Ben and Kristy Blog

This Thanksgiving We are Thankful for Parents

This is a place to sing praises for each of our parents who have been really, really good to their needy kids this month. Thanks to Vonage, we can talk every day with people in the States if needed, and thanks to MEEST, the courier service, we can get packages from the US in less than 2 weeks (with nothing stolen, lost, or confiscated. A big plus when sending us Swedish Fish, Deluxe Shells and Cheese, ziplock bags, fiber pills, Febreeze, Nutter Butters, cranberry sauce, and other American necessities when living overseas.)

But recently, our requests have been a bit more serious.
Since Kristy’s mom, is a nurse, she is in charge of our health needs so we can combat scary flu rumors. Ben’s mom receives our mail and paper work. Since our marriage was only partially recognized in Ukraine without a special stamp from the IL Secretary of State for International acceptance, she went to great lengths to round that up. Ben’s dad and step-mom keep us up-to-date with our reading materials – the remodeling magazines have been lifesavers as we explain “American styles” to Ukrainian workers. (Actually, a kitchen “island” does translate literally into Ukrainian.) Lastly, we were certain we’d have to “MEEST” Kristy’s dad (he built their Wheaton house) over here after our first look at the kitchen and bathroom in our new place! Luckily the workers have been wonderful, trustworthy, and quick, so it looks like Dad can stay on that side of the ocean for winter.

But this hardly does our parents ANY justice when it comes to the sacrifices and care that they give to us, especially while overseas. They are all dear servants, and there is no way to repay them for all their efforts. We love you, family. We’re sure going to miss you this holiday. Since we can’t be together, here are some favorite pics with our parents from the last times we got to be together.