"The soul should always stand ajar..."

"The soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience."  --Emily Dickinson


I saw that quote this morning as I sat down to blog and thought it was fitting for how I've felt about life in general lately.  Even though I'm not feeling 100% today with allergies and a cold, I feel happy and grateful for so many things. 

Here are just a few feel-good examples:

Rhiannon went to Disneyland last week and had a wonderful time with her friends in concert band.  They went to a workshop in the morning and then had 6 hours to "play," and then they got home around 11:30pm.  It was a long, full day, and she was exhausted the next day at school but survived!  She made me happy when she pulled out a Perry the Platypus stuffed animal for Wade that she'd purchased with her own money.  I was blown away by that--a small gesture but so kind and thoughtful!

On Friday Jason and I went to Wade's final school assembly of the year and watched him "walk the red carpet" three different times for completing 6th grade math objectives, competing on the 3rd grade Battle of the Books team, and reaching the Classic 2 goal in the Accelerated Reader program.  We are so proud of him!

On Saturday the kids helped us out in the backyard all morning as we cleaned up patio furniture and pool accessories, swept, and worked on the pool.  We celebrated by going to see Into Darkness, the Star Trek movie, in the afternoon.  It was really fun!

On Sunday night Jason rounded us all up in the truck, including Oscar, and drove out to a dark road in town so we could see a rare Dance of the Planets.  Just on top of the mountains, at sunset, we were able to see Mercury, Venus, and Jupiter in a triangle.  It was AWESOME!!! 

The good times continued yesterday.  We went to our ward's Memorial Day pancake breakfast--there was a great turnout!  I loved the picture of me and Rhiannon with my friend Vilma--thanks to the Parkers for taking it!  Rhiannon looks so tall here, ha-ha! :)

 

 

Our friends Howard and Sandi had us over for dinner that night--we loved the food and enjoyed catching up with them!  Sandi made a wonderful meal of grilled pork loin, potato salad, toasted bread, and green beans.  It was delish!!!

 

I also wanted to thank my brother Logan for making the following available to me, a citation to Owen Sheen, my grandpa Max's brother who died in WWII:

 



Owen C. Sheen
Date of death: August 2, 1944
Place of Birth: Idaho, Paul
Home of record: Paul Idaho
Status: KIA

AWARDS AND CITATIONS

Silver Star

Awarded for actions during the World War II

The President of the United States of America takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Private First Class Owen C. Sheen (MCSN: 338605), United States Marine Corps Reserve, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity as Leader of a Rifle Squad, serving with Company B, First Battalion, Twenty-First Marines, THIRD Marine Division, during action against enemy Japanese forces at Iwo Jima, Volcano Islands, on 3 March 1945. With his squad pinned down by shattering small-arms fire emanating from two well-concealed hostile pillboxes, Corporal Sheen voluntarily pressed forward against the withering barrage to conduct a lone reconnaissance and, after locating the emplacements, returned to organize an attack. Boldly charging ahead of his squad, he led an aggressive strike against the strong point, personally destroying the initial pillbox with his accurately placed grenades before he was fatally struck down while assisting in the destruction of the other. By his superb leadership, valiant fighting spirit and cool courage maintained in the face of tremendous odds, Corporal Sheen contributed materially to the success of the bitterly fought Iwo campaign and his zealous devotion to duty throughout was in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

 

General Orders: Commander in Chief, Pacific: Serial 12708 (January 25, 1945)

Action Date: August 2, 1944

Service: Marine Corps

Rank: Private First Class

Battalion: 3d Battalion

Regiment: 6th Marines

Division: 2d Marine Division

Our family is very thankful for all those who've served and are serving our country!

Just for fun

Last Thursday Jason and I celebrated our 16th anniversary on May 16th!  Woo-hoo!  We went out to dinner the next night to the Red Bowl (yummy Asian food), and then we hurried home to pick up Wade so he could join us for Iron Man 3.  Rhiannon was going to see it the following afternoon for her friend Emma's birthday party, and I just did not have the heart to leave Wade out.  I mean, the kid has wanted to see Iron Man 3 for 6 months!

So we were in the movie theater, and the movie was AWESOME, but I felt a little weird having Wade there.  Every time something cool happened in the movie I'd lean over to Wade and say something, or he'd do the same to me, and, um, it was like I was on a date with my son instead of my super handsome hubby, ya know?

Wade was hilarious, though--the next day he said, "Hey, Mom!  Maybe next year for your anniversary date we can go see Amazing Spider-Man 2!"  I had to let him down gently that this probably wasn't the best idea. :) 


Another funny thing happened tonight.  We had Elder Hanson and Elder Amadi, our full-time church missionaries, over for a taco dinner.  After dinner I asked if they'd like some chocolate chip cookies for dessert, and Elder Amadi said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm going to have to pass because I'm doing P90X."  Jason lit up and for the next 10 minutes they talked about the program Jason's been doing for 3 weeks now, and he showed the elders some of his gear, etc.  It was really fun!

Right now I'm hoping Rhiannon is on her way home safely from her Disneyland band trip.  She won't be home til 11:30pm or so, and it's SUPER WINDY outside.  I'm trying not to worry about her and keep myself occupied by updating this blog! :)

School ends next week--YAY!!!!!!!!!

