JACKSONVILLE, Fla — For many families, the holidays are a special time of year, but for the Brydges family, it’s not so much about the presents underneath the tree, but a different kind of gift. The gift of keeping two brothers together.
Robbin and Steve Brydges adopted their two boys about five years ago. They applied to adopt through the foster system, and used the Dave Thomas Foundation to find their perfect match.
The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption’s mission is to dramatically increase the number of adoptions from foster care. Since 2004, the foundation has found adoptive homes for 9,000 children. It works specifically with teenagers, siblings and children with special needs.
“I waited a long time to be a mom.” Robbin Brydges said. “I landed on Dalton first and I put my hand on his face and said ‘oh you beautiful boy I don’t know if I’m the mama for you, but I hope you find a really good one.”
Dalton suffers from cerebral palsy. He is nonverbal. He has epilepsy and he’s legally blind.
“A couple of weeks later, I landed on this handsome boy with glasses and beautiful smile.” Robbin continued, talking about her adoption process. “I was like, ‘Oh, I’ll apply for him.’”
TRENDING STORIES:
Map: Best places to see Christmas lights in the Jacksonville area
Mandarin: Man found dead at apartment complex, police say
His name was Dawson. Little did, the Brydges know, Dawson had an older brother, Dalton — the boy Robbin stumbled upon before. The two boys were listed for adoption separately.
“A lot of people applied for me, but they didn’t apply for Dalton,” Dawson said. He feared he and his brother would be separated. “I was just sad. I prayed every night.”
“When we found out about the one, they told us about the brother [Dalton].” Steve Brydges said. “We found out about both of them, and we wanted to keep them together.”
Robbin and Steve Brydges made the decision to adopt both of the boys. It was a big adjustment for everyone involved. Robbin and Steve were parenting for the first time, and Dalton needed a lot of medical care.
“I couldn’t possibly love them more if I gave birth to them,” Robbin said.
Flash forward to the family’s first Christmas.
“I just asked him, like, so next big holiday — Christmas!" Robbin said, asking the boys what they want from Santa Claus. “And he said ‘Santa doesn’t like foster children.’” Robbin said.
“Santa Claus didn’t visit us at all,” Dawson said.
Robbin told Dawson he needed to write Santa a letter to let him know what he wanted and where he lived. She said he moved around from home to home all his life, and Santa probably didn’t know where to deliver the presents.
“It wasn’t because Santa didn’t like foster kids.” Dawson said. “It’s that I had to write him a letter.”
So for the last several years, the Brydges have made up for all the Christmases the boys missed out on. That’s why their home is decked out with Christmas trees, lights, ornaments and trinkets. And each year, Dawson writes a letter to Santa Claus for both himself and his brother.
Despite having all the odds against them, these two boys are officially home for the holidays, for good.
“It seems like there was a reason why we ended up with these boys.” Steve said.
“Absolutely.” Robbin chimed in.
That’s why this holiday season means so much to this family. It’s a reminder of something that a gift under the tree could never amount to.
“Having a good family and having Dalton with me, I think that’s just the best gift ever,” Dawson said.
© 2019 Cox Media Group
