Yesterday was a good day. I went on a de-cluttering kick and cleaned out the laundry room and my bedside table/shelf. Wade and I went through his clothes a bit, too. In less than 5 minutes I filled our big "donate" bin with Wade's old t-shirts, a suitcase, an old bulletin board, shoes, and books. Something tells me our house could use a little spring cleaning!
Wade turned in his science fair project this week. It was a simple experiment on light, and what happens when it passes through a curved lens like a magnifying glass (hint: it doesn't go straight!). He did a good job putting it together, with help from his mom here and there. I am secretly ECSTATIC that it's over! I know kids learn a lot from science fairs, but they can be brutal on parents, ha-ha! :)
I promise I won't bore with details of every single youth church activity, but last night's was another winner. Our Young Women president worked with another woman in the ward to make 4 small quilts for a Personal Progress project. She brought the quilts last night, and the youth tied them. When they were finished, one person from each group was chosen at random to take home his/her friendship quilt. I wrote all the names down and Jason drew the names--we should have been a little more excited when our own daughter won her group's quilt! I think we felt a little awkward with this Cushing trifecta! :) Rhiannon was so happy, though. That night she told us she'd been secretly hoping she'd win a quilt so she could remember how much fun she'd had with her group.
A couple weeks before we'd sat down as a presidency to decide how to distribute the quilts. We came up with lots of ideas, such as donating them to the needy, letting the kids decide who should get them, rigging a raffle in someone's favor, or just, as one leader put it, choose at random and leave it in God's hands. She was uncomfortable with the idea of singling out certain kids and making them feel like "projects." We went with the random raffle idea, and I thought it was really interesting to see who got the four quilts. All four teenagers are very active, respectful, come from very good families, and make good choices consistently. One is our bubbly, smart Laurel President, one is very shy and kind, one is quietly valiant, and the fourth is our beautiful, talented daughter Rhiannon.
I came away from the activity feeling like we'd accomplished the goal to do service and strengthen unity and friendship among our youth. And I also felt at peace, knowing that it's okay to focus some attention on those kids who never cause any trouble, too! :)
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Sometimes Facebook can be more than just a time-waster
I'm pretty excited! Yes, my grumpy attitude from this morning has vanished and I'm kickin' things into high gear. I've had an item on my "to-do" list for way too long and finally got it done today with the help of this deal:
Recently I'd made a crack about using coupons on Facebook and received quite a few helpful hints from friends about saving money and looking for deals. My friend Sandi told me about a website called "Hip 2 Save," so I checked it out and was super excited to find this deal for a free photo calendar through Shutterfly. All I had to pay was shipping, so instead of paying upwards of $30 on one calendar, I only paid $6.17.
Unfortunately, the time has passed to claim the code, but you might keep Hip 2 Save on your radar for other good deals!
Thank you, Hip 2 Save! Thank you, Sandi! Thank you, Facebook! :)
Growing pains
I got a form about Rhiannon's band day trip to Disneyland in May. It was a letter packed with info and also a request for help with fundraisers the next few months.
On the last line of the letter, the band director was also asking for parents' help on the actual trip. Rhiannon did not want me to check that last little box. Boy, did that make me feel sad, and mad! I had to keep my cool, though, because this happened in the van on the way to school with other kids I was carpooling. I've been steaming about it for the last several minutes since I got home.
And then it hit me. Sure, Rhiannon may not want to be embarrassed by her mom, but she's also doing me a favor. Do I really WANT to spend all day with a very large group of loud, giggly, flirting middle school kids? Not really!
On the last line of the letter, the band director was also asking for parents' help on the actual trip. Rhiannon did not want me to check that last little box. Boy, did that make me feel sad, and mad! I had to keep my cool, though, because this happened in the van on the way to school with other kids I was carpooling. I've been steaming about it for the last several minutes since I got home.
And then it hit me. Sure, Rhiannon may not want to be embarrassed by her mom, but she's also doing me a favor. Do I really WANT to spend all day with a very large group of loud, giggly, flirting middle school kids? Not really!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
C.L.E.A.N.
On Wednesday night our MiaMaid class put on a combined activity for the young men and young women. It turned out SO WELL.
First, our full-time missionaries Elder Amadi and Elder Wells talked about standing in holy places, the Mutual theme for the year. They did a great job and made it more of discussion with the youth, instead of a speech. The kids loved it.
