January 2013

January 2013

OK, So since I am a year behind, I am writing just the highlights, and then posting for 2013 a monthly post.  In the meantime, I am writing for 2014 separately and will post them when I get this caught up.

A word of advice...don't let your blog get behind...just saying!

So, here goes:

January 6th church times changed back to the 9am slot.  I prefer that to 11am. I'm still teaching my class of 16-18 year olds, but the curriculum has changed to be the new program, Come Follow Me.  There is a topic for the month, and the lessons center around that topic in different aspects for Sunday School and YM/YW all month.  So for instance, the January topic is the Godhead, but the Sunday School is focusing on the Holy Ghost.  Great, 4 weeks of this and these kids are going to be bored stiff. I must keep my thinking cap on to spice this up a bit!

Cooper has taught some dance classes for Ms. Andee and seems to really enjoy the tiny Babies!  Those 3 yr olds just steal her heart!  I think she secretly loves it when they call her Ms. Cooper, and a real ballerina.  Feeds her ego!

Cymbre's headaches are starting to be really bad again, and we are trying to figure something out.  Dr. Gill is being wonderful in seeing her and trying medicines.  She's had a blessing that we will be able to figure this out, so hopefully we can make some progress for her soon.  Currently, she is missing lots of school while we try things to get rid of the headaches.  Say your prayers!

I had oral surgery on the 21st for a root canal that didn't work.  I was growing some pretzel shaped infection thing in my jaw and it was eating away at my bone.  So after seeing two specialists, and at the recommendation of the Endodontist I went to the Oral Surgeon, Dr. Bachoura, who says he can fix it, but we have to take care of the infection first.  So double antibiotics, and surgery scheduled.  Guy took me to the office, and waited while they fixed me, did a bone graft, and cleaned out all the infection in my jaw.  A heavy dose of steroids, and pain medicine, and he took me home.  The next morning when I woke up, my right side of my face was totally numb.  We called the Dr. and he said to come in...we went, and he said they probably stretched some nerves, and did some testing to see if I could feel him shocking me, and I could, so he told me it would take some time, but would wear off and be fine.  There is not way to know how long it will take.  GREAT!...Does he realize that I teach a class of 27 priests and laurels, and I can't talk without slobbering on myself?

We just got home, and the water heater guys came to replace both our water heaters.  So Guy was trying to feed me something to keep my blood sugar where it needed to be, and drugging me at the same time.  I was miserable, but that Vicodin is terrific stuff.  However, at the end of the day, the water heaters worked, and I was still drugged in the bed.  Guy slept on the couch with his phone alarm set to wake up and drug me again.  He's certainly a keeper!  And he's all mine....and no, I don't plan on sharing!

The 26th was the Jump Dance Convention, and the girls attended the Master Classes associated with that.  They really enjoy the tap guy, Mike Minery!  He challenges them, and they take the stuff back to Ms. Andee to use.

Our BIGGEST and MOST TREMENDOUS NEWS is that our Britni took her RN Boards, and she PASSED the FIRST TIME!!!  She is so excited, and we are so PROUD of her.  Here's a photo of her diploma!!

Cooper took some of her artwork to the Houston Rodeo art contest, and came home with a 2nd place ribbon and 2 medals, and a Rodeo Scholarship application.  She can't use the scholarship because she will not be attending a Texas College, but the awards made her day.  Her pictures were of her Mini Cooper car full of clowns, and a pickup truck, and some spoons.  Who knew Cooper could draw so well?

The girls are taking private ballet lessons to work on their skills as they are a bit more advanced than in the class, and Cooper wanted to push herself in preparation for college.  Ms. Emily has been great to give them privates.

Ms. Andee also gives them private Tap lessons.  They are the most advanced tap students at the studio, and they LOVE Ms. Andee.  She is a wonderful mentor for them.  They are so blessed to have her.

Cooper attended Priest Laurel conference and had a great time.  She loves the dances the most!  It also doesn't hurt that she dances every dance with a different boy!

Both the girls dyed their hair red.  Cooper's is darker, and Cymbre's is brighter.  It looks good on both of them.  People are called the "gingers" now.

