Hello Family,
We really aren't good (at all) at getting Christmas Cards out.  We did want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year. Here is a short run down of what is happening in our family.

Jacob will be turning 16 in January and therefore he has started drivers ed this quarter at school.  He is excited to get his learners permit.  I am a bit scared, but I guess that is part of growing up. He is officially in High School.  In this school district they are technically a freshman in 9th grade, but that is still at the Jr. High.  10th grade is officially at the high school, so he is happy to be in high school.

Jarom is also in high school, but he is at a charter school that goes from 9th through 12th grades.  He is enjoying his classes and trying hard to remember to turn in his assignments.  He is 14 now and old enough to go to the church dances now.  He enjoys dancing, but he also enjoys talking with the DJ and learning about being a DJ.  Since he is now 14, he has been ordained a teacher.

Erin is 11 going on 23.  She keeps asking me when she can get her ears pierced and when she can start wearing makeup.  The answer hasn't changed in the past 11 years so I don't know why she keeps asking, but she does.  She has to be at least 12 for both.  If she can keep her room clean without me reminding her she can have her ears pierced when she turns 12, otherwise it is as soon as she learns how to do that.  She is enjoying 6th grade and loves her teacher, who used to be in our ward before the ward split and she is good friends with her teacher's daughter.

Nathan is in 4th grade and is discovering books.  It is fun to see him curled up with a book.  He likes to go to the library with me and find five or six books in a series.  He is also having fun with cub scouts. He is earning belt loops and passing off achievements.

Isaac was baptized in November and was very happy about that.  My mom and all of her brothers and sisters were baptized in a pair of little white pants.  Me and all of my brothers, sisters and cousins were baptized in those same pants.  They were lost for a while but they were found again and Nathan and Isaac were able to be baptized in those same little white pants.  I think it is kind of neat. 

Sean is 1st assistant in the High Priest group leadership and is getting to know the high priests in the ward through his calling.  He is still teaching seminary at Jordan High School and is enjoying the kids and his faculty there.

I am a nursery leader and having a lot of fun there.  The little kids are so cute and fun to play with.  I am also working as a Kindergarten aide at the same school that the three younger kids go to.  I work Monday through Thurs in the morning.  It is fun to see the kids at school.

We love you all and hope you have a Merry Christmas.

Love,

Connie, Sean and family

Possible baby names

We still have not decided on a name, but we have a few on the top of the list. Let us know what you think. We only have four days left until this unnamed child is born!

Andrew
Hadrian
Nicco or Niccolo

Gaius's first word!

About a month ago, Gaius said his first official word. "Up!" with emphasis on the P. He uses his word a lot and is very persistent when he wants to be held. He probably has a few other words now, but it is always a trick to figure out what they are. He says "Mamamamamama", but that seems to be to get the attention of any adult, not just me. I'm sure he'll figure it out soon. He seems to be saying "Papa" more frequently, so he may have caught on already.

Gaius also likes to sit on the potty. He hasn't figured out how to do anything yet, but he sees Dante up there and wants to give it a try. Dante is almost potty trained. We are still working on consistency, going independently, and going "number 2". He can do everything some of the time, now it's just getting him to do it all of the time. He is only in diapers at night now and even then, sometimes he wakes up dry. It's nice to only have one child to change diapers on during the day. Well, for the next two weeks anyway, then we are back to two in diapers!

I am doing well. Getting down to the end now. One week and four days from today (if the baby doesn't come sooner), we will be heading to the hospital for a c-section. Still no name yet. Maybe we will just call him "Brother" since that's what I call him when I'm talking to Dante and Gaius. I've told a few people that if we were to have a fourth boy after this one, we wouldn't even bother to try to find a name, I would just stick with "Baby-Boy-Anguiano". So much easier than trying to find names!

I guess that's about it for now. Next post will probably be pictures of the new baby!

You Still There?

I've been pretty busy lately and haven't posted anything in a long time. Here goes...

Laura is doing really well. She and Miriam seem to have reached an understanding. There are still days that I can tell she gets frustrated, but that's part and parcel of being a mom. Laura survived my first business trip, all alone with the girls. I know Sean and Connie are probably laughing, but its new for us to have that many kids at once.

