Adoptive families have a special bond and today we enjoyed a long overdue beach break with the Calzadilla family of Chicago, who are here to adopt 15 year old Vera. We have much in common with the Calzadillas as they have a soon-to-be five year old daughter, Elyse.
Elyse and Christian seem to be pretty cool with the fact that their days as only children are just about over!
The Black Sea water temperature is perfect - probably in the low 80's
On "Malibu" Beach, Sergei delivered lunch right to us...
And just like everywhere we go in Ukraine, it was delicious!
Nelson never dreamed he would be sitting on a Ukrainian beach in 2007 eating a steak!
Anastasia got a break from studying for her exit exams
Vika is one of the excellent "Team Oleg" translators. She just completed a four year degree, specializing in English and German. If you work with her in Ukraine, buy her lots of ice cream to make her happy!
This beautiful woman is the most amazing person I've ever known and I am the most grateful man alive because she is also my wife. Today Dana and I celebrated our 11th anniversary. Because of her outgoing and positive personality, no one would ever suspect that she lives in pain every day of her life due to Rheumatoid Arthritis, a condition she has suffered with since the age of 11. At times it has been crippling, yet she is the hardest working, kindest, and least judgemental person in the world. Her faith in God is unshakeable, so it's no suprise that she sees and loves everyone as a child of God. We both know that our marriage and family life is about to change in a major way. But we are faithful knowing that we have already walked side by side through much joy and anguishing loss. Together, we are confident as we prepare to go forward as a family of five.
3 comments:
Happy Anniversary! It looks as if it was the perfect day! Jim--I know you have two very special days coming up too. Father's Day will no doubt have new meaning for you...and I hope you have a terrific and very memorable birthday next week. But then it's been a month full of special days...hasn't it? My thoughts are with you all!
Happy anniversary, guys! It looks like you're figuring out creative ways to pass your ten days. Our I-171 came today!! I hope we travel around the same time as another family from the US so we can fellowship with steak on the beach too!
Happy anniversary! I've known dear Dana for over 35 years (good grief we are old) and concur that she is a gift from God to Jim, Chrisitian, "the girls," and all of us that are so lucky to know her. Great to hear that you had a wonderful day at the beach to celebrate. Cheers!!
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