or uncomfortable. We have a strong believe that you can never have enough people who love and care about you and we want this child to know that they were so loved by you. We want to have open communication and want you to have constant access to photos and videos of him through social media. We would like to remain in contact if you are ready for it and hopefully have visits and phone calls.
We want you to know that we understand that although this is an exciting and happy time for us that our happiest day will most likely be one of your hardest. We mourn with you and our hearts will forever be grateful to you. You will forever be a part of our lives and hearts.
We know how to advocate for our children and help them with whatever they need. Our family is full of fighters. We fight hard and love hard. We are resilient and know how to look out for each other. You will always feel welcome and comforted when in our family. Our family is full of trust and honesty.
As a family, we have talked endlessly about what adoption is, who it effects, and to show grace and love through the process. We are confident in our entire family’s ability to love this baby and to be his biggest cheerleaders. Not only to love and root for him, but to do the same to you.
Our hearts are open and ready to love, to love unconditionally. He will always know where he came from and this outcome was built on a foundation of love from all involved.
We know this decision is full of emotion and hard choices.We pray that you will pray and ponder what is best for you and your child. We hope that you can find peace and clarity and you move forward. No matter what the decision is, we appreciate the strength, power, love, and selfishness you have already shown and we pray that you will be blessed immensely with whatever your outcome is.
Stayton and Ashley
Our Marriage
Ashley was made for motherhood
I can’t say enough how good of a father and husband Stayton is. He always has his families best interest in mind and would do anything for each one of us.
Stayton (written by Ashley)
Stayton has a strong and driven personality. He is organized and a very hard working. He is everybody’s fix it guy and often receives text and phone calls from others needing help. People know they can count on him and the trust him. He is very generous with his talents, time, and resources. Stayton is always looking to improve himself and be the best that he can. He is quick to apologize and is very loving.
I love watching Stayton with our children. He tries his best to parent with love and patience. He teaches our kids what a good work ethic is and also shows them how to relax! He loves making his grandma’s cookie recipe with the kids and telling the stories about her.
With our girls, he loves making them feel special and makes sure they know their worth. He enjoys going on little outings with them and always says yes when the ask him to play. Stayton loves bringing our son to work with him and teaching him all about cars. They often enjoy doing “just the boys” outings where they will go hot tubing, grab food and a drink, watch sports, or work on projects together.
I can’t say enough how good of a father and husband Stayton is. He always has his families best interest in mind and would do anything for each one of us. We love him look forward to seeing him become a Dad again.
Ashley (written by Stayton)
Ashley was made for motherhood. I’ve know this for many years, however I didn’t always know just how made for motherhood she really was! Ashley has had family and children on her mind since the beginning. When you marry someone, you do all your research, you get to know the person and then decide if this is the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. But even with all that there are so many things that are unknowns. I always knew Ashley would be a great mother, and to say she far exceeded my expectations would be an understatement. I never thought someone could be so selfless, so caring, so willing to give of themselves whilst expecting nothing in return. All the long and sleepless nights, and difficult and frustrating moments, while notable, all seem to fade into a blur that is surpassed by the one constant that is always there.
Ashley.
She is there, always. She is selfless, kind, patient, caring, loving, sweet, tender and Christ like. She has and continues to be the best mother and wife I could have ever imagined. She gives 100% of herself to our family every day. There never has been and never will be a doubt in my mind that my children will always be cared for, no matter what the circumstances because of Ashley. In this next chapter of our family’s story, I have no doubt she will again exceed even my loftiest expectations. Ashley was built to give of herself, it is in her DNA, it is what she is made for. She is the most amazing mother I have ever known.
OUR MARRIAGE
We have been married for 13 years! Many wonderful, a few difficult and hard, but all rewarding and unforgettable.
We communicate well. We never like to see the other one upset or have contention in our home so we do our best to lovingly work out any upset feelings we have.
We love to grow together but also individually. We give each other room to be themselves.
We never yell or have abusive words in our home. We have set high goals for our family. The most important being to teach our children to love others and to always try their best. We always are looking for those around us who need our help or who we can serve. Serving others is big in our family. Stayton and I have been very much in love with each other for 15 years and that love grows every day. Our children complete out marriage and our family is our everything,
We enjoy date night and time with each other, but also really love just doing everything as a family!