Laura and I committed to getting more exercise. Laura is doing really so far and I'm really proud of what she's accomplished. I'm doing ok too, but I'm pretty impatient when it comes to this sort of stuff. I looked into getting some workout equipment (workout bench, treadmill, etc.) and quickly gave up. My wish list was pretty pricey and we have no place to keep all that stuff in our tiny place.

We've definitely outgrown our little apartment and are ready to start looking at homes for sale. I think within the next month we'll hire a Realtor and start looking at homes. We're looking for something kind of specific and of course want it at a discount. We'll see how things go once reality sets in. We're looking in Northeast Richardson, North Garland, Murphy, Sachse, and Wylie areas (maybe Rowlett if we find something irresistible). If we could find something affordable in Plano we'd be interested.

The girls have adjusted pretty well to having another sibling. Of course, I don't think either of them remembers a time without the other. That's one of the many cool things about having two children so close together. The other day, Lilia was trying to calm Miriam down and told her, "It's ok Miriam, I'm your best friend." I wasn't there, but it sounds really cute.

Well, my lunch hour is over. I hope to hear from the rest of you soon.

What's New?

Hey, this is Erin. Hows everybody? I am so excited to meet my two little baby cousins! make a comment,
ERIN!!!

No Pain, No Gain

If you are reading this, I would like to inform you that STITCHES HURT! (P.S. this is Erin not Connie) I have three stitches in the bottom of my middle toe were the joint is. On the day I went back to school (the day after) I was jumping on one foot, crawling on the grass, and something I call "hobbling". My friend brought me crutches so I could walk better. I have also found out that CRUTCHES HURT!!! My under-arms have been SO sore! Today I went on a field trip, my toe got slammed in a door. Thankfully it didn't bleed. I am recovering really well though. It is NOT infected, and the stitches come out on the 31st. I hope it gets better and I hope you do too,
Erin

It has been an interesting week

Well, we took Erin in for stitches for the third time (in her lift). She was playing in the park (with her shoes off, (silly girl), and either stepped on something or her friends toenail hit the underside of her toe. Anyway, it sliced the bottom of her toe right at the joint. It bled and bled so we took her in and she got three stitches. Because the stitches are right on the joint where her toe bends she is having a very hard time walking. Her friend is letting her borrow crutches and now her armpits hurt. She is finding out that this is not very fun at all. She is trying to do everything she did before (play with friends, walk around, go shopping with mom etc...) and finding out that her foot really hurts at night.

Anyway, that is a little bit of what is going on. Hope all of you are well.

Chili Cookoffs

We had a chili Cookoff at a ward activity on Saturday and a co-worker invited us to a Super Bowl party where they had another chili contest. Laura's recipe won both contests. At the Super Bowl party she even won both categories (best overall and most original). Laura is such a great cook. Thanks babe for all the hard work and delicious food.

January in a nut shell

January has been sedate, but busy for our family.
We now have a 15-year-old. Jacob turned 15 on the 23rd. He is taller than Sean and almost as tall as I am. He started shaving last year, but has decided he wants to try and grow a beard. It is just a bit fuzzy. I call him "Shaggy". He wants to try out for the football team this summer/fall and started weight lifting. He comes home tired and a little sore, but he is having fun.
The three younger kids have been off track since the 16th- They go back on Feb 6th. I really do NOT like year round school. I much prefer the traditional school year. Jacob, Jarom and Sean are all on traditional school, but the three younger kids have year round. Oh well, I guess "When in Rome, do as the Romans do".
I am playing church B-ball. I hadn't played since JR high, 25 years ago. After playing one game I remembered why I hadn't played since then. I really am not any good at it and it hurts running up and down the court. Our coach is 74 years old and she was out there playing as well. I really need to suck it up and quit complaining. It is fun to get to know some of the sisters in our ward. We are still new enough that this is a good way to get to know people.
Utah now has 4 congressional seats and Sean set it up to have one of the people running for that 4th seat to have a meet and greet at our house on Saturday. Her name is Mia Love. It was interesting to hear her speak and hear her ideas and goals for what she would try to do if she were elected. If nothing else good came out of this, the kids and I at least cleaned the house really good; so there was that.
All in all we are doing good. We have been very blessed and I'm grateful for the tender mercies we receive every day. I hope you all are doing good. Love you,

Connie

I'm OLD

I just got done playing church B-Ball. The last time I played was in 8th grade, 25 years ago! I will be sore in the morning

Chris' family photos

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.