NEW BLOG

Alright everyone,

this is my last post for sure.

Now I know,

and I don't want this to sound prideful,

there are a lot of you who follow my blog.

Head on over HERE: http://abziggy.blogspot.com

to follow along my new adventure as a newlywed,

having a cute family in the future, and other crazy happenings!!

My first post starts by sharing my bridal session done by the lovely Abbey!

Here is a sneak peak, I'm sure you will want to see more :)

Can't wait to meet you all over there!!

Adios!

Called to Serve - Austin

Brady's little brother Austin opened his mission call tonight!! Seems like just yesterday Brady was opening his mission call, I was holding back the tears as this journey was about the start. Austin had a lot of support, plenty of family and friends there, waiting to hear!!! He's had his mission call since Wednesday but his mother has been out of town until today so poor Austin has had to wait! But it was exciting and we're very happy for him :)

Ohio, Cincinnati Mission

After, we went to celebrate by eating pizza at the park with Brady's family! Austin put his availability date October 2nd, and that's when he's leaving! We're all so excited for him! Can't wait for this new adventure. Congrats Elder Ziegler!

Father's Day

I'm about to brag, so watch out guys, my dad rocks & I have the best dad in the world! ;)

I love my dad. He rocks. He is a very hardworker, and does so much for my family. I'm so grateful to have him in my life. He is tough but I learn so much. He takes such good care of my mother and I love it. I feel like my dad and I sort of have a special bond, that he may not think of but I like to think he does. My dad has been by my side for every single surgery I've ever had. He was always there to hold my hand when I would get my IV and when I felt grown up enough to not hold his hand, he still stood by me. And when I woke up from my surgery, he was always sitting next to my bed. Now I don't want to say my mother was never there to support me, because boy she was. One surgery I had, I was in the hospital for a few days and she went home one day for 3 hours to shower and do laundry, so my dad and other family stayed with me; I BAWLED the entire time she was gone. Hahaha, so silly.

Anyway, I'm just very grateful for my dad. His strength helped my strength. Knowing my dad would be there when I woke up was comforting, I knew he would be there without a doubt. It may not seem like a big deal, but to me it is. It's something special I will always remember. Because now that I'm older, and can handle it on my own, and will have a husband in 9 days!!!!, I will never forget my dads love, and selflessness towards me.

So for Father's Day, we got together and headed up to Silverlake and had a bbq and walked around the lake. It was wonderful having my family there, and Brady too! We both got sunburned but not so much me as Brady. I put sunscreen on ;) Hahahaha, it was fun though. Came home, took a nap, and then headed to Brady's dads house for another bbq for dinner. It was fun but I was SO exhausted from being in the sun all day.

The Last of Our Engagement Pictures

There aren't many of this outfit, but it's still one of my favorites. I love getting pictures of Brady and I up close not so much far away, I love seeing his cute face, and his smile and his "serious" face. Hahaha, he cracks me up.

I can't believe we're only a week and a half away from being married!! I go through the Temple on Wednesday and I'm SO excited!! :) I meet with the Stake President Sunday morning and then Wednesday evening I'm going through the Jordan River Temple.

There are a few reasons I chose the Jordan River Temple. 1)That is my "little home," and it always has been. I call the Salt Lake Temple "my home." No other explanation. I've gone to the Jordan River Temple since I turned 12... so many memories 2)Brady went through that Jordan River Temple so I thought how cute would it be if we both went through the same Temple :) Silly, but I think it's cute. And 3) because they rent clothing so others can come to my session!

I am so in love with this guy. So much patience, kindness and unconditional love these past 4 months. They have felt like the LONGEST 4 months of my life, which doesn't sound like it could be true because I waited 2 years for him, but now that I'm marrying him.... 4 months is a long time.

We have basically everything done, just gotta pack up my room, pack up for our honeymoon, get things set and ready to go for our reception/wedding day, and then patiently wait :) I'm so excited for a 2 week break from work too. I neeeeeeeed this. Plus, what a bonus to spend your 2 week break getting married and being with your best friend and stuff.

