Dear Brian

Dear Brian,

You are a gift to our family from Heavenly Father and we are so pleased to be your earthly family. You came into our lives at a time of transition and trial, but brought us hope and joy. You make our family complete and will always be an adored little brother. You bring happiness to all of us. You are precious and we love you very much.

When I was driving to work one morning I was thinking about what you should be named. Dad was trying to stick with the two letter first names, as your sisters do. I never thought that we could find a two letter boy name that would sound good (and I was right). Dad's vote in that regard was Oh No Smith. And I said, NO WAY! I really like to use family names, and just the last name doesn't count, so again dad's vote was vetoed. Dad's middle name Loran, came from his mom's name Lora Le. Mom's middle name Nell, came from my grandma Mildred Nell. Ki's middle name is Le as is grandma's, Aunt Kelli's and Aunt Lisa's. El's middle name is Lynn, as is Aunt Brandie's and it's short for Lynette-our aunt. So I was thinking that I wanted to name you Oran Reed or Oran Hirth. My dad's grandfather's middle name was Orin, as is Pops' and so is uncle Jeremy's. Reed is Grandpa's first name and then Hirth is his middle name. I wanted to change the spelling to Oran to be like dad's middle name minus the L.  A family name is important. Helaman 5:6-7 reminds us. We were having a hard time committing to a name and you were going to be born in a little more than a month.

One morning while driving to work, I was pondering your name or lack of name at that point. And a feeling came over me and I started crying and I knew that you were supposed to be Brian. You see, Uncle Brian was dad's older brother. I believe that a long time ago he offered to return home to heaven soon after he was born so that he could be our guardian on the other side. I have had many feelings that you are close to his spirit and that you two had a great time in heaven before he had to say goodbye and let you come to our family. Grandma misses her baby Brian and she feels sad when she thinks about him. I felt like we could give her a chance to have a Brian in her life again that she could love, and I pray that you will get to stay here for many years and live in a way that brings healing and love to us all, as I feel Brian asked you to. Peace filled me and all day I felt like this was a name that you could live to honor. Then there was the challenge of your middle name, I think that you may remember this special man that we called Grandpa Jack. He got to spend some time with you and Brian in heaven before you came to earth. His actual name was Antone Robert Christensen. And so your middle name Antone is in honor of this amazing man we love and miss.

Today in sacrament meeting, you were taken in the arms of Dad, Grandpa Homer, Pops, and your uncles-Rob, Ron, Caleb and Jordan. Bishop Smith too-of no known relation. And you were given your name and a blessing. I felt the love of your dad as he spoke to you and have no doubt that Brian and Grandpa were close as you are the bearer of their names.

I love you my little man. I know that you are a gift and I feel so complete with you here in our home and I know that you will grow to be an honorable man and continue to bring your family joy and happiness. Remember where you came from, who you are, and who you will become is more than just a name. You are a beautiful child of God.

With Love,
Mama Torrie