(Mother Lababe wrote this several years ago and gave me a copy which I kept in the strong box to protect.) Mother Lababe who is currently 80 years of age, (June 2000) may have written this at the time her mother was trying to get sealed to Earl Winebrenner in the temple. Sounds like mom might have been a little hot over something.

I had the greatest dad in the world and do you know why? He always assured us that no matter what he didn't have, or what he had to do without, or how long the days were at the sheep camp where he worked for a mere $40 per month to provide for us, or whatever kind of work he had to do whether it was working long hours in the field or doing the chores in the cold of the snow or wind to give us the necessities of life, he didn't make us feel that we were the cause of his poverty or that he regretted anything he had to do to provide for us.

Mother would often complain because we didn't have this that or the other thing, but dad would quietly do the best he could and assure us over and over again that " HE HAD 8 KIDS AND HE DIDN'T HAVE A ONE TOO MANY." The pangs of poverty were never felt by us kids as anything terrible because we knew that dad loved us no matter what. He would make every effort to share his life with us, taking us into the fields with him to do the chores became a joy because he had a way of showing us how beautiful the rain was or the hills were or how great it was just to be in the outdoor. He declared to us over and over again by word and by action that there was nothing he considered important to him if he couldn't share it with us. He would get depressed at times and curse life because it was so hard once in a while, but never did he make us feel guilty because he couldn't provide everything for us. Mothers complaints always make us feel that we were the cause of their poverty, even though she didn't mean to, because she would work her fingers to the bones so we could have some of the nicer things in life, but we felt a sympathy towards our dad because he worked so hard for all that he gave to us, and he gave with his whole life seeking nothing for himself. We felt these things, and even though we didn't understand our feelings, we have always felt a great sense of love and loyalty to our dad.

I thank God he gave us a dad who cared and who was so wise. One bit of wisdom he passed on to me that has helped me many a time when I felt like I wasn't getting my share from life, he rebuked me one time when I was complaining because I wasn't as much out of life as I expected, he said "You have to learn how to crawl before you can walk." "Learn everything about farming and maybe someday you can have enough knowledge to get what you want," which was to live on a farm of my own.

I still want many things before I've learned to crawl - Help your kids to understand this principle. It will help them more than a college education. Never let them feel or think that you have even one child too many.

Love, Mom Lababe