Newspaper Article

This was written and printed for Valentines Day. So it is old news but I wanted to add it to our blog. If you haven't already read it I hope you enjoy.
***********************************************

Thursday, 14 February 2008

Couple shares passion for adoption

Donna Milakovic - NORTH COUNTY STAFF

Valentine's Day is about love and being together. For Brad and Brenda Horrocks of Eagle Mountain, that means dinner at the Roof Restaurant in Salt Lake City and a rare evening out together without the kids. It may not be an unusual date or seem exciting to most people, but Brenda Horrocks said she looks forward to it all year long. Though their Valentine's tradition may be clich, their family is unusual. Their three young children, Brenley, 7, Haley ,5, and Camden, 21 months, came to them in different ways. The Horrocks have adopted each of their children and have open relationships with all of the birth mothers. "All families are special, but more goes into making our family than the average family, a lot more work," Brad Horrocks said. Brenda Horrocks agreed and said, "There is a special kind of love that we share with the people we consider our other extended family. We spent six years wanting to have children and it's like all this love was built up." She added that once they received their first child through adoption that it was like an explosion of love with plenty to include the mother of their precious daughter. After meeting at choir rehearsals at the LDS Institute of Religion at Salt Lake Community College in late spring 1994, Brad and Brenda Horrocks went on a debatable first date. She said she thought it was a date only to arrive and find out that he already had a date and thought they were going out as a group of friends. Brad Horrocks admitted bashfully that Brenda got much more of his attention than his date that night. "I knew he liked me and I knew he liked me better than he liked his date," said Brenda Horrocks laughingly. Six weeks later they were engaged and on Oct. 22, 1994 they were married in the Salt Lake Temple. After struggling with infertility for years and participating with Families Supporting Adoption (FSA), Brenda says they are doing great this Valentine's Day. She said, "There is good, better and best and I really feel like we are at our best and I hope there will be a lot more 'best.' After all those years of pain, it is just so nice to be at peace and have joy." For the last three years Brad and Brenda Horrocks have served as co-vice chairs on the Executive National Board for Families Supporting Adoption, an organization that supports adoption through education, promotion and legislation. "We help people understand that adoption is a positive option," said Brenda Horrocks. The couple feels that their shared passion for adoption is a secret to their successful marriage. "I feel great about where we are as a couple," said Brad Horrocks. "FSA had made us work together." Another secret to happiness for the Horrockses is to spend time together as a couple and as a family. "I love it when the children are in bed and we can relax and watch a movie. Our dates are often here in our home," said Brenda Horrocks. Shared struggles, appreciating their long-awaited children, a passion for helping others, accepting all the people God chooses to bring into their family, and a little quiet time together, is their recipe for peace and joy in marriage.