A Little Bit About Us

Josh, Tara, Gavin, Landon, William & Jackson

Josh
Age: 30
Height: 6 ft.
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Ethnicity: Caucasian- English, Danish
Education: 2 yrs College (Business Major), 18 yrs. Martial Arts Training
Occupation: Web Developer & Karate School Owner

Tara
Age: 28
Height: 5 ft. 2 inches
Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
Ethnicity: Caucasian- French, Swedish
Education: Certified Medical Assistant
Occupation: Former Medical Assistant turned Stay at Home Mom

Gavin & Landon- Our Angels
Gavin would be 6 yrs old
Landon would be 5 yrs old

William
Age: 3 yrs old
Height: Very tall for my age
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Ethnicity: African American
Education: Loves preschool
Occupation: Being the best big brother EVER

William was adopted
We enjoy a semi-open adoption with his birthmom

Jackson
Age: 10 months
Height: Tall for my age
Hair: Brownish Red
Eyes: Brown
Ethnicity: Caucasian/Hispanic/African American
Education: Learning how to walk
Occupation: Being our families newest miracle

Jackson adoption is currently being contested
We have a wonderful open adoption with his birthmom

All About Our Boys

OUR BIG BOY


Hi, my name is Will!

I turned 3 last summer. I love to run and play all day. My favorite toy right now is match box cars! I love to sing songs, reading books, playing at the park, baseball, football and preschool. My favorite color is blue and my favorite food is yogurt.

I love my new baby brother! It has been a little bit hard to share my toys but now I love playing cars with my brother.



OUR BABY


Hi, my name is Jackson!

I will turn 1 in March. My favorite things to do are: giggle, crawl, pull down things that I'm not suppose to, eat everything in site (including toys) and snuggle with mommy & daddy.

I'm starting to say a few words. My newest word is 'bae-bae' (baby). I mostly say this when I see myself in the mirror. I can also say 'mama', 'dada', and 'bro-bro' (brother). When I was younger my mommy taught me sign language. I can sign 'milk', 'more' & 'all done'.

All About Tara

I am an active and creative person! I love spending time with friends and family, especially if playing a sport or game is involved. I love going on play dates with my son Will. A new passion of mine is making jewelry. I love music and have played the flute since I was in the 6th grade. I LOVE the desert and everything associated with it...the heat, beautiful sunsets, clear starry nights, southwestern decor, a lake to cool off in, water sports, and for me visiting my family there!

I love Hello Kitty, good food, reading, Starbucks Vanilla Bean with caramel, going on dates with my hubby and singing songs with my little man.

All About Josh

A recent hobby I have grown to love is fishing. I have been to Alaska 3 times and really enjoy the time I can spend with family and friends in the great outdoors.


I enjoy watching and playing any sport with my boy.

The sport I am most passionate about is Karate. I have studied and taught for over 18 years and currently teach every week to the neighbor kids!
I am a fanatic photographer as of 4 years ago. (This is one of my favorite pictures I've taken lately in Monterey, California)

I love taking landscape and portrait pictures (especially of my family!). Graphic design is another hobby of mine which comes in handy at work sometimes. I am very lucky to love my job and enjoy the people I work with. I am so excited for another little one in our home I can love and care for as my child.

Tara's Family

I am the 2nd of 4 siblings. I have 1 older brother and a younger sister & brother. I have 1 nephew who is always the life of the party! We are a very close knit and active family, always going to ball games or having BBQ's. My parents have been married for over 30 years and are so excited for another little one to spoil!

My older brother Ronnie, his wife Jess and their sons Gene & Beckham are the life of the party! They have been married for 5 years. In their spare time they LOVE to have fun...anything from boating to snowboarding or hiking to going on trips to Disneyland.

My younger sister Tami married her sweetheart, Eric, almost 2 years ago. They both graduated with their Bachelor's degrees' and are now living in Boise, Idaho. They recently added a new addition to their family; a kitten named Raya.

My youngest brother Robbie just returned from serving an LDS mission in Sao Paulo Brazil. He is now currently working on finding a wife and and going to school...watch out ladies! :-)

Josh's Family

I am the youngest of 4 children. I have 1 sister & 2 brothers. There are 5 nephews and 4 nieces who add so much to our special family. My family loves to get together for big family dinners or parties often. My parents have been married for over 40 years and can't wait to add another grandchild to the mix. You can often find us playing tennis or Wii Sports!

My oldest sister Shauna has 2 children, Alexander and Hillary. They are all social butterflies and spend most of their time with nieces and nephews.

My oldest brother Ryan and his wife Jenni have 3 children. Zaccry is 12, Sydnee is 9 and Ethan is 7. They are HUGE University of Utah fans, always going to Utes sporting events.

My other brother Corey and his wife Lisa have 4 very active children. Tyler is 10, Riley is 8, Ariyah is 4 and baby Londyn is 2. Corey is a personal trainer and Lisa is an interior designer.