Stayton has a strong and driven personality. He is organized and a very hard working. He is everybody’s fix it guy and often receives text and phone calls from others needing help. People know they can count on him and the trust him. He is very generous with his talents, time, and resources. Stayton is always looking to improve himself and be the best that he can. He is quick to apologize and is very loving.
I love watching Stayton with our children. He tries his best to parent with love and patience. He teaches our kids what a good work ethic is and also shows them how to relax! He loves making his grandma’s cookie recipe with the kids and telling the stories about her.
With our girls, he loves making them feel special and makes sure they know their worth. He enjoys going on little outings with them and always says yes when the ask him to play. Stayton loves bringing our son to work with him and teaching him all about cars. They often enjoy doing “just the boys” outings where they will go hot tubing, grab food and a drink, watch sports, or work on projects together.
I can’t say enough how good of a father and husband Stayton is. He always has his families best interest in mind and would do anything for each one of us. We love him look forward to seeing him become a Dad again.
Ashley (written by Stayton)
Ashley was made for motherhood. I’ve know this for many years, however I didn’t always know just how made for motherhood she really was! Ashley has had family and children on her mind since the beginning. When you marry someone, you do all your research, you get to know the person and then decide if this is the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. But even with all that there are so many things that are unknowns. I always knew Ashley would be a great mother, and to say she far exceeded my expectations would be an understatement. I never thought someone could be so selfless, so caring, so willing to give of themselves whilst expecting nothing in return. All the long and sleepless nights, and difficult and frustrating moments, while notable, all seem to fade into a blur that is surpassed by the one constant that is always there.
Ashley.
She is there, always. She is selfless, kind, patient, caring, loving, sweet, tender and Christ like. She has and continues to be the best mother and wife I could have ever imagined. She gives 100% of herself to our family every day. There never has been and never will be a doubt in my mind that my children will always be cared for, no matter what the circumstances because of Ashley. In this next chapter of our family’s story, I have no doubt she will again exceed even my loftiest expectations. Ashley was built to give of herself, it is in her DNA, it is what she is made for. She is the most amazing mother I have ever known.
OUR MARRIAGE
We have been married for 13 years! Many wonderful, a few difficult and hard, but all rewarding and unforgettable.
We communicate well. We never like to see the other one upset or have contention in our home so we do our best to lovingly work out any upset feelings we have.
We love to grow together but also individually. We give each other room to be themselves.
We never yell or have abusive words in our home. We have set high goals for our family. The most important being to teach our children to love others and to always try their best. We always are looking for those around us who need our help or who we can serve. Serving others is big in our family. Stayton and I have been very much in love with each other for 15 years and that love grows every day. Our children complete out marriage and our family is our everything,
We enjoy date night and time with each other, but also really love just doing everything as a family!
Our Kids
Our love for H hits us deep and hard. He is one of the sweetest boys I have ever truly known
She wants everyone to feel loved, she is a natural comforter
W.
Our oldest was our miracle baby after going through some fertility issues. After fighting hard for 4 years with infertility we were blessed and rewarded with our little Winnie.
W is our social butterfly. She has a huge heart and she feels all of the feelings deeply. She is so loving and can really see people for who they are. She wants everyone to feel loved, she is a natural comforter. She loves art, music, and traveling. She LOVES spending one on one time with people and having special moments. She is a great communicator, is so good at telling people how she feels and most of all telling people what she loves about them! She is so brave and adventurous. W has been a great big sister to her siblings and is so excited to help and love a new baby.
H.
Our love for H hits us deep and hard. He is one of the sweetest boys I have ever truly known. He has the kindest most loving heart and he asks daily when he can get a baby brother that he can love and hold. H is an awesome gymnast and enjoys his boy’s gymnastics team. He does well at school and is very smart and hardworking. He loves swimming and watching sports with his dad. He loves him Mom and treats her with daily hugs and I love you’s.
H was diagnosed with high functioning Autism at a very young age and has been working hard in therapy for the last 5 years. We all worked really hard to make sure he received all the things he needed to do well in life and we are so proud of how well he is doing. He has far exceeded our and his therapist expectations in his short time here. He is strong, resilient and works hard every day to overcome the daily difficulties that many never see or understand. Autism does not define Hudson or who he is because he breaks down every barrier that is placed in his path. He is a special little boy with a heart to match! We are proud of him and know he was sent here to do amazing things. He has taught us all so much about compassion and love we don’t know what we would do without him.
