Brothers: He Would be 60 Years Old Today!

I have five wonderful brothers. Three older brothers, and two younger brothers. I love them so much!

Something changed 13 years ago in our family, with one of my five wonderful brothers.

My oldest brother Brian passed away.

He was 46. It was such a shock, so unexpected. Some of the members of my family were hiking a beautiful canyon not far from home, when he fell on the trail. He was gone. We had many tender mercies during the next week. He is buried where my parents will be buried. He was a good man with challenges like the rest of us. 

Today he would have been 60 years old! 

What would things be like if he was still here? I wonder. I believe he is happy and doing good where he is now. I am thankful for his life! I miss him. 

I thought about his life today, and what it meant to me to know him, love him, and to know that I will see him again.

We had a family party tonight. We looked through his childhood scrapbook made by our mama. He lived a good, productive life. He is the father of three kids. The Grandpa to 6 grandkids, 5 he has never met.

The most important thing to me when I think about losing him so young is knowing that our Savior makes up for all sadness, all sin, all mistakes. He makes my brother’s life, and all of our lives, more meaningful than it would be without Him.

I’m so grateful for families! I’m so grateful for brothers!

Happy Birthday Brian!

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Miracles!

I can only speak for myself, but sometimes miracles are both happy and traumatic. Both fill us with incredible gratitude.

Like the time my brother received a liver transplant, or the time we had a car crash and no one was injured. Then there was the time I really needed a job and got one. I am so grateful for these miracles.

Our family was blessed with an amazing miracle recently. This miracle cannot be denied. God was very much aware of the situation and blessed our family.

This is a picture of my parents taking a stroll in Slovenia.

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They are the rock of our family.

The most loving, supportive, and noble souls I have ever known. 

My youngest brother and his wife blessed the parents with a wonderful trip. They do it every year. It is a trip most treasured by our parents. They traveled to many locations in Europe, starting and ending in Slovenia. My brother served his LDS mission there. On the day the were scheduled to return home, my mom had a fall. She fell down a flight of stairs…24 stairs! Let me just say she is 84 years old. She is a very healthy 84 year old, but everyone knows that a fall by someone who is older in years is usually not a good thing, and sometimes it is tragic. 

This was so scary for my dad. He heard her call to him and saw her falling. They have been married for 61 years and are very attached to each other. 

Now for the miracle! 

My amazing, wonderful, favorite mom in the whole world, escaped that fall with no broken bones, no major injuries, just lots and lots of bruising. They took her to the hospital and had her checked out, and she was released to come home. Ice packs, Ibuprofen, and TLC from my brother, and then she was home. 

When I saw her I cried and cried. It was traumatizing just thinking about my 84 year old mama falling down the stairs. I still have to say that quick so I don’t think about it too much. But, she is safe. She is healthy. She is alive, and not invalid. 

I’ve always felt like my parents were blessed with so many good years, because they are still so involved in blessing others. They both still volunteer at the local Family Search Library, helping others, and actively doing their own genealogy, and my dad spends every Friday afternoon reading, telling jokes, and stories to the “old folks” at the convalescent center. Many of which are younger than him. He has done this for 20+ years.

I am so grateful for a loving Father in Heaven who blesses His children. I am so grateful that my blessed Mama is still here to hug and kiss and tell her how much she means to me. Thank God for Miracles!