Letter to Expecting Parents

Hi there,

We are nervous and excited to write this letter to you. Nervous because it is a new journey and hard to know what to say but excited because we have the opportunity to share a little bit about ourselves with you in the hopes of getting to know you better. We are sure that you have been reading about a lot of families so we appreciate you taking the time to read about us.

Katie's 2nd Birthday - July 2011

Our Story: 

We met at a church activity on a Monday night. On Wednesday night we had our first date, on Thursday our second. Friday night we had our third date. This was also goodbye. Early Saturday morning Ken left with his military police unit for Iraq. When he left he took Kim’s heart with him. Over the course of the next several months many letters, care packages and brief phone calls were exchanged. By the time Ken came home we were in love. Three months later we were married.

Our first dance - February 2004

We have a fun marriage and really enjoy spending time together. One tradition we have is for our birthday’s (which are two days apart) we like to go on a vacation instead of buying each other gifts. We feel making memories together is much more important than “stuff”. For one birthday vacation we spent time in three different states. We visited friends and family in Nevada, Arizona and California. The majority of our time was spent in San Diego visiting the zoo, aquariums, wild life park and the beaches. That was our first big trip with our daughter and it was so fun to experience everything through her eyes.

San Diego Zoo - October 2010

About our daughter:

Our daughter Katie is a very active 4 year old. She has brought so much joy and laughter into our lives. She is a very happy child with a big personality. The thing we love most about her personality is how funny she is. She is constantly cracking us up! Everybody loves our little girl. We could go on and on about her but you probably want to know a little about us too.

June 2011

About my husband:

I knew that Ken would make a great dad the first time I laid eyes on him. He was staring at a newborn baby almost as if he was mesmerized and he was gently rubbing the babies arm. The look on his face said it all. He knew how precious that baby was. I started to fall in love with him at that very instant. I am happy to say that I was right that he would make a great dad. He is wonderful with our daughter. He and Katie have a lot of fun together. I love it when she hears the front door open and she yells out, “Daddy’s home!” and then runs up to him. They also have a fun tradition of getting breakfast together on Saturday mornings. Another thing I love about my husband is that he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He loves to joke around, does great impersonations and is great at making up funny songs. He is always keeping Katie and I laughing. 

On an anniversary trip in Louisiana - February 2008

 About my wife:

On my first date with Kim I remember asking her what her number one goal in life was. She told me that it was to be a mother. Those are some big words for a first date, but I was impressed by her answer. She was being honest and sincere. Sincerity is one of Kim’s finest qualities. The day I met Kim, I told her that I was leaving for Iraq in a few days and she asked if she could write to me because she liked to support the troops. She is a genuinely nice person. She looks for opportunities to serve others and build them up. She builds me up and constantly tells me about my good qualities. Our daughter absolutely adores her mommy. When Katie is sad, she really doesn't want a whole lot to do with me. However, when mom comes to the rescue, she can always make things right. I know our daughter is fortunate to have us as parents, but she is especially fortunate to have Kim as her mom.

First time donating her hair to Locks of Love - April 2008

Our experiences with adoption:

Our daughter Katie is adopted. We felt very blessed and honored to be picked by her birth mum. (We say mum because she is from Australia and that is what they say.) Katie’s birth mum contacted us by email very early on in her pregnancy and she was kind enough to share her pregnancy with us. We were even there when Katie was born. We have an open adoption with Katie’s birth mum. Since placement we have had visits with her and her family, we exchange emails and phone calls and we have a family blog where we post pictures so she can stay updated on our lives. Katie’s birth father was not involved in the adoption and only recently have we gotten in touch with him. We have exchanged a few emails and that is all he would like at this time. We would like another open adoption as we feel it is very healing for all involved however we are open to other types of adoption as well because we understand that might not be something you would want or need.

Katie and her Birth Mum - September 2013

Before we adopted Katie, adoption was already a part of our lives. Kim has two cousins that were adopted from China. She remembers holding Li Li in her arms for the first time and having the overwhelming feeling that they already knew each other and that she was meant to be a part of her family. Ken’s younger sister Stefani is also adopted. She came into his family when she was 21 days old. Their birthdays are ten years and one day apart. He recalls what an amazing experience it was when he and his parents went to pick up his new little sister. 

Our hopes and dreams for our family:

We have a firm faith that families are the most important thing to our Heavenly Father. Because of this faith our goal is a simple one. That goal is to have the type of family that will love one another so much that they would desire to be together both in this life and in the life to come. We want to encourage our children to follow their dreams and we will work hard to provide for them so that they can. They will be taught that the achievement of dreams comes through dedication and hard work on their part as well. Our children will have more love than they know what to do with. Our family and friends will be a big part of our children’s lives. We say that Katie was prayed into our family because we know how much her arrival was prayed and fasted for by our family, friends and our ward family. We are all just as excited for the next little one to join our family!

March 2011

We hope that as you are going through this journey in your life you will find peace and comfort in whatever decision you make. Only you and Heavenly Father know what is best for you and your child. During our wait for our daughter we would always say, “When it was the right child and the right birth family then it would happen.” We truly believe that. Adoption is not just about the child. It is about joining families together. Thank you again for taking the time to get to know us. If you want to know more please send us an email.

Love,

Ken, Kim and Katie

(dog: Kassie) And yes, there is a theme here. :)