This week, a miracle happened.
Our precious little Kaitlyn Grace Sherratt was brought into the world. She was born January 18th at 9:33 AM. She weighed 8 lbs 9 oz and measured 21 inches long. It was an unforgettable experience.
So! Here's the story:
Tuesday the 17th, I woke up at 5:30 in the morning feeling like something wasn't sitting right in my stomach. I figured I must have a stomach bug or something, and tossed and turned for a few hours till Brice got up, and we went up to Salt Lake. He dropped me off at my parents and went to work, and I muscled through some homework for a few hours still feeling gross.
Finally at 10 or 11 I texted Brice and asked if he thought I should call my midwife and see if this pain is something I should be concerned about. He thought that was a pretty good idea. So I called and my midwife wasn't in that day, so I talked to the other midwife whom I had never talked to before and she said it sounded like labor and I should take a bath to see if it would calm the other systems in my body. I called Brice and told him the news, and I was just in tears. Labor wasn't supposed to feel like this! I had planned for a completely different kind of pain! Anyway, Brice felt it was a good idea to go to the hospital just to make sure everything was alright.
We started timing the stomach pains (which had turned into what felt like menstrual cramps) and they were about 2-4 minutes apart. At the hospital they told me I was dilated to a 3 (remember my last post? Yeah, this was good news!) and they had me wait around for an hour to see if I was making any progress. By 2:45 (the end of the hour) there had been no progress, so they sent us home. They told us to come back when either my contractions were consistently 1 or 2 minutes apart, my water broke, or the contractions became so painful I couldn't talk through them.
So, we went back to my parents. I took a bath, which helped sooth the pain a little bit, but you can only be in the bath for so long, right? So eventually I got out, and Brice started making a data sheet of how long contractions lasted, how long between the start of one to the start of another, and how intense it was on a scale from 1 to 10 with 10 being I can't talk through it. Meanwhile I used all my mental energy available to concentrate on how it wasn't pain, just pressure. His data didn't produce anything promising for us to go back to the hospital, so we waited some more. After a few more hours of pacing and contraction endurance, I asked Brice to apply pressure in a way that had been recommended to us by his sister. This was simply amazing! As soon as I felt a contraction coming on, I would have Brice press on my lower back, and I wouldn't feel the pain or pressure! It was such a relief! But, around 11, we were all tired, so we went down to bed, and it was hard for Brice to apply pressure while we were laying down.
Finally, I insisted Brice call the after-hours number for my midwife and see if there was some pain reliever I could take to ease the pain so I could at least sleep through the night. He called and the midwife told us we could either try another bath, or go to the hospital and if I hadn't progressed they could give me a shot of morphine that should help me sleep, or if I had progressed, they would admit me and I could have my baby.
So, just about midnight, we headed over to the hospital once more. They checked and I had dilated to a 5. They called the midwife and asked what she wanted, and she told them to admit me! Once in the room, Brice called my mom, and I asked about pain relief options. They explained to me that they could give me fentanyl, which wouldn't relieve the pain, but it would relax me so it wouldn't be as hard to endure. But, the effects only lasted half an hour and they could only give me a dose an hour at a time, and once I was dilated past an 8, they couldn't give me any more. My only other option was an epidural. I really had hoped I wouldn't need an epidural, so we started with the fentanyl, which was a major blessing. I had been shaking for an hour or two already because of how physically, emotionally, and mentally draining the contractions were. Almost immediately after they gave me the fentanyl, I was able to stop shaking and relax all my muscles (most of them had been tense for quite a while as well). It also made me dizzy, which I was okay with, because it made me feel drowsy, so I was almost dozing off. My mom showed up at 12:45 and we discussed more pain options. The nurse had the anesthesiologist come in and answer my questions about epidurals. Finally, I decided it would be worth a try. I had hoped I wouldn't need one, but after 20 hours of labor, all my energy was spent and I needed something to help me sleep if I was going to make it through the rest of labor.
So, around 3 in the morning they came and gave me the epidural. It was kind of scary because it needs such precision that if I moved at the wrong time, it could cause serious side effects. That's not scary at all. Oh, and I was still having contractions regularly enough, and the shaking had come back. Luckily, I was able to contain my shaking, and I let him know when my contractions were starting up so he would know not to start poking at the wrong time. So, I felt one last contraction while he was putting in the epidural, he finished up, and I felt the pressure of another contraction (which was like a gentle massage compared to what I had been feeling) and then they checked me again and I was dilated to an 8! That's right, I had made it all the way to an 8 before I got pain relief. And I was still able to talk through my contractions! I NEVER would have gone back to the hospital if we had waited for the three things the nurses had told us to wait for.
