Brittany has turned 8 years old and is soooo excited to get baptized and have her 8 year old party. She has grown up so fast it seems like only yesterday (or maybe the day before) that she was just a cute little baby.
Before we got Brittany I was working at Ultradent and I remember the adoption agency calling on occasion needing more updated information or new information, so of course my hopes were always up when they called but we never got the “you have been picked” news when they called, so you eventually forget about that and move on (well maybe forget is not quite the right word…maybe try to stop thinking about it constantly is better).
Anyway I remember it was the first Tuesday in January 2004 (right after returning from R&R for Christmas break…1 week off) when the agency again. I assumed when she said who she was that she was going to ask for more updated information. I was prepared to tell her that we had just updated our collage (with the help of Heather) so we would have that ready soon. Instead she surprised me by saying “a birth mom has picked you”. She then told us a little about the birth mom and what we would need to do next. Then she asked if we were still interested. I said I would need to check with Jon but yes I was. So I hurried and called him and told him about it and that we would need to meet with them the next day in Logan for the face to face. Of course Jon was still interested so we set up the arrangements for the next day. I had to tell my boss about it so I could take off the day to take care of this so he was the only person aware of what was going on. We were so excited and we found out we wouldn’t have a long wait because she was due any day and had kept it a secret from her parents the whole time. Her parents had just found out.
That night when we got home from work we went over to Walmart (the only big store in Tooele) to do some baby shopping. Since of course we had absolutely nothing for babies. It was fun to shop and get the stuff. Then we realized that we needed a room cleared out for a new baby. We had already started that because during the R&R break we had finished painting our basement family room and got the furniture and tv moved into it. So the room upstairs we had used for our tv room was going to be converted to the babies room. We just shoved all the baby stuff into the closet because we knew that the upcoming weekend mom and dad would be coming over to bring us the white couch and lamps for our front room. Since we hadn’t told anyone yet that we had been picked we wanted to make sure things were more final before letting the news out of the bag so to speak. We had also decided that the next day since we weren’t going to work and going to Logan instead that we would spend first part of the day looking at cribs and other necessities that we thought we would need then head out.
Well the next morning (Wednesday) as we were getting ready to leave for the day we got a phone call again from the agency saying that the birth mom had changed her mind. Of course that was extremely disappointing. We didn’t really feel like going to work that day. We still decided to go look at cribs and then go out to lunch. But as we were looking at cribs (for the baby who would no longer sleep in it) we just didn’t feel that earlier excitement that we had. Felt like we had lost a baby. So we stopped looking and just went out to lunch.
So the next day (Thursday) as I sat at my desk again at work after telling my boss what had happened my phone rings again. It is the agency again saying that the birth mom has changed her mind again and asked if we would still like the baby. Of course I said yes but I needed to check with Jon. As we know he said yes. She told us that the birth mom went to a class of other birth moms who had given their babies up for adoption and heard their stories (a support group so to speak). Through their stories they basically talked our birth mom into going through with the adoption. Her parents also told her that they wouldn’t raise the baby that it would be her responsibility (trying to tell her that this is a big responsibility to do on your own…obviously I think they would really have helped out…but I think they wanted her to give the baby to a family). So we were informed that she still wanted to do a face to face on Friday.
So now Friday morning we headed up to Logan. On the trip up we started going through names that we liked. We only had the time from our house to Logan to come up with something we liked so we could share that with the birth mom. The name we came up with was Brittany Nicole. It wasn’t really a whole lot of time to come up with names and it was quite hard. But she seems to fit the name anyway.
