WELL, today i turn 35 years old!!

wowowow....i sure don't feel 35 and i don't think i LOOK 35, or so people tell me..but i AM 35 as of today!! amazing and THANK YOU GOD! i miss my hubby....i did have a wonderful day today...in the morning, me and my boys, the nurse, my wonderful cuz & her boy and my mil met for breakfast at dennys!! very nice! then i got a call from my local video store saying i could get a free video because it was my bday so off we went to rent videos!!! then i ordered pizza for the boys and i for dinner....it was a WONDERFUL DAY but it was also very lonely and empty without my husband...i miss him sooooo much.....gosh, it is going on 4 months without him home. i just thank GOD that i get to talk to him about once a day! i LOVE that!! and i have such a WONDERFUL HUSBAND....a couple of days ago, he sent me 2 cards in the mail....one the sender was from HIM to ME and the next card was FROM THE BOYS to ME....he sent me 2 birthday cards one from him and one from the boys....that is my husband...that is they kind of person he is!! i am just sooooo blessed because he thinks of these things....i love him for who he is and what he means to me and my boys.....i miss him........

MENDED LITTLE HEARTS MEETING.....

well, today i went to my first meeting of the MENDED LITTLE HEARTS....this is a WONDERFUL organization that is devoted to parents of kiddos with CHDS....FINALLY there is something here in san antonio....it AMAZED ME that after matthew was born and i went looking for support here in san antonio....there was NOTHING here!! with SOOOOO MANY heart hospitals and patients here, NOTHING!! i wanted to have something and start it up but i just never had the time i needed to do it! but i am SOOO HAPPY that they are here now...the meeting was great and very informative and also very encouraging! they are going to have care packages, hospital visitations, & just support for other families going thru a HEART BABY....

anyway, i am sooo happy and excited to meet other families that have heart babies...to learn about them and to be part of the "heart family" that i am part of...i just pray that more people come and join so that others can get the support they need....

so i was right....

although he could not "confirm or deny" that they were being bombed (or whatever) i did ask him if that was the first time it had happen to him while there and he said YES and then i asked him if there was places they had to go to (bomb shelters) and he said YES sooooo that answered my question!! he is FINE and it was probably more of a scare for ME than HIM but he is doing GREAT!! i asked him if he was going to be DIFFERENT then when he left here and he said the ONLY thing that would be DIFFERENT would be that he would be TWENTY ONE POUNDS LIGHTER as of RIGHT NOW!!! OMG I AM SOOOOOOOO PROUD OF HIM!!! i know how much that means to him! he has tried SOOOOOO HARD to lose weight forever and now he is 21lbs lighter!! VERY NICE! i told him that since the day he left here (after i had joshua) i am EIGHTEEN POUNDS LIGHTER and 13lbs lighter PRE PREGNANCY!!!!! i am going to TRY to lose 30 lbs or MORE by the time he comes home in june!!! i KNOW i can do it! I am almost 1/2 there!

anyway, all is well.....i will just keep praying for him...

james worried me today....

james called me a couple of minutes ago and i am really worried about him even though he said not too.....while on the phone with him, he suddenly said, "WHAT WAS THAT?!?! I HAVE NEVER HEARD THAT SOUND BEFORE!!!" and i was like, "what sound? was it a bomb? explosion?" and he said, "i think so, i don't know!! they were doing some firing range stuff......babe, i gotta let you go RIGHT NOW!" and in the background i heard the sirens go OFF!! i knew they were those sirens that warn you that SOMETHING was coming or is there!! talk about FREAK ME OUT!! he told me he had to run and not to worry and that was it!! he hung up.....wowowowow....i told him he BETTER call me ASAP.....i will just pray that everything is ok.....

1st HOMESCHOOLER PLAYDATE!