Anyway, so finally I had relief! And with that, Brice, my mom, and I went to sleep. The nurses came in to check my vitals every hour or so, which meant I woke up frequently, but at least I was able to get some rest. At 7, my midwife came and they checked and I was still dilated to an 8. They said my labor wouldn't progress until my water broke, so they broke my water. It was colorful, which meant baby had a bowl movement in the uterus (not uncommon at 41 weeks pregnant) so they explained the complications that could cause. Now, I was pretty out of it at this point, so I'm not sure what the complications were, but I think it had something to do with the baby's lungs not working properly. The nurse explained that they would have a pediatric respiratory specialist and a few other specialist come in just at the end of labor so that just in case our baby came out silent, they would be able to take immediate action (again, they explained all this in better detail, but I was drugged and going off of what barely counts as 3 hours of sleep in the past 30 hours, so I only remember the gist).
Anyway, so after they broke my water ("they" being my midwife, Julie, and her -for all intensive purposes- apprentice, Marnae) they said they needed to go check on a few other patients and they would be back to see if my labor was progressing. They returned about 8:30, and the baby was only 2 cm in (That's a +2 station for the drop measurement, for those who read the TMI section in the last post) which meant it was time to start pushing! This was kind of funny, for me. I couldn't feel the baby, so when I pushed, it was like trying to blow up an imaginary balloon. How do you know it's working? You don't. You just do what you can and feel like a fool doing it. Of course, the funny only lasted until she actually started emerging. Then it got really super uncomfortable. After one particularly intense pushing session, I did have a little melt down and whimpered that I couldn't do it. About 5 pushes later, our baby made it into the world. Thinking about that moment makes me a little teary-eyed. It is an amazing experience.
With that last push, I felt a HUGE wave of relief and joy and calm, and I held my breath for a second waiting to see if the specialists would be needed. But our precious daughter let out a cute little wail, and any worry I had washed away into the relief. Once she was out, the room seemed to spring into action. Out of nowhere, there was suddenly a dozen or more nurses in the room being busy with who knows what. Someone picked her up with a cloth and quickly wiped most of the liquid from her body and placed her on my chest while they did a better job wiping more off. I remember Marnae was feeling her umbilical cord to make sure it stopped pulsing, and clamped it down. After that, I became completely oblivious to everything going on in the room. I had my baby, and any energy I had left was focusing on her. During this whole after-birth ordeal, people kept coming in, introducing themselves and giving me important information that there was no way I was going to remember, as sleep deprived as I was. Soon after, I imagine, they had me push the placenta out. Then the nurses took my baby to give her shots and check her to make sure everything was healthy. After that, they cleaned me out (not all of my membranes had been stripped, or something-again, I was very tired and details are fuzzy) and stitch me up. It took until noon to get me all fixed up. Within that time, I had started shaking violently again, so they put warm blankets on me and I had Brice lean over me in sort of an awkward half hug to help calm the shaking. They also ended up giving me a second epidural because the fixing was so painful and took so long. At one pointwhile they were stitching me up, the nurses came back with my baby and insisted I needed to feed her. I was so tired I could barely hold my eyelids open, so it was pretty much them feeding her with me.
Finally, everyone seemed content to just let my family and I spend some time with the baby. My dad came in and took some awesome pictures, and he, my mom, Brice, and I sat and talked and held the baby for a little bit while the staff prepared another bed and room for me (or something). Then I got wheeled down to the Mom and Baby Unit only to be bombarded by more people wanting to tell me more important stuff that I couldn't remember because I was so tired. It finally came down to the point when Brice told everyone that I needed to sleep and they can come back in a couple hours.
Over the next couple of days, I rarely let Kaitlyn out of my arms. It was wonderful, because the nursing staff waited on us hand and foot and all I had to worry about was just holding and feeding our beautiful little girl. After our 48 hours, we packed up and went to my parents house so my family could help while I was still majorly healing and learning how to live life with a newborn.
Now, we are all back at home in our apartment and we have all started to adjust to our lives together. I'm still healing up and will be for a few more weeks. Kaitlyn is healthy and growing beautifully and Brice and I just couldn't possibly love her more!
-Alec Sherratt
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
First comes Love, then comes Marriage...
It has been a while since we have written, so let's get you all caught up!
First, let me say thanks to all of you for your love and support with our marriage. It was a wonderful celebration! As reminder, we were married in the LDS St. George Temple on March 25th 2011. It was a relatively small group. After our wedding luncheon, Brice and I proceeded on to Vegas for our honeymoon. A month later, we had our reception in Draper on April 29th.
I don't think everyone got the story for the uniqueness of our decisions here, so let me explain.
First, the St. George temple. When Brice and I discussed getting married, we each asked each other if there was anything important we wanted to happen on our special day. I wanted my grandpa to seal us (he and my grandma are currently on a mission and therefore were unable to do so) and he wanted to be married in the St. George Temple. I didn't feel I had a very strong connection to any temple in particular, so I agreed. You see, both sides of his family are from Southern Utah. His mother's side is from Panguitch and his father's side is from Cedar City. So, as it turns out, his parents, sister, most aunts and uncles, grandparents, and great grandparents (and some great greats?) were all married not only in the St. George temple, but across the same alter that Brice and I were able to be married across. I thought that was pretty special, and will mean a lot to our children. So, that is why we passed a dozen or so temples to get to the one we wanted to be married in.
