A fallen veteran’s pregnant wife gets the nursery of her dreams

Britt and Chris Harris had an incredible love story. After only nine months of dating, the two were married. The newlywed couple then found out Chris was going to be deployed to Afghanistan. Three weeks into deployment, Britt found out she was pregnant, and she couldn’t wait to share the news with her husband.

She surprised him with a onesie that read, “Chris, you’re going to be a dad.”

Through a video chat, she showed him the onesie, and he could hardly contain his excitement.

“Are you serious?!” He exclaimed, as he proceeded to let everyone around him know the news.

But tragically, one week after finding out he was going to be a dad, the 25-year-old Army paratrooper was killed in action.

In the video below, you can hear Chris’ wife tell the heartbreaking story in her own words:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=259&v=1oInOr6iOmM

When co-hosts Kellie Pickler and Ben Aaron from the TV show “Pickler & Ben” heard this woman’s tragic story, they decided to do something special for her. They teamed up with Tish Cyrus (an interior designer whom you may better know as Miley’s mom!), Room & Board, Behr paint and The Home Depot to create a nursery for Britt and her baby.

Britt’s been excited to incorporate Chris into the pregnancy as much as possible, so she even let his troop announce the sex of the baby. Spoiler alert — it’s a girl!  She’s planning to name the baby girl Christian to honor her father.

Knowing the sex of the baby in advance helped Cyrus and the crew create a nursery very fitting for a baby girl. They used pink touches throughout, and even managed to pay tribute to the fallen soldier with photographs and more.

A video from “Pickler & Ben” shows the moment they revealed the nursery to Britt.

“My face is going to hurt from smiling,” the mom-to-be said upon seeing room completed. “It’s the best nursery I could have imagined.”

Britt and her mother-in-law, Chris’ mother, have been living together since the news of Chris’ passing, and Behr, the Home Depot Foundation and designer Mikel Welch teamed up to do something for the grandma-to-be, too.

They created a beautiful in-law suite so she can stay close-by once the baby is born:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=59&v=EAw1smiq610

And that’s still not all! Britt is planning to go back to school soon after her baby girl arrives, so they also created an office space that’ll help her focus on her school work:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=80&v=a7fURiSx6O0

According to a study, an estimated 44 percent of the military personnel deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan between 2001 – 2010 are parents. And, as of 2012, more than 40 percent of military children are less than six years old, the study found.

That’s why one soldier made sure to make it back in time for his baby’s birth—even if it meant taking 10 flights to do so.

To all of those who serve, and especially to Britt and her baby—we thank you and wish you and your families the best.

“Pickler & Ben” is produced by E.W. Scripps, Simplemost’s parent company.