We get to the agency and are taken back to a room. We meet Ashley (birth mom), her mom, and Ashley’s best friend (who helped Ashley during the pregnancy). I was very nervous to meet her because what do you say to someone who is willing to give you their baby. I thought it would be so awkward and weird but you also want them and yourself to feel comfortable. It does help that both your agent and their agent are there to help the conversation go. Her agent pretty much helped feed us the questions until we all got more comfortable. As we were there it wasn’t as bad and uncomfortable as I had feared. They seemed familiar and very easy to talk to. Jon was told that he looked like one of Ashley’s uncles and had the same personality as some of her relatives. It was nice. Apparently during the conversation it came up that Ashley was currently having contractions but she was trying to hide it a little. They were not to close together but not very far apart either. We asked what name Ashley like. She told us Theo, I didn’t know what to say so I said cute name. Her mom looked very surprised and said “Theo?”. So we told her we were thinking Brittany and she said oh a real name. When she did first see us she did apologize for the roller coaster in the past couple days but we said we understood. It is a very big decision that she needs to make. But she said she is ready now.
After the meeting we headed home and she and her family and friend went to I guess it was Home Depot or Lowes to walk around for a little while. Well apparently after that she ended up having closer contractions and went to the hospital and delivered Brittany that night. We didn’t know this until Saturday morning when they again called and said she had the baby. We were told she had curly hair but when we did see her it was no longer curly…but turned very curly the older she has gotten.
I can’t remember exactly what day I called mom and just said something to the effect what would you buy if you were going to have a baby. We are just trying to get prepared. So mom gave a few suggestions. But we still didn’t let on about the baby. She later told me that she didn’t really want to do that because she didn’t want us to have baby stuff just sitting around the house reminding us…little did she know.
Mom and dad did come over Saturday with the furniture but since all the baby stuff was in the closet they didn’t have any idea what was going on. I think later that day we got the room more ready and a few clothes and diapers put out and finished buying a few things since we found out that Monday would be the day we would be picking up Brittany.
Sunday at church the bishop approached us and asked about the adoption and if we had heard anything. We acted surprised I don’t think he knew what to say so we confirmed the information and told him we would be picking her up tomorrow. He was relieved that we got the call, because with adoption the bishop finds out before you do and he was hoping that we had heard and he hadn’t said something to soon. He was excited for us as well.
Well Monday has finally arrived, we still have no crib, changing table, and who knows what else we don’t have. We weren’t sure what she would sleep in that night but we did have the car seat so we could bring her home. I think we even bought some formula so she could eat. That is a very weird feeling to be going somewhere to pick up a baby from some place. I was still afraid that maybe she had changed her mind. Before Ashley can leave the hospital she has to sign the papers saying that she is going to give up the baby so by the time we would see her it would be official. Well we get there and are waiting in the room. The agent finally gets a phone call saying they have left the hospital and are on their way.
When they get to the agency we meet with Ashley and both her parents. We have a nice little visit and ask about delivery etc. for a while and then her agent informs her that it is now time. So she leaves the room to get the baby and brings her back in. So we all look at her and see how tiny she is. She gives us the information from the hospital and then the picture time begins. Lots of pictures with lots of different combinations of people. This is also where Brittany receives her “purple blankie” that she still has today. Then the “pass of” occurs. That is very surreal. I remember shaking and both Ashley and I are crying, of course for totally different reasons. Then we do more pictures and then they tell all of us it is time to leave now. I can’t remember for sure but I think they had us leave first and then waited for a while before Ashley and her family could leave.
Before we got Brittany I was working at Ultradent and I remember the adoption agency calling on occasion needing more updated information or new information, so of course my hopes were always up when they called but we never got the “you have been picked” news when they called, so you eventually forget about that and move on (well maybe forget is not quite the right word…maybe try to stop thinking about it constantly is better).
Anyway I remember it was the first Tuesday in January 2004 (right after returning from R&R for Christmas break…1 week off) when the agency again. I assumed when she said who she was that she was going to ask for more updated information. I was prepared to tell her that we had just updated our collage (with the help of Heather) so we would have that ready soon. Instead she surprised me by saying “a birth mom has picked you”. She then told us a little about the birth mom and what we would need to do next. Then she asked if we were still interested. I said I would need to check with Jon but yes I was. So I hurried and called him and told him about it and that we would need to meet with them the next day in Logan for the face to face. Of course Jon was still interested so we set up the arrangements for the next day. I had to tell my boss about it so I could take off the day to take care of this so he was the only person aware of what was going on. We were so excited and we found out we wouldn’t have a long wait because she was due any day and had kept it a secret from her parents the whole time. Her parents had just found out.
