happy birthday brother!

today is tj's birthday! yay tj!!! tj is the coolest and i don't talk about him half as much as i should! he is the nicest, most generous brother (sorry marc). he really loves helping others and is so selfless.

although things weren't always bliss...

when we were younger he was quite the terror. just 32 months older than me, he was sure the leader of the house! my mom says he used to feed me and marc toast with yogurt and cheese on top. nice, huh? he always has loved toast with peanut butter and cheese. i never tried it, but he still swears by it. when he runs he gets these rosy red cheeks and because he liked peanut butter so much, i just started calling them peanut butter cheeks. so now when i see someone else that has the same red cheeks, i call them peanut butter cheeks and i expect they should know what i'm talking about!

we (like all other siblings) used to fight over the tv remote (we call it the "changer"). in his attempt to get the changer from me, he would sit on me...long enough to make me squeeze out this strange gasp for air only to have him sit up and let me breathe so he could do it all over again. i really do have fond memories of the guy...even if he tortured me!

he has always been hilarious. he is so funny and everyone just loves him. in high school we used to go to south for basketball games and do chants back and forth with the other school. he was always the brains behind the very creative chants. here's one i remember fondly:

south: "where's my stereo..." ::clap clap clapclapclap::
north: "in my car..." ::clap clap clapclapclap::

haha he's so funny! they used to poke fun at him because they all knew and loved him. i'm not quite sure i've ever seen someone loved by so many different people. right now he lives in el paso (i like to pronounce it "el p'soh?"). he works for amor ministries...they build houses for families in mexico. it's selfless work. he works really hard and takes a few weeks off at a time to come home to visit. that's when we get our tj fix. he and isaac have so much fun and just love playing together. it's so cute to see the two of them. isaac loves him so much that he wakes up from his nap signing tj's name. tj always tells me when he leaves to take good care of his nephew. they really love each other. he is a kind and patient man.





























so here's to you, uncle tj! we will miss you when you are gone (in 6 days)...but we hope to see you again soon (maybe for good this time!).