Welcome, Lucas Bru from Argentina
A year has gone by, and we had to say good bye to our boy, Ignacio back in June.
Christmas, 2011 with Ignacio/Me/Morgan/Rob & Cassie
It was a wonderful year with Ignacio. He was our first boy in the Sandberg household. We truly felt like he bacame one of us. He was gracious, respectful, loving, funny, onery, and loved. He accepted us, for who we are, and loved us in spite of it! Many memories were made the 10 short months he was in our home. Having the opportunity to travel to New York and meet his family, was a wonderful blessing. We truly connected on this trip, and I feel like Ignacio's family is our family. We look forward to getting to travel to Spain to meet them again, and also meet his extended family. Ignacio, we love you and THANK you for giving us the opportunity to know you.
Lena, Christmas 2009
It's been 3 years since Lena was with us. She lives in Moscow, Russia. We have spent a few times skyping with her, but not as often as I wish we could. The 8+ hours time difference makes that difficult. I miss her and her laughter. Lena was our 1st experience with the AFS student exchange program. We were all a bit nervous. We had some good times and we had some not so good times. Having another girl in the house can cause tension at times and drama. (WHAT?) When Lena was around, you can expect to hear her, and her laughter. (makes me smile just thinking about it) She like Ignacio, accepted us for who we were, even our differences in opinions. I believe this year was a great experience. It truly stretched us as a family, to look at ourselves through a lense we have never viewed ourselves through before. It just amazes me how God can put love in your heart for someone as your own child, and how that love never fades, even many miles that are between us. I still feel, and will always feel, like she is my daughter, who just happens to live in Russia. I pray for her and her family. I hope that one day, we will get the opportunity to see her again and meet her family. I love you, Yelena Gorbacheva!
Now, we have another boy in the house. His name is Lucas Gaston Bru. He is 17 years old. His birthday is one week after mine! (Jan 23) Not only does he share the same birthday month as me, he shares the same dislike of SEAFOOD as me! He started with our family as just a welcome family, that is, when there is no placement for them, AFS needs welcome families to allow the students to stay until a family is found. We had no intensions of hosting this year. After hosting just the year before, we wanted to take a break. Lucas came in, and we wouldn't let him go. I am so glad he is with us. We are still getting to know each other at this point. He is a very confident young man. He is the oldest child in his household in Argentina. He is the youngest in our household. This is different for him. He is adjusting to the way we parent. Our city has curfews and such, things he is not use to. Another adjustment for him, is having SISTERS! He has two younger brothers at home. They are 15 and 9 years old. In our home, he has two OLDER sisters. (I think he thinks of them as bossy at times - LOL, But that's what girls do) He hasn't got to spend much time with Morgan because she is attending college in Colorado, but he has spent some time with Cassie. It's fun to just set back and watch him interact with them. I'm sure as the months continue to fly by, we will only grow more in love with him.
Being a host family for these students have been so wonderful and life changing. I won't lie and say every single minute is wonderful, because it's not always. I will say though, that just like our own children, there are some not so wonderful times. It's an adjustment for everyone. BUT, you still love them, even when it's not so wonderful. I'm very thankful for all 3 of these young people who have become a part of our family. Our lives have forever been changed because of them.
Welcome to the family, Lucas!