L is a constant ray of light in our home! She is so busy and hilarious! L came at a hard time in our lives and truly helped mend broken hearts. She is one of the most self-confident children I have ever seen. She knows what she wants and her independence is inspiring to all of us! She is quiet and more reserved then our other two but she is fiercely loyal. She loves doing EVERTHING with us. She helps with dinner, laundry, you name it she just wants to learn and be busy! We often go sneak her out of bed to come spend some one on one time with Mom and Dad so we can get all the little girl snuggles we can from her.
She has been so excited to not be the youngest anymore and is looking forward to showing a baby all her things. She is a natural helper and we are so grateful for her.
Our oldest was our miracle baby after going through some fertility issues. After fighting hard for 4 years with infertility we were blessed and rewarded with our little Winnie.
W is our social butterfly. She has a huge heart and she feels all of the feelings deeply. She is so loving and can really see people for who they are. She wants everyone to feel loved, she is a natural comforter. She loves art, music, and traveling. She LOVES spending one on one time with people and having special moments. She is a great communicator, is so good at telling people how she feels and most of all telling people what she loves about them! She is so brave and adventurous. W has been a great big sister to her siblings and is so excited to help and love a new baby.
H.
Our love for H hits us deep and hard. He is one of the sweetest boys I have ever truly known. He has the kindest most loving heart and he asks daily when he can get a baby brother that he can love and hold. H is an awesome gymnast and enjoys his boy’s gymnastics team. He does well at school and is very smart and hardworking. He loves swimming and watching sports with his dad. He loves him Mom and treats her with daily hugs and I love you’s.
H was diagnosed with high functioning Autism at a very young age and has been working hard in therapy for the last 5 years. We all worked really hard to make sure he received all the things he needed to do well in life and we are so proud of how well he is doing. He has far exceeded our and his therapist expectations in his short time here. He is strong, resilient and works hard every day to overcome the daily difficulties that many never see or understand. Autism does not define Hudson or who he is because he breaks down every barrier that is placed in his path. He is a special little boy with a heart to match! We are proud of him and know he was sent here to do amazing things. He has taught us all so much about compassion and love we don’t know what we would do without him.
L is a constant ray of light in our home! She is so busy and hilarious! L came at a hard time in our lives and truly helped mend broken hearts. She is one of the most self-confident children I have ever seen. She knows what she wants and her independence is inspiring to all of us! She is quiet and more reserved then our other two but she is fiercely loyal. She loves doing EVERTHING with us. She helps with dinner, laundry, you name it she just wants to learn and be busy! We often go sneak her out of bed to come spend some one on one time with Mom and Dad so we can get all the little girl snuggles we can from her.
She has been so excited to not be the youngest anymore and is looking forward to showing a baby all her things. She is a natural helper and we are so grateful for her.
Our Life
We give people second changes, love others, forgive quickly, don’t judge, and know that we are always able to try again even when we have made a wrong choice.
At night, we always try to sit own for a family dinner and do at least one activity together.
Here is a general idea of how our day to day looks!
We start our day with Stayton getting the kids up and starting breakfast while mom either sleeps in or gets back from a workout class. (He is the best morning person!) He always makes something fun like chocolate toast, or pancakes. They all love having Dad be in charge of breakfast. Dad then cleans up breakfast while Mom gets the kids lunches ready. Dad and Mom help the kids pick out outfits, do their hair, and get all their school bags ready. Then we have family prayer, hugs and kisses, and head out the door!
While the kids are at school Ashley does some work, cleans up around the house and often goes to a workout class. Sometimes she will spend lunch with a friend or family member. Stayton goes to work and then often leaves mid-afternoon and comes with Ashley to pick the kids up from school and spend some extra time with them
After school, we have snack time and then usually go to one of our extracurricular activities. All 3 kids are in gymnastics so we are there a few times a week. L is a natural born dancer an enjoys ballet. H and W are in piano and have been enjoying learning a new skill. W goes to a weekly art class where she loves drawing and usually is working on a gift for someone.
At night, we always try to sit own for a family dinner and do at least one activity together. Our favorites are, going to get a fun drink at Fizz, watching movies, and playing games. Then its story time, prayer, scriptures and bed!
