Family Update for 2017

My sister wrote a fantastic family blog description, going through her children, letting the rest of us know how things are going.  As I read it felt like a family reunion.

Emmalyn&DeanJames are pregnant!  We are 13 week grandparents!  "Their Ritchie Baby" sounds like "Our Cheese Baby" when Roxie was voicing family prayer, and the nickname has stuck.  Emma is still dealing with headaches.  And sick-not-just- nauseated but throwing up multiple times a day.  Under good doctor care & medicated, AND still teaching high school chemistry full-time.  Our son-in-law is in a graduate program at U of U, official game-making.  They will be somewhere in July while he works an internship:  maybe CA, maybe FL.... I am flying out to UT the end of February while he has a school conference out of town to hang out with Emma, cook nutritious and surprising food that we don't discuss before hand & will be instantly bivouacked away if it displeases her.  I am so sympathetic & want to baby my baby having a baby!  Wherever they are in July I will stay for 2 weeks to help after the birthday!

Stewart got a promotion at Sodalicious.  He is in Provo & taking on-line classes.  Thus, the year long beard.

Suzanna is home from serving a church mission in Portugal.  She prays & sings in Portuguese.  She is back at BYU Provo & working at the MTC.

Samuel is currently serving a church mission in Arizona.  We hear from him fire-safety delinquency observations & stories about dogs.  My favorite picture, so far, was him dressed in white for a baptism!

Roxie Jane loves to sing!  She has been chosen to sing in all-county & all-state choirs.  She is teaching the YW to crochet bracelets.  This morning she is sore from YW basketball practice. 

John continues as ward clerk & work at Maryland Environmental Services in procurement.   I still teach early morning seminary at our home & just got called as stake welfare specialist over suicide prevention & awareness.  Also a new member of  Maryland's Governor's commission on Suicide Prevention.  We both are on-call for the Harford County Office of Drug Control Policy for talks to youth &  health fair presentations.  We have 3 huge boxes ready to bleach & vinegar to make DEFIANCE shirts.

We are good busy, blessed, & happy for the exciting changes in our family this year!

Mother's Day-Utah trip Catch-Up & Some Murals & Quilts

Sister Suzanna Landbeck in Gaia, Portugal, got to Skype with us on Mother's Day!  Here are our traditional photos with Me-MOM on Mother's Day!

I got to go on a quick trip to Utah---helping a friend drive out (she was moving there) and she paid my plane ticket back, making the deal very attractive.  A chance to see family during the school year for Emma---

And to see Stewart at work (160 North University, Provo)

He made me his favorite shake:  banana pudding and Nutella.  Delicious!

Pudding is put on the bottom, swirled around, shake poured on top, so separate flavors, almost like a pie...

I spent time Saturday on temple square--usually people take just a photo of the Christus statue, but I focused on the great mural.

More murals:

After our session, Deborah & I walked around temple square searching for the most modest & beautiful wedding dress.  There were 49 weddings just on Mom's shift, so we had lots to choose from.  See my instagram account for details (look up jennilandbeck and follow me there!).

Back at Mom & Dad's I took pictures of some of Mom's artwork rescued from the attic and now hanging up in their home.

Jane C Babcock

Dad really likes this one.  He calls this one Upraised Woman (?)--correct me, Dad.  Mom painted in acrylic while we lived in San Jose, CA.

Jane C Babcock

LOVE the colors!  She calls this one....Orange Cliffs (?)

Jane C Babcock

And her interpretation of winter California hills, green & beautiful.

I also took photos of some of David's work that is still hanging around.  This one should probably go to brother JohnB.

And more good stuff:

David C Babcock DoNotStaple

Mom said Luanna should have this next one hanging in her home since she was David's model:

David C Babcock DoNotStaple

 All with the understanding that if he had a show of all his artwork, we would gladly gather the paintings at whatever venue.  It is nice to have so much talent in the family and no blank empty walls.

David C Babcock DoNotStaple

Even the circuit breaker box has some David art decorating it.

Jennifer S Babcock

This big painting of John is by his wife, Jennifer S. Babcock.  Hanging in dinning room.

And finishing this long blogpost with two of my quilts, early 1990s.

Jennilyn B Landbeck

Nice to see things used/hanging.  This is my nod to Baltimore Album quilts, just one block.

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!

Happy Butterfly Birthday!

(photo credit EmmaDean)
Thankful for this sweet girl in our family!

Steampunked Kilts: Trunk or Treat

 

Sam & Roxie's kilts are 8 yards and 5 yards, fully pleated in back.  John and mine are quickly done, costume only, not even the right tartan, but close.  Roxie's is not quite Davidson clan, but she loves green and blue and it was in my fabric stash, conveniently.

