My First-born Son is Twenty-five!!!

Am I that old?! Yep. I am.  My third-born child and first-born son, Austin Wayne Benjamin, is twenty-five years old today.  From his first breath he was a joy to us, because we had been told, according to a sonogram, that he was more than likely a “she”. He never would cooperate with the sonogram technician and was always turned the wrong way, but they gave us their best guess.  We already had two girls, Courtney and Destiny, and were more than thrilled to add another girl to the mix. Well, when Dr. Fong said, “It’s a boy!”, it just didn’t register at first.  Then we started crying and saying, “A boy?!!! A boy?!!!”  Then the tears REALLY started flowing!

These twenty-five years have really been a joy.  Austin loves to have fun. He always keeps us laughing. He values family. He loves God with all his heart and is committed to seeing His purposes lived out on earth before Jesus’ return. He loves people. He is fiercely loyal. He prefers interacting with small groups of people as opposed to large crowds. His sensitivity to the needs of others around him astounds me. He enjoys LOVES all types of sports. Just ask him about any sport, and he will tell you the stats of the best players. He has seen just about any movie that you can think of. To say he’s a movie lover is an understatement. He is a worshiper of God and loves to lead others into His presence. He is seriously a joy to all around him. He is precious to me.

Happy birthday, sweetie. Your mom and dad love you more than you know. We miss you so much and can’t wait until the wedding! We love Hannah like a daughter and are looking forward to Nov. 6th when she is officially in our family! You are a blessed man.