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 Words cannot explain our sorrow at being unable to bear children. Nor can we fully share the journey that has brought us to this point, but we are truly grateful for the path we are on.

Marriage was not on our mind when we first met, nor was dating. Looking back, we can’t even remember the first time we met. We both worked for a program that helped youth with emotional and substance abuse problems, a program we knew and believed in. We both attended the program as teenagers, and were grateful for its impact on our lives. We were eager to help give that experience to others.

We started spending time together with a group of friends. Sometimes we would do things together one on one. We liked each other’s company, but only as friends. Kelly served a mission and we wrote occasionally. Amy’s friends would tease her about being a little too eager when she would get a letter from Kelly. About the time Kelly came home, Amy knew she was a little more interested in him than just as a friend.

Toward the end of Kelly’s mission he had a companion who he was talking with about some of his friends back home. As he described Amy, he realized that he had a lot of admiration and respect for her, and perhaps felt a little stronger about her than others. When Kelly came home he started seeing other girls. Not too long after that he decided he wanted to get to know Amy a little better, and he stopped seeing the other girls altogether.

We were friends for four years before we were married. We are very grateful for our friendship and the foundation that friendship is for our marriage. There were no surprises when we were married, we already knew each other well.

Amy’s thoughts on Kelly;

Words cannot explain my gratitude for being married to Kelly. I thank God every night for my marriage. Friends use to tell me I was looking for a fairy tale and I needed to lower my standards. But I knew that God had promised me a special person to marry if I would follow his path in my life. Kelly is my blessing. I am grateful for his love and dedication to our family, for his support of me and his goals for the future of our family. He is hard working and kind. He is amazing with people, especially the boys he works with in his church calling. I know he will be a good father, he has had a great example. I love to hear him speak of his family, especially his own father. I know his family has taught him well and I love his parents very much. I can’t wait to see Kelly as a father and share the experience of being a parent with him.

Kelly’s Thoughts on Amy;

The qualities in Amy that drew me to her first (besides long dark hair and beautiful hazel eyes) was the fact that she never played games. She has always been completely open and honest about how she feels about people or any given subject. I love how she laughs often. She can always find the humor in life. Children have always been drawn to her, she has a way with them that I have never seen in another. Amy is intelligent and insightful. She is incredibly perceptive toward people, about their intentions. I trust her fully. I love how she always listens to me. Sometimes she’ll say something or do something that makes me realize she knows me better than anyone else. She unknowingly invites me to be my best self. I love her and I am happy to know that she is the one who will be with me forever.

Both Kelly and his sister were adopted. Going through all the adoption details with LDS family services hadn’t been too emotional until we went through the orientation and parent classes with our social worker. Kelly has reflected deeply on how his biological mother may have felt and understands more how his adoptive parents felt as they sat in this place only thirty years earlier. Kelly’s biological mother has been on his mind a lot lately. We and our families are grateful to her for her sacrifice.

We know Heavenly Father will bless us with a family and we look forward to that day. We feel blessed and humbled to be given this extraordinary experience.

We honor your strength in taking this journey. We know it is a hard path and are grateful for your courage. We pray for the right words to convey our love. Although we have never met we feel a deep love for you and sorrow over these hard decisions before you. Up until this point our journey has been separate. You have had experiences we will never know and feelings we will never understand. Mother Teresa once said, “I have found the paradox that you love until it hurts, then there is no hurt, only more love.” We pray that you will feel both our love and the love of the Savior. May you find peace in your journey and, until we meet, know that our love goes with you.

All Our Love,
Kelly and Amy