Stovall Family 2011

Stovall Family 2011

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Dear Friends


Dear Friends,

Reid and I have been married for 9 fun years.  We feel blessed to have each other and to have been able to adopt a beautiful little girl in 2010.   I know in my heart that the Lord has a plan for you and is pleased that you are considering adoption. I can't imagine how hard this choice must be, but I want you to know that I wish for you to find happiness and peace through this difficult process.  Please know that we are praying for your health, happiness, and well-being every day.

After 7 years of trying, Reid and I have not been able to have children.  The process of finding this out and then coping with it has been very hard and frustrating for us.  Thankfully, through the gift of adoption, we were able to start our family two years ago.  Reid and I love being parents and sharing our lives with Jessie. We would love the opportunity to share our fun outdoor lifestyle with another of God’s precious children and give Jessie a little brother or sister.

Reid and I are very outgoing, adventurous people who love to be involved in just about everything and love to spend time together outside.  Growing up Reid and I spent a majority of our time with our parents and siblings camping, hunting, fishing, and horseback riding.  We have already begun sharing these experiences with our daughter Jessie and look forward to sharing these experiences with one more child in our family.  Although we have many great friends we feel that our strongest relationships are and should be with our family members and that is what motivated us to return to our home state of Montana after living in Alaska for four years.

We are comfortable with either an open or a closed adoption, but would prefer it to be open as we feel it is very important that our children know where they came from. We have an open relationship with Jessie’s birthparents and are very happy to have Stacey and Aaron in our lives.  We believe, and are excited to teach our children, that their birthparents loved them and wanted them to be happy. We feel it is important to let them know that they have many people in their lives supporting them and cheering them on.

I know that God hears and answers prayers. I also know that as you pray for guidance you will be given answers to your prayers and will know what God would have you do in this difficult decision process.

Below you will find more information about our family and our previous experience with adoption.  On the right side of our blog you will find resources to learn more about the adoption process and our agency.  You will also find links to our adoption profiles and our family blog.  Our email address is listed below. 
 

Sincerely,
Reid & Mishel
stovalladoption@yahoo.com
 

Our Open Adoption

After many years of trying to have children Reid and I felt strongly that we should expand our family through the miracle of Adoption.  Our best friends in Alaska adopted twice while we were living there and Reid's sister adopted a little girl a year before Jessie came into our lives.  Seeing the happiness adoption brought to those families and the bright future those children had sealed the deal for us.  We filled out all the paperwork, went to all of the appointments, built our online profile, and met with the agency. 

It took months, but in July of 2010 we were ready to go.  In August we received an email that changed our lives forever.  Jessie's birthmom contacted us and we started getting to know one another and building a relationship.  As her due date got closer we made plans so that we could be there when the baby was born.  However, Jessie was born a month early!  We did not know if she was having a boy or a girl so the phone call that the baby had been born a month early was a surprise, but not nearly as big of a surprise as finding out that we had a beautiful baby girl waiting for us in Washington. 

Within a couple hours we were on the longest plane ride of our lives.  We just could not get there fast enough!  But we made it to the hospital and got to hold our sweet baby girl for the first time late that night.  Our lives have never been the same.  In a matter of hours all the tears, and stress of waiting, and wishing for a baby were all worth it.  We were standing in a hospital room sharing the most beautiful miracle with two wonderful people that we had only spoken to on the phone before that day. 

There aren't any "rules" as to how open or closed any adoption should be so it was up to Jessie's birthparents and us to decide what kind of a relationship we wanted.  We decided that we wanted an "open" adoption and agreed on certain terms as far as staying in contact.  We agreed to things like face-to-face visits, phone calls, and the sharing of photos throughout Jessie's life.  For me, Stacey and Aaron are a part of our family and I have no doubt that we will always be in contact.  We may not speak or get together often, but we will always be connected through Jessie.  We want Jessie to know that her birthparents loved her so much that they decided to do what had to be the hardest thing in the world for them.  She will learn that the best way for them to show their love for her was to make her a part of our family.

Jessie is a very loving and sweet little girl.  She loves to laugh, give kisses and never seems to stop talking!  She loves to be outside and is obsessed with horses and the movie Toy Story.  She has already started gymnastics and enjoys playing with the other kids in Nursery class on Sundays.


