My "no-longer-a-baby" brother

Sometimes it's hard to recognize this kid! Without waxing too nostalgic, I remember the day he was born, forever changing the Deatherage family dynamic. In some way, from that day on, all five us became invested in making sure that Evan James grew up okay.

And he has. He's not a perfect kid, but he's given us good reason to be proud of him.

This Monday, Evan starts fifth grade. The part that excites him the most? He's now old enough to volunteer in children's ministry at church. He puts many adults to shame with his enthusiasm.

He's begun practices for his fifth year of football. Every Saturday from September through November, Evan has his own little cheering section. (Actually it's a pretty big cheering section and usually attracts a little bit of attention!) Evan's a good player and he loves the game, but what's most fulfilling is watching his sportsmanship - the way he congratulates a teammate on a job well done or graciously (albeit not happily) concedes a game.

For our little family of five, our lives changed on December 4, 1996, but they've only been enriched. Our family would not be complete without Evan. In case you can't tell, I really love this kid!