Quite the Rhoten Week!

Oh my heavens!! It has been a wonderful week. I finally have some interesting/new things to write about, since I had the chance to get out of my typical routine here at home. I'm still trying to figure out where to start haha.

Well first off, the first thing that went outside of my routine as of late was the best unexpected surprise ever. I was downstairs, reading up on some Argentina stuff, and I hear the door open upstairs. Silly me, I just assumed it was West! Then I hear a, "Heeyyooo!" Eegads. (: Christian and Audrey! Ugh, I wanted to cry I was so excited. Ah, and of course, lovely baby Kali came along with them. (: Such a talkative and giggly girl she has come to be. Can't help but Love that family.

They didn't stick around for a super long time, of course, considering we were all gonna be seeing each other again that weekend in Tri-Cities!...

This is the part I get sad about...I simply did NOT take enough pictures. Seriously, how was it possible that I was surrounded by so much family and loved ones (not as many as I'd like, of course. I always am missing my family who is farther away ): ...), and I took almost NO pictures?! Gah. I'm rather disappointed. Any chance I can have a redo? (;

Anywho, here is the exciting news!! Ever since I received my mission call back in November, I've had the chance to go through the temple for the first time. I had been waiting--for various reasons. But I simply just wanted to wait until I was...certain I was ready. While family was all over for the holidays, I slept on the couch and had a lot of extra time to read for some reason. Audrey, Dene', and I had been talking a little bit about temples, in general, earlier that day; the topic made me extra curious, and I delved into any and all resources regarding the temple for the next few days. That was it. I wanted to go. I needed to go...Anywho, a couple interviews and phone calls later, and I was headed to the temple that next weekend! Unfortunately, it was extremely last minute. So not a whole lot of family was able to come with me, but I know they would have been there to support me if they could.

Of the entire week, this is the time I decided to lose my head about taking pictures?! Gah. I'm so sad. I didn't even catch my own picture of the Columbia River Temple. I didn't think to even snap a photo of all those who were there to support me or even a picture of my family playing games. **Sigh** Fail, Shelan. Hopefully I'll remember to catch some more of these at my farewell. For now, be content with this stolen picture of the wonderful temple! :D Haha.

Not even a very good picture. Meh. Whatever! I've certainly learned my lesson. Anywho, the plan was to just drive home after the session and ice cream, but Kenny has this way of convincing practically everyone to stay the night haha. Kerry and Gaylene were fine with it, and so Mom, Dad, Christian, Audrey, West, and I all stayed with the Rhotens and went to church the next day! The "new plans" were to drive home after that. Welllll, silently, I was really hoping to go to the temple again soon. It was such an...awe-filled experience. Different than I expected, but really how much can you "expect" when first going through haha. But I knew there was so much I missed, and I wanted to understand it more. I think it was Dene' or Kenny, I'm not sure, but someone mentioned that it was fine if I wanted to stay a couple more days. They convinced me with: "It's not like you have anything better to do at home anyways!" Haha. Uhhh yeah, kind of a strue story. So my plans were to stay until Tuesday. Go to the temple again early that morning and then head home with Dene'...Except Kerry (by the way: Kerry and Gaylene are Dene's in-laws) mentioned how him and Gaylene were working in the temple Friday night for a few baptism sessions, and he said, "Well you might as well just stay until then and help us out!"

...Really??

OKAY!

It was (is) always so kind of them for always letting me come--often for weeks at a time haha. I always love spending time with them, relaxing, playing games, having time with my nephew, and helping out my preggo sister on occasion haha. Well, so began my wonderful week with the Rhotens! I DID, in fact, get in a few pictures. Thank heavens.

Heading home from one of Jackson's cousin's basketball games, and Jackson needed something to entertain this poor, grumpy, sick kid on the way to the doctor's. Cameras! PERFECT.

"Hi, Bug!"

I went to go pick up Dene' and Jackson from the doctor's, and this poor boy...Infections in both ears. Plus a wicked cough. Needless to say, he hadn't been feeling to well the past few days. Something that he does enjoy and keeps him busy, though?? Like many kids: Making Messes! He's a pro. (; Check out all those cards on the floor and his proud smile! Haha love it.

Something that I really loved? Every night Kenny, Dene', Jackson, and I would read just a few verses from what they call "The Book of Jesus" haha. AKA: The Book of Mormon lol. Jackson did his darndest to read, too. (:

This gal. Her and Trista, mis hermanas. They're both such wonderful Mommas. Of course they're not perfect, but goodness gracious. They are incredible. So much patience and love for their babies. It is impossible to doubt where their hearts lie: within their families. Trista and Dene', amongst others, are two role models for me. Their families are their world, and they get in all the cuddles they can "stand" (;

So attched to his Momma.

All.

The.

Flippin'.

Time.

Sometimes that preggo Momma needs a break from carrying around a 2-year old!

