How cool is this?

JB is the second oldest of six children. There are four boys and three girls. He has three younger brothers, one younger sister, and an older sister, Elizabeth. I found a scanned copy (this was before digital pictures mind you) of our wedding day -- June 20, 1998. From left: Oldest sister Elizabeth (now a school teacher in South Carolina, married a year after us to her college sweetheart, Grant, and soon to be adopted parents through Because of Isaac.) Next is Matt. I think he's about twelve in this photo. (More on him to come but he has been married for a few years to Danielle, and they live in South Florida.) Then there's Ray. He's the third child. (He lives in South Florida, is married to Gabbi, and has two kids: Grace and Nate.) Rob is the little guy in the front. He went by Robbie when this picture was taken. He actually admits that he doesn't remember his brother John without Wendi as he was four when we started dating. (Rob just graduated from the University of Central Florida with an engineering degree and has been dating his girlfriend for many years.) Katie, is his other sister are on the far right. (She is now married to Eddie and they live in Oregon where he works a boat captain.)

So why am I writing this post? Well, JB's brothers have definitely grown up since our wedding in 1998. This post is mostly about Matt -- sibling #5. Matt has spent the last year on his second deployment through the Army Reserves. He is in Afghanistan. He is due home sometime this summer, but right now, he is actually in South Florida on leave. How wonderful for him to be home with the family, especially his wife Danielle. If only for a few weeks. 

Ray actually worked his magic to have the Miami Heat pick Matt for their Veteran-for-a-game. As I understand it, each game, the Heat recognizes one individual for their service to our country. It was a play-off game, and they actually got to sit courtside and be introduced at halftime and a bunch of other cool stuff. Not sure who would have gotten left out had JB been in town, but something tells me, with as die-hard of Heat fans as Ray and Rob are, it would have been John.

Here is a picture of his three brothers (with Matt's wife Danielle squeezed in there) at the Heat game:





Ray, Danielle, Matt, and Rob (a MAJOR Miami Heat fan)

And yes folks, look below. That's him shaking hands with LeBron James. Pretty stinkin' cool! Not only are we incredibly proud of Matt (take a look at that standing ovation), but what an awesome brother Ray is for working this out. When Ray and Gabbi put their mind to something, they can figure out ways to move mountains. Seriously!

Please continue to pray for Matt as he heads back to Afghanistan for a few more months. Please pray for all our men and women helping to keep our world safe. Let's also pray that they can all come home as soon as possible. I know that's where we all want them.