WOWOW! we had a GREAT TIME today at the park! i had been wanting to take alex to this, they meet every tues, but because of things going on, i had not been able to but today we WENT!!! :) it was a big step for me and for him too! but we did go out and i met some VERY NICE AND WONDERFUL people that were also homeschooling their children! there was about 30-40 kiddos there ranging in age for infant thru teenagers and it was so awesome to SHOW alex that he was not the only one and that there were PLENTY of other families that homeschooled too! it was really nice for me as a mommy to talk to others about this! so many people don't understand my desire to homeschool my kids but these people DID!! and they gave me some great ideas! and alex was a bit timid at first but after a bit, he was off and running with other kiddos! i LOVED watching him play with other kiddos.....it was really nice! alex asked me if we could come again and of course, i said YES that i could not WAIT to come back....neither could he!

busy busy busy!!

well, it has been a busy week last week but we MADE IT!!! first, matthew has been sick but thank you GOD he is doing BETTER!!! :) he has been on TWO round of ORAL STEROIDS (this kid will be BUFF) and then a 10 day dose of antibiotics.....and TONS AND TONS of NEB treatments with both albuterol & atrovent! we also have started a new med for him called SINGULAIR....i just PRAY that these last 3 months are not an indication of what the winter months are gonna be like!!!! since july 12, he has been sick first for 7 weeks and now for 2 weeks!!! YIKES!!!!!! and it is not like we go anywhere!! we think he is picking it up at his therapy sessions....we just have to be more careful now!! i am hoping the nurses do a better job in germ control....anyway, he is doing REALLY good and starting MONDAY, he is starting PRESCHOOL HOMEBOUND!!! i am soooo happy and excited for him!! his teacher comes in 4 times a week for an hour! he is a very busy guy! his language is coming along well too! just the other day, he CLEAR AS DAY said OUTSIDE!!!! he wanted to go OUTSIDE and kept saying it!!

alex is doing wondeful in class!! he aslo had his 2nd day of sunday school and he did GREAT!! i am sooooooo proud of him! he made it thru the whole thing!!!

james is doing great too! he works 12 hours on and 24 off and he is basically a prison guard! i told him, you go into work with A BIG SMILE on your face and you make sure everyone knows how HAPPY you are to do what you are doing!!!!! id on't want them to get any ideas that he is not happy and put him on a different duty!! he laughs at me and agrees with me! i am soooo happy he is where he is! he also calls me almost everyday!! that is sooooo nice!! 8 more months......

CAMP BUCCA UPDATE....09/20/07

Hello all, just want to let ya'll know if I have not by now, but I am finally here in Iraq and all is well. It is really hot but hey we from SA are used to the heat, But boy it is really hot. I finaly got started at work and it is pretty interesting. Something I'll probaly never wanna do in my life time again, but I am doing great and it is just gravy. I can't really say what I am doing but I am doing fine and all. I wish they had a pond over here with some Bass brought in from Florida or something. Maybe that will be the request I'll put in before I go back home. Bueno take care and I'll talk to you guys later. Oh, my schedule is pretty much work, work out, sleep, eat, watch movies, and get on the internet when I can, like now. Babe I'll send you another in a while.
Love and miss all,
James

ALEX 1ST DAY OF SUNDAY SCHOOL....

awwwwwwww.....today was alex first day of sunday school at our church and it was such a BIG STEP for BOTH OF US! for me, on thursday when i procrastinated till the LAST DAY to register him because james wasn't here and it was such a big thing for us....with daddy not here...so, today, i took him to church by 8am....he was SOOOOO HAPPY AND EXCITED to be going...that is what he had been talking about for a couple of days....i didn't know how he would take it because this is the FIRST TIME he has EVER EVER EVER been away from ME for ANY length of time!!! the only other times he has been with GRANDMA when there is drs appts or babies being born!!!! i was REALLY worried that he would maybe pitch a fit or not want to stay but he DID and he did GREAT!!!! he did have a bit of drama towards the end of his day when they were apparently singing and it was just too much for him and he started to get upset because he did not want to stand or anything and they ended up bringing him to me about 10 mins before everyone else because he was crying...you have to remember that he is being homeschooled so this is the first time in a classroom.....but i was SOOOOOO PROUD OF HIM! he did SOOOOOOO GREAT! i just told him that next time he would do better and just do what the teacher tells him he told me OK! he did awesome!

