It's been how long? Christmas and Russia

My goodness, how time flies! I began this blog to chronicle my month-long missions trip to Russia in the summer. Now it's been six months since I flew home from that beautiful country. And now, one of my favorite times of year is upon us again: Christmastime! Russia has popped up in my brain a lot this December. Maybe because I've recently gotten to see friends who have been there themselves; maybe just because it has a special place in my heart. I thought I'd share memories that often pop into my brain as I go about life here at home. (Random proud moment of Laura- I used my high school html skills to italicize how in my title...yes, I'm excited about html.) 

The seemingly never-ending
escalators of the metro

1. Crowds. When I'm in a big crowd exiting somewhere, or when I'm in a busy line at a restaurant, I feel like I'm back in the Moscow metro or ordering food at the busy McDonald's in Kitay-Gorod.
2. Fishing for change. When paying with cash at stores, I always try to pay in exact change because that's seemingly the polite thing to do in Russia, and I half expect the cashier to become frustrated with me if I don't. One time at a self-checkout at Kroger, I put a 5 ruble coin into the machine instead of a quarter...oops.
3. Escalators. Riding any escalator reminds me of going to and from the metro. Metro escalators were super long and it was not uncommon for young Moscovites to make out on them...awkward yet humorous. 
4. Crossing streets. Crossing a street in Moscow is different from crossing a street here at home. Here, we make eye contact with drivers and wait to proceed until they wave us across the road. In Russia, it's a pedestrian's world. You just cross and hold your breath that the cars will stop for you. Typically, if you look a Russian driver in the eye, he'll take it as a sign for him to keep on driving.
5. Randomly speaking Russian. I'll often answer my friends or parents with little Russian words or phrases that I picked up while I was there.  Да. Нет. Спасибо. Пожалуйста. Я не знаю. Мороженое. I hope that doesn't annoy them too much...
6. Parks. I miss the pretty parks in Moscow. I live within walking distance of two lovely parks here in Flower Mound. They just aren't quite as picturesque as Kolomenskoe, or the park at metro Kitay-Gorod, or the garden at Christ the Savior. At my parks, there aren't ice cream vendors nearby, or well-groomed flower beds lining the pathways, or babushkas selling trinkets to passersby. 
7. Hearing foreign languages. So, obviously, living in Texas, the common foreign language one hears is Spanish, but every once in a while, I hear something different. I've become somewhat of a creeper in stores and restaurants, craning my neck and listening hard to catch any familiar Russian words. (see #4) So far, no Russians.
8. Movies set in Moscow. There are TWO movies out in December that are set in MOCKBA, where my very feet have trod. Haha. I want to see both of them: Mission Impossible (which Brent and I plan to see over the holiday) and The Darkest Hour, which may or may not turn out to be a cool movie. It has potential, I think. If not, I can just point to the screen a bunch and say, "I've been there!" I need to find someone who will go with me who won't mind my commentary... 

Cool city.

I've been able stay in touch with a few sweet Russian girls via Facebook. In honor of Christmas, I asked my friend Katerina to tell me about holiday traditions over there! It was fun to learn, and I wanted to share:
Christmas in Russia isn't as big of a deal as it is in the West. Because Russia was under Communist rule for many years and religion was banned, people didn't celebrate Christmas. So, New Year's is seen as the special holiday there. People get together and celebrate with their families at the New Year instead of at Christmas. The Russians have a "Santa Claus" figure similar to us, and he comes at New Year. His name is Ded Moroz, or "Grandfather Frost." Ded Moroz has a granddaughter, Snegurochka, "she helps him with presents, like a gnome :)" Katerina told me. Isn't that cute?? Christmas in Russia is also different from ours: it is celebrated on January 7th, not December 25th! I hunted online, and History.com said that in Orthodox tradition, it is believed that this day was when the three wise men visited Jesus. (Here's a link to the article, it's a pretty interesting read!) Katerina said that the religious attend church services for the occasion, but overall, it's just a day to be polite to your neighbors, to wish people well.

