Brothers Don't Shake Hands...

I have been thinking about brothers a lot lately. You know, I didn't get to grow up with my brother around, he lived far away as long as I can remember. It was always fun when he came to visit because he would toss us around, I love him a lot. We always used to bug Mom for a little brother. I don't think we fully grasped what a pain he would have been. My first real experience with brothers was going and playing at my friend Margie's house. She had seven brothers. The one close to my age threw me in the pool and the one older than that teased me. I was pretty sure they hated me and I remember crying about it but then Margie told me that they did it because they liked me and that confused me even more. Why would they do and say mean things to me if they liked me? Turns out, they did like me and we are still friends (I actually got to see four of those seven boys last weekend, good times). I am thankful for the experience they gave me because when I met my Ryan and he threw me in the pool every time I went to his house, I knew it was love.

I love my brother Nathan who got to marry my big sister Whit. He has the driest sense of humor and he balances my wacky sister really well. He is a lot of fun to hang out with. It is one of my goals to make him genuinely laugh some day. He is cool and he is a great dad to all those boys.

I am so glad I married my Ryan because he has a full set of brothers that are mine now. I love Chris, quiet kind Chris who has wonderful stories to tell if you push the right buttons.

I love Jake. You know I worried for a long time that Jake was just too weird to find a wife but then he met Cory and about two minutes later they were married and it has turned out perfectly. She is exactly the right girl for him. They are here in town now, he is on leave from the Army, he has been in Afghanistan living in a cave and growing a horrific beard. He looks like a homeless person but the Army told him not to shave or cut his hair so that he blends in with the natives and they will be more likely to trust him. He doesn't look particularly trust worthy to me at first glance but I am not a goat herder so that's that. I am grateful for what he is doing over there. He is good at it and it needs to be done. I am amazed at the strength of Cory and how she handles him being gone all of the time, leaving her with their four small boys. Again, perfect for each other.

I love David. I love how much he loves food and getting together as a family to eat the aforementioned food. He is a wonderful husband to my dear sister Lindsey. Plus they are wonderful parents.

I love Kent and Mitchell, my newest brothers. Kate and Jess did a great job finding them. They are the right men for the job and they fit beautifully into the family. I love it when Mitch sends me texts just because my phone buzzes during church and he thinks it's funny that I'm being irreverent but he is the only one who notices because I'm too busy listening to the lesson and I don't hear it, but I read them all after church and he is silly.

I love Justy. When I met him he was 7 and sort of obnoxious but it turns out that was just how 7 year olds naturally are. Now he is technically all grown up and he has brought home a girl from the Y. A beautiful girl named Bailey and he plans to make her my sister. She is staying with us while they are here visiting and we like her. She just woke up and is watching Word World with Pete. He is in love with her too.

A couple of days ago my Dad's big brother died. Whit, Amanda and I are going to Idaho for the funeral next week. What with all the saturation I've had with brothers being around for the past week, I'm especially sad for my Dad. He loved his brother a lot too. Uncle Steve shot him in the forehead with an arrow when they were kids and playing Cowboys and Indians. He still has the scar. What's not to love? That is one of my favorite stories, by the way. Daddy was on the roof of the garage, ducked down on the other side of the peak. Uncle Steve was on the ground and knew Dad was up there, he shot a warning arrow over the garage and just as it was clearing the peak, Daddy peeked over to see where Uncle Steve was. Head and arrow met. Blood, trying to explain it to their Mom, good times.

Now both of my parents have lost a brother and it is sad. Now that I've finally got loads of brothers I would be very sad to loose any of them. My biggest brother far away recently had a heart attack, Nate likes to golf and we all know how dangerous that can be, especially if Whit thinks he is gone too long... Chris does fairly dangerous work, Jake does very dangerous work, David is a magnet for car accidents and house fires, Kent lives in Utah where it is cold a lot (he could wander out in the night and freeze to death, you don't know), Mitch wants to take up quad racing again and wind up a smear on the track, Justy has to drive back to Utah soon and last time he did that he slid off the road and crashed a little, this time he'll be distracted by beautiful Bailey...

Morbid. They will be fine I am just too much of a worrywart. Life is good and happy. I am grateful for the blessings I have and my wonderful, big, noisy family is a huge blessing :)

So, who knows what the rest of the quote from the title is? And what movie is it from?