as for me, it was SOOOOOOOO LONELY at church without james or my other family members around me....matthew was home sick with the nurse and of course james was gone....it was just me and joshua until alex got there....it was really sad...i got tearied thinking of james...i miss him sooooooo much....on to james, he made it to camp bucca yesterday and since then i spoke to him THREE TIMES!!!!!!! THREE TIMES IN 2 DAYS! that is soooo awesome! it seems that it is EASIER to get on the phone there than it was in KUWAIT...i am ALL FOR THAT! he said it is going to take some time to get use to it because it is VERY DIFFERENT than KUWAIT....not sure exactly what that means but i guess he will let us know!!! :) anyway, it is just GREAT knowing he got there safetly and that he is ok....he also had to buy a mask because it is soooooooooooooo sandy (sand storms) that he said he can't BREATH with out one so he walks around with one on!! wowowowow...

anyway, we just miss him and can't wait for him to come HOME....SAFETLY AND HEALTHY..

Matthews sick again.....

my baby boy....on wed, he woke up moaning and coughing and SURE ENOUGH, he had a TEMP and was sooooooo congested!! so we started increased neb treatments every 3 hours and just watching him....well on friday, i decided to take him to the drs because he was still REALLY congested and just not acting himself or anything and not tolerating his feeds....i was really nervous because our regular WONDERFUL pedi was not in that day and i had to make an appt with his associate and his pulmonologst couldn't see him either...well, he had CRACKLES & WHEEZES in both his lungs and he was calling it PNEUMONIA!! YIKES! so he gave him an antibiotic and started him on his ORAL STEROIDS AGAIN!! has it only been 3 weeks since he got over his LAST illness that lasted MORE than SEVEN WEEKS?!?!?!?!?! OMG, here we go AGAIN and it is not even WINTER YET! THAT is what is sooooo scary!! and the ONLY place he leaves the house to is to THERAPY and that makes me think that that is where he is catching this stuff, even though he is not around THAT many people but i guess it doesnt matter!!! right now he is on oxygen cause his oxygen sats are not going up;.. my poor baby.... and i STILL CAN NOT CARRY HIM!!! makes me sad....i had to call my MIL to come over this evening so that she could get him into bed because the nurse leaves at 3:30p and i can't leave him in his crib that long!!

anyway, i just PRAY PRAY PRAY he gets better SOON!!!!

VIDEO...

here is video of daddy meeting joshua for the first time...

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DADDY TALKING TO JOSHUA...MY FAVORITE VIDEO....


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just a couple of pics...

i know he is 16 days old but i had not been able to get any new pics out there so here are a couple from when he was just born thru a couple of days ago!

DADDY AND JOSHUA... MOMMY MEETS JOSHUA... DADDY FEEDING JOSHUA BEFORE MOMMY GETS THERE... JOSHUA IN HIS NEW SWING... JOSHUA LOOKING CUTE!!!

heard from james and other stuff....

helllo everyone! i hope all are doing great!!!

well i heard from james yesterday and it was really NICE!!! we talked a good 30 mins and just to hear his voice ...u just dont know how wonderful it was.....anyway, he is doing fine but he said he was really lonely for his family.....he said he just thinks about us all the time...he gave me a list of everything he did while the were still in KUWAIT and he is just bored.....he longs to hear from family & friends via mail or email.....he just thinks about us all day long as we do here back at home...i am going to send him as MANY calling cards as i can get for him because that cost soooo much! i actually called ATT and they said that the calling cards at the PX are the best price and rate!! he bought a card that had 300 mins for $20 + and it only has 80 international minutes...he was pretty ticked!! and if you think about how LITTLE 80 mins is when talking to love ones.....anyway, i am going to get him some more from here...anyway, he is doing great just ready to start his mission GOD WILLING at camp bucca and no where else!! he is still in KUWAIT and should be leaving this week to camp bucca...

