We finished reading the Book of Mormon again!

Boy, it took us a much longer time to read through the Book of Mormon again as a family, but we finished it tonight by reading the last 5 pages together as one of our New Year's Eve activities.

What a great way to end the year and start fresh!

I'm grateful for the peace that comes when I read the Book of Mormon, and the strength to face life's ups and downs when I read it faithfully and consistently.  Personally it's one of my big goals for 2018 to read from the Book of Mormon every day.  And I can't wait to start it again as a family.

37 + Christmas Card Update

2017 is rapidly coming to a close.  Tomorrow is New Year's Eve!  It was a FABULOUS year, but I didn't do a good job documenting that awesomeness here on the family blog with a meager 37 posts (so far) for the year.

I hope to do a better job on that in 2018 by inviting the rest of the family to contribute to it!

Christmas 2017--Vacation/Stay-cation

Today is Day 9 of our Christmas break and we are really enjoying it.  Some highlights so far include:

seeing the Last Jedi movie in 3D
playing games with the Littons
ordering our traditional Golden Dragon take-out
eating delicious soup and rolls with the Zobells
enjoying a 1-hr musical sacrament meeting on Christmas Eve Day (Rhiannon did a beautiful job playing a piano solo for that)
driving around town to see Christmas lights
lots of family phone calls and video FaceTimes
a lovely, peaceful relaxing Christmas Day
doing a few household tasks like decluttering and raking leaves
watched Dunkirk
devoured a tasty Christmas ham and mashed potatoes dinner
a bit of golfing for the boys
having fun with our new phones!
making Amazon wish lists

Earlier this week Jason and Wade drove up to northern California for Wade's belated birthday gift to see a Warriors basketball game!  They drove up, saw the game, stayed the night, ate good food, and checked out a cool museum on the way home, too.  They had a great time!

Rhiannon and I enjoyed our own stay-cation while the boys were gone--we shopped, got haircuts, watched recorded This is Us episodes, slept in, ate dinner at Subway with the sister missionaries, and went to the movie theater to see The Greatest Showman.

We made a list of a few more things we need/want to do.  It's so nice to realize we have several more days together to play, sleep, party, rest, and plan for 2018!

2017 Cushing Family Photo

Love.

Wade's first cross-country meet!

Wade went to his first cross-country meet down in Palmdale on Friday afternoon.  We knew this was going to be a make-or-break experience for him, because he hates the practices.  He started in July and tries to go to 3 of the 5 practices a week, but he's never excited about it and *may* have thrown a fit a couple times, haha!  

None of us could be there for that, which I feel badly about.  Jason had to work and Rhiannon and I were in Reno.  But he had lots of fun there and lots of people looking out for him, which we really appreciated.

About 4 pm that afternoon, he sent us a text:

He was pretty surprised by his results and excited for his team--several came away with medals in the top 20 of their groups.  He said he loved getting out of school for it, too, haha!  We are so proud of Wade and hope he'll feel encouraged to continue his progress and efforts!  And we VERY grateful to his coaches, Ephraim Washburn and Rob Tomlinson.  They provide Wade with a great balance of support and pushing!

Many thanks to our friend Nate Kimbler for these pictures at the meet:

Photo by Nate Kimbler

Photo by Nate Kimbler

One of my favorites!
Photo by Nate Kimbler

Photo by Nate Kimbler

Rhiannon and Mom take a girls' trip to UNR!

On Thursday afternoon Rhiannon and I packed the van and started our drive to Reno for a "Nevada Bound" campus day at the University of Nevada.  Boy, did we have a blast!  Rhiannon drove the first 3 hours to Mammoth where we stopped at Burgers Restaurant for a great dinner, and then I drove the next 3-4 hours up to Reno.  Driving in the dark through the mountains was the worst part of the trip--I definitely felt some heavenly help on those twisty, one-lane roads!