How We Met

Josh & Tara
...Our Story!

It all started back in high school. With both of us going to the same school we knew of each other but that's as far as it went. During Josh's senior year he threw a party when his parents were out of town. Tara wasn't suppose to go but went anyway because that's where all the fun was. When her parents found out, she was grounded immediately; that was the lasting high school memory of Josh for Tara.

We both graduated and went our separate ways. Josh served a 2 year mission to Paraguay for the LDS church. Tara went to school and received her Medical Assisting degree then studied for a semester abroad in Nauvoo, Il. After his mission Josh went to BYU-Idaho and Tara moved to Idaho to be closer to her friends.

Then at the Halloween dance it all happened! We ran into each other and exchanged phone numbers. Our first date was a week later and it's been nothing but fun and adventure ever since. Josh proposed in February, Super Bowl weekend. We were married in May 2004 in the Mt. Timpanogos LDS temple.

We have been best friends ever since. Our love grows stronger everyday. Even though we can push each others buttons some times, we wouldn't have it any other way!

Our Little Angels

Family has always been a priority to us. We didn't wait very long to start having children. In August 2005 we had our first son Gavin. He weighed 6 lbs. 7 oz. and was 19 inches. To our surprise Gavin was born with a rare heart defect. We did everything within our power to help him but God had other plans. After 11 days and several surgeries, Gavin passed away.

As time went on so did we. we built a beautiful little home in a small town in Utah. We quickly made friends with our neighbors and enjoyed being in our new home. In Fall 2006 we brought Otie into our family. Otie is a yellow lab puppy. Not too long after we adopted Otie, we had our second son Landon. He weighed 6 lbs. 3.5 oz. and was 20.5 inches. We found out during pregnancy that Landon would be born with the same rare heart defect that his big brother Gavin. We made the necessary preparations and had 9 beautiful months with Landon in our home. He underwent several successful surgeries and unexpectedly passed away after his last surgery in September 2007.

Even though it has been hard with the loss of our sons, we know that we will see them again one day. We often refer to them as our "little missionaries" because even though their lives on this earth were short, they touched so many people. We love them more and more every day and will never stop missing them. But the memories we have are priceless and have changed our lives for the better.

Will's Adoption Story

After losing our son Landon, we knew that our only hope for raising healthy children was to turn to adoption. We decided in February to start the paper work and see what we could do. We were still paying off all of the medical bills from our first two sons and so financially we weren't quite ready to adopt but the Spirit was pushing us in that direction. So walking on faith we proceeded with hope.

After waiting only 5 months our adoption agency called us and said that there was a birth mom in Kansas that already gave birth to a beautiful, healthy baby boy. She didn't have a family picked for him but had already signed the adoption papers. Everything was done, all this little one needed was a family.

So we flew out the next day and met our new little one for the first time. Later that day we met with Will's birth mother. What a wonderful woman she is! when she walked into our hotel I said to her,
"You have a beautiful baby.'
She replied back with,
"No, you have a beautiful baby."

So caring and unselfish. We still e-mail her and pray for her everyday, thanking our Father in Heaven for leading us to her. She gave us such a miracle.

In Our Free Time

We love to go on ADVENTURES!
Traveling with family is our favorite thing. Whether it is camping and hiking to waterfalls or going to Disneyland while visiting our family in California. We also LOVE watching a great sporting event! Every year it's BYU football games and Bees baseball games.

We can't wait for another little one to join in on the fun!

Opportunities & Experience

(Our son Will taking his first karate lesson from his daddy)

Your precious little child will have many opportunities to learn different skills and hobbies. Josh lived in South America for 2 years and is fluent in Spanish. Tara has studied American Sign Language for many years and has taught Will and our nephew Gene how to sign before they could talk. There are two skills that we hope to pass on or at least give the opportunity for your baby to learn. We have really enjoyed karate and dance, as well as other sports growing up, and would love to offer all of these skills and hobbies to your little one. Education is very important to us. We have looked in to many of the local schools and we know that your baby will receive a wonderful education. We are so excited to add onto our family and see what new experiences this will bring!

How We Feel About Adoption

To us, adoption is a MIRACLE.

We know that everyone who is involved has a special story to tell. Even though everyone has ups and downs along the way, adoption never happens without there being a miracle. After our experiences with bring children into our family and then having them return to our Father in Heaven, we have received a confirmation from the Spirit that we are still suppose to add onto our family; through the miracle of adoption, instead of a more traditional means.
To us adoption means so many things:
HAPPINESS, HOPE, LOVE, but most importantly to us, it is our MIRACLE!

All Our Love

Thank you so much for visiting our blog. We hope that through these words and pictures you have come to know our family better. Words cannot express our love for you at this time. Please let us know if you need anything or have any questions for us. You can contact us at jandtadoption@gmail.com . We love you and are praying for you daily!

Your New Friends,
Josh, Tara & Will