Grandkids!

We just got word tonight that Joel's son Josh and his wife Amy are in the process of adopting two boys from the Ukraine. We've known about their Ukraine trip for many months, but it was just tonight that we heard about the boys themselves. I shall omit their Ukrainian names and photos until I get their parents' permission.

Andrew, the older brother, is eight years old. He loves math and has an adorably sly smile and short, dark, straight hair. When Josh and Amy met him, he was wearing a Batman t-shirt. He took the initiative of starting to fill out some of the adoption forms in neat Cyrillic script.

His little brother, Caleb, is four. Caleb probably has a different birthfather than Andrew. Caleb is very blond and could easily pass for Josh and Amy's biological child. He has a grin that stretches from ear to ear. He started to cry when he realized he could not go home immediately with Josh and Amy.

The boys, who are half-brothers, speak both Russian and Ukrainian, but not a word of English (except maybe the name, Batman). They have lived in a small orphanage for two years. Most of the other 23 residents there are older than they are, so Caleb especially has been spoiled. Josh and Amy are extremely lucky to have found boys whose own and whose mother's medical histories are available. The boys are both in excellent health.

At first the verbal description of the boys and their situation made me happy, but it did not really grab me--not till I saw their photos. Now they are real to me, and I cannot wait to meet them. Katie will be ecstatic.