I love Christmas! I love spending time with my family and reflecting on God's blessings as the year comes to a close. And I love the story of Jesus' birth. :) How the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. My friend Kim (who works for Cru and lives in Moscow! Holla!) posted a super adorable Christmas video on Facebook and I thought I'd share it too! It just makes me smile.

Merry Christmas, y'all! Have a happy New Year!

God Bless,

               Laura

Photos courtesy of Lauren Young and myself 
Video from YouTube

Let's Be Real. Really.

This lil post stemmed from a night of insomnia. I find that occasionally my mind just turns on when my body and the earth's rotation are telling me that I should go to sleep. A lot of those aforementioned nights are nights when I just have some good time reflecting on the Lord. Last night falls into that category.

A couple of Fridays ago, I headed off to Norman, Oklahoma, to attend a beautiful wedding. (Quick shout out to Misty and Gerhard! Woo!) The wedding was that Saturday, but I left the night before to visit with my friend, Abby, from Summer Project. It wasn't long into the evening before we sat down on her RA office couch, and I more or less just had a good cry throughout the conversation. Abby and I chatted for hours about life and love and the Lord, and how the Lord totally affects life and love in awesome (awesome: astonishing, stupendous, stunning. Not merely awesome: "Gnarly, dude!") ways.
Okay, so maybe depending on how well you know me, the idea of me crying on my friend's couch is not a stretch of your imagination. I'm a "crier." I haven't always been. Depending on how well you know Abby, you may be surprised that I was the one who did the crying and not she. She's a crier, too. We share that bond. And tissues, if they're scarce. ;)
I look up to Abby in many ways. She's a year older than me, has a huge heart for others, is a bit more spiritually mature, and she's a couple inches taller than I am. More, if she starts up a metro escalator before me...whoops. Did I mention it's late and that I have my father's sense of humor? Silliness aside, I admire the girl. And I got to spend a big chunk of my month in Russia at her side. She's become very dear to me, even though we only really became friends this summer.
I have lots of friends like Abby, with whom I feel comfortable crying, and who mutually feel comfortable crying around me. It makes me wonder if most people have friends like that, or if I have an extraordinarily vulnerable circle of friends. But crying's not the point. It's being able to talk about touchy, scary, difficult, sometimes shameful life issues with someone. Things that would cause some people to look away, or cringe, or change the subject to something more pleasant. It's about being real with each other.
I remember those crying moments with friends well. The time I was moved to tears in a Moscow coffee shop as Abby and I talked about the wonderful students we had met. Times with my best friends crying over broken relationships. Times when conversations dug down deep, and healing tears were shed. We are all broken people. I don't mean to be a cynic when I say that. I like life! Life is full of sweet moments and wonderful experiences. But no life on earth is untouched by struggles and disappointments. There are points in time when each of us needs to sit down and cry. Or at least have a good verbal vent with someone, if crying's not your style. (It's not everyone's style.)
"Girlfriend, it's okay to cry," said Abby, half-laughing. She gave me a pat on my back and continued, "Shortest verse in the bible: 'Jesus wept.'"
Abby and I sat back and marveled, recounting how Jesus also went through lots of difficult moments in his life. How he chose to become human and experience a world full of harshness. He didn't remain aloof, or skirt over touchy issues. He dug into people's messy, broken, dirty lives and loved them with a perfect heart. And when his friend Lazarus died, Jesus wept. Jesus was real.
Abby and I talked of the blessings God has given each of us.
God loved us enough to become a man and ultimately conquer sin and death in order for us to be with him forever. (Hello, Good News!)
God has blessed us with loving families and friends with whom we can seek counsel in times of need. We are not perfect family members, nor perfect friends, but we can right wrongs and show grace to others because we ourselves have been forgiven much.
I have dealt with my share of struggles these past few years. Lots of soul-searching and question marks. However, the reason I cried that night with Abby was not because of my anxious heart or my fears of the future. The tears came through talking out my issues with her, recognizing God's blessings in my life during difficult times. What mainly caused me to cry was seeing my Father, in his love and wisdom, taking care of me and disciplining me gently through the rough patches. How he cares for me!
Jesus said, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS." 
Jesus was saying, "Come on in! Come take a load off and tell me how you're doing. Here, let's sit on the sofa. Can I get you a drink of water? Tell me what's up."
I mentioned earlier that I wasn't always a crier. Back in high school I acted like I had it all together and everybody else were the ones that were weird and messed up. Ha. False. Freshman year of college was when I began to realize that putting up a front all the time is just lame. Superficiality is tiring. I didn't want to pretend like I was this well put-together girl all the time. I learned that I could find rest in the Lord. He lets me be real with him no matter what! And in time I learned that I should be real with others...to share my joy as well as my struggles.
Let's get real, readers! Don't you want a friend with whom you can be your happy, sad, silly, messy self? Well, Jesus is a good friend to begin with! What did he do? He led by example. He loved people. He never hid who he was. He was open. Some people scoffed at him and the things he said, but it didn't phase him. He kept on loving. And he loves YOU!
Be that loving friend with a shoulder to cry on. Or one with an open seat next to you if you have personal space issues. Be real! You'll find that you can, in turn, share your hardships with others. Now, disclaimer, don't get all "woe-is-me" around your friends all the time. Ecclesiastes 3 (or The Byrds song) reminds us that to everything there is a season. There's lots of time for joy and laughter!
Be a good listener! After my rant to Abby, I asked how she had been, and she caught me up on the latest in her life. (Abbs, you remarked how you're often "the listener" and it was nice to just sit with me and share your life, and I'm glad I could listen to you. Being a genuine listener is something that God began to tug at in me this summer and he used your good example to help me learn! As our buddy Pittman would say, "See how he brought that back around?") I'm thankful for the Lord helping me learn to listen.
Folks, there are many seasons in life, good and bad. Let us not put up a facade over the struggles, but let's allow God to gently mold us into pictures of his grace and understanding. Let us rest in the Lord's care and follow Jesus' example. Let's be good friends. And let's surround ourselves with friends we can laugh and cry with along the way. :)