Anyway, I'm marrying the most amazing man ever. And he's super cute.

"From the day you strolled in,

My heart was stolen,

You'll be the hand I'm holdin',

When the heavens open,

Cause you are golden."

My favorite

 photo credit

Livin' Our Love Song

On a night like this

Teary-eyed, as you took my hand

And I told you that I'd be your man

So many things have come,

so many things have gone.

One thing that stayed the same,

is our love still going strong..

Baby just look at us, all this time and we're still in love.

Something like this just don't exist,

between a backwoods boy & a fairytale princess.
People said it would never work out.

But living dreams, we shattered all doubts.

It feels good to prove them wrong,

just livin' our love song.

With my heart beatin' fast, and my shakin' knees,

It's pretty hard to believe, after all these years,

I still need you this badly.

Oh girl we've come so far,

everything I want is everything that you are.

18 days left.

♥

(Livin' Our Love Song - Jason Michael Carroll)

3 Year Anniversary

Today, is mine & Brady's 3 year anniversary. It was spent fasting (and me almost dying from fasting), spending 2 lovely hours at church together, searching for apartments, seminary graduation for Brady's siblings & some snuggle time before the work week starts. Our true anniversary is in only 24 days!!! I'm going to speak with the Bishop & Stake President next week for my big kid temple recommend and I couldn't be more excited!!!! :) We're getting so close and only have a few things left to do!! :) I hope you all can make it and share our special day with us. So lucky to have this man in my life. I can't believe we've been together this long. I'll never forget the day that started us, but I'm so grateful to have him in my life. He is one of the greatest blessings I've ever received.

I'M GETTING MARRIED THIS MONTH. AAAAHHHH.

I am seriously so excited you guys. Here is the final countdown post. Are you ready? June is going to rock, and hopefully go extremely fast!!

25 days until marriage.

Today is my bridal shower.

Sending invites this coming week.

2 weeks until Katie's Wedding

2 weeks & 4 days until I go through the Temple.

3 weeks until my ward bridal shower.

3 weeks & 4 days until I get married.

3 weeks & 5 days until VEGAS.

Small, but that makes me happy :)

We're getting so close everyone.

Can't believe it's here!!

D1

Katie's bridal shower was tonight. I'm so excited for her!! She's getting married in just 2 weeks!! It came so fast! :) She's going to be a gorgeous Bride and I'm so happy for her :)

We played some really fun games. It was basically a Snow College reunion. Some girls came, I haven't seen in over 2 years!!! Some of them my own roommates! There was lots of screaming, laughing, reminiscing of the good ol' days in Ephraim. I really love getting together with my roommates. I don't know what it is, but I always feel like I can act like myself, and they won't judge me. It's always so fun, and even though we don't always see each other and hangout like we used to, at least when we get together, it's as if time has never passed. I love these girls so very, very much.

Snow College Gals

D1 Girls. Just missing Jade :(

1 Month

Alright ladies & gents.

Are you ready?

31 days.

That's it.

AAAAAHHHHH.

I couldn't be more excited.

You guys, June is basically here.

My best friend Abby is throwing my bridal shower this Saturday.

I hope all of my friends can make it! :)

And in just a couple weeks, I'll be entering the Temple.

And a week after that, I'll be getting married.

I really hope time starts to pick up.

I spoke in church today, off of this talk.

I love it. It has always been one of my favorites.

It felt weird talking about marriage,

but there was good information that I can use in preparation.

I'm so excited to get married so soon.

We're sending invitations out this coming weekend,

so if you haven't, give me your address!!

Also I have been practicing my new signature, and
I'm sorry, but a Z... really?
It throws off the cursive completely.
So much practicing to get it right.

BUT. It's also been extremely fun getting wedding invites,
and others address it to my new last name. :)

Eeeeeek. I'm so excited you guys.

