Truthful Thank Yous

My blistered burn from hot HOT glue gun is better. Thanks to my visiting teacher for picking up Roxie the day I burned myself. Fireplace project on hold. I can move my fingers enough to sew/paint today.

I am thankful for our amazing stove. Thanks to John & Sandy for our birthday-Christmas gift. Thanks to my parents, too, for helping us get by this month.


We sang Hymn#241 this morning because it went with the section we were studying. "Count Your Many Blessings." I missed Maxwell's voice (he is on tour thru Sunday with Boychoir) and I was thankful to not be the only one singing. Two days of snow delays and no seminary made it hard to teach this morning. I am thankful for a calling that makes me read the scriptures. Thanks to Amanda, yesterday for coming and reading French Book of Mormon with me(she is the only one with 100% attendance and didn't know about the 2 hour delay for school but it was great)!

John's cousin, Brand Name Jeans link over on my side, did 2 versions of looking at the New Year. Instead of being bummed out about broken windows, being thankful for opportunity for a NEW window.

She is a good example to me. Be like Michelle. Don't pout or mope like my natural man tendencies...

Instead of being sad missing my brand new nephew's birth, cousins' weddings, or missing my two oldest away at school, I can rejoice in the good news of celebrating long distance. I am thankful for the technology that connects us! I am thankful for the scholarships and dedication of my student children.

Instead of listing my wishes, nagging, freaking-out tonight about money pressures on our gift-card date tonight, I can be supportive, kind to my sweetie.

I am blessed to have an amazing, tender, kind husband who loves me passionately. Counting the ways I love him and appreciate him. Suzu told us at dinner last night about a version of Romeo & Juliet she had seen and how tragic and awful. John was full of advice on how they could have made it a happy story "if they had been honest and told their parents the truth!"

Thank you, Emma, for the couple photo t-shirt gift! Good reminder of who we are together.

I think we need to start retaking couple photos. I look back at them and appreciate the quantity, the quirkiness, the fun, the surprisingly wonderful many that I really love! It was a good way to help me be thankful and united during our financial trials--which continue. Somehow, we are going to survive this frustrating time.

We've narrowed the leak in the hot water heater to a specific part. Twice a day we bail out the overflow, and a guy is coming tomorrow to look at it. Praying hard it is an easy fix! HOT WATER is such a blessing! Appreciate it today, if you have it!

Santa Made Me Cry

(I promised Sally B. I would write this down, what I shared at Church today, but with more details here in blogworld.)

Our city has a tradition: Christmas Street Parade, on the first Saturday of December. Some years it is rainy, or snowy, or one of the bag pipers falls down from a heart attack. We don't always stay to the very end.

This year it was chilly. Even with gloves and hoods pulled up we still had cold toes. I was standing with my 9 year old and 12 year old as the last entry in the parade drove by.

There was a real white-bearded, fairly slim Santa, cheerful and waving and inviting us to the park for hot chocolate, cookies and toys, "...lots of toys. I have a full truck load of toys!"

"Is it free?" I wondered? I only had three $1 bills I had found in one of my coat pockets searching for my gloves.

Sam really wanted to go, so we walked the two blocks north to the park, away from the direction I had parked the car at the bowling alley just before the parade began.

A line was forming, snaking along the sidewalk from a little Santa cottage that is there year round. I had noticed the sign at the park before, "Santa's line starts here" but didn't know the tradition behind it.

The middle school band played Christmas music under the pavilion. Santa posed with the City Council members, including our own Grandma Sandy. Sponge Bob and Dora the Explorer and the Cat in the Hat and Frosty and the high school Eagle mascot entertained the line, walking up and down and posing for personal photos.

I asked my children what they would tell Santa they needed. Sam said "Halo Reach" and had to explain to me what that meant, and Roxie corrected me, "Not what I need, what I WANT" which is a webkin wolf.

