We are working to get this blog up to date and include as much information as possible...it is a work in progress so check back often! Thanks

WELCOME!

Thank you for taking the time to come check out our blog. We are very excited about adoption and we look forward to the day when we can add to our family. We hope that you can get to know us a little better as you look at our pictures, see our family members, and read more about us. If there is anything we have left out or if there is something you would like to know more about please contact us. Our information as well as our caseworkers information is located on the RIGHT SIDEBAR.

We can't wait to talk to you!

IN THE BEGINNING

Ryan and I met while serving our missions in Brazil. Well, we actually met in the Chicago airport on our way to Brazil. Although, we don't remember talking to each other we have a picture of all the missionaries in the airport and we are both in it! :) We were in the same group in the Missionary Training Center and became good friends.

After 2 months in the MTC we left and went to our mission area in Santa Maria. We didn't see each other again until the last 6 weeks of my mission. We got reacquainted and then 6 weeks later I went home to Utah.

Pic #1: Our group in the MTC (we are both on the far left of each row)

Pic #2: This at the end of my mission (dinner at a members house)

This is my last week in the mission...

I honestly thought I would never see him again. Ryan and I are very competitive people and in the MTC we had a contest to see who could get the most letters from home. We just about tied so we made a deal that when I got home I would write and tell him how many letters I got and he would count how many letter he had received up until then and who ever won the other person would have to send them a package. Well, we did write to see about the letters but no packages were exchanged. Since boys serve 6 months longer than girls do in the mission field Ryan returned to Indiana 6 months after I went home. He got home on Christmas Eve that year!
In March I wrote a mass email to friends, family, and people from my mission and Ryan was on the list. He wrote back and that was the beginning of us being pen pals via email. This went on for about a month and then he came out to Utah with his little brother for Spring Break. We hung out for a couple of days since they were very busy with trying to cram in a ton of things in a short period of time. But, it was a GREAT couple of days. The second day we watched a movie and like teenagers we help hands but kept it a secret from those around us. They left the next day. 24 hours later Ryan called and we decided to see if "this" could go anywhere...SPOILER ALERT...It Did (we end up together)!:) A month later I went out to Indiana for what was supposed to be a week but we hit it off so well I postponed my flight THREE times and ended up staying for 14 days!

My time in Indiana:

My mom finally called and told me to Get Home! A few weeks later Ryan came to Utah and actually only stayed a week.

Ryans time in Utah:

A couple of months later he moved to Utah. We dated for a month and then he popped the BIG question and I said, "YES!"

We were married 5 months later in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple on a FREEZING January morning.

So, there you have it...this is where the story begins!

ENGAGEMENT

Ryan and I have always had a lot of fun with each other. Here are a few pictures from that time...

Since Ryan is from Indiana there are a lot of things that he had not done or seen in Utah. One day we decided to go tot Park City. We were walking down the main street and across the street were 2 scooters with a sign on them that said "RENT ME". We said, "OK!" So, we drove around Park city on these little scooters all day. We had a blast. Not only was it my first time driving a scooter but I actually ran into a garbage can with several cars watching! Ryan just kind of kept driving as if not not be associated with me. :) Eventually I got the hang of it and we had a great day. We drove up to Deer Vally and some of the streets were really steep and we literally had to push with our feet to get up because they were just not powerful enough...we laughed till we cried!

On our missions we ate a ton of meat! A Brazilian BBQ is called a Churrasco--they turn the meat over fire or coals to cook it. Well, my parents came to Brazil to pick me up and my dad loved the food so much he brought back this little Brazilian BBQ. So, on special occasions we get it out and reminisce about how good the food is and as hard as we try it can not be replicated. We look forward to going back and visiting Brazil again one day.

Halloween night 2003...going around the neighborhood with our nieces and nephews Trick-or-Treating.

Ryan had never been to Disneyland and I LOVE it! It was my duty to get him there. He has an aunt who lives in California who let us stay with her while we went to Disneyland for Ryan's FIRST time. We have been back a few times since and we love it. I like to think that it is the kid in my but I am pretty sure the "adult" Nici loves it just as much...there is something about the "MAGIC" you feel when you are there!

Ryan was a great fiance who baked me a cake on my birthday! He was so proud of his cake decorating abilities. The funny thing is that he did not believe in his baking abilities and brought store bought cupcakes just as a back up!

Dating was a really great time. Even from the start Ryan always kept me laughing...and it hasn't stopped!

HAPPENINGS OF 2009...

My little sister and her husband were sealed as a family in 2009. Here are some fun picture s at the temple with two of our favorite people and the special people of the day...Aulbanie and Kennlei...

