Brother Bragging

I have great brothers. Seriously, they are the best. I thought it was about time I dedicated a blog post to them, especially since we didn't get to see either of them at Christmas. So here's to brothers!

My brother Ben is becoming quite the craftsman. After Liam was born he asked what kind of gift he could give us for Liam and I suggested he make a sign spelling out Liam's name that we could hang in his room. He went above and beyond my suggestions and created a sign using found objects and old tools to spell Liam. He gave it to us at Thanksgiving and it is now proudly hanging in Liam's room. It is the kind of thing I am sure he will always have hanging in his room as he grows.

Uncle Ben displaying his sign with Liam

A close up of the sign hanging on the wall in Liam's nursery

And I thought this was so neat too on the back of the sign. It's an old saw blade with Ben's message to Liam written on it.

When we visited at Thanksgiving Ben was also working on making a marble board for our other brother Luke and his fiance Logan. This marble game is a game Ben's girlfriend Heidi introduced our family to a few months ago. It's played in teams and is somewhat similar to Sorry and Parcheesi combined into one game. It's a blast to play and we've all gotten really into it. Heidi got Ben a board from an Amish man in Ohio where she is from, but Ben was convinced he could make a nicer board himself. With a lot of work he figured out how to make one and gave it to Luke and Logan for Christmas. Little did we know he also made a board for us! We were thrilled to open it on Christmas night at my parent's house and are already teaching some of our Indiana friends how to play.

He worked so hard cutting and staining the wood and then individually painting the holes.

I'm already anticipating future gifts from Ben because as he has been saying recently he is planning to never buy anyone gifts ever again. Why buy when you can make amazing things?

My brother Luke is a great guy too. He has made some beautiful things out of wood too (I am seriously jealous of the bedside table he made for Logan out of wood from our old tree house) but Luke uses his hands for other things. He is currently studying in St. Louis at Logan Chiropractic (ironic we know!) so he can become a chiropractor. He has wanted to become a chiropractor for awhile now, but just started the school work this past fall. It will be a long three years for him to finish, but in the end I know it will be worth it. He worked so hard this past semester taking about 27 credit hours including hands on labs with a cadaver. This is all on top of planning a July 2nd wedding and making the long drive to see Logan at Indiana Wesleyan in Marion, Indiana.

I honestly could not be more proud of Luke for the hard work he is doing and all the studying he has to do to reach his goals. You can do it Luke!

We are thrilled to welcome Logan into our family too. Did I mention she is studying to be a graphic designer? She makes the most beautiful cards and gave us as a gift when Liam was born a family tree she made out of scrapbook paper. It's beautiful. It will be so fun for me to have another sister very soon.

Logan's older sister got married on New Years Day so here is a picture of Luke and Logan at her wedding. Aren't they the most beautiful couple? Can't wait for their big day soon!

It's hard sometimes living so far away from family, but we're actually closer to my brothers now that we have been for a few years which is great because they can come and visit us. Right guys? :) Love you both and hope to see you soon!