Next, the length of time between our wedding and our reception. Brice's sister was pregnant at the time, and due just about the time we chose to have our wedding date. We discussed this before and talked about options, and decided it was going to work out and set the dates with the temples (for my endowments and for our wedding). Afterward, it kept coming up that Camy might not be able to make it to the wedding, which was hard on Brice. But I felt we shouldn't change the date, and I really didn't want to wait longer to get married, so we changed the reception so we would be sure she would be able to make it to that. (As a note, I would not recommend doing the reception so far apart. Maybe a week, after the honeymoon.)
So, that was our wedding day! ... wedding month. ... We got married! Between the wedding and the reception, we moved into an apartment just northwest of Utah Valley University in Orem, and the next month proceeded with the joys of learning to live together, communicate like a couple, and all that fun first months of marriage stuff. Then, I started noticing signs. Just little signs about my body that were unusual. And in May, we found out we were pregnant!
The months that followed were quite the roller coaster for both of us. I was learning how to deal with a growing body inside of me, and poor Brice was learning how to deal with an already too-emotional woman with pregnancy emotions on top of it all. Not to mention learning about what I should and shouldn't do, trying to figure out how work and school would play out, and the general how our lives were going to change forever. (Also, part of pregnancy for me was I became really anti-social and socially awkward. So it wasn't just you. I didn't talk to anybody much save Brice and my mom for the last nine months. But please, let's still be friends! My craziness is just about over!)
And now the time is upon us! Our little girl was due to be born on Wednesday, January 11th, but as most first pregnancies go, she is late. We are planning to deliver in Riverton hospital and I have informed Brice that we can't pick a name till she is born because I have heard of so many situations where the baby came and the parents changed their minds. Don't worry though, we have a list made up of names we like. Anyway, with labor so close, many ask us about how I'm doing and for updates on progress. This is tricky because any progress I can report on is kind of gross, if you know what it means, and I didn't want to offend anyone. So, let this be your warning, I am about to get detailed, and if you don't wish to know too much, I would just skip the next paragraph:
---WARNING: TMI TO FOLLOW---
There a lots of signs that show labor is in progress. One of the pre-labor signs are contractions known as Braxton Hick's. This is where the stomach muscles (more technically, the uterus muscles) all contract to help soften the cervix (which is at the bottom of the uterus) and prepare the body for labor. I have been experiencing Braxton's since about 5 months along, which I'm told is really good an means labor will be a lot less intense... I'll let you know how that goes. :) So, I have contractions, but not labor contractions, on a daily basis. Next, there's a drop station. When the baby and body are preparing for birth, the pelvic bones will spread, and the baby will drop down in between the bone. There is a general measurement they use for this from something like a -4 to a +4. with the +4 meaning the baby is crowning (or something close to that). During the rest of pregnancy, the baby is at a -4 and can move and turn as she likes. When the baby is a zero, it means her head has engaged with the pelvis and she is unlikely to go breech (when her feet are facing down instead of her head). When I was checked at my appointment on the 12th (yesterday) I was a -2. This isn't a very precise measurement because all women are such different shapes and sizes and the drop isn't necessary for other parts of labor to progress. Probably the most commonly known sign of labor is dilation. For those of you who don't know (I didn't when I first became pregnant) this is the measurement of how open the cervix is. The cervix is about 2.5 inches up the vagina. It is just below the uterus, and it is closed for most of a woman's life. When the body starts going into labor, the cervix is 'ripened' or becomes soft, thins out (or effaced which I'll talk about next) and opens, which is dilation. There is a 1 to 10 measurement for the cervix, with the numbers representing how many centimeters the cervix has opened. The past few weeks, I have been told it had started opening, but wasn't quite a 1. Yesterday it officially reached a 1, so I'm officially dilated, exciting, huh? Next is effacing. So, as I said, the cervix needs to thin out. I'm told that it starts out about as thick as an index finger is long. (yes, that's how they check all of this). When it's halfway up the finger, the cervix is 50% effaced, just the top knuckle is about 70% effaced, and when it's 100%, you can feel the baby's head. So when I was check, I was at a 70%. I've been told this is a good thing too, because once the effacing is complete, the rest can happen in a matter of hours. So, who knows, I might just be a few hours away from my baby!
---END TMI REPORT---
A few more stats that I don't think will bother anyone too much. my belly measured 38 cm (or 15 in) and her heartbeat is 143 bpm. If you would like, feel free to guess for when she will come (day and time... don't forget AM or PM) and how big she will be. You might also want to know that my midwife estimates that she will be about 8 lbs, and that I am scheduled to be induced on the 25th, so any guesses after that are moot. It will be fun to see who is the closest! Brice and I are so excited and just can't wait to become parents!
To end, I'd like to give a special thanks to everyone who has supported us and helped us prepare for our little girl! We can't tell you how much we appreciate everything!
Until next time!