We are trying to clean out some things that we haven't been using and organize things around here.  Seems like there is always organizing to do, and I never get to it as quickly as I would like.  The problem is I have too many other more fun things that get in the way.

We all went to the dentist for cleaning and stuff.

Second trip to the oral surgeon reveals that this numbness is going to last up to several months.  Tremendous!  I'm going to threaten my class if they laugh at me!

As for my Sunday School lessons this month:

The First Week it was How Does The Holy Ghost Help Me Learn?

We read several scriptures, and the object lessons was a paper sack with several objects that represent things the Holy Ghost can do for us.  

Q-tip - speaks in a still small voice that only you can hear
Lifesavers - He will warn you of danger
Band-Aid - Has healing power in your life
Ribbon to tie on finger - He will remind you of right from wrong, good from evil, truth from lies
Soap - Can cleanse and sanctify you through repentance
Candle/flashlight - He will inspire you and light your life path as you go through life and help you understand sacred things
Sock - He will guide your footsteps back to Heavenly Father
Small bottle of glue - He can strengthen your hold on the iron rod
Heart - He will let you know in your heart that God lives and that He loves you
Picture of Jesus Christ - The Holy Ghost can testify of Christ.  That He died for us so that we might gain eternal life


I just put it all in a small paper bag.

The second week was How Does The Holy Ghost Help Me Teach The Gospel?  The object lesson - a mirror with the quote "No amount of time in front of the mirror will make us as attractive as when we have the Holy Ghost with us.  The lesson talked about how the Holy Ghost helps us teach others about the gospel, and we discussed that people can see the Spirit in someone else's eyes.

The Third week was How Can I Learn To See Heavenly Father's Hand In All Things?  The lesson deals with recognizing the tender mercies of Heavenly Father in our daily lives.  Object Lesson was a piece of plain pound cake, no frosting, no decorations.  This represents life without recognizing the tender mercies of God in our lives.  Then a very fancy cupcake is the other side of the object lesson.  It represents our lives recognizing the tender mercies we receive daily, and the blessings we receive when we use those gifts from Heavenly Father to accomplish His purposes.

The handout was a fancy cupcake to eat!

The last two weeks I didn't teach because of my oral surgery, and my inability to control my face!

That's about it for January 2013

Continued December 2012

 

 

December 2012

 

One the 12th Dad went to the knew doctor because when he was running for exercise his knee was really bothering him.  So after a series of x-rays and examination, the doctor told Dad he could continue running if he wanted to be in pain all the time.  It seems his brake pads in his knee are worn out, and short of knew replacement surgery, there is no cure!  So, now Dad is looking for new ways to exercise that aren't quite so painful.

 

 

December 14

 

Britni FINALLY graduated from nursing school with her RN!!!  Much joy and happiness!!!  Now she just has her boards to pass, and we are all hoping that will be done the first time she takes them....say your prayers.

 

Dad and Shyla went to Britni's graduation.....Here's some photos:

 

 

Her oil lamp and everything!

 

I did it Dad!!



 

Group hug...

 

HURRAH!!

Chirstmas was celebrated on a long trip...no decorating, no baking, no shopping for Mom....just trip organizing, and Dad does a lot of that!  We went to Orlando, and saw things on the way and on the way back, but here's some highlights.



 

Magic Kingdom Cinderella's Castle all decked out for the holidays.

 

Mom and Cymbre FREEZING in the Magic Kingdom

 

Universal Studios - Hogwarts

 

Dad took Cooper for her Harry Potter ride and to buy a wand, and she came home sicker than a dog!  Ended up taking her to the urgent care for strep, and drugged her with part of a vicodin so she would rest!

Cymbre standing by the Moon Landing day souvenirs you can buy...makes sense since that is her birthday day too!

 



 

Kennedy Space Center Rockets - can I just say it was FREEZING here too?

 

Hollywood Studios

 



 

Cymbre's Rhinos at Lion Country Safari

USS Alabama

We had a tremendous time as a family on this trip, and by the time we made it home, Cooper was feeling much better.

