Jessica & Parker In Utah

Our adventure started in college when we met at the local Walmart as cashiers. Jessica was in her first semester at a new school and luckily found a job working as a cashier. Parker would often offer to take Jessica home after work. It started out as a friendship and grew into a relationship. It didn't take long for us to know we should get married. We have been married for 13 years and counting. We have had many adventures together and always seem to get through because we have each other.

We love to have fun together and some may call us ridiculous, but we enjoy being together. Life is definitely not easy sometimes, but together we always overcome the struggles. We have each other’s back and strive to encourage each other to keep pushing forward. Parker and I are like peanut butter and jam. We make a better team than working things alone, so that’s how our marriage works. We work together to make the best life for our family. With communication and compromise life is amazing.

We have two sons. Ryker who is seven and Mavrik who is three. Ryker was born with a rare genetic syndrome called Trisomy 9p and partial 9q. All this means is that he has an extra chromosome making him very special. With this extra chromosome comes some difficulties, but he has overcome so many of them. He makes our family feel peace and joy every day. Ryker has a smile of gold and knows how to cheer you up with just his smile. He is gentle with little babies and will be the best big brother.

Mavrik is a little spit fire and is full of energy and spunk. Dinosaurs, sharks, animals, dogs and all things color are some of his favorite things. Mavrik takes on the big brother role and helps Ryker whenever possible. When we ask him if he wants a baby brother or sister, his eyes light up and he says, "Yes, baby." He would love to have a playmate and an adventure buddy around.

We are a "go with the flow" type of family. If we get invited to something last minute, we try to make it happen. If something doesn't work out, we make the most of it. We just enjoy being together and laughing as a family. We love camping, kayaking and appreciate the outdoor scenery. We also enjoy adventures and traveling. Sports are one of those things that bonds us together as a family. Ryker plays in a special needs baseball league. Mavrik will be starting soccer and baseball this next year.

We bought an older home a few years ago in the same neighborhood Parker grew up. Imagine a 1970’s home with shagged carpet and the smell of vintage, that’s the house we bought. We saw potential in it and knew we could make it into something we could call our own. Parker has managed to renovate 90% of the house himself. He has taken out walls, built a huge playroom and created my “Barbie Dream home” as I like to tell people. I drew up pictures of what I wanted and he has created it. We have an open concept living room big enough for Ryker to be able to use his wheelchair. Parker built a playroom with an under the stair hide out for the kids to play in. We are still working on the basement, but eventually we will have 3 more bedrooms and a family room downstairs.

Our neighborhood is amazing! We hit the jackpot when it comes to neighbors. Our street is full of kids and everyone is so supportive of one another. When I had Mavrik, we had meals brought in, our lawn was mowed once a week for months and neighbors would just check in to see if we needed anything. We live not too far from the mouth of the canyon and we have an amazing view of the mountains from our front yard. We are lucky to live where we do and we feel so blessed to be able to live close to family and friends.

We live close to relatives. Most of our family lives within 30 minutes of us. We have lots of cousins for the kids to play with at family functions. Jessica's sister, “Aunt Jenn” comes over at least once a week to spend time with the kids. Grandparents are 100% in our kids' lives and are excited for another child to be introduced into our family. We hope one day you will get to meet some of our family, because they are the best!

Our extended family has many trips scheduled every year. Fishing with Jessica's dad is always a highlight for our boys. Camping by the lake with Parker's side of the family is another yearly tradition. It’s nice to be able to get out of our small, little lives and be free in the wilderness for a couple of days. Utah has beautiful mountains. I hope one day you will get to experience them, they are magic!

We celebrate all the holidays BIG in our family! Every year Christmas is a Dr. Seuss Whoville theme with a "Who" feast on Christmas Eve. Thanksgiving is spent with our beloved friends in Idaho. We have been best friends since college and love spending time with them. They have 4 kids and Thanksgiving is always a blast hanging out in Idaho with all the snow. Birthdays are always special. We try to make sure the birthday person feels important and loved. The house is decorated and cake is made. We both take the day off to go do something fun with the family together. We spend most of the holidays with our extended families, but birthdays, we like to keep small.

We have always felt adoption was going to be part of our story. We want to add to our family to give another child a home full of love and adventure.