Long Post Ahead

It's been over a month since I blogged. I just don't have a lot of motivation to blog these days. I've had a few requests to update my blog though so I figured for those of you that still check in once in a while, I will give you an update. Today is a snow day in Dallas and everything is closed so I have a few extra hours to catch you up on my life.
For Christmas we went to my sister Jessica's house in Canyon, TX. It was so much fun. My whole family was all together at her house except for Derek and his family in Utah. Christmas was different this year than I thought it was going to be back in May. I had often thought about how fun Christmas was going to be with a new little baby to spoil. I thought about Zach so often throughout the holiday. We definitely missed him and wished he could have been with us. There were many tears shed, but it was still a great Christmas. I thought a lot about our new little boy on the way and how I so desperately hope things go different with him than they did with Zach. My sister put together a book about Zach that she gave to us on Christmas. She compiled letters from family and friends about how Zach has influenced their lives. She titled it "Zach's Great Things" It comes from the scripture in Alma 36 that says, "...by small and simple things are great things brought to pass..." One of my biggest fears that I have mentioned before on this blog is that Zach would be forgotten. I will always remember him and how he has changed my life forever, but would other people remember him? It is so nice to have a book that has so many sweet notes about Zach that I can read through on days when I feel little farther away from his sweet spirit. Thank you to all of you that wrote letters and for those of you that didn't know about the book, don't be offended. It was hard for my sister to get in touch with people and know who to ask for letters. It is amazing to know that my little angel could change so many lives. How blessed Tagg and I are to call him our son. I can't wait to be with him again some day!

Tagg and I with all our loot.


We brought our wii with us and it did a great job keeping everyone entertained. Especially the new Michael Jackson Experience game Tagg got for Christmas.



We went to the famous Big Texan Restaurant. Home of the 72oz steak challenge. None of us did the challenge, but we saw a guy attempt it while we were there. The food was good but it was really expensive and the service was AWFUL! We will probably never go back but it is one of those places we had to go to once.



We went to the Discovery Center with the kids while we were in Canyon. It was really fun and the kids loved showing us all their favorite things there.


I spent a little extra time snuggling with this little one. He was born 5 days before Zach and will always be a special reminder to me of Zach and what he would be doing if he were alive right now.


This is Tagg and I leaving church the beginning of January. It started snowing while we were in church and all the kids were going crazy running around yelling "It's snowing!" See, for those of you that think it never snows in Dallas, it has now snowed twice in a month! Today it was bad enough to shut down the whole city, but the time in this picture was only about a quarter of an inch.


A few weeks after Christmas we went to Utah. It was SO good to go back and see so many friends and family members. Unfortunately I didn't take very many pictures while we were there. One of the most exciting parts of our trip was going to my old school. I got to see my kiddos who all looked so grown up! I also got to see the girls I taught with. They are a few of my dearest friends and I have missed them so much. I also had a baby shower while I was in Utah. My fabulous aunts threw it for me and it was mostly just family, but it was a great time. We got so many cute clothes for this baby. I am just getting so excited to put them all on him! Of course we went to Zach's grave. It was really cold and rainy/snowy that day. I'm not sure who went to visit him before we did, but thank you to whoever it was for clearing his grave of the snow. It was nice to not have to clear a foot of snow off to see his grave.

My favorite teachers at Pony Express. These girls were a rock for me especially after losing Zach.

Angie ran off before I took the last picture and I had to get a photo with her too! We were carpool buddies. Just love her!


My kiddos!




My room mom Mikki. I LOVE her and her daughter! She is also pregnant and having another little girl in July.


In Provo we went to Sensuous Sandwich with some friends. This is Tagg's favorite place to eat in Provo and where we had our first date!


One of Tagg's greatest accomplishments last year was becoming the Petersen Pigskinners Fantasy Football Champion. Every year his family has their own league and the winner gets their name on the beloved plaque. Tagg won this year and was so excited to see his name on the plaque when we visited his grandparents.


We didn't take a photo together as it was snowy and no one else was around to take one for us.



We went bowling with Der's fam and had a great time. This is Eden's victory dance. Oh how I love her!


Roman would always stand with his hands behind his back as he waited for his ball to make it down the lane.


Little Maren showing off her skills.


Tagg is a pretty awesome bowler as well.


Roman was eating a warhead and kept making the funniest faces. Love this little guy!


This was our last day in Utah in the Cafe Rio parking lot. We may or may not have eaten at Cafe Rio twice in a 24 hour time period.


Maybe in the near future you will get another update. We are starting to get the baby's room ready. Well, actually we set up the crib but they sent us the wrong color wood and after living with it for a few days I want to exchange it for the color I ordered first. So, we are going to have to take that all down and wait for the new one to come. I'm taking things slowly because if I get everything ready right now, it would be a long 12 weeks of waiting! I'm already so anxious for him to get here that I don't want to be totally "ready" yet. That is if you ever are "ready". For those of you that asked for the update, hopefully you made it through this gargantuan post!