Hoping to Adopt!

Hello Friend!

As we sit down to write this letter, our hearts are so full. We hope and pray that this letter will give you a glimpse into our little family. We are so excited to build our eternal family through adoption! Thank you for taking the time to get to know a little about us.

We have such a deep love and respect for birth parents. We pray that you may be comforted and find peace as you try to make the decisions at hand. We can’t even imagine what you are going through, but we pray that you will be guided and directed. You are continually in our thoughts and prayers.

Why we want to adopt:
We both love kids and always wanted to have children of our own. After years of trying to get pregnant with no success, our hearts turned to adoption. We are completely passionate about adoption. It is so exciting to experience and watch all the adoption miracles happening all around us. We feel so blessed to be a part of it. We are excited to become parents and to raise a beautiful child in our home.

How we feel about an open adoption:
As we create a relationship with you, we would like to discuss the amount of openness that we would both feel comfortable with. We want to do what would be best for our child. We are more than willing to send letters, pictures, and e-mail you. We think it is so important that our child knows the great love that you have for him/her. We want to teach them that it was out of great love that you made this decision.

About Us

We are Dustyn and Kamie. We are hoping to adopt!

We have been married for five fabulous years! We met in a singles ward in October 2003. Kamie had just graduated from college and Dustyn was teaching at the local high school. Kamie asked Dustyn out on a date (she decided she couldn’t wait for him). From there the rest is history! We were engaged a few weeks later and married in January of 2004 in the Manti, Utah LDS Temple.

We absolutely love spending time together and are able to do it often. Dustyn teaches high school and Kamie is a substitute teacher. It has been great for us to both have the summers off to go on vacations and spend a lot of time camping with family! We also enjoy spending time at home blogging, reading, playing games, cooking, watching movies, listening to music and just hanging out. We love playing Guitar Hero, Mario Kart and Dr. Mario (okay . . . well Kamie does!).



We bought a house almost 4 years ago. We love it! We spent the first few months remodeling the entire house, but it was so fun to work together and to accomplish such a great task. We love doing things together. We still continue to make small improvements here and there to make our home a place where we want to stay. We love the small rural community we live in and our great friends and neighbors. We are lucky to have family so close, and so much love and support in our community.



We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We love the opportunities and growth that we get by attending our weekly meetings. It brings such great strength to us.

Meet Dustyn

Age: 33

Height: 5'8" (on a good day)

Hair: Dark Brown

Eyes: Hazel

Religion: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon)

Education: Bachelor of Art in Art Education (BYU)

Master of Art in Art Education (BYU)

Occupation: High School Art Teacher, Yearbook Advisor, Camp Counselor, Trash Dumper, Dish Cleaner, Dog Dish Filler, Art Maker, and Photo Taker.

I am the third child in a family of seven kids. My parents struggled for ten years to have kids and when I was born they considered me a miracle baby for an entire fifteen months, then my younger brother was born. We grew up going on family trips to museums, galleries, zoos, the mountains, and visiting our relatives. It was always fun to spend time with my family on the road or in our home. As a result we have grown close together, and still get together a few times a year to hang out (and wrestle) at my brother's home.



I am the son of an artist. I was taught from a very young age to learn to look at the world and visualize it in my minds eye studying its intricacies and details. I loved art as a child and grew up wanting to be an artist just like my dad. I remember Saturday mornings sitting at the kitchen table learning little art lessons, or spending time at night in my dad’s studio sculpting clay as he worked on his next sculpture. More than the art, I always looked forward to hanging out with my dad, learning from him. I now share my passion for art with my students at the local high school where I teach. I make my own art on the side trying to be the artist my dad believed I could become. More importantly, I cherish those memories I have of spending time with my dad, and hope some day to do the same with my kids.



What Kamie really thinks about Dustyn:
Dustyn is my rock. He truly is my best friend. He loves me so much and lets me know it everyday! I never have to doubt his love for me. He is such a patient, caring and loving husband. He supports me in everything I want to do. I am so excited to see him become a father. I love watching him when there is a baby or a child in the room. He always starts making faces at them and ends up making them smile. He loves kids and loves to tease and play with them. Just ask his nieces and nephews . . . but they love it and always come begging for more. He loves to be goofy and I love it. He can always make me smile.



