Annie & Jake In Utah

We met online at the end of 2018, started dating in January 2019 and were married July 27th of 2019. We definitely moved quickly, but it has worked out perfectly for us. We were able to find each other and get settled in right before the world ended! On our first date, we met up and got ice cream and talked and laughed until they closed and that is basically what we have been doing ever since. We talk to each other about everything and laugh the whole time!

Jake currently works for a steel manufacturing company as a 3D architect. He basically makes 3D models of buildings that customers order to make sure that everything is ready to be built correctly. I like to call these his Ikea drawings because that is what they look like to me! He learns new things every day and can tell me more about steel than anyone should be able to tell.

Annie has worked in special education for the last five years, but decided to leave work about 3 months ago in order to go back to school and finish her Bachelor's Degree. She is getting her degree in special education and elementary education so that she will be able to have her own classroom in the next few years.

Our free time is generally spent with family. We go on a mini road trip to Jake’s parents for the weekend about once a month because they live a couple hours away. Annie’s family on the other hand all live right next door to us, so we see them almost every day. Annie’s mom loves to throw parties for just about anything and everything, so we’re there celebrating all of the time! If we’re not with family we love pulling out our card table and playing games while we watch a movie in the living room. We love to be competitive with each other, even though Jake normally wins. When we are doing our own hobbies, Annie is normally on the couch crocheting, while Jake is playing video games or Dungeons and Dragons with his friends.

We currently live in a nice two bedroom apartment. We have a big, open living room with lots of room to play and an empty bedroom to fill with a beautiful baby! We have a backyard space that is filled with toys for all of the kids to share and enjoy together along with a big front lawn to lay out and soak up some sun.

We live in a very quiet neighborhood that has a park one block to the left and another park three blocks to the right. Right next to the park to the right is an elementary school, a skate park, a soccer field and a golf course. Living in a small town, we have lots of opportunities to meet and become good friends with other people. Our local library does reading days where you can bring your kids and have a story read to them while they sit and enjoy with other children. Our local gymnastics building has play dates for little kids where they can go play on the equipment or take swim lessons. We also have an indoor community pool that allows us to be able to go out and have fun all year round!

Annie has 3 siblings. An older sister who is married with an 8 year old little girl, a younger sister who is married with a 1 year old little boy and a little brother who is out living his best life traveling somewhere new every weekend. Annie’s family will throw a party for absolutely any reason! Everything is a celebration filled with great food, fun games and lots of love.

Jake is the oldest of 4. He has 2 sisters and a brother. His mom is a licensed therapist who owns her own practice and his dad works in the quality assurance department for a large software company. When everyone gets together, we usually spend time playing board games or sitting at the firepit talking about life and the memories we share. Jake’s family is also very loud! Both of his parents have a ton of siblings and Jake has what seems like a near infinite number of extended family members. They love to have huge get-togethers to play games, eat good food and just have a fun, loud time.

Annie’s family will throw a party for absolutely any occasion. Forget the big holidays, even though those are celebrated extensively as well. We’re talking Dr. Suess’s birthday with green eggs and ham, backwards day with the table upside down while everyone sits on the floor and St. Patrick's Day with literally everything dyed green! Is it a Wednesday? Be prepared for the wonderful world of Disney where we pick a movie, make a whole themed dinner, the kids dress up and we all cuddle up on the couch to watch together. Everything is a celebration filled with great food, fun games and lots of love!

Celebrating Dutch Christmas is another tradition on Annie’s side. Her grandparents were born and raised in Holland, so when they came over, they brought this tradition with them! We all get together, make Dutch treats and play games all night. When we're just about to wrap up for the night, everyone pulls out their personalized wooden shoes and we sing a song to Sinterklaas. We leave him cookies and carrots for his horses and then the next morning your shoe is filled with a chocolate letter in the shape of your initial along with a few small presents and lots of candy! This has always been one of Annie’s favorite traditions because it’s celebrated on the 5th so we always get two Christmases!

We are unable to have biological children. I have always wanted to be a dad and Annie has always wanted to be a mom. Adoption is our chance to fulfill that dream.