Date: Mon, Jul 13, 2009 at 12:12 AM
Subject: Re: Liebe Schwester!
To: Lauren Bangerter <sisterbangerter7@myldsmail.net>
Dear Lauren -
I just hung up with Mom - and it sounds like her letter to you this week will be pretty hilarious. At least I couldn't stop laughing when she shared the latest Seth story with me.
So today we celebrated Abby's 11 month birthday - complete with gifts, cake, and a sign. It also happened to be Jane's half birthday, so that was fun too. It was nice to share the bday with the Owens since they won't be around for the actual birthday celebration. I was sure that Abby would dive into her cupcake, but she surprised me by being rather neat about it. I mean, for a girl who indiscriminately puts EVERYTHING in her mouth (Caleb's food, the Owens dog, NOT excepted!), she sure was cautious about the gooey mess on her fingers. She actually kept trying to get me or Jane to wipe her fingers off. She ended up smooshing the cupcake and tossing quite a bit of it to the floor, so I'm not sure how much she actually ate. It was a fun party - and makes me really excited for a month from now!
We went to the Detroit Zoo yesterday - and saw pretty much the best large animals I've ever seen (lions (that actually ROARED!), tigers (who stalked right up to the edge to stare you in the eye - NOT behind glass!), and bears (a sleepy grizzly and three UNSLEEPY polar bears - they have a tunnel you walk under where the bears stand ON TOP OF YOU! Closer than I ever thought I'd get to a polar bear...) oh my!). An interesting part of the day was when I heard a small family behind me, talking in an accent you're quite familiar with now, where the little girl was pleading "Bitte! Bitte! Bitte! Bitte!" It turns out they didn't have an accent - they were actually speaking German. So I guess that's an accent. Just not english with an accent. Hope you follow. Anyway, from what little German I remember, I pieced together that the little girl wanted to go do something (desperately!) but her mom said there wasn't enough time because of how croweded it was (how many people were there or something). For a moment I pretended that I was you and that everyone around me was going to sound like this little family. It was kinda fun.
Let's see.... Abby made friends with EVERYBODY at church today - quite vocally too, I might add. And in the middle of sacrament meeting. And did I ever tell you how much she wants the sacrament? From the moment she sees the teachers setting up the trays, she has her eyes locked on it. She just about can't stand it when a deacon walks past our row without passing a tray down it! Oh well, I guess it's good to get her desires in the right place, even if it's probably for a slightly different reason now than it will be in the future.
Lauren, I'm proud of you for the progress you've made - I'm referring to how hard I know it must be to turn off an instinct that you're so used to (chewing problems). But I know that you understand the circumstances and that you're being blessed to handle them so well. Also, it's neat how much you notice your need to rely on the spirit for communication to happen effectively. I say notice because I think we ALWAYS need to rely on the spirit - there are just times when we notice it more than others, such as in your situation. It would be neat to rely on the spirit like that all the time.
I love you!
I'm praying for you!
Thanks for your letters - for taking the time to write to me. It really means a lot.
Love,
Claire
Subject: Re: Liebe Schwester!
To: Lauren Bangerter <sisterbangerter7@myldsmail.net>
Dear Lauren -
I just hung up with Mom - and it sounds like her letter to you this week will be pretty hilarious. At least I couldn't stop laughing when she shared the latest Seth story with me.
So today we celebrated Abby's 11 month birthday - complete with gifts, cake, and a sign. It also happened to be Jane's half birthday, so that was fun too. It was nice to share the bday with the Owens since they won't be around for the actual birthday celebration. I was sure that Abby would dive into her cupcake, but she surprised me by being rather neat about it. I mean, for a girl who indiscriminately puts EVERYTHING in her mouth (Caleb's food, the Owens dog, NOT excepted!), she sure was cautious about the gooey mess on her fingers. She actually kept trying to get me or Jane to wipe her fingers off. She ended up smooshing the cupcake and tossing quite a bit of it to the floor, so I'm not sure how much she actually ate. It was a fun party - and makes me really excited for a month from now!
