HAPPY NEW YEARS YA'LL!

GREETINGS and MANY BLESSING TO YOU!!!!

we hope that the last decade has been AMAZING for everyone and that 2009 was just as wonderful! i know it has been a VERY VERY LONG TIME since i have updated ya'll on our family so i thought this would be a great time to do it!! :)

WELL, this was something i posted on my FACEBOOK so i thought i would share it here too:

HAPPY NEW YEARS! well, this decade brought MANY changes to my life one of which is MOTHERHOOD, having the most PERFECT babies ('02, '04, '07), THANK YOU GOD....it brough to me the most PURE and LOVING knowledge that MY GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD and THRU HIM, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE...GOD showed us a MIRACLE when he blessed us with MATTHEW and how AMAZING the power of PRAYER is...also, bring many new people in my life because of our Miracle baby, Matthew, who we would have NEVER had in our lives...nurse, doctors, therapist, new friends, just so many...

THANK YOU GOD for a WONDERFUL DECADE and an AMAZING 2009! on with the NEW...I WILL EMBRACE this year with all that YOU give me, knowing that i am LOVED and am BLESSED ... because i have the most important thing....GOD IN MY LIFE......

and that is just a FRACTION of what the last decade and year has been like....James and I started our family in the 2000's and what a BLESSING that has been in our lives.....

well, Alex has been doing great...he is 7!!! :) although right now, he is SICK as are ALL of us...not the way i wanted to start the new year...other than that, he is doing GREAT at his 2nd grade schooling...we are still homeschooling and he is loving every minute of it...much better this year than last when he kept TESTING me....he is such a smarty and loves to figure out things...i am hoping to get him started on SOMETHING that will having him doing some fun stuff/learning with others...maybe a sport or maybe something academic...not sure what he would love to do...if there was a CLASS on LEGOS, STAR WARS OR WII i know he would be in his element!! :) but other than that, he has found his new best friend...his baby brother josh...they are forever playing together and since baby brother totally looks up to big brother, it is a plus...he copies everythign that alex does!!! he follows him everywhere....and with matthew, well, it is definetly a test of patients when it is matthew turn at the WII and matthew loves to push the home button and drive big brother a bit crazy!!! but he loves his brother matthew and loves to just mess with him!! :) WONDERFUL big brother!

Matthew is doing fine...when he is not SICK like right this minute!!! unfortunatly, this new years brought him much illness....right now, we are doing our BEST not to let him get put in the hopsital...we just found out YESTERDAY that he has RSV....not good with his chronic lung disease...it is that ONE dx that we ALWAYS were worried if he got...soooo SCARY!!...he looks and feels really bad and is currently on oxygen, 2 antibiotics, neb treatments every 3 hours and oral steroids and a SHOT of ROSEFIN at the ER yesterday....he is barely keep his o2 sats up but he is working hard at it...poor baby....we had to dust off our oxygen equipment, it had been that long since he had been on it!! but, right now it is touch and go...he is a really sick little boy that the dr is PRAYING will stay out of that hospital...so are we!! but, onto other things, he has been doing wonderful in his kidergarden homebound class....his teach is AMAZING and he is really learning with her! he loves class time and she is teaching him SIGN!!! LOVE it!! and then his speech therapist thru the school is also amazing..he loves MS P and loves when it is time for her to come over...they are working on his talker and he is doing great!! my little man! he is also doing great in his PT/OT!!! he is sooooo close to walking now with his independent walker...he is making big strides in that department!! as for sickies, that has also been a blessing EXCEPT for tummy bugs...he has had 2 and that has really thrown his schedule off and now with RSV, well, he is doing pretty bad right now...anyway, he loves to torment his baby brother josh and loves to mess with alex...typical 5 year old!!!