Happy Holidays: Sanderson Style

Christmas is right around the corner, readers! I, for one, am thrilled! I absolutely love this time of year, from Thanksgiving all the way to Christmas. For this blog, I thought I'd share some of the Sanderson family's annual holiday traditions, and some memorable holiday anecdotes.

Family Traditions:

Re-enacting the Nativity. This was a yearly fun family event every Christmas when we were children. I think it was a good way for our parents to teach us about Jesus' birth from an early age. The whole family would get involved! Someone would read the story, and then parents/kids would act out the parts. Mary would always ride in on a donkey, which was usually one of the boys. And the youngest family member or a baby doll played the role of baby Jesus. Our manger was a laundry basket. We got creative. ;)

Pie. Okay, I mean, pie is just a food, but my family is exceptionally fond of it. There is always an abundance of cherry and pumpkin pie at every extended family holiday. Apple and pecan also make their appearances, but the two family favorites are definitely pumpkin and cherry. We have good cooks in our family! And good eaters, too!


Storytelling. Whether it's re-living past holidays, or just recounting crazy past events, my relatives love to tell stories. Some recent family favorites are: Eric and Julia's apartment toilet fiasco (Eric conveniently devoted some blog posts to the tale. He's a fantastic writer, y'all.), and cousin Natalie's startling experience with Odessa PD, who came to the house while she was home alone, guns drawn, looking for a suspect named Juan...whoops.

Christmas tree decorating. Yeah, most everyone decorates a tree at Christmas. My family likes to buy a real one every year! It has always been a lot of fun to pick it out and take it home and decorate it together. We don't have super fancy, sparkly, coordinating ornaments. Mom has made it tradition to buy each of us an ornament every year. (When Eric and Julia were married, she gave him all of his ornaments from over the years as a special gift for their Christmases together.) There are also many ornaments that have been gifts, or crafts that we kids did in elementary school. I love our Christmas tree. It's homey and sentimental. :)

My mom and my aunt matching. A running joke of my family is that my mom and Susan, her sister, quite often buy and wear matching outfits without consulting one another. They have done this for years, even back when they were in college. They also unintentionally buy my cousins and me the same things as gifts. A few Christmases ago, Julie and I got identical bathrobes. Years before that, we three girls showed up to Christmas with matching pajamas. Even this Thanksgiving, as Momma and I drove to Plano to meet the relatives for dinner, I said to her, "I bet Susan will be wearing a teal shirt, too." Lo and behold, we walked in and burst into laughter because Susan was, in fact, wearing the same colored shirt as my mother. Must be a sister thing!

