Nifty Nephews

May has been a busy month for us, but most notably, I want to blog about news of our nephews, both of which we are quite proud!
On May 11th (Mother's Day), we attended Evan's dedication to First Christian Church here in Lincoln. Evan was all smiles during the dedication and even shared a few giggles and baby babble as we surrounded him with prayer. We enjoyed spending the afternoon with both the Lefler and Foster families!

On May 23rd, Brandon graduated from Wabasso Public High School. He was selected by school faculty as a scholarship recipient. One of Brandon's teachers wrote an amazing recommendation which I must share...
"I have had the privilege of knowing and working with Brandon Baune for the past six years. As junior high art instructor, I had Brandon in my art classes both his seventh and eighth grade years. In addition, I am the senior high English instructor and Brandon has been in my college-bound language arts classes both his junior and senior years. What a very fine young man he is! Wabasso Public School is a kindergarten through twelfth grade facility, so all of the students are integrated in many shared spaces throughout the day. Given this situation, I was aware of Brandon long before I actually knew him as a student of mine. Even as a very young child, he gave me reason to be impressed by his determination. Wearing braces and moving with effort through the hallways, Brandon carried himself with a dignity not typical of one so young, but certainly characteristic of one who has faced challenges early on and decided they would not govern his life. He did not then, nor has he since, allowed his disability to determine who he was, who he is, and who he will become. If you want a role model for students to emulate, if you want an adolescent to show an older generation the quality of the young, if you want a hero for anyone in anytime from anywhere; then, I give you Brandon Baune. What strength, what personal courage this young man possesses. When even walking was a challenge for him, Brandon pursued every sport he could. Football, basketball, baseball - these were sports his father had participated in and loved, so Brandon followed in his father's footsteps even if his own feet needed a set of braces to carry him. So unassuming in the face of such physical adversity, Brandon never even seems aware that he has any disadvantage whatsoever. He expects no special treatment; he proceeds as usual; he would be genuinely surprised if anyone expected him to behave otherwise. My admiration for him is literally boundless. Given the affliction of spina bifida, most of us would respond with a certain amount of self-pity and carry a harder edge in our sympathies because, after all, why should we feel compassion for others when we are thus burdened ourselves? Not so with Brandon. He is one of the kindest, most sympathic and compassionate of young men. If I were in trouble and in need of help, I would hope Brandon were close by because I would be assured of "rescue" from my predicament. He is dependable, resourceful, gracious - such stuff as heroes are made. You don't have to ride a white horse to be a knight in shining armor; sometimes, you just have to spend a childhood standing on your own two feet in leg braces. Without any disability at all, Brandon would be worthy of a financial scholarship. He has always been a conscientious student whose hard work and preparation mark him as an asset in any classroom. Cooperative and mature, Brandon handles all classroom environments with ease and a kind of grace borne of adversity, which makes him well-liked and accepted by all. He would be any teacher's choice as a scholarship recipient well within his own right. But that is not quite the case here, for Brandon is not only all the things a valuable student should be; Brandon is all things a valuable human being should be. Despite pain, despite physical impediment, despite the permanent punishment of a body that will not always do what he wants it to, despite all of this, Brandon has pursued excellence. He has taken what by rights should be a crippling disability and used it to become a young man of principles standing heads taller than most of us mere ordinary beings who certainly have not even walked around the block, let alone a mile, in his shoes. For all that he already is, be a part of his future and help him in all that he will surely become."