Congratulations!

Well, I am officially old now. For years, I have not felt like an adult, but I do now. I asked a friend of mine (who is a couple of years older than I) when he felt like an adult. His answer was, after I had my second child and when my little sister got married.
Well as of last night, both of those things have almost happened to me. Please join me in congratulating my little brother and his new fiancée Savannah. They got engaged last night after they went to see Phantom of the Opera for her birthday. We talked to her on Skype today and it sounds like it was quite an affair.
I am very happy for them and am very proud of the man that Josh has grown into. He loves the Lord, he loves his fiancée and he loves his family. A guy couldn’t ask for a better brother. He has supported us 100% with William and now with Elvis as well. I think he even came up with a nice chunk of change when we were fundraising for William. Hopefully, we’ll get the chance to return the favor one day (hint hint)!
I was talking to William a couple of weeks ago about his 2 brothers. One will live with us when we leave Ukraine and one will still live 13 hours away, but both are his brothers. I was explaining to him that one day, if he builds strong relationships with them, they’ll not only be brothers, but friends as well. There is nothing sadder to me than two brothers who don’t speak to each other. I pray William, Elvis and Sasha will never face this.
I pray that William, Elvis and Sasha will be lifelong friends. I count Josh as my friend. We can go play golf, go to the movies, go to the lake or just sit around watching football and we always have a good time. We are also good friends with our dad, who is pretty cool in his own way. A dad who doesn’t have a relationship with his son(s) is just as sad as brothers who don’t speak.
It was pointed out to me a few weeks ago by Josh that I am becoming more like dad the older I get. I think we were laughing at the time because I couldn’t figure out the AC in Jenn’s car, but it’s actually a good thing. My dad is retiring next week and if I can have half of the work ethic and integrity that I have seen from him over the years, I will consider myself successful. I want William and Elvis to respect me when they are grown the way Josh and I respect our dad. Anyhow, I will end this rambling mess of a blog, my main point was to congratulate Josh and Savannah on their engagement. Now you see why Jennifer keeps the blog password away from me.

The above picture was taken at the airport when we got home with William.