The Rest of the Story

You would never know the full story, just looking at these photos.  Context helps.  Details.  I am determined to ask better questions, give more complements, and to try and school my face. The weird, goofy looks we all make can be funny when the camera catches them.  I was having focusing problems in the dark gym.  The last two photos of Sam are for his mission application.  He chose the bottom one, without glasses.

Suzanna is a Missionary! And it is not all about me, this blog...

All photos from Sister Landbeck's companion's mom's blog!  They look like they get along well, smiley and  huggy.  Her companion is a twin, who is also learning Portuguese, but going to Brazil.

I wonder if Suzu can tell them apart?  Kind of cool that they are serving at the same time!

Things going well here.  I added more to the sobriety trees, some bright oranges that glow in the rainy weather we have been having.  As soon as the redbud blooms I will take more photos.

More shots in the back today that should help back pain, and I am doing the sleep study tonight.  No lotion, no hairspray, bring my pillow, but not John to hospital.  I have a horrible bruise on my hand from IV from last week's colonoscopy.  Busy round of tests and medical updating (nothing can make a mammogram a good experience, but I was thankful for it being shorter than I remembered...).  Emma turning a quarter of a century same year I make it to a half.  I am thankful for good medical attention and expertise. 

One of the nurses this morning asked how many children I have--answered her "six" and told her about Emma being a high school chemistry teacher, Stewart in college, Suzanna going to Portugal on a Church mission, Sam a firefighter & welder, and Roxie and her brilliance.  "That's five."

And about losing Max last summer to addiction consequences.  But bearing testimony simply that I am confident we will see family we have lost.  That was what the holiday last weekend was all about, what Easter means to me. 

As the nurse shuttled me out to the car in a wheelchair (hospital policy, I was walking fine) she told me how much she had enjoyed our time together this morning.  Little Gospel sharing moments.  She knows my religious preference (one of the standard questions). 

I CANNOT TAKE A NAP, trying to stay awake and busy so the sleep study tonight is accurate...or at least as much as I can make it.

One More Week

Our daughter, Suzanna, is leaving for the Missionary Training Center next week!   She will be studying Portuguese in preparation to serve as a missionary of The Church of Latter-Day Saints in Portugal.

We made her a birthday cake (9 months early) and tried not to giggle about the timing.

We've been studying Preach My Gospel as a family to help her prepare.

We will miss her, but are excited for her new adventures!

Catch Up on Phone Pictures

Do you see the airplane at the top, hanging from the light chandelier, one for each of our faraway children coming home for Christmas!

My parents were here over Thanksgiving/Mom's birthday...Notice red "you are special" plate!  Suzanna, we thought of you!

We took Mom on early morning 25 degree walk to see local color!  We are bundled up, she is wearing my orange polar fleece...

All our children's living grandparents in one room!

Three siblings.  Roxie's temple quilt in living room now, David's paintings back in dinning room.  Gray stripes (wrapping paper) covering blue/green vertical stripes which may come back for Christmas, still deciding.

 

Couple photo.

Sister missionaries came to our parade!

Button, Button...Necklaces

Enough buttons to color block long necklaces, my cheap jewels, crafted diy.

Button vs. bead:  flat, one "sided vs. in the round, but still beautiful colors!  Thanks to a sister at Church whose mom was an avid sewer, I have a collection of vintage buttons to share.  I pre-stung them on crochet cotton to make hostess gifts as we head west & take advantage of family hospitality.

Finished up some t-shirt rose necklaces for a sister missionary's wardrobe going to Brazil.  These help with modesty, a way to cover that too low neckline.  Trying on chain new idea from sister missionary serving here from Pleasant Grove, UT!  This is how she makes them, instead of recycling the t-shirt hem..

 

Picasa Got Fancy w/ DC Trip

(Playing with new tools in the editing mode of "Picasa" our photo-editing program. Look what fun!)
You can see the quilting!

Took the youngest 3 to DC: First stop, drop off John @ his office, see the turtles (he named one Turtlinni) and one of my quilts.

Waiting in line for "free" tickets to Holocaust permanent exhibit. We got 1:30 time, after an hour wait in line...so we had some time for Mall exploring. I let Sam go solo to the Air & Space, took Roxie to Natural History, and Suzu went off on her own. The deal was to stay in phone contact and TXT me when they left a museum, so I would know where they were...

