(Darla on a dinner cruise one of the nights that we stayed on Oahu, Hawaii in January of 2008.)
A Little About Darla's Family:
Darla is the oldest of 3 girls in her family. Pauline is the middle child and is about 2 years younger than Darla. As a result, they have been pretty close throughout the years as they've grown up together. Pauline has been married for over 10 years to Jeremy and they have 4 children, Tylor, Chayton, Jorden, and Kayla. Pauline and her family also live close by us in the Salt Lake Valley in Utah as well. She is active in the local community band and is a very busy stay-at-home Mom to her children! Tammy is the youngest and about 8 years younger than Darla. She is currently single and lives at home with their parents in South Carolina. She has a great love and compassion for animals of all kinds! She worked for a local veterinarian for years before going to work for the local zoo in the area they live in. She is a sucker for stray animals and has numerous animals of all kinds, including 4 beautiful horses that she loves!Darla's parents, Paul and Darlene, have been married for 33 years and currently reside in South Carolina. Paul served in the United States Army for all of Darla's growing up years, retiring and moving the family back to South Carolina in 1995. He currently works in sales/retail for Lowe's Home Improvement Store. Darlene has always been a stay-at-home Mom to Darla and her sisters, working in various positions during school hours within the schools they went to over the years. She is currently taking courses and studying to become a Medical Transcriptionist and hopes to be able work at home like Darla.
Matt and I are very close to my family, in spite of the geographical distance between us. We hope to, someday in the future, be able to live closer to each other and spend more time together. Currently, we enjoy any time that we do get to spend with them. My family is very strong in the LDS Church. They are also very supportive and excited for us in our adoption pursuit.
(This picture was taken outside of General George Washington's Mansion in Mount Vernon with one of the 'guards', on our way to Washington D.C. for the day. We spent a week in Williamsburg, Virginia in March of 2008 and toured all of the big historical sites from Williamsburg to D.C., spending a day in D.C. as well. Matt had never been to Washington D.C., so Darla had fun taking Matt back to see our nation's history in person. What an enjoyable week!)A Little About Darla:
Darla was born in South Carolina and lived there for about the first 5 years of her life. Her Dad joined the Army and the family began moving all over the world about every couple of years, sharing many great experiences and exploring many different lands and countries together. They were blessed to spend about a total of 7 years (not consecutively) in Germany, which afforded many opportunities to travel overseas and explore many different lands. Darla attended High School in Frankfurt, Germany and feels very blessed to have had the opportunity to meet so many great people and make so many great friends over the years. She will also forever treasure and cherish all of the incredible memories/experiences she was able to have in living overseas for so many years. She graduated High School in 1995 after having an AWESOME year of traveling and exploring many great places with her friends and family. Shortly after graduation, her family moved back to South Carolina and she went with them for 3 years.
In 1998, Darla decided it was time for a change and began praying about what she should do. She decided to move to Utah and a few months after making the decision and making preparations for the move, she packed up her car and drove to Utah. Over the next couple of years, she worked full time and went to school full time, while still managing to somehow have a very healthy social life in the process. After about 2 years, Darla completed her studies at a local Business College and graduated with an Associate's Degree in Medical Transcription. She has been working in various capacities in the Medical Field for over 10 years........and LOVES it! Currently, she works at home as a Medical Transcriptionist and feels very blessed to be able to work at home while raising her future children.
This is a picture of Darla playing Rockband, one of the fun things we like to do at our house. (In the background, you can see Darla's brother-in-law, Jeremy, and little Kayla.)
Something interesting about Darla that most people don't know unless she tells them or they see her hearing aids..........she is actually about 80% or "profoundly" deaf. She wears 2 hearing aids, one in each ear. The deafness wasn't actually discovered until Darla started Kindergarten and the teacher noticed that she wasn't quite responding the way the other students in her class were. After having her tested, her parents were FLOORED to find out that she was 80% deaf! Her Mom says that the first time it actually sank in that Darla was really deaf was on the car ride home after getting her first pair of hearing aids. Darla asked her what the sound was that she was hearing and, after stopping to listen more closely herself, her Mom realized that she was hearing a bird sing for the first time! Over the years, Darla has always functioned normally and led a very normal life. She attributes the fact that she speaks so clearly and functions so normally to the fact that her parents constantly and lovingly worked with her............even before they realized there was a real need for it! Thanks, Mom and Dad!
Darla is very much a 'people' person and has a great love and respect for other people, lands, and cultures. Because she spent so much of her life overseas, she loves to travel and continue to explore new places. She feels very blessed to be married to someone who loves to travel as much as she does!
Some of her other interests are: She loves to read just about anything! She enjoys hiking, camping, 4-wheeling, swimming, blogging, movies, and spending time with family and friends. She is a very happy, cheerful, easy-going person.
