6/4/2023 0 Comments Cruising into Summer VacationWe surprised Tim on the last day of school with a scavenger hunt to a summer vacation. He had to find clues and then put them in order to figure out our destination. This was the final thing once the clues were in order. Day 1: May 29, 2023 We woke up at 3:00 AM to make sure we could be to the airport for our 6:00 AM flight. There were more people than expected at security and we cut it a little close. We like to fly Southwest because we often use our credit card points for flights and it saves us lots of money that way. However, that does mean we have the long walk to get to those terminals at the Salt Lake airport, we made it just in time to walk onto the plane. We had a layover in Phoenix so we grabbed some expensive airport food during the wait. Finally, we made it to Los Angeles and took an Uber to the port. Tim was so tired he immediately fell asleep on the drive. There were some Memorial Day activities going on at the port and we wanted to check out the battleship Iowa, but the line was so long we knew we wouldn't have time before we were supposed to check-in for our cruise. After going through security we were able to get onboard and explore a little bit. We played some games, ate lunch at the Windjammer cafe, got our first of many ice cream cones, and then relaxed by the pool. We had a balcony room and it was really fun to watch us push off from the pier upon departure. We went right past the battleship Iowa so we got to kind of see it anyway. ;) For dining we were seated with a family from Idaho and found out they are also members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was great to get to know them better and build a connection with them. We had delicious food all throughout the cruise. One of the great thing about cruises is the great food and you can try multiple things. Tim was brave and even tried escargot - we told him afterward that they were snails and although initially grossed out he admitted they were good. After dinner we watched an amazing ice skating show and then put Tim to bed. It was so cute to see Devin tuck him in and tell him a bedtime story. Once Tim was put in bed Devin and I explored the ship some more and attended a Memorial Day tribute. We were both so tired from our early morning though that we didn't last too long exploring and went to bed Day 2: May 30, 2023 This was a day at Sea. We spent the day swimming (Tim was brave and did all the water slides. He even ended up loving one and did it about 6 times in a row), eating way too much ice cream, playing ping pong, rock climbing, relaxing (taking naps), and we even saw some whales (the pictures didn't turn out too great because they didn't really fully breach the water, but it was still SO cool to see/know they were there). The attire for the evening was "dress to impress" so we took our time getting all ready and it was fun to take lots of pictures all dressed up. We came back to our room to see some awesome towel decor. Tim didn't even notice the towel "guy" at first and just said "why is the TV on?" and then we noticed and all laughed. Day 3: May 31, 2023 Our first stop was Catalina island. We definitely thought the route was a little weird to have a day at sea before Catalina. If we were planning the cruise we would have done the day at sea and then Ensenada and last Catalina, but I guess either direction from Catalina to LA is really not that far. We took the tender boat out to the island and had lots of fun. For our excursion, we had initially planned just a beach day, but then upon looking up the weather in advance realized we didn't want to do the beach when the high was only going to be around 65 degrees for the day. So we booked a ropes "aerial adventure" for Timothy and planned to just explore on our own when he was done. When we got over to do the ropes course, they measured Tim and said he wasn't tall enough. He was super bummed and Sarah just about burst into tears at not realizing beforehand - although she swears she measured him and he fit the requirements. After that slight setback we decided to rent a golf cart for an hour and just drive around exploring ourselves. We fed some gorgeous fish off the pier and had fun driving around. It ended up being fine that Timothy didn't get to do the shore excursion and we were really grateful that they gave us back the onboard credit we used to book it. After returning to the ship we relaxed and then after dinner we played some lazer tag. It was a ton of fun, but poor Tim was on the loosing team and he definitely didn't like that. Day 4: June 1, 2023 This stop was Ensenada Mexico. We had an excursion booked through a separate company because the one we wanted to book through Royal Caribbean was all sold out. This actually ended up in our favor because it was cheaper and in a smaller group so we could ask more questions of our tour guide and get the "insider scoop" on what to do/not to do. We took a bus out to La Bufadora (the blowhole) which is a natural marine geyser that can shoot water over 60 ft into the air. The blowhole itself was pretty cool to see and the water was the prettiest blue. Getting there was rather interesting. We didn't feel super confident in the bus when we almost got T-boned and when the tour guide said we were on the road of death because every day for the past several years someone has died on that road. Luckily we were safe. To get to the actual geyser you have to walk past tons of little shops with everyone accosting you and trying to get you to buy all their things. We did do a little