TYSON AND MAREN: February 2012

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Welcome!

Well hello! Thanks for stopping by our little blog! (Ok ok so it's REALLY little right now) We figured it'd be a good idea to start with a little back story about us as a couple. So here goes...

A BRIEF STORY OF US

In September of 2007 Maren was referred to an endoscopy clinic for the stomach pains she had been having for about 6+ months. She was set to have an upper endoscopy done (where they drop the camera down into your stomach and take pictures trying to find out what is causing the pain). When she arrived at the clinic she was NERVOUS. During the time between arriving and having the procedure the nurse assigned to her would periodically come in and chat and try to calm Maren down. After a few times of her coming in and out of the room she finally asked Maren if she (the nurse) could give her son Maren's phone number and even busted out his senior year picture! It was a little strange but Maren figured it wouldn't hurt and said yes and wrote her phone number down on a little piece of paper and told the nurse to have him text her. The procedure went great and off Maren went.

Fast forward to the very next day. Around 10 or 11AM Tyson texted Maren. 'How are you feeling? I think my mom took care of you yesterday'. That very small and simple text is what sent things into motion. We texted almost non-stop for a few days and agreed to meet up in person the following Wednesday evening at a little coffee shop/cafe called GreenHouse Effect. That night we stayed and talked for HOURS over hot chocolate. We spent a lot of time together talking, watching movies and going to the gym together while dating.

In December we spent our first Christmas together. We decided to go in Tyson's room to exchange gifts after we'd done the Christmas stuff with his family. (Little did we know they were all trying to eavesdrop by listening to the heater vent!! haha) Maren gave Tyson a Wii (which is currently hooked up and we play it as often as possible. We're fans of Mario Kart, Donkey Kong and Rock Band) and Tyson gave Maren a beautiful diamond ring and read her the most wonderful heartfelt poem asking her to marry him. Her answer? 'OF COURSE!'

Both families were thrilled. We'd spent a lot of time with each and we're sure they all saw it coming. Tyson and Maren became inseparable incredibly fast.

Our engagement was pretty short. We were engaged on December 25th 2007 and married on June 4th 2008. It felt like forever.

We were married in the LDS Jordan River Temple in West Jordan, Utah and had our reception at Heritage Gardens in Sandy, Utah. Our colors were hot pink and black. The flowers were Calla Lilies and Star Gazer Lilies. Our sisters and moms wore black dresses (hey, who doesn't have a black dress that they LOVE?) and our brothers and dads wore black pants, black dress shirts and hot pink ties. The favorite outfits were definitely our nieces and nephews. The girls work black and white polka dot dresses and the boys had black pants, white dress shirts and hot pink ties. SO adorable. We were truly blessed to be able to share that day with our families and friends. (Will post pictures later)

The very morning after Tyson whisked Maren away for a week in Hawaii for their honeymoon.

It's been over 3 years (we'll celebrate our 4 year anniversary June 4th 2012) and it still feels like we're honeymooners a lot of the time. We've had our hard times (hello infertility!) but we're still madly in love and enjoy being together and being as goofy as possible.

Dear Friend

Dear friend,

We can't begin to imagine what you're going through. Each and every person's experience is so different. The path that led us to adoption is no doubt very different to the path that has lead you to considering adoption and very different from what led our son's birth mom to adoption. We hope and pray that during this time you feel surrounded by love and peace.

At this point we no doubt seem like strangers. So here are a couple things about us... We're survivors. We've been through a lot in the 7 years we've been together and we've only grown closer together and stronger. A few of the things we've experienced... Infertility, a surgery for Maren (hysterectomy - medically necessary), Tyson going to basic training/tech school, moving, changes in jobs, becoming parents, a deployment and a handful of other things. Some are joyous occasions and some aren't but we chose to make the best of it all and deepen that bond between us. We love love love to be active. Over the past few years we've gotten the running bug. Mainly half marathons but a couple fulls for Tyson and a couple Ironman 70.3s for him as well. Luckily our son 'LT' has enjoyed being in a jogging stroller as we go out on our long runs.

Our little man 'LT' came to us via adoption. We enjoy an open adoption with his gorgeous birth mom and her family. There have been numerous times that we've joked that they're stuck with us now. We couldn't imagine not seeing them at every chance we get. How else would we know that the face his birth mom makes is almost identical to the one he makes? Whenever he's not running, playing with our pups, creating masterpieces with crayons or chalk, he's snuggled up reading his latest truck book or watching Dinosaur Train.

We truly believe that when done honestly and with the right communication open adoption can be the most amazing experience and can't imagine our lives without it.

Now that you know just a little bit about us we want to thank you for taking your time to read this, for choosing life, for being brave and most of all we want to thank you for being you. It takes a strong person to come this far. No matter which direction your path heads we know you're doing all you can and want you to remember you're amazing and even though we don't know each other you're in our thoughts and prayers.

Much love.

Tyson and Maren

TYSON TALKING ABOUT MAREN

There is only one word I can think of that describes Maren and that is incredible. She is extremely talented, creative, thoughtful, loving, and caring. She always finds a way to make things fun by joking about the little things that go wrong. She is always making small treats to share with our neighbors, friends, and family. She is always sneaking creative little notes and surprises into my bags. Maren is extremely passionate about whatever presents itself to her and she always seems to make things work when you don’t think it’s going to work. There is never a dull moment with Maren around and that makes for a very entertaining time.

MAREN TALKING ABOUT TYSON

Tyson is the sweetest most gentle-hearted man I’ve ever met. His bright blue eyes light up and they were the very first thing I noticed when we met. They drew me to him instantly. Tyson is always fun to be around. He can make the most boring and dull car ride more fun by starting to dance in his seat. He is so driven and hard working. Tyson is great with children. It’s not rare to find me staring in awe at the way he plays with our nieces and nephews. The nieces have him wrapped around their little fingers. I’m so proud of Tyson for joining the Air Force. He’s very dedicated to not only me, but to our families and our country.

Tyson's Hobbies

A better way of exploring Tyson's hobbies would be to ask, What ISN'T Tyson interested in? :)

Here's a few things he enjoys:

*Working on cars. He's currently working on an '85 Jeep Cherokee that will be a rock crawler.

*Swimming. He was on his high school swim team and water polo team.

*Cycling. While younger he did more BMX he's now into mountain and road biking.

*Running. Tyson also ran track in high school. He enjoys longer distances these days.

*Sports! He played basketball, football and baseball growing up.

*Skiing and snowboarding

*Hunting. Tyson had a lot of fun hunting with his uncle this last year.

Maren's Hobbies

A few of Maren's hobbies include:

*Baking. Who doesn't love making something tasty? It's even better when she gets to share it with family/friends/neighbors!

*Reading. She'll read almost anything.

*Cooking. Maren loves new recipes and leans more towards vegetarian one but doesn't always try them out when she cooks for Tyson.

*Working out. Mainly cardio but she's been enjoying using kettle bells for lifting.

*Mountain biking. Moab and Deer Valley are the favorite spots to go.

*Working on cars. Maren used to help her dad out tinkering around on cars and really enjoyed it. She hasn't been able to do much lately but would love to do more with Tyson.

*HAIR! She's a licensed cosmetologist and barber and even though she doesn't work in a salon anymore she loves doing hair in her spare time. She usually does hair on Fridays for friends and family.