well onto family issues...all is well here at our home....my MIL left this weekend so we are on our own again! i still can't lift matthew but with the nurse leaving at 7:30pm, matthew is in his crib and just relaxing until he is ready for bed. on wed, i won't have anyone so he will be in his crib for a lONG TIME unless i just take a chance and carry him down. i think i can do that but i KNOW i can't lift him INTO the crib!! i SHOULD have a night nurse that comes in at 5 pm so that should be taken care of! i have had a couple of appointments today...one was a the ARD meeting at the elementary school for MATHTEW so he could get his homebound teacher started...i am soooo happy andexcited for him!! he is going to be one BUSY guy ( not that we are not already!) on TUE and THUR he a OT/PT/ST all in a row that last for 2 hrs 15 mind total! and then he will have a teacher for at least 1 hour up to 4 times a week! i am soooo excited! well, then later today i had our weekly appt with JOSHUA'S dr for a wt check! last week, at 3 days he was 5 lbs13 oz, at 5 days he was 5 lbs 6 oz and at 6 days he was 5 lbs 13oz and at 10 days he was 6 lbs 1 oz and today at 16 days he was 6 lbs 8 oz!!! so we are in the CLEAR!!! we don't have to be back until he is 2 months old for shots!! not that i am looking forward to that but at least he is GROWING! he looks sooooo cute and he is such a CUTIE PIE! and his eyes are BEAUTIFUL!! i just love glazing into them....i sure wish james was here cause he is such a WONDERFUL daddy that i KNOW he would be all over him....anyway, the boys are doing fine and they are also just loving on joshua!

tomorrow, i am taking alex to his first HOMESCHOOL PLAYDATE at a park! i am really excited for him!! and me too so i can meet other parents that homeschool! it should be really nice!!! today, alex was acting up a bit and he he got in trouble...but he informed me that he would ONLY do it on MONDAYS so he is DONE for the week!! hehehehehehe...

here are some pics.....

james sent these pics....they are from his EL PASO TRAINING except for the last one..





This is where he landed at in KUWAIT....

hello everyone...

well, all is going well with my little family!! joshua is getting fuller, you can tell. last week, he lost some weight but i think he MUST be gaining it back! on thurs he was down to 5lbs 9oz but by friday he was up to 5lbs 13oz!! :) he is such a cutie and we have our FIRST BURPER!!! yep, out of all three babies, i have not had any that actually BURPED!!! alex NEVER burped no matter HOW much you pounded on the kid and joshua does!! he is such a cutie! he also has spit up 3 times now! another first! and he is a crier! the other 2 really never cried and when they did, we were in awe of them! joshua can cry! but i LOVE IT! all his little newborn clothes don't fit him! thye are too big!! i LOVE it! also, we hade to go out and by more NEWBORN DIAPERS because we didn't think we would need that many but BOY where we WRONG! the little tabs actually OVERLAP they are so big!!! but he looks soooo cute in them! he is also pooping and peeing GREAT!!

