The Chosen Heart

Longing for a child to love,

I'd wish upon the stars above.

In my heart I always knew

A part of me was meant for you.

I think how happy we will be,

Once I adopt you, and you adopt me.

I dream of all the joy you'll bring,

Imagining even the littlest things.

The way it will feel to hold you tight,

And tuck you in every night.

The drawing on the refrigerator door,

And childhood toys across the floor.

The favorite stories read again and again,

And hours of games with make-believe friends.

The day you took my outstretched hand,

A journey ended, but our lives began.

Still mesmerized by your sweet face,

Still warmed inside by our first embrace.

I promised to give you a happy home,

And a loving family all your own.

A house you've now made complete,

With laughter, smiles, and tiny feet.

A parent is one who guides the way,

Know I will be there everyday.

Rest easy as each night you sleep,

A lifetime of love is yours to keep.

Longing for a child to love,

I'd wish upon the stars above.

In my heart I always knew,

A part of me belonged to you.

~ Teri Harrison ~

We have indredible support:

We'd like to thank all of the people who have supported us, individually and as a couple, over the years. We have some incredible people in our lives and we are grateful for every kind word they have given, every shoulder they have lent us to cry on, every tear they have shed in sharing life's ups and downs with us, every piece of advise that was desperately needed at times, and every ounce of understanding they were willing to offer us. Our lives have truly been impacted by your presence and we pray for you every day.

This is the crazy Combo family (From Left: Kevin, Colleen, Me, Clint, Kate, Christine & Patti). Can you believe that all of us siblings could even fit on that couch?

This is my beautiful mom, Sally. No, she's not normally dressed like this, but she could probably get away with it if she did (she DID raise 7 kids, you know!).


This is the Speakman family (From Left: Rich, Me, My Mom, Grandma Speakman, Mike, Aldie & Cliff - - oh yeah, and Gizmo the cat).


Ironically, my best friend Heather recently started dating Rich's best friend Brian. They are such incredible people. They met at Papa Murphy's too - - who knew such love would come out of that place!


Steph and I have been best friends since our Freshman year of high school (can you believe that anyone could put up with me for that long?). This is a picture of her and her wonderful husband Luis...aren't they sweet?

Carol and Chelle are two of the most encouraging people I know and they have huge hearts for ministry. We are so blessed to have them in our lives.

Amie is our "adopted" sister. I actually don't remember ever NOT knowing her!

Margaret played a huge roll in getting Rich and I together and for that I will always be grateful. She has such a sweet spirit.

Awwww! Amy...she always knows how to make me laugh and have a good time. Never a dull moment.

This is our extended family...The Richardson's. They have always included us as family. Dennis walked me down the isle at our wedding, Renae treats me like her own child and Mitch and I fight like brother and sister.

Chrissy and I have known each other since we were really little, but we became close friends a few years ago. She has an incredible talent of being able to put things in perspective for me, no matter how messy they seem (and she has the most adorable child in the world, miss Paisley Bell). Thank you for the awesome crib and dresser - - I'm sure they will be put to great use!


Heidi and her husband Chris have graciously given us baby clothes, bottles, a swing, formula...you name it! Thank you so much for your friendship and your advise on the little one.

Who could forget Erik? He's been one of Rich's best friends since the beginning of high school. Although we aren't happy about the fact that he lives in SF instead of Chico now, we still appreciate his friendship just as much as we always have.

Dear Zack:

“Serenity is yours. When chaos looms, seek the sweet surrender of simplicity. Gaze above at the glassy sky. Feel each blade of green beneath your feet. Listen to the sound of faith. Like a reed flute playing inside your chest. Breathe. Stand in witness of your true nature. Remember the compassion of your lover’s eyes and calm wisdom of an elder’s voice. Go within. Be at rest without. Fall to your knees in gratitude. You have all you need. Turn from the riot of distraction. Let it roll over and beyond you. Serenity is yours. It lives always within your reach.”
~ Ching Qu Lam

“Not of my flesh, nor bone of my bone, but still miraculously my own. Never forget for a single minute, you didn’t grow under my heart – but in it.”
~ Fleur Heylinger

My little Zack, we haven’t even met you yet, but we love you more than words or tears or smiles could express. You are the miracle that we have been waiting for, for what seems like a lifetime, and I am so anxious to hold you. I wish we didn’t have to wait these next three (and a half) months, but trust that we are going to use this precious time of wait to prepare to bring you home with us. You are a precious child and I am in love with you already. We are looking forward to teaching you all the things about life, and love, and joy, and peace that you will need as you grow in our home and I am so thankful that we have been given this opportunity to be here for you. Know that we’ve wanted you since before you were even breathed into existence.

Love, Your soon-to-be parents

Our (borrowed) kids...

We look forward to the day when we will be able to share the love we have with a little one of our own. In the meantime, we are content in spending time with our nieces and nephews (and there are many!)...Destiny, Greyson, Kaitlyn, AJ, Kyrie, Aria, Shea, Alex and Kasey. There is another due in October of this year.

This is me and our niece Kaitlyn in Oregon for my brother's wedding.

Rich and I took Kaitlyn and Kyrie for a few days when my sister-in-law delivered our nephew Kasey. The girls and I spent a day discovering new trails at Bidwell Park.

This is our new nephew Kasey. He has bright red hair...definately a Combo!

Our niece Destiny recently decided to make me feel old by getting engaged. Her fiance Jon loves her so much. I was only 5 1/2 when Destiny was born, so in a way, we are a lot like sisters.

Aria is such a beautiful little girl. She is very compassionate and always wants to help, not to mention is she one of the smartest kids I know.

My nephew Greyson is a goofball - - gotta love him!

