Grandma Rushton 1920-2015

My Grandma Rushton (Mom's mom) passed away on Friday, June 5th. Here is her Obituary.

Estella Cleone Rushton, 95, of Vaughn, passed away on June 5, 2015 at a local care facility of natural causes. A funeral service will be held on Friday, June 12, 11:00 a.m. at the Sun River Valley Church of Latter-Day Saints with a visitation open to the public 1 hour prior to the service. A graveside service will be held later that day in Highland Cemetery at 3:00 p.m.

Estella was born on January 14, 1920 in Salt Lake City, UT to parents Hyrum Hansen and Mabel Harrison. She was raised and spent much of her young adult life in Wyoming and Montana, graduating from Simms High School in Simms, MT. On January 16, 1941 she married Fredrick John Rushton in Cardston, Alberta, Canada. From that union they were blessed with 4 sons and 4 daughters. She was a devoted wife and loving mother who enjoyed spending time on their family farm raising their children.

Estella loved horses, especially Lady. She was an avid quilter and also loved to crochet. She was an artist of both painting and sculpting. Though busy with family and her hobbies, Estella also had a passion for serving as a member in the Church of Latter-Day Saints at the Sun River Ward. With her husband, she assisted in 2 full-time missions; one taking them to Ohio and another one to Saskatchewan, Canada. They also assisted in a temple mission together.

She is survived in death by her sons, James (Linda) Rushton, Steven (Martha) Rushton, Hy (Deena) Rushton, Robert (Cindy) Rushton; daughters, Nancy (Wayne) Newman, Cheryl Link, Billie (Jerry) Whaley, Robin (Roger) Farnsworth; 33 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. Estella is preceded in death by her parents and husband Fredrick J. Rushton.

Thanksgiving

Lets talk about Thanksgiving 2014, shall we?  It started off with a bang and didn't get any better.  The day before Thanksgiving, Greyson started getting a raspy voice. Then he started coughing and by 2am Thanksgiving morning, he was wheezing really bad, coughing and not breathing very well.  We tried the cold air outside and the steamy shower air, but nothing was helping or working, so we made our way to the AF Hospital ER. They just opened a new ER, so that was nice, and it wasn't busy, so we got in and started treating him with a Breathing treatment and steroids. We got home about 5:30 and got a little bit more sleep before Thanksgiving was to start.

Greyson and I in the hospital

As we were cleaning the house, getting ready for our Thanksgiving guests to come, Gavin went to the bathroom and came and told us that the toilet was broken.  That is all we need before having people over, a broken toilet.  Luckily it was just the handle that broke and made it so that it wouldn't flush, an easy fix!  We decided to deep fry a turkey this year and had the missionaries over as well as my brother Jason and Mike's mom Mary.  Right before dinner was going to start, Jason came inside to tell us that someone hit our Durango.  We parked it out on the street in front of our house so that Mike could deep fry the turkey without worrying about the car. Well the across the street neighbor didn't see our car or something and backed right into the Durango denting the driver side door, and destroying the side view mirror. We still haven't gotten it fixed (that is a whole nother issue)

Poor sad banged up Durango

After dinner and everyone left, we cleaned up and relaxed because it was a stressful, busy day.  I think we were all in bed by 9 and asleep shortly after.  Jason woke up the next day and left early and we took off to Hill Air Force Base to check out the Black Friday deals.  Even though Greyson was sick and the neighbor hit our car, I am Thankful this year for so much.  I am Thankful for Car insurance and Health insurance.  I am Thankful that we have our health and 3 cute, healthy boys.  I am Thankful that we have jobs that help us afford our house and cars and things that we need and sometimes want.  We have a lot to be Thankful for this year and I am grateful for the Gospel and family!

Our Turkey! (She tasted so good!)

Plates

Yesterday I had to teach the Chastity talk at Church to the 12-13 year olds.  One of the talks I read while preparing my lesson was by Sister Dalton: Return to Virtue.  In the talk, she says she made herself a plate that says "You can do hard things" which is kind of my motto lately because I need to hear it all the time.  But then she was called to be the Young Women General President and wished the plate said "In the Strength of the Lord I can do All Things" so I decided to make a plate with Sharpies and seal them in the Oven for my lesson for the girls.  They turned out pretty good!