shopping and even with our haggling the price down we still felt like we overpaid things. Sarah got some leather sandals, Devin got a BYU poncho and backpack, Timothy got a stuffed animal. Upon getting back to the ship we ate some yummy dinner and played mini-golf to wrap up the day. Day 5: June 2, 2023 We arrived back in Los Angeles in the early morning, ate breakfast, and were off the ship close to 8:00 AM. We took an Uber to our hotel room to begin the 2nd part of our vacation.....Universal Studios Hollywood! Devin and Timothy were really excited about the new Super Nintendo World. We went there first and although the park was pretty crowded due to graduation events we still had a great time. We bought Tim a (overpriced) power-up band so he could do all the mini-challenges throughout the land. He loved going around and hitting all the question blocks to earn coins. We rode the Mario Kart ride first because we knew that one would have a long line no matter when we did it. That really is the only ride there right now so it was a little sad there's not too much more. We were happy Tim had the power-up band so he could complete the challenges to earn keys and battle Bowser Jr. It's always a highlight to see your kids so excited about things and Tim definitely was excited. We left the Nintendo world and explored the rest of the park too. We were so exhausted that we (Devin and Sarah) both almost fell asleep on the studio tour. We had been to Universal just a couple years ago so besides the Super Nintendo World there wasn't much else that was a definite "must do." We did several other rides before returning to Super Nintendo World to end the day there. Day 6: June 3, 2023
This was just a travel day. We had a direct flight back to Salt Lake which we were really glad about. This time we got to the airport with plenty of time...maybe even too much time because security was surprisingly not crowded at all. As we were in the air, Devin and I noticed we seemed to be making more turns that necessary - almost as if we were going in circles. A short little bit later the pilot got on and said that due to weather in Salt Lake we needed to reroute to Boise to get gas and then we'd hopefully be back on our way to Salt Lake soon. We thought this odd because looking out the window we didn't notice anything bad about the clouds. We landed in Boise and luckily the stop wasn't too long, but still we were delayed several hours longer than anticipated. Alan picked us up from the airport and we treated him to Leatherby's as a thank you for waiting for us for the extra 2 hours while we had our detour. We learned of the golf-ball sized hail that was happening while we were in the air and we were so grateful for our safety even though it meant extra time. We love our family so much and are so grateful for their love and support.
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4/9/2023 0 Comments Spring Break 2023We've had such a long winter and we really wanted some warmth for spring break. So we decided to spend the week in Arizona. We left on Saturday April 1st after watching the first session of general conference with Devin's Mom and brother Alan. We drove as far as Cedar City and stayed the night with one of Devin's (many) cousins - the Miller's. It was fun to catch up with them and hilarious to watch Devin and his cousin Jacob try to remember the names of all their cousins. That may not seem like such a difficult task, but when you have 103 cousins it gets a little bit tricky. We continued south on Sunday and listened to conference in the car. We took a little detour on the way south and stopped for a little while at the Grand Canyon. We went in the south entrance and stopped at the Watch tower overlook. It was so cool and amazing to look at. We continued our trek south and arrived in the evening at another one of Devin's cousins - the Allreds. We spent the day at their place on Monday. It was so wonderful to enjoy the sunshine. We jumped on the trampoline, tried out the slack line, held their adorable bunny (bringing back childhood memories for me (Sarah) longing for a bunny), and I relaxed in the hammock while Devin chased kids around the yard. We left in the late afternoon and checked into our airbnb. It was perfect for us: one bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room with a sofa bed. Tim was amazed that the couch turned into a bed and enjoyed being able to watch TV from his bed. We got settled and then went grocery shopping. Devin was super excited to find Bluebell ice cream so of course we had to get some! Tuesday Devin took the day off work (he worked the rest of the week because he didn't have time off work, but luckily he works remotely). We spent the day at the Great Wolf Lodge. We got a day pass and spent the day swimming. We tried to get Tim to do the Wolf's Tail slide right at the beginning, but he kind of freaked out. We had to do some serious bribing and convincing, but he did it before we left! Our aribnb was right across from the great wolf lodge so we went back for lunch. After lunch we went for a couple more hours swimming before going home to shower and change. Tuesday evening we went to the Mesa Temple Easter pageant. It was so amazing!! It followed the life of Jesus Christ from his birth through his crucifixion and resurrection. Devin's cousins saved us seats so we were on the 2nd row. However, it was the coldest night of our trip, but luckily we had warm clothes and blankets. The pageant itself was worth the trip! Wednesday while Devin was working Tim and I spent our time back at Great Wolf Lodge