Jason reserved a nice Holiday Inn hotel room for us that night.  We watched the last few minutes of La La Land and 13 Going on 30, and then slept very, very well.  We were tired!

In the morning we got breakfast at the hotel's restaurant and then drove about 10 minutes to the campus.  Student ambassadors were already there, waiting to welcome us on the 6th level of the west parking garage.

It was a gorgeous, busy, FULL day, and Rhiannon came away from that experience with many questions answered.  I was impressed by the orientation, the time with just her College of Liberal Arts group and a fun student panel, a delicious free lunch for all, and seeing every open residence hall and individual dorm rooms.  The whole day was free--we just paid for the hotel room and gas to get there.

No, Rhiannon hasn't made her official college choice yet, but UNR makes her happy.  She likes the mix of old and new buildings, the possibility of experiencing 4 seasons, being close to Lake Tahoe, a busy but not CRAZY-crowded campus, and friendly people.  At the orientation that morning, the dean of admissions spoke about value and opportunities available at UNR, but he wanted potential students to remember the most important thing:  "do you feel like you matter here?"  I think Rhiannon definitely felt that and we appreciated all the efforts to make that happen during our visit.  The free t-shirts and goodies were cool--but the friendly atmosphere, fantastic tour guides, and answered questions were even better!

We caught a second wind and hit the road at 4 pm.  It was so nice to be able to see the beauty of the mountain pass in daylight hours this time, haha!  It really was gorgeous.  We stopped for gas and had to take pictures of the sunset!


      

That night we stayed at our friends' home, the Fitt family, and were glad to do that.  We were only another 2 hours away from home, but we were exhausted and appreciated the hospitality.

Rhiannon was the perfect roommate, co-pilot, and pilot.  We loved being together!

September is flying by!

Just a quick check-in for September--this month is flying by!

Rhiannon:

• took her senior pictures for the yearbook; relieved that there were some good ones!
• took the ACT a second time
• piano lessons--really excited for her personal piano recital next month 
• football games in the band section
• band council
• online psychology class
• enjoying 2 free periods during the day VERY much
• improved her SAT score--went from a 1290 to a 1400.  We were very happy for her!
• all-day band trip down to Riverside for field show critique
• loving Sister Decker's lessons in early-morning seminary
• ordered a dress online for Homecoming next month (so far she plans to go with friends)
• completed online college applications for University of Nevada Reno, Utah State, and Northern Arizona University, so far.
• accidentally lost some important band equipment after a football game and has done a great job of "owning it," scouring the campus, trying to get the word out and involving the whole school with announcements, talking to school staff, etc.  The equipment still hasn't shown up--but we are very proud of her for doing her very best to try to locate them and find them.

Wade:

• robotics club
• lots of cross-country practices--he wishes he was faster, but he's come such a long ways from when he started in July.  Now he can run a 5K easily without stopping.  First cross country meet is this Friday!  His favorite practices are the ones up in the hills behind the community college.
• went to his first middle school dance last Friday--enjoyed just sitting and laughing with friends
• at a Court of Honor tonight, he earned the merit badges for golf, life-saving, and traffic safety.  Just needs to finish communications merit badge and then he'll have his Life rank
• piano lessons
• about one more month of Deacons!  He has enjoyed serving as Deacons president, too
• lots of time on the Destiny 2 video game
• golf with Dad
• math club on Mondays
• YES engineering conference on base for middle-school boys--lots of fun
• looking forward to celebrating his 14th birthday soon in a big way--maybe a concert? maybe a basketball game?

