Calgary

We just got back from spending a week in Calgary with Arturo's family. My parents came with us and it was a great trip. I will put pictures and videos on here later, I just wanted to put a little post so you would know what was coming up next. One thing I will say is that we got to go to the Calgary Stampede and it was A-MAZ-ING!!! I'll explain why later. For now, that is all.

Answers to prayer

Heavenly Father is so kind, patient, thoughtful, loving and willing to help us. For some reason this morning I just kind of turned into an ogre and was extremely frustrated and annoyed with lots of little things. I was annoyed that I waste so much time every day. I was annoyed that I have not learned Spanish faster and that after 6 months in a Spanish ward I feel like I am still at ground zero. I was annoyed that I am not more motivated to run and get ready for my marathon. I was annoyed that I have not run as much as I need to. I was annoyed that Primary isn't going like I hoped. And to keep adding to the list, I was annoyed that I have gained a few pounds since getting married which is what I swore I would NEVER do!!!

Well, I realized that I was just getting more and more angry. And after writing a list in my journal of all the things I am frustrated with, I knew I had to do something to change my mood. So I grabbed the conference issue of the Ensign. I looked up "Patience" and found a talk by President Uchtdorf from the Priesthood Session. Within the first two pages the Lord had helped me find answers to all of the things I was frustrated with.

Here is a little from the talk. "From that experience, I learned that patience was far more than simply waiting for something to happen - patience required actively working toward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results didn't appear instantly or without effort. ...Patience means active waiting and enduring. It means staying with something and doing all the we can - working, hoping, and exercising faith; bearing hardship with fortitude even when the desires of our hearts are delayed."

With one talk Heavenly Father brought peace to my soul regarding a number of issues. Isn't the gospel amazing! I know that I need to be more actively involved and more consistent. To learn Spanish I must work on it a little each day. Each day I need to do something physically active to prepared for my marathon AND to lose those extra pounds that have come to visit. I know that patience helps us develop as people and that the Lord will always gives us the things we need when we need them.

Now my day is going much better and I have a renewed energy and hope for the future. I know that each of those goals requires time and effort but I know that Heavenly Father will continue to support me and bless me.

Proud New Owner of...

A washer and dryer!!! We have been renting a washing a dryer since we got married (which was a silly idea since we bought a washer and dryer for the same amount we spent renting them over the last 6 months.) Silly, silly us. But it worked out beautifully. We helped our friends move into their new home on Saturday and while we were there, Jake (the husband) asked Meilynn (wife) if they wanted to go looked at washers and dryers since they had rented the Uhaul for the entire day.

Well this is where we jumped in. We had not been able to figure out how we would get a washer and dryer to our apartment once we bought them so this was our perfect opportunity. We tagged along with them. It was funny to watch a Uhaul go cruising down I-215 as we rushed to get to the store before it closed. We went to 2 used appliance stores and didn't find much at the first so we had to rush to the second.

We both found washers and dryers we liked and so we both bought them there. They must have loved having us come in. Just think, they close at 6:00, we came in at 5:30 and bought 2 sets and they didn't even have to deliver them. Woot! Woot! You should have seen the lady that worked there! She was picking those things up on her dollie (I don't know how to spell that kind of dollie) and moving them around like they weighed 2 pounds. Then she would push them up into the back of the Uhaul like nobodies business. This woman was in her late 40s and acted like it was no big deal. Craziness!!!

At any rate, we now have our own washer and dryer. It is official, I am growing up.

Just Kidding!

I am training for the Top of Utah Marathon in September that I am going to run with Megan. I am so glad Megan decided to run it because she is the reason I am actually running it. A couple of years ago we decided to run the same marathon. Well, Megan started training as did I, but after 2 weeks my knees were hurting so bad that I could not even run a 1/2 mile without stopping and walking for another 1/2 mile. I tried strengthening exercises but my knees were still killing me. I could not figure out why my knees were killing me. I have never had a knee injury and I was only 22. Needless to say I did not run the marathon. I went to watch Megan run and I was so jealous!

So when she told me that she was running it again I jumped at the opportunity. My knees have not hurt at all - thankfully. My calves have been really tight though. Thus far in my training I have not done as well I should be. I have missed some runs - especially the long runs on the weekend. But this last week I decided I had to really focus and get back into seriously training.

I ran 3 miles on Monday, 4 miles on Tuesday and 3 again on Wednesday. My long run was Friday and I was supposed to run 9 miles. AHHHH!!! I was really nervous because the furthest I have run so far is 4 miles. Are my knees going to hurt? What about my calves? Friday morning came and I went with Arturo to work and then the plan was to run home from there.

