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!