We went to the Detroit Zoo yesterday - and saw pretty much the best large animals I've ever seen (lions (that actually ROARED!), tigers (who stalked right up to the edge to stare you in the eye - NOT behind glass!), and bears (a sleepy grizzly and three UNSLEEPY polar bears - they have a tunnel you walk under where the bears stand ON TOP OF YOU! Closer than I ever thought I'd get to a polar bear...) oh my!). An interesting part of the day was when I heard a small family behind me, talking in an accent you're quite familiar with now, where the little girl was pleading "Bitte! Bitte! Bitte! Bitte!" It turns out they didn't have an accent - they were actually speaking German. So I guess that's an accent. Just not english with an accent. Hope you follow. Anyway, from what little German I remember, I pieced together that the little girl wanted to go do something (desperately!) but her mom said there wasn't enough time because of how croweded it was (how many people were there or something). For a moment I pretended that I was you and that everyone around me was going to sound like this little family. It was kinda fun.
Let's see.... Abby made friends with EVERYBODY at church today - quite vocally too, I might add. And in the middle of sacrament meeting. And did I ever tell you how much she wants the sacrament? From the moment she sees the teachers setting up the trays, she has her eyes locked on it. She just about can't stand it when a deacon walks past our row without passing a tray down it! Oh well, I guess it's good to get her desires in the right place, even if it's probably for a slightly different reason now than it will be in the future.
Lauren, I'm proud of you for the progress you've made - I'm referring to how hard I know it must be to turn off an instinct that you're so used to (chewing problems). But I know that you understand the circumstances and that you're being blessed to handle them so well. Also, it's neat how much you notice your need to rely on the spirit for communication to happen effectively. I say notice because I think we ALWAYS need to rely on the spirit - there are just times when we notice it more than others, such as in your situation. It would be neat to rely on the spirit like that all the time.
I love you!
I'm praying for you!
Thanks for your letters - for taking the time to write to me. It really means a lot.
Love,
Claire
On Mon, Jul 6, 2009 at 5:02 AM, Lauren Bangerter <sisterbangerter7@myldsmail.net> wrote:
Dear Claire,
I hope your trip in Michigan is going well. I'm glad you played stars and stripes! I liked picturing you all in your patriotic clothing! I kept smiling at random times during the week thinking that you were going to have a baby again. It is just so exciting!
Sister Meiser is wonderful. There are a lot of changes that we've had to make, but it is a pleasure to serve and learn from her. She is one of the most fluent people I know in the language of the Spirit. Perhaps she was born with a tendency to understand the Spirit so well, or perhaps it developed because she had nowhere else to turn when she couldn't hear what was going on around her, but it has been amazing these past couple of days to have mentioned a couple of concerns or worries that have been on my mind and have her immediately understand and say the right thing. It is interesting, she is so concerned with being able to understand - what others are saying, and to really get to know them and have them get to know her and to communicate well with them - but at the same time she is one of the most understanding people I know.
It has been interesting addapting to Sister Meiser's hearing problem. It has made me realize how selfish I am sometimes and I have felt a need to count my blessings, and be more considerate and aware. For instance, sometimes Sister Meiser eats loudly, but how could I even dare to be bugged by that, something that just tweaks my ears, when she can't even hear our phone beep for a text message? It would be petty and offensive even to bring it up with her. I feel so blessed to have never had to live with something so drastic, but these past few days have been eye opening, and I've been thinking of Aund LeeAnn a lot. I am so impressed by her. She is so happy, and seeing some of the struggles that Sister Meiser goes through (getting behind in conversations, people not taking the time to explain, not understanding concerns of investigators correctly) makes me wonder how Aunt LeeAnn coped with those situations and came out so strong. And I think I'm becoming a better person. You know that I don't really like to repeat myself. You know sometimes I don't even like to explain myself or tell stories - but I have to now. I've never thought I was really an impatient person. I'm fine with waiting - but this is a new kind of patience. And I hope I can become pro at it.
I love you! Thanks for your prayers and love!
Love,
Lauren
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