doing the MagiQuest game. He had so much fun running all over the place strengthening his magic totem and then battling monsters. Devin joined us on some of his work breaks. Then we went as a family and watched the new Super Mario Bros movie. It was super nostalgic for Devin and Tim loved seeing all the things he knew from different Mario games too. It was a fun evening. Thursday we spent our time relaxing at the pool of our airbnb during the day while Devin worked. He took a little break and swam with us for a while. Then in the evening we went to the Medieval Times dinner and Tournament. It was super fun! We cheered on the green knight, ate food with our hands, and watched the knights joust and fight. Tim was very invested in the fights and had to cover his eyes as the intensity grew. Friday we checked out of our airbnb, but Devin still had to get some work done so we drove back to his cousins and he tried to get some work done there (although their internet stopped working for bit). Tim and I went to the Legoland Discovery center. Tim had a great time, and I honestly think the adult price does not need to be the same as the child price. It was still fun to make memories with Tim and have some mom and son time. We picked Devin up in the afternoon and as we were heading back towards Cedar City we got in a minor accident and that delayed us while we tried to fix our side mirror. Luckily that was the only damage to either vehicle and no one was injured - we just now need to replace our side mirror. We ended up getting into Cedar City super late so Devin's cousin's just had the door unlocked for us and we went right to bed upon arrival. We woke up early Saturday and drove the rest of the way home so Devin could play in an Ultimate frisbee game. After dropping him off at that Tim and I went to our ward's Easter egg hunt. I had told him that he wouldn't be able to get eggs because I didn't think they'd have enough since I didn't tell them we'd be there or drop off eggs, but luckily they had extra so he could still get some. We are glad we got to escape the cold and the big storm that hit Utah while we were gone, but it's good to be home! Today was Easter Sunday! We are grateful for our Savior Jesus Christ and his atonement and resurrection. All three of us sang in church today: Devin and I with the choir and then Tim with the primary. It was a super special program. After church Devin and Tim went to his mom's house while I made rolls....lots of rolls!! I've been making them and selling them to earn some extra money toward our adoption expenses. I was bummed to miss out on some Easter festivities, but had already committed to making them. I sold 8 dozen rolls and made some for my family too. In all I made 128 rolls today! We went to my niece Rachel's house for our Easter dinner and it was delicious. I am so grateful for my family and extended family. Family is the most important thing to us. We love to be together creating memories and hope to add to our family soon! ~Sarah 3/14/2023 0 Comments Skiing Adventures March 2023We created a family mission statement last year: We are fun, adventurous, loving, and honest. We learn from our mistakes, forgive each other, and help each other along the covenant path. We can do hard things! We definitely had a lot of fun, adventures, learning from mistakes, and doing hard things yesterday as we went skiing as a family on March 13, 2023. It was Timothy's first time ever and only the 2nd time for Devin. I grew up in Alpine, UT and spent most winter Saturdays throughout Jr High and High School up at the ski resorts. I have lots of fond memories skiing and it was really fun to be up in the mountains as a family. We stayed on the bunny hill and there were lots of tears and frustration as Timothy started out. He needed several reminders that we can do hard things and to get back up after he fell. He continued to push through and started to have fun. It was so fun to see his progress and his big grin when he could go down without falling. He could have kept going a lot longer than Devin and I. Devin was starting to get the hang of it too. It's a lot harder to learn and perfect skiing as an adult, but he kept pushing through and was getting better. It had been several years (since before Tim was born) that I had been skiing and my boots were way too tight. I was losing circulation to my toes and had to quit early, but it worked out because then I just walked next to Tim to help him and film him. Even though I was a little bummed to miss out on more skiing, I had a lot of fun with my family. We can't wait to add another little adventurer to our family! ~Sarah 3/10/2023 0 Comments Our Journey to AdoptWe were married in April 2006. After only 4 months we felt strongly that we didn't need to keep using birth control and we were excited to start our family. We thought for sure this meant a child was soon on the way. Man were we wrong! We kept trying and month after month had heartbreak as there was no baby in sight. Months of trying and waiting turned into a year so we started seeking professional help. A year of waiting and trying turned into two. The heartbreak of failure month after month was starting to weigh on us. After a few years of trying with no success we moved to more aggressive infertility treatments and started doing some IUI's with still no success. We felt like we were on a merry go round just going in circles and couldn't get off. We watched as friends and family got married and started their families. While we were immensely happy for them the heartbreak was also very real.