Then Sister Litton, our stake Primary president and a member of our ward, talked about clean language. She shared the following and I absolutely LOVED it:
Keep your mouth CLEAN--
C--Choose your words carefully
L--Learn the meanings of words before using them
E--Encourage others with the words you say
A--Avoid slang or replacement words
N--Never use hurtful or vulgar language
At the end she passed out this little paper with the acronym on it, attached to a piece of soap. I think we all got the message! :)
Then we divided into 4 teams and played a song-guessing game, sort of Cranium style, followed by brownies and ice cream and a veggie tray. :)
Everyone participated, had good attitudes, and listened. Happy!
First, our full-time missionaries Elder Amadi and Elder Wells talked about standing in holy places, the Mutual theme for the year. They did a great job and made it more of discussion with the youth, instead of a speech. The kids loved it.
Then Sister Litton, our stake Primary president and a member of our ward, talked about clean language. She shared the following and I absolutely LOVED it:
Keep your mouth CLEAN--
C--Choose your words carefully
L--Learn the meanings of words before using them
E--Encourage others with the words you say
A--Avoid slang or replacement words
N--Never use hurtful or vulgar language
At the end she passed out this little paper with the acronym on it, attached to a piece of soap. I think we all got the message! :)
Then we divided into 4 teams and played a song-guessing game, sort of Cranium style, followed by brownies and ice cream and a veggie tray. :)
Everyone participated, had good attitudes, and listened. Happy!
Scouting for Food in the fog
This morning Wade, Rhiannon, and I met up with the Cub Scouts to hand out Scouting for Food flyers all over town. The Cub Scouts hand out the flyers, and then the Boy Scouts go around the following week and pick up the canned goods for local food banks. It's a good system!
We got to the church at 8:00am, and Ridgecrest was covered in a THICK blanket of fog. It hung around almost the entire two hours we were out, making our walk on the streets very creepy but fun!
I was glad to have Brother Eggleston with me, along with his son Joseph and Wade's friends Ben and Jacob. We had a nice crew and got 3 different routes done. I told Rhiannon I'd take her to WalMart if she went with us--she was a good sport and a good addition to our group! She was only too happy to help; she had some WalMart gift card money burning a hole in her pocket! :)
Dad's gotten his run in, and now we're all at home relaxing. It's a nice day to stay indoors--cold and wet!
We got to the church at 8:00am, and Ridgecrest was covered in a THICK blanket of fog. It hung around almost the entire two hours we were out, making our walk on the streets very creepy but fun!
 |
| picture taken from Google Images; I wish I'd thought to take a picture of my own! |
Dad's gotten his run in, and now we're all at home relaxing. It's a nice day to stay indoors--cold and wet!
Friday, January 25, 2013
Update on the week
It's hard to believe the weekend is here already! This week has F-L-O-W-N by for us!
Jason finished up his birthday celebrations and then had a business trip to Tucson Tuesday through Thursday.
Rhiannon had a band trip on Wednesday and travelled to three different local elementary schools to do concerts for 4th and 5th graders. Luckily for me, I was subbing for a 5th grade class that day and got to see the band perform--it was fun! I love it when things work out that way.
Wade will finish up the flag football season this weekend. He's had opportunity to show good sportsmanship on his Vikings team. They're a younger, less-experienced team in this new division, and they've only won a single game so far, but they've come close on others. I'm proud of Wade for playing hard every game, no matter what, often against kids MUCH bigger and older! It's hard to keep going sometimes when you look at the scoreboard, but I think there are a lot of life lessons to learn, too. Coach Nick and Coach Kevin are great guys who've taught Wade new skills and plays. And, after a pep talk from his dad early in the season (I think Jason's exact words were, "Wade, all I want for Christmas is for you to get a flag!"), Wade started to grab some flags, too! YAY! :)
Bring on the weekend!
Jason finished up his birthday celebrations and then had a business trip to Tucson Tuesday through Thursday.
Rhiannon had a band trip on Wednesday and travelled to three different local elementary schools to do concerts for 4th and 5th graders. Luckily for me, I was subbing for a 5th grade class that day and got to see the band perform--it was fun! I love it when things work out that way.
Wade will finish up the flag football season this weekend. He's had opportunity to show good sportsmanship on his Vikings team. They're a younger, less-experienced team in this new division, and they've only won a single game so far, but they've come close on others. I'm proud of Wade for playing hard every game, no matter what, often against kids MUCH bigger and older! It's hard to keep going sometimes when you look at the scoreboard, but I think there are a lot of life lessons to learn, too. Coach Nick and Coach Kevin are great guys who've taught Wade new skills and plays. And, after a pep talk from his dad early in the season (I think Jason's exact words were, "Wade, all I want for Christmas is for you to get a flag!"), Wade started to grab some flags, too! YAY! :)
Bring on the weekend!
