Our Story

As a little girl I loved babysitting and playing with the kids in my mom’s daycare. I always dreamed of the day I would be blessed, lucky and able to be a mom. On March 21, 2008 I knew this dream would be reality as I walked hand in hand with Brandon into San Diego Temple to be sealed for Time and Eternity.

At the beach after the wedding.

As we prepared to settle down, Brandon and I found a cute home, but one, that needed a lot of TLC. We spent the next year demolishing and remodeling each room in our home: all new carpet, re-textured the walls, and then the bathroom, kitchen, and finally our basement.  It wasn't long before the local hardware store knew us by name; regardless of our careful list making a daily trip to the hardware store was routine. On multiple occasions we didn't just visit once, but many times throughout the day or even throughout an hour; it became the running joke.

The kitchen at the beginning of the demo

B hard at work

The new look

Another love that developed during our first year of marriage was cycling. Although we both had a road bike we decided, when seeing another couple on a tandem, to purchase our own. It looked fun. Little did we know that compromise, communication, and trust would have to take place to be successful tandem-bike-riders. Brandon had a much higher cadence (pedaling speed) than me. He also like to 'spin' where I like to 'push and pull'. When traveling down hills, I have to duck and tuck my head into Brandon's back; I can't see anything when I do this. In the beginning it was scary and I was nervous, but as I learned to lean on Brandon, literally and figuratively, fear dissipated and exhilaration grew.   Yet, because we had to be in unison we learned to compromise and trust one another. We rode the MS 150 just days after getting our tandem, and then continued to ride in the SLC Century, LOTOJA, and just for fun throughout the summer months.

After LOTOJA, and we are still smiling

As happy as we were this first year, something was missing and soon, through discussions and moments of quiet, we realized that something was little ones in our home. Like most couples, we started thinking this would come through pregnancy, but after several complications, many months of medical visits and also times of true openness, we realized our little ones may join our family differently.

One evening while sitting down for dinner at one of our (really Brandon's) favorite restaurants, Olive Garden, we began contemplating our next steps. Brandon had been offered a promotion at work, we were discussing the idea of Brandon returning to school, and whether or not I should look into get my PhD or my administration certificate, but all these ideas led us to what was most important: how were we going to begin our family? 

We were able to come to an agreement on most of the decisions' that night, but we were at a crossroads with how to move forward with our family. We have a great desire to have children.  We want the opportunity to love and nurture and build memories with our family. We treasure times with nieces and nephews and we want that same love in our home, continually. We knew we needed some additional guidance and we decided we would visit with our Bishop the following day.

Sunday afternoon we returned to the church anxious to hear some divine wisdom. At the time we wanted him to tell us what to do. However, he offered counsel in regards to life in general, but no answer to our family-making path. However, one comment he made seemed to echo for both of us:  "make a decision, stick with it, and don't look back". Then clear as any answer I have ever received I knew our family would come through adoption. When talking with Brandon that night, he had the same confirmation the day before. We were overjoyed, and probably a bit relieved—we knew what to do next, and then came a new sense of excitement-- this filled our life as we began to travel our new road.

How we met… 

At age 25 I wasn’t feeling any younger and finding that perfect guy wasn’t getting any easier! As a teacher of sixth graders I wasn’t involved in the single social scene anymore so I cautiously and hesitantly joined LDS singles on-line.  Lucky for me, a sweet handsome guy had also been encouraged to join.  The second time I logged in I had a ‘flirt’ from who would soon be my husband. I responded back with another ‘flirt’.  Days later we began sending multiple messages daily and shortly after that, neither  of us were getting sleep due to long phone conversations.  It became a secondary priority anyway—we were falling in love and becoming our better selves. And yet, it was only over the computer that I really liked this guy. I was nervous to meet him in person; would he be the same?

Our first date, 3 weeks later and 80 hours of taking…Court’s version:

A Jazz game, but not just two of us! A Jazz game with fifty of my elementary friends, ages ranging from Kindergarten to 6th grade. Surprised he had accepted the invitation, I agreed to his request for dinner before at the Gateway. I am not sure who the Jazz played or who won the game because the entire game was spent chatting and laughing! The kids lightened the tense situation of a first date, and even got us to hold hands! J The night ended with him walking me to my car, giving me a sideways hug and going on his way. His true character, a caretaker, came shinning through when 30 minutes later he called to make sure I made it home safely.

Just a few days later I found myself going on another date, and then another, and then another:  Eight months later he proposed while we were in a parking lot….and then in March, just over a year later we were married in the San Diego Temple.

Visit 'More Stories' to hear about:

-the detail proposal story

-our wedding day

-our favorite vacations together