Grandma Van Houten

This morning heaven received another angel.  Zach's sweet Grandma Van Houten passed away from this life and returned to be with her Father in Heaven.  What a bitter sweet moment for us.  She has been so sick and in so much pain for the past few months that knowing she's free from all that suffering is a blessing.  That doesn't take away the sting that she is gone.

She was such a sweet lady and so loving to everyone around her.  I have to say though I know my Zach was her favorite.  (but how could he not be)  The room could be filled with family all around her and she'd single out Zach to come and talk to her, calling him her Zachie-Poo.  Even over the last few weeks when she was beyond much comforting she was always a little more calm knowing her Zach was right next to her.  Watching this bond between Grandmother and Grandson has been such a blessing to me.  I miss my grandparents terribly so to marry into a family of such strong ties has brought me so much joy.  Grandma has always been such a spunky and loving lady.  From the first day I met her she has always greeted me with a huge smile and comes up with the funniest things that keep all of us in stitches.  Every Sunday the whole family meets at Grandma's house to visit and catch up.  We visit for about an hour or so then everyone goes on their way and meets up again next week. Zach and I hadn't been dating very long when I was invited to join them at Grandma's house.  Boy was I in for a real treat!  The moment I walked in, Nancy comes walking over with her cane and sits down by me and says "I'm Nancy, I'm the leader of this Pack, you need to know me".  Then she proceeded to tell me the story I would soon have memorized.  "I'm from Las Vegas and I was born on the 4th of July".  This was her story for everyone and anyone that would listen.  She was so proud of where she came from and wanted everyone to know.

My heart is heavy today as we prepare to say goodbye to Grandma Van Houten and I wish there were words that could soften the heartache this brings.  I'm so grateful for my knowledge of eternal families and the blessing that provides us in these times of grief.  I wish I could bottle up the tender mercies we've experienced over the last several weeks and keep them close to our hearts and minds forever.

This picture to me is priceless.  It was taken just 10 days ago on the 16th.  Zach and I have been going to visit Grandma every night for the past few weeks and some days have been really rough and some have been really good.  This particular day Grandma was bright eyed and in a great mood.  She was fully coherent and joking with us which we hadn't seen in a really long time.  So Zach offered to play her some music which has always been one of her favorite things and he's always so willing to comply.  She will hum or sing along to the tune and when she was stronger she'd usually be leading the music from her chair. So I moved to the seat right next to her bed so Zach could be at the piano. When I look over I see her beautiful smile beaming at me.  I hurried to snap the picture knowing everyone else would like to see this rare moment. I wish my hand wasn't in the way but her face says it all.  She sure loves her Zachie-Poo and he has a rare gift in his music that makes her heart smile.  

We have a huge void in our lives without Grandma but we know we will all be together one day. Please give our baby girl lots of loving before you send her to our family.  We love you Grandma!

Hey Wildcats!

Well friends.  It's official.  We've made the decision and are setting our sights to Arizona.  Tucson to be exact.   Zach has been accepted into their program to receive his Doctorate in Music Composition. 

So this will become our new home in August.

                                                            GO WILDCATS!

Kapree Mae and 30 Weeks!

Kapree Mae Taylor was blessed yesterday by her Dad - My brother.  She looked so adorable in her gorgeous blessing dress.  I didn't get any pictures though.  The poor thing was melting.  Their church doesn't start until 2:30 p.m. and by then about a million people have been in and out of that church making it extra miserable.  

So I settled for some cuddle time after she got changed.  This little one is so precious.  She loves to snuggle and I think she already loves her little cousin who I hope she becomes great friends with.  Whenever I hold her she snuggles right in and usually falls right asleep.  This time was even cuter cuz she wrapped right around my big old belly!  Her cousin kept trying to kick her awake but she wasn't having it and was out cold.  It was so completely adorable we had to take lots of pictures. 

I'm already at my 30 weeks mark with only 10 more to go!  It doesn't seem real and I certainly don't feel ready.  BUT ready of not here she comes!  We've got some fun adventures ahead of us and I'm excited to have her here.  I'm also ready to have my feet back.  These hippos on the ends of my legs are super attractive!

Arizona = Cactus

Welp,  Tucson was pretty alright.  My description of Arizona can be narrowed down to one word:  

Cactus!

(or Cacti or whatever the correct plural of the word is)

There was a LOT of it, everywhere.  Giant ones, fat ones, really army ones, small ones, you name it they have it.  Oh and don't forget decorative ones!  I may have created a new fear - that if we lived there my poor child would be in danger of falling into one.  

Oh and no grass anywhere.  I'm pretty sure it's outlawed. 

Arizona was a good trip.  We got a lot done and saw a lot of people we needed to.  Now we need lots of prayers while we determine our pretty near future.  So if you could send one up for us we certainly wouldn't mind.

