And then there were seven.

He was just one week shy of turning twenty and already serving in the Air Force

stationed in South Carolina when I came along.

He came home as often as he could but South Carolina soon became his permanent home.
My first memories of him, although somewhat faint due to the fact that I was only three or four,
was when he would pick me up, balance me in the palm of one big hand
and extend me up to the ceiling, all the while chanting, "Way up high! Way up high!
I can also remember Mom offering this warning..."Now, Bob, you be careful with her!!"
Funny thing is, later on he performed this trick many times with his own three little girls.
~*~
 I remember looking forward with great anticipation to his arrival when we were expecting a visit.
You could find me perched at the window that faced the end of our road throughout the day,
not putting into perspective the 13+ hour drive it took to make it to Ohio.
What does a little kid know about perspective, anyway?
~*~
 Back then I called him Bobby and he called me Little Sis.
Later on, he was just Big Brother and I was Dee-bor-AHHH.
He had a nickname for just about everyone and mine was his quite unique interpretation of Deborah.
The name stuck with me all throughout my life and if he would have felt up to it,
I'm sure he would have called me that when I saw him a few weeks ago.



Judging by the shirt (and the wallpaper) this photo was surely taken the same day as the first one.
These are my other two brothers, Jerry on the guitar and Doug on the fiddle.
Music has played a huge part in our lives and you could always find a collection
 of stringed instruments stashed here and there throughout the house.
They say it all began with our dad although the only instrument I ever heard him play
was the harmonica, which he called the french harp.



Fast forward to what looks like the 70's (above) and sometime in the 80's (below).



This is one thing the Billheimer brothers were kind of famous for...well, maybe not exactly famous.
Now, I don't know how to play either one of these but I can only imagine how difficult it might be to strum someone else's guitar with one hand and chord another's mandolin with your other hand...
...all at the same time!

The video above was taken several years ago at one of our reunions.

They really all can sing quite well but this is just an example of their crazy shenanigans.



Group photos through the years...

He wasn't able to be with us for the past two reunions.
Cancer that he thought was behind him returned, this time with vengeance.
He fought the good fight until he just wasn't able to fight anymore.

Last Wednesday, August 30, his three beautiful daughters were given the gift
of singing him into glory.

It's really kind of difficult to wrap my brain around—losing a sibling.

I've tried to imagine what it would be like, especially since all of us are getting up there.

Although, due to miles, we weren't able to be together as often as we would have liked, 

our moments together as a family were such blessed times.

~*~

Over the past several weeks I am learning that one of the greatest losses in life

surely must be the death of a brother or sister...

 ...and many of us will have to face the loss of a sibling more than once.

Our siblings share many of the same memories and family history 

and when one of them passes away, 

they take one of our connections to the past with them.

My family and I miss him so very much already, 

yet we are rejoicing that he is with the One that he had served for so many years.

So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8

~*~

So I want to say "thank you" for the sweet and kind words of condolence

and particularly for the prayers for me and my family.

You all are the best.

Much love,