The beauty of getting dropped off somewhere is that you really don't have any other option but to run home because otherwise you aren't getting home. So how did it go you ask? It was amazing!!! I felt so good and I never got tired, my calves never hurt and me knees were great. Booyah! I had a big hill at the end of my run and it was easy. I was feeling really good about myself and my training. Then I went running this morning...

I only had to run 3 miles and you would have thought I was running 15 miles. My calves were KILLING me and I could barely run for longer than 3/4 of mile without stopping to walk and stretch my calves. I felt like I had lead in my shoes and it was awful. The prideful sure are humbled fast. I am going to stretch a lot today and hope that tomorrow's 5 miles go better.

There Can Be Miracles

I know this is no shocker....but Arturo does not like to eat fruit or vegetables. (He is just like almost every other male in this world I suppose.) I will make dinner and have either a fruit or vegetable as part of dinner and he will conveniently forget to eat them. However, I have found something that he loves...BANANAS!!! He will always eat a banana if I offer it to him and last night was even better.

Our friend Ciro, who is also from Colombia, was over and both of them walked over to the kitchen, Arturo picked up two bananas, handed one to Ciro and they both ate a whole banana right then and there. WOOT WOOT!!!Go bananas, go, go bananas.

Church Callings

About 4 months ago, Arturo and I were called to teach Institute for our ward. Now, I must explain that we attend a Spanish ward. It is a good sized ward and the church they meet at is very close to our apartment, so it is nice. We are attending this ward to hopefully help me learn spanish. I wasn't sure how much it would help, but it is helping A TON. I know that without going to this ward, the chances of me learning Spanish would be very slim. The first month was really hard for me because I just felt completely lost. I felt like words were swirling around my head and I had no idea what was going on.

Thankfully, I became friends with a girl that is my age and is from SLC. She married a guy from South America and she also served a Spanish speaking mission. She and I get along really well and so we always sit by each other in Relief Society and she helps me.

So about a 3 weeks after we started going to this new ward, the Bishop called us to teach Institute. It is Tuesday nights and I really think they reason they have it is so that new converts in the ward can learn more about the gospel. Many of the members of the ward are recent converts (within the last 5 years)so they are just learning.

To say I was scared about our new calling would be an understatement. Teaching is usually no problem for me...but in Spanish? What I end up doing is writing down everything I want to say. I copy things from the Spanish manual and then I write what I want to say into www.freetranslation.com and write down the translation it gives me. Most of the time it is correct but I always have Arturo proof read it and make the needed corrections.

It is going pretty well. I can read pretty well now. I feel like I can pronounce things correctly and I can actually read an entire senctence witout having a bunch of odd pauses here and there. :)

Now that I am getting comforatble in that calling, Heavenly Father decided to mix it up again. So three weeks ago I was called to also be the Primary Chorister. The lovely thing about the primary is that most of primary is done in English and the kids all speak English, so I can teach in English. However, the songs are all in Spanish.



Thankfully, the Church is wonderful and they have recordings of all of the hymns and primary songs in Spanish on the website. I listen to the songs over and over again trying to make sure I say the words right and trying to memorize it. I called my mom and talked to her about this calling and asked for any pointers. I loved her advice: the most important thing is to make sure I am teaching the kids doctrine through the music; don't worry so much about making sure they sing the songs perfectly. That is what I am focusing on and it is true, I can feel the mood of the room change when I am teaching them doctrine and testifying. Thanks Mom!

I am learning a lot about teaching little kids! I realize 12 and 13 year olds are still young, but they do not have to go to the bathroom every two seconds and they don't make the random, incorherent comments that some of my primary kids make. (Ok, they do still make random comments, but not quite like these.) But let's be honest, those are some of the things that make primary such an adventure.

So now I feel like an official grown-up. I am attending a family ward and I am the Primary Chorister. Craziness. But I know Heavenly Father will bless me to be able to learn Spanish so that I can fulfill my callings. Check back for stories of the random things my primary kids do and perhaps in the near future I will post a little something in Spanish.

Wedding Day & Pictures

I could not have asked for a better day. Everything went so well that day. The weather was cold, but it was clear and there was no wind. YEAH!!! The morning went really smooth and well. I slept really well, my make-up turned out great and I had my hair done and it was EXACTLY what I wanted. I was so excited with how it turned out. One of my favorite moments was when I came out of my room and Arturo saw me. His face was priceless. He came to pick me up so we could ride to Rexburg together.