-Alec Sherratt
First, let me say thanks to all of you for your love and support with our marriage. It was a wonderful celebration! As reminder, we were married in the LDS St. George Temple on March 25th 2011. It was a relatively small group. After our wedding luncheon, Brice and I proceeded on to Vegas for our honeymoon. A month later, we had our reception in Draper on April 29th.
I don't think everyone got the story for the uniqueness of our decisions here, so let me explain.
First, the St. George temple. When Brice and I discussed getting married, we each asked each other if there was anything important we wanted to happen on our special day. I wanted my grandpa to seal us (he and my grandma are currently on a mission and therefore were unable to do so) and he wanted to be married in the St. George Temple. I didn't feel I had a very strong connection to any temple in particular, so I agreed. You see, both sides of his family are from Southern Utah. His mother's side is from Panguitch and his father's side is from Cedar City. So, as it turns out, his parents, sister, most aunts and uncles, grandparents, and great grandparents (and some great greats?) were all married not only in the St. George temple, but across the same alter that Brice and I were able to be married across. I thought that was pretty special, and will mean a lot to our children. So, that is why we passed a dozen or so temples to get to the one we wanted to be married in.
Next, the length of time between our wedding and our reception. Brice's sister was pregnant at the time, and due just about the time we chose to have our wedding date. We discussed this before and talked about options, and decided it was going to work out and set the dates with the temples (for my endowments and for our wedding). Afterward, it kept coming up that Camy might not be able to make it to the wedding, which was hard on Brice. But I felt we shouldn't change the date, and I really didn't want to wait longer to get married, so we changed the reception so we would be sure she would be able to make it to that. (As a note, I would not recommend doing the reception so far apart. Maybe a week, after the honeymoon.)
So, that was our wedding day! ... wedding month. ... We got married! Between the wedding and the reception, we moved into an apartment just northwest of Utah Valley University in Orem, and the next month proceeded with the joys of learning to live together, communicate like a couple, and all that fun first months of marriage stuff. Then, I started noticing signs. Just little signs about my body that were unusual. And in May, we found out we were pregnant!
The months that followed were quite the roller coaster for both of us. I was learning how to deal with a growing body inside of me, and poor Brice was learning how to deal with an already too-emotional woman with pregnancy emotions on top of it all. Not to mention learning about what I should and shouldn't do, trying to figure out how work and school would play out, and the general how our lives were going to change forever. (Also, part of pregnancy for me was I became really anti-social and socially awkward. So it wasn't just you. I didn't talk to anybody much save Brice and my mom for the last nine months. But please, let's still be friends! My craziness is just about over!)
And now the time is upon us! Our little girl was due to be born on Wednesday, January 11th, but as most first pregnancies go, she is late. We are planning to deliver in Riverton hospital and I have informed Brice that we can't pick a name till she is born because I have heard of so many situations where the baby came and the parents changed their minds. Don't worry though, we have a list made up of names we like. Anyway, with labor so close, many ask us about how I'm doing and for updates on progress. This is tricky because any progress I can report on is kind of gross, if you know what it means, and I didn't want to offend anyone. So, let this be your warning, I am about to get detailed, and if you don't wish to know too much, I would just skip the next paragraph:
---WARNING: TMI TO FOLLOW---
There a lots of signs that show labor is in progress. One of the pre-labor signs are contractions known as Braxton Hick's. This is where the stomach muscles (more technically, the uterus muscles) all contract to help soften the cervix (which is at the bottom of the uterus) and prepare the body for labor. I have been experiencing Braxton's since about 5 months along, which I'm told is really good an means labor will be a lot less intense... I'll let you know how that goes. :) So, I have contractions, but not labor contractions, on a daily basis. Next, there's a drop station. When the baby and body are preparing for birth, the pelvic bones will spread, and the baby will drop down in between the bone. There is a general measurement they use for this from something like a -4 to a +4. with the +4 meaning the baby is crowning (or something close to that). During the rest of pregnancy, the baby is at a -4 and can move and turn as she likes. When the baby is a zero, it means her head has engaged with the pelvis and she is unlikely to go breech (when her feet are facing down instead of her head). When I was checked at my appointment on the 12th (yesterday) I was a -2. This isn't a very precise measurement because all women are such different shapes and sizes and the drop isn't necessary for other parts of labor to progress. Probably the most commonly known sign of labor is dilation. For those of you who don't know (I didn't when I first became pregnant) this is the measurement of how open the cervix is. The cervix is about 2.5 inches up the vagina. It is just below the uterus, and it is closed for most of a woman's life. When the body starts going into labor, the cervix is 'ripened' or becomes soft, thins out (or effaced which I'll talk about next) and opens, which is dilation. There is a 1 to 10 measurement for the cervix, with the numbers representing how many centimeters the cervix has opened. The past few weeks, I have been told it had started opening, but wasn't quite a 1. Yesterday it officially reached a 1, so I'm officially dilated, exciting, huh? Next is effacing. So, as I said, the cervix needs to thin out. I'm told that it starts out about as thick as an index finger is long. (yes, that's how they check all of this). When it's halfway up the finger, the cervix is 50% effaced, just the top knuckle is about 70% effaced, and when it's 100%, you can feel the baby's head. So when I was check, I was at a 70%. I've been told this is a good thing too, because once the effacing is complete, the rest can happen in a matter of hours. So, who knows, I might just be a few hours away from my baby!
