My brothers

Today I'm thankful for my brothers! My oldest brother, Coy, is having a birthday today. (He must be 38. Yes, he's older than me. And yes, my kids are older than his.) Even though Coy used to beat me up and make my life miserable when I was a kid, I still love him. He used to think it was fun to leave bruises on my arms after he punched me so hard. But I always knew he loved me because he would pester me about some of my choices and actions. He pretty much knew all my secrets and he kept them. Now that we are "grown up" and have our own families, it's nice to be close by. If you don't know him, you are missing out. He is a funny guy and always has a quick comeback for any comment. Heaven forbid you are trying to name a baby. He'll have some way to make fun of a name. Just ask my little brother Weston, who just welcomed their third baby to their family. You know you have to run the name by Coy to see if he can come up with some way to make fun of it. They settled on Hagen for their baby. Coy must have drawn a blank on that one. (And in case you are wondering, Hagen is absolutely adorable. After spending a few days in the NICU, he's home and thriving.)

I'm thankful for Weston, too. He lives right next door to us, but I hardly ever see him. But I know he's there and if we ever needed anything, he'd be here in a second. He can also be quite entertaining. He's a cowboy at heart and for some reason likes farm animals and he's good with them. He has his own little petting zoo started with miniature and full size horses and fainting goats. My kids have loved living next door to them and we will miss them if we ever sell our house.

And then there's my youngest brother, Braxton. He's the "bonus baby" in our family. Mom had him the week I graduated from High School and while Coy was on his mission in Texas. So now here he is, a senior himself. I moved out the week after Braxton was born, and so he never had the pleasure of living with me. Poor kid. He has pretty much had the run of Mom and Dad's house his whole life. He's a good kid and I love him, too. He has big plans for his life (college this fall and a mission next summer) and it will be fun to watch all of that unfold. Since Braxton is only three years older than Mataia, he has always fit right into my "stairs" of children and there have been times when people thought he was mine. I'd claim him. He's a good example to my kids and his friends.

I'm thankful that my boys have each other as brothers. Chad is such a good brother to Kace. Kace worships Chad and wants to be just like him. Chad acts like he doesn't really like it, but he would do anything for Kace. He would protect him at all costs. They love each other a lot! It's fun to watch. We had the Scout Blue and Gold banquet tonight. Chad received his Flag Football and Baseball belt loops. They had all the Cub Scouts say the Scout Promise and Kace stood up and recited it right along with the other boys - even though he's not a scout yet. You can tell he's attended many scout meetings with Chad and I. (I've been his leader for a year and a half.)

God has blessed me with many great men in my life - big and little men!