Monday, May 23, 2011

Welcome

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We are Landon and Kara...and Bexley and can't wait to bring another child into our family through adoption. We are excited and anxious and nervous to dive into this process again and know that all we may have to endure will be worth the wait in the end.
We have so much love and admiration for Bexley's birth family and all those who choose this path for their children. We understand the sacrifice and compassion that comes from these wonderful, selfless people and hope that we can be there for support in any situation.
Thank you for taking the time to learn more about our family...we hope that you will feel peace and comfort and assurance as you make this loving decision.

How it All Began...

Landon was attending BYU-Idaho studying Spanish Education.
Kara was attending BYU-Idaho studying Health Science.
Landon was tired of looking for a date for a big group date.
Kara was tired of being set up.
But finally agreed to let her roommate set her up to send a certain message to another someone. She said she knew the "perfect" person!

And so we went on our first date in January of 2003 to play games at a local elementary school. We played 4-square and floor hockey, ran through an obstacle course, and even had our first dance, randomly, on the side of the road on the way home.

It was a fun night, but neither of us were looking for anything serious, just having fun. A few weeks later we kept running in to each other on campus, though this wasn't the first time Kara had seen Landon around. She spotted him once before in the library and thought, "hmm, I think that's the kind of guy I could marry one day" without knowing a single thing about him, strange! So we started hanging out more and more but both resisted too much interest. The resistance didn't last too long before we couldn't stand being apart.

One month later Kara moved back home for the summer and Landon moved back to California. We talked on the phone with each other every single day for those long four months. Kara visited over Memorial Day weekend to meet Landon's family when he told her he loved her for the first time. Landon visited for Father's Day to surprise Kara, and then again over the 4th of July for Kara's birthday and to ask her dad's permission to marry her. A few weeks later Kara visited Landon in California when he decided to take her to see the Redwoods in Trinidad, knowing her love for trees. We went out to eat, played on the beach, went hiking and at the end of the day Landon found the perfect cliff at the edge of the beach where he asked Kara to be his eternal best friend. She said "are you serious?!" (We had discussed not getting engaged til we went back to school.) And then she said, "yes!"
Landon came to Oregon to meet Kara's family one more time when Kara's dad revealed the truth about a secret admirer on Valentine's Day when Kara was 14 years old. It wasn't the boy(s) Kara had always wondered about, it was her own dad. He explained he felt comfortable telling her now that she'd found someone like Landon.

We headed back to school in September and that's when things got tough! It was hard to plan a wedding and work hard in school and still find time to spend with each other and continue to get to know each other. Landon was busy changing educational/career paths to work toward optometry school and Kara was having a hard time accepting getting married so soon.

In the end, it was just the beginning of the bumps in the road the rest of our lives would have.
We were married on December 20, 2003 in the Boise, ID temple. (Kara never wanted a winter wedding but finally figured out just how right this marriage was and knew it was the right time).
Landon would have started adding children to our family from day one. But Kara wanted to finish her last 3 semesters of school, taking 22 credits her last semester to have it all done! We've always talked about having 4-6 children and didn't imagine the biggest struggle in raising our family would be getting the family here in the first place!

Getting to Know: Landon

Birthday: September 28, 1980
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue
Height: 6'0"


Landon is the 3rd of 6 in his family, and has 2 step-sisters.


He grew up in Gridley, CA and lived there until he finished high school.
Some of Landon's favorite memories growing up were family campouts to Fort Bragg and Buck's Lake, family vacations, visiting Washington D.C., playing sports with his brothers and Dad.

Landon played just about every sport as a kid. He loved being on the swim team, and playing football, basketball, and baseball. He also enjoyed scouting and is an Eagle Scout.
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Landon loves:


all sports: mainly basketball and football





watching all sporting events especially college football
making desserts and trying to make new things that look good


gardening



eating out playing with Bexley and nieces and nephews



going on dates with Karabarbecuing


helping people see better


church

hanging out with friends


camping and going on trips to new places

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Landon's goals:
own an optometry practice
stay fit and healthy
invent a product of some kind and have it in stores (I have all kinds of ideas!)
open a restaurant
become debt free (get rid of student loans!)
provide for my family
always make sure Kara knows I love her and Bexley

Getting to Know: Kara

Birthday: July 4, 1983

Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue
Height: 5'4" (almost)

Kara is the oldest of 5 children and grew up in Nampa, ID her entire life.