---END TMI REPORT---
A few more stats that I don't think will bother anyone too much. my belly measured 38 cm (or 15 in) and her heartbeat is 143 bpm. If you would like, feel free to guess for when she will come (day and time... don't forget AM or PM) and how big she will be. You might also want to know that my midwife estimates that she will be about 8 lbs, and that I am scheduled to be induced on the 25th, so any guesses after that are moot. It will be fun to see who is the closest! Brice and I are so excited and just can't wait to become parents!
To end, I'd like to give a special thanks to everyone who has supported us and helped us prepare for our little girl! We can't tell you how much we appreciate everything!
Until next time!
-Alec Sherratt
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Wedding Announcements and Such
Hey all its been awhile since we updated the blog. Wedding plans are coming along well. This week we finished our announcements and are very excited for you all to see them and for us to see all of you at our luncheon immediately following the wedding ceremony down in St. George or at our reception in Draper on April 30th. We are registered at the usual places (Target and Bed Bath and Beyond) for other great gift ideas we would also like gift certificates to Barnes and Noble, The Home Depot, and Best Buy. Alec and I really appreciate all the love and support that we have received from all of you and are happy that we could share this momentous occasion with you.
With Love,
-Brice Sherratt & Alec Havens
With Love,
-Brice Sherratt & Alec Havens
Friday, January 14, 2011
A modest proposal
Hey all. Brice here. My blog entry will cover the proposal, and the story goes a little something like this.
Alec and I had talked about marriage as early as October 2010 but had at length decided that a formal proposal should wait until after school was over for the semester in December. Our student ward had a Christmas party at the Joseph Smith memorial building on Temple square on December 2. It was a beautiful night. The air was crisp and cold with a warm glow from the Christmas lights glinting off the snow. Dressed for the formal dinner occasion, Alec was the belle of the ball. She was beautiful and radiant in Christmas colors. Following the dinner we went to the top floor of the JSMB to look out over the lights on Temple Square. Since it was late the floor was nearly deserted. With no one around it was quiet and romantic. It was the perfect time and place to get engaged. There was only one little problem: The semester wasn't over yet and I had not talked to her father or purchased a ring. Those things didn't need to happen for another two weeks at least. On the way back to the car Alec said she thought that I was going to propose up there and that she was a little disappointed that I did not. My Brain exploded.
It occurs to me now that while she did say that she had no problem with getting engaged sooner rather than later she didn't say that we had to and the mad scramble that occupied the next seven days of my life could have been avoided.
The next day (December 3 for those of you following at home) was a Friday. I went to the mall and shopped at four different jewelry stores. Many hours later I finally found the perfect ring. One that I knew she would love and was in my budget, but it needed to be customized, so it would not be ready until the next Wednesday! With the ring purchased I set about the next phase of my plan: Finding the right time and place to pop the question. After Alec's comments following the Christmas party I thought that Temple square should be the place. I had a hot tip that the Tabernacle Choir has practice on Thursday nights that you can listen in on. Considering our shared love of great music I thought this would be not only a great date but a great excuse to get us to temple square with Alec none the wiser. But where exactly on Temple Square to do it? I knew I needed to go scope out the area, and better yet I needed to get feedback from Alec on what places she might like and I needed to get that feedback surreptitiously.
Sunday (December 5) was the first presidency Christmas devotional. We didn't have tickets but I told Alec that we should go down anyway just to see if we could get in. We couldn't. So we just walked around Temple Square. It was perfect. Thick fog covered Temple Square with the lights on the Temple shining through like a lighthouse beacon of the Lord. In our wanderings we ended up over right in front of the Church office building. There is a big fountain there. We love fountains. Alec sat on a little bench in front of the fountain shrouded in fog (Alec loves fog too) The moment was perfect. Alec looked up at me with a beautiful radiance in her eyes, smiled, and said "ok. I am ready!" I shrugged my shoulders, reached a hand into my inside coat pocket and said 'ok". Alec jumped off the bench in a total panic that I was seriously about to propose. (Remember, I had bought the ring but it was not done being customized yet. Of course she didn't know that.)