That night when we got home from work we went over to Walmart (the only big store in Tooele) to do some baby shopping. Since of course we had absolutely nothing for babies. It was fun to shop and get the stuff. Then we realized that we needed a room cleared out for a new baby. We had already started that because during the R&R break we had finished painting our basement family room and got the furniture and tv moved into it. So the room upstairs we had used for our tv room was going to be converted to the babies room. We just shoved all the baby stuff into the closet because we knew that the upcoming weekend mom and dad would be coming over to bring us the white couch and lamps for our front room. Since we hadn’t told anyone yet that we had been picked we wanted to make sure things were more final before letting the news out of the bag so to speak. We had also decided that the next day since we weren’t going to work and going to Logan instead that we would spend first part of the day looking at cribs and other necessities that we thought we would need then head out.
Well the next morning (Wednesday) as we were getting ready to leave for the day we got a phone call again from the agency saying that the birth mom had changed her mind. Of course that was extremely disappointing. We didn’t really feel like going to work that day. We still decided to go look at cribs and then go out to lunch. But as we were looking at cribs (for the baby who would no longer sleep in it) we just didn’t feel that earlier excitement that we had. Felt like we had lost a baby. So we stopped looking and just went out to lunch.
So the next day (Thursday) as I sat at my desk again at work after telling my boss what had happened my phone rings again. It is the agency again saying that the birth mom has changed her mind again and asked if we would still like the baby. Of course I said yes but I needed to check with Jon. As we know he said yes. She told us that the birth mom went to a class of other birth moms who had given their babies up for adoption and heard their stories (a support group so to speak). Through their stories they basically talked our birth mom into going through with the adoption. Her parents also told her that they wouldn’t raise the baby that it would be her responsibility (trying to tell her that this is a big responsibility to do on your own…obviously I think they would really have helped out…but I think they wanted her to give the baby to a family). So we were informed that she still wanted to do a face to face on Friday.
So now Friday morning we headed up to Logan. On the trip up we started going through names that we liked. We only had the time from our house to Logan to come up with something we liked so we could share that with the birth mom. The name we came up with was Brittany Nicole. It wasn’t really a whole lot of time to come up with names and it was quite hard. But she seems to fit the name anyway.
We get to the agency and are taken back to a room. We meet Ashley (birth mom), her mom, and Ashley’s best friend (who helped Ashley during the pregnancy). I was very nervous to meet her because what do you say to someone who is willing to give you their baby. I thought it would be so awkward and weird but you also want them and yourself to feel comfortable. It does help that both your agent and their agent are there to help the conversation go. Her agent pretty much helped feed us the questions until we all got more comfortable. As we were there it wasn’t as bad and uncomfortable as I had feared. They seemed familiar and very easy to talk to. Jon was told that he looked like one of Ashley’s uncles and had the same personality as some of her relatives. It was nice. Apparently during the conversation it came up that Ashley was currently having contractions but she was trying to hide it a little. They were not to close together but not very far apart either. We asked what name Ashley like. She told us Theo, I didn’t know what to say so I said cute name. Her mom looked very surprised and said “Theo?”. So we told her we were thinking Brittany and she said oh a real name. When she did first see us she did apologize for the roller coaster in the past couple days but we said we understood. It is a very big decision that she needs to make. But she said she is ready now.
After the meeting we headed home and she and her family and friend went to I guess it was Home Depot or Lowes to walk around for a little while. Well apparently after that she ended up having closer contractions and went to the hospital and delivered Brittany that night. We didn’t know this until Saturday morning when they again called and said she had the baby. We were told she had curly hair but when we did see her it was no longer curly…but turned very curly the older she has gotten.
I can’t remember exactly what day I called mom and just said something to the effect what would you buy if you were going to have a baby. We are just trying to get prepared. So mom gave a few suggestions. But we still didn’t let on about the baby. She later told me that she didn’t really want to do that because she didn’t want us to have baby stuff just sitting around the house reminding us…little did she know.
