Megan & Christian In Utah

We met about 4 years ago on a dating app, while we were both in college. We went to the same University, but never would have met through traditional means, since we lived on opposite sides of campus, had different friend circles, different majors, and attended different congregations of our mutual church.

We got engaged and married in 2020, which meant our wedding fell completely apart two weeks before our scheduled date. So we decided to get married anyway in Megan’s parents' house with just our families and the Bishop who married us.

Christian is currently a Youth Development Specialist at a Youth Center. This involves working with youths going through the judicial system, youths awaiting placement, and youths in crisis. He works mostly with teenagers. He enjoys helping youth to better their lives and get through difficult situations. Megan is an Intervention Aide at an Elementary school. She helps children who struggle with reading or math to improve their skills and excel in school. She enjoys helping kids enjoy learning and hopes they always will find a book they love.

We enjoy being outdoors together. Megan grew up going to the lake with her family and Christian did lots of white water rafting with his family. Together we enjoy swimming, kayaking, and hiking. We also enjoy watching movies and visiting art exhibits. Some of these are local and some not. Megan is an artist (even though she has a day job) and loves seeing art of all kinds. Sometimes, she'll even enter her work in art shows as well. Christian has a deep appreciation for the arts. Christian loves working on cars. We are working on building him a shop on our property to house his Model T, which is currently at his parents' house. Christian hopes to pass on his love of cars and work on car projects with our kids someday.

We have one dog, named Sailor. She is a Portuguese Water dog. Sailor is still a puppy and is making progress in her training. She loves kids and does really well with our nieces and nephews. Sailor is sassy but friendly. She loves meeting new people and dogs, and wants everyone to be her friend.

We live in a 3 bedroom house in rural Utah. Our house sits on a half-acre with fruit trees. The nursery is right next to our bedroom so we can easily slip in for night feedings and changings when the baby is old enough to sleep out of our room. We have a great guest room for visitors. Our front yard even has a little free library. We both love to read and want to encourage reading in our community.

We have a great neighborhood and church community. Our park is only a few miles away and has a splash pad. Living in the middle of Dinosaur land, we have access to Dinosaur museums, a national monument full of fossils and fun murals and statues around town featuring dinosaurs. We can’t wait to bring our children to community events!

Christian’s family consists of his parents, Brad and Eva, his older brothers Dusty and Cody, and his younger brothers, Jesse and Dallin. All five boys are married. We have lots of nieces and nephews on his side, with 8 here on earth, one in heaven, and one on the way. We will be the last couple on his side to have children.

Megan’s family consists of her parents, Eric and Christy, and her three brothers, Taylor, Ian, and Brayden. Megan is the second oldest. We also have two sister-in-laws and two nieces on Megan’s side.

Christian’s family loves the outdoors. Every 4th of July, Christian’s favorite holiday, they go camping and white water rafting. As everyone has spread out over the western half of the US, not everyone is able to go, but we still have fond memories of spending time as a family by the river. Christian has shared the activities of white water rafting and kayaking with Megan. While Megan is still learning, she has come to enjoy being out on the lake or the river in their kayak.

Megan’s family loves to spend time together doing lots of activities, including boating and enjoying a movie at the theater. A favorite family tradition is getting handmade ornaments for Christmas from Megan’s great-grandma and then her grandma.

Adoption has always been a part of how we were going to grow our family, infertility just made it happen sooner. We both have had wonderful experiences interacting with adoptive families through childhood and adulthood. We believe adoption is beautiful and are excited to be on this journey.