After a few fun days in Amsterdam I was off to Mons, Belgium to see my nieces with a surprise visit from my nephew Charles (a.k.a. Chuck). Due to some construction on the railroad tracks I had to take an alternative route which was okay because it end up going to get me there about the same time that I had originally planned however there was a snagfu. I had changed trains somewhere in Holland which end up only going to the next station at one of the Brussels stops (there are several stations in that city) then stopped. I looked around and there was no one on the train but myself. I had no idea what had happen. They did make some sort of announcement in Dutch but I did not have a clue. A nice Belgium lady helped me out with some guidance. Also I did not have a way to call my niece to let her know. I end up going to a cafe while I waited for about an hour for the next available train. I ordered one of those great Belgium beers and thought I would take out me computer if by chance I had some internet connection. Something popped up on the WiFi but needed a code. The cafe actually offered :30 free access so I was able to IM my niece husband to let them know what had happen.
The Belgium lady end up being on the same train and in fact was going to the same city where my niece lives. We had a nice conversation which helped the train ride go by quickly and it gave me a chance to practice my limited French because in Belgium they speak 3 languages...Dutch in the north, French in the south, and many speak some English too.
When I finally arrived at the train station (or Gare as it is referred to here) my beautiful nieces and nephew was there to greet me. It was very nice to see them all with those brilliant smiles and getting gigantic hugs from each of them.
We made it to the house and I got to not only see my two (grand) nephews Antonio and Isaiah I got to meet my new nephew Josias who was just born just over a month before. What a joy to be in the presence of my sister's 3 wonderful children and 3 grandsons.
It seems like only a few years ago when these young adults were little children themselves and now all of them have grown up to be outstanding people. My sister did a great job and now my niece Annick is following by raising her marvelous children.
The new addition taking a little nap, isn't he so handsome? Now this fella to the right is Isaiah I last saw him two years ago when he was only probably 6 months or so and now he has a nick name by his Aunt April of "Roughy" and I like to refer to him as Roughness. He is not that tender little guy I held in my arms. He has an adventurous spirit and he is quite a character.
Now of course there is the older brother, Antonio. He is a caring and sensitive little guy with a big heart. He started school recently and I think he is going to do great.
They do resemble their dad, Carlos and he is a proud papa. I look forward to seeing them again at the end of my trip. I send loving vibrations to them all!
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