Six more days!

I'm hearing strains of "Sunrise, Sunset" in my head these days. In six days, my daughter becomes Emily Thompson. Emily has all the qualities of a godly wife, and a sweet spirit, and a tender heart toward the Lord. There have been some candidates for seeing Emily who didn't quite make it around here, for one reason or another. You have to expect that when you have a sweet and beautiful daughter! With three older brothers and a Dad, the candidates had to expect it to not be easy to get to date her!

Then came Ben. We are thankful that Ben grew up in a believing home, of some wonderful godly parents. (At this point, I must express gratitude to the Lord for giving all of our children mates who have believing parents, who have raised them to love the Lord. ) Ben has a gentle heart, and yet is able to say, "Now Emily, that's my job." We were privileged to have Ben live in our home for 2 1/2 months, (since Emily lives in Arlington with Jessica) and we went from, "Well, he's passed all the 'tests' and answered all our questions correctly. Em loves him, and we trust her." to an enthusiastic, "He's perfect for our Emily!" Ben is consistently patient, loving, encouraging, and absolutely loves our daughter. Emily's love for Ben passes Daryl's "sparkle" test...if the girl's eyes don't sparkle, something is missing! (See above pic, where her eyes sparkle!)

What can I say? Daryl has already measured the 66 feet from the back of the sanctuary to the front of the sanctuary, where he places Em's hand in Ben's. I'll probably cry all week, and have a blast helping Em get ready for the wedding. In six more days, she becomes Emily Thompson. As in all the other weddings around here, our family has been blessed by it's additions! I'm not losing a daughter...I'm gaining a Ben!

A Good Dad

I caught this picture through the window at Matt and Amy’s new home.  Matt moved in on Saturday, and Amy will move in after the wedding.  This will give Matt time to do some “home repairs” to a few things. 

Emotions tend to run high when you send a kid out…and in this picture, I see a lifetime of parenting. Matt’s the kid here, but it could have been any of the four.  I see a Dad who has spent hours on his knees, praying for his children and pleading with God to act on their behalf, for their salvation, for their well-being, to give them wisdom, for their future mates.   I see a Dad who has taught his kids how to work.  I see a Dad who has been there through thick and thin for his children.  I see a Dad who is always there for his kids when there’s a need.  I see a Dad whose children still come to him for advice and to pick his brain for wisdom.  I see a Dad who has always been a fun Dad.  I see a Dad who has taught his children the Word of God, and has patterned it for them. No matter what the kids have been involved in, Daryl has always been right there beside them, getting involved, cheering for them, and even occasionally, trying to reason them out of mistakes.  And, even as they grow up, Daryl continues to be there for them, and treasures every moment we get with the kids.

As we launch this next son, I take joy in knowing that he’s ready.  I see a young man who has learned much from his Dad, and who has been much help this last two years.  Like his older brothers and his sister, he’s turned out well.  He’s sitting on his own back porch, hangin’ with his Dad, conversing Man to Man.  Blessings, Matt!  Amy, you’re getting a good man, just like his Dad!

Brooke Renee Bennett

Daddy and his girls...



Meet your sister!



It never gets old....every one is special!

Well, everybody in the Bennett and Jones families are excited about the safe arriveal of Brooke Renee Bennett. Julia felt good going into delivery, and the Lord graciously gave her a safe, "boy do I feel better than the last time" delivery. At less than a day old, Brooke is already holding her head up! Welcome, Brooke!

Winter in Texas

This was too good not to take a picture of. The Fire-snowman is courtesy of Bedford Firestation #2, behind our house. WAY too cute!



This is my very obliging Daryl, whom I talked into coming out back and demonstrating with a yardstick how deep the snow was...we got 7" in most spots, but I found a few 8" places after this picture.

We were headed into Atlanta this morning, courtesy of some flight miles from Steve and Kathy Hensley to come to Atlanta for a visit, but the snow went there after it left here, and Delta was cancelling all flights. The re-schedule Delta was offering would have given us less than 24 hours in Atlanta. Sigh. God knows best, and it's good.

It's a Girl!

The Bennett Family is rejoicing tonight at the announcement of Matt and Amy's engagement. We love our Amy, and welcome her into the family.

In typical Bennett fashion, we did a family pool on the engagement date. It has been a long wait on the Lord to work out job and ring details for the happy couple, so since we knew the time was near, we decided to do some guessing while we waited. At first we were a little hesitant, lest we lesson the joy, but Matt and Amy heard about it and thought it was great fun!

I gave out the info that the ring had been ordered but had not come in yet, and the grand prize for guessing the right engagement date was to get to be the first to get dessert at the Rehearsal Dinner. Guesses came in and were logged into my datebook.

Congratulations to Austin Daniel Bennett, who guessed that today would be the Engagement Day. Today also happens to be his 7th Birthday! Happy Birthday, Austin! You will get to have the first dessert at the Rehearsal Dinner! What's your favorite dessert?