Feeling grateful for Don on his birthday

My brother, Don, celebrates his 61st birthday today!  We, older siblings, often tease him about being left behind when he was 6 months old and everyone else in the family hopped into the '51 Lincoln, drove to Illinois, and returned 6 weeks later.  Don giggles about it now, but maybe he has suffered from feelings of being abandoned.

Mom sewed these matching dresses for all her girls, prior to leaving on the trip to Illinois.

I was ten years old,  Joan only two and we travelled without seat belts or infant safety seats.

The memories of those early years make me smile, but the following pictures make me feel grateful

I'm grateful for his work ethic, still one of his best qualities, now being transferred into helping his kids remodel their homes.  I remember when he had a young family and would drag them from St. Maries, Spokane, and Moses Lake to Cottonwood to work on projects for Mom and Dad.

Two years ago he remodelled Joan's bathroom!

I'm grateful for his wonderful wood-working projects.  I love my Christmas box and Santa, but also the lovely shelf he built above my TV set.

I'm also grateful that Don loved to take and organize pictures.  He showed me how to organize and store my negatives and now Duane is following in Uncle Don's footsteps by scanning them into his computer!

I'm also grateful that Don knows how to have fun in the midst of projects.  As a teenager he had his siblings laughing until they cried.  I remember how his funny stories would send me into fits of laughter, too!  He's obviously able to find humor in some challenging situations!

 Karen took this picture on our bike ride around Alki Beach.  What fun we had, almost like kids, riding bikes, eating fish tacos and eventually kayaking!  Karen and I could not believe he waited on the beach until we and the kayak were safely back on the shore.

I'm grateful for Don's generosity - inviting all his siblings to Bar Harbor, Maine.

 I'm grateful for Don's ability to blend two families and ensure the kids love and care about each other, and their extended families.

I'm grateful for both of these electrical engineers!  And for Don's dedication to the University of Idaho's engineering program over the years.

And my gratitude extends to Dena, who adores my brother.  Her influence shaped his career, his ability to balance work and family, and his faith.  

Thank you, Don, for sharing your gifts with me!