Our Family

  We can’t wait to add to our family through adoption. We have always dreamed of a large, close family; and although we are blessed with 2 beautiful miracles, we would love to add more children to our family. After many years of trying on our own and with medical help, we are not hopeful that we will be able to have more children on our own. We are excited that adoption can help our dreams come true. 
   We feel blessed to serve our country in the United States Air Force.  Brydon works as a Public Health Officer and Jennifer has the opportunity to be a stay at home mom and loves it! She gets to manange our home and spend quality time with our children. 
  Our home has been blessed with an amazing son, Caleb. Caleb is 13 years old and is in 8th grade. He is a strong-willed, independent, kind-hearted soul who affects everyone he comes in contact with. He has a personality you just can’t miss.  Arabella is 4 years old and is definitely the family princess. We feel so blessed to have this beautiful girl in our life. Arabella has Down Syndrome and is the most loving, smiley girl you have ever met. We also have a small dog. Cooper is our 11 year old Lhasa Apso and is Caleb’s best buddy. He loves children and sometimes forgets he is a dog and not just one of the kids. He is very cuddly and loves to play tag and tug-o-war or sit close to Arabella while she pulls on him.
  We pray daily to complete our family through the miracle of adoption.  We hope as you view this blog that you will feel the love we have for each other and the love we can't wait to share with a special child.

A Note to Birth Parents

   We realize that it takes great courage to consider adoption and we are amazed by your strength.  We can only imagine how difficult this choice may be.  You may feel sad or worried at times.  Please know that you will be giving our family a beautiful miracle that is difficult to provide for ourselves, and that your influence will always be felt in your child’s life.  The gift of life itself, his or her beautiful smile, and the color of his or her hair and eyes are just a few of the gifts that can come only from you. 
   We know that you face a difficult decision and that you do so because you want the best for your baby.  We respect you for your care in making this important decision.  Should you choose to bless us with your child, we promise to teach your child early and often about your courage and sacrifice and how much love you have for him or her.  We would love to keep the lines of communication open between us and are willing to discuss what degree of openness you would like in the relationship. 
   Caleb loves being a big brother so much and would love to have more siblings to love.  He is an amazing big brother! Arabella loves babies so much and is our social butterfly who would love a little sibling to play with.  We are excited for the joy that adoption can bring to our family. While we will never truly know the pains of your heart during this time, please know that we will do all that we can to ease your mind and ensure your happiness and the happiness of your child.  Words cannot express our gratitude or the height of our respect for you. We look forward to the opportunity to chat with you and let you get to know us even more.  Feel free to email us at amanningmiracle@gmail.com. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your child during this time. 
With Love and Appreciation,
Brydon, Jennifer, Caleb, and Arabella Manning

Brydon & Jennifer

            

We have been married for 16 years and still love to spend time together.  We met right after Jennifer had graduated from college with a teaching certificate and Brydon had just come home from serving a mission in Argentina.  We were introduced by Brydon's father and all though we didn't instantly begin dating, it sure didn't take long.  We went on our first date a few weeks later and then spent everyday together after that. Courtship and engagement sure didn't take long, and in 3 1/2 months we were married, much to our own surprise!  But we truly met our perfect match! We both love to exercise, be outdoors, decorate our home, entertain guests, watch movies, try new things, serve others, talk late into the night, and just be together as a family.  We have been able to do so many fun things as a family. We have lived in South Dakota, Utah, Pennsylvania, Texas, Mississippi, and Ohio. We love experiencing new places. Nothing is too dull, as long as we are all together! One of our family motto's is

 "Home is Wherever We are Together, and Memories are Made".

                            

Jennifer (by Brydon)

Jennifer is one of the most amazing people that I have ever met. She is very bright and graduated in Early Childhood Education from Brigham Young University with a GPA that most people have only dreamed of. She has taken what she learned in college and excelled as a teacher. In just a few short years, she worked as a Math Teacher Leader implementing research-based curriculums and also worked as a Kindergarten teacher. By her 5th year in the profession, she had become a Hall of Fame Teacher.

Once I had graduated and we had Caleb, she decided to leave teaching behind in pursuit of motherhood. This is where her extraordinary nature has truly shown through. Jennifer is incredibly open hearted. We have rarely had a time that she is not busy helping others. She has become the go to person for people, lending them a hand, giving educational advise, and helping them catch breaks with their children. Jennifer loves spending time with our kids. She has become the swim mom chauffeur and loves watching Caleb succeed in swimming.  She also helps Arabella with all her therapies and is her biggest cheerleader and support.  We have a bit of a theme song that says, "Here we go, go, go, go on an adventure!".  Everyday is a new adventure, and she loves to explore each area we have lived with our children and make the most out of every situation.  I love watching her be a mom.  

When we moved to Philadelphia so that I could pursue my Master's degree she decided to hold school in our home twice a week. She taught West African War Refugees how to read.  Most of these people had never been in a school in their life. It was a great day when they could call home for the first time on their own, or when they realized what the traffic lights were used for. Every student loved her.  They all gave her special dresses to say thank you as we moved away.

