Our Story, Part 14 - Reunited

When we came back from California we decided to move to Ogden, so we were now a few hours away from Bryan and Ruth. Since we lived so far away we didn’t see each other as frequently, but we still saw Bryan at Easter and for Cole and Preston’s birthday and on several other occasions. Celebrating Preston and Cole's Birthday, April 1999

The day after Mother’s Day in May 1999, 14 months after Bryan went back to live with Ruth, she called and asked me if Bryan could come live with us. I told Ruth that if Bryan came to live with us that he was not going back (that may sound harsh, but I could not handle losing him again, and I did not want to keep confusing Bryan).

All the "boys" together for a visit (before Bryan came back)

She said Bryan kept asking to go and live with his “real family.” The year before when I had helped Ruth and Bryan move to their new apartment I gave them a picture of us (Mykel, me, Cole and Preston). Apparently it was hanging in their apartment and when Bryan would look at it, he would say it was his “real” family. I don’t know what finally changed Ruth’s mind about allowing Bryan to come back to us, but I am so glad she did,

I cannot imagine my life without my son Bryan!

The "Real Family" picture

Since we lived several hours away, I couldn’t just come and pick Bryan up right after she called. We made arrangements for my mother-in-law to pick him up and meet me the next morning. We were supposed to meet in Heber City (which was the half-way point) but I left early and drove so fast that we ended up meeting on the side of the highway. Bryan got in with me and I put all of his stuff in the back of my Jeep. For people passing by it probably looked like I was picking up my son from visiting grandma’s house, little did they know I was picking him up to be with us forever! All together again!

When I got in the car he just looked at me, looked at his brothers, and then looked straight ahead. I cannot even imagine what was going through his head at the time (I really think he was angry with me). I was just hoping he wasn’t scared of me. We started with small talk and that is when he told me he remembered living with us and when he killed the fish (I honestly couldn’t believe he remembered that, he was only 2 ½ at the time!) He also told me about his aunts and uncles and the trip he had made to the Denver Zoo. He remembered the names of the places he had visited and even remembered all of their names (and he went on this trip when he was 3).

Pictures of the boys for Father's Day 1999 (about a month after Bryan came back)

I asked him if he was hungry and he said “yes” so we decided to stop and eat at one of our favorite places ~ we call it “The Train Place.” ~ So there I was, sitting and eating hamburgers and shakes with my three sons, and it all just seemed so natural, like we were just out for a normal day together for lunch.

By the time we arrived home Bryan had warmed up considerably. We got his things unpacked and he just started running around the house and playing with his brothers, it was so wonderful to see them all together again! Mykel and I just looked at each other and smiled – we were now the parents of three boys, all under the age of 3 ½.

Life was good!