Date Night

Ken came with me to a company dinner party in Dallas. It was a lot of fun! I love getting all dressed up for an evening out.

Finally figured it out

When birth parents do a search on http://www.itsaboutlove.com/ everyone who matches their search will pop up. Well on that page only your name and a little message from you pops up unless you know how to do HTML coding. If you know how to do that you can make the font a different color and size and you can upload a picture. I figured out how to do the coding for the font but I could not figure it out for the picture. I tried and tried but nothing seemed to work. Two days ago my beautiful sister figured it out so now we have our picture posted next to our name. Thank you so much Kari! I am attaching a picture of my sister and I from a month ago when she came to Texas to visit us.

Now that everything is updated and the way Ken and I want it on that site I can focus on this blog. So hopefully I will keep current on the happenings in our life.

To our friends and family: Thank you so much for all the support! Love ya!

Letters of support from our friends and family

The follow is an email that I sent out to our family and friends:
Hello,
Ken and I are asking for your prayers. Our profile is being shown to a birth mom who is having her baby today. So if she picks us we will be on our way to Missouri to pick up our baby. So please pray for us that this birth mom picks us and we get our baby. If you are LDS please add our names to your local temple. We are very excited to say the least. Thank you for all your support and prayers.
We will let you know what happens!
Ken and Kim


The email that I sent out after we found out we weren’t picked:
Thank you for all of your prayers and well wishes. We just found out that we weren't picked. We have a strong belief that the right baby will come to us at the right time. Guess this one wasn't ours. Thank you again for all of your support.
Love,
Ken and Kim


The response from our friends and family:
Dear Kim and Ken,
Just want you to know we love you and are thinking of you. Keep your chin up. I don't know why things happen like they do, but like you, I have faith that our Father in Heaven is in charge and He does love us.
Love Joy

Sorry! God Bless. We love you! Judy and Jack

Dear Kim,
Thanks for letting me know.
I so admire your faith and totally agree - God knows and has planned the child that is yours. But I know it's disappointing.
Warmly, Barbara

Dear Ken & Kim, I was so dissappointed to hear your latest news. Believe it or not, I can remember way back when Mike & I were about your ages and we were having a struggle starting a family. Either I just didn't conceive or I would get pregnant and then miscarry.I'm not sure which one was worse. It was so difficult going to baby showers and seeing other women having their 3 and 4th babies and I couldn't even have one. If there is anything I have learned through the years is that the Lord is aware of our situations and things will happen in our lives in the "Lord's Time" and not ours! It doesn't make it any easier for us to experience these things though, does it. I still don't understand why we see wild and crazy musicians and movie stars having babies right and left when there are such righteous and worthy couples who could provide a loving home for these little spirits. I believe that the strongest and most spiritual spirits have been saved for these latter days and you, Ken & Kim need to stay strong and prepare your home and hearts for the one that is being assigned to you. You will be in our prayers.Our love, Mike & Myrna

Kim,
I am truly sorry. I know that your prayers will be answered. I do not understand what you are feeling right now not be able to hold your baby but I do understand the frustration you must be feeling about your prayers not being answered.
It took over 10 years of me praying to Heavenly Father asking why me. Why do I have to have the parents that I have. Why can't I have parents that want me. Why don't I have a good home. Why don't I have a mom to cry on her shoulder when a boy brakes up with me. Why, Why Why... I have had many nights crying in my bed and being miserable. But 4 1/2 years ago my dad came knocking on my grandparents door. One year after that he was baptized and received the priesthood. 4 years after that he went to the temple and received those blessing and one month after that he went to the temple and was sealed to a sweet lady for eternity. The reason for me to tell you this is not for pity for or a hand shake, but for me to tell you that I KNOW that your prayers will be answered. I know that Heavenly Father loves you and cares for you deeply. He will bless you and Ken with a beautiful little baby.
Please call me if you would like to talk, Jullian

Kim,
I am so sorry to hear that you weren't picked. I too have a strong belief that the right baby is up there waiting for you to be his/her parents. I'm sorry that your patience is being tested in this way. Please be strong and have faith that your prayers aren't being ignored. We love you.Love, Heather

Kim,
God is with you,and will put that baby in your arms when the time is right.
It will be soon! We are all praying with you. You will be blessed.
Love, Erin

