Grandma's Christmas Lights

Hope everyone had a great Christmas I sure ENJOY !!!!

Why'd I do that?

I stayed up until 2am this morning putting together a toy kitchen for my girls. I woke by reflex this morning at 8am I'm going to be lots of fun today ;). I really wish I'd had some power tools last night or at least stronger forearms.

I'm glad I got it put together though. Now Grandma and Grandpa Zacharias can see it put together when we Skype this morning.

Merry Christmas Eve!!!!

One Man's Trash...

Thanks everyone for working so hard today to get through so much at Stephen's house. I really appreciate it and think we got a lot done. I want to especially thank mom for putting up with all of us. I know it was hard work for all of us and I appreciate it.

Let the Real Work Begin

I wanted to thank everyone for all the help with the storage unit project.  It was great to see everyone pitching in and making it a group effort.  Especially, I wanted to thank Stephen and Sarah for offering a temporary sorting area and storage in their garage.  Thanks also to Josh and Jennifer for providing their time and vehicles.  I really appreciate everything.

Now that the storage unit is empty, the real work begins.  As you all know there is a lot of stuff at Stephen's and some of it is just trash.  However, some of those things are important sentimental artifacts.  I'm hoping we can all find another time to help Mom sort through Grandma Nana's things.  I think its a lot to ask Mom to do all that work alone, so I propose that we meet at Stephen's house (probably on the weekend) and work on sorting together.  Even if we don't finish it all, we will at least knock out a substantial portion and reduce the amount of work left for Mom.

If you have other ideas about how to approach this issue let me know.  Thanks again everyone, great teamwork.

Not a creature was stirring...

So what happens when you stay up late one night after everyone else has gone to bed? And the answer is not "see Santa". The correct answer is "feel your first earthquake". Yes, you read that correctly, earthquake!

I was laying on the couch using the laptop and I felt the couch shaking. I paused to see if it was really moving or just my imagination and sure enough it was moving. For about 5 seconds, it was moving enough for me to feel the rocking.

I thought one of my boys might be pushing on the couch being silly, so I got up, but no one else was in the room. It was quite disconcerting; I couldn't figure out what had been moving the couch. The best I could come up with was the support that Stephen and JR had fixed in the couch when we got the couch had broken and it was shaking from instability. But it didn't seem like a very good explanation.

Low and behold, after checking online resources (USGS site), at approximately 10:53 pm local time a 5.2 earthquake hit about 70 miles outside of Oklahoma. I checked with some local friends here in Little Elm and I wasn't the only one who felt the shaking.

It felt very weird! That was my first earthquake. Glad it was a little one. (Mark/Elaine felt it much stronger in OK, according to Facebook conversation.)

Baby guesses

So, with four people picking the correct date for the arrival of Baby Gaius (Sarah, Stephen, Adam, and Jarom), I thought it would be fun to guess the gender of the two babies joining the family next spring. I've heard a rumor that one baby has already given a possible sneak peak, but I'm sticking with my original guesses. Anyone else who wants to chime in is welcome! Let the guessing begin!

Jennifer
boy: Sarah, Adam
girl: Stephen


Laura
boy: Adam
girl: Sarah, Stephen

Cleaning House

We helped mom clean out grandma's storage unit. We found some cool stuff but also a lot of stuff we need to get rid of. We still have a lot of work to do but we got a good start today.

Mmmm... Hot Cocoa

We had hot cocoa tonight, it was really good. It was just cool enough to be fun without being uncomfortable. We gave chocolate milk to the girls so they wouldn't get jealous of our cocoa. Lilia laughed when she saw the Nestlé Quik rabbit drinking on the container. She tried to make some sort of joke, but it was pretty awful. We laughed, but not at the joke.

Eleanor is starting to try to talk. She waddles when she walks. She loves shoes, especially when they're not hers. Her stoic persona is starting to yield to her more human characteristics. She's actually starting to develop a sense of humor.

Laura is feeling better these days. She will occasionally have a bad day, but for the most part is feeling fine. If she can stop catching colds, she'll have it made.

I'm doing well at work. I'll be traveling a lot these next few months. I'll be in DC next week, in Miami at the end of November, and back in DC at the beginning of December. Ugh.

Carving Pumpkins and Fall Recess

It has been a while since we posted. I was going to wait a bit before I did this, but I knew that if I didn't do it now I would forget. Here are some pictures from UEA weekend (teachers union meetings) and the family carving pumpkins. It has been a good week.

