Dear Reader,

We appreciate you taking the time to get to know our family. We understand that you have a difficult choice to make and that your decision will greatly affect your life and the life of the sweet baby that you carry. We have hope that through the Savior’s love and understanding you may feel the peace, comfort, and guidance you desire. Please know our thoughts and prayers are with you. We send our love and look forward to meeting you.

We have been married almost 13 years. We met while attending church with a young adults group at Utah State University and were introduced though a mutual friend. I knew Jared was the one the moment I saw him but Jared needed some convincing since he was “through with girls.” It didn’t take long for me to change his mind. Through our first years of marriage we attended school. I majored in nursing and Jared in economics and finance. Later he started his own construction business.

We have two children. Kaleb is nine and Emma is almost five. They are both very close to their grandparents and are able to spend a lot of time with them. We are blessed to have our extended family close by and enjoy their company for birthday and holiday celebrations. We have regular Sunday dinners and take turns hosting and have started a new tradition of watching old family movies and looking at pictures.

We love and support each other in all of our endeavors. Katie loves to play soccer and Jared and the kids will often come and watch her play. Jared loves to camp, hunt, fish and go horseback riding. Although this is not Katie's favorite thing she is supportive and will either tag along or go shopping instead. Katie has also had the opportunity to coach both Kaleb and Emma’s soccer teams. Jared has had the opportunity to coach Kaleb in wrestling and basketball. The kids love to go with Jared horse back riding and fishing. One of our most favorite activities to do together is snow skiing. We try to go at least once a week, occasionally grilling burgers and making a day of it. We love going out together to dinner at Texas Roadhouse or Firehouse Pizzeria and catching a movie, most recently Puss in Boots.

As a mother, parenting is an ongoing learning experience for me. My children challenge me everyday to be a better parent and I find support through friends, family, and educational materials. One parenting style is not going to work for every child. I have found that I need to be creative, patient, loving, and teach by example. Parenting does bring its challenges but when Jared and I tuck them in at night and they put their arms around us and kiss us on the cheek it is all worth it.

Jared is a very patient and loving father. He is so good to play with our children when he comes home from work, they scream daddy’s home and run to give him a big hug. Jared is my best friend. He listens to me and I feel so safe and assured with him around. He makes time for his family. He is very talented at designing and building whatever project he takes on. He works hard to be able to provide for his family.

As a father I believe there is no greater honor than to be responsible for the precious little spirits sent from the presence of our Heavenly Father. I have always and will forever consider my role as father the single most important work that I shall ever do. I strive to provide for the physical needs of my family, and though I know these needs are of great importance there are other needs and responsibilities that I consider to be paramount. It is my greatest desire to enjoy as much time as possible with my children so that they will grow to be good, honest, hard working, happy, and righteous individuals. When raising children, I feel, it is important to be loving and patient. As Kaleb and Emma’s father I treat them as small adults giving them choices to let them make decisions for themselves. Quite often they are not happy about something that they have been asked to do, a simple explanation of the request makes all the difference. When it does not I try to be patient and loving but firm. Watching them learn and grow is the most rewarding experience I have ever had. I learn as much from them as they do from me.

We recently enjoyed a family vacation to Disneyland. Emma loved eating breakfast with the princesses while Kaleb enjoyed the big thriller rides like Screamin’. We were also fortunate to be able to go on a Disney cruise together. We snorkeled in the ocean, went sailing, and even saw dolphins and whales. The kids were big fans of "all you can eat" ice cream, pizza, and hot dogs. We also enjoy short local trips just to swim in the pool at the hotel and go to the zoo.

We love spending time with our kids and watching them learn and grow. Kaleb has had the opportunity to participate in soccer, skiing, basketball, swimming, gymnastics, and wrestling which is his favorite. He loves to draw and is an excellent reader. Emma started skiing at just 18 months and loves it. She also participates in gymnastics, soccer, and swimming. She is very smart and likes to learn at preschool.

While spending time with our kids is our top priority, taking time to strengthen our relationship is very important to us.  We enjoy sharing conversation over dinner, taking in a movie, and retreating to secluded mountain destinations.  We make a extra effort to do special things for each other such as cooking a favorite dish, rubbing tired feet, sending flowers, or even a "spur of the moment" surprise overnight trip.

