I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS VIDEO!

http://youtu.be/-lTnZXeSli0

The Agape Project is a personal project that involved birth moms and adoptive families to show how much love there is in adoption. I wanted to create an awareness video to educate others on adoption. It has been such a huge part of my life and has made my dreams come true. 

Gabe's Birthday Dinner

Gabe's birthday is August 25th, my brother Josh celebrates his birthday on August 24th. It is a tradition in our little family, carried over from a tradition in my own family growing up that on your birthday you get to choose what you want for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This year Gabe wanted to go to Tucano's for his birthday dinner. He had been excited and talking about it for weeks! So we invited Uncle Josh and Aunty Amber, Uncle Ben and Aunty Merridee to come with us too. We were sad that Uncle Blake and Uncle Jarom couldn't come. It was fun to combine Josh and Gabe's birthday celebrations.

Aunty Amber and Uncle Josh

 

Uncle Ben and Aunty Merr

 

After Tucano's we all caught Trax to City Creek and walked around the new shops for a while. It was such a fun night. It was awesome to be together.

Celebrating Gabe's Birthday at Pre-school

Gabe's pre-school has a wonderful rule that you can only take in store bought treats to share with your classmates. Even though I consider myself a baker, I love this rule. The Wednesday before Gabe's birthday and his last day at pre-school Gabe took some cupcakes to share. We will miss Ms. Jordan!

Gabe's 5th Birthday

This year we split Gabes birthday up between two weekends. Why not drag it out a little...right?! The weekend before his actual birthday we had a friends/cousins birthday party at Discovery Gateway. The theme was superheros and it was so much fun. There was cake and presents gallore. The kids absolutely loved it and our birthday boy was as happy as could be. This made for one happy Mummy!!

The Birthday Boy-

 Love this kid so much...look at that face!

 The spread.

 The cake and lolly bags. My sweet friend Holly made the cupcake toppers and party bag tags to go with our superhero theme. Thanks Holly!

 Lots of games = loads of fun

 Cake Time!

 

 

 

Presents!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

The party was a success!!

 

Happy Birthday Angel

Our two party hosts shown below were awesome!

 

Hoping to Adopt

G’DAY Mate! We are so glad you stopped by to get to know our fun, adventurous, cuddly family. We like to think that we are a perfect mix of down under and the good ol USA. We hope that this letter gives you a glimpse into who we really are as a family and how important family is to us. We thank you in advance for reading our profile and considering our little family when contemplating the decisions you are making in your life right now. We have faith that we have been brought together for a reason and we look forward with optimism to all that the future holds.

A little about Natalie:
I was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. So yes, I have an Australian accent. My father is an Australian and my mother a New Zealander. Therefore, while I was born and raised primarily in Australia, New Zealand is very near and dear to my heart also. I grew up as the oldest of 5 children. I loved growing up with four younger brothers. We didn’t grow up with any cousins so we grew up playing together which fostered strong relationships that I still cherish today. Our family was always very athletic. We all played basketball and other sports from a young age and I continued to play basketball during my college years. After high school, I went on to pursue an education in Behavioral Neuroscience at a University in Melbourne. Physical fitness, health and nutrition are still a big and important part of my life. I love to work out regularly and be active. I love to cook and bake and feed the people I love. I enjoy music, sewing, old architecture, fashion, interior design, traveling, dancing, trying new restaurants, singing and reading. However, the thing I love most in life is being a mother. The day we brought our sweet son home was one of the greatest days of my life. Being a mother has only enriched my life more than I could ever have imagined and made all the things I enjoy, that much more enjoyable.

A little about Brad:
Brad was born and raised in Utah. He grew up as the oldest of 8 children. From a young age Brad loved all things mechanical. He started mowing church lawns with his Grandpa when he was only 3. After high school Brad went to Chicago to pursue further education as a Mechanic. Once he completed his schooling he went on to serve a mission in Melbourne, Australia. After his mission, Brad attended the University of Utah where he obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He now works as a Mechanical Engineer for a worldwide engineering firm. Brad is the family go to guy when it comes to fixing or building things. It seems that there isn’t anything Brad can’t do. From fixing computers and cars to finishing basements Brad can do it all. Brad is extremely intelligent. Brad loves all things cars, trying new restaurants, camping, riding bikes, Natalie’s cooking and baking, travelling and reading. Brad is a wonderful father to our Gabe and watching them together is truly a joy. Gabe always wants to be right with Brad doing whatever his Dad is doing. They are truly great buddies.

