She's here!

Hannah Lillian was born on Feb. 16th at 10:11 P.M.

8 lbs. 3 oz. and 20.5 inches long

more to come soon...

Snow Day

We got a little bit of snow last night and this morning. It was really more sleet than anything. But, the kids had a lot of fun playing in it. They ran downstairs at 7:30 this morning and had to go out and play in it right away. We ended up getting more snow/sleet throughout the day I just didn't take any more pictures.

David was all smiles with the snow. He LOVED playing in it and hated to come inside. He would just cry and cry when the kids would come in to warm up.

Jacob with his snow ball

Sara the "tree hugger"

Emily hugging the tree

Erica with her collection off of the trampoline

almost there...

I have about 3 1/2 weeks until my due date. We are all getting very excited about meeting this little girl. I am very, very ready to not be pregnant anymore. I am tired of being tired all of the time, the uncontrolable heartburn, crazy cravings and super crazy dreams. I am so excited to have her in my arms! The kids are getting really excited as well. Even Jacob, but don't tell him that I told you that. I had my doctor's appointment today and she finally turned to be head down. The doctor is going to let me go ahead and go with the VBAC. (Vaginal Birth After C-Section.)

Christmas

Here's a few pictures from our Christmas. The kids were so excited that Santa brought a Wii Fit Board. They have so much fun with it!

We had our own art studio.

We also had a business start up with Jacob being the boss of our very own Burger Factory.

Earlier in the week we got to have Grandpa Gonzales come stay with us for a few days.

The kids decorated some fabulous cookies (this is just a few of what they decorated.) Then we took the cookies and some other goodies and went "elfing." This is where you leave a plate of goodies on somebody's doorstep, ring the doorbell, and RUN!!! The kids talk about this and plan it for months before Christmas, they have so much fun.

The best part of Christmas was that Manny was able to be here to celebrate it with us before he had to leave. We hope that everybody had a wonderful Christmas!

Merry Christmas

We decided to simplify things around our house this Christmas Season. (as much as you can) As a result we decided not to do Christmas cards this year and do something after the baby comes. I am very grateful for all of the cards that I have received and I love hearing from so many of you. We still wanted to wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas and let you know that we are thinking of you and your families this time of year. We have had a wonderful year and have so much to be grateful for. One of the things that we are most grateful for is that we have had Manny home for a whole year. He is getting ready to leave in a few days, but we are grateful that he gets to be home for Christmas. We have been very blessed that he has never missed a Christmas with us. Manny's Dad was also able to come visit for a few days before Christmas. (He took this picture for us) More pictures to come after Christmas. We were so happy to have that time with him. We are looking forward to the upcoming birth of the baby in a few short weeks. We are all getting excited to have her in our family.

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Sara Emily

Erica

Jacob

David

Enjoying the Holiday Season

The kids had fun helping to make rolls. They made there's into lots of different shapes and sizes. They got to sit on Santa's lap at Manny's Christmas Party at work.

We also had fun decorating the Christmas tree!

The kids decorated cookies for their teachers at school. David wanted to join in so Manny let him decorate his own after they went to school.

Busy Busy Busy

We have been keeping really busy lately. I have been really bad about blogging the last few months, well since I became pregnant. Here's a little bit of catch up on our lives. This pregnancy has wiped me out. Recently I decided to start taking extra iron pills, thinking maybe I was anemic. It really seems to be helping. The boys have been busy being boys. David has decided that he wants to do everything that Jacob is doing. It's cute watching them play together. Jacob loves it that David finally wants to play with him. Jacob is doing really well in Kindergarten. I am so glad that he has such a wonderful teacher who has recognized that he was getting bored with what they were learning. She has made the extra effort to give him extra work and teach him new things so that he isn't bored. Emily and Erica had a concert at school where they sang a very nice variety of Christmas songs. They did a fantastic job! Of course they were on opposite sides, here is a picture of Emily with her class.

Here's Erica with her class.

Sara is learning to play the clarinet in Middle School this year. It was so much fun going to her first Band Concert. They did such a wonderful job after only playing their instruments for a few short months. She is in the very back left corner of the picture. It was super hot in the gym and very crowded, so I was just focusing on not passing out and this is the only picture that I took.

Before her concert we got a Pre-Concert at home. It is so wonderful to watch your children find a joy in music.

Jacob and Sara also participated in soccer this fall. They had a lot of fun.

When the three girls were little I use to think that life could not get any more crazy and busy then we were at that time. I soon found out that just because they were in school didn't mean less crazy. It's just a different kind of crazy and busy. But, we have so much joy watching our children grow, develop talents, and learn new things. Now we are getting ready for Christmas, for Manny to deploy in a few days, and for the baby. One thing is for sure... we are never bored and we are thankful for that!