Just a little hike in January of 2009! The snow got pretty deep...snow shoes would have been a good idea! Although, Chase loved it!

We took a temple trip to the Logan Temple with Nici's parents and Ryan's mom. It was beautiful! Our first time ever going there.

We love the mountains in Utah! We can go camping on a Whim! Which is something we do a lot. Our first attempt last year was not a good one. The wood was still wet from earlier rain so no fire wood, our stove broke so no food, and it was freezing so about 2 hours into we packed up and came home in the dark! We tried! :)

I am the Camp Director for our ward. This past year Ryan got to come up for a couple days and help out where needed. Here are some of the fun things we got to do together while he was there:

This is from a Century Ride Ryan did last summer. It was a ride for Diabetes. His younger brother has it, as well as many of his Uncles. He did great!

GOOD TIMES!

GREAT TIMES IN 2008...

We do some really fun things but, one of the best ones was when we went on a cruise with Nici's parents and her sister and her husband.

We were messing around taking pictures of us while waiting to get back on the ship....this is not even all we took! It was pretty funny!
This was our favorite dessert...we ate it just about every night! It was picture worthy. :)
Our first night at dinner the guys thought their napkins made better hats then anything else. And Ryan wanted to see if he fit in our window seal! :)

Oh, and I love Christmas so I had to have a picture of their pretty tree even though it was the beginning of NOVEMBER! :)

Cruise party: Wayne (Nici's dad), Janice (Nici's mom), Lei (the sister), and Dan (brother-in-law)

RYAN'S FAMILY

Ryan's dad, Greg, lives in Indiana with his wife, Teresa. They have been married about 3 years. They LOVE their dogs and one cat. They both work hard but play hard as well. Greg loves photography! He takes pictures at all the local school sporting events and lets the parents buy pictures of their kids playing during games. Teresa loves to be with her family and playing with her dogs--she loves her pets! Both of them love to go on bike rides, read, and take naps! :)

This past Christmas we went to Indiana. Here we went on a hike around a frozen lake! It was really cold but we had a lot of fun.

Ryan's moms name is Debbie. She moved to Utah about 4 years ago. We see her often! She is a stay at home mom. She likes to spoil her grand-dog Chase! :) and loves to be with her family. She loves her 3 boys, loves spending time with, and would do anything for her family.

Ryan is the oldest of 3 boys. Next in line is Pat. He is currently in the Army and is stationed in NYC as he wait to be deployed in January 2010. Pat loves to hang out with his friends when he is not working hard all day in the Army. He is awesome and we are proud to have him serving our country!

Nick is the youngest brother. He is in High School and lives with his mom. We also see Nick quit a bit. He is a funny guy. He loves to hang out with friends and do anything that is out doors. He really does not know how to sit still. He loves to go 4 wheeling, horse back riding, and fixing just about anything. He went hiking in the Tetons with us this past summer. This picture was from when we went camping/hiking in Zion National Park.

Over all, they are 3 great guys...funny ones too I may add!

NICI'S FAMILY

My parents and 4 sisters all live with in a 50 mile radius of us. It is nice because we get together often. We are able to support each other in sporting events, dance concerts, and school programs. We have 7 nieces and nephews in all. We get to be "Cool Uncle Ryan & Aunt Nici". Let me introduce you...
These are my parents: Wayne & Janice.
My mom works for an on-line scrapbook company and my dad after owning his own business building homes for pretty much his adult life has slowed down quite a bit and now drives a school bus and works as an Usher for all the major sporting events in Utah. They are very happy people and love their grandchildren more than their own children! :)

My oldest sister, Shaan, and her family. She also met her husband, Mack, while serving on their missions in South Carolina. They have two sons, Shad & Harrison. They both like to play sports and be rough-housin' boys! Shaan is an elementary teacher, while Mack is stay at home dad and hopes to be freelance writer.

Lei, is next in line. Her and her husband have 4 kids (The oldest is not shown). Jaiden is the oldest and just entered High School. He loves his phone :), Diamon is in the red and loves to dance, Raiven, in the white, is just hilarious! She is very loving but loves to make people laugh, and then there is Jett. Jett loves karate and playing with his cousins, Shad & Harrison. Lei is a stay at home mom and Dan owns his own business who lays carpet in LDS churches.

Dani is a couple years younger than I am. She recently moved back from Pennsylvania and is working at a restaurant as a server. She likes to mingle with the customers and party with her friends. She was also afraid to take a picture by her self...that is why my parents appear again. :)
She also has a dog named Jack. He is the black lab and the other puppy is named Gizmo. He and Chase are best little buddies.