As for Sunday School, the lessons were just finishing up the Book of Mormon, and I didn't teach the last two Sundays as we were on the trip.  Next year is the new curriculum for youth.  Come Follow Me.  I'll have to write my own lesson from an outline and some conference talks.  Sounds familiar as I taught the 4th Sunday lesson in Relief Society for years, writing the lesson each time.

AND NOW:  I am finally caught up with 2012!.....you better be doing the happy dance here!

2013 to begin soon



December 2012

December 2012

 

 

Ok, so I know I'm just a year late, but as they say...better late than never!

 

 

The girls danced all their competition numbers at the APAC Company Dance Showcase.  We took Sister Mayo with us, and many friend and teachers came to see the girls dance.  most were amazed at the talent the girls have, and we thoroughly enjoyed the evening with Sister Mayo.

 

Cooper dance 3 solos, 2 groups, and the duet

 

Solos were:  Tap - Baby You Got What It Takes, Mark Goodman Choreographer

 

Tap - Can't Buy Me Love, Andee Wilson Choreographer

 

Contemporary - Dancing On My Own, Terrill Mitchell Choreographer

 

and the Duet with Cymbre

 

Tap - Mr. Pinstripe Suit

 

Cymbre did her solo

 

Tap - Sam's Last Boogie, Andee Wilson Choreographer

 

And somehow, Mom got all the costumes together in time!
 



 

Cooper - Dancing On My Own

Cooper - Baby You Got What It Takes

Cooper - Can't Buy My Love

 

Cooper, Cymbre - Mr. Pinstripe Suit

 

Cymbre - Sam's Last Boogie

 

The photos are from competitions, but I put them here for a record of the costumes I made for them.

 

Other news found us in Orlando, Florida for Christmas!!!!!   We had SO MUCH fun, and we froze our buns at Disney World the first night.  We had to buy some more sweatshirts and socks because we were FREEZING!!

 

We stayed on sight in the music hotel, and we spent a week going between the parks, and riding everything, and eating chicken nuggets until we thought we would turn into a nugget. 

 

Then, the day Dad was taking Cooper to do the Harry Potter thing at a different park, she got sick while they were gone, and that evening Dad took her to the Urgent Care place, and she had really bad strep!  She was MISERABLE!!  We got her medicine, and let her sleep until we had to check out of the hotel, and then we put her in the car. 

Freezing while waiting for our turn on the ride!

Our Mickey Mouse Hats!

 

Christmas at Cinderella's Castle!

 

I'll write more about our trip later....time for bed tonight.

 

Love you.

 

Mom

November 2012

November 2012

Well, if the truth were known, I was doing about the same things in 2012 as I am doing in 2013.

On the first, I finally testified in this on-going court case, and we are now just awaiting the sentencing for the guy who was on trial. Thank goodness.  It's been a real trial for a while in our family, and now we can just put it behind us.  Counseling is still an on-going thing, but that is going really well for those involved, so YEAH!!

On the 17th the girls competed at the Starbound Regional Dance Competition.  Our dances were moved to Saturday because we compete on Sundays, so we had to wait several anxious hours to see what the girls won.  Turns out they did a tremendous job!

Cooper -

1. Dancing On My Own - contemporary solo - Terrill Mitchell choreographer

Elite Gold, and FIRST PLACE OVERALL!!!!  She got a $50 scholarship for this too.

2. Can't Buy Me Love - Tap Solo - Andee Wilson choreographer

Elite Gold, and 3rd overall

3.  Baby You Got What It Takes - tap solo - Mark Goodman choreographer

Elite Gold, and 6th overall

Cymbre -

1.  Sam's Last Boogie - tap solo - Andee Wilson Choreographer

Elite Gold, and 5th Overall

So, they brought home LOTS of trophies.  Way to kick off the competition season.  They didn't compete their duet this time.

The 18th brought my weekly Sunday School lesson....we are still doing the Book of Mormon so I try to do some fun things with these teenagers.

The topic this week was:  How Could Ye Have Departed From The Ways Of The Lord?

