Brotherly Love Revisited

***This was originally published March 11, 2009. These brothers are now 7 and almost 3. They've been sharing a room for nearly a year now; they still feel this way about each other (most of the time, anyway!) ***


This picture of my boys says a thousand words about the love between brothers.

Here are 13 things it says to me:

1. These 2 brothers are now just turned 6 years old and almost 2. They will soon be sharing a room. I plan to frame this picture and hang it in their room to remind them of their love for each other!
   
2. For me, a big blessing of having a 3rd child has been watching my oldest (who was a young 4 year old when his brother was born) enjoy the baby. When his sister was born he was just 2 and too young to really get the big brother role.
3. My oldest began praying for a baby brother months before my husband and I even had made the decision to try for a 3rd child.
4. At the end of most days, my oldest still prays, "Thank you for my baby brother" and it just makes all the work of the day caring for 3 little kids so worth it!
   
5. I love the way my baby's arms are really hugging onto his big brother's arm. And now that he is almost 2, the infatuation is still there -- Oh how he loves his "Brober"!
6. When Big Brother comes home from kindergarten and sits down at the table with his homework sheet and a pencil, Little Brother runs to get some paper and crayons and sits down next to Big Brother to work alongside him!
7. It is not a fun day for mom, however, when Little Brother gets overly zealous and colors on Big Brother's homework sheet!
8. Think how much they will learn from each other over the years!
   
9. "Sibling relationships - and 80 percent of Americans have at least one - outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of closeness and distance, warmth, loyalty and distrust." ~Erica E. Goode, "The Secret World of Siblings," U.S. News & World Report, 10 January 1994
10. A great quote, “Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero.” ~Marc Brown
11. Another, "It takes two men to make one brother." ~Israel Zangwill
12. Romans 12:10, "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor"
13. 1 John 3:16, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."