well, james called today and it was soooo nice to hear from him! we talked for about 30 mins and it was just NICE!! i love being able to talk to him. we didn't talk AT ALL yesterday and that was the FIRST TIME since he left that we had not talked ALL DAY! but i know it will be harder now so i understand! he just wanted for me to let everyone know that he is doing FINE and that it is VERY VERY HOT out there! he said something like 120 degrees!!!! they have been just hanging out at this camp in KUWAIT called CAMP BUEHRING and he said it is really nice for a base in the desert! they have a HUGE dinning hall out there and he said it was kinda wierd how they get transported places. they have to be in a bus with the windows closed and curtained off. kinda spooky! he said that they should be transporting them over to their base camp on THURSDAY and i think i mentioned that their base camp is called CAMP BUCCA and GOD WILLING this is where he will STAY and not MOVE FROM!! he told his commander that he wants to run the GYM or KITCHEN DUTY if he has too!! :) such a funny guy! i love him! anyway, he is doing fine just missing his boys. he said he will soon have the internet so he can contact everyone that way!! he has also put in for leave in december sooooo that will be nice! :) GOD WILLING they will let him come home! he wants to be here for CHRISTMAS for the boys.....i also have given him the link to post directly onto the blog so he will be doing that STRAIGHT from IRAQ soon! so be on the look out....he said he wants to post some pics from over there!!



well, off to go run some errands now that matthew is almost asleep!! i will update some more soon!!!

JAMES MADE IT TO KUWAIT!

i was sooooo happy to JUST get a phone call from him even if it lasted about 10 secs! he JUST called to let me know he had made it SAFETLY to KUWAIT, THANK YOU GOD!! i am soooo happy and i know that i will have a GREAT night tonight because i heard from him!!!! THANK YOU GOD!

sooo, if you have not figured out yet, this will be the place that i will be updating on james journey overseas! so, come often to find out any and all news!!

thanks for the conitnued prayers for james and all soldiers around the world...

So my wonderful husband....

has left our beautiful country....yesterday and today were hard days for me. i have just thinking of him leaving and just the REALITY of it happening has been a bit much.....i know he has been gone now since JUNE BUT he has been here in the states AND we had cell phone contact SEVERAL times a day and EVERYDAY.....i knew he was just right down the road from us.....and now...he is not....so, i have been crying and just worried about him and just the emotion of it all....yesterday was a long day for them because they were getting ready and packing and just WAITING for the time they would leave...we talked on and off ALL DAY which was very nice....they got on the buses at about 1000pm our time to go out to the airport and they didn't leave until 1:30am our time!!! i was really sad that there was NOBODY there to see them off....and i don't mean family because most of these troops are not from around here but maybe a committee or a VFW or something, SOMEONE there to show them we are behind them....if i could of i would of!! anyway, they left EL PASO and traveled to BANGOR, MAINE....they arrived there at 6:15am and he was able to call me then and we got to talk....he said that there was a WHOLE BUNCH OF PEOPLE from the VFW there to meet them and tell them THANK YOU....i was SOOOO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT! it caused me to cry because i know it meant sooooo much to them! we got to talk for a bit and then he called me at about 7:00am to say that they were all getting back on the plane on their way to HUNGARY and i could hear again all the VFW people there telling them to be careful, hurry back, be safe, and one told james "tell your wife THANK YOU for her sacrifice" because he was on the phone with me and again, i started to quietly weep....they will lad in HUNGARY and then their next stop is KUWAIT...and now he is gone....i don't know WHEN i will next hear from him....it makes me so sad to know that he is not just AROUND the corner....or just across the state....he is far far far far far away......i know that i am just ONE MORE WIFE out there that this is happening to....i know this is not an isolated event and others have done it some MANY TIMES but it still doesn't make it any easier....i will just PRAY PRAY PRAY that he arrives safelty and that he COMES HOME HEALTY AND SAFE......

another thing that is getting me is that i will not HEAR HIS RING TONE for at least another YEAR......you don't realize how IMPORTANT and how SPECIAL that certain ring tone that you have designated for your love one is until you know you will not hear it again for a VERY VERY VERY LONG TIME....i sit and look at my phone and just get so sad because he was the one that mainly called me and the one that i just WAITED FOR....and now it will not have that special ring of his....i am shutting off his phone today and that is hard step for me to do.....just things are so final now and so sad because i know i will not hear that CERTAIN RING TONE that is ALL JAMES...MY HUSBAND MY VERY OWN TRUE LOVE....I WILL MISS HIM SOOOOOOO......

please pray for him and all the other soldiers...................