Jason turns 38!
Jason celebrated a birthday last Sunday--he turned 38!
We splurged on Chinese take-out on Saturday night, and then his actual birthday on Sunday was full of meetings, church, and hometeaching. 3 more of our friends in the ward shared his same birthday--maybe next year we can do some kind of celebration for that! :) That night we had grilled chicken salad for dinner and then cake and ice cream for dessert. Thanks for all the calls, gifts, and Facebook messages! I know Jason "felt the love" that day!
On Monday we took a rare family trip down to Lancaster for some shopping at Kohl's and Costco. We walked the local mall a little bit, too, and then we ate lunch at this great Mexican place called El Torito. It was a fun day!
It was a nice, busy weekend--we had a good time helping Dad celebrate his big day. :) We love him so much and appreciate all he does for our family!
Thursday, January 24, 2013
REWIND: 2012 Christmas in TEXAS!
Oh, man, where to start! We actually started out our Christmas trip on Saturday, December 22nd, when we drove down to the Los Angeles Temple for our ward's youth temple trip. Wade and I spent time in the Visitor's Center while Jason and Rhiannon did baptisms with the group. That night we stayed in a hotel and got some yummy dinner at a packed Olive Garden. We flew to D/FW on Sunday and got to Grandpa and Grandma's house that night around 6. We had a welcoming committee! It was great to see Brant, Chris, and Greyson (it was our first time to meet him!), as well as Derrick, Traci, Max, Maggie, and their dog Hudson! :)
So many memories, I don't want to forget anything! Here were some of our favorites:
Christmas Eve visit from Tom, Lydia, Beck, and their doggies Bear and Beulah
Christmas Eve dinner at In-and-Out Burger; we felt like we were in that Christmas Story movie, ha-ha!
Shopping for stocking stuffers with Grandma
So many good meals at home, and eating out, too!
Opening presents together on Christmas Day
Watching The Hobbit
Going on a long walk with Grandma and Grandpa
Dark Knight Rises on Brant and Chris's big screen
Watching Greyson get used to, and eventually LOVE, his new roller coaster toy
Board games!
Bowling at Main Event for Brant's birthday!
Sno cones at Bahama Buck's
SNOW in Texas!
Spending quality time with Logan, Amy, Abby, Collin, Evan, and Olivia!
Enjoying dinner, the trampoline, and driving a riding lawn mower at Derrick and Traci's place!
Les Mis and lunch with Grandma and Rhiannon!
Adventures with Grandpa--I found out several days after we got home about the "driving around the neighborhood" one. :)
JCPenney shopping with Traci!
Sleeping in!
New Year's Eve fun with Brant, Chris, Greyson, Mom, and Dad!
Here's a little video--nothing fancy, full of red eyes and too-fast clips, but a video all the same! Ignore the ads and Enjoy, until I can make a better one! :)
Love to all--thanks for a WONDERFUL Christmas vacation!
So many memories, I don't want to forget anything! Here were some of our favorites:
Christmas Eve visit from Tom, Lydia, Beck, and their doggies Bear and Beulah
Christmas Eve dinner at In-and-Out Burger; we felt like we were in that Christmas Story movie, ha-ha!
Shopping for stocking stuffers with Grandma
So many good meals at home, and eating out, too!
Opening presents together on Christmas Day
Watching The Hobbit
Going on a long walk with Grandma and Grandpa
Dark Knight Rises on Brant and Chris's big screen
Watching Greyson get used to, and eventually LOVE, his new roller coaster toy
Board games!
Bowling at Main Event for Brant's birthday!
Sno cones at Bahama Buck's
SNOW in Texas!
Spending quality time with Logan, Amy, Abby, Collin, Evan, and Olivia!
Enjoying dinner, the trampoline, and driving a riding lawn mower at Derrick and Traci's place!
Les Mis and lunch with Grandma and Rhiannon!
Adventures with Grandpa--I found out several days after we got home about the "driving around the neighborhood" one. :)
JCPenney shopping with Traci!
Sleeping in!
New Year's Eve fun with Brant, Chris, Greyson, Mom, and Dad!
Here's a little video--nothing fancy, full of red eyes and too-fast clips, but a video all the same! Ignore the ads and Enjoy, until I can make a better one! :)
Love to all--thanks for a WONDERFUL Christmas vacation!
Love grows!