Wednesday December 8 I pick up the ring and finally talk to her father. She knows that I am keeping something secret but how she doesn't put together that I have a ring I will never know. I am pretty sure that she did know and was just humoring my desire to have some semblance of surprise surrounding our engagement. Thursday (December 9) we went back to Temple Square, and it is at this time that I start seriously second guessing if the Temple square thing has been way too overdone in the past week. We park under the conference center and go listen to the choir for a half hour or so before I tell her I want to take her on a carriage ride since she had always wanted to do that. On our way out of the conference center we walk over to the little alcove behind the waterfall that runs down the front of the building. Now THIS was the perfect place to propose. We were not just at a fountain, it was like we were IN a fountain. Just as I am thinking this Alec says, "It's too bad that you have not talked to my father and gotten a ring yet. You could totally propose" My brain exploded. Again. I simply could not think of a cool, suave way to segway into "Well, as a mater of fact...." Besides I really wanted to do it after the carriage ride. I figured that just in case she wasn't sure about marrying me, the carriage ride would clinch it.
The carriage ride was awesome. If you have never gone on a carriage ride, do it. If you have, do it at Christmas time. They actually have jingle bells. Seriously! What more do want from your romance?
After the carriage ride, I figured that even though she really tried to ruin the waterfall it was still the best place to propose, so back to the conference center we went. The guest service missionary guarding the door didn't want to let us in because they were trying to clear the building after the the choir was finished. I asked if we could just cut through the building to the elevators where we parked and he reluctantly let us in. I cut over to the alcove, totally oblivious to the fact that Alec had no idea where I was going. Duh. Back in the alcove I am watching the hall like a secret service agent waiting for it to be empty so I can make my move. Finally it clears out and we are completely alone. Not knowing how long our privacy might last I seize the moment and ask Alec if she likes me. (This is really sweet and funny and important to our story. Kind of an inside joke.) She says yes. "Do you love me?" I ask. "Yes." She replies. "Are you in love with me?" "Yes." "Well then I just have one last question for you." Dropping to one knee and fumbling to get the box out of my coat. "Alec Havens, will you marry me?"
Stunned ecstatic silence. A brief pause that drags into eternity. Finally a quiet yet exuberant "yes".
Tune in next time for something completely different.
-Brice Sherratt
Alec and I had talked about marriage as early as October 2010 but had at length decided that a formal proposal should wait until after school was over for the semester in December. Our student ward had a Christmas party at the Joseph Smith memorial building on Temple square on December 2. It was a beautiful night. The air was crisp and cold with a warm glow from the Christmas lights glinting off the snow. Dressed for the formal dinner occasion, Alec was the belle of the ball. She was beautiful and radiant in Christmas colors. Following the dinner we went to the top floor of the JSMB to look out over the lights on Temple Square. Since it was late the floor was nearly deserted. With no one around it was quiet and romantic. It was the perfect time and place to get engaged. There was only one little problem: The semester wasn't over yet and I had not talked to her father or purchased a ring. Those things didn't need to happen for another two weeks at least. On the way back to the car Alec said she thought that I was going to propose up there and that she was a little disappointed that I did not. My Brain exploded.
It occurs to me now that while she did say that she had no problem with getting engaged sooner rather than later she didn't say that we had to and the mad scramble that occupied the next seven days of my life could have been avoided.
The next day (December 3 for those of you following at home) was a Friday. I went to the mall and shopped at four different jewelry stores. Many hours later I finally found the perfect ring. One that I knew she would love and was in my budget, but it needed to be customized, so it would not be ready until the next Wednesday! With the ring purchased I set about the next phase of my plan: Finding the right time and place to pop the question. After Alec's comments following the Christmas party I thought that Temple square should be the place. I had a hot tip that the Tabernacle Choir has practice on Thursday nights that you can listen in on. Considering our shared love of great music I thought this would be not only a great date but a great excuse to get us to temple square with Alec none the wiser. But where exactly on Temple Square to do it? I knew I needed to go scope out the area, and better yet I needed to get feedback from Alec on what places she might like and I needed to get that feedback surreptitiously.
Sunday (December 5) was the first presidency Christmas devotional. We didn't have tickets but I told Alec that we should go down anyway just to see if we could get in. We couldn't. So we just walked around Temple Square. It was perfect. Thick fog covered Temple Square with the lights on the Temple shining through like a lighthouse beacon of the Lord. In our wanderings we ended up over right in front of the Church office building. There is a big fountain there. We love fountains. Alec sat on a little bench in front of the fountain shrouded in fog (Alec loves fog too) The moment was perfect. Alec looked up at me with a beautiful radiance in her eyes, smiled, and said "ok. I am ready!" I shrugged my shoulders, reached a hand into my inside coat pocket and said 'ok". Alec jumped off the bench in a total panic that I was seriously about to propose. (Remember, I had bought the ring but it was not done being customized yet. Of course she didn't know that.)
Wednesday December 8 I pick up the ring and finally talk to her father. She knows that I am keeping something secret but how she doesn't put together that I have a ring I will never know. I am pretty sure that she did know and was just humoring my desire to have some semblance of surprise surrounding our engagement. Thursday (December 9) we went back to Temple Square, and it is at this time that I start seriously second guessing if the Temple square thing has been way too overdone in the past week. We park under the conference center and go listen to the choir for a half hour or so before I tell her I want to take her on a carriage ride since she had always wanted to do that. On our way out of the conference center we walk over to the little alcove behind the waterfall that runs down the front of the building. Now THIS was the perfect place to propose. We were not just at a fountain, it was like we were IN a fountain. Just as I am thinking this Alec says, "It's too bad that you have not talked to my father and gotten a ring yet. You could totally propose" My brain exploded. Again. I simply could not think of a cool, suave way to segway into "Well, as a mater of fact...." Besides I really wanted to do it after the carriage ride. I figured that just in case she wasn't sure about marrying me, the carriage ride would clinch it.
The carriage ride was awesome. If you have never gone on a carriage ride, do it. If you have, do it at Christmas time. They actually have jingle bells. Seriously! What more do want from your romance?
After the carriage ride, I figured that even though she really tried to ruin the waterfall it was still the best place to propose, so back to the conference center we went. The guest service missionary guarding the door didn't want to let us in because they were trying to clear the building after the the choir was finished. I asked if we could just cut through the building to the elevators where we parked and he reluctantly let us in. I cut over to the alcove, totally oblivious to the fact that Alec had no idea where I was going. Duh. Back in the alcove I am watching the hall like a secret service agent waiting for it to be empty so I can make my move. Finally it clears out and we are completely alone. Not knowing how long our privacy might last I seize the moment and ask Alec if she likes me. (This is really sweet and funny and important to our story. Kind of an inside joke.) She says yes. "Do you love me?" I ask. "Yes." She replies. "Are you in love with me?" "Yes." "Well then I just have one last question for you." Dropping to one knee and fumbling to get the box out of my coat. "Alec Havens, will you marry me?"
Stunned ecstatic silence. A brief pause that drags into eternity. Finally a quiet yet exuberant "yes".
Tune in next time for something completely different.
-Brice Sherratt
Saturday, January 8, 2011
When We Met...
Alec's version:
Once upon a time, Alec graduated from high school. And as some will relate, she was desperate to get out of her home ward. So Alec went on a quest to find the best student ward there was! She searched long, and she searched hard, (and by that, of course we mean she went to the U of U institute and looked at a sheet of paper) until she finally found it! The best student ward in the world!! Which just so happened to be the home of our dear Brice Sherratt. It was magic the second Alec entered the chapel. A choir of angels started singing as Alec looked across the room to where Brice was standing. The lights dimmed except for a single ray of light that illuminated him. It was love at first sight. A symphony of music arose as they ran in slow motion towards each other. They embraced and the next two years floated by like a dream in sweet romantic memories of the dating years. Until one fateful December night when their lives changed forever, but that is another blog post entirely.
Brice's version:
Once upon a time, Brice graduated from high school. Then he went on a mission to Florida and had miraculous wonders brought about in his life. He came home prepared to find his eternal companion. (He was completely unaware at the time that he needed to wait 8 years for the love of his life to blossom into an eligible bachelorette) He figured he could give a try at college so he headed to SLCC. Unfortunately, there was no one near as awesome as Alec there, so he went to work in real estate. While in this adventure, he was also able to buy a house in Lehi, but there was still no fair maiden to be found. So he sold his house and moved to West Jordan and found the 16th ward. Finally! There were some women of real potential there! He tried dating a few, but it never quite clicked like he felt it should. Feeling quite defeated, he moved back home. Days, weeks, months passed and he made friends with many different girls.
One Sunday in particular, a pair of very young girls came up to him and complimented him on his three piece suit. He didn't think much of them. One was only 17 and the other had braces (what an ugo). More time went by and by and by and he came to be friends with the two odd girls. Imagine his surprise when he found that the ugo was actually kind of cool. She listened to awesome music, could hold a decently intelligent conversation, and could recite the alphabet backwards while solving a Rubik's cube. She still had braces though, and was 8 years younger than he, also she was super awkward 83.6% of the time. He decided he needed a test to see if she was really close friend material. He invited her over to watch Anime. Turns out, she was really into it, despite her inability to read subtitles. After a month of testing her every day, he figured he could at least give her a pity date. Soon after that, she got her braces off and Brice was shocked to find that underneath the ugo brace-face was a half decent looking woman. Brice was conflicted with these new feelings of love towards such an odd girl. By the next time he saw her, though, she had a boyfriend! Suddenly Brice was overwhelmed with how much he missed hanging out with such an awesome, if peculiar, girl. Luckily the relationship did not last long, and Brice leaped at his chance to try once more with Alec. After many more nights of analytical hang outs, he finally decided: I must kiss this girl! (*cue little mermaid music "sha la la la don't be shy, come give a try you want to kiss the girl woah woah"*).