In December of 2012 we committed to moving forward with IVF the following year. In January I waited for my cycle to begin so that we could schedule a consultation and get things rolling with that whole process. However, no cycle came and we found out that I was indeed pregnant. Devin was actually in the shower when I showed him the pregnancy test. His saw it and stared for a second before saying "Wait, does that mean what I think it does?" Holding back tears of joy I replied that it was, however the test was technically an expired test. He then practically yelled "Get out and get in the car. We're buying a new pregnancy test right now!" We ran to the store and bought a new test and confirmed we did indeed have our miracle we'd been praying for! We were so excited for our little miracle to join us and I guess he was just as excited. Timothy was born 3 months early at 27 weeks by emergency c-section. He weighed 1 pound 13.5 ounces. I hadn't been feeling well for a couple days and Devin was about to go out of town with the young men in our ward. We moved my dr. appointment up so I could get checked out before he left later that afternoon. At the appointment when the nurse took my blood pressure she immediately looked alarmed and went and got her supervisor. The nurse practitioner took my blood pressure and then told us to go immediately to Labor and Delivery at the hospital. We were both a little in shock and the reality of the situation didn't really sink in. When we got to the hospital they immediately determined that the best way to save both my life and the life of our son was to do an emergency c-section. He spent 3 1/2 months in the NICU and there were lots of ups and downs through that whole ordeal. We are so grateful for him! Since having Timothy we have been through 6 IVF cycles and had 1 miscarriage. It felt like we were back on the merry go round as year after year; IVF cycle after IVF cycle passed and nothing changed. After much thinking and prayer we realized that it just wasn't safe for me to become pregnant again. Though this was a heartbreak, we felt great comfort and peace as we looked towards adoption. We attended classes put on by the Utah Adoption Specialists and learned so much about the adoption process and about birth mothers. The more we learned and looked into adoption the more we felt that it was meant for us. We are so excited and grateful for the opportunity to add to our family. We want to share our love and know that our future children will have so many people who love them. We are so grateful for birth mothers and your selfless acts of love. We've been through a lot of ups and downs and twists and turns on our journey. However, we know that we are on the right path and are excited to move forward with adoption. 2/26/2023 0 Comments our pets We have two pets: a cat, named Mohawk - we call him Mo for short and a dog, named Teddy. Mohawk, is a white domestic cat and is almost 3 years old. We named him Mohawk because he's all white except for a gray mohawk on his head. However, as he's gotten older we call him Mo more because his mohawk has faded a lot since being a kitten. Mo was a present for Timothy because he really loves cats. Mo likes to be near us, but not really cuddling with us. When we had a Christmas tree up, he loved to be under the tree because he could be in the same room as us without interacting with us. After taking down the tree we realized that he needed a special place in the living room so he could still be around us. We moved a bed for him into our entertainment center and he loves it! Mohawk gives his cuddles on his terms and is very selective with when he wants to cuddle. We often joke that when he does voluntarily cuddle with us that "we have been chosen" (toy story reference). Teddy is an Australian Labradoodle. He is about a year and a half. We got him from a breeder that Sarah's sister is related to and Teddy is actually going to be one of their studs. He will make such cute puppies. He is still very much still in the puppy phase and could play fetch all day. We really think that he would play until he collapsed if we didn't get tired of it. We often have to force him to stop by telling him we're all done and putting the toys up. As it's been winter we keep him active by throwing the ball/toy up to our loft and he runs of the stairs, often in time to catch it in the air. Teddy loves to be with us and is awkward at cuddling. We joke that he has major FOMO and if something is going on he wants to be in the center of it. We haven't ever had a dog as large as Teddy (our previous dog was a small breed) and it was an adjustment in the beginning. We put Teddy through some training and it really paid off! We just need to be better as owners to keep up with his skills so that he doesn't get lax and start being naughty again. We call him our "Teddy bear" because he really looks like a cute, cuddly teddy. He's a lot of fun and keeps us active. People often ask us how the cat and dog get along. For the most part they are great together and just kind of leave each other alone. Every once in awhile (not too often any more) Teddy will get in Mo's space and Mo will hiss or swipe at Teddy. They've learned to adjust to each other - I