Brothers

Even before I married my husband I was good friends with his family. (Sound Familiar?) My husband has 5 brothers. He is 20 years older than the youngest, Michael. I am almost exactly 10 years older than Zackary (the 4th child). Scott (27) and I have always had an easy fun relationship and I am glad he is a part of my family. Zack (18), Brian (16) and Michael (10) are like brothers to me because I have literally watched them grow. I did a bit of a Memory Monday about Jeff and Scott, so I am paying tribute to the younger three.

*I met Michael when he was less than a month old. Before Andy even did. (I was with my best friend, Andy's girlfriend at the time.)

*Michael kissed me before Andy did. (He was 13 months old.)

*Michael used to rub my calf because he thought the hose felt weird.

*Michael came wedding dress shopping with me.

*Andy baptized Brian when I was pregnant with Marcus. (On my 21st birthday.)

*Brian published his first novel at age 15 under the pseudonym Bron Bahlmann. It's called Bone Warriors.

*We had Brian and Zack take turns staying with us when we worked for the Utah Shakespearean Festival. That was a lot of fun.

*Brian and Zack came to stay with Andy so that he could go to school and I could go to Girl's Camp.

*My first Independence Day as a Bahlmann Zack emptied all the powder from the "dud" fireworks into a bowl. He set it on the piano bench and then found a match. That was a BIG flash!

*One of Zack's nicknames is Skippy. Marcus couldn't say it, so he called him Uncle Silly. Now all my kids do.

*Andy set Zack apart as a deacon. (Or was it a teacher?)

*A couple of weeks ago Zack turned in his mission papers. I am so pleased. He is setting an amazing example for his brothers, but also for my son. Marcus adores his "Uncle Silly".

P.S. Just got a call from insurance. No definite answers yet, but it looks like our mini van will be deemed a "total loss".