Jennifer after finishing her 1st Half Marathon

Jen is a wonderful companion and my best friend. She has followed me from one end of the country to the next and back. She has handled the challenges of supporting a grad student and being a military wife with incredible ease. She even takes time to come decorate my office with hearts on occasion just to let me know that she was thinking of me. I have never met someone that could love as fully and easily as Jennifer. I count my self lucky everyday that she has chosen me. 

Brydon (by Jennifer)

Brydon is an amazing husband and father.  Rarely will you find a man as devoted as Brydon to putting his family first.  I feel so blessed to have met him and have him be a part of my life. I am a very lucky woman.  Brydon received a Biology degree from the University of Utah and then went on to Drexel University to receive a Master's in Public Health.  Brydon enjoys the world of science and wants to make a difference in the world.  He has worked hard to provide for his family and become the best husband and father possible. 

Brydon is an outdoors boy and a busy body.  He enjoys doing yard work, finding ways to improve the landscape of our home, going hunting, hiking, and cycling or running outside  Recently he has been able to spend a lot of time helping with the Boy Scout program and enjoys initiating teenage boys to the world of camping and hiking.  Brydon and his dad have been able to travel to Alaska a couple times for fishing, bear viewing, and hunting. He now has an obsession with Alaska and would love to go back regularly. 

Brydon loves our son, Caleb, so much.  He is such a good dad and can't wait to come home to spend time with his son.  You will often find them playing games, working outside, going on hikes, and just being outside together.   Brydon loves to be there to support Caleb, whether it be helping him learn algebra or sitting through long swim meets to cheer him on.  It is heartwarming to watch Brydon beam with pride as Caleb continues to grow and accomplish new things.  They have a sweet relationship and you will often hear Caleb talk about how he wants to be just like his dad.

There is nothing quite like watching a father with his little girl. I am so grateful for such a loving man to teach our daughter how a man should treat a woman. There is not a moment that goes by that he does not tell her she is beautiful and no-one loves to kiss her cheeks more than Daddy. Arabella lights up every time Daddy comes home and Brydon would do anything to keep her safe and loved. When we first learned about Arabella's diagnosis, Brydon's first instinct was to make sure no-one ever made fun of her or hurt her. Any child would be lucky to have this man as their father. He truly loves with his whole heart.

Brydon's dad is his best friend and has been a huge inspiration and role model to Brydon.  These 3 boys love spending time together outdoors.  They spend a lot of time talking about all the adventures they will go on together.

Nine years ago, Brydon was commissioned as a Public Health Officer in the United States Air Force.  He is truly a man who puts God first, his family second, and his country third.  We are so proud to serve our country and be a military family.  Brydon is truly the hero of our family.  Schooling and finding his dream job, were not easy for him, but he constantly moved forward and never gave up.  Now he is an admirable officer in the United States Air Force, an amazing father, and kind compassionate husband.  I am truly blessed!

Caleb

There are not words to express the love and pride we feel everyday having Caleb in our lives. He is a fabulous 13 year old!  Caleb is our water obsessed, busy kid.  Caleb works hard at everything he does and he excels at school and will be earning his Eagle Scout soon.  Caleb is super confident and willing to try new things, and he is also a very tender hearted, loving soul who still loves to sit and cuddle with Mom and Dad. 

He had the most smooch-able cheeks, ever!

 

Caleb is very talented in lots of areas and we are excited to see what he does in the future.  Right now Caleb is an amazing swimmer and has the goal to earn a swimming Division I scholarship at the school of his choice.  He recently competed at the Central US Zones Meet in Wisconsin and made the podium twice.  Once he sets his mind to a goal, he achieves it.  It has been fun watch him work toward his Boy Scout Eagle Award and he was so excited to build a training staircase of service dogs at 4 Paws for Ability.  We are so proud of everything he has accomplished and love supporting him in his goals.  

Caleb prayed so long to be a big brother and he loves his baby sister so much!  Not long after he turned two years old, he began praying daily for a baby to come to our home.  Through his amazing faith, he got a baby sister. He is so sweet, kind, and helpful. He wishes we had a big family, with lots of brothers and sisters to play with.  We are so blessed to have such a sweet boy as part of our family and we can't wait to watch him grow!

Arabella

 We are still in awe that we were blessed with this sweet baby girl. Nothing was more shocking then finding out that we had somehow become pregnant and would have a little girl join our family. 

Arabella is 4 years old. Before she was born we did not know that she would have Down Syndrome, and it came as quite the shock to us. However it did not take long to experience her sweet spirit and realize how truly precious she is and how lucky we were to be her family. We are very blessed that she does not have any major health issues and that she is excelling in every way. Although she is a bit behind on some of her milestones, through therapy she is progressing very well. We are lucky to have great therapists and medical care through the military. 

 Arabella adores her brother most of all and he is definitely her favorite person. Arabella goes to preschool and loves school.  She is working hard at saying more words and learning to jump and write. She is a master mess maker and enjoys getting into all sorts of trouble/fun!  She loves to clap for everything and is definitely the family cheerleader and smile creator. 

 She has taught our family so much in the short time she as been a part of our lives. She has the most beautiful perfect soul and so much love to give!