Mia in the morning....

My friend needed some video footage of Mia signing and babbling for a project she is doing for school... so today I had my Flip Mino on hand to capture Mia in our "everyday" routine. Excuse the messy house... yes, we are still unpacking!!!

Smiles . Thank You . More . Please

Coughing . Please . Milk . Thirsty

All Done

Babbles and says "Yes" & "Help Me"

Up Please . Help

Mia "reading" and babbling ...

Mia on GUAM IDOL...

Our little Mia is 18 months old today. Can you believe it? One and a half years old! She's a riot! Here she is in her room singing her little heart out... I love it!

Precious cargo...

I'M HAVING FUN, MOMMY -
I FORGOT ABOUT ALL THESE TOYS!

CAN'T YOU STAY AND PLAY
WITH ME? YOU'RE ALL WORK
& NO PLAY! SHIP ME TO
MOM-MOM & POP POP AND GET
ME WHEN YOU'RE DONE! I MISS THEM!

Unpacking continues - slow progress is being made. We're having fun opening up the boxes and finding toys for Mia that she hasn't seen in 2 months! Progress is slow because as I unpack Mia makes a mess! It's a challenge trying to find a place to put things when we went from a 5 bedroom house to a 3 bedroom... and the kitchen is 1/3 the size of the one in SC. Just means we have too much. The creative 'storing' now begins!

So happy it's the weekend -

boxes everywhere!

I'm exhausted! There are boxes everywhere and all I want to do is unpack everything and be done with them! But it takes time. I'm so thankful that it didn't rain much today... a few drizzle spells... but nothing like the last few days... downpours! Such a blessing! Also thankful that Dale took 3 days off to help out and watch Mia so I could direct and check off the LIST of ITEMS on the movers list! We had a great group of guys unpacking us... funny and energetic. I have to say this was definitely the MOST DAMAGE our things have seen - but overall it looks like we'll survive with what we have and what damages are done... thankfully the NAVY has reimbursements for things like this!

Anyway... the kids are so excited to be sleeping in their own beds tonight... Mia is thrown in there with them - I guess we'll ease her back into her own crib - which is in her own room... she will not like BABY BOOTCAMP! But it must be done!

Yeah.. I just realized that I'll be able to sleep in our KING SIZED Temper-pedic... ahhhh - GOODNIGHT!

earthquake?

Uuhh... it's 11:40pm here in Guam and I'm sitting on the computer wondering, DID I JUST FEEL THE GROUND SHAKE? Are there earthquakes here on Guam? If so, I think I just felt one!

"Happy"

What is Happiness? I find it so sweet to hear my little 17 month old say, "HappEE" all the time. I'm not sure if she really knows what "happy" means... but to hear that word come out of her mouth puts a smile on my face!

I saw this "happiness commandments" and had to post it.

Happiness Commandments
1. Remember what is important.
2. Be honest.
3. Don't compare myself to others.
4. Soak it up.
5. Be creative.
6. Say no.
7. Be content, not complacent.
8. Don't complain.
9. Think moderation.
10. Let go.
11. Follow through.

The wheels on the bus go "round & round"...

The kids waiting for the BUS at 6:55am

This morning before the kids headed outside to our driveway AKA the "bus stop" - Mia was sitting in her high chair eating breakfast. She pointed to her toy bus and said some jibberish "Mia-ism"... it was something like this... "blah blah blah blah round and round". She was referring to the songs we sing to her all the time... THE WHEELS ON THE BUS GO ROUND AND ROUND... ROUND AND ROUND... ROUND AND ROUND!

Every day Mia is saying something new and it's so exciting to hear what she has to say and the connections that she is making daily. She watches everyone and everything!

Mia LOVES her new ball machine... when she plays it she says, "HAPPY"

I had to laugh when I saw Mia sitting on the floor doing this. She has watched me put on and take of my contacts every morning and evening... and today she found a small piece of plastic (from a plastic bag) & pretended to put it in her eye like Mommy!

... another cute thing Mia does is when I lay down with her and pretend to be asleep. For those of you with infants or toddlers - try breathing deep and slow (simulating sleep) and watch how quickly they will fall asleep. Anyway - the last few times I was laying down with her and closing my eyes PRETENDING to be asleep - her cute little face was right next to me lifting my lids open so she could see my eyes... of course every time she did this she would start giggling... I'm laughing just typing this because I think it's just so cute!

I have to admit - I'm enjoying my time with Mia so much... it's so different to have ONE baby in diapers and this special time with her. Okay, so she's not babywise like Morgan when he was an infant... man was he BABYWISE and such an easy baby. Our household goods are arriving on Wednesday (9.24) - her crib is in that shipment and once that is set up... we are back on a schedule!!! And back to BABYWISE... poor baby is in for a big shocker!

When the BIG kids get home from school in the afternoon Mia gets so excited!!! She was watching Ryan & Dani arguing over who gets to play the gamecube so they decided to settle it by doing ROCK PAPER SCISSORS. Mia jumped right in and started playing with them too... look how cute her "scissors" sign is!

B & B in The Hills

That would be Brunch & Bowling at LeoPalace Hotel Belvedere in THE HILLS - Manenggon Hills, that is!

We walked into LAGO Cafe and there was live music playing (trumpet & keyboards) & the food was beautifully displayed! There was a DEFINITE Japanese & Filipino Cuisine influence... seafood & vegetable tempura, sushi, udon noodle bar, miso soup, chicken curry & adobo's, japanese spaghetti (looked like pancit) & of course a full size roasted pig laying on a huge chopping board (the poor little piggie!)... a large salad & fruit bar and a large dessert assortment!! There were other foods too... beef & peppers, fried chicken & scallops, shrimp, hot dogs and even a shaved ice maker...





