Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience

Nihao!!! Which means hello in Mandarin Chinese! Yes, that's right, we are about to embark on an once-in-a-lifetime experience. We are headed to Beijing for a week! We are so excited for this amazing opportunity to live here in Guam and travel, travel, travel!!! This is our first trip (besides going back to the States) since we moved here! And we can't wait!
This is a collage of a few of the sights we will see. I think I am still in shock that I am going to China, though. Maybe it will hit me when we get off the airplane in Beijing :) China wasn't really on my list of places to visit, since there are so many opportunities to travel from this island. But it was on Matt's list and once he started talking to me about all the amazing things to see there, well, let's just say I jumped on the opportunity. When will we ever be able to go to China again? This will be quite the trip! Expect tons of pictures!!!

New Calling Update

Thank you so much for all your wonderful words of wisdom on my last post! I'm grateful for all the encouragement and great ideas. I should have clarified this in my last post, since I have many friend and family who aren't members of my Church and who do not know what a CTR 8 teacher is. Primary in our Church goes basically from ages 3-11. CTR 8 are the kids who have or will be turning 8 yrs old this calendar year. This is such an awesome age in our Church because it is the age that a child is baptized! So basically I will be teaching lessons to 7 and 8 year olds. I am so excited to be working with this age specifically! I have 5 boys in my class and hopefully 2 baptisms next month :)
I'm not sure what I was so worried about honestly. I feel like Sunday went amazingly well! In fact, last minute they combined the CTR 7 and 8 class (the other teacher did not show up to church) and I was very scared to take 8 very rowdy boys and 1 girl on my first day of class, but I stepped up and did it. All I had to do was lay down the law, and they basically behaved from then on. Matt says that primary here is just a little different from stateside; they seem to be very wild here! And that I just need to teach them how and when to be reverent. Easy enough, right?!
The kids are really great and I am already starting to love each one of them. Amazing how quickly that works, huh :) They were participating and pretty interested the whole time, so I feel really confidant!
Matt (who I made stay with my on Sunday, even though I didn't even need him!) said I was a natural! I mean, I have worked with elementary age kids since I was 16 yrs old. He said he was pretty impressed with me, my lesson, and the kids behavior and participation! Last week they were pretty rowdy in class, so I am feeling really good!
I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who commented and let you know how I did on my first day of teaching primary!

New Calling

So I had this feeling that I was going to be called as the CTR 8 Teacher, when the Primary Presidency called last week and asked if I could substitute until a new teacher was called. When we were asked to meet with the Branch Pres last Sunday, I knew for sure it was happening. I am so embarrassed to admit this, and I will blame most of it on my pregnancy hormones, but I cried when he called me. I converted to the Church when I was 21 and have never even attend primary, let alone know anything about it. I didn't want to say no to the calling or anything, and I totally accepted the calling without hesitation, however, I was sick to my stomach with nerves and uncertainty.
After attending last Sunday's classes, I feel a little more comfortable with the idea, but I am still really nervous about the whole thing. How do I keep 5 boys interested and engaged in my lesson for an hour? The manual is very helpful, but at the same time, some of the lesson ideas just won't work in our group setting. Anyone have any good websites or ideas on lesson planning? Or just words of wisdom in general?
I haven't held a calling in over a year and I know that is part of why I am so nervous. Ever since Matt graduated and we left Logan, we have been floating from home to home and ward to ward. Now that we are finally settled down for longer than 3 months, and our records are finally in our home ward (or branch in our situation), of course, I am going to get a calling. I know I'm not alone when it comes to getting nervous about a new calling. But I can't help and think that every Sunday these boys' parents are going to ask them after church "what did you learn in primary?" and it is up to me to make sure that they can answer that question. As I type this, though, it doesn't seem like it is that hard of a question to answer or a task for me to deliver. They are basic gospel principles and I know that I will honestly learn a lot from these kiddos and the lessons. I can do this!!! Right?!?! :)

My Growing Tummy Part 2

When we were talking on Skype this past week, both my sister and my mom asked to see my tummy. I thought I would post another progression chart. So, enjoy!

You can click on the collages to enlarge them. although I wouldn't recommend it considering they are pictures of me. Who knows how much longer I'll agree to this picture taking?!?! :)

DC Shoes

Auntie Jen (Matt's sister) and her family gave Rian these DC Shoes last year for her birthday! She can finally fit into them and we think they are the cutest little shoes ever!

I asked Matt to get some pics of her wearing them. It turned out to be a pretty good photo shoot! I love her little poses. Is she a natural model or what?!