should say that Teddy has learned that Mo doesn't want to play and he's learned to leave him alone more. One of the biggest challenges is that Teddy loves food and will often eat Mohawk's food. Mo is overweight and we're trying to manage how much he eats, but that's really hard when Teddy gets to his bowl and we have to remember how much Mo had already eaten. We have Mo's food in the same room as his litter box and we didn't want to cut him off from that room completely because we definitely don't want cat messes around the house. So we tried putting Mo's food up on the washer/dyer and only putting it down when we could monitor it. We'd close the door while he ate in peace, but then forget and sometimes not put his food back up or Mo would get trapped in the laundry room for some time. Poor Mo would meow and meow (getting more and more vocal) until someone would finally let him in/out of the laundry room. It was a big pain monitoring it and feeling like we were at the beck and call of the cat. We finally decided to do something about it - with Devin's handy skills and tools we installed a kitty door! Mo was hesitant at first but actually really likes that he can have his own "room" without Teddy bothering him. Success!!
2/26/2023 0 Comments Long overdue recap of life...We are so much better at updating our Instagram and Facebook accounts. Be sure to check those out to learn more about us and our typically every day lives. @AndersenFamilyAdopts However, since you're already here...here's a little recap of the big things that have happened since our last blog post. October 2022 -- Halloween from the Family Madrigal Sarah was Mirabel, Timothy was Antonio (as well as a Grim Reaper for actual trick or treating), and Devin "the strong one" was Luisa. It was awesome to see all the fun laughs he received. In November we took a trip to Texas to visit Devin's sister and her family for Thanksgiving. We love the Allsops!! We had so much fun, but we all ended up getting a stomach virus on Thanksgiving and it was definitely not fun. In the beginning of December, we got our big family Christmas present early and took a trip to Disneyland. It's been on Sarah's wish list to visit Disneyland when it's all decorated for Christmas. It was super magical and we loved it! We hit the one year mark of living in our house. We are still absolutely in love with our house and love where we live. The only thing missing is more kids to fill the space. We are still actively searching for the situation that is meant for us. We are praying for the birth mother's out there and wish you peace and love on this journey you have. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or to just get in touch. You can DM us from our Facebook/Instagram accounts or email us at [email protected] 10/23/2022 0 Comments Halloween Fun over the yearsWe love to coordinate Halloween costumes as a family. Now that Tim is starting to get a little older it's no longer quite as "cool" to dress up with the family. Or he usually wants to do his own thing or multiple costumes. So we compromise and do a coordinated costume to a family or ward party and then he can wear his own individualized costume to school or out trick or treating. Here are previous costumes we've done as a family (at least ones I could find pictures of, haha): *2011: Mario & Princess Peach *Tim came home from the NICU on Halloween 2013 *2014: Mario, Princess Peach, & Toad *2015: Alice, Mad Hatter, & White Rabbit *2016: Mary Poppins, Bert, & a Penguin ~Pirate themed murder mystery dinner *2017: Princess Leia, Darth Vader, & Luke Skywalker ~Halloween murder mystery dinner: Sarah was the Queen of Hearts and Devin was Darth Vader *2018: the year of multiple costumes! We reused our Alice in Wonderland costumes for Disneyland (even though Tim's didn't really fit him very well), Tim was Mr. Incredible for trick or treating at Devin's work, and we did Pirates for the ward trunk or treat and trick-or-treating. *2019: Princess Leia, Darth Vader, & Kylo Ren. However, Tim was Luigi for trick-or-treating. Sarah was Mario because Devin was at home sick. *2020: Bo Peep, Woody, & Buzz Lightyear - it helped that Tim had a face shield for the Covid pandemic. *2021: Harry Potter Wizards & Tim was the Mandalorian to school (we failed with pictures because we were in the process of packing to move). **2022.....stay tuned! It will be worth it to come back and see what this year's costume is! 10/23/2022 0 Comments Letter to birth parentsDear Birth Family,