well, onto our 2 year old....JOSHUA...well, what can i say....he is that little boy that has done EVERYTHING the other 2 boys NEVER have done...bite, hit, kick, jump off furniture, eat bugs, throw tantrums, not listen, and the list goes ON AND ON AND ON!!! ! OK, he is going to give me the GREY HAIRS!!! it is really funny cause it is soooooooo much 'josh, no' josh stop, etc etc...that is all you hear and he is not afraid of ANYTHING!!! he is really something....but he is sooo loving on top of that and loves to get hugs and kisses and loves to cuddle....he LOVES to follow big brother ALEX around and repeat and do EVERTHING he does....his Godfather (a police officer) asked us who taught him how to 'pretend' shoot a gun/shotgun...he is soooooo acurate on how he places his hands and how he looks down a site, it is SCARY!!!!!!! and he has been doing this since he was about a year old!! i sometimes wonder what he did in another life?!?!?! and then he is also a PRO with balls of anykind and has been since a baby! he throws a ball right at you, no matter what size, and FAR TOO and he can hit a baseball thrown at him with a bat, no matter how SMALL the ball is and how thin the bat is!!!! he can throw a basket ball in from FAR AWAY and make it and he is just a sports fiend!!! we know he will be our athletic kiddo!! he loves to TORMENT his big brother MATT and they are ALWAYS FIGHTING!!! santa had to bring them almost the EXACT SAME THING cause he knew if one had something, the other wanted that same one!!! boy, we have to keep them apart most days cause all you hear is one or the other crying or yelling!!!! anyway, he is doing GREAT!!

as for james, he is doing great too! his battalion at work is going away!! so, he is going to be getting a new position SOMEWHERE in the state of texas...we don't know what the future will bring our way or where we will be stationed but we SHOULD know by sept when it has 'J' out...but other than that, he is doing AMAZING and being in love with his boys...he can't seem to get enough of them!! :) he has enjoyed this last year home and we just pray every day that it doesn't come down that it is his 'turn' again....

as for me , well, i am doing GREAT!!!! other than having been dealing with my FIBROMYALGIA AND GERD this year, all is well. i have had many test, CT scans, MRI's, endoscopies and am currently on meds for all the above...it has been a bit stress full cause it has really escalated and i have been in pain for something everyday but it is starting to become unbearable where i need to take meds....and my GERD is back and they told me that my NISSENFUNDIPLICATION had slipped and that was why i was having so much gastro issues...so, right now, i am treating it with meds for as long as that works...we shall see what happens after that...i am just happy that FINALLY, i am being seen by a GASTRO DR and a RHEUMOTOLOGIST too!!! finally MEEEEE!! :) ANYWAY, all is going well, enjoying being with family and homeschooling! trying to get my clutter in order....when i find the time....loving my family...

if you keep up with our BLOG (www.blessingsinmylife.blogspot.com) and have noticed a LACK of content recently, it is that i am now ADDICTED (there i said it) to FACEBOOK!!! YES, facebook is such an AMAZING place to reconnect with family, friends and finding old friends.....i love the GAMES that you can play on it and just the posting of everyday life....it is a FREE website that lets you connect...it is not FLASHY like MYSPACE, no crazy music or anything, it is just a posting board where you can post 'what you are doing' and others can comment and see what is going on..with this being my 20th anniv since i graduated from high school, i have reconnected with MANY MANY friends from highschool that i had not talked to SINCE high school!!! :) and family, some that i don't ever talk to unless there is a wedding or funeral, i get to 'chat' with and keep in contact with all the time now!! it is nice to see what family and friends are doing....sooo, if you have NOT gotten a FACEBOOK ACCOUNT (www.facebook.com), come on over and look me up!! you can find me with this email address OR under my FULL NAME...i would love to connect with everyone!!

well, that is it...the FIRST LLLOOOONNNNGGGG email from me for the new year! you know you missed my letters!! ;) i have missed it too! it has been too long since i connected with everyone!! i will TRY to keep them coming!! i will try to post some pics of the kids on my blog next week and also, if you find me on FB, you can see some there too!! (hint hint!)

ok, FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS, HAPPY THANKSGIVING, MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEARS and all the other HOLIDAYS that go in between!!! we know we are soooo BLESSED to have each adn everyone of you out there!!! WE LOVE YA!!! MANY BLESSING to you and your families for the coming year!!!!!!

TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS!!!

LOVE,
JAMES, MARIA, ALEX, MATTHEW, & JOSHUA

HAD A DAY DATE...

yep, grandma watched the boys for us while james and i had a "DAY DATE" and we finished up our 'STUFF' for everyone!! yayayayayaya!!! it was nice to just get away for a couple of hours and do what we had to do....it was funny cause we stopped off at SUBWAY and i jumped off and james stayed in the car....with the kids...that were NOT IN OUR CAR!!! heheheheh...we were soooooo use to one of us jumping out and the other staying with the kids that it was just INGRAINED in us to do it!! as i was ordering, here come james out of the car and we BOTH laughed cause we were sooo use to it!!

anyway, just a GREAT friday for us!! it is soooo close!!

Alex made his RECONCILIATION!

SOOOO proud of my little guy! he made his 1st Reconciliation!! :) his first confession to a priest! that is sooooo EXCITING because he is one step closer to making his 1ST COMMUNION!!! awwww...we are so proud of him...i was SURE he would freeze when he had to actually talk to the priest but nope, he went to him, said his ACT OF CONTRITION and then all his sins etc...aww....and james and i actually went to confession too....we thought we would have to take a break from it since it had been about....10 years + since we had been!!! soooo bad! :( BUT it wasn't sooo bad...james had told me that i might have to come back and pick him up since it would take soooo long!! hahaha...

anyway, it hwas really nice to have done that as a family....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

WOW!! hard to believe that thanksgiving has come and gone and it is on to CHRISTMAS! time just seems to fly by! i look at my boys and just MARVEL that alex is now 7, matthew is now 5 and the BABY is now 2!!!! wow!

this year we had a great thanksgiving...we went to the in laws and then spent some time with the kids and their family! it has been a NICE relaxing time!!! now alex and daddy are on the boat for a little fisihng while i stay at home with the little ones!! NICE!

well, FACEBOOKING has taken over all my time with blogging...i am sad that i have not been keeping up with my blog!! :( i love having this record of my life...well, i guess AGAIN, i need to start working on it!!! AGAIN!! i think i have said this at least 3 times, right>!>! well, if you want to follow me on FACEBOOK just look me up by queengonzo at yahoo dot com....i would love to follow YOU there too!!!

ok, gotta run finish my cleaning and stuff....HAPPY THANKSGIVING YA'LL!!!

well...is anyone ELSE freaked out yet...

with all this FLU?!?!?! my dh and and i were talking about this that years previous, you MIGHT have heard ONE family that got the flu....NOW....it is EVERYWHERE! SO SCARY! WE are soooo worried about our family catching it...we have heard soooo many of our families that have all cought it and we just sit here and wait?! it's scary...

anyway, we are all doing GREAT, THANK YOU JESUS! it has been a good week, just hangin out and working on our family...alex is doing AMAZING in 2nd grade...matthew is doing AMAZING in kinder with his teacher....joshua is doing AMAZING being a 2 year old!! :)

today, i had a couple of friends and we went to THE MOVIES to see....FAME!! my all time FAVORITE movie (ok, the original was) so i was eager to see this one....i actually had the soundtrack of the ORIGINAL movie on a RECORD and i have the VHS tape of the movie!! :) LOVE IT!

today...

would have been my moms 67th BIRTHDAY!! :( she is soooo missed...she left us almost 6 years ago and she never met MATTHEW and JOSHUA....i know she would have been soooo in love with them...with ALEX, her FIRST grandchild, she SPOILED him and loved him soooo much i can only IMAGINE what she would have thought of her other 2 grandchildren!! James and i always think of her and remember her baking, cooking, going with us camping and on our trips....she LOVED to cook and we use to have SUNDAY BRUNCH at her house with all of her brothers and sisters...it was such a time of laughter and being silly with family...that is missed...i feel that when my mom passed away, a part of HER family (brothers and sisters) was missing too....we don't get together anymore as a family for brunch.....that is missed by ME and my family...i LOVED those times of being together with my family....my grandmother lived with my mom and then we would have all of her bro and sis and their families, make homemade tortillas, carne guisada, menudo, beans and any type of taco filling you could think of....all HOMEMADE!!! fun fun fun....since she passed, we don't do that anymore...sooooo sad....

but just wanted to say.....MOM, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! MY BOYS STILL LET THEIR BALLOONS GO TO HEAVEN SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE THEM TOO!! WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!