... and this little piggy went on a chopping board...

... look at all the dessert!

The food & ambience were both good... THE BIG question was did we eat our $30 dollars worth? Kids from 5-11 is $15. Uhhh... Probably not! But the bowling was also included for the family - which was just down the hall. The kids really enjoyed it because the gutter guards were up! Morgan beat my score... he bowled a 98 and I only got 93... oops! He was very excited about that!

It was a GREAT family day!

Surviving a MOVE...

Making a smooth transition to Guam was made possible by having a GREAT ATTITUDE and being blessed with meeting NEW FRIENDS, finding a "new home" at the USO and reuniting with FAMILIAR FACES!

Elizabeth & Kasey Morris greeted our kids with SMILES and made them feel welcomed! They are the kids of our sponsors on the Island... and I found it so sweet when Morgan went to bed that first night saying, "I can't believe we just moved to Guam and we already have friends here"!

Playing "ROCK BAND" and eating a home cooked meal at the Morris' house was also a very nice change from eating out!

Ahhh.... home away from home at the USO!

This is the view of the ROYAL ORCHID Hotel from our hotel at the PIC (Pacific Island Club). The USO (United Servicemen Organization) became our home away from home. We went there our first night in Guam and were pleasantly surprised to be able to check e'mail and call my parents FOR FREE!

Everything at the USO is by donations. There's food available... free calls to the US... about 13 computers to connect to the Internet... XBox & Wii systems to play... a childrens play area... 4 massage chairs... billiards... and about 6 or 7 big screen & flat screen TV's to lounge and watch! Ryan said, "This USO is too good to be true"... and it really is!

... boys playing at one of the Xbox systems....

Daddy & Mia fell asleep while lounging in the massage chair... such a picture of PEACE!

... Dani playing Wii Sports "bowling"

We absolutely LOVE the USO Guam! There's something for everyone there! Ooh and talk about a small world! One of the volunteers that I met there is the Uncle of my personal trainer that I worked out with in South Carolina.

MAKING NEW FRIENDS

I've written about them before... but these two ladies - Amy Morrison & Lynn Morris were so sweet to make MY transition to Guam a positive one! They both invited me to a Welcome Coffee for the Oakleaf Club (the Officers Spouses Club)... it was a nice Meet & Greet and introduction to all the spouses who's significant other works at the Naval Hospital here.

The Taitague's House for Lunch...

Frances & I went to school together at Andrews University... in fact, we shared an aparment together (along with my cousin) my sophmore year in college. She dated my older brother and her younger sister was a bridesmaid in our wedding. Her husband Rawlen also grew up in a "Navy family" and knows all about moving around and relocating... in fact, he & Dale had LOTS to talk about growing up and living in San Diego! It has been such a blessing to have Fran and her family here... they make us feel "at home" every time we visit them at their home church in Talofofo. We look forward to watching our kids grow up together and getting to know her very LARGE family here on Guam! Her mom is one of 17 kids! That was NOT a typo! Fran also works with my Uncle (photo below) at the SDA Medical Clinic on Ypao Road.

Lunch with the GESLANI's

Uncle Beaven is my dad's 1st cousin and came to Guam as a Medical Missionary in 1987 with his wife Auntie Macy & 2 kids... Van & Allison... who are both living in Loma Linda, California. Mia and I went to their house for lunch and enjoyed visiting with them. They have yet to meet the whole family. It's so nice to be able to have family here on the island!

Livin' the "SWEET LIFE"

After church today we decided to explore a little bit of the LeoPalace Hotel Belvedere just a quick drive from our house. It was raining so it seemed like a fun and distracting thing to do with the kids!

The hotel is beautiful! It has various restaurants (Japanese, European, Asian & a Cafe that offers Sunday Brunch & Seafood Buffets that people rave about! We made reservations for Sunday Brunch tomorrow - so we'll let you know how it is! With the brunch even comes a FREE GAME OF BOWLING! The kids are excited about that! Yipppppeeee!

There's also shops equipped with a kids play area, bowling alleys, billiards & table tennis... as well as the beautiful hotel pool - the largest of the 3 pools that the residents & hotel guests can enjoy. Mia was ready to jump in!!! She is such a waterbaby!

Oooh and did a I mention that they have a full service SPA just screaming for me to enjoy?! However, as I look at the Spa Menu, the lowest price is a 30 min. Reflexology for $53... and the most expensive is a $581 - 4hr Royal Afternoon Package which includes a Mist Sauna - body Polish - Whole Body Massage - Tea Break - HydroJet Bath - Deluxe Facial Treatment ...hmmm. I guess the SPA will have to keep "screamin' for me"!

... with all the rain comes lush beautiful green landscapes!

home . school . work

US Naval Hospital Guam

Dale started work this week... and the kids are in full swing at school. Our van arrived and next week our household goods will be delivered. This is our 5th move in the Navy and we've learned to just not sweat the small stuff! Is everything going smoothly? NO! Are there more blessings than "stressings?" YES! We're healthy... we're together... we're GOOD TO GO!

CDR William McCool Elementary on the Navy Base

1st FAMILY PHOTO in our new home at Leo Palace!

Leo Palace Resort Aerial View & Duplexes - Yona, Guam

We are walking distance from the oval track... the duplex homes aren't shown on the aerial shot... but if you followed the bottom road you would eventually get to the duplexes. In the second photo... is a "golf course view" of our backyard. Those are the duplexes lining the golf course!