Pizza

I was running around like crazy today...by lunch time I was at the Nashville Campus and decided to pop in over across the street at LaMamma's for a slice of pizza. While eating and driving back to the main campus I thought of Landen. Pizza was our favorite. Growing up many Friday nights consisted of eating pizza and doing some family activity. When he and Joyanna moved to Albany Landen thought it was the best that instead running down to get a hamburger or a sandwich they ran down to get a slice of pizza. They had many excellent little pizza shoppes. When I visited that December Landen and Joyanna took me to get pizza after a long day of ice skating and exploring Albany. Landen insisted that I try Buffalo Wing Pizza and I am sure glad that he did because it was probably the most tasty slice of pizza I have ever absorbed! Delicious!!!

Rattlesnake Eggs at Dolly's Trinkets and Treasures

Philippians 4:13

Last night I was going through some old papers and found a note from my brother in 1996. We were homeschooling at the time and I was having some difficulty with Math and I felt like a complete and utter failure. There would always be a huge dramatic display at this time of day because I wanted to do well but I was not doing well and I was extremely frustrated.
Landen wrote:
My dear Sister:
I just want you to know that I am praying for you every time it comes time for you to do your math. I know you are frustrated. You are not stupid. Just remember Philippians 4:13. I love you! You can do it!!!
Love,
Landen
Today has been 1 year and a half since Landen left us.
"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."
How wonderful to have had a brother to remind me of just that.

High Heels

This morning I talked with my Grandma Reynolds who has been sick for almost a year and a half with something called "gion beret syndrome". It has affected her strength to stand and walk. At Christmas she said many times, "I'm going to wear high heels again!".
This morning she said, 'Landen would be so proud of me!".
"Why is that?" I asked.
"Well, I wore high heels to church on Sunday...they weren't too high but they still had a heel!" . Not only that but she and Grandpa took a walk around the block! She is getting stronger everyday!!!
Landen would just be elated that she is doing much better but he was always obsessed with shoes, especially high heels. He always thought a lady looked classier with high heels. Praise the Lord he found a wife who felt the same way!

Lawns, Gardens and Driveways

Today is a beautiful, sunshiney kind of day! Growing up Landen and I lived for these kind of days…I think even after we became grown ups we lived for these days! I have the day off today and have spent much of the day catching up on a few things but I have had the rare opportunity to work in my tiny garden out back and sit on my front step reading and writing.
Several things come to mind:
First of all, every summer in between age 8 and 15(for me) Landen and I put together our own little flower bed to care for throughout the summer. As we grew older we were given the assignment to care for Mom and Dad’s. Landen cut the lawn and I took care of the flower beds. I cut the lawn only once but apparently I did not do so well because Dad said that we should just stick to Landen cutting the lawn.
Dad was always concocting some sort of strategy on how Landen should cut the lawn. Criss Cross, diagonal, up and down…this was all discussed at the dinner table from spring until fall. There was always some logic behind the plan. It was either to thicken the grass or to make the lawn look neater or something of the sort. Anyway, Landen concocted some of his own plans. One time Landen cut an “N” in the middle of the lawn to stand for Nebraska. I guess he thought we would show a little team spirit? Dad said that it was neat but Landen needed to go ahead and cut the entire lawn. Another time Landen thought it would be wise to put the lawn mower on the lowest cutting level so that he wouldn’t have to cut grass for a while…the grass was cut quite short and burned and Dad was not pleased.
Almost every house we lived in growing up had a row of rhubarb in the backyard. For those of you who do not know what rhubarb may be it is characterized as a tart fruit that many times is baked into desserts mixed with strawberries. They are green steams with leafy heads. You tear off the red casing around the stem, wash and enjoy. Landen and I enjoyed just eating this delicious, tart treat in the back yard. Many times Landen had a salt shaker or sugar bowl to take the tartness away but most of the time we ate the rhubarb just the way it was. We would either pretend we were running away (inspired by the Boxcar Children and On Our Own) or lost (inspired by Hatchet and or just being adventurous) and living off the land. Sometimes we would just find a spot to sit and chat while enjoying the tart treat. It hardly seems like summer without a bit of rhubarb.
Once we lived in a house with mulberry bushes. Needlesstosay, many summer dinners were spoiled between feasting off the mulberry bushes and rhubarb in the back yard!
The driveway to our house from age 8 to 15 had quite a steep incline. Landen and I would set the our Radio Flyer Red Wagon at the top, load up, look for cars, push off and rolldown the driveway into the street…then rush the wagon back to the top of the driveway and replay again and again. When my mother discovered what we were doing she was horrified and expressed her great concern. We could not see the danger in rolling down the driveway in our little Radio Flyer Red Wagon….afterall we had looked for cars!
Our little wagon also served as our tram when we played Silver Dollar City with William, Tricha, Stephen and Shane. We would attach the wagon to the back of one of our bikes with a jump rope, load the wagon with passengers and trail throughout the neighborhood as though we were taking our passengers to our favorite Amusement Park.
Some days spark more thoughts than others…I guess this is one of those days…Many more thoughts are trickling through my mind but I shall save them to share for yet another day.

