Heidi and Daniel

Daniel & Heidi met at BYU in spring 2008. Heidi had just graduated. Daniel has a baby face & when she first met Daniel in the apartment complex across from her she assumed he was 7 years younger, but soon learned he was only 6 months younger. They got to know each other more in their church congregation. Heidi was very intrigued by his happy disposition and friendly nature. Eventually they began dating.

Heidi and Daniel knew they wanted to get married, but Daniel still wanted to serve a 2-year religious mission for their church. Daniel was definitely worth the wait! It was the longest 2 years of Heidi's life.

While Daniel was serving his mission in Macon, Georgia, Heidi continued to teach at her elementary school in Mapleton, Utah. She loved being with her students, encouraging them, and watching them progress.

Daniel and Heidi were married in Bountiful, Utah on a cold November morning in 2010.

They were excited to begin their new life together in Springville, Utah. Heidi continued to teach as Daniel continued his schooling at BYU.

They wanted to start a family and tried, but in February 2011, Heidi's digestive system began to seriously struggle. Life became much harder as Heidi underwent 15 abdominal surgeries and had half of her digestive system removed over the next 10 years.

God gave them strength to keep pushing forward and helped them do many hard things!

They waited 8 years for their precious miracle baby girl to come. She was born in Wyandotte, Michigan. She has been their greatest joy since!

Before the end of Riley's first year, Daniel and Heidi could tell something was different in Riley compared to other babies her age. Eventually Riley was diagnosed with autism when she was 2 and a half as they were living in Millville, Utah. Receiving the diagnosis was hard, but God helped Heidi and Daniel to continue pushing forward with faith. God led them to miraculous programs and people who blessed Riley greatly in her development. She has come so far and we all feel so blessed.

Our family loves to go to Disneyland together, play games, watch movies, play "would you rather...?" at the dinner table, go for walks, being silly, and visiting with other family members. Spending time together as a family is very important to us!

Heidi is a very kind, caring, hardworking, organized, and faith-filled woman. Her devotion to God is one of her highest priorities. She loves to watch movies, study the gospel and scriptures, play games, plan and host parties, decorate, go to Disneyland, and spend time with family!

She comes from a large family and loves to stay in close contact with her parents and siblings. She always looks forward to Sunday dinner with her parents and her younger brothers. Getting together with more family is always something she looks forward to.

Heidi taught first-third grade at an elementary school for 7 years. She had to quit when her health challenges increased. God has taught her the importance of focusing on gratitude and finding joy in seeing His miracles each day!

Heidi works hard to keep the house clean and strives to be organized. One of her greatest joys has been being a mother to Riley, caring for her, and watching her grow.

Daniel is a very patient, kind, hardworking, brilliant, creative man. He has worked for Ford as an engineer for 9 and a half years. He is also brilliant with computers and has helped others build and repair their computers. He is very patient in helping Heidi frequently with her technology challenges.

Daniel is very meticulous and thoughtful. He can take longer at cooking things, but it is always worth the wait and looks beautiful. (He is very patient to put up with Heidi's non-extraordinary cooking skills ;p).

He is extremely creative and loves alliteration. He is frequently sharing his own Dr. Seuss-esque poems he creates on the spot or changing lyrics in a song.

Daniel is an excellent gardener. He works hard making the outside of our home look wonderful. He loves planting and caring for new fruit trees.

Daniel has always had an incredible gift for connecting with and playing with children! He is an incredible father who always loves to play with Riley and take time to make her laugh. They love being silly together. One of my favorite sounds in our homes is the 2 of them laughing :)

Riley is our miracle baby! She is the sweetest, most joyful soul you will ever meet. Her pure excitement for life cannot be contained. She loves to look out for and help others. She has autism and God has poured out miracles on her. She amazes us more each day.

There have been rough times, but God has guided us to the help we needed. She fills our family with joy and our love for her continually grows.

She loves to be around others and play. She always has some song (one she has heard or composed herself;) in her head and is usually humming or singing throughout the day. She loves K-Pop Demon Hunters, Disneyland, roller coasters, playing with friends, watching movies, swimming, crafting, spinning, and swinging.

She is so excited to be a big sister and talks about all the ways she will help her new sibling and things she can't wait to share with them.

We love where we live. We are so blessed to be completely surrounded by such wonderful people and to have great family support nearby.

We live in a 6 bedroom, 3 bathroom Ranch home. We have a bedroom ready for a precious little one we can love, nurture, and celebrate.

Our neighborhood has lots of kids in all directions who love to play together. We have 2 parks nearby in our city and multiple throughout the valley.

We love to go for family walks around the neighborhood and adventure walks in the canyon nearby.

In the valley, we love to go to the big aquatic center in the summer, visit a fun trampoline park, and several outdoor parks and splash pads.

We also enjoy venturing out to the larger zoo, amusement park, and aquarium that are not too far away.

Daniel and Heidi both come from large families and, therefore, dreamed of having a big family.

That dream was shattered after Heidi's multiple abdominal surgeries. With each complication and surgery, Heidi was told her chances of having a baby would decrease.

But after 8 years of trying, between surgeries and waiting, God blessed them with their miracle baby Riley.

Heidi was never able to get pregnant again.

Due to frequent pelvic pain and complications, Heidi got a hysterectomy in December 2021.

Daniel and Heidi had discussed adoption many times and in July 2025, God helped both Heidi and Daniel feel very strongly that it was time to adopt.

We are so excited to welcome a precious little one into our family to forever cherish and provide an encouraging, supportive, and loving home.

Thank you so much for taking the time to learn more about our family! Thank you for your courage, strength, and love for making this difficult decision. We have prayed for you and want you to know, if you choose us, your baby will be forever cherished and will be raised in a home filled with love, faith, encouragement, support, and stability.

Contact Children’s Service Society at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call/text 801-656-8527.