Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Staying in Touch

Recently we introduced our two newest family members to Skype. The first attempt, a webcam call with Pedro's cousin, his wife and kids, initially resulted in Alec wailing in fear and running away from the computer! Little by little we were able to encourage him to move closer, however, and by the time we caught up with Grandma and Grandpa Garcia a few days later he was a willing participant in the video chat.

What an encouraging invention webcams, video conferencing and the like are for families separated by oceans and miles of distance! Of course the kids take advantage of the opportunity to show off their newest toy (or toys, as you can see in Eva's case!) and missing teeth and whatnot. But it definitely makes it feel like it hasn't been quite as long since we saw each other last.

In the case of Pedro's parents who will be coming to visit in July of this year, it has been almost three years since we were last together! So far they have only met their newest grandsons by webcam but it will be a joyous occasion when they get to do so in person. Our kids are excited and the oldest ones are already planning everything they want to show Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Nina in and around Iquique. They've even chosen seatmates for potential bus tours into the desert and surrounding areas! :)

We're thankful for the ability to stay in touch, and for our special families who are such a blessing to us whether close or far away.

video chat with Grandma and Grandpa Garcia

PS - In this picture, Owen and Alec were distracted by Eva's armload of stuffed animals. But the look on Ian's face is the same one he wore the entire call! He was totally into the faces on the screen, but very serious. It was too cute. :)

No comments: