F is for Family

I’ve heard it said that you can’t choose your family, and they have to love you. I’ve worked in a Junior High before, and believe me, the latter is not true! I’m thankful that in my case, they do!

I am blessed with a lot of “family groups” in my past and present. We may or may not see much of each other, but we are still family, and share a special bond.

My birth family loved me. Regardless of the problems my parents had, I was loved by them. (Okay, Daddy was questionable, but Dub stepped up to the plate in later years, and couldn’t have loved us more!)

When they split up, we lived with my Mom at my Grandparents (including an unmarried aunt, and an unmarried uncle). They loved us.

Mom and Teresa (my sister) and I lived on our own for a while, and we loved each other. Okay, we fought a lot, but believe me, any trouble from outside us had all 3 of us to recon with!

I married Daryl, and we were a new family. We loved each other, and treasure each other even more now, 35 years later, than we did at the beginning.

I was a part of the new in-law family, and they loved me.

We had 4 children, and were a large family (Daniel often called us more of a circus than a family!).

We’ve added 3 daughters in law, 1 son-in-law, 6 grandchildren, and my Mom, and we fill a photo now! We all love each other.

My sister added BJ, Tom, and Mandy and Michelle and Myranda. More family!

We’re part of a loving church family.

We’re part of a neighborhood family, who have raised a neighborhood of kids together.

We have friends we’ve shared life with over long years, and they’re family.

My kids’ in-laws have become more of the extension of our family, and we love them.

I’m also blessed that my office is like a family. Some of us are a little odd, but we have that family feel to us. We care about each other.

Some family members have gone Home…Grant, Mark, Myranda, Dub, James and Velma, Mama Greene, Homer, Cecil, James…and numerous aunts and uncles. So, we have part of our hearts in our next home!

So, I have to say that family is a warm, happy word for me. Not without it’s stresses and challenges…the trip here has had some thunderstorms along the way. But one thing is true: A family founded on Jesus Christ, the Rock, has a firm foundation, and can weather the storms.

E is for Emily and Ellie

Wow!  So far, I’ve hardly had to think!  We may have enough family members to make it most of the way through the alphabet!  :-) 

Emily is my girl.  I have 3 boys, then I had a girl.  Lest you think I don’t love my boys, let it be known that we always hoped to have 4 children. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that it is nice to have a girl to relate to in life! 

Ellie is Daniel’s youngest child.  She has a sister and 2 brothers.

As I think about the girls, they have some interesting similarities!

They are both the 4th child in their families.

They both major in cuteness.  And know how to use it.

They are both unique among their siblings:  Emily is the only girl sibling, Ellie is the only adopted sibling.

They are both kind and sweet and loving.

They both give awesome hugs, and they both love me!

Both have “nicknames”.  Emily is often called “Em”.  “Ellie” is a nickname for her full name, Elizabeth.

Both Emily and Elizabeth are classic names. 

I love my E girls! 

D is for Daryl and Daniel

In case you don’t know, Daryl is my husband, and Daniel is my first born.  They’re a lot alike.

Both have names that begin with D. 

Both are in church leadership, Daniel as a full time pastor, and Daryl as a non-staff elder. 

Both have a strong sense of right and wrong. 

Both have mellowed as they have gotten older, yet are more and more committed to the narrow way of the Word. 

Both are good at counseling people.

Both of them are committed to their families, and are good Dad’s.

Both of them were born the first week of September. 

Both of them have 4 children. 

Both of them have male and female siblings.

AND…I love both of them!

C is for Carol

That’s me.  I like being me.  I have had the best of all worlds.  I grew up knowing I was loved, with a family who made me believe there wasn’t anything I couldn’t do.  Being poor wasn’t an obstacle to success in their minds.  Success was separate from income. 

God brought me my wonderful husband….Daryl is a great man, godly, an elder in our church, and has always been a strong leader of our family.  I have 4 kids, 3 daughers-in-law, 1 son-in-law, 6 grandkids, and there isn’t a rotten apple in the bunch.  They are all walking with the Lord, and active in the Lord’s work.  THAT is all God’s graciousness toward me.  I didn’t deserve any of this….God did it all! 

For the last 35 years, I’ve been a wife, a stay-at-home Mom, now am a grandma, and (at one time or another) a published writer, video maker (those slide show videos you show at birthdays and anniversaries and weddings), got to work at a school, and now I’m in my next job of  being a health inspector.  At every stage of life, I’ve had my favorite job, whatever it was.  When I wasn’t needed to be the Mom at home anymore, God gave me something else to do.  I’m incredibly grateful for the years at home with my kids…I got to sow into them, to know them, to be there for them. 

