2017 Cushing Family Photo

Love.

A very memorable family temple trip

Memorial Day weekend was a special one for us.

That Friday afternoon we drove down to the Los Angeles temple, stopped for dinner at In 'N Out on the way and stayed the night in the temple patron apartments for the first time.  Many of our friends make family trips this way and said the temple apartments were the way to go--they were right.  The apartment was simply furnished and a little snug, but it was inexpensive, clean, and had a great shower.  We smiled at the giant picture of the Savior in the kitchenette and the Family Proclamation posted in the apartment complex elevator.  It was peaceful and perfect.

The next morning we woke up very early and started in the temple baptistry at 6 am.  It was the first time we had family names to do work for, that Jason and I had found on our own.  (Next step:  encourage the kids in this endeavor!)

After some time there, the kids went back to the apartment, and then Jason and I did initiatories and then an endowment session together, followed by several sealings.  We both agreed it was a neat experience to do that--we hadn't done initiatories and sealings in a very long time.  Rhiannon and Wade said they had a fun time together, too, hanging out in the apartment, walking the temple grounds, taking pictures, and checking out the visitor's center.

We were all finished before noon!  And our family was able to do temple ordinance work of some sort for 13 family names (plus several more in the baptistry and sealing room).  It was a lovely day, finished off with a pleasant drive home and lunch at El Torito in Palmdale.

Will we do it again?  Yes!

I've had a goal for a really long time to personally find a family name to take to the temple.  We're talking years.  Each year would go by and I'd say, "Well, maybe next year."  Over the past few months things came together for me--I felt urged on at some stake meetings, there was an article in the Ensign magazine about what to do if all your family history work seems "done," and a cute Laurel in our ward also gave me some hints.  So one day in February I just started clicking around and there it was.

That one name.  Martha Handford.  With only one single temple ordinance left, to be sealed to her parents.  Jason was also very successful that morning--I was encouraged to give it a try after he'd found several names in a matter of minutes.

I was pretty excited when I found that name.  Really, I was more than excited--I felt a jolt of electricity and happiness when I found it!  But that feeling was nothing compared to how it felt to be in the temple a few months later completing the work for Martha Handford.  It was a powerful, exhilarating, and emotional moment.  I felt profoundly happy and honored to be there for her, to do the work with Jason, and thankful to the other people in the sealing room helping us make it happen.

It was awesome.

Love these kids!

These pictures, set side-by-side, bring on a lot of different emotions for me.  Pride, joy, sadness, hope,  a little bit of mommy worry, lots and lots of happiness, you name it!  Seeing them change through the years takes my breath away a bit, but boy, what a fun ride!  We love these kids and are so grateful to have them in our family!

   

GPa Rich and GMa Donna celebrated a milestone this weekend...

Happy 40th Anniversary to Grandpa Rich and Grandma Donna!

And MAJOR PROPS to Logan, Amy, and Jordan for making this cool anniversary gift happen.  That's 3,000+ photos of their posterity in that photo mosaic you see!  What an amazing idea and project!!!  All of us contributed photos, but it wouldn't have happened without Logan's mad skillz and Jordan's impressive Google Drive capacity.  Thanks, guys!  Fun to be a part of!

The Round Rock Sheens visit Ridgecrest!!!

Boy, oh boy, we were happy to have the Round Rock Sheens for a quick visit this past weekend!  Amy and the kids had been in California for almost a month; Logan joined them and they made their way down to us via Yosemite.  They only stayed a night and had to leave in the morning to get to the Grand Canyon, but we were happy to spend time with them!

Love you, guys!  Thanks for making the drive down!

Will really liked those "dog houses!"

Abby was up early and helped me with breakast!

Sibling pic--love this guy and his family!

Wade and Collin played some Wii and Need for Speed

Amy and Olivia--glad Amy could sleep in a little bit!

Playing in Rhiannon's room

Collin was so good with the dogs!

Say cheese!

Evan had a great time playing the Playmobil Pirate ship--glad we still had that thing!

Girls being silly!

Hurray for girl cousins!!! :)

I could not get enough of this--so funny!

Round Rock Sheens in Ridgecrest!

THANK YOU FOR COMING!!!  We love you!

Sweet 17!

Jason and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary in May!  He got home in the morning from a work trip on our anniversary and took the rest of the day off to spend with his happy wife!  We also had a wonderful dinner at a local Mexican place called Olvera's.  Yummy!

Probably one of the funniest things was posting a couple pictures of us on Facebook and getting quite the response on them!  Aren't we cute? :)

Engagement Photo--Kids Kastle in Highland Village, TX, March 1997

Wedding Day!  Bountiful, UT Temple, May 16, 1997

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!!!