Emma enjoys telling others her adoption story and about her birthparents. We are fortunate to be able to talk to her birthparents frequently, as well as share texts, pictures and gifts. We are very open with her about her adoption and respond to her questions with age appropriate answers. We are also very active in Families Supporting Adoption. This group allows us to get together with other adopted children, share stories, and experiences. We are currently forming a multicultural group to better support and educate our children.

Five years ago we were blessed by adoption when Emma came into our home. We will forever be grateful to Emma’s birthparents. We consider them to be part of our extended family and they are in our thoughts daily. We are excited once again to go through the journey of adoption. Our hearts are so full of gratitude and love towards birth parents.

We have great admiration for you and realize you have a very important decision to make. We hope that you will be comforted in this difficult time. We love and pray for you.

Jared and Katie

Updating my blog for those who love to see my kids!

Holy Cow! I haven't blogged for an entire year. I'll give you an update on the past year. We enjoyed skiing together and made our annual trip to Targhee in April. Kaleb really looks forward to going. Emma also likes to ski and sings songs skiing down the mountain. My Grandma Falslev passed away in April as well and we sure do miss her. Kaleb played soccer and Emma is in gymnastics. We moved from Nibley to Benson and lived in Grandma Falslev's house while we built our house which is also in Benson. The kids enjoyed swimming and camping during the summer. Kaleb did mutton bustin again and took first. Kaleb entered the 1st grade this year and is very lucky to have his aunt for his teacher. Emma keeps mom and dad on their toes. For halloween Kaleb was batman and Emma was Tina Turner. Kaleb wrestled and played basketball for the first time and Emma continues with gymnastics to expend some of her never ending energy. We moved into our house just after Thanksgiving. Kaleb was surprised for his birthday and got a golden retriever. We had a good Christmas, it sure is fun to be apart of the kids' excitement. We have been skiing once and Emma learned to turn. I am working full time at the hospital and Jared is getting into the insurance business. We would like to adopt again but are not actively pursuing but if a situation came along we would gladly accept. Love you all.

I think I am actually ahead of schedule in my posting. Well we are still here and doing well. Kaleb has pneumonia right now and has been out of school a week, hopefully to return monday. Just before he got sick he was the star student and was able to take a few things to share with the class. The class made a special book for him and said all the things they liked about him. He enjoyed it alot. A couple of Saturday's ago we took Emma skiing for the first time. She actually did pretty well. She preferred being carried down the mountain but also wanted to ski as long as her little legs would allow it. It will be nice to take her instead of having to leave her home. Kaleb and I have tried to go at least once a week when time allows and we're not sick. We finally convinced cousin Max to sleep over and the kids made a tent downstairs to sleep in. They have lots of fun together. Kaleb lost his first teeth the first of the month and was diappointed the next morning when the tooth fairy had forgotten to pick them up. (OOPS!) There is never a dull moment with Emma around she is constantly providing entertainment (funny and not so funny). She decided that she would like to get in the suit case and go for a ride. She dumped a half gallon of milk on the counter, she climbs everything and would swing from the light if she could figure out how to move the table. She is really starting to talk and is a parrot. When somebody is leaving she says "where you going" and also says "I wuf oo" They grow so fast and I'm trying to enjoy her despite all the trouble she causes. Jared and I went with Brad and Sue on a cruise to the eastern carribean and it was a lot of fun and very relaxing. It is so beautiful down there. Jared went scuba diving and is hooked, I went snorkeling with Sue. We did start our house finally and have a foundation. Hopefully we will be in sometime during the summer. That is all for now I look forward to hearing from each of you.

Hey everyone! I am running on my usual 2 month update. We had a very good Christmas and our little family is well. I don't have much time at the moment to write but I hope all is well for each of you. I missed getting together with some of you the Saturday after Christmas. Love you all.

Katie

I am not very good at updating my blog. Finding the time is tricky. Kaleb had his 6th birthday and Emma is 16 months old and getting busier by the minute. The only time I can get anything done is when she is sleeping. They sure are fun and it is fun to watch them learn and grow. Kaleb is starting to read and loves Kindergarten. Emma babbles nonstop and gets into, and climbs everything. We had a fun Halloween with Shrek and Princess Fiona. We joined Donkey later at Grandma's house. Hope all is well with everyone and I enjoy looking at each of your blogs.

I just posted Kaleb's mutton bustin video. You'll have to check it out.