Brothers and Changes

There's been a lot going on in my family this year, some heartbreaking and some exciting. I haven't posted about any of it because I wanted to give them their privacy. However, the main situation is out of hand and my brother's health is on the line so I'm just going to put it out there.

Shane

First the exciting news, my older brother Shane and his wife Jessie are thinking about moving to southern Utah or Northwestern Arizona!!! I can't tell you how HAPPY this makes me. I'm closest to my brother Shane, we've been friends and protectors of each other most of our lives so we have a special bond. We also share the same parents so that's a big part of it. My family is full of His, Hers and Ours.

(For some fun and entertainment I created a simple diagram of my immediate family. It is not a complete "Tree" as it is missing 2 of my step siblings, but that will only complicate things and this was supposed to be fun not complex.)

The reason Shane and Jessie are thinking about moving is because they received an offer on their house (double what they paid for it, but no where near what their neighbors are selling for $434,000.00). Plus they can both transfer with their currently employers. They live in Thayne, WY on Star Valley Ranch. Their house is on the golf course and they have the most magnificent views! The house however is falling apart, their roof needs replacing and black mold has taken over residency of the bathroom. I hope they move, even though they live in paradise (theirs, not mine. It's way too freaking cold for me). From my internet searches, it looks like Kingman, AZ is the best bet for them as far as temperature, house prices and job opportunities. I'll keep you updated on their moving status.

On to the next brother, Christopher. Sweet Christopher.
I posted a while back about him getting engaged to his then girlfriend Heather. Well she jumped ship and I think it's for the better. We're not really sure what happened, they were planning the wedding one day and the next she had dumped him like a hot potato. Of course he was completely heart broken, but we thought it was cold feet and everything would work out. Unfortunately for Toph it's over. They tried to get back together, they went out on a date that he thought went well but she didn't. Then she lied to him about going home after work but instead went to another guy's house. Christopher got her at his house and the guy's family called the cops on him, worried that he was going to pull a "crazy ex fiance freak-out". Blah Blah Blah...Heather broke his heart, she didn't just break his heart, she pulled it out of his chest threw it at the wall and proceeded to jump on it until it was ground beef.

My poor Christopher has had his heart broken at least THREE times now. He's the sweetest, cutest, most loving man alive (next to Jory ;) of course)! I'm not quite sure where he got his "marriage" views from because this is the 2nd girl he's been engaged to and a 3rd he gave a promise ring to. Shane and I are the only ones in our family that have gotten married. My oldest brother was engaged for 10 years when that relationship ended, my other older brother has had several serious relationships but he's still single and Shane didn't get married until he was 28 I think and Jory and I were together for 6 years before we got married (2 1/2 yrs ago). So the pattern in my family is to waaaaait to make sure you and your partner are meant for each other until you get married, but somehow he missed this boat and jumped on a speedboat. Maybe it's because his parents are still married? He knows what it's like to have divorced parents because he grew up with Shane and I dealing with "our" dad and Jason and Colby dealing with their mom. Why does he feel this need to marry every girlfriend he has?

Here's my speculations:
First, all the girlfriends he's been serious with have been young. I don't mean 12 yrs old young, but 17 and 18 yrs old. Heather is 20 I think. That's not Utah young but that's YOUNG in every other state, maybe not Alabama but we're talking in general. Christopher will be 24 this year and he has a long life ahead of him, there is no reason for him to be jumping into marriage. My personal opinion on why he jumped this time was because her parents wouldn't let her move out with him unless they were married. Yes she's over 18, but she lives at home with mommy and daddy and that means they still control her life. Yes I believe he wanted/wants to spend the rest of his life with her, but he doesn't know what's going to happen in 5 years. Another big problem, is that he still lives at home. He's never lived on his own or with room mates. He has no idea what it's like to live on his own except what he's seen through his friends. He was planning on moving out this spring before they got married, but you don't know your other half until you've lived with them. I could probably go on for awhile but I don't want to dig too deep and share too much so that's good for now.

Since the breaking of their engagement, Christopher has been dealing with serious stomach pains and has been throwing up blood. He went to the emergency room and they did an ultrasound and found nothing. They scheduled a scope and found nothing. They injected dye into his veins and found nothing. They put him on Prozac and told him his illness is stress related. But yet he's still throwing up blood and dying of stomach pains. What bothered me the most about this, was our mother who's supposed to be there to comfort him was telling him to relax, he'll feel better it's all because of the break up. So the only person he felt comfortable talking to about this was me. If someone is throwing up blood, it means there is a serious problem! Stop telling the kid to relax, he's hurting, help me for GOD SAKE! So after several doctor's visits he finally met with a surgeon who after listening to all the symptoms and seeing all the tests, suggested they take out his gallbladder. HIS GALLBLADDER! Is there something in the water? So tomorrow early afternoon my little baby brother is having surgery. Hopefully everything goes smoothly and he'll start to feel better soon enough.

Good Luck Billy Boy, I'll be sending you LOTS of good vibes!

Love you,

Your sis