Man… This has been a hard year with losing people that are close to us. We’ve had three funerals this year in our family and one more in our church. Please keep praying for us – it’s a lot of stress.

This is my favorite photo of grandma. It was back when she would smile more, when she was in less pain, and before she lost her second son, Oleh (my father-in-law). Back then, we could sit and talk for an hour or two about her life experience, about local Ukrainian politics, or even just about the weather. She was happy.

However, the last year and a half of her life was really hard. After losing Oleh, she constantly talked about how God was punishing her. She lost hope. Her joints got worse and her heart started to fail. That led to her legs swelling up. She got a stomach ulcer and couldn’t eat much.

I refuse to remember her that way, though. I prefer to think of her as the tough-as-nails grandma that never finished fourth grade but had more business sense than Tim Cook. She would constantly bring everyone food, including 40-lbs bags of potatoes or whole buckets of vegetables. She lived through World War II and the Ukrainian War of Independence (1938-1954~), she buried three husbands and two sons, and we loved her.

We miss you grandma. I hope you’re enjoying Jesus now and hanging out with Oleh in Heaven.