Wow!  We need to get better with the whole "blog" thing.  How is anyone going to be able to keep up with our lives if we don't.  Anyway, it's December 31st.  We've been super busy, both with my crazy schedule and trying to fit in doctors appointments.  Time flies by so fast when you're busy.  Well, aside from filling you all in on what's been going on, Rissa and I have big news!!  The Dr. said we're going to have a BOY!  Awesome!  Little man gets his brother finally.  I'm so excited.  We're so excited.  Now we have to buy all new stuff for a boys wardrobe.  All we have is girl stuff.

Thanksgiving was spent in Salt Lake with Rissa's family.  Poor Rissa was SO sick.  She ended up getting a cold, and then she got an ear infection.  She couldn't keep anything down, and then had to spend six hours in the ER getting fluids through an IV.  Yay.  Shannon ended up getting sick too.  She through up Thanksgiving night... like a geyser, it went all the way to the ceiling.  It was awesome.  She laughed too.  Hailee didn't feel good either, but no explosions from her.  I wish I could say what the entire week was like, but you'll have to ask me about it in person.

This Christmas was the whitest, snowiest and coldest Christmas I have ever seen!  We went to Salt Lake and had it there so we could be with Rissa's family and get the kids too.  Missy was nice enough to let us have them till the 2nd of Jan.  We came home on the 28th to like 2 feet of snow on the ground, and ice covered roads.  It's snowed pretty much the whole time we've been home, reaching temps down to at least six degrees that I know of.  Brr!  Work has been awesome, what with all the cold.  Dumb cold.  But at least we have a job.

Also, we finally (after two years of trying) had the opportunity to buy a new TV (55" flatscreen) and couches.  We've never been able to do that before.  We found a set that included a sofa, love seat, two end tables, two (ugly) lamps and a coffee table for $1,200.  I kinda miss the plastic storage bins (for end tables) and hand me down hide-a-bed couch, but I'm getting used to the new stuff.

2 Years and Counting

So, I'm sitting here.. Listening to Barney's Night Before Christmas and to Sadie cough up a lung, when I realized I haven't updated for awhile... Like a long while... Good thing not much has changed.. 

Jake's platelet count is slowly going back up. It's at 63 right now. Yay!  He still needs to go see a hematologist, but as of right now we're just keeping an eye on it and hoping the problem fixes itself. 

His blood pressure is finally under control with the right medication. Hopefully we will get this fixed so his body can work naturally without all the medications!

Sadie is sick again. 103+ fevers. Throwing up. Mucous-y.. Yeah not fun. Poor girl. I think she has laryngitis this time. She lost her voice! It's cute but so so sad. If she doesn't seem to be getting better by Wednesday, I'm going to take her to the doctor.  Hopefully she just gets better. 

(Have you noticed that our lives are filled with hope right now? Haha)

She was a bumblebee for Halloween. I made her a tutu, and did her hair cute. But she wouldn't let me take a good picture of her. She kept pouting. Stinker. 

Pregnancy is going good so far. There's only one baby in there. Hehe so disappointing I know.. We have another appointment coming up soon. So excited to hear baby's heartbeat again! My nausea is slowly getting better. (Wishful thinking)  I have good weeks and I have bad weeks. I'm almost out of my first trimester so hopefully it will get better quick!! 

Jake and I will be married for TWO years on the 20th! Holy cow how time flies! I can honestly say I don't think I have committed to anything for this long before. My how I adore that man. He is so selfless and sweet and does everything he can to take care of our family. 

Here's to many more years of marriage and happiness!

Overall we are all doing good. I am not so secretly planning a Disneyland trip for our family. Next year sometime after the baby is born we will go. Hopefully things will be in order financially. I can't wait to share that experience with Jake and our kids. They will love it! 

I think that's about all.. If I think of something later, I will definitely update. 

Loves, 

                 Rissa

Hospitals, Houses and (almost) Halloween

I have been so sick lately. Like all I want to do is crawl up in bed and sleep.  Oh boy I forgot how bad morning sickness is! It's been 2 years since I had to endure it with Sadie. Yuck. I feel awful!

And I feel even worse for Sadie! She hasn't been getting the attention she needs. Hopefully this will only last a little while longer. 

Jake is sick. He was taken to the ER from work a couple weeks ago and they had diagnosed him with vertigo and high blood pressure. They gave him Dramamine and sent him home.  Well, upon a visit to his regular doctor, his blood  pressure is so high it caused the symptoms of the vertigo. So no vertigo. Just really high blood pressure. He has had to have blood work done and found out he has a low blood platelet count. He's currently on medication for the blood pressure, but as of right now that's all we can do for him. The doctor doesn't want him to exercise for fear of stroke! Just what we need... 

So, we have been looking at getting a house in Tooele to be closer to the kids.  So far, it looks more like we're going to buy one rather than not.  It's just all around a good idea for us. We'll be delivering this baby in Salt Lake, so I would much rather be 30 minutes away from the hospital rather than 3 hours and 30 minutes!! Plus it puts us closer to my family as well. 