Dustyn is such a great example to me and to all those around him. He is always ready to volunteer and help someone out. He always helps me around the house and is not afraid to do housework. He always takes care of me and makes me his first priority. He works with the Young Men in our ward and he loves it. He also teaches Art at the local high school. His students love joking with him and working in his classroom. He creates a great atmosphere of learning. Art truly is his passion and he loves teaching it.

Dustyn is a smarty-pants and is so great with computers. He is the one that everyone calls when they need help. He loves creating art with his computer too. He enjoys making movies and working in Photoshop. He loves oil painting and working with his camera. He has had pieces in several art shows. We have several pieces of his work hanging in our home, and love collecting artworks by others.

What a great man! I am so excited to watch him become a father and further develop the many qualities that I love about him. I love him more than I could ever express with words.

Meet Kamie

Age: 30

Height: 5'7"

Hair: Brown

Eyes: Green

Religion: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon)

Education: Associate of Arts (SNOW)

Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice - Minor: Sociology (SUU)

Occupation: Substitute Teacher, Twin Chaser, Bathroom Cleaner, Cooker of Food, Dust Vanisher, Finance Juggler, Laundry Doer, Activity Planner, Picture Taker, Blogger Extraodinaire and Hoping to be Baby Cuddler.

I grew up in a family of 6. I am the oldest and have one sister and two brothers. We have always been a close family that loved spending time together. We spent (and still spend) most summer weekends camping up in the mountains. My dad taught us to love the mountains, fishing, hunting, 4-wheeling and camping. This love for the outdoors is something that we are excited to share with our own children. We attend a lot of family reunions. We have a large extended family and it is great to see them often and to get to know them. We go to my parents every Sunday to have dinner and play games. We love to laugh, play or just spend time on the porch enjoying the beautiful valley we live in.



I love holidays! Especially the 4th of July! It’s a time that we always get to spend with family. I love to travel. Dustyn and I have had the opportunity to travel to quite a few places in the past few years. We love visiting Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., and many more. We are so excited to take our children on yearly vacations. One of our favorite places is Sea World. I can’t wait to take our kids there.



What Dustyn really thinks about Kamie:
Let me start off by saying that Kamie is the best part of my life. I love her and thank my Heavenly Father every day for blessing me with a loving and beautiful wife.



Kam loves to be doing something. One of her biggest pet peeves is to sit around doing nothing. So we are always on the go. We love to go camping, fishing, and hunting with her family during the summer. When we are not in the mountains we are some where in town playing with friends or family. In the quiet times of the evening Kam will pull out Guitar Hero or Dr. Mario and play it with me. Occasionally she will even let me win. Kam's greatest asset is her heart. She has such a love and patience for her family. She babysits her twin cousins Mylee and Malik, a couple of times a week. Though some days are better than others, she loves to share her time with them. When Kam doesn't get to babysit them she always says she misses them. That same love she shares with the twins she brings into our home. When I come home from a long day at work I can always count on the peace in our home because of the love Kamie shares. She is patient as I talk about my day. And she is always excited to talk about what she has done for the day.



I love my wife, and feel blessed that no matter what, Kam is always by my side.

Meet Bruce - The Saint Bernard

Age: 5 years old (That's about 35 in dog years)

Height: 3 feet tall

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Red, White, Brown

Education: Sit, Others still in progress.

Occupation: Bark at Neighbor Cats, Take long Daily Naps, Walk Dustyn, Shed, Drool, Poop (He's good at this one), Protect Family (unless you give him a doggy treat or pet him, then he's your new best friend).

He loves people and most especially kids. He loves to go for walks and play in water. He is so lovable and loves, loves attention.

What we like to do for fun!

We love to be together. No matter what we are doing, as long as we are together, we are having fun.

Here are some of the things that we like to do.

~Traveling: We have had the opportunity to do quite a bit of traveling together. Whether for work or pleasure. Some of the places we have been: Chicago, Jackson Hole, Yellowstone, L.A., Disneyland, San Diego, SeaWorld, Universal Studios, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and a lot of places closer to home in Utah. We love to vacation and plan on doing a family vacation every year.