Besides their basic needs, we hope to help our children become self reliant, successful, and happy with themselves.  We want them to know that they are a child of God and that he loves them.  We want them to learn that hard work pays off and the importance of setting goals.  Children in our family will grow up with a mom and a dad that live together and love each other.  We have structured our lives financially so that I am able to stay home and raise our children without the use of day-care.  Our children will have the benefit of growing up near their cousins and grandparents who will love them and spoil them rotten.

We recognize that our next adoption experience will be very different than our first one.  We are okay with an open adoption or a closed adoption and expect that the terms of that adoption will be different than our agreement with Jessie's birthparents.  I found that hearing other adoption stories helped me to know what to expect and to know what my options were when I was going through our first adoption and am hoping that this has helped you in some way.  It can be a scary thing and I feel like the more you know the easier it will be to make an informed decision. 

Please know that I love the miracle of adoption and would be happy to answer any questions you may have - whether you're considering us or not. You are the only person that can know what is right for you and for your baby and we will repect your wishes and your decision.  Please feel free to contact us with any questions your may have!  Our contact info can be found through our profile which is listed on the right hand side of this blog    

Family

Reid and I were both raised in Bozeman, Montana and our parents still live there. We are very excited to be back in Montana so that we can be closer to our families that we love so much. Reid has 3 sisters and one brother who all have children. We will be living 90 miles from both of our parents and Reid's brother Jesse and his family.
 
 
 
When we all get together we love to stay up late playing games and watching movies. The Stovall family traditions include fishing trips to the Big Horn River and Turkey Hunting in Eastern Montana. At Christmas we always wait until we are all together to cut a Christmas Tree (even if it means waiting until Christmas Eve). We love to play volleyball and basketball together as well.
 
 


There are 2 children in my family. There is a 12 year age difference between me and my brother, Ken, so our family joke is that there are two "only children" in the family. Ken and I are very close and talk on the phone often. We are now living less than 4 hours from Ken and his family and are looking forward to being able to see them more.
 

 
My mom, "Nanna Aleta" as her other gradkids call her, is very outgoing and always ready to play games, go to lunch or see a movie in the theater. She is a very fun grandma and drives to visit her grandchildren as often as possible



My dad and I are best buddies and love to spend time riding horses together (no matter how cold it is outside).

 
 
Reid and I were both very fortunate to have HUGE extended families and are very close to our cousins, Aunts and Uncles. It is our hope that our children will be able to not only know their extended family members, but will be best friends with their cousins and will have the opportunity to share their lives with their eternal family as we have.



Our Adventures

Reid and I were married while attending college at Montana State University-Northern.  Reid received a scholarship to play basketball and graduated with a bachelors degree in Civil Engineering with an Associates degree in Drafting. I was given a scholarship for cheerleading and received my degree in Business Technology with a minor in Small Business Management.
 
 
 
After college I began coaching cheerleading. I coached the high school varsity cheerleading team for 4 years in Alaska and am in my 3rd year coaching at an all-star gym in Montana.   Reid coached the middle school boys basketball team while we were in Alaska and plays city-league basketball during the winter months.
 
 
 
  We feel that it is very important that our children grow up near their extended family and since moving back to Montana we have taken every opportunity to spend time with our parents and siblings.  Both of our parents and Reid's brother live 90 miles away so we are able to get together quite often.  We love to spend time hiking, camping, horseback riding, hunting and fishing together. Below are some pictures of our recent adventures with our family.   
Hiking to Palisade falls with my cousins and their family.
Riding horses with my dad, neice, and nephew.
My favorite thing to do with my dad.  Riding horses in the mountains!
We run in the Race For The Cure with Reid's family every year!
My favorite horse Smokey and Jessie

 Reid and I are always up for an adventure!  We are not a family that sits at home and watches TV.  We spend our weekends camping as a family, fishing, hiking, shooting shotguns, horseback riding or hunting.  We also love to travel and get out of town whenever possible!  We love to visit (and fish with) our good friends in Alaska, we try to visit Reid's sister Karmen in Phoenix as much as possible, and we've even been to Mexico a couple times for a little sunshine!  It has been so fun to introduce our hobbies and traditions to Jessie and we are looking forward to all the adventures our little family will have in the future!

Camping in Sunny Montana



Shrimping in Alaska
Shotgun shooting


Fishing the Big Horn for Labor Day


Playing in the sun in Arizona with Reid's sister

Pheasant Hunting in the Fall with our dog Gunner


Snorkeling in Mexico


Elk Hunting


136 pound halibut caught in Alaska