There's a lot of things for us to consider before we make any final decisions about moving, but as of right now, the possibility is good. 

We get the kids this weekend!! Yay! I'm so excited we have so many fun things planned!!! I am driving to Wendover tomorrow to pick them up and then I'll bring them back to Elko. Gosh, I sure miss those guys! I can only imagine how Jake feels.  We might be able to go trick or treating with them this year too! Jake has it off, so we might be able to make it work! 

Anyway, that's what we've been up to lately. Exciting I know. Haha. 

Loves,  

            Rissa

Vertigo?

So.  I go to work on Sunday night and everything seems to be goin' fine, and then BAM!!! Outta nowhere starts the spinning, and swirling and nausea and vomiting.. Yeah, that was dumb. So I was taken to the ambulance where they took my vitals and my blood pressure was 162/110! This was it. The pivotal moment. They are going to take me to the ER. I called Rissa. Mind you it was 10:15 at night. She found a babysitter for Sadie and met me at the hospital.  After waiting for like 12 hours, I finally got called back. "Jacob" the nurse called.  "yeah?" I replied. I DID NOT want to get up. She offered me a wheelchair and I kindly refused.  After we made it back to the room, she took my vitals again, and asked me a whole bunch of questions.. Then she brought us some water and left.  It took like 45 minutes for the doctor to come in! When he did he asked me what was going on. I told him and he diagnosed me with vertigo and high blood pressure. It took like 2 minutes. Then another 20 for the nurse to come back in and give me medication. Then they sent us home. 

Vertigo. Who gets Vertigo??

On a lighter note, Its going to be Halloween! We are so excited! Sadie is going to be a little bumblebee princess. Rissa is making her costume. 

Well that's it for today. 

                                  -Jake

*~Big News!!~*

Hey everyone! 

Jake, Sadie and I have big news!! Well, first of all, we are all doing great. Everyone is healthy, Sadie's fevers have gone away, and we're all happy! Except now Sadie has a toe issue that she has to go see a podiatrist for, but other than that, we are all great!! 

We got to go to see the kids this last weekend in Salt Lake. We were just going to pick them up in Wendover and bring them back but our Great Grandma (Shannon, Hailee, Justin, and Sadie's Great Great Grandma) passed away so we went for the viewing and decided it would just be all around cheaper and easier to just stay with my sister Jen for a few days.  

I curled Sadie's hair for the viewing. She looked like a mini Shirley Temple! So cute!!

Nana Cay was almost 91 years old.  She was a great role model and inspiration to all of her grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great great grandchildren.  She was very, very loved and will be missed by many. 

Rest in peace Nana Cay. We love you and miss you but know that you are with Papa Norm again and so so happy. 

The 5 generation picture taken in July of 2011. Here we have Sadie @ 3 months old, Me, my mom, My grandma, and my great-grandma. 

Jake and I went with Missy to Shannon and Hailee's parent teacher conferences.  They are doing so great in school! Those girls are both so smart! Missy does a great job with helping them learn! 

Blow kisses Sadie!

Okay Shannon, you can blow kisses too ;)

While we had the kids this weekend, we did all sorts of fun stuff! We went bowling, to the zoo, and rode Trax to City Creek Center on Saturday.  

We just renewed our zoo pass and we're so glad we downgraded instead of upgraded because half of the zoo is closed again for 2 years for their next big remodel/update! They are putting in an African Savannah exhibit and they are going to have zebras, giraffes, LIONS, and something else but I don't remember what it was. We are so excited to see the next exhibit open up in 2014.  It's going to be so great!  Probably not as great as the Phoenix Zoo, but it is still going to be pretty darn neat! 

The wolf. These were the only things we got pictures of. Kept forgetting to pull out the camera! Although, I am getting better!

The baby snow leopard was so stinking cute! He was 6 months old and his mama was being very protective of her baby. Kept her eye on the crowd at all times. 

The kids love riding the Trax. They call it the train, which I guess it technically is a train but its still cute. Is it just me or does it seem to go faster now? Anyway, at City Creek Center we went to the Disney store. We didn't buy anything, so all it did was make me want to go to Disneyland.. Oh my gosh I can't wait to be able to take Jake and the kids there!! They're going to have a blast!! 

After the Disney store, we went and found the fountains and let the kids run through the water. They. Got. Soaked! But it was so much fun to watch them play in the water.  Justin and Sadie both got splashed in the face because they weren't paying attention. I wish I had gotten pictures of it, but I didn't get a chance to. We were having too much fun watching! 

Okay.. So now for the REALLY big news! Jake and I are expecting baby #2!!! 

Hooray! Got our BFP (big fat positive!)

We are so unbelievably excited!! Our EDD (estimated due date for those who don't know what EDD means) in June 1st 2013! So as of right now I am 5 weeks.  We're already throwing names around.

So I'm saying goodbye to a good nights sleep, and hello to the toilet. (morning sickness, Yuck!) and I'm already picking out nursery colors and furniture! Haha talk about early planning!!

We're not sure if we're going to find out the gender via ultrasound or not. We want to be surprised, but I think the anticipation will kill me!!

