You are such a bright and shining star in our lives. We brought you in to this world with love and know that you will grow up to be a wonderful human being. My wish for you is that you learn tolerance in this world, know that all people, no matter what walk of life, have worth and that everyone has a story to tell. When you understand that, everyone is a person of worth and you become able to love.
Follow the Dali Lama and understand his teachings as he talks about being a good person and appreciating your fellow men and women.
We love you more than you know.
Daddy
What you should know about Daddy's family:
Daddy's mother and father, Lana and Jerry, created a wonderful family for Auntie Kyra and me. They filled our home with love and a secure place to grow up.Unfortunately, Grandma Lana passed away from cancer in 1996. She was a strong and couragous woman, living with liver and breast cancer for nearly 10 years. She and Grandpa Jerry are the heros of your daddy's life.
Grandma Lana was born in Lithuania and lived a very sad beginning with her mother, Eugenia Stefanovich Denisenko (Oma). Her father, whom you are named after, Nikolai Denisenko, died before she was five years old and her only sister passed away when Grandma Lana was just 2 yrs old. She and Oma fled Russia when communists began taking over Europe at the end of World War II. Nikolai was a translator and was working on the Russian and Lithuanian boarder during the war when he was killed. Grandma Lana and her mother stayed just infront of the communists, trying not to get caught by them in a closed society. Oma knew what was needed, to head to America. She and Lana settled in Benton Harbor, Michigan where there was a very large Russian and German community. Oma was one of 9 children, all girls and one brother who was the youngest. The brother escaped and settled in Perth, Australia while the other sisters were in Philidelphia, Pennsylvania, West Germany, East Germany, Lithuania and Soviet Russia.
Oma remarried in Benton Harbor to Erich Sauer (Opa) who also came over the same year from Europe. He was the most wonderful grandfather your daddy could have had. He played with me and we were inseparable even until his death in 1988. Oma continued to live in St. Joseph/Benton Harbor, Michigan, mowing her own lawn with a push mower, shoveling her driveway from foot upon foot of snow. Oma was moved to a nursing home near Auntie Kyra after she fell and broke her hip at the age of 88. She lived there suffering from dementia until she passed away and joined Grandma Lana in 2007 at the age 96.
Grandpa Jezza comes from a long history of Hiltons dating back to the 4th century. His family came from England to America and settled in Solon, Maine. There is an old farm (no longer belonging to Hiltons) and a cemetary with the oldest and best known, William Hilton buried there. There are a number of books about the family which we will give to you when you are able to read and appreciate the long heritage of your family.
Your first name Joshua is a Hilton name and you take it from Joshua Nelson Hilton, your great, great, great, great grandfather who lived in the early 1800s.
December 1, 2013
As you are finishing your second year of life and being the brightest thing in ours, you have had to endure the sudden addition of Lochlan, your younger brother who came to join us on December 1. You have have been adjusting well and I hope will continue to be a leader and friend for him. Show him the way and be his friend through life as you both are coming from a very loving family who love you both equally.
We have many adventures in front of us and life will not always be easy but know that we are here together to take it all on.
Much love from my heart,
Daddy
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