Weekends are spent with family and friends and usually a small fun activity.
Vacations:
We love traveling as a family and exploring new places. We LOVE Harry Potter, so Universal Studios in Florida is one of our favorite places to go! Some of our favorite memories with the kids have been watching their faces as they experience and see new things!
Another place we love going is Hawaii and the Gulf Beach for Family Vacations. We love taking a long break at the beach to relax and spend quality time together. Every year we try to travel somewhere new with the kids and are excited to keep exploring the world together.
Holidays:
Holidays are a big deal around here! We love all the little traditions and going all out!
Christmas is our favorite and it usually starts the day after Halloween! After we go trick or treating we start decorating for Christmas! Ashley’s mom always made holidays really special growing up and it’s a fun tradition we have loved continuing with her. We are avid Harry Potter fans, and have a New Years Eve Harry Potter party every year that we look forward to all year!
Grandma is here with us for every holiday and the kids love spending that time with her. She is always bringing thoughtful gifts and throwing little parties for the kids. She even does a summer garden party with them that they love.
Faith:
We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
We believe in God the Eternal Father, in his son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. We believe in living a life that Christ would want us to. We try to learn all that we can about Jesus and know that the greatest happiness in life comes from following the Savior’s way. We try to follow in his example at all times. We give people second changes, love others, forgive quickly, don’t judge, and know that we are always able to try again even when we have made a wrong choice.
We believe in eternal families and that God has a plan for each of us and loves us no matter what. He knows us perfectly.
We raise our kids in this faith but also believe in agency. We let them gain their own testimony’s and are always here for them.
We start our day with Stayton getting the kids up and starting breakfast while mom either sleeps in or gets back from a workout class. (He is the best morning person!) He always makes something fun like chocolate toast, or pancakes. They all love having Dad be in charge of breakfast. Dad then cleans up breakfast while Mom gets the kids lunches ready. Dad and Mom help the kids pick out outfits, do their hair, and get all their school bags ready. Then we have family prayer, hugs and kisses, and head out the door!
While the kids are at school Ashley does some work, cleans up around the house and often goes to a workout class. Sometimes she will spend lunch with a friend or family member. Stayton goes to work and then often leaves mid-afternoon and comes with Ashley to pick the kids up from school and spend some extra time with them
After school, we have snack time and then usually go to one of our extracurricular activities. All 3 kids are in gymnastics so we are there a few times a week. L is a natural born dancer an enjoys ballet. H and W are in piano and have been enjoying learning a new skill. W goes to a weekly art class where she loves drawing and usually is working on a gift for someone.
At night, we always try to sit own for a family dinner and do at least one activity together. Our favorites are, going to get a fun drink at Fizz, watching movies, and playing games. Then its story time, prayer, scriptures and bed!
Weekends are spent with family and friends and usually a small fun activity.
Vacations:
We love traveling as a family and exploring new places. We LOVE Harry Potter, so Universal Studios in Florida is one of our favorite places to go! Some of our favorite memories with the kids have been watching their faces as they experience and see new things!
Another place we love going is Hawaii and the Gulf Beach for Family Vacations. We love taking a long break at the beach to relax and spend quality time together. Every year we try to travel somewhere new with the kids and are excited to keep exploring the world together.
Holidays:
Holidays are a big deal around here! We love all the little traditions and going all out!
Christmas is our favorite and it usually starts the day after Halloween! After we go trick or treating we start decorating for Christmas! Ashley’s mom always made holidays really special growing up and it’s a fun tradition we have loved continuing with her. We are avid Harry Potter fans, and have a New Years Eve Harry Potter party every year that we look forward to all year!
Grandma is here with us for every holiday and the kids love spending that time with her. She is always bringing thoughtful gifts and throwing little parties for the kids. She even does a summer garden party with them that they love.
Faith:
We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
We believe in God the Eternal Father, in his son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. We believe in living a life that Christ would want us to. We try to learn all that we can about Jesus and know that the greatest happiness in life comes from following the Savior’s way. We try to follow in his example at all times. We give people second changes, love others, forgive quickly, don’t judge, and know that we are always able to try again even when we have made a wrong choice.
We believe in eternal families and that God has a plan for each of us and loves us no matter what. He knows us perfectly.
We raise our kids in this faith but also believe in agency. We let them gain their own testimony’s and are always here for them.