Twenty-seven years ago today God gave me the best brother in the world. My parents were quite surprised when they found out they were having a 3rd child only 18 months after having twins. The three of us were very close siblings. Yes, we had our share of fights but we laughed a heck of a lot more! I was very fortunate to have a brother that was always there for me. And, I'm even luckier that my daughter's Uncle Kevin will live in her heart forever and will always be watching over her.
My brother was a happy boy, always smiling and laughing. I see a lot of my brother in Audrey. Her smile is similar to his - from ear to ear. When my brother was a teenager, my sister and I would pester him about girlfriends and crushes... but he always knew where to turn if he needed some good advice on girls. As an adult, my brother was a lot more mature than my sister and I. He knew what his priorities were way before we ever did - he knew God came first, family second and everything else falls beneath the two. He inspired me to live a better life and to live it for God, to consider everything in my life a blessing even when others may see as a burden.
My brother was on this earth for almost 20 years, passing away very suddenly 9 days before his birthday. He lived a wonderful and fulfilling life for God and his family.
Happy Birthday Kevin - Love you!! I wish I could have some oreo cake for you but Shawn's watching his cholesterol... maybe that's something the parents will enjoy this fine evening.
Stefani...thank you for your post. I am so thankful that God blessed me with all three of you...as the saying goes: He never gives us more than we can handle and He knew your dad and I could handle three little babies in diapers who grew into three beautiful adults. Just like He knew you and Shawn could handle all of the challenges that Audrey comes up against and conquers. Just like He knew that Staci would be a great single parent to sweet Madeline. And just like He knew that we all could "handle" losing Kevin way before we were ready to. We are so blessed to have such a lovin and wonderful God who gave us the best family in the whole history of families.
ReplyDeleteWe all loved Kevin very much and we miss him. We all were blessed with the presence of him in our lives. His love for God was so wonderful and it made him light up. I am so thankful for having all of you in my life and the way it all came about just shows 'He works in mysterious ways'. Love to all
ReplyDeleteLove this post! I wish I could write the way you write. Happy Birthday to Kevin! I love you, Stef.
ReplyDeleteI love to hear you guys talk about Kevin, and I really wish I could have met him. He sounds like an amazing person.
ReplyDeleteStefani, that was a sweet tribute to your brother. You all lost him way too soon, but I know that he will always be in your hearts and will be watching over all of you. We only met Kevin once, but we could see the love you had for each other.
ReplyDeleteLove the post Stef!
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Kevin!
We all miss and love you!