Friday, May 11, 2007

Sharing a Scrapbook

Here are a few of the pages I made for my little brother's scrapbook* that I gave him for Christmas. He's (choke, gasp) THIRTEEN! (Boohoo!). I was a built in babysitter since I was 12. I've been his biggest fan his entire life. I was a senior in high school when he started kingergarten and loved that I could pick him up from school. He was a cool kid because his sister could drive and picked him up, not his parents. (Well, there was that stinkin' kid who kept saying I was too old to be a sister.) When I went to college I'd always go home for his ball games, boy scout things, school plays, and just to eat lunch with him in the (4 star!) elementary school cafeteria! One day I even took him McDonalds. That is so against the rules, but I played dumb. In case you couldn't already tell, I adore my little brother!

He's endured a lot in his young life. Our grandmother died suddenly when he was in kingergarten. Our granddad never left our house (although he wouldn't admit that he lived with us) from that day on. Grandad was little brother's best friend! Granddad had a great banking system, too. You could give him a $5 or $10 bill to "hold for you" and it would always come back as a $20! Granddad died at our house when little brother was in 4th grade, he was ten. Then, exactly 10 months to the day later, our dad died too. As if that's not enough for the child, his (fine, our) mother is (nicely put) certifiable. Seriously, not fit to be a mother. I can't remember the last time she was not in a drug/alcohol induced stupor. Little brother endures a lot in his daily life and it breaks my heart that I can't do anything about it. (And just FYI, having him removed from home and obtaining custody isn't so easy. Been there. Done That.)

For a myriad of reasons, I don't get to see little brother on the regular basis that I would like. However I want him to know the love that his family has for him. By the time he's my age, he'll have lived longer without his dad, than with him. I worry he won't remember him or his grandparents. I want him to have pictures and memories that he can always reflect on. Thus, I present with a few of the 60 pages I put together. (Some you click on and make bigger, and some you can't...I have no idea...)

*I'm a very basic scrapbooker. Pretty paper, scissors, glue, stickers, the end. I know it doesn't even compare to some of the fancy schmancy scrapbookers of the world, but I like it. And my 13 year old audience adored it, so mission accomplished! There are splotched areas where I removed names. Please ignore my horrid hair and fashion skills.


8 comments:

Amydeanne said...

those are lovely! How lucky your brother is that you've cared enough to do that for him!

Kristen Miller said...

So sweet! Much fancier than I would have been able to do. ;)

I'm sure it means alot to him that you put that together for him.

Unknown said...

What a beautiful scrapbook. I try to scrapbook, but don't have a creative bone in my body. I definitley appreciate the hard work that takes.
I'm sure your brother will love and appreciate the scrapbook you have made.

Cherie said...

I love them! That is so sweet!

Anonymous said...

HOW sweet. Those pages really capture your special relationship.

Unknown said...

That was so sweet! And why are potty pictures always so dang cute?! You can tell you absolutely adore your brother. How neat it is you have the relationship you do with him. Thanks for sharing the scrapbook. I bet he adores it more than you even know! :)

CG said...

How sad..he has been through alot! How sweet of you to make him a scrapbook. He will really appreciate it as he gets older. Great job on it too!

secarden said...

2 cute u did a great job as always nothing less expected from the craft queen