As part of the lesson, after using a nail to carve their personal testimonies in a brass plate (not as easy as it sounds).  After the class finished their testimonies, we made them into a book - a take off on the Book of Mormon - and then I took them outside and we buried our plates in the Church flowerbed, just like Moroni buried the plates of Brass that would later become the Book of Mormon.

So while we are out there doing the burying, one of the Boys in the class, Nate Ellis says:  "Sister Flanagan, we have to bury them where we remember because you are probably going to make us dig them up next year!"  He was referring to Joseph Smith getting the plates to translate them for the Book of Mormon.

Well, they changed the curriculum for the youth Sunday School lessons, so the plates are still buried in the flowerbed.  Someday when someone is digging around, they will find them.  That should be interesting when they start asking around...just saying!

The 25th the lesson was:  Never Has Man Believed In Me As Thou Hast.

It was dealing with the story of the Jaredites who were instructed to build some barges in order to travel to over an ocean.

As part of the story,  I took white stones and we talked about how the Brother of Jared had taken the stones and asked the Savior to touch them and make them glow and that would be their light on the barges they had built. While the Savior was doing that, the Brother of Jared sees the Savior's finger because of his personal faith.  So we had to stop and talk about how we would feel if we were in this kind of a situation.  Would our faith be strong enough to see the finger of the Savior, and then have Him show Himself to us because of our faith?  An interesting concept to think about since they say if your faith is the size of a mustard see you can move mountains....don't know about you but I haven't moved any mountains yet...just saying!

Then for a fun activity, we had Jaredite Barge races.  I had Guy make an ocean for the races using guttering and sealing the ends, took gallons of water to church, and got balsa wood to make boats.  We made the boats at home, and then took everything up to church....needless to say, it was a BIG HIT with the class.

Here's some Jaredite Barge Photos:

 

The building of the oceans...

 

 

 

The Barges

 

Let the races begin!

Cooper and Nate!

 

 

As you can see, a fun class activity!  And then we talked about how faith helps you accomplish the things the Savior asks of you.  How sometimes, we just need help, and if we go to the Savior, He is always ready and willing to help us with all of our problems.

 

A very good class even if I do say so myself!

Backtracking to October 2012

October 2012

Ok, so I've let my blog lapse because things got a little out of hand this past year for all kinds of reasons, but now I think I am slightly sane enough to attempt to try to catch up just a bit.

My kids will all tell you that my memory isn't the best, and I repeat lots of things - in reality, it's because they don't listen the first time- but we aren't letting them in on that little secret....shhhh!  And it doesn't matter anyway because I have a handy little things called a yearly calendar where most everything is written down.

However in looking back on things, I have discovered that the lessons I teach in Sunday School I don't necessarily put the date on, and this past year I had to write each one, so for my purposes here, I am only going to write about the ones I can remember, or were significant.  I always try to use some kind of handout or object lesson, and as it turns out, those are the things my class loves, and I do mean LOVES the most!

Just to refresh your memory, I teach the 16-18 year old Sunday School Class.  That's the priests and laurels.  In 2012 I had 5 girls, and what seemed like a million priests.  

This year, now that kids have left on missions and gone off to college, I still have an entire Relief Society Room full of priests and two girls.  There are 27 on the roll, and I LOVE these kids!

It is very interesting to me that the girls leave the room after class, but those priests stick around and talk to me....things like prom dates, haircuts, jobs, what's next weeks lesson and such.  Guess this "be more involved in the kids life push with this new curriculum works!  Just saying...

ANYWAY, back to October 2012

Sundays were full of General Conference, and Stake conference, and in those weeks I Went with Cooper to Audition at OCU for their dance program.  

October 21, 2012

The audition was a full day thing, so she had several parts to attend.  First they did a ballet and jazz class with everyone so they professors could just get a feel for everyone there.  After the two classes, they had a little show with some of the dance team they currently have in their program.  Then came the time for auditions with their individual solos.  Cooper was confident with hers, and came out saying she thought she had "nailed" it.

After buying a couple OCU T-shirts, we left to meet Britni who came down to spend the evening with us.  She met us at OCU, and we went to the hotel for a little while.  

