My little brother's married!

My little brother is happily married to Katie as of Saturday afternoon! I'm very happy for both of them and wish them a lifetime of joy!

Here are a few pictures from the wedding...

The wedding party

Caleb and Katie with Mom and Dad

Three generations of handsome Deatherage men

Me, Mom and Mel

(Mom's dress cost $28.00 - doesn't she look great???)

"Sooner at heart"

I got an update on last Saturday's big game that I just had to share.

At one point in the game, a mom sitting behind us leaned forward to ask if we had noticed that my dad (assistant coach) had pulled a few of the boys aside and was talking to them. We really didn't think too much about it until a couple of days ago.

Come to find out, Dad pulled a very specific group of boys aside - those who had played for the Sooners in past years. As he did, he told them "You were taught to play better than this. You were taught to hold a tackle. You were taught to block. Your jerseys may say Saints, but you're Sooners. So play like it!"

How cheesy is that? It sounds like something straight out of Friday Night Lights or Remember the Titans! But it worked!!!! That was the turning point in the game. The boys started blocking and that's also when they scored!

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!