Monday, November 17, 2008

The Love of a Brother



John becomes more a part of us with each passing day. It is becoming more and more difficult to remember what life was like without him. He has definitely won our hearts.

The other day, my two oldest boys and I were having a conversation about their futures and their interests. Both of them are high achievers, have always done well in school and have BIG dreams which I have always told them that they have the potential to do whatever the Lord has for them to do. But that is not the story. The story is that both of these young men love their brother John. They are aware of his diagnosis (heck, George has researched Ds and probably knows more about it then I do). They also realize how blessed John is to be as healthy as he is right now but they also understand his potential may not be as great.

John's future was brought up to which both of my boys stated that they would be willing to take care of John if he were not able. Now I realize that we are looking far into the future but it just made me glad that my boys were gaining a sensitivity in that direction. It is this kind of sensitivity that John has brought to our family within the last 3 months.

Above are a few picture of our conversation. As you may can tell by our stories and pictures, John goes everywhere we go.

6 comments:

Lisa said...

Oh, gosh, Jay. I'm so moved by this post. Finn's older brothers are exactly the same - they just have so much love for this little boy. It makes me feel a peace in my heart. I'm so fortunate to have such loving kids.

Jeanette said...

What a great photo of the boys reading a book. John looks COMPLETELY enthralled.

My older boys are also completely in love with their baby sister. In a way that the oldest was not in love with my middle one. There is something about her that makes them melt! I know she is still pretty young and will eventually pluck their nerves, but was a gift to see how much love they have for her. What a blessing!

Becca said...

Oh wow, that's wonderful! John's a lucky little brother. Samantha is and likely always will be an only child. We worry about her future, but I like to think that she'll be self-sufficient and get married, etc. Maybe I'm being unrealistic, but more children just aren't in the cards. My family is small, and my brother is only 19 and not that into kids. Yet. I feel guilty some times, but I also love that she has us all to herself and we don't have to split our time between her and another child. But a bigger family would be comforting...

Rebecca Talley said...

Your son is adorable. My son is almost 3 and is the youngest of 10. His siblings adore him. He is totally part of our family and has been from the day he was born.

I don't worry too much about the future. I'm just so thankful to have my son and that he's been so healthy. I'm absolutely certain he will accomplish what he needs to accomplish in this life.

I made a YouTube about him that you can view on my blog or at YouTube--it's called Extra C.

Sounds like you have amazing kids.

Summer said...

Praise the Lord, Jay! You have a great family!

Anonymous said...

Jay, I am glad you stopped by my blog. My husband knows very few SAHDs and it is nice to know that there are others doing it successfully out there. It is also nice to know that there are other women suffering the same guilt. :)

I have been friends with the Ammicks for several years, and I have loved watching their family grow to love Benjamin. I know that those "future" conversations are tough sometimes because it is hard not to dwell on the fact that John's future may not be the same as his brothers'. But, his future will be that much brighter because he has such loving brothers.

Sara