Happy Birthday Steve

Steve, at our cousin Candy's wedding.

I know I said I was getting out of the birthday business. And I am. But, Steve's birthday is today, and he's the only one of my brothers that hasn't been highlighted on his birthday on my blog. So, this is the last birthday post, in honor of my little brother Steve.

Terri and Steve at their wedding.
I have this one still framed in my house. I love it.

Steve is two years younger than me, so when we were kids I picked on him a lot. Until he got bigger than me, of course. And, to hear him tell it, I was a raving horrible monster that destroyed his childhood.

Terri and Steve at his graduation from electrical school.

I mean, all I used to do was all the things an older sister is charged with doing. I traded him nickels for dimes. You know, because nickels are bigger. I once talked him into putting his gum behind his ear for later like Flo did on Alice. He did it. I got in trouble. But, beyond that, ask him. I don't really remember it, but I know he does. I think his oldest daughter Veda gets the raw end of the deal sometimes because he's paying me back.

Steve and Terri showing off their "baby weight."
Pregnant with Veda.

Steve is, as I've reported before, one of the smartest people I know. Hands down. The guy is smart. And, he has this uncanny ability to pay attention to the smallest detail. His son has this same sort of knack. He's a fabulous dad, as far as I can tell. And, he can remember a joke like no tomorrow and tell it so that it's actually funny. This is a trait I do not possess, so I find it most amazing.

Becoming a father - Steve with Veda as a newborn.

Steve demonstrating he's a "hands on" dad.
(he really IS a hands on dad...)

We have similar - not the same, mind you - but similar senses of humor - I can start a remark and he can sometimes finish it. We "get" one another - isn't that the great thing about siblings? That someone on this earth "gets" you?

At Veda's 1st birthday party.

Steve and Veda at Amber's wedding.

When we were kids and we were making too much noise in the back seat of the car, my mom or dad would tell us to, "straighten up" - we'd go straight as boards (and quiet for a second) and then laugh and laugh. We also had this strange game we dreamed up where we would tap each other's head and then the other one would have to beat the seat back that many times - not real creative, but we played it all the time.

The whole family the day Deacon was born.

I was a "cheerleader" for his bantam football team - my only forte into that sport. All the other "cheerleaders" were younger, cuter sisters. I guess I just had nothing else to do. ;-)

Three month Deacon and Steve

The two blue eyed guys together.

Steve had a birth defect on his chest as a kid - he had a "sunken in" place right there in the middle where he could insert his fist. He could make that sound that other people make with their armpit with it. Anyway, there was nothing wrong with it being there until he started to grow...then his lung function could not keep up with the rest of him. They didn't have enough room.

Back when I used a flash.
They just opened tickets to the monster truck rally with Unk and Isaiah.

So he had surgery at Riley Children's Hospital, where they went in and basically broke his sternum to "fix" it. He had a long recovery, and afterward he GREW by leaps and bounds. FAST! Like a freight train. His body was lovin' that oxygen! I remember, though, seeing him sleeping in his hospital bed with tons of tubes coming out of his chest, bandages, pumps, etc and hoping he'd be up and around and bugging me again soon.

Deacon and his Dad.

He seemed to have a way of getting in the worst trouble when he did something stupid but then ran into bad luck that made it worse - he and his friends once decided to drive up into another friend's yard in high school - yeah, that friend lived next door to the assistant superintendent of schools, who just happened to have eagle vision and took the license plate down lickety split. Uh-huh, that kind of luck. (My spell checker doesn't like "lickety" - um, hello - that IS a word...duh!)

Steve and Cora, brand new.

Steve and Cora just a few days ago on the first day of kindergarten.

He also lit a match and burned a piece of paper in his college dorm room. He put the ashes in the bottom of his metal trash can and left the building - they were completely extinguished (he even doused them) but the scent remained. When he returned - and I might get some of this incomplete - he found they had evacuated the building because of the smell of "fire" and "smoke" and they were beginning to believe he had purposely tried to burn the building down. That kind of luck.

Deacon took this one.

He is an electrician by trade, and came down to Texas before his third child was born to help S re-wire our house. In July. When it was God-awful hot. I appreciate him doing this every time I turn on a light.

By the Christmas "fire."

The family on the occasion of the childrens' baptisms with the pastor.

Speaking of luck, on a job site once, they had a construction elevator that was very persnickety. It seemed to break down at the drop of a hat. Steve joked, in an elevator full of co-workers, that he bet if he snapped his fingers the elevator would stop working. He did and it did. Yeah, took a long time to live that one down.

Playing "Wimbledon style" basketball at Bob's house with Ryon and Veda.

But, don't get me wrong, he's an exceptional employee who is valued by his company and has a lot of respect and responsibility thrown his way. And, because he's got a great sense of humor and laid back personality, he's able to take these "lucky" events with a grain of salt and laugh about them later.

He's quite a guitar player.

Installing the pinata for Cora's party.
With some excellent onlooker help, no? ;-)


Last Halloween's costume.

He's the youngest and tallest of all of my siblings at 6 ft 4 inches. When he was a kid he used to bet our Paw Paw and my Unk that he'd beat them in height one day. Paw Paw was 6 ft 2 inches and Unk surpassed his dad by 1/2 an inch at 6 ft 2 1/2. They would tell him there was no way he'd make it, but of course, he did.

Gratuitous shot of my three handsome brothers.
Bob, Rick, Steve

And, as you know, he and his lovely wife Terri have three beautiful children, Veda, Deacon and Cora, who have been featured on the blog with regularity.

Photos taken...

...while trying out the new camera...

...then posted on Facebook where I snatched them.

I know it's hard to believe "discipline" is engaged after those three photos, but it is. His children are very well behaved. He sounds eerily like our mother when disciplining his children. He and my mother - they are a lot alike in many ways. We are also both good "mixes" of our parents, I guess. I just remember one night when we were over at my dad's house and the kids were playing but it was time to go. Steve told them to get their coats on and to get ready to go - they live in those Midwestern winters - and Veda said, "But I wanna play with this *some toy* more." The toy was large and stayed at our dad's house. Steve said, "You can do that all you want - in the car." Boy oh boy - flashback!

Me and Steve at our oldest niece Amber's wedding

So, here's to the last birthday post on the blog, (until I change the rules again) and to wishing my dear little brother a wonderful day. Happy Birthday, Steve, and the very warmest wishes for many, many more happy birthdays. I love you to pieces.

And, best wishes to all of you for a lovely last weekend of August. See you next week.