1 Month Until I Enter...

Today marks one whole month until I enter the Lord's Holy House. I'm so excited words just don't do justice. Tonight we had Temple prep and we talked of Temples. I love learning of the Temple. I always have. I think about my journey growing up, and my own personal conversion back in high school. I'm so grateful I chose the path of righteousness, the path to follow my Savior Jesus Christ. To know, that my destination is the Temple. That my destination will always be the Temple. It is my place for escape. I truly believe the Temple is not meant only for work for the dead, I believe it is a place to simply go, and be. I believe it is a place meant to ponder, pray, seek guidance, and just enjoy the Temple. Just being inside is enough escape from the world.

We were shown a wonderful video at Temple prep, and I shared that it makes me reflect my own personal journey. My personal conversion, and my journey back to the Temple. I love that the destination/goal of this video is the Temple. I like that it reflects back on her baby blessing, baptism, and her family supporting her all her life.

Here, lets watch it.



I'm just really thankful for this gospel. For all the happiness it brings me. I'm also very grateful for my sweet fiance; for his loving, kind heart; for being patient and understanding with me. But most importantly, I'm grateful that he is taking me to the Temple; a goal I've had my entire life, but never truly had until high school. I'm grateful that, he too, wants to go to the Temple to be sealed for time and for all eternity, to have an eternal family, to be together forever. I love Brady so much. And I cannot wait for this month to pass.... I finally made it to the Temple, and I'm so excited!!!

Mom, Mommy, Mama, Mother, Ma...

Of all these names, they mean something, to us all. Today is Mother's Day, and like everyone else in the world I'll be blogging about the beautiful mother's in my life.

 My mother. I blog about her a lot, cause she is just that awesome. She's my best friend. She can make anyone laugh. She's just really funny and can easily keep a smile on my face. Her jokes are just... her and that's what makes them funny. I wish I could give her a hug from her mom this mother's day. She doesn't ever show it, but I know today, her heart must ache to see her mother again, but how grateful I am to have a piece of my grandma, every single day in my life. I know my grandmother is so proud of my mom, as am I. Her and I relate with a lot of things in life, so with her, I never feel alone. Thank you mom. Words can't do justice for how grateful I am. I love you!

 My sweet sister Linsey. She is SUCH a wonderful mom. This is her first mother's day, and her sweet little boy Sawyer will be 1 in just two months. I can't believe it! She is the perfect mom for him. I've never seen someone sacrifice so much for this little boy whom, himself has been through so much. He is the cutest boy. He smiles just like her. We're basically best friends and I'm grateful for the blessing she is in my life. Though we may bicker still, I'm grateful for all that she does for me. And especially Sawyer.

Crystal, is the sweet mother of Evan. My sister-in-law is awesome. She's really funny and I'm so happy to have her in the family. She is such a good mom to Evan, and I'm so grateful for the blessing he is in all of our lives. She loves and cares for him so much. I know he loves her, he is always saying mom. Hopefully they have another baby soon :) Cause I want another niece and nephew like Evan, he is so sweet and kind, just like his parents, especially his mom.

To Marla, my high school counselor. She is not my mom, but she is a mother-figure to me. This is an old picture, but I love it. I'm so grateful for her and her influence in my life. She has helped me through so much, just like my own mother. As I know, she is missing her mother dearly on this very day, I want her to know how thankful I am, for all that she has taught me in my life. She is like a mother to me, even if she isn't a mother herself. She's a beautiful person, someone I want to be like. Love you Marla!


And of course, to all you mom's out there, happy mother's day. You're special and your children love you very much :)

Registered

Tonight Brady and I registered at Bed, Bath & Beyond! It was a lot of fun! Brady immediately took the gun/scanner, and I just knew that would help him stay focused. It was cute to see how excited he got over certain things. He really liked the dishes section, "in case we have guests." Haha, it was real cute. And he'd hug me, and kiss me and tell me I was cute. We scanned a few fun things. I'd tell him I didn't really care, or that we would probably need one of those. It was fun! I had him scan some cute colored knives, just because they're cute colored not because we might actually need them. We got done pretty fast, which I was shocked, but it was pretty easy. 