Girls Camp

I went to Girls camp a couple of time when I was in Young Women's because they always had it the same week that we would go to Jackson Hole, so I always decided to go with my family White Water Rafting instead of going to Girls camp.  So, I got called last year to be the Mia Maid adviser and luckily they had just had Girls Camp, so I was set for a year.  It's not that I don't like to camp, because I do, but with emotional teen girls and camping and bugs and stuff, didn't sound like "that" much fun to me.  This week was Girls camp, and although I wasn't as excited as I should have been, it was a great time and I am glad I went for the 2 days I did get to go.

I went up Wednesday morning and it was an adventure getting up to Camp Hanna in Utah.  We finally got there in enough time to start lunch and then we hung out as a ward and did some fun things.  This year was a Stake Camp, so we were all together as a Stake and had a lot of Stake activities we needed to do too.  Wednesday was a beautiful day, so they let the girls play in the lake, and one girl used the rope swing, jumped too early and fell on her back in the water on rocks.  They had to call an ambulance from the nearest town to come get her.  Luckily she was okay, nothing broken just a lot of bruising.  That night we had the Bishopric up and had a nice Testimony meeting in the freezing cold as well as some fun Faith building activities.  Our Bishop said he couldn't confirm, but he was pretty sure that Heavenly Mother went to Girls Camp :)

On Thursday, we did a lot more Stake activities.  We had a Hunger Games style first aid challenge.  We literally should have gotten at least 3rd place, but other people were cheating...not going to lie.  We then had the hike up a killer Red Rock mountain behind our camp, but right as they were leaving, it started raining, thundering and lightening.  A lightening bolt hit so close on the mountain it started a fire and the Stake President said it was time to get off the Mountain.  Our YW President watched it happen and called 911 for the Fire team to come start fighting the fire.  It was quite adventurous.  They came down off the mountain and one of our girls still had a sister on the mountain and was quite upset, so we said a little prayer with her and a couple girls and it was very emotional.  The spirit was so raw and I knew that everything would be okay, but it was still a concern.  Everyone finally made it down and they started their devotional all over again.  They were way behind schedule.  They ended up pushing back dinner to 7:30 after flag ceremony, so we decided that after our ward time after the devotional.  We left about 7 and made it home at 9:30.  Way better timing then the way up there.

It was a great couple days at Girls Camp with the girls and the leaders and I am glad I went.

Youth Conference

I have to blog about Youth Conference.  It was such an amazing, spiritual, fun experience.  And I didn't even go on the bike ride.  I hope all the kids at least learned something and felt the spirit the 2 days we were doing stuff!

Friday we met at the Round about at 6:30 and hung out there until about 8 talking about the weekend and stuff we would be doing.  The kids got water bottles, a For the Strength of the Youth" booklet and a passport so they knew how they were doing.  We first took off to Welfare Square.  We picked up garbage around there and the first group went to serve and the second group went on a tour.  It is an AMAZING place.  And it is huge.  And...the food they make their, so good.  The cheese and chocolate milk...yummy!  Our group then went to serve and we were just moving pallets of clothes to the DI from the Bishop's Storehouse.  It was quite fun.

After Welfare Square, we ate lunch and headed to Temple Square where we met up with the cutest sister missionaries ever who talked to us about why they decided to serve missions and played a video for us about standing in holy places and if you are doing what you should be, no matter where you stand will be a holy place.  They also did some role playing with us acting like missionaries and asking our friends to come to church with us.  After that, they split us up in groups and we went on a tour around Temple Square.  They then took us to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and we watched the powerful Joseph Smith Movie.  Holy...What a tear jerk-er ..and it is not just because I am hormonal (More on that later...)  What a spiritual movie, and such an account of his life, told by his mother.  It was inspirational, and motivational, and moving.  If you didn't know the gospel was true before that movie, wow...It is a powerful movie.