Santa's elf helpers (4 of them) were line control directors. To keep Santa from getting stormed with children? I asked one elf, "What is the difference between vulcan ears and elf ears?"

"Who you work for!" She said she started coming to the park after the parade when she was 7 years old, and he has been the same Santa--she is 18 now. Every year he does this, buys the toys himself, puts together all the gift bags with Mrs. Santa, and also goes to the soup kitchens, Boys & Girls' clubs. It is what he does. He looks the part, but a healthier version of the icon.

We waited for our turn. Sam went first, and as Santa reached for an age-appropriate gift bag he asked Mrs. Santa to go get the soccer balls out of the truck. It ended up being a volley ball, but we forgave Santa that easily.

As Roxie sat on his lap, looking a little unsure about what to tell him now that she was up close, he looked in her eyes and said he could tell she was a good girl. He asked her if she said her prayers.

She nodded.

He said he could tell that she did, that it showed in her face and he asked her to always remember the Reason for the Season and how important He is, that He is why we celebrate giving, because of everything He gave us.

I was nodding my head, tears streaming down my face.

Santa gave Roxie a clear plastic gift bag full of all kinds of things and then he stood up and came the three steps over to me and hugged me.

I cried harder. He patted my back, handed me a huge candy cane, grabbed a big Simba stuffed animal and gave it to me and smiled at me and told me it was okay.

Why such an emotional response? I felt like a little kid. I was thinking of all my early Santa wishes, that he would make everything that made me sad all better and bring me what I really needed/wanted; the early years of our marriage when we didn't want to lie to our children about make-believe stories and boycotted Santa decorations on our tree; our change to gradually accept him as culturally relevant and important and watching in amazement as the older children perpetuated the Santa myth with instructing their younger siblings on leaving cookies-for-Santa etiquette; and my understanding spiritual similarities between Santa symbolism and Christ as a Giver of Life, not just wrapped seasonal gifts.

It was complicated but really simple, too. I felt such love and amazement at this sweet and kind and thoughtful Santa and blessed to hear his testimony to my daughter of the real Christmas.

We walked the four blocks back to the bowling alley and our car, cold toes, and warmed hearts.

Sam is thrilled with his volley-soccer ball. I saw Roxie playing with a stuffed wolf from this Santa last night.

I am thankful for all the Santas everywhere, but especially mine. I will wait in line for him next year, snow or rain or cold wind, with or without my children.

(Italian-looking Christ-child $2 @ Cranberry Good Will awaiting a paint touch-up)

Thank You, Jesus (said reverently)

I am thankful for a month of publicly listing blessings. Some mornings I have struggled to think of something new, a blessing I hadn't already listed. I loved how many of them overlapped, merged. Thankful for family/love/children/parents/cousins/gatherings all fit together. I want to keep a grateful attitude all year long.
"Ten Lepers" by James C. Christensen

I would hope that I would have turned back to say "thank you." But I am horrible about that social etiquette of thank you notes. Never did that from all our wedding gifts. I feel some true shame on that note. Didn't save the ragged notebook paper with the list of gifts. I was pregnant, sick, busy student, but that is not excuse.

Sometimes immediate, in person offers of gratitude are more spontaneous, heartfelt. But social rules do count for good manners. And I have failed dreadfully at this.

That is why my kids are pestered into writing notes. I want them to be better than I am.

I was blessed to take a watercolor class from the artist at the top of this post. Magnificent talent. Fun to watch. His creative fantasy worlds delight me.

I am thankful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ. For His birth, His example, His baptism, His teachings, His love, His suffering for me, His death, His conquering of death and sin so I can repent and be resurrected. That is good news!

It is easy for me to think of myself as a rejoicing (wingless) angel singing at His birth and thankful for Him.

Gratitude for Mom

Happy BIRTHDAY! I am grateful for her life and the many things she has taught me. I owe her everything. I wouldn't be here without her. Sister Mom and Elder Dad are serving full time missions for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in St. Croix.


