brother bear

Seven and a half years ago, just before I went in to the hospital to deliver Henry, a special package arrived on our doorstep.  It was a gift to our children from Marie, who is Julie's sister.  I can't recall everything that was in the package, but I do recall that there was a little brown bear, that Julie had received when she was sick, that she had named, "Forest."

Every night for the past seven and a half years, William has slept with Forest cuddled between his arms.  And every night when we say our evening prayers, we include one for Julie's family.  Forest's head peeking out beneath William's chin, always reminds us of my good friend, and his first owner.  Since today is Julie's birthday (and coincidentally, Henry's 1/2 birthday), we prayed extra hard for her family, tonight.

When the triplets were in Kindergarten, they were invited to a birthday party at "Build-A-Bear Workshop."  As William worked his way through the line, selecting the animal that he would like to stuff - he chose a little black bear that he named, "Climby."



After he carefully selected the heart that would reside in the bear's chest and oversaw the stuffing process, he proudly showed me his new bear and indicated that this bear had been made specifically for his little brother, and he hoped Henry would love it as much as he loved Forest.  And so it is, Henry is also inseparable from his bear at night.

These two brothers...





Might all of us have someone that loves us as much ... as these two love each other.

(At least most of the time.)