"My greatest blessings call me Mom."

"Wil-man, Wilbur, Wil-son, Wil-Yum, & the latest Wil-da-Beast"

Everybody loves Will. He is 14, 8th grade (soon to be a freshman!). We often wonder what we did right with him. He loves to play/participate in absolutely anything. He is highly competitive, self motivated and driven to improve in whatever it is he is doing, yes even tormenting his siblings. He is a super student, quite the 'mathlete'. He is planning on being a professional athlete, and if that doesn't work out for him he's told me he'd like to work at Disneyland, "The Happiest Place on Earth." Baseball has begun, and we love watching him play almost as much as he loves playing. We really couldn't ask for a better kid than Will.

"Gizmo"

Mackenzee is 12, 7th grade, & full of personality. Nicknamed 'Gizmo' when she was just little, by her dad. Very pleasant to have in our home. She is so agreeable, always willing to help out, and I take unfair advantage of that when it comes to babysitting, I call her my nanny. She too is a great student, she also has great street smarts, something we discovered as we tried navigating our way through the subways in New York a few years ago, she was on top of which one we should take each time, and was right more often than mom and dad. I used to worry about her having to follow a year behind Will in school, but she has always done just fine, actually she has done super and made her own statements along the way. She loves soccer, volleyball, basketball, (that's my girl!), and TEXTING. She is a social butterfly. I'd be lost without my Gizmo Nanny.

"J-Dog"

Jesse, the middle child, is 9, & in 3rd grade. Jess is a good, good boy! He always wants to do what's right (with the exception of teasing and fighting with brothers and sisters, and being extremely loud at times.) He loves school, which is most likely due to the social aspect, not necessarily the academics, however he does just fine with that part too. He is a super athlete and would play anything with anyone 24/7 if he could. He has a very tender heart. He likes to have the daily schedule every morning, because of the before mentioned playing with someone. He is also quite the video gamer, and has been since he was much to small to be (thanks dad!) We love our J-dog.

"B-ridge"

Where to start? I think we could have a whole separate blog just for Bridger. We have been blessed to see him reach the age of 7, I wasn't sure if either of us would make it past 5. He is in 1st grade. Bridger has a bright spirit. He is very smart, maybe a little too smart for his own good (and for mom's good). I don't know if we could call him a good student, but like I said he is smart. I think he is finally figuring out the school thing, with rules. Our first 3 kids combined have never had a problem at school, that is 18 combined years/grades without as much as a bad note sent home. Bridger's first year, kindergarten, he was involved in multiple fights on the playground, sent to the Principal's office, received so many 'red cards' that his teacher resorted to putting him on a behavior program (bless that Mrs. Hudson!) All the while having the attitude of "What's the big deal?" Life is full of adventure for him, and believe me, he has had his share of adventures. We have so many Bridger stories that we have considered writing a book. Maybe one day. His latest funny was the Monday after Spring Break, which we had just spent in sunny California, he saw that it was snowing and blowing and said "Ah Spring Break didn't work at all." He brings so much joy and laughter into our home that I'd have to say it tips the scale slightly from the nervous breakdowns he has nearly pushed me to.

"Princess Mia"

Amelia Fe can be grateful that Bridg didn't get too bad until after she arrived, because there is a good chance he would have been the last of the Barker children, instead of her. Mia is 4 going on 18. I see it this way, she was my reward for the things I have been through with Bridger. Mia is my happy helper, who is happy to be & stay with me. Sadly she is growing up too fast. Admittedly I/we have spoiled her, hopefully we didn't reach the rotten point though. It's just so hard when she is so sweet, and good, and cute to not give in. It may surprise you to hear, she is not perfect, she can be a bit bossy, which is one of her survival skills to utilize with her 3 older brothers. We are hoping that any damage we have done is reversible and she will always be so sweet and good, time will tell. I'd keep her home with me until she was 18 if I could.