Mom and her 7 siblings at her mom's funeral.

I've been thinking about the influence of families on our goals, our in-jokes (our humor!), our religious-ness or lack of it, or traditions, our choices. How is my mom similar to her siblings? How am I like her, and in turn, like my aunts and uncles?

Being thankful for Dad, is included in grateful for Mom, too. I am so glad they found each other, made the committment to one another, made covenants with God in the temple to be faithful and have children! Yeah, that is me! Families matter. Children matter. They are the most important priority. ANYTHING that takes us away from that is wrong, wrong wrong.
Families can be together forever.

Potato Blessings

One of my entertaining nightmares is running out of food. People leaving hungry. So there is always huge amounts, just in case.
Check out that big bowl of mashed white goodness at Roxie's elbow. John makes excellent potatoes.
I am thankful for food enough to share. I hung all the listed blessings from this blog and John's attached them to the dinning room chandelier, including "toilet paper." Yes, it is worth mentioning. We had a brief table side conversation on the benefits of soft white over scratchy brown paper.

Shared Interests

I am thankful for interests/hobbies/causes in common.

Thanksgiving almost wouldn't be complete without a quick trip to Cranberry. What a great named town!

David & Julie were there all week. Getting 13 cousins together to have crazy fun play was a priority, and being with siblings was a sweet bonus.

I am thankful for the fabric/quilting/architectural salvage collecting/parenting/crocheting/antiques with patina/thrift store shopping/art appreciation tastes we have in common.



Quick cranberry discussion: I got this cranberry sauce from listening to NPR. Just 3 ingredients, and it looks like Pepto Dismal (BRIGHT pink!) and very sour without sugar, so I added Spend-a-lot in honor of my in-laws.

Back to the real Cranberry
Thanks to Lu and family for hosting a fun gathering!

Photography: 2nd Chances & Flattering Tips

I am thankful for photography. For the things I see in pictures. For the faces, the expressions, the way the lighting matters...Taking lots and lots of photos of family has helped me see better. I would love to take some classes and learn more from a professional.

John's cousin, Audrey, looks like she is related, yes?! Since Roxie looks so much like John, maybe she will look like this in 20 years?


I don't think John looks like his sister Amy very much. But our daughter, Emmalyn, takes after her Landbeck aunties.

I show you this unflattering picture of me (no, I am not just talking, I was being silly, on purpose! But showing you this, then I can show you these sister-in-law shots, for demonstration purposes.)



Introducing Sara, the artist and makeup professional. With monster shot lighting from below.


Max took this candid shot, and I think it is beautiful! A real look from a hard-to-photograph sister-in-law!




This is Amy, the attorney, works in the JAG office on post. Not a flattering shot, color is off and yellow, bad lighting, bad flash nightmare. She looks pretty here. Head tilt. Picasa-fixed some of the scary shadows. Still not a perfect photo, but better.



Aunt Lisa, caught off-guard. Is it better to warn someone you are about to take their picture, or not?

Candid shot, with her great smile.


I love this photo, even with the blurry movement. John took this. I like this kind of picture better than group shot lined-up in a row remembrances of the day.

Thankful for Turkey Plus

I am thankful for the years of celebrating our blessings!

Looking back over the years and the electronic photo archives... (this one is at Grandma Sandy's house).

2003 at Hope House. Peach hallway walls before the green hills mural, the bright turquoise experiment. Light teal living room before the gold. Luanna & Bob came south to us, Babcocks north with friends in tow.



In 2004 we celebrated at Bailey Road Hope House again, beige dinning room walls (before "Wenge" walls and cloud ceiling).



In 2005 we went north, to Cranberry, for Thanksgiving. The year of Aunt Laura's polar fleece hats!
2005 was year Michael & Sare got married. Here is a big picture of the quilt from yesterday's post with Ellie getting a kiss from her dad!