I decorated our car trunk with silk flowers hung #56 tags, and the red satiny quilt (from Luanna) and the 56 days left sign:  Christmas countdown.  We won one of the trunk decorating prizes!  Scariest?

People, friends, have asked me this week how I am doing, really doing, and they made time to listen.  I have gotten teary-eyed and mushy and choked up and realized how much I am still grieving for Maxwell's loss.  I miss him, and still feel really sad.  It makes sense to me now the year of mourning in Victorian times, family wearing black, or at least black armbands in remembrance of their lost one.

   It has been easy to escape reading books and not having to "think" or "feel" or to stay busy, really busy, or get involved in serving someone else so I don't think about being sad.

One listening friend said, "I don't know how you are doing it, even waking up and getting out of bed."  

Holidays are sad, since we use them as gathering, food celebrating, and remembering.  Max was a blue-body suit man last year.  He asked me to mend his suit where it had ripped a little at the neck.  I fixed it but didn't get it back to him, he said he didn't need it until Halloween.  Every time I see Suzu in her matching suit, I think it would have been a fun picture/video of them together.  Regret un-photos=times you wish you had photographed, but too late.

 

Dealing with stress and grief--besides drinking more water, getting outside once a day, not eating sugar, reading scriptures on my own, doing something unexpected and nice for someone else at least once a week, and everyday being nice to myself (hot shower) and giving myself a complement--saying something out loud while looking in the mirror.  Something about me that I like and is real and true (not just something I do well, but an attribute describing who I am, inside.  Kind of like the pep-talk in "The Help" that the maid gives her boss's daughter "You is kind, you is smart, you is important").

 

And yes, our garage now has burnt orange diamonds, for Halloween.

Because I am a visionary woman.  I like to see changing colors in my environment.  The autumn trees are gorgeous and inspiring and I like to savor colors like flavors for my eyes.  (Haha, now I am laughing at myself.)

Remembering Good Moments

Suzanna and her daddy.   I was impressed with their matching foreheads.

As I have driven around this morning MSB song "Long for the Promised Land" came on, and I played it over, and over, and over, loving the song.  Remembering Max singing in so many concerts.  Glad for the good music, the soul-stirring uplift.

I finally went grocery shopping, and as I was putting away lettuce, found a mushy decomposed cucumber in the fridge hiding behind the celery.  THAT is what happens when you are spoiled by neighbors cooking sympathy meals for weeks.  We have been blessed with a huge outpouring of love, support.

Three separate invitations to lunch this week by sweet friends. 

I bore my testimony Sunday in Church.  Once a month the congregation is invited to take turns, if they desire, and share what is in their hearts up at the podium/microphone.  I talked about how the Sunday morning when we found out about Max's death, as we were calling and informing family, my mom bore her testimony to me about the Atonement, how it matters, and I felt the strong desire to put my shoes on and go to Church, right then.  John didn't want to let me go alone, and we walked in right as the Bishop was announcing the news about Max.  We found an empty pew about half way in the middle of the chapel, and then sang "Come, Come Ye Saints" for the opening hymn.  We were both crying, stayed through the sacrament and the first two talks and the Watt family singing "Teach Me To Walk in the Light" and then we left to come home to be with family.

I talked about the things I know are true, and real, and how I need to live like the Atonement is real.  Christ is resurrected, and I have a real hope that we will be, too, and that our family can be together forever. 

I have felt very strongly how important it is for us to keep reading scriptures together, to keep praying every night as a family.  And to understand how much the scriptures help me now, the strength I feel from the seminary scripture mastery 100 to memorize!

Beautiful!

Alena is easy to love!

Sister Superheroes!

"Daddy" Michael's face that Luanna helped nephew Jack make to distract him from abandonment.  Those green Good & Plentys are his toes, and nose.

I look at us, exactly where we stood 25 years +2 months ago, noticing the hair changes, added weight...but thankful he is holding my hand tenderly.  Marriage is good!

Did I mention the lake? Bear Lake

Sam with cousins.

Nephew Jack "fishing" after our adventure finding a place to pee.

Successfully getting nephew Evan to take a nap so his parents could jet ski.

Suzanna on deck overlooking lake & rainbow after storm.

We had a great family reunion 7 years ago at Virginia Beach.  My parents rented a home right on the beach, and it was wonderful being able to play in the water.

The Bear Lake cabin was further from the water, but close enough.  The cabin was AMAZING, huge, many slides, almost enough rooms for all of us.  Could have used a few more bathrooms, more eating space.  Everyone was good about taking off shoes before coming in, and keeping food only on tiled kitchen, dinning area, and decks.  The kids never got tired of the slides! 

Thank you, Mom & Dad, and Happy 50th Anniversary!