After the Movie, we went to the South Visitor's Center on Temple Square and looked at the replica of the Salt Lake Temple and what is inside.  The Temple is beautiful.  We then went back to the Hotel we were staying in and checked in to our rooms and relaxed for a hot minute for Dinner to arrive.  We ate dinner then the girls got ready for the Temple.  The whole time we were together the boys and girls had "partners" so they were with a "partner" most of the time.  The partners walked to Temple Square and dropped off the girls for Baptisms.  It was a fun experience being in the Salt Lake Temple with the girls and watching them preform these ordinances that spirits on the other side are waiting for.  I remember the Temple Worker who was talking to us before the girls did the Baptisms said that if you get a tingly feeling that person was ready and waiting for this ordinance to be done for them.  During one of the Baptisms, Ashley turned to me and said she was hot, but just got the cold chills, and I said, that person must have been ready for Baptism!  It was a neat experience.   After the Temple we went to get Ice Cream then back to the Hotel for a night devotional and BED TIME!  I was exhausted.

Saturday morning we woke up, packed up, got ready, ate breakfast and then got on the bikes and in cars to make the journey back to Eagle Mountain.  They rode back to Temple Square then "started" from there and went to the Jordan River Parkway Trail.  We had lots of stops on the way, some spiritual thoughts and lots of encouragement.  They finally rode into Eagle Mountain at about 8.  And EVERYONE MADE IT!  That was an awesome experience.  I am so proud of our youth and all they did and accomplished last weekend.  They are amazing people and will do amazing things and I hope this experience only strengthened their testimonies.

Hand of the Lord

I promised myself I would try to update once a week on the blog of the times I have seen the Lords hand in my life that week.  Last week was HORRIBLE.  Mike was sick Tuesday on, Gavin and Greyson were throwing up at night Tuesday and Wednesday then wouldn't eat anything really the rest of the week because they had tummy aches all the time.  Gavin's birthday was Saturday and I was busy getting ready for that.  I had Young Womens on Tuesday, a Boutique on Wednesday and it was just a BUSY week.

Threw all of that, I am thankful for Priesthood blessings and worthy Priesthood holders around me that will help when we need blessings.  Mike got a Priesthood blessing on Thursday and I believe that faith and belief in that blessing helped him get better quickly.  I am also thankful for a DR who knows us and is always helpful when we are sick or have been sick for months on end!

I bought a couple more diffusers this week to diffuse On Guard (an immunity blend doTERRA sells) to try to rid our house of sickies and to keep the sickies out when we had Gavin's Birthday party.  I am thankful that they worked from Thursday to Sunday so that we could try to keep a clean aired house!

My lesson on Sunday totally blew (probably because I had a busy week and only looked at it twice in a week) but it made me realize that without my faith in Jesus Christ, would any of this stuff we have been doing the last year or I am sure longer be possible?  I know I am super busy, and trying to juggle it all, but I can't let my personal relationship with my Heavenly Father go, because I am busy being a full time employee, student, mom, wife!  I still need to take that time to study my lessons and scriptures, not just school.

And on a final note, I will go a little bit into this week.  School has been kicking my butt.  I often think to myself, why did I decide to do this?  Then I go to work and something happens (Like I get a rude email or someone talks crap about me to my boss about how rude I am) and I remember, you need to better yourself so you can get the heck out of your crappy job!  So, I think I am the worst judge of myself ever.  I am a perfectionist and when I am not getting good grades on my test or I miss a class because I am sick, I beat myself up over it.  I have been praying for a couple months now, since I have been in school, that I will remember what I am studying and that I might apply it to my tests and assignments and come out getting a good grade in the end.  Then I bomb another Biology test, or do horrible on an Americanization quiz.  BLAH!  This is a week were I have 2 papers, and 15 sentence assignment on a topic, and 25 question quiz due yesterday.  I totally slacked and got the papers and assignment done and turned in on Monday but didn't take the test.  I had to take it last night after Young Womens.  I came home and had 50 minutes to take it. I only took about 30 minutes to take it and got a 44 out of 50!  That is the best score I have scored on my quizzes!  I am so happy!  Something is starting to settle in!  I am so thankful for the Lord's hand in my life and I hope he continues to bless me in ways he feels I need it!

