About Us
Austin's Roots
I am the third of five children. My sister is the oldest, and I have three brothers. I was raised in a very traditional way, not having video games or even cable television. As a result, I spent much of my youth outside. As a consequence, I was very active in Boy Scouts, and even received the Eagle Scout award. I love to go hiking, camping, and fishing; and also enjoy playing sports recreationally.
I attended BYU, and majored in Mechanical Engineering. This was a major step for me. I remember as a boy, my parent’s hired a tutor to help me through my classes. Similarly, at BYU, I often needed some extra help, or I ended up retaking classes that I didn’t do so well in the first time around. In spite of whatever difficulties I had with school, I somehow finished everything I started. I even recently finished my Juris Doctorate degree. I currently work as a Patent Analyst and my dream is to work in the field of intellectual property as a patent attorney.
Kim's Roots
I am the youngest of seven kids. Growing up my home was filled with laughter, a few tears and random moments of singing (my mom loves to sing and has rubbed off on most of us).
Our Marriage
Austin and I met while working as custodians at the Smith Field House on BYU campus (in Provo). I had picked up this job as a second job to help pay for rent while attending school full time. Austin had already been working there for about 3 years prior, and when I was hired Austin was the assistant supervisor (he liked being my boss!). I could tell that Austin was starting to like me because he would sneak into my designated areas and take out the trash. It started to become like a game where he would sneak in while I was busy cleaning and I would try to catch him. In the end, I obviously found his acts of service endearing and we started dating.
My favorite story is our engagement story. Of course everyone thinks their story is the best, but let’s just say that ours is pretty awesome... We were on a picnic at a local park and I was asking Austin all sorts of serious marriage and family-type questions. I suddenly felt like I was talking way too much, so I told Austin that it was his turn to ask me some serious questions. So he asked, “Do you want to climb that tree?” indicating a nearby tree in the park. Before I could answer he took off and started climbing this tree.
During our time dating, we had climbed trees and had done some high adventure hiking so this wasn’t too abnormal. I followed him up the tree and once at the top reminded him that it was his turn to ask me some serious questions. He started moving around, so I asked him what he was doing. He replied that he was trying to get on his knees. I was clueless and was thinking: why would you want to kneel in a tree? Suddenly he reached for his pocket (and I guess he was kneeling, it’s hard to tell when you are in a tree) and he pulled out a ring and popped the question!
My favorite story is our engagement story. Of course everyone thinks their story is the best, but let’s just say that ours is pretty awesome... We were on a picnic at a local park and I was asking Austin all sorts of serious marriage and family-type questions. I suddenly felt like I was talking way too much, so I told Austin that it was his turn to ask me some serious questions. So he asked, “Do you want to climb that tree?” indicating a nearby tree in the park. Before I could answer he took off and started climbing this tree.
During our time dating, we had climbed trees and had done some high adventure hiking so this wasn’t too abnormal. I followed him up the tree and once at the top reminded him that it was his turn to ask me some serious questions. He started moving around, so I asked him what he was doing. He replied that he was trying to get on his knees. I was clueless and was thinking: why would you want to kneel in a tree? Suddenly he reached for his pocket (and I guess he was kneeling, it’s hard to tell when you are in a tree) and he pulled out a ring and popped the question!
Currently we live in Arizona. Austin is working as a Patent Agent (soon to be Patent Attorney) and I work part time managing our mattress store (yes, we are small business owners).
We never thought it would be difficult to have a child of our own but, unfortunately, here we are. Since 2008 we've struggled with infertility. At this point, our long term goal is to adopt a sibling group, either from the foster system or in a private adoption setting. Since we currently have no children, we want to be the catalyst that enables an entire sibling group of a family to stay together.
Since 2014 we've waited for potential adoptive placements and we've fostered a couple of siblings groups (who have both returned to live with their biological families). It's bittersweet to be in a position to love children as our own and then be strong enough to let them go. I am grateful that we've secured strong relationships with the families of those children and are happy to still have contact with them. It's a testament of how shared-parenting can work, and greatly benefit the children involved. Since having those parenting experiences under our belts we've learned how important structure, routine, and a safe environment are for all kids. We LOVE using incentives to reinforce positive behavior (i.e. charts, stickers, pom-poms, etc) and utilize the "1-2-3 Magic" method for discipline.
When children are not with us (in between placements), we feel like a vital piece of our lives is missing. We crave the laughter, the hugs, and the meaning that kids bring into our home.
We hope to find those children that are meant to be with us forever. We cannot wait for that day to come!