~Camping: We spend a lot of time up in the mountains! Some of our favorites places are: Cove Mountain, Fishlake, Piute Reservoir, Otter Creek, Seven Mile, and anywhere else where we can find some cool summer air! We bought a new tent this year and are excited to get more use out of it!



~Fishing and Hunting: We go fishing as often as we can. We love relaxing by the lake or trolling out in the boat. Kamie's little brother has a paddle boat that we like to take fishing. Exercise and dinner all at once! We love spending time with our family boating. Hunting is one of our traditional family outings. We love looking at all the deer and elk and all the other beautiful creatures in the wild.



~Art and Museums: We love going to Art Shows or looking at Art. Where ever we go on vacation, we like to go to any local museums. Dustyn has been in quite a few Art shows so it's always fun to go look at his artwork hanging in a show. Dustyn loves to create Art. He enjoys oil painting the most. We both love taking pictures! You can always find a camera somewhere close by.



~Watching Movies: We like to go outside on a hot summer night and watch a movie with the projector on the side of the house or garage. There is just something about being outside and watching a movie that is so much fun! We usually set up an outdoor movie at our family reunions and camping trips (not roughing it too much!).



~Video Games: We love playing video games. Kinda silly, but so much fun! Some of our favorite games on the Wii are: Baseball (and a few other sports), Mario Kart, Dr. Mario, Super Smash Brothers, and Super Mario Galaxy. We also love Guitar Hero! Kamie isn't so great at it, but Dustyn rocks out! It's awesome.



~Spending time with family: We both have pretty large extended families. We love going to family reunions and family gatherings. They happen quite often! Especially in the summer! Both sides of our families have traditional parties that we have every year. It's so much fun to see everyone and catch up. We try to visit them all as often as possible. We also have a lot of family that live close by.



~We love going to concerts. This year we have been to Tim McGraw (with Jason Aldean) and we are looking forward to the American Idol 08 tour coming soon! Some of the concerts we have been to: Kenny Chesney, Tim and Faith, Keith Urban, Big N Rich, and Brooks and Dunn.



~Music and iPods: We love finding new music.
Dustyn's favorites are: Jack Johnson, Death Cab for Cutie, Blue October, Johnny Cash, Coldplay, Blondie, Counting Crows, The Beatles, The Cure, Panic at the Disco, Weezer, WAR, Electric Light Orchestra, Pink Floyd, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Tickle Me Pink

Kamie's favorites are: Blue October, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, The Wreckers, Dixie Chicks, Cute is What We Aim For, Death Cab for Cutie, Avril Lavigne, Weezer, Carrie Underwood, The Corrs, Cranberries, Incubus, Gwen Stefani, Kellie Pickler, Matchbox 20, The Used, Coldplay, The Calling, Rise Against, One Republic, Counting Crows, New Found Glory


Apple Computers: We love going to the Apple store and looking at all the new computers, iPods, iPhones, and all the fun new electronics.

Food: We love finding new places to eat. Some of our favorite types of food are: Thai, Fresh Mexican Grill, Italian, and Seafood and Steak!
Some of our Favorite Restaurants: Cafe Rio, Thaifoon, Chili's, Steve's Steakhouse, Melting Pot, Macaroni Grill, Red Lobster, Long John Silvers, Red Robin, Leatherby's, Hogi Yogi, California Pizza, McGrath's Fish House, Noodles, Taco Time, Roy's Pizza, Rodger's Daily Freeze, and any local Thai Restaurant. Yum!

Thank You

Thank you for taking time to look at our adoption blog. We look forward to the opportunity of meeting you and adopting a child into our family! We have so much love and respect for you and pray that you may be comforted as you make these difficult decisions.

We are so excited to become parents! We look forward to the day that we can bring a baby into our home.

We think that is very important that our child knows the love that you have for them and for the great sacrifice that you made for them. We would like to keep in contact with you through pictures, letters and emails if you would like.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions. We look forward to hearing from you.

Love,
Dustyn and Kamie