So what did we do during the week?? Not a ton of stuff, which was perfectly dandy with me. I simply enjoyed being around. However, there was an "Open Gym" day at a gymnastics gym here in town! Five bucks per child? DONE...Something funny we noticed about Jackson, though? He's more of an observer than a "Let's Get Out There And PLAY!" kind of child. It was a little odd for me, at first haha. I couldn't help thinking of Brook and Sam or some of the kids I nannied. I was imagining what all they would be doing. Brook, most likely getting to know some new kids, "Hi! I'm Brooklyn, I'm 6. Can I be your friend?" (: I love it. And then Sam...? Playing with either his momma or with Brooklyn, perhaps? Typically him and Brook get along quite well and enjoy playing with each other. Brother-Sister love! And then I was thinking of Austin and Nicky. Oy! Austin would probably be running EVERYWHERE and possibly destroying a thing or two on accident haha. Little Nick would probably be sticking to my side or "observing" like Jackson...Boy did it make me miss all of them...

Anywho! Random Summer moments popping in my head. This is mostly what Jackson did haha. Watched others play. (:

Unlessss we went with him! He didn't like this foam pit the first time Dene' tried helping him in, but once Momma got in, too?! Oh, believe me, he was SO game!

Jumpin' monkeys!

"One, Two, Threeee!"

Haha I really just love this picture.

Such a good sport she is, even if she is 8 months pregnant!

Love it. (:

We got to do some cleaning and finished some laundry. Which, of course, means what? Sock fights?! Haha.

After a great week in Richland and several trips to the temple, Dene', Jackson, and I were ready for a peaceful drive back to good ol' Quincy this morning. (: Who doesn't love to dance and sing with cups, along with country music??

Ahhh. It really was fantastic. And since Dene' is due here pretty soon (6 weeks!!), Gaylene mentioned a little idea of me going and staying for a few weeks (or the whole month of March, she said haha) to help out with the baby and everything. Yayyy!! We shall see about that later on, but oh boy! That would be incredible. (:

I decided to finish off my night by going to the Quincy Jacks LAST wrestling match of the season. Why? Well I love wrestling, for one haha. Two, it was the last one! Three, they were wrestling Chelan (baha). Four, Chelan and Quincy were tied for first in the league! So this match would decide who the league champions were. SO awesome! It was a close match the whole way through until the very end, and we were down by 14 points. Only three more guys were left to wrestle, so we needed at LEAST two of them to pin their guy (if a guy pins his opponent, he earns the highest amount of points: 6. A wrestler earns less points for winning other ways such as a decision/major decision/etc.) The score was 21-35. The first of the three got up, and he won 11-3, which is a major decision, which means he got 4 points! Not too shabby. But we were still down by 10...

A kig from church gets up, and let me tell you. Carter Bushman is a phenomenal wrestler! It was a tough match, but Carter used his "specialty" head&arm and pinned the guy! Closest match!

And then next up was Tonio, and his match was about the same as Carter's! So intense, and once Tonio caught the other guy, we were ALL up on our feet and screaming. PINNED! So great!

It's a WIN for the Quincy Jacks wrestling team!

League Champs! Way to go, boys (:

Okie dokes! That's all for now! I'll continue preparing for the MTC and Argentina in the meantime, and I will be taking off in less than 60 days! So exciting. (: Love you all!

A Pinch of Doubt & A Heavy Dose of Patience

I'm gonna throw this one in here at the start, mostly because I busted up laughing when I read it!

So true. :P

I realize that in most--if not ALL--of my updates, I simply give a simple outline of what's all been going on as of late and then toss in the few pictures I've taken lately. The updates started as emails to my parents every week or so, just so they know how their baby girl is doing. :P Heh heh. And then it turned into this blog of sorts for other family to see, and yada yada...WELL...Since I am now living at home and most can take a decent guess as to what I'm doing, there's really not a whole lot to update y'all on, unfortunately. I wish I could say that living at home was unbelievably exciting and I'm knocking off a ton of "To-Do's" from my bucket list!...But y'know...I'll let ya know what it is all about! It won't take too long haha, so I figured I'd share a little bit as to what has been going through my mind as of late.

A Pinch of Doubt: I'll tell ya one thing, "the adversary" (whatever your belief on him/it may be, of course (:   ) definitely knows my weaknesses. Doubt has always been a big one, unfortunately. I am NOT doubting as to whether serve a mission or not, let me get that out there loud and clear haha. I was preparing long before as to whether I wanted to go or not. Did I have my doubts earlier? Well sure. I had only been tossing around the idea, which is the first step. If I could successfuly be swayed in those first stages, I wouldn't be preparing to leave for Argentina right now!

Argentina...See this is where the adversary tries to sway me NOW. You see, I definitely prayed a couple times and had hoped to go to Argentina, as I've explained before. However, I know Heavenly Father knows perfectly as to where I should serve my mission, and I expressed that just as much. That, yes, I'd love to go to Argentina, but ultimately I wanted to serve where I am most needed and where I could be of most use. All this prayer and hope and curiosity made me even MORE nervous for my call haha. I can not explain how badly I was shaking and the nervousness rolling through me as I began slowly tearing open my call. Most are giddily excited and begin crying. Normally I would be crying haha. But at the same time, it was a very serious and important thing to me, which I wanted to share with absolutely everyone! (; You can imagine my excitement and stunned self as I glanced down and saw "Argentina Mendoza Mission"!...Here is where the adversary chooses to put the doubt in my mind again.

