What's new with the Qians?

Well, my neice and her husband are coming to visit us tomorrow. Yeah! They’re driving up from San Diego and we are really looking forward to hanging out with them.

I’ve been taking the kids to the “kiddie pool” almost every day and they’ve loved it.

I drove them to the beach near Santa Cruz last week. The sun was bright, beautiful, and shining, everywhere except at the beach. We still had a great time, though. I love road trips and the feeling of “getting away” and having a change of scenery.

William’s job is going well. He loves his current engagement although he’s back to getting home around 8:00. I liked the days he got home in time for an earlier dinner but I’m also grateful that he’s happy at work. With summer schedules being what they are, the kids seem to “nap” around what would be dinner time to many other people. So when they wake up, Baba’s home and it’s time for a late night dinner. Surprisingly, I’m actually okay with this craziness!

I’ll continue teaching at the local college this fall. I’m always amazed at how blessed I have been in terms of finding a job when I’ve needed one. During the summer, I taught two mornings a week and will continue that into the fall. This term, I’ll be teaching a writing course, which should be fun.

Abraham will continue preschool this fall and Annabelle will begin, as well. The preschool is excellent and is right down the street. They’ll go 2 hours, twice a week, which will be great for all of us. I hope they love it. I always love “back to school” time.

William and I are speaking this Sunday in Chinese! (Not that this is a big feat for William; the explanation mark was more for me. J) A few months ago, church leaders organized a Chinese Sunday school in the area. William has been teaching that most weeks and then attending our regular ward with us. I’ve gone with him a few times. Well, this week they will hold their first sacrament meeting and we’ve been asked to speak. I’m really excited, although nervous. I’ve only given a sacrament talk in Chinese once before. It looks like this group may turn into an actual branch. That would mean we’d have a decision to make about where to attend regularly.

I’ve had some drama with my health lately. Kidney stones, gall stones, you name it. Quite painful, quite unexpected. I’ve had both before and thought I was past all this. Anyway, we have decided it’ll be best to have gall bladder surgery to remedy at least the main problem. It’s supposed to be fairly routine but still, surgery’s surgery and I’m not too thrilled. It’s scheduled for next week so wish me luck.

William has been working out every morning and I’m trying to when I can. It is REALLY hard to lose weight. Not a news flash to anyone, I know, but it is just so very frustrating. Despite my efforts, I remain 25 pounds heavier than when I got married. Will this extra weight ever go away? Stay tuned…

Alexander is well, great. J He is already pushing himself up and has been scooting around a bit. He is such a good little guy and brings tremendous joy to our family. My topic this Sunday is about the Proclamation on the Family (a document put out by the first presidency of the LDS church) and how to apply it toward making our marriages and families happier. I asked the kids for some ideas about how to have a happy family. Abraham considered the question thoughtfully and said, “more hugs”. I thought that was perfect.