So one fateful December evening, he braved it. He kissed her and things went smoothly for the next few months. They even started dating exclusively. But the more they dated, the more Brice realized that Alec was being controlled by aliens that lived inside her brain which made her act super wishy washy. This worried him, as it should have. How was she supposed to handle life if she had aliens in her brain? So, as a clever plan to vanquish the aliens, he set her back out into the world to struggle through the summer of non-stop dating. By September, Alec seemed to be alien-free, and Brice decided to make a second grand entrance to see how things could work out. This time things went even smoother than before, but Brice was still convinced there was part of an alien inhabiting Alec's brain that would take over if they were to get married. It took the words of a wise sage to get him to understand that all girls have the potential of aliens taking over and he had to make a leap of faith. And there you have it. The wonderful story of how boy met girl, boy denied girl, boy reconsidered, boy and girl dated, broke up, boy vanquished Aliens and got back together for a happy new beginning!
Facts:
Brice and Alec really did meet in the University 16th ward in the fall of 2008.
They shared their first kiss December 2009.
Brice served a full time LDS mission in the Florida Orlando Mission.
Alec really can recite the alphabet backwards while solving a Rubik's cube.
Also note that Alec truly does have a tendency to be super awkward 83.6% of the time.
Author: Alec Havens (soon to be) Sherratt
Once upon a time, Alec graduated from high school. And as some will relate, she was desperate to get out of her home ward. So Alec went on a quest to find the best student ward there was! She searched long, and she searched hard, (and by that, of course we mean she went to the U of U institute and looked at a sheet of paper) until she finally found it! The best student ward in the world!! Which just so happened to be the home of our dear Brice Sherratt. It was magic the second Alec entered the chapel. A choir of angels started singing as Alec looked across the room to where Brice was standing. The lights dimmed except for a single ray of light that illuminated him. It was love at first sight. A symphony of music arose as they ran in slow motion towards each other. They embraced and the next two years floated by like a dream in sweet romantic memories of the dating years. Until one fateful December night when their lives changed forever, but that is another blog post entirely.
Brice's version:
Once upon a time, Brice graduated from high school. Then he went on a mission to Florida and had miraculous wonders brought about in his life. He came home prepared to find his eternal companion. (He was completely unaware at the time that he needed to wait 8 years for the love of his life to blossom into an eligible bachelorette) He figured he could give a try at college so he headed to SLCC. Unfortunately, there was no one near as awesome as Alec there, so he went to work in real estate. While in this adventure, he was also able to buy a house in Lehi, but there was still no fair maiden to be found. So he sold his house and moved to West Jordan and found the 16th ward. Finally! There were some women of real potential there! He tried dating a few, but it never quite clicked like he felt it should. Feeling quite defeated, he moved back home. Days, weeks, months passed and he made friends with many different girls.
One Sunday in particular, a pair of very young girls came up to him and complimented him on his three piece suit. He didn't think much of them. One was only 17 and the other had braces (what an ugo). More time went by and by and by and he came to be friends with the two odd girls. Imagine his surprise when he found that the ugo was actually kind of cool. She listened to awesome music, could hold a decently intelligent conversation, and could recite the alphabet backwards while solving a Rubik's cube. She still had braces though, and was 8 years younger than he, also she was super awkward 83.6% of the time. He decided he needed a test to see if she was really close friend material. He invited her over to watch Anime. Turns out, she was really into it, despite her inability to read subtitles. After a month of testing her every day, he figured he could at least give her a pity date. Soon after that, she got her braces off and Brice was shocked to find that underneath the ugo brace-face was a half decent looking woman. Brice was conflicted with these new feelings of love towards such an odd girl. By the next time he saw her, though, she had a boyfriend! Suddenly Brice was overwhelmed with how much he missed hanging out with such an awesome, if peculiar, girl. Luckily the relationship did not last long, and Brice leaped at his chance to try once more with Alec. After many more nights of analytical hang outs, he finally decided: I must kiss this girl! (*cue little mermaid music "sha la la la don't be shy, come give a try you want to kiss the girl woah woah"*).
So one fateful December evening, he braved it. He kissed her and things went smoothly for the next few months. They even started dating exclusively. But the more they dated, the more Brice realized that Alec was being controlled by aliens that lived inside her brain which made her act super wishy washy. This worried him, as it should have. How was she supposed to handle life if she had aliens in her brain? So, as a clever plan to vanquish the aliens, he set her back out into the world to struggle through the summer of non-stop dating. By September, Alec seemed to be alien-free, and Brice decided to make a second grand entrance to see how things could work out. This time things went even smoother than before, but Brice was still convinced there was part of an alien inhabiting Alec's brain that would take over if they were to get married. It took the words of a wise sage to get him to understand that all girls have the potential of aliens taking over and he had to make a leap of faith. And there you have it. The wonderful story of how boy met girl, boy denied girl, boy reconsidered, boy and girl dated, broke up, boy vanquished Aliens and got back together for a happy new beginning!
Facts:
Brice and Alec really did meet in the University 16th ward in the fall of 2008.
They shared their first kiss December 2009.
Brice served a full time LDS mission in the Florida Orlando Mission.
Alec really can recite the alphabet backwards while solving a Rubik's cube.
Also note that Alec truly does have a tendency to be super awkward 83.6% of the time.
Author: Alec Havens (soon to be) Sherratt
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