My youngest sister is named Britt. Her and her husband have three little kids. Aulbanie who just started pre-school loves to play with the older cousins and be a grown up. She has a great little personality. Kennlei, is next and she talks very little. She grunts in place of talking it can be really funny at time, but she is learning. Kaiden was born earlier this year. In fact, he was born 3 days after they were sealed in the Bountiful Temple as a family. It was a very special day. They just topped the week of by having a baby! :) Britt is a stay at home mom and Chad works for TSA (airport security).

Well, that is the clan! They whole lot of them. We are a large, loud, family which makes family get togethers rather interesting. Many of our best times are spent reminiscing about our childhood.

The Family on Christmas Day 2009!

Chaserbug!

Chase LOVES to swim. We always try to go camping by a lake or river so Chase can play in the water. He also loves to play FRISBEE but we don't have any good videos of it...yet! It is fun to play with him and see him catch the Frisbee in his mouth. But, on the other hand...he is the most loving dog in the world. He has brought us so much happiness. He is going to be the best dog for our future kids.

Here are a few more pictures:

Chase with our niece, Aulbanie, camping in The Tetons

Chase with Ryan on a Winter Hike!

Chase loungin' around. He loves to lay on the Love Sac...we just covered him up. :)

Here are a couple other dogs in our extended family. Bella is the HUGE one and Gizmo is the little guy. Bella belongs to my sister who also has a little lap dog named, Koda Bear. Gizmo is my mom's dog and my another sister has a black lab named, Jack, and one more sister who has a dog like Gizmo named, Wookie.

I guess you could say we are kind of a DOG family! :)

Letter to the Birth Parents

Dear Friends,First off, we are very excited you are reading this letter. We would like to take a moment and express our appreciation and gratitude for the effort you are putting into finding the perfect adoptive couple for the precious child you are carrying. Although, we don’t know you yet, we are thinking of you and you are always in our prayers. We understand you have a big decision to make in the near future; this is an incredible sacrifice you are making. We pray that the Lord may guide you and comfort you during this time in your life. We can only imagine how difficult this time is for you, but whatever the outcome, we pray that you find happiness and peace.

Nici on how we met: Ryan and I met in Brazil. Actually we served in the same mission, Brazil, Santa Maria. Before we can really even remember each other we have a picture of all the missionaries that were going to Brazil on the same flight from the Chicago airport and we are both in it. Kind of funny! Anyway, we went to Brazil and were in the same group. We became really good friends. In fact, I always thought that if we had met outside the mission we would have been best friends. After 2 months in the mission training center we went to our mission and didn’t see each other again until the last 6 weeks of my mission. We got reacquainted and then I went home to Utah. Six months later Ryan went home to Indiana. Three months after that I wrote a mass email to friends, family, and people I knew from my mission and Ryan responded. We began to email back and forth for a couple of months before he came to Utah for a visit. We really hit it off, held hands, and decided to see where this could go. I went out to Indiana for a week and ended up staying 14 days, like I said we really hit it off! After that Ryan visited Utah one more time before he moved here. After Ryan moved here we dated for a month before he proposed. We were engaged for 5 months and then married in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple. And it’s been bliss ever since. :)

Ryan’s Thoughts on Nici: Where to begin? As I think of what to write I think the most important thing to say is Nici and I are best friends. The reason I think we are so perfect for each other is because we were friend’s way before we ever started dating. Nici and I have been married since 2004. Since then, I have been able to see what makes Nici tick. She loves life. She loves to have a good time, but she knows when it’s time to have fun and when it’s time to work. Nici is a very hard worker and dedicated to her family and her job. Nici is very determined. That quality has helped her in whatever she has done in her life. Growing up she was a very good softball player, because she worked so hard at it. She graduated from college with a Bachelors Degree in Behavioral Science with emphasis in Social Work. That decision has been a blessing for her in her career and I feel will carry her farther yet.

Nici works with developmentally disabled adults. She’s the director of a day program where these individuals can go work and learn life skills. She loves her job, which I find amazing because it can be very difficult and stressful at times. Nici really understands how to help people. There is an individual that goes to her work who works there and is 52 years old, but she always tells Nici, “You’re like a mother to me.” Nici always laughs and says, “Well actually you’re old enough to be my mother!” The people she takes care of really love her. But I think she likes it because when she walks in everyone calls her name and wants her attention… she must think she’s a celebrity?!? Before I met her I didn’t realize it takes someone this special to help people, but it does and she does it well. She has a big heart.

