Dear Expectant Mother,
I remember at a time of great adversity in my life when someone who I barely even knew said, “I’m praying for you.” I thought to myself, “Really, but you hardly even know me.” That experience brings to light and understanding when I tell you that my husband and I are praying for you. Everyone has a unique story as to what has happened in their life to bring them to this point. Here’s our story.
About 7 years ago, I went through a difficult experience, a divorce. I never pictured or imagined that it would happen to me. Although it was a sad time in my life, I was blessed with the joy of a son during that marriage. Matthew was my light that kept my light burning. I never imagined after that, that I would get married again. But God had different plans for me and Matthew.
One day, Sean’s sister, who was living in my hometown, came up to me and said, “I think you need to meet my brother.” What a crazy idea it was considering we lived nearly 2000 miles apart. One thing led to another and we became acquainted across the miles. Within a year we were married and happy to be a new family together. Sean was so amazing with Matthew from the very beginning. Within a few weeks of being married, Matthew asked Sean if he could call him dad. They have been best buds ever since and I have found my best friend to be with forever. One of the most important things I learned from this experience is that God loves each and every one of us and that he wants us to be happy. Often times the hard decisions are the right decisions, but they come with a price to pay.
We have loved being a family. We always expected to have a big family. Sean is the oldest of 10 children and I am the second oldest of 5. After trying to have children for several years on our own, we found out that it just wasn’t going to happen for us. We thought about what options there were and nothing else felt right except to adopt. When Matthew found out that we were looking to adopt, he was so excited.
As a family, we love to do things together. In the summer, we usually take a vacation to the mountains in Montana and hang out at the family cabin. At the cabin, we go boating on the lake and enjoy water sports like wakeboarding, surfing and tubing. The best part is that we never go to the cabin alone. There are usually a dozen or more family members to hang out with and we enjoy taking walks, canoeing or kayaking up the river or taking the paddle boat to the frog pond. It wouldn’t be vacation for Sean either if he weren’t fishing at sunup or sundown with his dad. At night we like to sit around and play games and reminisce of fun family times together.
We all have varied interests. Sean likes to fish, hunt, play sports, especially basketball. He’s your regular outdoorsman. He’s also the handyman of the house. He can fix anything. For that, he has been working on his own business as a contractor. His work speaks for itself and so he doesn’t need to advertise. Sean has a calm demeanor and sense of humor. He likes to joke around and makes everyone feel comfortable around him. He has brought peace, love and joy into our home.
Matthew is our energizer bunny. His energy is endless. He is active in boy scouts, plays the piano and saxophone, likes soccer and football and is a real smarty in school. We are proud of his accomplishments! Above all, he’s just a great kid.
I am busy body as well. I enjoy sewing and crafting when I have time. I’m glad I have the skill to make and fix things when I need to and want to. I also enjoy gardening and canning. I recently went to a vineyard, picked grapes with my mom and made homemade grape juice and grape jelly. It was pretty cool. A few years ago I went back to college to get my Master’s degree in Education. I am a 4th grade teacher and love working with kids everyday.
We are just ordinary people trying to do extraordinary things in our lives. We love being a family. God has blessed our lives and taught us that we can be happy despite adversity that we have faced in our lives. We know that the decision you have to make is a difficult one. We will be praying for you always.
With Love and Respect,
Sean and Kirsten
We would love to talk with you and answer any questions you might have. Please feel free to email us at
building-our-family@hotmail.com.
