All About Jeff

Such a cute and slightly awkward picture!

Jeff was born in Provo, Ut and grew up in Orem, Ut.  He is the 2nd child of five children.  He has 2 sisters and 2 brothers.  He also comes from a very musical family.  His mother and sisters all play the piano, his mother even has a organ at her house that she can play.  His oldest sister is in the American Fork Symphony where she plays the violin.  The boys all played the trombone as some point in school.  They love to support each other in their different talents.
Jeff has been a hard worker his whole life.  He had his first job at eight-years-old and hasn't stopped working since.  He learned the value of hard work at a young age.

A hard working Eagle Scout!

Jeff also served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for two years in the Rapid City, South Dakota mission.  It covered North and South Dakota, and a few other areas around those states.  He met lots of wonderful people and leaned another form of hard work and dedication though serving those around him.
 

Pointing to South Dakota on the map.

While he was coming to the end of his service as a missionary he was offered a job before got home,.  People he knew before his mission were starting a new computer consulting company and they wanted him to come work for them.  He accepted the part time position and went to school full time for a while after he came home.  Soon the company recognized his talents and hard work so  they offered him a full time position.  After a lot of pondering and praying he felt that he should take the full time job and not return to school for the next semester.  He has been working for the company for 11 years now.

Way too cold in North Dakota!

Since he was single and didn't have very many expense Jeff realized that he wanted to make an investment by buying a home.  He bought a home in the same neighborhood where I (Robyn) lived.  This meant that we would go to the same church.  Here is a story from Jeff about when we first got to know each other:

Robyn and I have had lots of adventures as a couple, but one story that I think really typifies our relationship actually took place before we were even dating.  We were good friends at the time, and I was intrigued by her fun personality, but there was one specific moment when I realized that I wanted to have more than a friendship with her.

I was having a big get together at my house.  We had a couple dozen of our friends over, and we had several different activities going in different rooms.  People were doing karaoke, dancing, playing Rock Band or just enjoying each other's company.  

I've always thought of Robyn as very fun, and very intelligent, which made her a joy to visit with.  I also saw her as very conservative and very reserved, which is accurate in some ways, but it doesn't paint a full picture of who she is.  That particular night, she was the leading singer in a rock band (The kind that exists only on the XBox.) and was rocking out to "Enter Sandman" by Metallica.  I'm not necessarily a huge Metallica fan, but seeing this different side of Robyn made me realize that what I knew about who Robyn was only scratched the surface.

One of our first dates.  We had a Karaoke night in Jeff's basement, I guess he liked it when I sang.

That night I realized that there were so many layers and deeper aspects to Robyn that I had to get to know better.  

It took some time, but I did convince her to date me and even, eventually, to marry me.  Every day I find out more new things about her.  I still think I've only scratched the surface on the many treasures that I have yet to discover.  She brings more fun, adventure, humor, intelligence, beauty, grace, kindness and love to our marriage than I ever could have imagined would be the case.


Now days Jeff loves to fill his time with travel and the outdoors.  He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes when we started the process of adoption.  It was difficult to hear but we both took the challenge head on and it has changed our lives.  In the last two years Jeff has lost over 70 lbs and I have lost close to 50 lbs.  Jeff no longer needs medication and manages his diabetes though diet and exercise.  His favorite type of exercise is biking or hiking.  We can't wait to do more backpacking this summer.

Well, there is just a little bit more about Jeff.  I look forward to the day that he gets to be the dad that he wants to be.  He has already discussed the day he gets to share his love of the mountains, books, dinosaurs and Star Wars with his children.  He is a kind and loving man who means the world to me.

One of our most recent selfies.  We are selfie masters!