More Birthday Fun

We started the morning by skyping both my sister and her family. They even had a piece of cake with a lit candle and sang Happy Birthday to Rian. It was really cute!
Rian has been asking to go to Underwater World ever since we came back to the island. When our friends asked us to go with them on Tuesday, I thought that would be a perfect way to spend Rian's actual birthday. Unfortunately Matt had to work, but we will have many more chances to go with him in the future. This aquarium consists of mostly a huge walk-through aquarium...almost like a really long shark encounter at Sea World. We saw tons of different fish, sharks, sea turtles, and sting rays. Rian was expecting to see Shamu, since there was a huge statue of him outside of the aquarium, but I had to explain to her that this was not going to be anything like Sea World. She asked to see the penguins, polar bears, and dolphins too. Of course, we didn't see any of those animals either, but she had a great time anyways!
After the aquarium, we were invited to the USO. I had never been to one, but was very pleasantly surprised when we arrived. How can I explain it to those of you who aren't sure what that is....it's basically a place to hang out for military and their dependants. They are almost always located at airports, and this one was in a hotel close to the Underwater World. The volunteers were so incredibly friendly and gave Rian 3 DVD's since it was her birthday. They popped some popcorn for the three kiddos and then the three of them snuggled into the home theater section and watched a Disney Princess Sing Along while munching on popcorn. The mom's sat around and chatted and were served some yummy chili that the volunteers had prepared in the crockpot. They didn't even charge us for any of the food, snacks, or sodas! They run off of donations, which we were happy to give:)
When we got home we skyped my Dad, so he could see Rian open a few gifts and he read some of Ri's favorite books to her. It was so cute to watch! When my Mom got home from a night out with the girls, we skyped her too, so she could also watch Ri open some gifts. When Matt came home from work we had dinner, ate more cake and opened more presents! Sadly, a big box my mom sent out to Rian was mysteriously 'lost' in the mail even though it was supposed to be tracked. Don't even get me started on how irritating that is! But luckily, some of her presents did make it to us. She loved opening up her gifts....again! And we've been happily playing her games ever since! I think Rian really enjoyed her birthday celebrations this year and is really eager to celebrate my birthday in a few weeks. She can't wait for more cake and ice cream!!

Rian Turns Three

Today is Rian's Birthday! I cannot believe our little girl is turning three years old already. She is definitely no longer our baby girl (which is kind of sad), but now our big girl (which is so fun)! The time has just flown by and we have loved every minute we've had with her!
Rian hasn't made too many friends out here yet, but we still wanted to have a birthday party for her. So, Matt and I asked some of our friends to come to Rian's party and they agreed to play along! Rian picked out invitations, princess invites of course, and we decorated them together. Rian and I baked a cake from scratch together and made our own frosting, then we decorated it together too.
She was so excited for her birthday party to start Saturday night! When the doorbell rang, she jumped up and down several times screaming "they're here, they're here"!

We bought these princess party favors and Rian handed them out to everyone! Then she climbed into her booster seat and said "Can everyone please come over here?" She was ready for her cake!

Everyone gathered around the table and sang Happy Birthday. She enjoyed the singing and did really well blowing out her candles! Then she blew her party favor once more...it was really funny and cute! The best part is when she asked everyone to please sit down once we were done singing....she was such a cute hostess :)

Rian of course requested a pink cake and pink frosting. I figured I would try baking a red velvet cake. But once I saw how much food coloring the recipe called for, I omitted it completely and just added a few drops to the cream cheese frosting. She loved it!

Rian loves all of her presents. She would say "Oh-My-Gosh!!" every time she opened a new present, it was pretty funny. She is quite the character! We only had her open a few gifts because I wanted to save most of them for her actual birthday. She got a few really cute church dresses and two of them had matching dresses for her doll! She also got a new baby doll and a princess book. Bama Wendy and Papa Dave got her a church dress and a cute tutu for dance. Unfortunately, most of Bama Lois and Papa Fred's gifts were lost in the mail :( But she still had quite a few from them, so she opened a Dora puzzle and a princess hopper ball (see video below) from them. Of course, the biggest hit of the night was Hungry, Hungry Hippo! Matt and I bought it for her....we wanted to focus on games this birthday....and I knew when she opened it all the adults would totally want to play.....and they did!! It was a really fun night and I'm so grateful for our wonderful friends here who didn't think twice about coming to a three year old's birthday party!!

I tried to get a group picture, but Rian was pretty tired by that time and wasn't really in the mood. But I still had to post it.

I also finally got another family picture! Rian's smile is pretty silly, but I love how Matt had her do a little "3" sign! Too cute!

Today we finally inflated her Hopper Ball. She absolutely LOVES it! I wanted to get a video of her playing on it for my mom. She is really getting the hang of it now, but you can't help but laugh when she bounces right off the thing! Check out the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9n-l4CkuXU

Things I want to remember:

She can count to 10 in spanish. And knows a quite a few other words in spanish too!

She can count to 20 and sometimes more in english.

She loves, loves, loves to read!

She loves music and is constantly asking us to turn up the stereo in the car.

She has memorized tons of songs from our Itunes...her memory is absolutely amazing! Listening to her sing The Fray or All American Rejects is hilarious!

Her imagination is growing everyday!

She loves to play tea party. She sets up her table and seats her stuffed animals and babies in the chairs. She offers them food and lemonade. And always says a prayer before they start eating :)

She loves to dance! And will even get out her microphone and sing and dance all around the room!

She is such a good eater! She loves her veggies and hard boiled eggs, but peanut butter is her favorite!

Her little prayers are adorable! She is always praying for "Mommy and the baby in her tummy, Daddy, and Rian". She also prays for Joseph Smith, temples, and the Prophet!

Yesterday after church, we put her down for nap and a few minutes later we heard her singing 'I am a Child of God'...it melted my heart!

She loves going to Nursery (at Church).

She loves shoes and is willing to sacrifice pain for beauty when it comes to them...yes, already!!

She is easy-peasy to put to bed/nap. She never fights us. We are lucky!

She loves to be in the kitchen with us. It's fun to have a little chef around :)

She is very affectionate and is always kissing and hugging us and holding our hands.

She likes to email Daddy during the day and loves talking on the phone to friends and family.