Spoiled Rotten

This baby girl of ours is one spoiled little bean and she's still got a few more weeks to cook - (please give us 10 more little one)

My mom (baby girl's adoring Grandma Taylor) has been working her heart out and fingers to the bone getting ready for her arrival. In the last week we've had TWO surprise packages show up in our mail box addressed to Baby Girl Van Houten.  I was so excited to see a box full of receiving blankets that my Mom had made.  There was a mix of flannel blankets and all were uniquely finished and so amazingly adorable and one that was completely crocheted.  AH I love them all and can't wait to use them.

Then another package showed up and I got even more excited.  Boy was I shocked speechless when I opened it and saw the most beautiful Blessing dress made specially for our little princess by her Grandma.  I was moved to tears when I saw it and knew my Mom had worked so hard to make it happen.  I'd seen one similar to this, and initially Mom told me she couldn't do it so I hadn't thought much about it.  I suppose curiosity got the best of her because she did it!  And I am so excited for how absolutely perfect and beautiful it turned out.  I love it!  I sure do love my Mom and all she does for me and now for my little girl.

Look how beautiful!!

Then there is this - Zach's adorable niece Violet came up to me and says "Look Emily, I have a baby in my tummy just like you".   She is so dang cute!  

Whenever I get to see her she always comes up and sweetly pats my tummy and says "Baby is getting bigger".  It's so cute!  I can't wait for her to meet her new cousin when she gets here.

Arizona - Day 1

We are heading to Arizona for a little/big road trip.  Sheesh it sure is rough on an old pregnant lady having to sit in a car for hours on end.  Don't worry I asked my Doctor and he said it's always a risk but he didn't see anything wrong as long as we break it up into only about 6 hours per day.  So we made it to Kanab from Provo last night at about 11:30 pm, got ourselves checking into the Days Inn (luckily they had room) and zonked right out.   I of course had to bring my body pillow because sleeping these days is already a challenge, add a mysterious bed and I knew i'd be toast.  Luckily exhaustion paid off.

Today we'll journey out towards Page and Flagstaff, then on to Tucson where we'll land and stay for the next couple days.  I'm a little anxious to see more of Arizona.  My childhood idea of different cities means that I drive into the desert for a long time then all of a sudden there is a big sign that says "Arizona".  And thats about all there is.  I've heard mixed reviews of Tucson so i'm really ready to see it for myself.

Beans Beans...

Well folks, it's time to spill the beans.  There is a little bean growing inside my tummy.  It has been a crazy few months full of a lot of learning and so many new things.  I'm already to the half-way mark which doesn't even seem possible.  It's going really fast and I'm not sure what to make of it.

When we first found out we were expecting I was going crazy in the brain needing to know what to do.  So I took Zach with me to the book store to find something to read and figure out what the heck my body was doing.  So as I'm taking my sweet time perusing through millions of pregnancy books, Zach is very patiently waiting for me wondering why there was so much to know and why I can't decide.  So I finally narrowed it down to two,  the generic "what to expect..." and "the bump".  So my smart and super loving husband just tells me to get both.  Hooray!  So we march up to the front and happen to pass by the magazine stand.  In less than two seconds (no lie) that boy has picked out a car magazine that he proudly tells me 'We NEED this'.  So off we go with our completely opposite picks and typical girl vs. boy story of selection and decision.  I love us!

So we of course had to capture our funny moment.

Which turned out to be the perfect way to tell our families our news!

I wish we had recorded my Mom's reaction.  We'd be a YouTube sensation for sure with all the screaming, hysterical laughing, and lots and lots of crying - happy tears.  (Love you Mom!)

Of course we can't forget my awesome nephew Wyatt. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on (he's 2 & 1/2), so after all the excitement died down he casually picks up the picture, and with an undeniable thrill in his voice asks us, "You guys are getting a car?!?"  Zach sure wishes little buddy!

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We welcomed a new Baby Girl into the family - Kapree Mae Taylor.  She was born on January 8th and to remind us that our Baby is next, I felt movement for the first time that afternoon.  It was a very fun day all around.  We love this girl to pieces already!

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We had our Mid-Pregnancy ultrasound this past Wednesday which was so amazing to see little baby GIRL wiggling like crazy in there.  Then when the technician wanted her to move she just sat there chillin' with her little legs crossed at the ankles which was adorable.  Doctor said things are going well and she's growing.  I will need more ultrasounds as we get further along because the umbilical cord implanted into the placenta on the side which isn't ideal, it's best in the center, so they'll keep measuring her growth to make sure she's on track and getting enough nutrients.  Which makes me so grateful for amazing Doctors who are on top of things like that so I don't have to worry as much.  I'm certainly not complaining that I get to see this cute little one a few more times before her big debut.

 Her cute little face

 Her bulging bicep

Strong heart beat

Excited Daddy!
She is one lucky girl to have this guy as her Dad!

We love you already and are super excited to meet you Baby Girl.  

Grow big and strong, and please stop jumping on Mommy's Bladder.