AJ loves it when I show him any kind of affection in public!

Shea loves her Uncle Rich!

Shea and Uncle Rich, dancing at the wedding.

The kids love having slumber parties at our house. Now we have a much bigger living room though! More space to spread out.

Me and Heather spent the day with Alex at Bidwell Park. He loved throwing rocks in the water, but he only liked to throw the really big ones that he could barely pick up. He's got a mean arm on him!

Alex cuddlin' with Uncle early in the morning at our old house.

Alex taking his bath after a sleepover at our house. He found Uncle's shaving cream!

We can't forget our newest addition, Miss Bailey. She keeps us up at night, she drools on us, and we have to clean up her "messes"...she's practically like having a child! We wouldn't trade her for the world though...well, I wouldn't at least. Rich may feel differently on that one!

The story of Rich and Karyn...

In 2000, Richard applied for a job at Papa Murphy's pizza, where I worked. When the manager went through the list of applicants, Rich got passed over. However, the next week he came in for some pizza and the manager told him that he had the job. The person that they had originally hired never showed up. We shared some of the same friends and often hung out together in group activities.

Some of my girlfriends and I found out that Richard had never been on a 'real date' before, so we set him up (I had a HUGE secret crush on him). All 5 of us girls dressed up, blindfolded him, and took him to a candle-lit dinner at my parent's house. We had made dinner (Papa Murphy's lasagna), made homemade peach pie, and dimmed the lights. Then we served him dinner on china and had Kenny G playing softly in the background. After dinner, the five of us introduced Rich to the movie 'Little Women' and told him to get used to 'chick flicks' if he was going to start dating. After a few weeks of continuous jokes about 'Speakman Date Night', Richard told me he 'owed me one'. He set a date and took me to a movie, for a walk at Ellis Lake, and out for ice cream. While sitting on a bench at the lake, I told him that I knew, even though it was only the first date, that I was going to marry him and that we would be together forever. That would have freaked out any normal person, but we were really close friends already at that point. That night, we shared our first kiss and have been joined at the hip ever since. After we got engaged, I always teased him by saying, "I told you so". That is now engraved into the inner part of his wedding ring.

Less than one month after our first date, Richard moved to Cal Poly, 5 hours away. Two months into the first semester, he decided that once the school year was over, he would transfer to Chico State to be closer to me. While he was away, we spent so many hours on the phone that we would fall asleep with it attached to our ears. Needless to say, the first thing our parents made us do was sign up for cell phones with free long distance and unlimited mobile-to-mobile.

In the year that he was gone, he came up for visits and we made the most of our time together.

On August 8th, 2001, the one year anniversary of our dating, Rich took me for a day trip to Bidwell Park in Chico. There are dirt trails throughout the park that follow a stream and we frequently spent days there during the summer. He took me to a quiet spot in the stream, where it was deep enough to swim. We set up a picnic on the rocky island in the middle of the water, had some lunch and then went swimming. Richard swam over to a tree that was growing sideways out of the water's bank and said he wanted to show me something. I reluctantly went over to the tree, noticing an old ratty shirt that was draped over its trunk. I lifted up the shirt and saw 'Karyn, will you marry me?' carved into the tree in huge letters. When I turned around, Richard was on his knees in the water with a ring in his hand. I grabbed him and said, 'Of course I will.' He soon asked if he could get up off of his knee because it was bleeding from kneeling on a sharp rock in the water. Later that week, we had a BBQ at my parent’s house to let the family in on the secret. Richard and I had both agreed that is was necessary for him to ask for my father's blessing. Right before the BBQ and before the rest of the family arrived, Rich was supposed to have 'the talk' with my dad. Since my dad could be very intimidating, Rich locked himself in the bathroom, scared to death. Eventually, he came out, grabbed my hand and told me I had to come with him. After giving us a hard time about being too young and too broke, my dad said, 'I suppose.' (his famous line). He adored Richard, but felt it was his fatherly duty to give him a hard time before giving him the okay. Originally, we were going to be married within a couple of months of our engagement, but then we decided to wait until Rich graduated from school. Since he would be graduating in May, we figured a July wedding would be perfect.

My dad passed away in 2002 and we were married in 2005, so my best friend Heather's dad (Dennis) did me the honor of walking me down the isle.

Since our wedding, Rich was hired on as a Sales Consultant for Toyota and we've purchased a house. In December of 2006, the Toyota dealership sent Rich and I on a 5-day trip to Cabo San Lucas, where we snorkeled, parasailed and swam in the Sea of Cortez...all the while enjoying each other's company and realizing further just how deeply we love one another.Our relationship is blessed beyond measure. He is my best friend, my comforter and the only person that I wish to share all of life's joys and sorrows with. With him, there is nothing I feel I need to hold back. We thank God every day for the fact that, no matter what, we always make it through...just the two of us.

There Is An Empty Room

This is exactly what goes through my mind as I walk through our house and see the baby furniture and all the things in our home that are just waiting to be used. We're still waiting...

There Is An Empty Room

There is an empty room
In which no child sleeps;
Just a rocking chair, a teddy bear,
The baby clothes they keep.
It is a quiet room
With everything in place;
But no happy sighs or lullabies,
No child in their embrace.
There is an empty crib
In the corner, tucked away;
The gentle light of the moon shines bright
As they kneel by the crib to pray...
"Remove all bitter thoughts,
Your will is what we seek.
Dry our tears and calm our fears,
Lift us up, for we are weak."
There is an empty room
In which no child sleeps.
But they know the love of a Father above,
And His promises He keeps.

~ by Stephanie Garcia

More Pics.

Here is a picture of me and Jess outside of her appt. She's now 20 weeks along. The other one is Rich and I at the beach in Ventura.