This Is What Pure Happiness Looks Like

It’s not often we get to see a moment of unfiltered joy but that’s exactly what security cameras at a school in Utah caught when 11-year-old Tannah Butterfield learned she was going to be adopted.

*I give permission to all media outlets to use this video and post with credit to: Jackie Alexander (and American Heritage of South Jordan) Thank you* Some Mondays are better than others. I share this with permission from the parent of this student. This is pure testament that in a world full of turmoil and strife, there is still light and joy to be found in little everyday moments. A dear family I know has been fighting for as long as I can remember to adopt 3 of their foster children that attend our school. It’s been hard to watch them fight this emotional battle. My love has grown for this family and I have learned so much from them as they have tried to remain positive despite many set backs. Today my phone rang at my desk and it was my friend Jen telling me things FINALLY had come to an end and the courts were going to let them ADOPT the children!! She asked me if I would be sure to tell her sweet girl when she came to my desk for her daily visit. She knew she would want to know right away because she had been so worried. I don’t think even I could understand myself what that moment would feel like. Our security cameras caught the moment perfectly. I cry as I type this. In 12 years at this job, this is by far my best moment ever!! To tell a little girl that she gets her family forever takes the cake. I can’t even describe that hug…and thank heavens her mom doesn’t mind that I kissed her a million times, and a million more after the film cuts off. A moment needed after waking up to another morning of devastating news on t.v….but a sweet reminder today that life can be and still is beautiful in spite of it all. ??#americanheritageofsouthjordan

A post shared by Jackie Alexander (@jackiealex) on Oct 2, 2017 at 5:02pm PDT

Tannah and her two younger siblings, 6-year-old Teagun and 2-year-old Tallie, had been with the Fishers, their foster family, for two years.

Part of Tannah’s daily routine is to stop by the school’s office manager, Jackie Alexander’s, desk every day for a short visit. So when Jen and Jeff Fisher got the adoption news while the sixth-grader was in classes, they thought the perfect way to surprise her with the news was to have Alexander tell her!

“[Tannah’s mom] knew she would want to know right away because she had been so worried,” Alexander wrote on Instagram.

Alexander told radio station 1010 WINS that she was thrilled to be asked by the family to be part of such a special moment.

“I was overjoyed and humbled,” Alexander said. “It’s not something I get to do every day.”

“All that excitement, joy and happiness that you see in Tannah went right through to me. We could not quit embracing. She just held me tight. It was pure joy at its finest,” Alexander told ABC News this week.