Some of her fondest memories are times spent with the Jensen cousins at Sunday dinners, Warm Lake, during holidays and special occasions. She has always had a close relationship with both of her parents and still looks forward to "mandatory deck time" (as her dad refers to it) when she can visit with them about anything.
Kara grew up showing horses and playing basketball, camping with her family, and working hard at home.

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Kara loves:
schedules/being organized
blogging
pinterest
taking pictures
crafting & sewing
playing & reading with Bexley
going on walks
the end of a good workout
homemade ice cream
when Landon comes home early
reading
traveling

decorating
adoption
getting together with friends & family
church
spring, summer, fall
Buckeye football
basketball
watching movies
listening to music
playing games
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Kara's Goals:
Learn how to cook well.
Eat healthier.
Have more patience.
Help others more often.
Own a home.
Be more understanding.
Make more things (I have a HUGE list!).
More children!

Getting to Know: Bexley

Birthday: December 10, 2009
Hair: Strawberry Blond
Eyes: Blue
Height: 23.5"


Here she is holding hands with her birthfather the day she was born.

Bexley was born in Dayton, OH and arrived 6 weeks early. She spent three weeks in the NICU at the Good Samaritan Hospital, while we lived an hour away. She came home with us on New Year's Eve and was such a good baby. The first couple of months she was a little colicky in the evenings and it was rough! She was sleeping through the night after being home only two months.


Bexley is the oldest grandchild on Kara's side of the family and Landon's family just could not wait for her to come to our family so she is very spoiled and very loved by so many.


Bexley is now 19 months old and has such a spitfire personality to go with the hint of red in her hair. We are constantly laughing at her and have so much fun watching and helping her learn about her world.

Bexley loves:
Barney & Elmo
bananas & strawberries
bah bahs (sipee cups)
balls (as long as she can hold it and throw it)
babies


strollers
hanging & swinging at the park


going for walks & swimming
the wind
books
ants
puppies and kitties (but only from a distance)
her stuffed bunny (she cannot sleep without it!)


bowls & spoons
hair bows
copying everything mom and dad do!

Bexley's goals:
getting rid of her pacifier
potty training
becoming a big sister!

Officially a Family of Three

On June 14th 2010 Bexley legally became ours! It was a nerve-racking day, but the judge softened up at the end and even asked to hold little Bex for a picture.



Our court date happened to be just a few days after Landon graduated from Optometry school, so both of our families were already here for the festivities.


The following day we were sealed as a family for time and all eternity in the Columbus, OH temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a magical day and I loved seeing Bexley all dressed up in white. Once again we had lots of friends and family there to support us.





A forever family...

Welcoming Baby Bex

In November of 2009 we found out we had been chosen to be Bexley's parents. We were excited but had our hearts broken several times before so we were cautious and only told Kara's parents, no one else. Bexley's birth mother went in to labor several times starting at 31 weeks and we were worried and scared.

We were in Idaho finishing a rotation for Landon's last year of optometry school. On December 10th we were packing up to head back to Ohio when we got the call that Bexley was here! We left that afternoon and spent the night in Utah to share the news with some of Landon's family. We drove the remaining 24 hours straight through because we could not wait to meet her We were TIRED, but it was well worth it!

The day she was born.

Our first time meeting Baby Bex. Everything went so smoothly with the birth family, we were so relieved and full of gratitude. We joined them for dinner that night and all paperwork was signed the next day.

This is how Landon spent his time in the NICU...close to his baby girl, while studying.
After a long and difficult three weeks we took her home on New Year's Eve.

She had so many visitors the first few weeks she was home and we were so grateful for the help.

Grandma Jensen and Bexley:


Grandma Kay (who shares the same middle name as Bexley, as well as two other granddaughters):