Hopefully we have a boy, because poor Justin needs a brother, but a girl will work for us too. As long as he or she is healthy. 

Well, I think we are officially up to date with everything! I'm going to try to update at least once a week on Sundays. So, TTFN

Loves,

               Marissa

It's Great To Be Eight!

               This weekend we were able to go to Tooele, UT for Shannon's baptism! Jake was able to baptize and confirm her. I am so proud of him. He has worked hard to get to this point! Unfortunately I was unable to see the baptism, little miss Sadie had a meltdown when she saw her daddy, but wasn't able to get to him. So then I had to take her out of the room. 

               I am so thankful to Melissa, for including me in the "mom" duties when it came to Shannon's baptism! It was great to be included! It was kind of a joke between Jake and myself that we are "just one big happy family", when everyone asks how we are all able to get along because society tells us that when you are no longer in a relationship with someone, you automatically have to hate them. I am so glad that that isn't the case with us. 

Oh yeah, and hopefully the next time we drive to Utah it will be to go to the temple! We are getting so close! It's very exciting for us!!

Jake and Shannon on Saturday 09/01/2012

You would think these two are best friends! Sadie and Alahna holding hands as everyone was leaving the church. 

On our way home to Elko, NV.. Gosh this looks inviting doesn't it?

The Great Salt Lake. This picture doesn't even do it justice from what we saw! It was beautiful!

About 10 miles out from Tooele, we hit rain. Hard. We almost had to stop because of how hard it was coming down!

Jake wanted me to take a picture of the sun. So I did. It's pretty!

You wouldn't believe that the sky had just opened up and poured down on us from this picture! Which is just after the rainstorm. 

Okay, so update with Herbalife! Jake and I have both lost about 4 lbs each this week! This stuff is seriously Uh. Maze. Ing.

I love it so much I am going to become a coach! When you feel this great, how can you not share the love?!? So.. Let me know if you want to sign up! Haha

I will be taking Sadie in to get her blood drawn again tomorrow to repeat 2 of the blood tests that they did last week plus the mono test. Let's pray that it is just mono and not something more serious! I don't need a trip to Primary Children's Hospital this month. 

Anywho, That's the update for the Barney family this week. :)

With love, 

       Marissa 

Herbalife

Hey all,
        We have big news! We started on Herbalife today!! Herbalife is a brand of all natural nutritional supplement that is used for more than just losing weight, but we (Jake and I) are using it to lose weight.  There is a lot to remember with it, and its going to take some getting used to but overall we are super duper excited to see our results! Everyone we know that is on it has been shedding weight like crazy!!!
     We'll keep you updated on how everything goes with it as of course with any other product, it doesn't work overnight. It takes a couple nights haha.

     
   
   In other news, Sadie has been getting really high fevers. We're talking like 103+ degrees! I ended up taking her to the E.R. for it last month because she had a seizure!! (which when a small child has a fever seizure it doesn't hurt them, its just their bodies "defense mechanism." Or you could say its benign) Talk about scary panic moment!! Anyways, the E.R. doctor told me to alternate between Ibuprofin and Tylenol every 3 hours for 24 hours, but if I didn't do it every 2 the fever would spike between hours 2 and 3.. So we stuck with every 2 hours. So finally when she got these fevers this last Wednesday, (it had spiked to 103.4 in like 30 minutes) I made a doctors appointment when we couldn't get it to go away by Friday. Well, her pediatrician ordered a bunch of labs because he did a physical examination and still couldn't figure out what it was, so we took her to the lab at the hospital and they drew her blood. It seemed like they took so much! And the phlebotomist even said that's a lot of blood to be taking from a 1 year old. So the pediatrician's office finally got the results of the lab tests back on Tuesday and after her doctor was able to review the findings, he called me.  The results are in... He thinks she has Mono. Yes as in the kissing disease, but its not as big of a deal as people make it out to be. In fact, 85% of people have had it by the time they are 30. Crazy right? That's what I said.. The crazy part is that the Dr. really isn't sure if it is mono or not. So he is going to do a more specific mono test and if that comes out positive then yes that's what she has. But if not, we are back to trying to figure out what it is. Our poor little girl. Seems like she can't catch a break!!

 

This was right as we were leaving the hospital. She kept pointing to the bandaid and crying. :(
                 
                  So that's all I have for now, check back later cuz I'm sure we'll have more!
          Loves, Marissa

Ok.  Here's a little about us.  We were married for a few months before I got a job with Barrick Gold Mines of North America, or BGMI (Barrick Gold Mines, Inc.).  We moved up here in May of 2011 and I've been working at the Goldstrike mine site.  Barrick has been awesome to us.  I have never worked for a better company.  Working for Barrick has afforded us the opportunity to do a lot as a family; vacations, adventures, road trips, etc.  Without them we couldn't have done it.~Jake

To learn more about Barrick, you can go to www.barrick.com

11~20~2010

Our wedding day!

So, we decided to have a blog to recount our tremendously awesome lives together as the Barney family.  We want to share news and pictures of some of our adventures and daily life.  We'll see how this goes~Jacob