Happy Birthday, Roger!

Today is my brother Roger's birthday. Well, actually it was yesterday. Wait. No. It really is today, but for him it was yesterday. What I mean is that today, October 28, it is his birthday, but he celebrated it yesterday when it was October 28 for him. Grrrr. This time zone stuff can really throw you off if you're not careful! Whatever the case, we celebrated Roger's birthday today!

Roger was born in 1970 which makes him ... under 40. Older, but still under 40! He's a young man with a beautiful wife and two adorable little boys. I would love to post a picture of them, but all my pictures are outdated and to be honest, I have no idea where to find them on this computer (but we won't get into that again!). Just trust me, if you don't know them, they are a good looking family, gray hair and all on the birthday boy!

Being the only boy in a family of four sisters, Roger got special treatment all his life. He got to play dress up with us. We got to put sponge rollers in his hair ... when he let us. He learned how to cook and clean with the rest of us. Let me tell you! Roger was trained well! Being a guy, he also had that analytical mind that caused him to quote chemistry and physics and algebraic statements and all that other technical kind of stuff to us all the time. "The girls and Roger" made up a great group of kids for our parents (don't you think, Dad and Mom?)! I don't know what we would have done without Roger in our family. I don't know what our PARENTS would have done without Roger!

Actually, I'll get to the serious stuff in a minute, but I have to share a few Roger stories with you. He was the boy who brought excitement to our home. He is the one who bit our dog on the nose because the dog bit him first. He is the one who somehow managed to tie himself to a tree right before we had to run off to church for the evening. He is the one who hooked up his little portable walkman tape player (remember those?) to his huge speakers in his room. He was the one who asked, "Mommy, what do girls talk about at night?"

He was also the one who sat on my freezing cold feet to keep them warm when our car broke down on I-71 on the way back from Cleveland one sub-zero night. He was the one that surprised me with a visit when I first moved to Phoenix, somehow getting into my apartment and then hiding in the kitchen and scaring me half to death when I got home from work. He was the one that helped me through the tangled web of computers and email when they were all new to me. He was the one that listened to me go on and on about Fred when we were first engaged. He is the one now that calls me from the other side of the world just to say hi (and to practice his Indonesian on someone who doesn't know if he's saying things incorrectly). He's the one who prays for me when I know he could use more prayers for himself! He's the one who thinks of other people and makes arrangements for Christmas presents to be purchased, wrapped and given to everyone in his family even though he's not there. He's the one who can make me cry just because he's the best brother anyone could ever have!

Ok. I need to stop because now I'm missing you a lot, Rog, and I can't type with tears in my eyes. We talked about you a lot today because it was your birthday and even though we couldn't celebrate together, we celebrated here many hours after you celebrated there! May God bless your life with many more years of service to Him. May He bless you as you pour your life of Christ into the lives of others. May He bless you as a husband to your best friend, Amy. May He bless you as the father to your precious sons. We love you!! Happy Birthday!