Wow! Can we just say how much we admire and love your courage and strength? You have probably been going through some very hard decisions and we want you to know that you are amazing! The decision to place your baby for adoption is no easy task. We cannot fully comprehend the complex feelings you must be having at this time and we are humbled that you’d even consider us. We are looking forward to having an open adoption and want to share with our future child about you and your unselfish love for them. We especially want you as the birth mother to feel our love and admiration for you and your irreplaceable role in your child’s life. We want to continue a relationship of good communication and are open and willing to send updates and pictures on a regular basis as well as visits. We hope that as the baby grows you will look at them and feel confident in your placement of them because you will see them thriving and successful. We promise to love your child unconditionally and raise them in a loving environment, surrounded and supported by lots of family and friends. We wish you the best on your own journey through this time! He hope you find peace in your decision and take comfort in the fact that we are praying for you. Thank you again for considering us; we are eternally grateful to you! With love, Devin, Sarah, and Timothy 6/19/2022 0 Comments Devin is an amazing FatherHappy Father's Day Devin! I wanted to take a moment to brag about Devin and how amazing he is. He is such a wonderful father to Timothy and I know he will continue to be a fantastic father to our other children as well. Devin is super excited to adopt and to grow our family. Devin works hard to provide for our family, but is definitely the "fun one" in the family. Here are just a few of the things that I love about Devin: Devin was kind of thrown into fatherhood as our son was super premature, but throughout that stress he was calm, positive, and helped me to know that everything would be alright. He was an amazing father right from the start and was always there for me and for Timothy. Devin is silly & super fun! Devin is not afraid to be silly and joke around and have fun. He'll get right into the game with Timothy and they have so much fun playing together. As Timothy has gotten older they've started playing video games together and they both love this quality time that they get to spend together. It's so fun for me just to sit back and listen to them as they help each other to defeat the boss and to hear how much fun Timothy is having with his Dad. Devin has such a fun, outgoing personality that people just gravitate towards him. He has a quick wit and will turn awkward situations into funny ones so that they are more comfortable for everyone. This helps people to relate to him and open up around him. Devin is also an amazing story teller and a great writer. Ask him about his book....but only if you have a couple of hours. ;) He is always the go-to person for story time and has several voices/accents that he'll use when telling a story. Devin is very goal oriented. He sets very detailed goals and works hard to accomplish them. He stays motivated and works consistently towards those goals. Devin loves Ultimate frisbee! He is also very talented at the sport. He has played for our entire marriage (since 2006) and has played on many professional level teams. His club team even made it to nationals. After making it to nationals Devin slowed things down a bit, but still loves to play when he can. He also commentates for the local professional team and spends time throwing the disc with Tim or training our dog Teddy to catch the disc too. Devin is a worker. He has lots of DIY projects that are in the works and he's not afraid to learn new skills to help him finish a project. With his projects he is super detail oriented and plans ahead for things. He's excited to do more with our backyard including building a shed, playhouse, and fort. Devin is talented. He has an amazing voice! He can harmonize with just about anyone on any song. He writes his own songs and wrote a beautiful song for our son. We joke that he set the bar high because now he needs to write songs for any future children we have too. He plays the piano, mainly by ear, but is working to learn how to sight read music better. He has been in several musicals and is often asked to share his musical talent. I am so grateful for this wonderful man that I have by my side. He is so supportive of both me and Timothy and he always encourages us to do our best. I love his sense of humor and how he instinctively knows how to make me happy by making me laugh. Devin is so good with Timothy and I'm excited to see his love grow as we add more children to our family. I love you Devin! Love, Sarah 5/25/2022 2 Comments Meet the Andersen FamilyHello! We are the Andersen Family! We're so glad that you're here to learn more about us. We are a family of 3 (5 if you count our pets), but we're hoping to expand that number through adoption. In 2022 we sat down as a family and created a mission statement that explains a lot about who we are and what we try to teach and be in our family: We are fun, adventurous, loving, and honest. We learn from our mistakes, forgive each other, and help each other along the covenant path. We can do hard things! We enjoy spending time together playing games watching movies, jumping on our trampoline in the backyard, camping, traveling, and visiting extended family. We love Disneyland, Star Wars, Lego, and Harry Potter. We've been married since 2006 and have one son, Timothy. He is excited to be a big brother and we know he will do such a great job because he's so caring and a great helper. We also have a cat, Mohawk, and a dog, Teddy. We moved into a new home in January 2022 and have loved having space to host family and love our backyard. We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and religion is a big part of our lives. We attend church and teach