My Brother

In the eighteenth chapter and the twenty fourth verse of the book of Proverbs the Holy Bible refers to a friend that sticks closer than a brother. The friend referenced here is Jesus. I would think that outside of Jesus our Ariella will not find too many more friends that will stick closer to her than her brother. Rachel and I thank God continuously for the Ella’s big brother. Charles is an amazing young man, so full of love and compassion. She is so smitten with her big brother and he is so in love with his little sister. It is a real joy to watch him and his sister together.

Charles was eager for his sister to get to a stage where they could actually play together. We recall having a conversation with him where we described the different stages of development; this was prior to Ella being born. In particular we really talked up what it would be like when the baby would eventually reach the place where she could crawl and roll around and laugh and how much fun they would have together. Well it quickly became evident that God had other plans for Ariella’s development and that He would be bringing her along at His own pace based on His time. And even when things looked their worst Charles never changed his character. He never questioned, he never doubted, he continued to hold God to His word and patiently and completely love his sister. He wanted her to be able to do things other babies her age could do, but he never took it out on her. And not once, not even for a moment did he display any signs of selfish adolescence. We wouldn’t have blamed, in fact we would have completely understood. Charles was the star of the show, for years he didn’t have to compete for our attention. And now not only did God bless him with a little sister, He blessed him with a sister that had some considerable obstacles to overcome and as such requires our full attention. Charles never changed; in fact he grew in maturity when it comes to being available to help with his sister’s care. We absolutely feel his absence when he is not with us. There is no doubt that his sister es mucho mejor cuando su hermano grande esta con ella.

I remember when Rachel and I first told Charles that we were pregnant, how excited he was. For the longest time he couldn’t decide if he wanted a little brother or a little sister. But ultimately it didn’t matter, from the very first moment he laid eyes on his sister they were both done for. He would forever be smitten with her and she him. And with all that this family has been through and everything specifically that Charles has had to deal with he still continues to excel in school. In fact our amazing young man is being honored in a few weeks at a special gala event hosted by the University of Connecticut’s Connecticut Writing Project (http://cwp.uconn.edu/publications/csw2013winners.php). Our amazing son’s school librarian submitted a story that Charles wrote earlier in the year to this special writing competition sponsored by UCONN each year. You can read more about the Connecticut Writing Project here (http://cwp.uconn.edu/about/overview.php). Charles’ story was submitted along with 1100 other entities from grades K-12 from public and private schools from across the state. From all those stories our son’s story was selected as one of seven winners from the fourth grade. This is a great honor and to say that we are proud of Charles is an understatement. Although the honor is a great one, what give me more pleasure is the amount of effort and discipline he invests in his work.

Charles has always been a good student, however what he has been learning and displaying more often is a commitment to hard work. It is that same resiliency that Ella has inherited from her brother that pushes her to get stronger and stronger every day and work past any false diagnosis that may exist. We could not have asked God for a better role model for Ella than her brother. Charles we love you so much,man, and thank God for you. You are a great young man, with a big heart, a strong work ethic and a commitment to Jesus Christ and his teachings that is unconventional. You make all of us better buddy. Te querimos!