Since the cruise...BIG recap

Whew!  Can you believe it's MAY already?  I love getting closer to summer break, but it's a little scary how quickly time moves, too!

I'm a little overwhelmed thinking about all I want to say about the last three weeks; it's been crazy busy and crazy fun.  Guess I'll just plunge in and take a lunch break when I need it!

Starting youngest to oldest:

Oscar:  is a good teenage dog.  He is still uber-protective, occasionally very feisty when he wants to play, and loved by every member of our family.  He loves his dog chew toys; he also loves grass, much to our chagrin.  This dog will literally mow the grass if we're not paying attention.  He is still Mom's constant shadow, the perfect companion for an afternoon nap, and a great "walker."  I love how he perks up when he sees me going for his leash!

Wade:  is only 45+ objectives away from completing SIXTH GRADE math objectives.  I don't know if he'll get it done before school ends on the 30th, but he's super close.  He loves playing outside with all his neighbor friends, too.  Last week Wade and I played basketball at the park every school morning after we'd dropped Rhiannon off.  It was fun trying to shoot hoops together!  He's practicing for a piano recital this weekend, has a big history project all spread out on the dining room table (log cabin), and he's looking forward to a Fathers/Sons camp out with his dad on Friday.  No, he hasn't been to Iron Man 3 yet, and it's KILLING him.  He's probably got the meanest parents ever, seeing as how he's willing to pay for his own ticket! :)

As far as baseball, well, it's play-off time and Wade's team is in last place.  The only game they've won was against a team from out of town, and it doesn't count. Can you imagine what that must feel like for 9- and 10-year-old boys? 

 

I think the head coach put it best after a very messy practice last week  To put it gently, the boys are talented, but, man, they don't listen, they argue, and they don't work as a team.  I can't tell you how many times we've started out looking like we're going to win and end up losing.  After a 16-13 loss at last week's game, the coaches gathered Wade's team together again, and Wade got a huge compliment.   Coach Tony pointed to Wade and two other boys and said, "These boys are the best examples on our team.  They NEVER argue, they listen, and they play hard."  Wade came back to the dugout, beaming.  I'm thankful to the coach for recognizing Wade's efforts, because, I'm not gonna lie, it's been hard showing up practice after practice, game after game.  Lots of life lessons learned, we hope!  Wish the Tigers good luck in the play-offs!  :)

 

Rhiannon:  stayed pretty busy the last two weeks with state testing and was really happy when that was all over.  She is NOT looking forward to school ending for a couple reasons.  The last day of school is on her birthday, it's a minimum day, and she loves seeing her friends at school.  We'll try to do a better job helping her get with friends this summer than we did last year.  In her free time, she's either:

 

a) on the piano

b) on the computer, writing stories and fan fiction on Goodreads

c) sitting on the couch watching Dr. Who on Netflix

d) reading up in her bedroom  (she recently went through her own "library" and realized there were books of her own that she hadn't read yet, so she's trying to go through those.)

e) sending emails to her friend Leslie in Virginia

f) online surfing for funny YouTube videos or Piano Guys' music, OR finding cute clothes and sending links for them to me via email!  Both Rhiannon and Wade have got this video almost completely memorized, NO LIE: 

 

 

This weekend Rhiannon "made" over $60 with her allowance, money from a Saturday night babysitting job, and $35 of mystery money she found in a bag in her room.  Lucky!

She also performed in her first Honors Recital yesterday with other 7th thru 12th graders.  She did a great job on El Diablo! :)

 

 

 

Me:  after a quick 5 months working with the Young Women at church, I'm now working as a Webelos leader with the 10-year-old Cub Scouts.  I jumped right in to the new calling this week with a pack meeting and an all-day day hike on Saturday (which was a blast.)  Probably the greatest thing about this new "job" is that I get to work with my longtime Ridgecrest friend Judith.  She is AMAZING! 

 

Sub jobs have been almost non-existent due to state testing, and that's okay.  I've gotten lots of decluttering done around the house and even went out in the garden and pulled weeds because I WANTED to. :)  I've enjoyed watching "Call the Midwife" on Netflix, too--look it up, Downton Abbey lovers!  It's g-o-o-o-o-d.

 

I'm really looking forward to summer break, Cub Scout day camp (I'm helping with crafts this year), lots of down-time, and a Sheen Reunion over the 4th of July!

 

 

 

Jason:  completed another one of these last month...

 

 

 

with his "How the West was Run" team.  They did great!!!

 

 

And he started this yesterday...

 





 

 

He's amazing and motivated!   He's planning on getting the workouts done in the mornings.  The past 2 days Jason has gotten up at 4:45am; maybe I'll "join" him by taking Oscar on some early-morning walks, but doing weights/hard-core routines that early in the morning takes way more willpower than I've got! :)

 

It's been nice having Jason home more; less federal budget money means less travel.  It makes his job harder, but it's been GREAT having him home.  He's been wonderful about covering Wade's baseball games when we've had conflicting schedules, for just one example!

 

 

ALL:  last night we enjoyed a Cinco de Mayo dinner at our friends' home across the street, the Hawkins family.  We had a great time, ate delicious food, and enjoyed visiting.  It was a great way to start another busy week of May!