Uncle Tanner

People are often shocked when I tell them that I have a 7-year-old brother. Especially when they know that I also have a 29-year-old brother...and a few others in between! But I love having a sibling so young. It has made Christmases and other holidays stay fun for much longer. It provides great anecdotes when you need something to talk about in a conversation. It just makes life more interesting! Well this little brother of mine-Tanner- is an uncle 3 times over, soon to be 4 when our little guy is born. And he will tell you how much he LOVES being an uncle. My oldest brother's older son, Liam is 2 years old and really loves being around Uncle Tanner. The feeling is mutual. Tanner is so used to being around adults that I think he savors the times when HE gets to be the big one, the hero, the trend-setter. He gets this in full fervor whenever he's around Liam.

Being the great uncle that Tanner is, he said a very sweet prayer the other night before bed. Of course he didn't tell me this himself, my Mom did. Apparently Taner said a prayer asking Heavenly Father to PLEASE let Tonya's baby be ok. For some reason, I certainly hope it's not a Spiritual manifestation, Tanner was very worried about our baby at the time. He said a very serious prayer asking that when my baby comes out, he won't die. He went on for a minute or two of his prayer pleading for my baby boy. (Did I go in to momentary panic mode when my Mom told me this? Absolutely) When he finished his prayer, my Mom told him how sweet that was to pray for Tonya and Adam's baby, but asked why he felt the need to ask that he will not die. Tanner replied that as an uncle, it's his duty to make sure that HIS nephews are always ok. If anything were to happen to Tonya's baby, it would be his responsibility to do all within his power to fix it--otherwise, what kind of an uncle would he be??

Now seriously, if that's not taking uncle duty to a new and amazingly dedicated level, I don't what is. Ryan, Brandon, Tyler, and Justin..you've got some competition on the favorite uncle front.