Mom and dad did come over Saturday with the furniture but since all the baby stuff was in the closet they didn’t have any idea what was going on. I think later that day we got the room more ready and a few clothes and diapers put out and finished buying a few things since we found out that Monday would be the day we would be picking up Brittany.
Sunday at church the bishop approached us and asked about the adoption and if we had heard anything. We acted surprised I don’t think he knew what to say so we confirmed the information and told him we would be picking her up tomorrow. He was relieved that we got the call, because with adoption the bishop finds out before you do and he was hoping that we had heard and he hadn’t said something to soon. He was excited for us as well.
Well Monday has finally arrived, we still have no crib, changing table, and who knows what else we don’t have. We weren’t sure what she would sleep in that night but we did have the car seat so we could bring her home. I think we even bought some formula so she could eat. That is a very weird feeling to be going somewhere to pick up a baby from some place. I was still afraid that maybe she had changed her mind. Before Ashley can leave the hospital she has to sign the papers saying that she is going to give up the baby so by the time we would see her it would be official. Well we get there and are waiting in the room. The agent finally gets a phone call saying they have left the hospital and are on their way.
When they get to the agency we meet with Ashley and both her parents. We have a nice little visit and ask about delivery etc. for a while and then her agent informs her that it is now time. So she leaves the room to get the baby and brings her back in. So we all look at her and see how tiny she is. She gives us the information from the hospital and then the picture time begins. Lots of pictures with lots of different combinations of people. This is also where Brittany receives her “purple blankie” that she still has today. Then the “pass of” occurs. That is very surreal. I remember shaking and both Ashley and I are crying, of course for totally different reasons. Then we do more pictures and then they tell all of us it is time to leave now. I can’t remember for sure but I think they had us leave first and then waited for a while before Ashley and her family could leave.
Brittany looked so small in the car seat (can't find a picture). It was weird to have a baby in the back seat. I remember being afraid that she would wake up crying so I didn’t want to stop to eat lunch. We went through the drive-thru. She slept the whole drive. We had already decided that on the way home we would stop by the grandparents houses to show them the baby and give the “announcement”. First we went to mom and dad’s house. Mom thought we were babysitting one of Jon’s nieces or nephews. It seems like Jon confirmed that at first but then obviously it came out that she was our new baby. She was excited of course and called dad to come home. Heather and Kristy were called. I’m sure others were called as well but Heather came over with her kids and Kent showed up later as well…then Kristy met us at Jon’s parents as well later…so I remember them being called. Kent actually helped show me the blanket swaddle for Brittany since I hadn’t done one before. Kristy asked if we wanted to borrow her basinet and other items and of course we agreed…now we knew what she could sleep in that night. It was a fun way to announce having a baby. Just show up!!
We didn't get any hospital pictures of Brittany so this is the first "good" picture from a camera that we got (we got our digital camera a few days later). This is a picture of just showing up at mom and dads house to show them our new bundle of joy!!!
Later that night we went to Jon’s parents to surprise them as well. Kristy and her family didn’t make it to mom and dads before we left so they met us at Jon’s parents house to see Brittany and give us the stuff to use. Jon’s mom thought the baby was one of Kristy’s since we showed up about the same time and her kids were there as well. So it took a little while for her to realize as well that this was our baby. Again it was a fun way to show them the baby as well.
Obviously I could go on and on with more detail of the remaining night and next day and I will have to write more down for the kids at a later time. I won’t bore everyone with that.
Of course I have to show a few other pictures of Brittany when she was pretty little and new especially with her infamous "purple blankie":
But moving on to today. Brittany is now 8 years old. She is so excited because this year she gets a friend b-day party and she gets baptized. We are going to get her a new baptism dress and her own set of scriptures. This year I didn’t make a b-day cake because we were doing that stuff for her party. But we did buy her an icecream pie and she chose what she wanted for dinner.
She made b-day hats for all of us and as you can see also for some of her animals and creations.