When we left, Brady said, "I will be really sad if we don't get some of the things we scanned." And I couldn't help but laugh. It's fun wishlist shopping. Poor kid, hopefully he doesn't expect too much!

Engagements 2

So this was my favorite outfit choice. I loved the formal looking ones, but this was fun because of all the colors. I'm grateful for my photographer, Abbey and her help with our outfits! She was patient, and very kind! Of course, we had to incorporate our letters which turned out to be fun. We got to re-read the very first letter Brady ever sent me when he first left on his mission. Oh how glad I am that is over! ;) Anyway, enjoy some love, awesome pictures by an awesome photographer, and the cool colors. 

photo credit

Spiritual Thoughts Sunday

I had so many wonderful, spiritual thoughts come across today, and I wanted to share them. Have any to add? Let me know and we'll start making this a weekly thing together! :) I've also borrowed some awesome quotes from some friends as well!

• "The Temple is sacred, not secret; and we treat it that way."
• "Our will is the only thing we have to give back to Heavenly Father."
• "I didn't come half across the country to eat dinner at your house; I came to preach the gospel."
• "Nothing but the best for the Lord." - Joseph Smith
• "The Lord knows all; He will give us every change to get us Home."
• "If we don't know/accept it ourselves, then we can't be effective missionaries."
• "Life is one big group project and we've all gotta help each other to help achieve eternal life."
• "Even when we don't deserve it, Heavenly Father ALWAYS blesses us."
• "Sacrifice is only sacrifice when it's difficult."
• "As I become more Christlike, I become more like me."

What a beautiful Sunday it has been. I have felt the Spirit so strongly. Brady and I had Temple prep tonight and I learned so much about the Plan of Salvation. I thought I "knew" about it, but tonight showed me that I really need to study up on it and its relationship with the Temple. Beautiful Sabbath.

It's gonna be a good week!

Toodles! :)

A First For Everything

This is big.

For me.

I've always wanted to be a fashionista.
Which leads to a shopping addiction,
yet trying to bargain shop.

So ladies, and gents.
Here is my first
"Fashion" blog post :)

Necklace: Boutique\\Blouse: Nordstrom Rack\\Skirt: Old Navy\\Shoes: Forever Young Shoes

I love this outfit. So cute and so fun. I felt really pretty wearing it. I even asked my fiance if he liked my blouse and he said, "Sure." So basically, he loves it. ;) It's really light-weight, and I love the black jewels on it. I wasn't sure about my owl necklace but I feel like it added some fun to the outfit. The black skirt is extremely comfy, pencil skirt might I add. It goes with anything, and I got it for a great price! The shoes are fun to wear since my fiance is so tall; complete excuse to wear heels (I'm already tall). Oh and my thick, curly hair came from my dad's side of the family. In case you wanted to know.

What are you wearing today?

Let's share our favorite stores!

Also, thanks to my sister for taking this picture.

Its fabulous.

2 Months

2 months from today, at this very minute (7:42 PM) I'll be at my reception, officially as Mrs Z. I can't wait to be sealed to my sweetheart for time and all eternity. I love him so much. And that's all folks.

Can we just enjoy how adorable this photo is?

I love my boys.

I'm Back

Don't worry guys.

I'm back in the family.

I love my iPhone 5.

In fact, I've never been happier.

I love Android, don't get me wrong.

I miss the swipe text.

I miss how big the screen is.

But it's okay.

The iPhone 5 is longer, which I like.

Brady keeps teasing me,

"Why? For a 5th row of apps?"

UH... YEAH!

But honestly, I love Apple.

This phone has joined my

Macbook Pro, iPad, and iPod.

Feels good to be back in the fam.

Engagements 1

I posted these to Facebook already but I'm going to post them on my blog, in separate posts so one post isn't like, a million miles long due to photos. :)

My amazing photographer Abbey, at AK Studio & Design took these for us and I love them all :) So we'll start out by posting our dressy outfits... :)

Oh and I just have to say, Brady is soooo good looking. The suit he is wearing is the one he wore at the airport. Ah. I just love it so much.

Here we go..