We enjoyed our time together, laughing and telling stories and then Britni took us to a pizza place for dinner.   The waiter there must have thought we had lost our minds, because we were laughing and just having a tremendous time, and it seemed that he was trying to avoid coming to our table.

It didn't really matter because we were having so much fun.

It was great to see Britni again as we don't get to see her that often, and we all MISS her terrible!

Cooper also visited AMDA in Los Angeles with Dad, although it was just a visit, not including her audition.  She will go back for that later in next year.

A few days after visiting Florida School of the Arts, Cooper received notice that she had received a scholarship that would pay the difference in her out of state tuition for the time she was at the school. She wasn't really to excited about attending school in Palatka, Florida, but it was a good second choice.

A couple of weeks after going to OCU Cooper got notice that she would not be admitted to their dance performance program, but was admitted to their dance teacher program.  Not her choice of programs, but they also gave her a $5000 talent scholarship.  She still had to audition for AMDA.

My testimony in the ongoing court case we were involved in was scheduled, and Guy took to downtown, but after being there for a while, we were told that it was delayed and reset for the next week.  GREAT!!  So we went back the next week, and spent hours, but finally I testified, and we are done with our involvement in this case.  Now we can finally move on....The defendant received quite a substantial punishment, so we felt that there was some justice served.

On the 25, the youth of the ward went to the temple to do baptisms, and Cooper and Cymbre and Guy went too. Then they did the Burger King thing afterward on their way home.  It's become a tradition with them.

The 29th brought tickets for all of us to attend the Craig Black Dance Company Show at the Hobby Center.  Cooper and cymbre have taken Master contemporary dance classes from this young man, and Ms. Traci encouraged the Dance Company at APAC to attend his show.  We kind of went as a big group.  We had a great time as a family, but Guy wasn't really impressed with the style of dance.

Well, that's about all the stuff recorded on the calendar....guess the rest of the month was just filled with all the ordinary stuff like school, dance, homework, church stuff, dance, dance and more dance.  Heaven knows, these two girls live at the dance studio!!

And so, there you go.....one month caught up!

Now, get out there and serve someone...make someone's day, share an extra donut or water bottle with a homeless person...give someone a compliment at the grocery store.  Just do something!   You can do it....I know you can!!

Love you all,

Mom

FINALLY Some Time!

November 12, 2013

 

 

Today is supposed to be a lucky day as the date is 11/12/13....I haven't had a

a particularly lucky day.  Whatever.

 

I finally have some time after a VERY HECTIC year last year, and getting a daughter graduated from high school and off to college, and dealing with migraine headaches and physical therapy in our youngest daughter to hopefully spend some time catching up my blog.

 

After having to figure out how to sign in again...thank goodness Caleb has all my stuff if I can't figure it out, I am now in business!

 

So the plan is to go back to September of 2012 and fill in some blanks that I haven't posted about yet.  I know, procrastination isn't a good thing, but my theory here is better late than never....and no, I don't practice that theory on repentance...just saying!

 

So tonight I was reading the old blog to figure out where I stopped, and finding the calendar so that I could make some sense of the blog list I have a somewhat hurriedly compiled over the last year. 

 

Maybe a better plan would be to include the family Christmas letter from last year, which I might in the end.

 

So basically, for all my family that thinks I should write on my blog....here it is, I am writing.....

 

Now off to organize my list, and hopefully I will post again in the next day or two....but don't hold your breath...Cymbre still does have physical therapy!  I'm going to take my fancy list and hopefully work on the blog while they work on her.  Well, at least when the therapist isn't teaching me how to fix Cymbre on my own!

 

So much for my medical coding career...should have been a physic therapist that treats migraine headaches in kids!

 

Back soon....stay tuned

 

 

And get out there and do some service to a stranger...there are homeless people on the street who could use a meal of even a new toothbrush!



August 19, 2013

OK, I'm still alive, but have lost my list of what I need to write on this here blog.....so I'm still looking for it and will be back here ASAP!

Love ya!

Mom