New addition

So here's the story... Our good friends needed to find a good home for their puppy. We were looking for another dog to join our family, but were looking for a small dog and preferably male... so we told them no at first because she's a female and a Border Collie (medium dog). We studied up a bit on Border Collie's and were a little nervous about her energy, but figure with all the exercise she needs, it will get us out of the house more, so we decided to go see her today. We stayed for a while and I fell in love with her. She's really smart and obedient (as we were told by the salesman, Mr. Von Loveland) :) We brought her home and she fits right in. Abby, our other puppy, loves her, and of course the girls love her too.

Her name is Cali. That's what the Loveland's named her and we haven't come up with anything else that sticks, so that is her name :) I feel so bad for them, but know they will still get to see her at our house. Thanks for trusting us with your puppy Lovelands!

Today was a blast! We went to Hesperia Lake to take the kids to feed the ducks and play on the swings. It cost $1.29 for a cheap loaf of bread and it was sooo fun! I love days like this. We are trying to do at least one fun thing every weekend lately. We ride our bikes or go on road trips, or like today, we go to the park. I love my family! Gracie has a nice clown smile from some Thrifty ice cream we got before the park :)




Fischer was cracking me up jumping off the swing, then I got this shot and we just laughed! Now we just have to wait for him to do something like that off a skateboard, NOOO! :)

Little Chloe is soooo funny. She loves her swing at home and just loved it at the park too. She got mad at me when I took her out. Silly girl.

We're so proud of you Fischer!

My sweet boy has earned Honor Roll at school once again. He continues to amaze me with his hard work at school, and his high achievement with his grades. His school had an Honor Roll Assembly last week and I took the girls to go and support him. When we left he said, "You didn't have to come; it's not really that big of a deal." I said, "Yes it is! You are a great student and you should be recognized for your hard work." I took him to Starbucks afterwards for his favorite treat, Strawberries & Creme. Thanks for the picture Loma! :)

Back on the blog

After a little break, I've recreated our family blog. I forgot how much time it takes to get things going!


Christmas was a great time for our family. It's Barry's favorite time of year. He loves to decorate every part of the house (inside and out), and it always looks so great! Of course, we all help, but he's meticulous about the design and where things go. I love watching him light up this time of year. You should seriously see his plans for the future... he keeps a journal. OH!! He handcarved a 6 ft. snowman, 5 gingerbread people, an angel (too bad you can't see them too well in this picture) and the Mickey wreath below. He's so talented! The other great thing about this year was that we got about 2 ft of snow in VICTORVILLE! That never happens. It was awesome.

We got to see my family the weekend before Christmas...

My sister and brother with our four girls (they got matching dresses for Christmas). Back row: Sara, me, Adam. Front row: Brooke (18 mos), Gracie (almost 3), Chloe (12 mos), Hailey (3).

Side note: Hailey just got a new sister on January 14th! Welcome little Emily Faith! She's so beautiful! (I don't have pictures yet)...

Chloe with Santa at Mom & Dad's house -- Funny story: Gracie wouldn't go anywhere near him, but sat back and watched. Once Santa left she said, "Where's Papa?" I said very quickly, "Oh, he went to the bathroom." She has said several times, "Papa is Santa", and "Santa went to the bathroom." Of course, that's not possible, but where does she get this stuff?

Once we got back to town, festivities continued. I made a yummy Turkey and took it to our friends' house for dinner on Christmas Eve (dinner was soooo good)! Christmas morning we had breakfast and opened presents (I got a violin!!!), then Barry's parents came over that afternoon to exchange gifts, and I made a ham dinner. (Sorry, no pictures) :(

New Year's Eve was uneventful; we actually went to bed at 10:30pm! We must be getting old :) Then on January 2nd, we got some good news we were waiting for... yea! we're pregnant again. After the miscarriage in October, we decided to try again and were blessed with another pregnancy. I hope everything goes okay this time. I'm 7 1/2 weeks along and praying for a healthy baby. My first appointment is on February 5th and I am so nervous about hearing the heartbeat for the first time. It's so hard to be relaxed until you know for sure after you've had miscarriages in the past. I know some of my friends can relate. Nonetheless, we are very excited and hopeful. If it's a girl, we already know what her name will be (divine revelation x 4... long story). But, of course we are hoping for at least one more boy somewhere in the mix!