He Is The Sweetest

 

I watched conference with Brady this year, SO happy. Our first General Conference since he's been home. We snuggled on the bean bag, and I retweeted every quote I could possibly imagine while paying attention. During our break, we looked through our engagement pictures to choose which ones to edit. I really can't wait to show everyone. Our photographer is incredible. I loved every single shot that she got... Brady is soooooo good looking, I just can't even get over it.

 

While I was looking through them with my mom, we came to one picture, and she said, "Can you just believe that you found him?" And of course, I said yes, but it really got me thinking how blessed I am to have Brady. He couldn't have come into my life at a more perfect moment. He couldn't be a more perfect person. I truly know Heavenly Father has blessed us with each other, to love each other and to help each other along this journey. I cannot imagine my life without Brady.

Oh man, I could go on, but I'll save it for my journal :)

Later that night we had dinner at my house with my family, and played a game of Settlers of Catan. We really love that game, its not as intense with my siblings as it is with Brady's, but it's still a fun game! The night was coming to an end, and I was getting really sad. I get really upset easily over the fact that Sunday night and Monday come way too fast, too soon. Working full-time, in a new position has been taking it's toll on me, but it's also been teaching me a lot. I really hate leaving Brady each night, it's getting so much harder the closer we're getting to our wedding day (77 days!!). I just snuggled him as tightly as I could before it was time to go to bed, and I started to express my concerns for the things I would have to face at work this coming week and how I was struggling with knowing what to do.

Poor Brady, always watching me cry over the silliest things. He didn't really have many words to say, which was fine, but he just hugged me and then asked if I had prayed about it. I told him, in complete honesty and a little bit of shame, no I had not. We got discussing about praying about things, and how I hoped that prayer could really help me. He shared a wonderful experience about prayer while on his mission and then suggested we read the scriptures and then said, how about we read a talk instead, and then he said, actually, read this before you go to bed, lets watch a Mormon message instead. We chose to watch My New Life, a story about Stephanie Nielson. It's a beautiful video, and I cried towards the end of it. She has so much faith and love for herself and this gospel.

When it ended, I looked up at Brady to find tears in his eyes as well. He is so darn cute when he cries. I mean, I don't like crying, but I love when Brady cries, because I see a side of him that I don't always get to see.... his emotional side. It touches my heart when he cries/gets emotional. I feel even closer to him each and every time. He just kissed me and hugged me tightly, and then tried to frantically wipe away the tears. We just sat there, and I asked him why he cried and he said, "It just reminds me of my mission." I hugged him once more, and he said, "Pray about it babe. Prayer works. That's my testimony." and I kissed him. I cried some more, feeling so overwhelmed by both my own feelings of stress, anger, and fear..... but even more overwhelmed with how quickly the Spirit surrounded the both of us.

I could truly feel, for the first time in a long time, the arms of my Savior around me, and around Brady and I together. It's a moment I will always cherish, and one that I made sure I wrote down. We said our goodbyes and I went straight to my room and just cried. I prayed and I cried. I hadn't prayed like that in a while. I wasn't really sure what to say, but when I was done praying, I realized that I didn't just pray for help to be happier, I truly prayed for help with certain things in my life, that mattered.

I'm very grateful for Brady and his influence on me. I'm very VERY grateful that he chose to serve a mission, when at the time, neither of us wanted him to. I'm grateful that he told me to pray, that he believed if I prayed, I would receive help. I'm grateful to have shared the Spirit with my sweetheart. After he left, I sent him a text and said thank you. He responded, "It wasn't me, that was the Spirit." And I cried some more.

The Lord works in mysterious ways, and was definitely listening to the silent prayers of my heart. I love Brady so much. I'm so very happy that we have both lived our lives in such a way, that we get to enter the Holy House of the Lord, and make covenants to each other so sacred, so amazing. I'm so grateful to my Father in Heaven that it is possible to be with Brady forever. That I don't have to go a day without him, and if I ever do.... it won't be long before we would be reunited again.

What a wonderful way to end my weekend.