In 2006 almost all of my siblings and family gathered in Cranberry, PA for a marvelous reunion/feast.
In 2007 we celebrated the day in Virginia Beach!

Two years ago we looked like this:
2008 family gathering.

Last year I was painting in Utah for Thanksgiving, and ate with Emma (met her boyfriend before he flew home to CA), my parents, Becca & son, Michael & family, Steven & fiance... Here in Maryland John made a turkey without me. No stuffing. Bought rolls.

THIS 2010 year he made the rolls by himself! And did the turkey brine on his own. We had a talk about which pan to cook it in. He had already put it in one that I didn't think fit our oven. He politely and in a manner of peace put it in the one I wanted, and we both saw that his original choice had been better. I am thankful that he is willing to humor me, try it my way, to keep peace.

We have 2 crockpots full of Julie Babcock's sourdough bread, artichocke, parmesan, mushroom stuffing cooking away. Such a good idea to free up oven!

I tried a crazy cranberry relish I heard on NPR: fresh cranberries cook until pop, add horseradish and sourcream. Bright pink color, very tasty! That is chillin in the fridge.

Shrimp salsa was on the original menu plan, but I might save that for Sunday with leftovers. Guests are bringing salad, pies, veggies.

Trying to stay relaxed, un-stressed. We had rolls last night for dinner, and they are all cooked excpet for one batch we will put in after the turkey comes out--so they are hot and for the delicious hot bread smell!

Tonight I am working (serving a hoity-toity feast) and tomorrow early we will go see many, many cousins in Cranberry!

So much to be thankful for.

Friends

I am thankful for friends.

If you haven't met Wallace & Gromit yet, you are in for a treat. Nick Park's creation. I've always wondered why a dog is man's best friend. I never had a dog. I try to be nice to neighbor's dogs. I am growing very fond of 3-legged Penny at work. She greets me with cheerful full-body excitement and comes up to me throughout the day for behind-the-ear scratches. Maybe it is their complete acceptance and devotion that makes them our friends?
Some of my earliest friends included Mr. Rogers. Yes, really. He sang about it. He was always so cheerful and positive and kind! I know it was his job, but he was really good at it, and I felt loved.
I love seeing friends within families: my brother being a friend to his daughter and in-laws and nieces and nephews. He includes them, plays with them. (Ellie is on the quilt I made for her parents!)
I have been thankful my children are friends with one another. I hope they continue to do upkeep on their sibling relationships as they all grow into adulthood.
Some friends start out when they are thrown together as babies/children! Not by choice, by proximity!
Some of my friends start out as assignments, at Church. But then we choose to hang out together after the meetings and at each other's homes! I am thankful for the friends John has cultivated among good, fun-filled and funny men!

I am thankful for the good friendships our children have made at school.


Some friendships last years and years! I think of my best friend from middle school, Jamie. My family moved right before high school, and I grieved at leaving behind a good group of friends. I missed them so much, I was ready to walk back to Iowa to see them.







This friend from middle school was the only other LDS member in the whole school. From the reunion website I see that she is doing well--and I wish I could track her down and tell her I am sorry I wasn't a better friend. I didn't include her the way I should have in my circle. I wasn't very nice. I regret it, to this day. If anyone knows how I can contact Cindy Watson ________ (married name?), please let me know. I've tried to find her and apologize and congratulate her one her beautiful family!

I appreciate friends who teach me, share ideas with me.
Truly good relationships make you a better person. They uplift you, bring you closer to Christ.Art photography of John the Baptist and Jesus, by Mark Mabry, one of my favorite example of friend/cousins.


I am thankful for siblings and cousins who are friends! What a great feeling to have long lost cousins facebook-friend request you!






I've been blessed with great friends! I am so thankful for you. Some I have only "talked" to through email and blog comments. Some I see almost every day (L. J. I do not have a picture of you! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?).

Thank you. I am grateful for you. Wouldn't be the same without you.