Today my brother Brant and sister-in-law Chris adopted Greyson! This picture makes me so, so, so happy. It feels like Greyson has always been a member of our family, but it sure feels good to make things official, too. LOVES to Brant, Chris, and Greyson!!!
Morning Music
From Saturday:
I still have a lot to catch up on (EPIC Christmas in Texas!), but today is a busy day, and that will have to wait.
Today Jason is off on a campout and Wade will be busy, busy, busy with back-to-back-to-back baseball evaluations, flag football game, and a Cub Scout activity.
For now, enjoy a picture collage of my birthday cake decorator and the beautiful roses Jason got me for my birthday, plus some music the kids have been working on. We were really proud of Rhiannon yesterday--she participated in her school's variety show and did The Lord of the Rings' song "Minas Tirith." It was amazing!
I still have a lot to catch up on (EPIC Christmas in Texas!), but today is a busy day, and that will have to wait.
Today Jason is off on a campout and Wade will be busy, busy, busy with back-to-back-to-back baseball evaluations, flag football game, and a Cub Scout activity.
For now, enjoy a picture collage of my birthday cake decorator and the beautiful roses Jason got me for my birthday, plus some music the kids have been working on. We were really proud of Rhiannon yesterday--she participated in her school's variety show and did The Lord of the Rings' song "Minas Tirith." It was amazing!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
A wonderful 37th birthday!
I've had an amazing birthday!
A friend took me to lunch yesterday.
Special songs, chores, and hugs from my kids.
Beautiful red roses and dinner from my husband.
My visiting teacher, who was a few people ahead of me in line at Subway, paid for my lunch!
Fun running errands with Rhiannon who got out of school early today (minimum day).
My good friend Judith dropped by the house several times to say hello and finally caught me--she brought fudge bars and we chatted for a long time.
Calls from family!
Emails!
Cards!
Lots of well-wishes on Facebook!
I've definitely felt the love today and appreciate ALL that everyone has done to make this a great day! Birthdays are the BEST!
A friend took me to lunch yesterday.
Special songs, chores, and hugs from my kids.
Beautiful red roses and dinner from my husband.
My visiting teacher, who was a few people ahead of me in line at Subway, paid for my lunch!
Fun running errands with Rhiannon who got out of school early today (minimum day).
My good friend Judith dropped by the house several times to say hello and finally caught me--she brought fudge bars and we chatted for a long time.
Calls from family!
Emails!
Cards!
Lots of well-wishes on Facebook!
I've definitely felt the love today and appreciate ALL that everyone has done to make this a great day! Birthdays are the BEST!
Monday, January 7, 2013
Goals are stars to steer by
Here's how we did with last year's goals:
Cushing Family 2012 Goals
Family Goals for the year:
Family scripture study at least 6 times a week (didn't happen; we'll keep trying!)
Jason's Goals:
Verity's Goals:
Complete Feeling Great in 8 program at least once
More cooking lessons for kids
Rhiannon's Goals:
Try out badminton if class is offered (it wasn't offered)
Read Book of Mormon again
Wade's Goals:
Basketball camp in summer
Go to golf range with Dad at least 6 times (went once)
Oscar:
Learn to roll over
Toby:
Get out in the sun more (moved on to Greener pastures with the Green family)
And, drumroll, please: here are the goals we've set for 2013!
2013 Family Goals:
Rich and Donna Sheen Family Reunion in TX in July
Utah Christmas
Keep working on consistent family scripture study
2 family camping trips
Star Wars Death Valley trip
Go to Mammoth
Jason:
Ragnar race in April
P90X in the summer
Weigh 210 pounds by the end of the year
Remodel downstairs bathroom
Spend 15 minutes a day on church calling
Attend 20th high school reunion
Verity:
Finish the Book of Mormon
Create Volume III blog book
Weigh 130 pounds by the end of the year
Blog more consistently
Teach the kids how to cook 12 favorite meals
Rhiannon:
Read Book of Mormon again
Take summer class--archery, badminton?
Take babysitting/first aid class
Write a full-length book
Run a mile in under 10 minutes
Join a club at school--Jazz Band?
Wade:
Get Cub Scouts Bear award by the end of the summer
Run a mile in 10 minutes
Pitch in spring baseball
Take a golf class or clinic
Father/Son backpacking trip
Finish Book of Mormon
Oscar:
Stop counter-surfing, begging for food, etc.
Camp with family
Happy New Year!
"Goals are stars to steer by, not sticks to beat yourself with!" --Barbara Smith
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