Weather was wonderful, and the giant HUGE scary snake eating an alligator was the scariest thing I saw all day. Two white-shirted, tied, and nametagged elders the happiest! (I gave my Easter pass-along-card to Angie, a teacher from South Carolina who was behind us in line. We talked & talked and it was natural & normal to include our Easter plans and the free video. We sang School House Rock songs together, great time. She teaches high school English and makes her students sing to memorize the prepositions to "The Farmer in the Dell" "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Happy Birthday" to get through them all.)

The gems and rocks the most beautiful. The horse-trotting police the most fun.

The shoes were the saddest.

I've waited until the youngest studied the Holocaust in school, and asked me about going. The exhibit geared towards younger children, Daniel's Story, moved me to tears. Well done exhibits. A must see, when you are ready.

Dream Time & INVITATION

Most mornings we wake up by 5 am, sometimes as early as 4, to get ready for our busy day. I teach Bible Study Class (Old Testament this year "Daily Seminary" to 10 regularly attending teenagers). They come early for hot chocolate and sit around our dinning room table and talk, then troop down the stairs to the basement where I have tables set up for them to gather around. We sing a hymn in our croaky morning voices, they take turns each school day of one of them praying and giving a short devotional, and then the time is mine to teach them.

(Students using shield of faith to keep firey darts of Satan=mini-marshmallows--from harming them.)

The next 10 days is Spring Break. No school= no seminary=I-will-miss-the-students= sleeping in-which-I-am-thrilled-about.

Today, Saturday, Suzanna has a field trip to NYC to see Phantom, so John had to drive her over to the high school by 5:15. AM. My body on my usual schedule needed to use the facilities (have I ever used the word "toilet" in this blog?).

But then back to bed. John came back, warmed up my rice bags in the microwave so my toes were warm, I tossed around trying to get comfortable, and finally went back to sleep.

And dreamed: I was in high school, just moved, and joined a Christian after school club, since there was no LDS seminary class to go to. Things were going well, I was making friends, until we were on a field trip and I waved to some Mormon Missionaries (Elders, in their white shirts & ties) and the girl next to me asked me why I would do that. I told her I was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and she freaked "You mean Mormons? They aren't Christian. You do NOT belong in this club!" I told her I was looking for a group of teenagers who obeyed the commandments in the Old Testament, who believed in the teachings of Christ in the New Testament, and told her I loved Christ and wanted to be more like Him and to know Him. I asked her to give me a chance to explain how The Book of Mormon, Another Testament of Jesus Christ, helped me know Him better. The teacher in charge of the club went one by one through the students and let them vote to see if I could stay in the club or not. The girl beside me said she felt so betrayed, she couldn't believe she had let me be her friend and wished that I had said something right away. She shook her head and left. The teacher kept going through the other students. Some didn't care if I stayed or not until an African American guy said "I don't know what to think!" I told him with tears streaming down my face that I didn't want them to be prejudiced against me for my religion, the way we shouldn't pre-judge anyone for who or what they are... And he nodded, knowing what I meant. I woke up wanting to explain and show the club who I was, why I wanted them to give me a chance to explain what I believed.

Today is an amazing day for us: General Conference! Starting at noon Maryland time LIVE STREAM, for two hours, with a two hour break, then again at 4pm-6pm and then again tomorrow for four hours (plus Tabernacle Choir singing for half an hour starting at 11:30 am) we get to listen to talks, counsel and advice from President Thomas S. Monson, the man who believe is a prophet. 12 men we sustain as apostles of Christ will also speak. At least one woman from one of the general presidencies (Relief Society for women 18+ years, or Young Women 12-18 years, or Primary children 18 months-12 years) will also speak.

Sometimes there are visual aids, or short film clips. There are always beautiful flower arrangements inside the Conference Center displayed around the pulpit.

And guaranteed, Christ will be mentioned. He will be sung for, testified of, His scriptures will be quoted and applications made to our modern lives. His words will be heard.

I know it. I have felt it. My heart swells with memories and I am full of faith that today will echo those experiences. I have been spiritually fed at General Conferences in the past. It is worth the 8 hours of sacrificed weekend time.

And it is open to the public. Available to the world.

You can find out for yourself, live, TODAY and TOMORROW while it is being broadcast, or you can read/listen to archived past conferences.

We invite the world to know, and see for yourself. And then judge, with knowledge.

Mission Report

Our oldest son was called to serve in the Billings, Montana Mission. He has been out 10 months, transferred 3 times. As a mother of a missionary I have found great comfort in his email letters. We told him about this assignment to give a mission report, and these are his words to you:

I am participating in finding work most often; I have no baptisms that I can trace to my personal efforts, so I have put a great deal of time into tracting, service, and simply looking for new people. I have been given leadership responsibilities of a district leader, …. I enjoy the chance to drive a 2012 Chevy Colorado, I live in a member's spare bedroom, and we are fed every day. There have been times that I was a little bit cold, but that was due to below zero temperatures and standing still.