A little about us:
Brad and I first met some 11 years ago while Brad was serving a mission in Melbourne, Australia. He was serving in my ward at the time and one Sunday at church after talking to Brad, my Dad invited Brad and his companion over for dinner or tea as we call it back home. My Dad was impressed by Brad and my Mum thought he was handsome. At the time I was just annoyed that my four younger brothers liked to tease me about Brad and how I liked him. Having Brad come for dinner, sparked a relationship between my parents and Brads parents and my Mum vowed to watch over Brad as much as she could for the duration of his mission. We would go and visit him on his birthday and Christmas to take him treats and would send him packages etc. When Brads mission was over, his parents came to Australia to pick him up. They stayed with my family for two weeks. It was while we were sight-seeing together and hanging out that Brad and I noticed a spark between us. It was quickly evident that we had a strong chemistry. Since Brad was still officially a missionary while he was in Australia, I wrote Brad a letter telling him of my feelings and gave it to him at the airport before he left to go home. I instructed him to open it once he was released and not before. If you ask Brad he says having that letter in his backpack all the way home to the US on that 16 hour flight and not reading it was torture. When Brad got home, his whole family who had not seen him for two years were at his parents house to see him. However, once he was released he quickly went upstairs, read my letter and called me at home in Australia. It was then that we discussed our mutual affection for one another. I came over to the Utah about a month later so that we could date and from the minute I arrived it was as if we had been dating for years already. We had so much fun together and most importantly we felt comfortable around each other. We shared similar values, opinions and dreams and well…we were crazy for each other and it just felt right. I moved to the United States at age 21 shortly before we were married in 2003. The rest is history!

Thoughts on Natalie by Brad:
Brad- What I love about Nat: Natalie has always had a tremendous love for everybody. She is constantly looking for ways that she can help other people and brighten their days. She does this especially for her family. From the first day I met her I could see how much she loved taking care of her brothers. When we married that love carried over to us. Now that we have Gabe she does an excellent job of being the best mother to Gabe. Natalie loves to cook for Gabe and myself. It makes her especially happy to see Gabe enjoying her cooking. One of her favorite things to do with Gabe is to cook. I love watching the two of them work together in the kitchen making something for us to eat. From the day that Gabe was placed in her arms she started reading to him, and hasn’t stopped. Natalie has always told Gabe how special he is to her and how much she loves him. I love that Natalie is always there for Gabe and myself when we need picking up, she can always think of a way to bring a smile back on our faces. Natalie truly is the best mother and wife anybody could ever have.

Thoughts on Brad by Natalie:
Natalie- What I love about Brad: One of the things I love most about Brad is how affectionate he is. I love that he will cuddle and snuggle and kiss our son and tell him numerous times a day that he loves him. Before we even adopted our son, I told Brad that telling our children we loved them every day was something I felt was truly important. I love and am grateful for how smart and talented Brad is. There is nothing that Brad can’t figure out. I think he is a genius! I love that he works hard for our family and takes pride in being the provider. I am so grateful that I got to marry my best friend. We make up for each other’s weaknesses and we complement each other’s strengths. I really feel as though we are a team. We get through everything together.
How we became a family:

After years of unsuccessfully trying to get pregnant a friend and workmate of Natalie’s learned of a small baby boy who was in need of a loving home. Literally overnight, and in less than 24 hours our two became three. The rest we say is history. We have never looked back since that special day and have to pinch ourselves daily to make sure we aren’t dreaming. Though we aren’t dreaming, we definitely consider our lives with our Gabe dreamy. Being parents has been the greatest thing we have ever done. There is no doubt in our minds and in the minds of our extended family members that angels both in Heaven and on earth were working hard to form our union. We were certainly a match made in Heaven.

Though we have never met Gabe’s birth mother, we truly love, admire and respect her. She will forever be a special part of our lives and a special part of our family. We feel it is important that Gabe knows how much we love his birth mother and that we consider her an extension of our family unit. She made our dreams come true.

A little about Gabe:
Gabe is 5 years old. He loves pre-school and learning and is looking forward to starting kindergarten in the fall. Gabe is a sweet and tender hearted little boy. He is very affectionate and loves to cuddle, which we just love! Gabe has always loved babies and small children and prays daily for a “baby” for our family. Like his Dad, he likes to “figure things out”. He loves to help dad build things, work in the yard, work on the occasional car and care for our chickens. He loves playing with Legos, singing to songs on the radio with Mum, camping, fishing, drawing, cooking and baking with Mum, painting, spending time with his aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents and playing soccer.
For us, the reality of loving, caring and raising a sweet child is, we believe, life’s greatest blessing. Our hope is that you will find the comfort, love and support you need to make the right decisions for you and your baby. May you be blessed as you embark on your personal journey.

Brad, Natalie & Gabe.
bradnatadoption@gmail.com