Jeff

I miss my brother!

Jeff died in 2006, almost 6 years ago now.  He was in a car accident on Father's Day that year...heading home to his wife and son in Boise...  He died the next day, June 19.  I was at Gringo's with Ryan, trying to celebrate my birthday (I say "trying to celebrate" because we were not in a very celebratory mood, worrying about Jeff in a hospital bed over 300 miles away), when we got the phone call informing us that he was gone...

I think about Jeff often, and not just because he's gone now.  I think about all of my brothers a lot.  But the funeral home gave us really nice bookmarks that have a picture of Jeff along with his obituary on one side, and a picture of the Boise temple and a quote by Elder Richard G. Scott on the other side.  I use that bookmark all the time...

The quote on the bookmark says,

"The Lord will give relief with divine power when you seek deliverance in humility and faith in Jesus Christ...No one can help you without faith and effort on your part.  Your personal growth requires that.  Don't look for a life virtually free from discomfort, pain, pressure, challenge, or grief, for those are the tools a loving Father uses to stimulate our personal growth and understanding.  As the scriptures repeatedly affirm, you will be helped as you exercise faith in Jesus Christ.  That faith is demonstrated by a willingness to trust His promises given through His prophets and in His scriptures."

I wish I could remember more memories with my brothers.  I was quite a little punk growing up...and my memory is awful...

Here's what I do remember:

• Jason and Jeremy were a chicken and a cow, respectively.  I teased Jeff that he was a pig (that just seemed to be the best animal to go along with Jason and Jeremy!), but he really didn't like that.  ;)  I told him that I was going to give him a pig as a gift (because we always gave Jason and Jeremy gifts related to their animals), and he would get sooo angry at me!  I ended up getting a bear beany baby, and I made a name tag for it "Piggy".  Jeff was always cuddly and sweet, like a teddy bear.  (Okay, not always... ;)
• My brother's broke my arm one evening.  Our parents had gone out on a date and left the older boys in charge.  We were rough-housing, and I fell on my hands and my wrist snapped.  Only none of my brothers believed that my arm was hurt badly, so I laid on the couch all evening, whimpering, waiting for our parents to get home...
• One of my favorite memories is doing the dishes with Jeff.  We would dance around the kitchen while we washed and dried (I'm sure I was more of a hindrance than a help at the chores), and sing along with songs on the radio.  The only song we sang that I actually remember is Total Eclipse of the Heart.  We would really belt that one out!  Every time I hear it, I think of Jeff...
• My brothers are all brains (when they apply themselves).  They're super smart guys.
• I wasn't the greatest big sister to my baby brother, but sometimes I would feel protective and try to stand up for him.  I'm sure it's tough being the youngest... ;)  (Love you, Jake!)

I love my brothers!  I miss them all (we all live pretty far apart)!  They can be the biggest pains, but they can also be the best!  I love when they call me out of the blue (well, it usually happens on my birthday, so it's not really out of the blue...).  I love what geeks they all can be.  I feel really blessed when I think of how great they all are!  And I'm grateful that I know Jeff is just on the other side of the veil, working hard and rooting for us to make it there so we can all be together again!