Jason:

• key-note speaker at the YES engineering conference.  Wade said Dad did a good job and made it fun
• played two rounds of back-to-back golf on Friday with friends and enjoyed the beautiful weather
• spoke in church up in Mammoth last week
• constant craziness and stress at work (so his wife is very happy when he goes out and plays golf for stress relief!)
• bought a new iPhone--his old one is trashed
• continues to take good care of our family

Verity:

• balance--still trying to find it.  School job is way, way more stressful and involved than last year, and it's easy to feel overwhelmed.  Grateful for those moments, though few, when I feel like I've got a handle on it all. ;)
• enjoyed speaking in Lone Pine today at their small branch
• enjoyed: date night with hubby, lunch with a friend, book club dinner, church leadership meetings, staying up "late" with family to watch America's Got Talent show, stake auxiliary training and General Women's broadcast the last two weekends
• good news at a dermatology appointment about a bump on my cheek--benign, just means I'm getting older, ha-ha!
• looking forward to a "girls getaway" college trip with Rhiannon this week--going to check out Reno and look at it a little more closely with her

Though life is a little more fast-paced and we often feel too busy, we are grateful for family time, a quiet weeknight here and there, and moments that remind us that we really are doing okay and have so much to be thankful for!

Can't forget the first time Wade got the Epi-Pen shot!

On Sunday night, August 13th, Rhiannon and Wade got home quickly from their youth choir practice.  Wade said the back of his throat was itchy and he thought he'd eaten some kind of nuts in a dessert there.  He asked Rhiannon to get them home fast.

Things went downhill pretty quickly for him.  He took 3 or 4 Benadryl tablets but vomited several times after that.  No hives, but he had the red eyes, instant and complete nasal congestion, terribly itchy throat, a little bit of swelling in his lips, and constant vomiting.  After about an hour he finally looked up at me from where he was sitting on his bed, and said, "Mom, it's time.  You need to get the Epi-Pen."  It was hard for him to open his mouth, and he said his chest started to feel strange.

So, for the first time ever, he got a shot of epinephrine.  I took the blue cap off and swung the "pen" into his right thigh and held it in place for 10 seconds.  It was VERY easy and quick to do!  Then we calmly drove to the ER where they gave him more steroids and observed him until almost midnight.  He walked out of the hospital with a smile on his face and joked, "Hey, we made it to Monday!"

It was amazing the difference, from the height of the reaction to going home to bed and being just fine the next morning.

We learned some things:

1.  Wade is d-e-f-i-n-i-t-e-l-y allergic to walnuts.  Big time.  We knew of the allergy, but he didn't ask what was in the cake before he ate it.  He only took a couple bites of the dessert, but it sure packed a punch.

2.  Wade needs to ask people what's in their home-baked goods.  He doesn't have to feel embarrassed about it--just ask!

3.  Epinephrine injectors work.  And they need to be on hand.  (Ours was in the medicine cabinet.  I have another in my purse and Wade has one in his camping gear.  There's also one at school.)

4.  Epinephrine did leave some weird, lingering effects that Wade had to deal with for the first week of school.  The shot and its quickness caused some strange pockets of red in his eyes, like they were bloodshot but in areas all over his eyes.  He got some comments from friends who noticed it and were a little worried about him.  Worried me, too, but they finally went away after about a week and a half.

5.  Thankful for sweet friends!  The Hall family dropped off a giant bag of fun goodies and treats that Wade enjoyed for several days.  We all got a huge kick out of their clever "epi-Pen" gift, too:

We love Wade and we're glad he's okay!

Sleeping in the emergency room

A special stake conference!

Last Sunday we had a special 90-minute stake conference with an important visitor, the Presiding Bishop of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Bishop Gerald Causse.  It was a great meeting, and I appreciated his message about being witnesses and being instruments in the hand of the Lord to bless the lives of others, simply by loving people and being close to the Spirit.

Rhiannon and Wade were "strongly encouraged" by their mother to participate in the youth choir for this meeting.  They practiced for several Sunday nights in a row, and, in the end, it was a great experience for them and they did a fantastic job, not just with their singing but by inviting the Spirit into the meeting with their music.  We were so proud and happy for them!