our son (and will teach our other children) about the gospel and encourage him (and future children) to be good people. We are open to different levels of openness within our adoption and we'd love our child to know their birth family. We want birth mothers (and their families) to know how much we admire you and to know that we are continually thinking and praying for you! Devin: Devin is an Ultimate Frisbee loving guy and until very recently would play at least 3-4 times every week. After his team made it to Nationals he decided to "hang up the hat" (or maybe we should say disc) and now only plays 1-2 times a week. Recently he has started to train our dog, Teddy, to catch a frisbee and that has been a huge dream of his for a long time. He also loves video games and doesn't like to admit how much he used to play growing up. One of his favorite evening activities is gathering the family to play old school games on his raspberry pie. He's passed this love on to our son Timothy. Devin works for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Temple department as a QA. He works from home most days, but would prefer to work from the office, even if no one is there. It helps him to focus and have a routine of "going to work." He is a hard worker and is very dedicated at what he does. Sarah is a work from home mom. She is an elementary teacher and after teaching for 7 years at a school in Herriman decided she wanted to switch to teaching online so she could be home with Timothy. She has loved the switch and although she does occasionally miss the fun of being in person with her students she has excelled teaching online and still is able to make great connections with her students. Her biggest perk is having more flexibility to be available when Tim gets home from school or needs her. Sarah loves crafting and has a room all to herself for her office/craft room. Devin recently got her a Dreambox and she loves having everything organized - Sarah is a very organized person and likes to have things neat, clean, and orderly. Sarah loves having the summers off with Tim and is always up for planning and throwing a good party! Tim has benefited from this a lot as his birthday is in the summer so Sarah has lots of time to go all out for his parties. Another thing about Sarah is she really enjoys cooking and baking. She loves trying new recipes, but is the "roll guru" in the family. Timothy is our miracle boy! After trying to get pregnant for 7 years we got pregnant randomly with our little miracle. However, he was so excited he came early at 27 weeks because of severe preeclampsia. He weighed a whopping 1 lb 13.5 oz and spent 3.5 months in the NICU. He came home from the nicu on Halloween so we always like celebrate by getting lots of candy. ;) Timothy is so creative and has an active imagination. He loves to be in costumes and is always playing some pretend game. He also loves to build things with Legos and has shown quite the creative knack with that. He takes after his Dad emotionally and can be a very tenderhearted boy. He also loves playing video games and will play any chance he gets. Don't tell him, but he's getting really good. ;) Timothy is a very popular little kid and there isn't a day that goes by where we don't have friends asking if he can play. Luckily he still likes to hang out with Mom and Dad too. Pets: We have a cat, Mohawk - we call him Mo. He was named because he's all white except for a little gray Mohawk on top of his head. Mo definitely has the typical cat traits and thinks he owns the place. He will only snuggle when it is his idea and even then for short periods. This makes Sarah really sad and she'll try to force him to cuddle sometimes. If you get too close he might put his paw on your nose as his way of saying, "No touchy" We like to talk for our pets and give them a unique voice that fits their personality. Mohawk has a grumpy voice with an accent that just sounds like he's annoyed by everything. He is definitely an observer and likes to look down from above and see what's going on, but don't try to touch him or he'll slink away. We also have a dog, Teddy. He is an Australian Labradoodle. He was named because he's like a big (and awkward) teddy bear. We talk for Teddy in a fun-loving voice, almost dumb voice; kind of like Dug on the Pixar movie Up. Teddy is very skittish when meeting new people, but once he warms up he will want to play non-stop. He will try and cuddle if we're all together on the couch or laying in bed, but he's still a little awkward and doesn't realize how big he is, so he occasionally ends up just sitting on you. Teddy is learning how to catch a frisbee and will play any chance he gets. He will eat anything, yes anything so we have to be on our guard to watch him and since he's so big watch the counters. If food is too close to the edge of the counter and we're not watching Teddy will get it. Sadly, we've lost several delicious rolls this way. Thanks for following along with us and getting to know us better. We are so excited to move forward with adoption and get to know you too.
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AuthorDevin & Sarah Andersen Archives
June 2023
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