happy birthday, natasha!

And happy Valentine's Day to you! We often do not mention birthdays on our blog.....not that we forget, but it's hard to keep up with it once you do one. But my friend, Natasha, who lives all the way over in Belarus, has to share her birthday with the day of love. And since she is so far, and i always forget to plan to send a gift far enough in advance, I wanted to post a little something for her before her birthday is over (which gives me only about an hour since it's 11 p.m. there right now!).

We became friends in the fall of 1998 when I moved to Belarus for the first time. We were not best buds right away or anything like that, but it's a friendship that has grown over time, and now I have to say she is one of my closest friends, in my heart anyway. She is funny and real and not afraid to share her thoughts and opinions which is something we Americans hold back all too often. Besides that--she has an incredible life story--growing up in one of Russia's "secret cities" and coming to know the Lord through meeting a believer in an aerobics class of all things. This woman just continues to grow and endure the twists and turns of life. I guess you could say she's one of my heroes (those of you who know Nate Jones may have heard a hero speech here or there). I'm praying for this to be an incredible year for you, Natasha. Thanks to skype, hopefully we'll be able to have many conversations through the wonders of the Internet.

This photo was taken by Natasha when she was visiting and I love Lewis' hairdo. She really captured him at a great post-bath moment.
















Before Natasha went back to Minsk, she spent some time in California. Desperate to meet a celebrity, she went looking in the Los Angeles area and found none other than:

















Chelsea Clinton!! She posted this picture on her Facebook account and it absolutely cracked me up. Here was her caption: "i wanted to take picture with a celebrety...somebody cool and handsome but all what i got is Chelsey Clinton." Natasha sure has connections!

We love you, friend! Hope your birthday was a blast. :)