Another fun, crazy thing was that Rhiannon was asked last-minute to share her testimony.  Bishop Causse was given a list of youth from our stake and picked her from the list.  She got up and shared about how she knows Heavenly Father answers prayers because she'd prayed for ways to give service and had seen that happen again and again that week at school.   She also got the whole room to laugh, telling them how that very morning at breakfast she'd been complaining about being in the choir, how she'd rather speak in stake conference any day than sing, and, well, there she was, doing both!   This marks the third time Rhiannon has spoken in stake conference--pretty amazing!

It takes a village

We were sad to see the Wright family move on to greener pastures in Utah this week.  Both Nathan and Rebecca served as youth leaders for our kids--and they were amazing!  I'm thankful for good people, like the Wrights, who love our kids and set powerful, righteous examples for them.  Looking back over the years, we have been greatly blessed by many, many neighbors, teachers, friends, and church family here in Ridgecrest who have taken an interest in Rhiannon and Wade and encouraged them.  

Here's another recent example, from our bishop, Ephraim Washburn, who is also one of Wade's cross country coaches:

He is a busy man, with a busy family, job, and calling, and it meant a lot that he'd take a moment to reach out to Wade, who really needed that pick-me-up.  Cross country has not been easy for him, but we're proud of him for sticking with it!

A few days after that, Rhiannon got a little envelope in the mail from a sweet lady in our ward, Connie Roberts, who wrote about how much she'd appreciated Rhiannon's impromptu testimony at a special stake conference last Sunday.  Rhiannon immediately called her on the phone to express her gratitude for the thoughtful note, and said they both got a little teary-eyed and that the ensuing conversation with Sister Roberts made her feel like a million bucks.

There are more--Sister Decker, Rhiannon's new seminary teacher, who spoiled the class with pancakes on Friday morning, to neighbors giving jobs to Wade and paying him very generously, to everyone's interest in Rhiannon's college plans, for Scout leaders who compliment Wade openly and express their gratitude to him for his example.

And on and on.  We are very grateful for our kids and so happy to have the help and encouragement of good people as these two grow up!

A fun, fast day trip

Today we went down to see Uncle Brant and Aunt Chris and boys.  It was a fast trip, made even faster by Jason's driving, fairly easy traffic, and good tunes.  We ate lunch at Old Spaghetti Factory (yum!) and then spent a little more time with them at their house.  We wish Uncle Brant the best with his new job in Chicago, and pray that Chris and the boys will be able to join him quickly!  We love you!

50/50

8/31  Sunrise

This morning I was listening to a podcast about anxiety.

There were a couple points the woman made that I really appreciated.  First, if people are going to say things about you that you don't like, there's nothing wrong with that.  People can talk, but those who matter to you and really get you will know when things are true or false.

And second, she referred to that Book of Mormon scripture about opposition and said, knowing what we know about opposition and that it's a part of life, it's normal that about half of our human existence is going to be opposition and struggles and negative emotions that we have to deal with, and the other half is joy and happiness and treasured friendships and love.  It's our human existence, the total package.

50/50.  Like the beautiful sunrise I got to see as I was walking today, a little cloudy and gray, but also full of sunlight bursting through those clouds.

It was just some common sense that I really needed this morning, thinking about my own growing pains at school, the crazy flooding in Texas, friends in the hospital, and on and on.  These things aren't fun, they are difficult and trying.  And that's okay.

How grateful I am for the people and blessings in my life that make up that other 50%!

First Day of 12th and 8th grade!

We were all up bright and early for the first day of school on August 15th.  This year Rhiannon will finish high school and Wade will finish middle school.  There will be some new opportunities, too--Rhiannon will serve as band president and take an online psychology class as part of her schedule, and Wade is trying out cross country and robotics club.

I have to remind myself that Rhiannon and Wade are growing up, turning into strong, independent young people who are good humans, too.

I'll admit, though, sometimes I still see this when I look at them!  The time sure goes by fast!

The boys' annual backpacking trip!