Watching The Muppet Christmas Carol. This is a very long-standing tradition that is dear to my heart. Every Christmas when we visit Dad's relatives, we all sit down and watch The Muppet Christmas Carol together. It's definitely my favorite Christmas movie, not only because it's just really great to watch, but also because it is such a well-kept Sanderson family tradition.

After-meal naps. It is common practice for my entire family to scatter around the host house to take a full-bellied snooze after Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.

Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation. When the Russell side of the family has Thanksgiving in Midland, Uncle David reads Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation. It's really neat to listen and to be reminded of the blessings and mercy of our Heavenly Father.

Granny's home cooking. My dad's mom, Granny, is a phenomenal down-home, Southern-style cook. For years, we would always have homemade bread, her special macaroni and cheese, and big chocolate cupcakes from scratch at Sanderson holiday gatherings. Recently, though, Granny's health has been declining, and she rarely cooks. Thankfully, we have her recipes. I hope to try my hand at keeping those foods in our family. I'm already a pro at the mac and cheese. It's SO good.

Combined family birthday party. It's tradition with the Russell (my mom's) side of the family to have a combined birthday party at Thanksgiving time. We're all together at one home, and there are four members who have birthdays in the end of November and the beginning of December: Grandma, Uncle Dale, Eric, and cousin Sam. So, it's rather ideal to throw a party for everyone at once!

Memorable Thanksgivings/Christmases:

The Christmas when Uncle Dale proposed to Aunt Kathy. At that time, we lived in Chicagoland. Dale and Kathy traveled to the midwest to visit Kathy's family in Indiana, and then to us in Illinois. And they surprised us with the news of their engagement! It was an especially happy and celebratory Christmas.

That Thanksgiving when the plumbing went kaput. A few years ago, we Sandersons hosted the Russell family at our house, and that holiday, one of our plumbing pipes decided to burst. We had NO WATER, with guests at our house! We had to take family potty trips to nearby fast food restaurants. Luckilly, my aunt and uncle rented a hotel room nearby, and they let us Sandersons shower there until we could get plumbers out to our house to fix our problem. (Which took a while, because it was Thanksgiving and everyone was on holiday.) What a predicament.

That Thanksgiving when it snowed. I think it was my junior year of high school, and we all woke up Thanksgiving morning to snow in Midland! We cousins bundled up and ventured out to a nearby field and had a snowball fight. :) 

Our first Christmas with Julia in the family! We got to have Eric and Julia with us on their first Christmas as a newlywed couple. And just to celebrate, God gave us a white Christmas Eve!

That Christmas when we cut down our own tree. One year when we were in Illinois, we went to a tree farm and cut down our own tree! It was such a festive activity! However, I most vividly remember that David stuffed a lot of snow down my back...still a little bitter about that part.

That Christmas I had mono... Oh, hey! That was last Christmas! Yep, I was struck with mononucleosis last December/January, and it decided to rear its evil head with gusto as we traveled down to Midland for the holiday. I was miserable. My family got a kick out of making sure that no one touched anything I ate or drank out of. They actually labeled things.... I also had no appetite, so I barely partook of any wonderful Christmas food. However, I can definitely say it is a Christmas I can look back on and smile. 

All of these little stories just make me feel blessed beyond measure. I am privileged to have a close-knit extended family, and family members that love and follow the Lord. These holidays together are always times of thanks to God: He has so richly blessed and provided for us over the years. And with that, I am thoroughly looking forward to Christmas travels in a few weeks! Wishing you readers the same. Cherish the time with your own families!

Photos courtesy of Julie and Natalie Brown, Google searches, and myself.