I've been stuck in mud; a few months ago when I was still junior companion, we were driving near Fort Washakie (for pronunciation, the a's are both short, as in wash, and the kie sounds like key) and we got into a big mud pit. Fortunately, we were in a truck and [my companion] could just put it into 4 low and back us right out of the bog. The truck was covered in mud, but we were safe from the flying mud clods since we were inside the entire time!

When I was young, I sort of knew that I was going to serve a mission. It's what I told my teachers, my family, even some of my friends. It was never a worry for me. I still needed a moment more recently in my life where I looked at what serving a mission was, the fact that I was donating two years of my life to the service of my God, and feel that confirmation that this is what I needed to do, but I always "knew" that I was going before that, as well. Some of those listening will hear this and think, "Well, I'm a different case. I'm not sure that serving a mission is right. I'm not even sure if I'm in the right place right now." You are the ones that especially need to consider serving a mission. Study what serving a mission is, the things that you might need to use if you do decide to serve, and then ask God if it is the right thing to do. If you do this, I can promise a number of things. Importantly, you will receive an answer to know if you should serve a mission, but more importantly you will receive an answer to know if the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church of God and if you should hold to the Iron Rod, which can include church service.
I tell you to prepare to serve a mission not just because it is the place I have seen so much growth (in myself, those missionaries I've served with, and with every day people I have taught), but also as you prepare for a mission you will be preparing for the most important mission possible: to live life as a worthy member of God's true church, understanding His true doctrine that will comfort you when you are distressed and lift you up to become a better person…

…Some of the greatest advice I have for the young men is to strive for humility. Strive to be able to submit yourself, not only Spiritually but also to rules, leaders, work. The most frequent stumbling block for missionaries that I've seen is pride, especially in the new missionaries that refuse to follow their trainer's good instruction. You can't have humility without also having faith. With faith and humility, however, you can achieve all the other attributes of Christ by putting your trust in Him and allowing Him to change your ways.

I've definitely gained a deeper sense of faith. [Before my mission] I could say I know the Book of Mormon is true, and I'm grateful for that. Now I can also say that I know Christ has atoned for our mistakes, and because of his infinite Atonement we all have the very real ability to become perfect, something we can start to realize here in this life (notice it was "start," which implies a journey beyond this life). I can now say this, but also feel it deep within me. I've been able to look at my faith, and understand what I believe and why but also what that really means to me.

Cool service projects: we've chopped wood, bucked hay shoveled walks. The coolest project would probably be the time we helped get wood for the Bishop's storehouse from the mountains. A fun morning of moving logs and watching the elders quorum wield the chainsaws.

The other week we were in a lesson with a part-member family, and the wife hadn't had a strong Mormon child-hood and needed just as much teaching as the husband did. We were teaching the plan of salvation, and we were talking about Jesus Christ and his Atonement and how we can return to him through repentance. The husband asked a question, "what does that mean, repentance?"

Since I'm good with doing things in order, I wanted to finish the Plan of Salvation lesson, and then get into repentance as part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. So, I started to give a quick answer so we could get back on track, but it turned into a longer answer as more questions were brought up. I then heeded the council to "teach people, not lessons" and we spent the rest of the lesson on repentance and how true repentance is a turning from sin, a change of heart and mind. It turned into one of the best lessons I've had.

[Then I read excerpts from my favorite blogs of his from GEEKS, GAMES & GOSPEL. His mission is one of several chosen as a pilot program for missionaries to spend an hour each day prosyleting on-line, using technology to do the work of bringing people to Jesus Christ.]

Week of Stewart!

More of our son as a missionary:

Look at that smile! He looks content, joyful, energized!

Photos from Our Missionary Son

Stewart sent home photos!

From the beginning, when he was in the Missionary Training Center, with his learning district standing in front of the Provo Temple, and with his Mission President and Sister Gardner (who wrote a glowing letter to us parents about Stewart's call to be district leader!)

I Can Almost See You There

I miss him.

Thanks to Google Earth and photographers across the country, I can see where our son is serving/working.

(photo credit to WillyZ)

(photo credit rtbfredrick)
Gorgeous! It isn't stalking when it's your mom looking for you, right? Happy BIRTHDAY WISHES to you, Stewart, a week in advance so you see this on your next P-Day (preparation day)!