Happy Birthday Matthew!

A tribute to the brother I almost killed.  The brother who almost killed me. The brother who is going to be a daddy sometime in May/beginning of June.  The brother whose wife is one of the sweetest people I know... This brother's birthday is tomorrow.  He will be the big two three. 

So, here's the story:

I was maybe 2 years old when my mom went downstairs to put some laundry in the washer, some in the dryer, and bring a load upstairs to fold.  How she managed to do all that with Matthew around is beyond me.  Anyway, my baby brother was in his little walker just having a good ole time and my mom told me not to open the basement door.  Matthew would most likely plummet down the steps if I did open it because this is the boy who got into the oven, crawled across the table, some how managed to escape outside in his diaper, and the list goes on...  So, knowing better even though I was probably only 2 or 3, I open the basement door and there goes Matthew, walker and all, down the steps.  Luckily, my mom was on her way up the steps so she caught him before any real damage could occur.  This is how I almost killed him.

Next, he almost killed me.  Well, this happened on multiple occassions.  First, I wouldn't get off the swing set and Matthew wanted to shoot his bow right where I was swinging.  We are both stubborn.  I wouldn't move and he shot.  Yep, he shot me with an arrow.  Lucky for me, he wasn't allowed to shoot with pointed tips yet.  Second, he FELL ASLEEP while riding on the go-cart.  And who was in the passenger seat, none other but yours truly! I didn't know he fell asleep and he smacked right into concrete steps, sending me skidding across the parking lot of the church my dad pastored.  Not only that, but the brand-spankin-new go-cart now had some steering issues.  We won't talk about Dad's reaction to that one!  And, here he is, my not-so-little-anymore sibling, Matthew. 

Oh, there are other memories I could write about, but the best ones were when we did things we weren't suppsed to do (climbing the really old fashioned antenna, jumping down from the top of the swing set, tormenting the youngest brother, Luke, doing donuts in the school parking lot...)  Needless to say, I love my brother.  We have great memories together.  And I'm sure there will be many more to come!  Happy Birthday Matthew!  Love, Your Big Sis.