Jason and Wade joined up with friends--the Kimblers, Fitts, Lees, and Tomlinsons--a couple weekends ago for a great summer adventure, hiking up in the Sierras past Lee Vining.  There was a LOT of snow and water and they had some crazy adventures getting through some of it, but I think they were glad to go.  Our friend Nate Kimbler took some amazing pictures from the trip and I had to share!

Young Men's Camp

In July there was a big fire up in the mountains called the Schaeffer Fire.  Our stake was putting together a Young Men's camp that had to be changed up a bit last-minute because the fire was heading in the direction of Camp Andrew Brown, where they'd planned to hold the week-long camp.

So the call was made to change plans and reorganize the week.  It was a good call.  Wade and friends had the choice to do rapelling or gun-shooting that Thursday night locally, and then the next day was an all-day excursion down to the Los Angeles Temple visitor center, a park for dinner, and an indoor trampoline park.  It was a fun day!

A great group of boys!  There were several more who came--this was the group from our congregation.

Fun t-shirts!  The back said "Eternity Just Got Real."

Off to Girls Camp

Rhiannon and I went off to Girls Camp the last week of July.  We both had a tremendously positive experience and were glad to be there.  We worked hard, made a lot of memories, and strengthened friendships and testimonies.

I loved Rhiannon's response:

"I came home last night from one of the best experiences of my life. It was my first time as a Youth Camp Leader (YCL). I was scared at first, but my cabin girls, fellow YCL's and all of the other amazing people there made it a total blast. I'm now a better leader, better friend, and a better sister. Just a better person in general.  I'm so grateful I had the opportunity and that my foot held up!!!!! I love you guys!!"

I've served in the Young Women organization for a gazillion years, and I always avoided Girls Camp like. the. plague.  I didn't want anything to do with girl drama and I didn't want to be away from home that long and have to make the long, hard drive up into the mountains to do it.

Well, after being up there that week, I realized that I'd missed out on some special experiences all those other years.   I'm so grateful for the courage, kindness, service, love, and miracles that I saw throughout the week, for the opportunity to rub shoulders with amazing adults and young women who made me smile and laugh and feel. the. love. every day that week.

Here was my list from the week:

"On my last morning of Girls Camp, three sweet girls approached me with big smiles on their faces and said, "Sister Cushing, we have a gift for you, for surviving your first time at camp." It was super funny and weirdly thoughtful at the same time, haha! 

I could probably write a book of all the experiences up at beautiful Camp Wilderness this week, but to give you an idea, here are just a few (of many) highlights:

I rappelled off a bridge.
I drove up and down a mountain.
I *tried to* sleep with mice in my cabin.
I went a week without showering, by choice. #babywipesRULE
I laughed and laughed and laughed, then laughed some more.
I walked a huge, crazy hard (for me) hike.
I saw countless examples of love, patience, service, and friendship.
I saw miracles and the "hand of God" often.
I ate REALLY good food.
I felt the Spirit and God's love for every person up there with me.

So grateful for the experience, for answered prayers, and for the many, many adults and girls who made it a wonderful week!"

Can't wait to go and do it again next year!

Some unique summer purchases.

Wanted to make sure I document a couple of summer purchases that have been a lot of fun:

Rhiannon's post about this on social media:

"I had the time of my life today at WalMart when Mom and I found this gem!! I waved at people on the way home and got a lot of smiles, waves, and an older gentleman rolled down his window so he could take a picture of me. Day made."

Oh my goodness, we were laughing so hard that our sides hurt and I had tears running down my cheeks!

The funniest thing, though, is that Rhiannon and Wade went back to WalMart within minutes and got a tiger mask for Wade and a bunny rabbit for Jason (his request).  We spent 60 bucks on animal heads that day, and I'm still laughing about it.  

Another fun purchase was a letter board.  A friend posted that there was a killer deal on them at JoAnns, and I could. not. resist.  We've all had some fun this summer adding things to the board.