My little brother would be 35 today. I don’t remember exactly how the tradition started, but I think my mom wanted to do something special on the first birthday after his passing, so we made brownies and put birthday candles in them. Since then, we’ve celebrated his birthday with a special dessert and sharing stories and memories. This year, the boys and I decided to go all-out and fix a German-themed dinner, since Nathan was born in Germany (while our dad was in the Army), and he always loved German food. Here’s a photo recap of our special dinner:
I promise I’m not a pyromaniac, but I do love watching the flame on a grill. It’s so pretty, and it smells wonderful!
2 beers to marinate the brats & 1 beer for the cook to enjoy! 😉
The age-old privilege of helping to bake: getting to lick the beaters! 🙂
My sous chef grill master, helping with the brats.
I wish this was a scratch-and-sniff photo, because mmm, mmm, mmm — they smelled amazing!
Bratwurst, sauerkraut & homemade German potato salad!
German Chocolate cupcakes for dessert, to round out the themed dinner. They turned out a bit flat, but they were scrumptious, anyway. 🙂
faith, sweat & tears 
All of the kids will remember and treasure these special memories. You are a wonderful mother and sister to remember your brother with these special celebrations. Life is for celebrating and treasuring every minute and memory.
Thank you, Susan. 🙂 We have fun doing it, and I think it really helps us grieve & process our loss when we take time to focus specifically on happy things.