The information below was initially drafted as a letter to birth parents who were looking for adoptive parents for their unborn child. I made a few tweaks, but it's essentially the same thing. However, it gives a bit of background about us, so I thought I would go ahead and post the information.
We have been married for three and a half wonderful years. Lance is my sister’s husband’s brother’s wife’s sister’s son. Seriously! We were set up on what I like to refer to as a near-sighted date. I met Lance’s mom first and she kept me in her driveway until he showed up. I was humiliated, but intrigued. Thus our first date wasn’t actually blind. We immediately connected through music. Lance and I love jazz music and when he picked me up for that first date, that’s what he had playing. I knew this was going to be good. It was way beyond good in every way!!!
Two years ago we were blessed with our beautiful baby girl Ginger. We call her Gigi. She has an amazing wonderful spirit, and we love having her in our family.
Lance grew up with one younger brother and one younger sister. All three of them were adopted. Lance’s parents told him he was adopted when he was very, very young—he doesn’t remember a time when he didn’t know he was adopted. He’s never felt different from other kids: his parents love him very much and he loves them. His early years were spent primarily in Idaho, but included time in Oregon, Utah and California. As a teenager his family settled down in Utah. He has remained there ever since, other than his LDS mission to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where he spoke French. He is a genius on the computer! Good thing, because that’s how he makes his living. He is also an avid reader, a music lover, a woodworker, and an amazing father.
I (Cyndi) am the fifth of six children with two brothers and three sisters (all born within about 7 years). I was born in California and spent my early years in Lake Tahoe. When I was nearly 7 years old, the family moved to Utah. Since then, I have jumped back and forth from Utah to California, but have settled happily in Utah with Lance. I love music and chose to study voice at BYU. I love singing, especially to Gigi. I later went on to earn an MBA. It has nothing to do with music; it was just the right thing to do. I couldn’t deny the promptings. I also served an LDS mission in Canada, but on the other side of the continent in Vancouver, British Columbia. I am a stay-at-home mom and love every minute of it. I make bread, play with Gigi, try new recipes for dinner, go hiking with Gigi, take care of the house, go to the park with Gigi… well, you get the idea.
Gigi is our daughter who is almost 2 years old. We feel more than lucky to have her. She knows all the letters in the alphabet. She is very busy every day. She loves to go on walks, look for animals, go hiking, play in the water, go sledding in the winter, build towers with blocks (primarily to knock them over), dress and undress dolls, color, play with balls, and make friends. She’s a magnet for friends–she remembers their names and talks about them constantly. She loves a good joke and will laugh hysterically during a tickle session. She enjoys playing hide-and-seek and tells her mommy exactly where to hide. Then when mommy scares her from a different hiding place, she jumps out of her socks and laughs some more. She loves reading books, even on her own. Life is an adventure and the more people she has to share it with, the happier she is. She would love to be a big sister. She is kind and gracious and will be a wonderful example and a caring sibling to our baby.
Cyndi’s remarks about Lance:
Being with Lance makes me want to be a better person in every way. I admire him because he is thoughtful, loving, intelligent, and devoted to God. I’ve been around people with whom I feel comfortable, but with Lance I’m so much more, and I want to be so much more. He is honest in every way and I know I can trust him. As a father, Lance is out of this world. Our daughter adores him and I love listening to them laughing hysterically during a tickle-fest. Lance has comforted me during difficult times, cheered me on in my pursuits, and supported me in all my endeavors. I love how we can discuss big decisions and always come out on the same page. Lance always listens to my thoughts and makes sure I am included in all of our decisions. He is incredibly intelligent. Many people don’t like to play games with him because he always wins… unless I do. I can’t imagine being with someone better!
Lance’s remarks about Cyndi:
Cyndi is the love of my life, and the greatest Mom ever. She makes me laugh, tells me to comb my hair, lets me vent about work, pretends to listen when I go on and on about politics, and is the best person I’ve ever met. After only three and a half years, I can’t imagine what I’d be without her.
Lance and I got married much later than most people. Because of that, we knew there might be some difficulty in having children. We decided we would give ourselves six months before visiting a fertility specialist and at that visit we found out I was already pregnant. Ten weeks later, I miscarried. We did some testing and when we went in for the results, we found out I was pregnant again. Nine months later we had Gigi! She has been an amazing addition to our family. Since having Gigi, we have had three more miscarriages. As difficult and painful as they are, we know that God has more children to send to our family so we are doing everything in our power to open the way for them to come. We are so thankful that that another child will soon be joining our family.