We took pictures before our sealing. It was 7 degrees outside and our parents were dying. I had a white cloak that helped me stay warm. I love how our pictures turned out.

Of course the best part of the day was in the temple where I was sealed to Arturo for eternity. Yeah!!! It was peaceful and beautiful. The temple president sealed us and he got along with Arturo really well - they served in the same area. :) It was wonderful to have our family in the sealing room with us. I love going to the temple. It is a day I will always remember.

We had a great luncheon at Johnny Carinos and the reception was beautiful and fun. We wanted people to have fun. We played some games and everyone was a good sport. We had a little dance. I wish more people had actually gotten up and danced, but what do you do? We are all used to going into the reception, saying hi, grab some food and leave.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the wedding. I did not worry about anything the entire day. Everything worked out just right and I am so grateful.

Engagement Pictures

We had a good time taking engagement pictures. About 20 minutes before we were supposed to take our pictures, I cut a hole in the front of my shirt. AHHHH!!! That was one of the quickest shopping trips ever. Arturo dropped me off infront of the Gateway Mall and I ran in to buy a shirt. We took pictures in Memory Grove and then we took more another day downtown.

I also had quite the adventure with my hair. I made the mistake of dying my hair 2 days before our pictures. I wanted to re-do my hi-lights and the girl that did it made my hair BLONDE! The front had a huge chunck of blonde in it and I wanted to die. So for our first set of pictures I look like a blonde. Then I went to get if fixed for our second set of pitures. I went to another salon and they put toner on it to fic the blonde. It kind of made my hair look red. I liked it, but people got confused as to why it looked like my hair was red. Oh well.

Engagement

I suppose I will start with the proposal. It was Wednesday September 30th and it was the last day of school before we had Fall Break. My parents were coming down and we were going to St. George with Eric and Annie to go see the Broadway show Aida. It was really gross weather that day: raining, winding, overcast...just gross.

Well, Arturo was working and going to school, so his schedule was pretty packed. He was always either in class or rushing to work. So his days were jam-packed and busy. Also, I have first period prep, which is important to know for later. During 2nd period I received a note from the office saying that I needed to come speak to Cathy, our principal, at the very beginning of lunch. That is not normal. Cathy doesn't usually just randomly ask people to come talk to her in her office. I was stressing, trying to figure out what could have gone wrong. Was a parent mad at me for something?

As soon as the bell rang for lunch, I headed downstairs. I was in the lunch room and telling some of my students to make sure they come up for lunch detention. Tim, one of the Vice-prinicpals saw me and said, "You have to go to the office. Cathy needs to talk to you right now." I told him that I was going to go in just a minute and he said, "No, you need to go right now." Oh dear, what did I do!?! At this point in time Cathy stilled scared me, so I was nervous.

I walked into the office and Cathy was waiting for me. She said, "Christie, please come in my office. Actually we need to go to Tim's office first." We walk in and I saw a guy sitting there. I thought it was a parent at first. Then I realized that it was Arturo! He was sitting here with a vase of flowers and a box. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. What was he doing here? I knew he had a test that day PLUS my school is in the middle of nowhere about 30 minutes away from the college.

Well, to make a long story short, he proposed and I just about died. I was completely surprised and extremely happy. My students saw me walk out of the office with flowers in one hand and Arturo next to me. They all knew exactly what had happened. One of my friends covered my next class so we could eat lunch together, talk and call my parents. Arturo had been on the phone with my mom that morning, so she already knew how everything was working out. He had actually called my parents and asked for their input on how to propose. I love that he included them. Arturo wanted my parents to be here when he proposed, so he waited until they were going to be in town.

My ring is gorgeous and exactly what I wanted. He picked the ring out all on his own and did a beautiful job. Like all girls, I could not stop starring at my ring. It shines so much!

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So...ummm...We're Married!

This is probably one of the biggest understatements, but I have been really bad at updating my blog. No way, like you had not noticed. So since my last posts, a couple of life changing events have occured. Arturo proposed to me on September 30th. We got married December 26th in the Rexburg, Idaho Temple. We went on a cruise to Mexico for our honeymoon and we are now going to a Spanish ward.

I am going to post some of our engagement pictures, wedding pictures, honeymoon pictures and try my best to give a little update. I am so far behind that I am not sure where to begin. So I guess we will just see where I go with this. Enjoy!