I'M BACK!!! :)

hola there.....it has been soooo long since i have blog...i am sad that i have let it go....i have been CONSUMED (VERY ADDICTED) to FACEBOOK and i seem to post EVERYTHING there....i need to reconnect with my blog cause this is my RECORD of our life....sooo, i am BACK and i am going to make a promise to myself that THIS is where i need to post what is going on in my life FIRST!!! (BUT if you want to follow me on FACEBOOK, look me up!!:)

well, since i am back, i need to update on myself....i have had a fun filled last couple of months of FINALLY getting myself checked out....i have ALWAYS had a lot of problems in my life such as GASTRO, FIBRO, etc....so, i finally got myself an appt with a GASTRO, a RHEUMOTOLOGIST, and my dr and got things rolling...i have had MRI'S, ENDOSCOPY/COLONOSCOPY, UPPER GI's...i am now on 3 medications (2 for pain, 1 for gastro) and it is pretty bad...but i am FINALLY getting myself taken care of!!!

well, MATTHEW started school last week and he is doing AMAZING!!!!! YESTERDAY, he READ for the FIRST TIME!!! nad what do i mean about that? well, the teacher showed ome on monday a sheet of paper with 3 words on it (MATTHEW, MOMMY, DADDY) AND she would flip the card over and he would then SAY dada, when MOMMY came up he would point to MEEEEEE and when MATTHEW would come up, he would point to himself!!! is that not MAAZING?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?! what a MIRACLE!!!

JAMES ALEX II is now 7 YEARS OLD!!

wow, where have the years gone too?? it is so hard to believe that my baby boy is now 7 years old and is in the 2nd grade! i am just so proud of this little boy and to remember when he was a little baby...my first little guy....

he was the one that we had waited for for SOOOOO long! over 5 years of trying before this littel miracle entered our life...and what a miracle he IS!! when i think of how what a 'RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT' moment....when i see how much he has GROWN in the recent years and how AMAZING he is...my heart fills with JOY! sometimes, i feel like i am too hard on him because he is the oldest and i have to remind myself that he is still a little boy even though he might ACT like he is a TEENAGER!! he is so smart that i sometimes forget....but oooohhhhh how i love that little boy....i am just in awe of him.....

well, to you baby boy, MOMMY AND DADDY AND YOUR 2 BABY BROTHERS LOVE YOU LIKE NO OTHER!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEX! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

We are on vacation!!!!!

Hey there. Just wanted to say that we are officially on vacation!!!! One wonderful week together
rving at corpus Christi....we are at theNAS naval base rv park....it is beautiful here and so open
and spaceous!! we love it! We will be here for one whole week! Can you believe it $90 for the whole week?

I will post later when I can ....

GIVE KIDS THE WORLD NEWSLETTER!! :)

HEY THERE!!! just wanted to share withever one the GIVE KIDS THE WORLD newsletter!!

here is the link to that site:

http://www.gktw.org/newsletter/mm_summer_2009.html

ENJOY!!! :)

ME......

hello and WOW...it has been a LONE time since i have been around here!! sorry...life has been so busy with getting a new pool and just being busy in everyday stuff!!

well, this post is about ME...such a wierd way of doing it but i don't think i have many 'ME' post here!!! :) and this is my blog....hmmm??!! but as of today, i FINALLY after several years, been able to get some important APPOINTMENTS done!! for ME!!

sooo, i had 3 APPOINTMENTS that where for me and my issues...

