Hi!

We are Phil and Ashley, each other’s sweethearts and best friends. We are a Southern California living, laid back, animal loving, fun seeking, family visiting, couple, who look forward to building our family through adoption.

The Two of Us

We are truly happily married. We are each other’s best friends, confidants, and other halves. We laugh together, play together, tease each other, and usually finish each other’s sentences. Together we like to travel, usually to visit family but also on SCUBA diving trips and camping excursions. We have a close group of friends which we see often.

How We Met

Phil and I met 13 years ago. I was in high school and took an EMT work experience class at a company where Phil was already working as an EMT. When I graduated from high school I too started working there.  We quickly became good friends. One day at work I was complaining to Phil about a bad date experience I had, he said, “I’ll take you out and show you how you deserve to be treated.” Those are the famous words that set this adventure into action. We were married about 3 years later and celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary in February.

About Phil

Phil grew up in Southern California. He has one younger brother. He was a typical teenager who liked to work on cars and listen to really loud music.  His Mom claims he was a handful, but he never got into trouble. He is now a Paramedic Supervisor and just celebrated his 15th anniversary with the same company.  Just for fun he occasionally works as a  SCUBA diving instructor. He likes to mountain bike, road bike, SCUBA dive, and go fishing. He is loving, compassionate, hard working, funny, generous, smart, easy going and good lookin’ (being his wife, I’m kinda bias).

About Ashley

I too grew up in Southern California with two brothers and a sister. I was a pretty good kid and spent my teenage years playing high school soccer, hanging out with friends, and going to Young Women church activities. I now work as a paramedic but I’m in school to become an RN. I like to spend time with Phil, SCUBA dive, read, and try out new crafts, like quilting and sewing. I know that makes me sound all grandma-ish, but there are some pretty cute Ashley-made-quilts floating around out there. I would describe myself as passionate, loving, organized, optimistic, and empathetic.

Our Quest for a Family

Shortly after Phil and I were married we planned to start a family. We both dreamed of becoming parents. I have always thought of my career as a time filler before becoming a Mom. Above being a paramedic or a nurse, I want to be a Mother. Phil also is anxious to be a Father. He will often say, “When we have kids…” ending with something he’ll do with them as a Dad.  Here we are, 5 years later, still childless. We have spent many years, sleepless and teary nights, and lots of money trying to become parents. When one of our infertility treatments was only temporarily successful, it made us realize that our goal was not for me to become pregnant, but for us to create a family. From the beginning of our infertility struggles we have spoke often of adoption. We see it as a beautiful way to create a family. We know that love doesn’t only come through blood lines. Phil’s cousin adopted a daughter who has been embraced into the family as if she were born into it. I have friends who have created families through adoption and have seen first hand the miracle of love and sacrifice that it is. We have been working hard to become certified to adopt. We have finished our adoption/parenting classes, have turned in most of our paperwork, and are starting our home study.

Our Parenting Values

We want to be parents and create a family on the basis of love, acceptance, growth, and opportunities. We believe children are to be loved and cherished. This love is to be given unconditionally without reservation and not dependent on a child’s successes or limitations. We will love a child by - providing a child with support, guidance, learning opportunities, seeking out new experiences, fostering curiosity and interests, and embracing individualism. We will raise our children with testimonies of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We want to teach them the importance and sanctity of family. We want our home to be fun. It is our hope that our children will grow up with memories of carefree laughter and play. We want to foster education and learning by supporting interests and financing college educations. We believe discipline should be saturated with love and gentleness; guiding and teaching, not punishing and shaming.

Raising Adopted Children

The openness of adoption is ultimately the birth family’s decision and we would support that decision whatever it may be. We do support and encourage open adoption. On behalf of birth families we see adoption as a loving, sacred, and selfless process that should be not only acknowledged but celebrated. We feel that our children should always know of the love and sacrifice of their birth families and know that their legacy is sacred and special. For birth families open adoption allows an opportunity to stay in contact with their child and have the assurance that they are being raised in the manner in which they hoped for. A birth family will always be special and irreplaceable to an adopted child, and we would hope to be able to welcome them into our family and  foster that special relationship.

Religion

We are active members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We attend church every Sunday and will raise our children in The Gospel. We will teach them that they are children of God and they have a Heavenly Father who knows them and loves them. We will teach them of the example that Jesus Christ is and of his teachings and sacrifices. We will study the scriptures with them and have Family Home Evening.

Our Animal Gang

Haylee was the first to join our family. She is 90 pounds of easy-going sweetness. She loves to have her huge ears scratched and the occasional dinner scrap. She doesn’t like having to go outside.
Barrett joined us next. He flew in from Texas as a tiny puppy and has been a ball of energy since. He loves to run, play, and pester Haylee, but hates laundry being folded and the sound of cell phones.

Tarzan is our newest addition. He is an Ecelectus Parrot who is 1 ½ years old. He is a goofy guy with quite an entertaining vocabulary who loves pistachios and pomegranate, but hates cantaloupe.

The Nitty Gritty

We are excited for what the future holds for our family. We know that raising children involves a tremendous financial commitment. We are ready for that commitment. We are financially stable as Phil has worked for 15 years at the same company and I have been there for 10. We own our own home at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. We have excellent healthcare insurance as well as life insurance and retirement plans. We want you to know that your child will be provided for. We will afford them the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities as they wish and will encourage and assist them in obtaining a college education.

Well this is us. It’s a tiny glimpse into our lives. We would love to get to know you better. Feel free to contact us at any time.

(661)313-9969

PhilandAshleyT@yahoo.com

I also occasionally write here at noahhiswifeandtheark.blogspot.com just little musings that may give a better glimpse into our lives