Saying good-bye 2

In addition to losing MaryAnn and family. We also had to say good-bye to some dear church friends. Ben and Jenny are a wonderful couple who we met through our church. Originally from Indiana, they came to Waco via Austin. Ben was working on his Master's degree in something dealing with politics and religion. (I'm a little embarrassed that I can't remember exactly what it was called, because it always seemed very interesting to me.) Jenny was an elementary school teacher constantly dealing with the red tape and craziness imposed by the government. They were a sweet couple and Stanton and I related to them immediately. Ben was a good match for Stanton. They both enjoyed discussing politics and religion, but could also banter endlessly about college sports. Jenny and I related because our husbands were so similar and we were able to discuss family issues and how graduate school plays into the scheme of starting to grow the family. Jenny came around while I was pregnant with Chaselyn, so she was one of the first people I was actually able to feel like I could give some advice. (Although I always add the disclaimer that I'm by no means an expert.)

Ben and Jenny in the middle with the life group clan and some extras.

I guess I kind of thought of Ben and Jenny as being in a very similar spot as Stanton and me just about a year earlier. But they always seemed way more put together than I ever felt we were.

Ben and Jenny joined our wonderful life group and that's where our friendship was formed. Unfortunately, that's about the only time we were able to get together. But we understood. Ben was living the life of a grad student and Jenny was a caring school teacher who worked very hard. So we didn't hang out very much outside of LG.

Life group girlies. Left to right - Kristen, Jenny, Allison (who left us about a year ago but still visits), Christi, Rachel, and Claire-Bear

I'm going to miss them both a lot. I'm going to miss Jenny most because she's a great person and has such an awesome attitude toward everything. And she has such a heart for kids. And like I said, our husbands are quite similar, so she understood me. I'll miss Ben most for Stanton. Like I said Ben is a great guy, but more than anything he was able to relate to Stanton on all levels. It's a rare breed who can understand Stanton's intelligence, his infatuation with sports, and his insane sense of humor.

Stanton and Ben having one last deep conversation.

So through all of this, Indiana has taken away two great families from Waco. And I know for the Greers, Waco will not be the same. It will be different. But I can't express how thankful and how blessed that we feel for our path to have crossed with these great people.

***Thanks to Laura for the pictures! They were taken at our good-bye party for the Tolls.***