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Living abroad can be tough on family connections. Not seeing each other very often. Not experiencing kids grow up. Missing those little milestone moments. And even though calling is easy enough, time difference is a major nuisance, making regular evening calls quite impossible.

That all won't change just yet, but I did recently discover a new service that makes it just a tad easier. I had heard about VOIP or Voice Over IP, but had never checked it out. This morning, my sister and I both installed Skype on our computers. It's a new, free service that allows broadband consumers to call each other using the internet, and -if you have a webcam- let you see each other too. I know webcams and the technology has been around for a while, but a service that makes it that easy and is free is rather new I think.

It was so wonderful to see my sister, her husband and their little boy 'Lander'. I couldn't believe how much he had changed since the last time I saw him. He's 10 months now and I last saw him when he was 4 months, so I shouldn't be surprised. I also had seen some recent pictures, but you still can't replace atually seeing the little boy. And my sister for that matter. We talk on a regular basis, but adding live video to the call does make it very different, definitely raises the bar. The same goes for her. She could see how Kevin acts now and actually hear and see him wave and say 'dag tante joke'. And he loved it. When we ended the call, we told him that aunt Joke and uncle Yves had to go to bed, and he kissed them goodnight and waved to them. Aterwards he kept on talking about aunt Joke going 'nightnight'. so sweet.

I can't wait to try out this service with my dad. I know how he misses his grandson, so this could make it a lot easier. Of course, I will have to wait a couple of weeks as my sister will have to help get Skype set up on his computer. My father's still a very progressive and modern man, using mobile phones, digital cameras and other devices without problems, but somehow computer programs are not his forte.