Kim i am so sorry! i know you were so looking forward to this little baby! i know you and ken will get the baby that is meant for you! you are such wonderful people! i am proud to call you my friend!I know god answers prayers and i know it seems like he doesn't listen. but he does answer it is just on his own time!ha ha just like a man huh!but i know this will happen for you guys!love ya, Kaleigh

I am so sorry, if there is anything we can do let me know.-John


Some other letters of support:
Dear Friends and Family,
Below you will find a letter from a wonderful couple our family has been privileged to be friends with from church. They are hard working, loving, Christ-like Christians who have struggled with fertility in starting their own family.
They are hard working. Both Ken and Kim work hard in their respective fields, and are held in high regard by those they work with. Ken recently received a promotion, transferred with the company and has about a 30 minute commute. Not bad those who live outside the Metroplex area. His hours are reasonable with weekends off. Kim works from home in a field that allows for great flexibility - a huge plus for working moms.
They display financial responsibility through maintenance and upkeep of their home, vehicles, and finances. Being well grounded and communicating with each other are a couple of ways Ken and Kim work hard together as a family. They are committed to being financially responsible.
They are loving, Christ-like Christians who put the Lord first in their lives. Both individually and as a couple. After many years together they continue to show sincere affection towards each other. Both are soft spoken, yet firm in their beliefs.
Ken and Kim have been known to step in and play mom and dad for a few days so that parents could have a "get-away" weekend. They also serve faithfully at church where they can be counted on each Sunday, as well as, any mid-week activities.
If you know of anyone who might be considering adoption, or even if you don't, please pass Ken and Kim's information along.
Love, Janice

Dear Birthparents

Thank you for considering us to be the parents of your baby. We know that without you we could not make our dream of having a family come true.

Our Story:

We met at a church activity on a Monday night. On Wednesday night we had our first date on Thursday, our second. On Friday night we had our third date, which 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.

We have a fun marriage and consider ourselves to be best friends. One of our favorite things to do together is to just hang out. We both stay pretty busy with work and church commitments so when we are together we make the most of our time. Whether we are watching a movie or going for a walk, we just want to be together. Ken really enjoys working in our yard. He not only takes great care of our yard but helps take care of our neighbor’s yards as well. He is always looking for a way to help others. Kim enjoys taking pictures of our friends and family. She feels that you can never have too many. She loves to keeps our family website updated with our latest pictures. Another activity we enjoy is going on small trips and vacations. It is a lot of fun to visit our family and friends, but we really enjoy exploring places we’ve never been before. Our home is full of love and laughter, the only thing missing is a little one. We look forward to that special day that will change our lives forever.

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. One of the many things 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 always keeps me laughing. Ken has a great voice and I can’t wait to hear him sing to our little one. Children love to play with Ken; they think he is so funny, and they are right! The most precious thing to me is when I see Ken holding a baby in his arms. It comes so naturally to him. It is amazing to me how well he gets along with babies, children, and teenagers. He is going to make such an incredible dad.

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. Sometimes she is hard on herself. She thinks that certain blessings are withheld from her because she somehow does not measure up. However, I think that she measures up in every way. She looks for opportunities to serve others and build them up. She builds me up and constantly tells me about my good qualities. I can only imagine the impact that she will have on our future children as she teaches them how to live. Kim is looking forward to being a stay-at-home Mom.

Our experiences with adoption:

Kim grew up knowing that she wanted to adopt children and has a special connection with her adopted cousin. The first time she held Li Li in her arms Kim knew that she was meant to be in her family. Li Li's brother Christopher is also adopted from China. Ken’s younger sister Stefani is 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. One day they were a family of three, the next day a family of four. She was and is a great blessing to our family!


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. It is possible, no probable, that Grandma and Grandpa will consider it their duty to spoil them with love and gifts. We all have been praying and eagerly awaiting the start of our family.

We recently received a letter from a friend that expressed how we feel perfectly. Even though we are not pregnant, we are expecting! We are expecting our baby, expecting miracles, expecting joy, expecting happiness untold, expecting lots of love and expecting an outpouring of the Spirit like we’ve never felt before. We know that there is a baby out there that is meant to come into our home that we cannot give birth too. This baby is born to you, but is born to us in our hearts. We are so thankful to you for your selfless decision. Thank you for considering us to be your babies’ mommy and daddy!

With Much Love,
Ken and Kim