sooo, last week, i had an appt for my ARM...i think i have talked about this right arm before but i FINALLY, 3rd times the charm, had a DOCTOR that would HELP ME with my ARM!! you see, my forearm hurst SOOOOOOOO BAD and can bring me to my KNEES when someone hits it or even taps it...i always say that if you are EVER mad at me and want to get at me, just hit me on my ARM!!! i start to CRY I( and you KNOW i am not a crier) when it is hit...it is osoooooo intense! anyway, i have gone 3times before on this issue in the last 2 years and the first time, they told me it was CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME, gave me a BRACE and sent me on my way....NO RELIEF...so i went back and this time , they told me it was TENNIS ELBOW and gave me a DIFFERENT brace and vitamin D and excersises....again, with NO RELIEF...so, this time, i went in AGAIN, armed with I AM GOING TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS additude and i had an AMAZING dr that actually listen to me and REALLY checked me out....she doesn't know what is wrong but now the pain has radiated to my SHOULDER and it is getting REALLY REALLY BAD....so, i am getting an MRI of my shoulder and arm, she is going to see what is wrong and MIGHT send me over to NEUROLOGY for my arm if there is nothing showing on the MRI and for my shoulder, she thinks maybe a TEAR and maybe i might need a steroid shot?!..but SOMETHING IS FINALLY BEING DONE!!! soooooooo happy!!! I pray nothing is wrong but still, at least they are looking at it!!

sooo, then yesterday, i had an appt with a DIFFERENT dr (but still in my team) on my FIBRO issue....i also did lab work for a cholesterol screening and such (which was AMAZING!! :) my bad colesterol(ldl) was 69, my good cholesterol(HDL) was 92 and the only thing HIGH was my triglycerides at 195...but she said because my good cholesterol was so AMAZING she said it canceled out any of the BAD!! :) soooo, YAY for me! anyway, onto the FIBROMYALGIA appt...well, we talkeda bout it and such and i told her that since i was diagnosed back on july 2003, i have not been followed by a REUMETOLOGIST since then!!! yup! so, she ordered some blood work and she did the PRESSURE POINTS on me at i had 16 out of 18 points that HURT!! YIKES!! it was horrible...i am ALWAYS in soooo much pain but i have just learned to deal with it...i couldn't really do anything for myself because i was either trying to get pg, pg, nursing so i didn't like to take meds! she got onto me and told me that i needed to take care of ME!! so she prescribed me FLEXIRIL (which i took last night and it PERECT cause i didn't feel tired the next day) and some 800MG IBUPROFIN...she said she would try to get me in to a REUMOTOLOGIST appt after i get my blood work ( i did some more blodd work today)...

and then TODAY, i had my appt for GASTRO/SLEEP...well, it was the same doctor as yesterday and we started to talk....i told her my previous history, about beind diag since i was 15 and having my NISSEN FUNDO in 1999 and that since i had that, i had NOT been back to a gastro since THEN!! i started to think about it and thought i need to get back to see a gastro....also, the last 2 years, i started to get HEARTBURN again, tummy issues and diahrea...also, my chest pains and such...so i KNEW ti was coming BACK!! the nissen is suppose to hold for 15 years but since i had had 3 kids since it happened, i figured that maybe the pressure of having the kids might have added some years to me! THEN i started to worry because i USE to have polyps (in the colon) before and i had not been checked in 10 years and then the reason that i had the NISSEN is because i had the begining of BARRETS ESOPHAGEAL SYNDROM which is basically ESOPHOGEAL CANCER...and i had not had a check up in over 10 years...yeah, that is BAD!!! :( anyway, i don't know WHY i started to think of that but i did...so, i am going to get a consult to GASTRO and while i was at the office and she was doing a check up on me, she noticed something...she was like, WHAT IS THAT? and i was like, huh? she said that she had not noticed that yesterday and when she pointed it out, i told her that i had had that for a while and i always that thought it had to do with my FIRBRO and being stressed...well, she said, i don't think so...and now i have to have an ULTRASOUND on my neck/shoulder because she said that there is a MASS there, which i saw and now i am SLIGHTLY freaked out about....she said that it is not normal but she didn't feel any lumps more of a squishy MASS on my shoulder...i just pray it comes out ok!