Am I supposed to be going to Argentina?

Did Heavenly Father call me there simply because I had asked him so many times?

Were my reasons for wanting to go to Argentina wrong?

Selfish?

Is this truly where I will be of most use?

I thought of these things many times since I've gotten my call, honestly. But every time they pop into my head, I have to do some deep searching and thinking and yes, more praying. Even if I do have doubts, I find that I can't write out or type out the name of my mission without tearing up a tad. I think of why I wanted to go there: I love the country and the culture already. A family, whom I love dearly, cared enough for me in return to share their pride, their customs, and their love for their beloved country. I was already mesmerized by this place I've never been, that all I wanted to do was to go and meet more of these incredible and passionate people. And now, not only do I have the chance to do so: I get to share a part of me and my life and my love with them, as well. Whether they choose to accept or reject it, I have the opportunity to share my testimony and the gospel with them...Ultimately, these doubts are only making my desire to get out there even stronger. In the same sense, they're also making this wait even more annoying haha. I just want to get out there...

A Heavy Dose of Patience: Four months total. Two and a half months left...Mission calls definitely teach one how to be patient. That's not the only thing requiring patience at the moment, though! FBI clearances for a visa, receiving a passport, waiting for apostilles on my birth certificates and FBI clearance, and then finally waiting for my visa into Argentina...Needless to say, I am STILL waiting on all of these except for my passport! I finally have that one. Time is widdling down quick as to when I need to have all these things in, and it is stressing me out and driving my bonkers like no other. If I don't get all these things turned in to the Missionary Travel Department by February 5th, my report date could be post-poned by at least six weeks...Which, honestly, would break my heart at this point.

My passport!

Job searching. Christian can relate best of all currently, and my mom has definitely experienced this recently, as well. It is no easy task, nor is it even remotely enjoyable! Especially when trying to find someone who will hire you for approximately three months max. Yeah, not too many temp jobs around, unfortunately. I'm doing alright at finding some possible positions, but yeah...It's just a little discouraging haha. I was hoping to find something to keep me even remotely busy, so I can pass the time easier.

And, of course, simply the patience of waiting until March 27th. It can be frustrating at times, I will admit. I do what I can to stay busy, and if I can't think of anything else, I tend to find myself reading, writing, working on Spanish, etc.

Also, for Christmas, my parents ordered me new scriptures in Spanish! :D Which I love, of course...I just felt bad when I found out that all the books and such that I'll need in Spanish will, in fact, be given to me at the MTC...Whoops. Oh well. I LOVE them.

So what else am I doing to keep busy?? Well...I find myself cleaning a bit. or purging and going through old high school stuff to get rid of, or simply doing laundry and organizing...Also, my dad mentioned wanting to get a bathroom done and finished (after a few years, since Dene' and I never finished it haha). The ceiling needed some hardcore cleaning and scrubbing and then a new coat of white paint, and the rest needed another coat of blue, too. So Christian took the lead, and we got to work! It was/is great to feel like I'm accomplishing something haha.

We weren't totally ready for the picture, I guess haha.

Cheeeeese! (:

I've always love, love, LOVED pancakes/crepes/breakfast foods haha, so I've been trying my hand at a few more kinds of these. How am I doing this?? Welll there is quite the funny background story to this handy little book called The Pancake Handbook! Haha but we'll just say that my dad proved me wrong when I adamantly explained, "Dad, it is so pointless to tell you what I want for Christmas, because you think it wouldn't be a surprise if you actually got any of the things on our list!" Hahaha. Yeah, well, I happened to just use this book as an example; therefore, I got this book for Christmas! :P

It seriously has every kind of pancakes, crepe, or dutch baby you could ask for! So I made some giant crepes for New Years Day. (:

I'm also brushing up on my piano skills a bit! I'm trying to learn some Spanish hymns "just in case" y'know, and I've been absolutely loving it. I will admit it that it is sad to see how much I've forgotten, but once a song is learned then it is far easier to pick it back up again. (: Our piano may not be the "newest", but it my absolute favorite to play haha. The chips and keys are so familiar. (:

Alrighty! There ya go everyone! That's what's all going on the life of a pre-missionary haha. By the way, most of you know that I'll have the chance to email home about once a week. What I'm planning on doing is simply writing an email to one address (probably my mom's or something), and I'll include a section that'll go just to my family and then another section that will be open to anyone if they're curious about my updates...I'm not totally sure yet haha. But if anyone has any better ideas, please give this girl a shoutout! I'd much appreciate any advice, especially if any of you have done something like this before and have found something that works well. (:

Love you all! (: I report in 75 days to Provo! :D