Some funny facts about Nici are she can almost recite every episode of Friends (all 10 seasons) and the Office. One time when we were sitting around a family dinner with about 15 people there, out of nowhere Nici ask, “Which is the state Boston or Massachusetts?” She figured out the answer as everyone sat and stared at her. Sometimes she will laugh so hard that she can’t stop until somehow it turns into her sobbing. It’s more funny than sad.

Nici loves life, she loves to be around and help others. She learned very quickly how to get a crowd going because she is the middle child of 5 girls. She was the clown in her family growing up. She laughs at herself and thinks she’s so funny which makes those around her laugh too.

Having grown up in the Church and serving a mission, the gospel is very important to her and she has a strong testimony.

Nici’s thoughts on Ryan: Ryan is my best friend! That is the best way to put it. We have so much fun together. Ryan is just a hilarious guy. He never takes himself too seriously. He is very good at making me happy and knows what to do to keep me that way, i.e. always doing the laundry, surprising me with my favorite candy, Swedish Fish, and telling me I’m pretty. He makes me laugh every single day with his funny little impressions and accents that he does. He can really do just about any accent; unfortunately I have only mastered Jamaican, “Ya Mon!”:) Ryan is very passionate for life and lives it to its fullest. He loves being outdoors. A few years ago he got a road bike and since then he has trained very hard and ridden in many century rides (100 miles). He is not afraid to do hard things.

Ryan is a very hard worker. The thing that caught my eye back in the mission training center was his hard work and love for the gospel. He was a convert of only 3 years when he went on his mission and I was always impressed by his knowledge of the gospel. He has always worked very hard in his jobs and personal goals which has brought him a lot of success. Even when he lost his job in the early part of 2009 he picked himself up and in a time when it was difficult to find a job he found one that has really blessed our family. His hard work comforts me because I know that he will do whatever it takes to take care of me and our family.

Ryan is a great example to those around him. He is one of those people who do the right things even when no one is looking. He is the oldest of 3 boys and has lived a life that his brothers can look up to.

Ryan will make a wonderful father one day. He is so loving and selfless. He deserves to be a father and any child would be very lucky to have him as one. He is truly the BEST!

About Us: We love to do just about everything we can together. Not just the two of us but with our dog, Chase. Among the many camping trips we have taken to The Grand Tetons, Yellow Stone, Zion’s National Park, Bryce Canyon, and just the mountains in Utah in General we love be outside. We also love to travel and go on road trips. Nici loves Disneyland and everything Disney. Ryan had never been to Disneyland when we got married so we got to go together for Ryan’s first time. And now, he is a big fan too! We have returned several times since that first time and plan on going back many more times. We went on a cruise with some of Nici’s family members. We visited San Juan, St. Martin, and St. Thomas. We also went on a Church history Tour through Nauvoo, Palmyra, and we ended up in New York City. This was one of the coolest vacations we have been on. We took tons of pictures which were stored on our computer until it crashed and we lost everything. That was a very sad day! We also look forward to going to Indiana each year to visit Ryan’s side of the family. We also like to just kick back, watch movies, and eat popcorn. Some of our best date nights are just hanging out at home playing games.

Our goal in being parents is to raise happy children with the gospel of Jesus Christ as our foundation. We couldn’t imagine it any other way. We have seen the blessings of living the gospel in our lives and want that for our children. We strive to have Family Home Evening, family scripture study, and family prayer in our lives. Family dinner time is also a very important time to us. We want to be good examples to our children and be people who they can look up to. Family has been and will always be the most important thing in our lives!

Our feelings about adoption: When we think of the word adoption we think of HOPE. We were very devastated to find out that a natural pregnancy may not be an option for us. It was not until we had felt prompted to adopt that those feelings became lighter. Adoption is giving us something that we are unable to obtain for ourselves. We are very excited to become adoptive parents.

Placing a child for adoption is a very selfless act and is one of the greatest gifts someone could give us. We would very much like to have an open adoption and allow the birth parents to be a part of the child’s life. We look forward to sharing letters, emails, and pictures of the child’s life with you. We are also open to exploring a future relationship with the birth parents. The more people who love this child the better! We truly appreciate you taking the time to get to know us better as you consider who may make the best parents for your child. We would consider ourselves very blessed if you decide to contact us. We pray that the Lord may guide and bless you throughout this time in your life.

Again, we want to thank you for taking the time to read our letter, look at our pictures, and get to know us a little bit better. We hope to meet you soon. We pray daily for you and that you can be comforted with the decision you are faced with at this time in your life.

With Love,

Ryan & Nici