soooo, there it is...a post about ME!! :) and most of it is good becuase i am finally taking CARE of ME!! that had been on the back burner for so long...but now, it is about ME and taking care of ME!! :) hey, i like that word...MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME!! LOL

anyway, so now i am on NEXIUM, FLEXIRIL, IBUPROFIN and i am getting an MRI and ULTRASOUND and i am getting consults to GASTRO for sure, possibliy to REUMOTOLOGY and NEUROLOGY...i have had 2 panels of BLOOD WORK done...wow, all in a weeks time! not too shabby! i just pray that all the results are just as great as the cholesterol screening!! :)

the POOL IS UP!! :)

YES, after much talk back and forth, we finally did it....we bought an ABOVE GROUND POOL!! :) soooo, excited and happy! our boys LOVE to get in the water so this is a WELCOME addition to our family...it is nothing fancy but it is PERFECT! it is a 15' x 48" pool and it is sooooo awesome! the boys are all so excited about getting in! they can't WAIT for it to fill up!! neither can WE!!

ANYWAY, I will have to upload some pictures of it...we decided to put the pool near the privacy fence...it is a secluded spot with nobody's windows looking onto it!! i LOVE THAT SPOT! so excited it fit just right!

anyway...more pictures coming SOON!

so i am reading this book and WOW...

i am a BIG BIG BIG romance reading kinda gal..i read about 2-3 books a week on a good week...just my way of 'getting away'...anyway, i am reading this book by LORI WICK "bamboo & lace" is the name and i hadn't really realized that it is Christian based and it is pretty cool and giving me INSIGHT!! :) gotta love that...well, there have been a couple of passages that have really hit home and made me THINK...and i just started the book but i just had to blog about it!! sooo...

just a quick thing"IS God in charge here or not? when did He call and tell you to take over? be yourself with these people! Say things you're thinking and stop fearing their rejection." and of course that is soooo me! i am SOMETIMES struck mute because i want to say something but i FEAR being thought of wrong or saying the wrong thing...i need to trust more in GOD and just know that he will put the words i need in my mind!!!

and then this: "I use to get angry with Evan and Peter when they ddidn't do things my way. Then I understood that all anger is directed at God. If He's in control-and of course He is-then my growing angry at any situation menas that i disagree with His rule and authority" and WOW...well, i tend to get angry with alex a BUNCH when we are doing school work and he is just soooooooo lax and not really doing his best and just taking his time...why? he is doing his work....but it FUSTRATES ME because i know, that if he just worked a bit FASTER, he could finish and be able to play and such...i don't need to do that!!!

anyway, just something i am reading and is making me think things thru!!! so far so good on the book too!! :) pretty cute!

so james is OFF!!

yep, today is the start of 2 weeks without our beautiful DH....we dropped him off early this am before 6am and don't expect him back for about 14 days....awww....and as soon as he was gone, i was OFF CLEANING!! what is WITH THAT? whenever james leaves, i CLEAN....my house is NEVER as clean as it is when he is gone...i don't know if that is good or not....

anyway, i have been REALLY LAZY in updating my blog but starting today, i am going to up load all the pictures from the party and blog about what an AMAZING birthday party we had for MATTHEW....i just need to get a move on it!!

GETTING BAPTISED!! :)

so today, we BAPTISED TRISTAN (our new GOD son!), JOSHUA & finished getting MATTHEW baptised....he WAS already baptised in the operating room on his day of birth but he had to be introduced to the community and annointed with the oils! it was GREAT!!!

our son JOSHUA Godparents and our family have a GREAT bond....trisha (my cousin) actually introduced james and i!! and she met HER hubby that day of the party where i met james too!! :) we were PADRINOS in thier wedding and they were our PADRINOS in our wedding....we baptised their son Tristan!! :) it was a really nice ceremony...the decon said that that was the FIRST time he had ever baptised someone that had had an EMERGENCY baptism!! he said it was REALLy specail and rare for that to happen...he said that most babies don't make it....such a MIRACLE our little guy is!

so, here are some pictures of that beautiful day!