My son Ben, who hasn’t seen Jay and Staci for two years now, still talks about them from time to time because he has such wonderful memories of them.
The first thing I noticed about Jay and Staci was how strong their relationship was. They are solidly in love, and that love has been tested through some great hardships, and they have made it through stronger than ever.
The second thing I noticed, and appreciated, was that they not only tolerated my wild child of a son, but they loved him. He was never treated like an annoyance. He was always made to feel included in whatever we were doing.
Jay teaching Ben how to "free style."
We all took Ben to a company baseball game, and he hated it at first, but Staci made it fun for him. We once had a dinner party, and Jay was the only one of Glenn’s coworkers who totally welcomed Ben’s intrusions into our boring, grown-up shop talk. At another dinner, Staci taught Ben how to make animals out of aluminum foil while I took care of a colicky baby. Jay always knew how to engage Ben enough that he would sit down in a restaurant.
“They will always go the distance for someone they love.
Family is so important to both of them, they both talk to their family members as much as they talk to their friends. Jay and Staci make family life a priority, traveling hundreds of miles every year just to maintain those relationships with far-flung relatives. They will always go the distance for someone they love. Jay and Staci have wanted a child for a very, very, very long time. I can think of no two people who deserve it more.
- Contributed by Beth Franxman, Knoxville, Tenn.