Dallas Arboretum

We went to the Arboretum today and it was awesome. They had a special display which included a pumpkin patch, hay maze, and pumpkin houses. We had a great time and so did the girls.

Labor Day

This is the first holiday weekend in a long time that I don't have any obligatory plans.  What are you all doing over the Labor Day weekend?

Just to be clear, I'm not necessarily looking to tag along.  I'm looking for something fun to do and thought you might have some good ideas.

Nathan's Baptism

Nathan is now 8 and Here are some pictures from his baptism. It was a great day.

Children and the sacrament

Should children who haven't been baptized be taking the sacrament on Sundays? If so, why? What's the reasoning for it? What's the purpose?

(And, conversely, if you say they shouldn't be taking the sacrament, what is your reasoning for that?)

Graduation and UT

We're all done.  I graduated on Sunday afternoon and couldn't be more happy about it.  Laura and I both felt a sense of closure and relief.  We are looking forward to our vacation to Utah and the chance to visit with the whole family.  I took a few extra days off so we will be leaving for Utah tomorrow and spending the weekend with Laura's family in the area.  We plan to spend the latter part of the week with all the Anguianos once everyone begins to arrive.

We are all excited to see you.

Pictures from Southern Utah

We went to Hurricane, UT for our Wright family reunion. All but three of my brothers were there and it was good to see everyone. Here are some neat pictures from down there.

It's a miracle! He can now see

We noticed that Nathan was standing really close to the TV and squinting all the time. We took him to the eye doctor to get him checked out. Obviously he couldn't see very well and now he has glasses. When the glasses came the earpieces were too long and the glasses kept slipping down his face. I didn't want him to take them home if they weren't going to stay on his face but he wanted to take them home anyway because he could see things he hasn't been able to before. The receptionist at the eye doctor was able to clip the ear pieces shorter so they now fit his face. He got home and said "Wow, I can see Regan's (his friend) house and it isn't blurry." I think he likes them.

Family Get together

I am excited about the whole family getting together at the end of June. I am trying to come up with a good, inexpensive menu that will feed lots and lots of people. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions I am way open to them.

I think as far as sleeping arrangements go we will have room for everyone, but I'm not sure about pillows or towels. If there is room in your packing, these might be good items to bring. We have one portable crib for a baby. Several sleeping bags for cousins/kids to sleep in the family room.

I'm looking forward to seeing you all.

Love,
Connie

Kitchen with new backsplash.
Erin with "crazy hair day" at school.
Isaac with whip cream on his face.

Gaius Michael Anguiano

There are more pictures that I need to collect from the family, but here are a couple...

Nothing much to report

So, no baby yet. Looking over the dates picked by everybody, I feel like I'm no where near the finish line. However, I have been informed that no pregnancy has ever gone on forever, so eventually it will end, one way or another.

After my doctor's visit yesterday, I can report that I have made a little progress. Half a centimeter dilated. Not much, but it's something. We will be sure to let everyone know when we go to the hospital for the big event.

Lilia's Birthday

Lilia had a great birthday and party.  She got some clothes from Laura's mom; Play-Doh, sidewalk chalk, swimsuit, and bouncy balls; but her favorite gifts were the $6 worth of balloons we got her.  She apparently really loves balloons.

We had some of her friends over and ate hot dogs and chips.  Laura made some cupcakes that were really delicious and shaped as a character from Yo Gabba Gabba (Lilia's favorite TV show).  We decorated with streamers and balloons while she was taking her nap.  She woke up just as her best friend was showing up and was really surprised when she saw the decorations and her friend.

We had a good time and I think Lilia did too.  She is getting really big and talking a lot.  Her vocabulary is increasing super fast and she surprises us every day.

This is cupcake Brobee	This is what Brobee looks like
Lilia licked all the frosting off first	The mess looked worse in real life
Thrilled about her balloons	This the classic Happy Birthday banner Laura had the same one growing up
Opening a box of clothes from Grandma Zacharias	She got some really cute dresses and these sandals that are too big (for now).
She's too cute with her beloved dog	I just wanted you to see how cute Eleanor is too

1- We have another double digit midget. Erin turned 10 on April 5th.
2- Isaac got a fake mustache from the "prize box" at school. He wouldn't take it off. He loves it.
3- Entry way light
4- Family room light/ceiling fan
5- Dining room light, Family room light/ceiling fan and kitchen upper cabinets.
6- Master bath cabinets- doors were coming later
7- Main bath cabinets
8- Downstairs cabinets
9-10- Kitchen cabinets
11- Wood floor