Croup

Can I just tell you how glad I am to have the gospel in our lives? I am so thankful for the power of prayer, the priesthood, and faith! Last week Gavin got a cold, it started clearing out on Saturday, we thought we were out of the woods and in the clear. Sunday he started with a little cough. Monday it got a little worse, but nothing to horrible. Last night it was a barking cough. It was horrible and he would get so worked up that he couldn't stop coughing or catch his breath. Mike stayed home with him today and took him to the doctor. The doctor told us that he does indeed have Croup. So we have him on Meds, and breathing treatments and we are hoping and praying that it starts getting better! Please pray for him little guy to make it through this with flying colors! Hopefully soon he will start feeling better and we can get our schedule and routine back to normal!

Sharing

I haven't posted in a while. I haven't really had anything to say. The last couple weeks I have become quite the blog stalker & have found a couple of blogs that have made me think...about my own life, my family, basically everything. We do have trials & things going on in our lives right now that I wish we didn't have to deal with, but they are really nothing compared to these blogs that I would like to share with you today!

The first blog I found from Mike's Cousin's blog. It is a Family here in Utah whose baby boy had a tragic accident a couple weeks ago. Baby B has made great progress, but still needs our prayers. Please check out their blog here & read their touching story for yourself! It truly shows you that Miracles are real & do happen! It also reminds you to have faith in the Lord & that our Father in Heaven really is there for us & loves us! It also reminds me to not rush things, not worry about the little stuff & hug my baby boy that much tighter & love him that much more because we don't know what tomorrow will bring.

The second blog I found from Amanda. It is a Family of 3 who just had their 2nd baby girl a couple weeks ago. She was born with Down Syndrome. We have our own "Down Syndrome" story in our lives...our cute niece Preslie, but this mom's account of her darling daughters birth & their discovery of her "specialness" was breath taking & honest! Check out her blog here & join her on this special journey of a turning point in their lives.

I cried when I read both of these stories, so you know they have to be good & touching because I NEVER cry! If you have any great blogs that you like to "stalk" please share, we all I am sure would love to follow along on their journey!

Come back later for a FUN 11 month post & maybe if I feel up to it, a Family update, not just a Gavin update!

Finally Home

By now, most of you have already guessed it & Grandma Lorie passed away last Friday night peacefully, surrounded by her family. They did decided to take her off life support & she passed away about 1/2 hour after they took her off.

Saturday, Mike had to work, so I hung out with my good friend Jessi - We try to do lunch together once a month & catch up with each other. We found out Saturday that the Funeral would be Tuesday (Yesterday), so we scrambled to find plane tickets & a place for Bear. We found plane tickets finally about 5 pm Saturday for Sunday morning early to Phoenix & a flight back really early for this morning. We booked them & got a pretty good deal. Mike & I both had 3 day bereavement leave, so this flight schedule worked out great.

We did fly out early Sunday morning to Beautiful Phoenix, AZ -

What a beautiful day there. We didn't get very much sleep Saturday night & had to be at the Airport at 7am for our flight. We hung out with family on Sunday & did everything we could do to help with Funeral arrangements.

Monday was much the same, we didn't get very much sleep Sunday night, but we did a lot to help with the Funeral arrangements. I did get sun burnt that day, which is kinda nice, because I feel like we haven't seen the sun this year.

Tuesday was the Funeral. Grandma was Lutheran, so that was an interesting Funeral to go to. They didn't even mention anything in the service about Grandma & her life & what she did, it was basically a Worship Service. All I could think about the whole service was, I can't wait until next Testimony meeting, to bear my testimony of the Gospel. That a humbling experience. It was an emotional day for all. We went to the grave site & place flowers by Grandma Lorie & also Grandma & Grandpa O (Grandma Lorie's parents) & Grandma & Grandpa Wallenberg's graves. It was a peaceful day. After that, Grandpa Vince wanted to get pictures of the family in their Sunday best.

It was a nice day. I met all of Mike's cousins & Aunts & Uncles. I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world, even though the reason we got together wasn't the best of circumstances, it was still a humbling experience.

Today, our flight was bright & early in the morning. We had to be at the Airport by 4:30am. We didn't get much sleep at all this trip, so it has been a relaxing, quiet, & nap taking day. I hope Mike & I are ready to go back to work tomorrow.

Thank you all for your prayers for the family. We really felt them & are extremely grateful for all the love & support that has been shown to our family in this time of need!