"Joshypoo, I love you!"

Josh's funny face

Josh's seriously straight face*

One of my favorite names to call my little brother Jake is "Jakeypoo." While it may seem childish, it is intended to be completely endearing :) Oftentimes, I will make it into a little rhyme and say, "Jakeypoo, I love you!" Despite the fact that Jake is 19, I think he appreciates it...

Speaking of Jake only naturally leads me to introduce you to Josh. For you see, Josh has become like a little brother too. Like Jake, Josh has two older sisters who have graduated from college and are now living and working in the States. Josh knows all about a life with older sisters, so I feel like it is now my duty as his RA to tease him just a little bit as his sisters would do if they were here. That is completely legitimate, right? I mean, it's all done in love! So, every now and then, I do call him "Joshypoo" and he just smiles.

To tell you a little bit about Josh...

Josh is in eighth grade at BFA and is completely unbeatable in every and any staring contest. I cannot tell you how many times his serious face has made me laugh until my stomach hurt.

Josh has a sense of humor that our entire Liel family appreciates. He can be sarcastic and witty and goofy and silly. But he is also quite a gentleman and he is incredibly respectful.

Josh was our first student to arrive at Liel and it has been so special to see him grow here in just 9 short weeks. We were first introduced after Josh had traveled through the night on a plane so he was naturally tired and quiet, but also really shy. However, he has proved himself to be quite the social one...he just needed a few nights of sleep and time to warm up!

Some things I appreciate about Josh--he joins the girls and I when we sing "I Used to Drive a Little Ford" in the dorm van, I often say "Glory to God in the highestuhhh (with special emphasis on this last syllable)!" when I am really excited or thankful about something...it makes me smile when I hear Josh say this around the house too, he consistenly makes his bed well (I am responsible for daily room checks and this always impresses me...haha), he is incredibly organized and motivated when it comes to his studies, and he expresses thanks to our staff.

*To briefly explain the pictures...Josh dressed up as Sam I Am with green eggs and ham for the middle school fall party last week. I asked for a smile in the first photo and his serious face in the next. Ah, I love it! This is Josh.