Present from Afar...

A few weeks (possibly months ago), Little BIL told me he had the perfect thing picked out for Bitsy. Last week he emailed me and said he had mailed it to his parents & we should have it next week. It came early. We got it yesterday.

As you may recall (if not, don't feel bad...I don't write much about him), Little BIL is in the Army. He is currently stationed in South Korea, has been since last May & will be until next May. He volunteered for this particular placement. Since he's been there, we've been sent a fan, a cork sculpture in glass, a bell, jewelry boxes, a small statue, butterflies mounted in a shadow box, and a carved wooden Elephant lamp. Now this beautiful gown for Miss Bitsy...I love it! The photo doesn't really do it justice. The butterflies are all very vibrant against the black...I can't wait until she's big enough for it.

This morning he sent an email telling me he wants me to send him a picture of her in it as soon as it fits. Little BIL is having a pretty hard time with the idea of not being here when Bitsy's born. He's been at the hospital the day each of our kids were born. He adores our kids. They think he hung the moon and stars.

Little BIL was in High School when Husband & I got married (I think he's 7 years younger than Husband). He spent a good deal of time with us especially after their sister was in a very serious car accident. He got married when BabyGirl was almost a year old, but the marriage didn't last long (less than 7 months I think). He had just finalized his divorce when #1 Son was born. He came to visit & play with the kids at least once a week after we moved to the country. He'd always been a big part of their lives.

He lost his job in the fall of 2005 & after a short search for a new one, he decided to join the Army. Most people were shocked & thought it was a knee-jerk reaction, but he'd been talking about it since ROTC in high school. He signed the papers & was gone with in a week. That was just before Thanksgiving. Little BIL is the only kid in his family to leave. None of them went off to college. No one moved further away than 25 miles (that's when we lived in town). Suddenly they had a family member half way around the world. When he left, Husband told him by the time he came home next, we'd probably have another baby. He was right.

We talk on the phone & email & IM fairly often, but I still miss him. Of all my immediate In-Laws, he's the one I'm the closest to by far. He really is like a little brother to me. When we found out we were expecting, he tried to arrange a way to get here for the birth. But Army leave being what it is and a 16 hour flight being involved, he won't get to come home until the fall. Personally, I think that's for the best since he's a little scared of newborns. Now Bitsy will be old enough to smile at her Uncle & make his trip worth wild.