I’ve had enough troubles in life to teach me that trusting God is the only way to live.  His Word is sufficient for all my troubles, all my joys, all my needs.  He is all.  As my sister says, God is good, all the time.

I’ve got amazingly good friends, who would do anything for me.  That’s another treasure.

I’ve got a sister and Mom who love me.  In laws who have always loved me like birth family.  Relatives who have always been there for me.

C is for Carol.  I’m her. I like being her. 

B is for Bennett and Ben and Brooke

Taking a new name is a big deal. You want it to be a good, solid name. You want it to be one that isn’t weird. You write it with your first name over and over before he proposes, just to see what it feels like.

Think about the way names are a positive or a negative. Where I grew up, Campbell, my Mom’s family name, was an honorable name to have. My family had been in the area for years and years, and it was a thing of honor to be related to the Campbell's. Other names bring negative thoughts…Judas, Benedict Arnold, etc. You get the picture.

I like the name Bennett. I like the way Daryl makes it a good name, the way he has always brought honor to his family. I like the way he has protected it by living a life of integrity and honesty and faithfulness. He has passed that honor along to his children, so that when my boys were young men, mothers wanted their daughters to marry a Bennett. People trusted our kids, because they knew us. It was up to the kids to keep it that way, but the name we protected gave them a good boost in the community.

I’m glad that the kids have continued the legacy of Bennett being a good name. They all are adults known for their honesty, integrity, good character, and being nice people. Thanks, kids, for maintaining the family name.

And thanks, Ben, for bringing yet another good "B" name to the family. You, too, are a man of honesty and integrity and good character, and being nice to people. I'm glad our Emily married you!

Now, Brooke is the littlest Bennett. She is Andrew's youngest girl. She is sweet and affectionate, and gives awesome hugs! She just turned a year old, and has both sets of grandparents in the same city! She has a big sister, Alyssa, who was on of the A names. She likes to come to our house to play. Love you, Brooke!

A is for Andrew, Amy, Austin, Amy and Alyssa

I’m going to quietly try the A to Z challenge Mom does on her blog. I don’t think anybody will notice until I get several letters in, since I never blog and nobody expects me to, and by then I will either be on a roll, or, as usual, find that adding an activity was too much and bid it adieu as a bit of fun, but un-doable. I’ll catch up a bit…I’ve just missed two letters so far.

Today, is the letter A. I realized we have a lot of A’s in the Bennett family. Andrew, Amy (Halliburton), Austin, Amy (Bennett), and Alyssa. Did I miss anybody? I’m thinking of the multitude of A’s in our family. (I’m going to let you all guess what determined the order of names, like we used to do as a family when some “order” was called for. Guess how I chose that order?)

Andrew is my quiet, strong son. (This is where I get in trouble, and don’t do blogs. I’ll get challenged by the other 3 boys as to whether or not I think they’re strong. It’s a given he’s my only quiet man, just as he was a quiet boy. Don’t hassle me, boys! You’re all strong. Andrew is,too.) :-) He’s the one I like to sit next to and listen to his dry wit, the undercurrent of little comments. Sitting by he AND Emily, my other quiet one, is a riot! I love watching him with his little girls, and the way he treasures his Julia. He’s always been a bit stubborn, but that tenacity helps him do well and accomplish much. I’m so proud of his persistence to get his college degree, and his faithfulness to be a hard worker. I’m proud of his gentleness with his girls, and his firmness in being a good parent. He’s good with his hands as well as his mind, and has just built a wooden fort/swing structure for the girls and their friends.

Amy Halliburton is my niece, a treasure from day 1. She and I have always connected…how I treasure the days of getting to pick up she and Grant from the “meeting place” and letting the cousins play together (or dropping my kids off for time at their house). From cut feet (remember cutting your foot on the stoop to the garage?) to boyfriends, we’ve been close.

Austin, what a wonderful grandson you are! I’m so blessed that you have always talked to me and confided in me. I remember one time you were telling me your thoughts of adding a new sister. You think deep thoughts. You’re a good big brother, too. I love the way you still sit close to me and share time together. Looking forward to our next trip together!!! Yay for Cracker Barrel!

Amy Bennett…you are always so sensitive to my thoughts and feelings. I was blessed at already having two daughters in law with whom I connected…how wonderful that God allowed it to be all 3!!! I remember Aunt Kathy marveling at how I was so blessed with good relationships…beyond just the in-law thing…with my kids’ mates. You’re so very good to my Matthew. Glad you’re in the family!

Alyssa…the grandkid who looks like I used to! Grandpa calls you “little Carol”, and it’s fun to hear him do so with endearment! What’s fun is that you also have my sense of wonder and joy at all things. I love getting to watch you grow and have such fun having you here!

Well, those are the best A things in my life. Day 1 done. :-)

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!