We met when we were babies. We were both the youngest kids in our families. Our parents went to the same church, and they would set our carriers next to each other on the floor at their feet. At a young age, we made Christmas ornaments for an arts-and-crafts activity, and we still have them today. Growing up in the same place gave us much common history from our church association as well as the social interactions of our families. Eventually we graduated from the same high school. Because Kristi was a year younger, we didn't have any classes together except for one church class. We both ended up serving as missionaries for our church in Southern California. We both learned to speak Spanish and interacted extensively with Latino immigrants on our missions. But with all the common ground between us, we weren't lovebirds from the start. We just knew each other growing up.

Then in the summer of 2016, I moved into a house that my roommate had purchased that ended up being about a mile away from where Kristi lived. That Sunday in church she saw me and recognized me right away. I was chatting with someone I knew, so she figured she'd go to her Sunday School class and probably see me after church and have a chance to say hello then. But at that moment, something inside told her to go and talk to me immediately. Feeling surprised and a little nervous, she came over and totally interrupted the conversation! As soon as I saw her that day, I knew for sure that Kristi was the one.

The flirting began quickly and soon after we went out on what Kristi called "the best first date ever." We went to Outback Steakhouse. We found that we were both very comfortable with each other--we instantly had a connection. The conversation just flowed so naturally. We started sitting next to each other in church, which got everyone talking. Our courtship included our families from the beginning. We went to band concerts, birthday celebrations, and family gatherings. For the next year or so there was hardly a week that went by that we didn't go out, or a day that went by that we didn't text each other. We got engaged in October 2017 and we got married the following spring, April 2018. We've been loving each other and working together every day since, and like the song says, our life has grown sweeter through the years!

We are so excited to adopt! Family is everything. Between us, we have 17 nieces and nephews. We have been heavily involved in their lives and growing-up years. Having been around these kids from a young age through the teenage years, we have experienced all the messes, tantrums, recitals, competitions, and more alongside their parents. It has been so rewarding to see these children grow.

We want the opportunity that our siblings have had to raise a family. We love children and immediately tried to start a family when we got married. After two rounds of unsuccessful IVF, we decided that we weren't going to give up, and that adoption was our next step.

Adoption has been a blessing in our lives already. Kristi's mom was adopted! Family has always been important to us, and we have always wanted to be parents. Now we're looking forward to continuing that tradition by sharing our lives with our own adopted child.

Kristi is crazy organized and goal oriented. She loves to make to-do lists, cross everything off them, then shred the list when she is done with it. She sings descriptive details of whatever she is doing. When she is concerned, she makes a worry noise like Marge Simpson does. She loves to grow things, especially tulips in the spring and carrots and tomatoes in summer. She loves to travel. She loves reading and music.

Her smile is the best. I love how our strengths and weaknesses complement each other. She's a morning person, I'm an evening person. She loves the beach; I love the mountains. She's always loved IndyCar racing but prefers that I drive everywhere. She is simply fantastic.

She is so good--it makes me want to be better so I can get to her level. I love how I feel when I'm near her, and how she beams when she finally holds a baby of her own.

Clyde is compassionate, service oriented, and funny. I got sick shortly after we got married. I was so embarrassed, but Clyde handled it in stride. Nothing phases or grosses him out. He was so kind and caring in that twenty-four-hour period. He set a chair right by my side of the bed so he could attend to my every need.

While dating, I was able to observe his interaction and relationship with his parents. His constant care and concern for them and for my parents as well comes so naturally. He does the grocery shopping for all three households which often involves going to multiple stores multiple times on grocery shopping day and all without complaint. He doesn't hesitate to run over when they call with various needs. He simply says that is what family does. He fields phone calls, patiently listens, and spends time with them.

Clyde loves to make babies smile. He is naturally funny and has been practicing his "dad" jokes on me and on our nieces and nephews for years.

We have a lovely home near a school with a park with three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, and front and back yards.

Our parents live close by! One set of grandparents is within short walking distance (though we still drive over a lot) and the other set lives within short driving distance. Kristi's sister lives just a ten- minute drive away.

The neighborhood is well-maintained with trimmed lawns, shrubs, and flowers. The neighbors are friendly and there are lots of other children. We have church friends within walking distance. There's close access to many restaurants and shopping. In the Spring, Kristi's tulips bloom in our front flower bed. In the Summer, we can see fireworks every weekend from the ballpark that's nearby. It is a great place to raise a child.

We watch TV or movies in the evening after dinner, until someone falls asleep. We love to visit family. We also spend time preparing for and attending church activities on Sunday and throughout the week. We both love to travel. Kristi has been to more foreign places, while Clyde has been to more domestic places. Every year or so, we take a road trip to somewhere a few hours away. Mini golf with each other and with family is one of our favorite summer activities. We have played every course in the city. Another favorite activity is playing four-square with our nieces and nephew in Kristi's sister's backyard. Every couple of weeks we clean the house together. We enjoy going on mini adventures to get food, go shopping, or run errands. We simply enjoy spending time together!

Every day we eat dinner together, followed by scripture study. We have a stuffed animal that we pass back and forth to determine whose turn it is to pray. Monday night is family night where we have a spiritual lesson and activity or game, followed by treats.

We decorate the house for all the major holidays. We dye Easter eggs and have an Easter basket hunt. We put up Christmas lights on the outside and the inside of the house.

Birthdays are special days filled with flowers and presents. We like to sing "Happy Birthday" loudly and obnoxiously. My family tradition is to go out to eat together for everyone's birthdays. A family favorite is Red Lobster. Kristi has done a bit of candy- making in the past. Her nieces adore her homemade caramels.

Just before Christmas the family gets together to sing Christmas songs from the Reader's Digest Christmas Songbook. When Kristi was young, her family would make and deliver cookies on Christmas Eve. In fact, one of the families they would deliver to was my family! Nowadays, we get together with Kristi's family on Christmas eve for a nice dinner. After dinner, we read the Christmas story out of a 100-year- old family Bible. Kristi's mom makes flaming figgy pudding. We put a sugar cube in each dish and light them on fire. Whoever's light goes out last wins. In the summertime, we love having picnics and barbecues with our extended family.

When we have a baby, we can't wait to take them for walks around our neighborhood. Family dinners and family scripture study are very important to us. We want to make each holiday special for our child. If our child has a different cultural background than we do, we hope to learn more about their culture's traditions and adopt some of them as our own family traditions.

We believe there is a plan for each of us and that things will work out. We can do hard things. Our niece came up with the name "Team Clisti" early on in our relationship as a joke, but now it represents the unified team we strive to be in all things. "We'll figure it out" is something we say a lot as we navigate the unknown and tackle challenges. We will definitely make mistakes, but we promise to always do our best. We simply say thank you. We are grateful to you for being willing to read our book and learn more about us.

We promise our child that we will be hands-on parents. We will get down on the floor with them. We will clean up their messes. We will play with their toys with them. We will put down our phones. We will go to all their events and extracurricular activities. We will be enthusiastic parents cheering them on in the audience. We will learn from our mistakes. We will treasure every day with our child. We will teach them life skills. We will teach them silly jokes. We will teach them how to be kind. We can't promise our child that we will be perfect parents, but we can promise them our time, our attention, and an unlimited amount of love.