I wanted to tell Landen about Field Day

Today I really wanted to call Landen to tell him a bunch of stuff...especially about the little Field Day at Pope but since he is not here I am am going to write some stuff he would have appreciated.

I arrived a little late and the teacher I work with was almost in tears because the day had been chaos. The kids attacked me with hugs and kisses...which I love...but I want them to follow instruction so it is difficult to soak in the love and reciprocate.

The kids from my class had won every event!

We lined the kids up once again and they had me participate in the VERMONT ICE CREAM RACE relay...so I ran a race with my little friends.

A parent bought the entire classroom ice cream cones but we had to wait an eternity for them so while we waited we took pictures with the camera. A couple of the kids were quite the photographers.

Ice Cream...YES...an entire primitive concession stand for FIELD DAY! Funnel Cakes...French Fries...Ice Cream ...Sodas...This I had never heard or seen!!! The Funnel Cakes and Fries were fried over little pots on the ground...just how they cook in Haiti.

It was hot and the kids were tired, thirsty and bored because it was not a well-organized event. Parents were all over the place and we could only hope that kids were going home with the correct people. SCARY!

The kids were all mad at me because I didn't help them with their TUG OF WAR. They thought if I would have helped their class team (TEAM ORANGE) would have won! When we got back into the classrooom, because he was not supposed to be talking, one little boy wrote on the board "Why didn't you help us?". I had to explain that it was against the rules for me to help with the TUG OF WAR. Haha... Number 1 - they must think I am strong. Number 2- they think I am one of them and not an assistant.

I love my class at Pope...and I think they know that and return love. I surprised them for their Valentine's Day party and some of them were so surprised they exclaimed "I can't believe you came, Miss Larissa! I can't believe it!" ...then another little guy piped up, "Of course Miss Larissa would come!!! It's Valentine's Day!".

Landen and I kept a list of African American names that we loved...I have a few to add

Shamiraka

Ashanti

Zourianna

Myana

Landen's favorite was forever "Avita". He came back from an internship and we named a puppet "Avita" because he loved it so much.

A letter from Susie...

I just got this little email message from Susie Davey- Landen's Pastor's wife in Albany:
...So many times Keith and I think of Landen. Miss him so. There is still nobody like him. One of his older youth boys just had a son-named him Landen. Really took me by surprise because this kid was in and out, mom usually messed up on crack n they re not around anymore. But just got email thngs are better now and he named his son after Landen. Thinking of an innr city kid named landen still makes me say hmmm. Wonder what the street version of that name could become-ha ha. But knowing the impact landen must hav had on ths kid is amazing. God is still moving through his life while here in albany. Lov u! Wish we could c u sometime. Susie



I have to admit this made me smile this morning.
After Landen died I was sitting at the kitchen table sharing my heart with my friend and neighbor, Laura McFarland. She encouraged me to pray that the seeds Landen planted would be watered and harvested. I began to pray just that...Life is such a puzzling mystery at times but thank God we know the creator and He is taking care of everything!
Landen did ABSOLUTELY love those kids in Albany...along with his wife Joyanna.

Dolly Parton...Jesus and Gravity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gyqjSn-q34
My friend Justin and I went home to Missouri this past week. It was so good to be with my family...of course I greatly missed my brother being there. It was always more fun with Landen! However I am thankful for every moment.
While travelling back we stopped in Nashville and happened upon Dolly Parton's "Trinkets and Treasures" shoppe downtown. Inside they were playing this song...Something lifting me up... and I remarked, "Wow! This is almost a song about Jesus!" then the course kicked in and sure enough it was!!!
Landen and I always enjoyed a bit of Dolly. Growing up we used to watch one of her movies every Christmas called, "Smoky Mountain Christmas". In fact the last month of Landen's life one her songs (Coat of Many Colors) played on the mix at Starbucks everyday and he would sing it to make fun... I can still hear him!
He would have loved that I got my picture made at the shoppe and better yet that I was posting one of Dolly's songs. The words to the song are actually quite rich and a testimony of how God does uphold us everyday. So true...