Wordless: G-kids Celebrate the New Year

A Sight for Sore Eyes

Two days ago right around lunch time we heard a knock on the door.  One of the kids ran to open the door knowing that I was just a few steps behind them.  A FedEx delivery man was standing there holding a large box that looked really heavy.  The kids started saying, “It’s Meme’s box!”  My mother told us last week that she mailed a care package to us and had put some surprises in it.  Everyone was standing around the box waiting for me to tear it open.

I want to interject something here that I have learned over the last year and a half of living overseas as a missionary.  Do not underestimate the power of sending care packages to missionaries.  Most missionaries live on a very limited budget and don’t splurge on unnecessary items very often.  Comforts from home mean more than you can imagine.  We have to limit our Mexican food meals because the ingredients here are so expensive.  One single can of black beans, IF you can find them, is 5 Euros ($6.50 USD).  Corn tortillas only come in packages of eight and cost 3 Euros ($4 USD). And forget about Pace picante sauce. You can’t find that anywhere. We have been making our own salsa, even though you have to search really hard in the grocery store to find a few pre-packaged jalapenos. Care packages mean more than just what’s inside. A lot of time, energy, and money is spent in sending one. That is what brings tears to my eyes when I see everyone enjoying the contents of a newly-arrived box. It’s the thought and love behind it.  Ok…now back to my story….

I peeled back the flaps of the box and immediately heard squeals of delight. At the top of the box were Hostess Twinkies and cupcakes, taco shells, corn tortillas, Twizzlers, several boxes of fruit snacks, and a baggie full of flavored lipsticks for the girls.

It would take too long to list everything in the box, but everyone in the family benefited….even the new Vandy baby who is still in mommy’s tummy.  As I watched the kids laughing and jumping up and down while going through the items in the box, my eyes brimmed with tears of gratefulness. They are missing their homes, their friends, their church, and also their favorite restaurants.  The small familiar items in this box made them smile and feel more at home.  This was fun!

Coloring books and sticker books that have kept them busy for hours! (Notice the HUGE container of Pace salsa)

Even fun stuff for the grown-ups!

The little boys loved their trucks and coloring books!

This box truly blessed us, and I want to thank my mom (their Meme) for sending it.  She just had a birthday yesterday, so I want to tell her happy birthday!  We love her! (more…)

Wordy Wednesday

After today I will call my Wednesday posts “Wordless Wednesday”, but today I’m going to explain it a little.  Destiny said I should call it “Wordy Wednesday” just for today, and I totally agree.  I would hate to mislead anyone. 

I’ve been wanting to do Wordless Wednesdays for a long time but always seem to forget until late on Wednesday Thursday Friday night.  I really love pictures that speak for themselves, so now I will (hopefully) be looking for a photo all week to use.

The whole idea of Wordless Wednesday is not to use words. I totally get that, but I do want to say one more thing that might seem unrelated but really isn’t:  I am so very very grateful that my laptop is back in my hands after being in the repair shop for a week.  I have a Macbook Air (which I LOVE) and the hinge has been gradually breaking over the last several months. Well, my wonderful husband researched it and found out that I’m not the only one with hinge problems on my version of Air.  Therefore, they fixed it better than ever and totally free of charge even though it was past the one-year warranty period!  I LOVE Apple!

Ok…..now for my Wordless Wednesday….

American Fourth of July in Belgium

My Budding Musicians

Living with six of my seven grandchildren is a joy. Poppy and I get to spoil them and love on them continually. We try not to spoil too much, but we just can’t help it.  Like last night. The parental units went to an Explosion youth leadership dinner and meeting, and we kept all the kids.  At dinner time we lined up six plates, filled them one by one, and passed them around the table to each one. When the plates were passed out, we started on the drinks. One of the older ones said they wanted Pepsi Max.  Pepsi Max is a beloved drink by some around here. It has 30% more caffeine than regular diet Pepsi, and the kids are not allowed to drink it.  The next thing I know, Poppy is handing the two oldest girls their own glasses of Pepsi Max.  Poppy said Ash and Maddy needed it, because they had had such a busy afternoon. They had gone with him to run an errand. They ended up walking in the forest and got lost. (That story will have to wait for another blog post…) You should have seen their faces when Poppy told them they could have Pepsi Max. You would have thought we gave them a $100 bill!  All this to say, we usually give them what they want…especially when mom and dad aren’t around.

I don’t know why I went off on that story, because the real reason I’m writing this post is to talk about how the kids are learning to play instruments during our watches in the BHOP (Brussels House of Prayer). Ashlyn is very interested in the harmonica, and it sounds so great.  It’s not your typical “hoe-down” harmonica sound. She has learned how to make it sound good even in slower worship songs. Madysen is loving the piano. She practices all the time. She has learned two chord progressions and we have been singing several songs to those progressions. It’s very beautiful, actually. Kadyn is a natural on the drums. She is learning to keep a steady beat and is very good at it. (She has her dad’s drumming genes.) Lyric loves to play the guitar she got for Christmas last year. She does a great job, and she sings at the same time. The boys are just 2 1/2 and 18 months, so all they do is dance. It’s so cute to watch.

Ashlyn on the harmonica

Maddy on the piano

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

Austin's first birthday

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.

When Austin turned 9, he wanted a Ranger birthday!

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