well, thought i needed some cuteness....

yep, with all that went on yesterday, the high and the low, i thought i needed to post some PICTURES of my boys....today, i took matthew to the hospital for TONS of blood work because he has been soooooo tired lately and i wanted to check to see if he had anemia or was needing some viamins, some explanation for it....

so here are some pictures of cuteness!!!

here is something ALEX did...i just thought it was SOOOO COOL! he was playing with his hot wheels and when i took a look at what he did, he made these "robots"!! look at how he color cordinated everything!! he amazes me!


my big boy JOSHUA looking so handsome!! look at those BIG EYES!!!


my boys doing EVERYTHING but looking at my camera!!


awwwww....JOSHUA with his GOWN on his head....again, those EYES!!!



Alex and Joshua TOGETHER!!!


MATTHEW on his ZEBRA!! well, the story behind this is that before a COUPLE OF WEEKS ago, it took TWO of us to KEEP him on the zebra and all of the sudden he can do it ALL BY HIMSELF!! I AM SO PROUD OF HIM!!


and this is a VIDEO of matthew that was taken at his PHYSICAL THERAPY place! he is getting better and better on his walking and look what he can do! he can STAND AGAINST THE WALL BY HIMSELF!!! AMAZING!! he could NOT do that before this summer and he use to just flop over and DEFINETLY not hold himself up! we are sooo proud of him!!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

from being happy to devistated....

i just heard some news from my TAPVR support group and one of the little guys EARNED HIS WINGS....i am in complete shock...this little guy was just about the same age as matthew AND their stories were SOOOO SIMILAR....this little guy also had TAPVR, cp, siezure disorder, delayed, the list goes on....but most of all, this little guy had been having szs just like matthew where they would last for an hour plus and would mean that he would be taken by EMS and such...we use to trade stories, news on meds and stuff...this little guy had been doing well and he passed away after having an HOUR 1/2 SIEZURE and ASPIRATING...OH MY GOD, THAT IS ONE OF MY WORST NIGHTMARES........how many times has my little guy stopped breathing or breathed inneffectively during his BIG SIEZURES?! this could have been MATTHEW!!! THIS COULD BE MATTHEW!!!!!!!!!! i am in shock and just scared.......i ran in to check on matthew as soon as i could get up on my wobbly legs because i just had to make sure he was ok....

my thoughts and prayers are with this family.....

WOWOWOWOW!! I AM SO EXCITED!!

we got the BEST news today....i am so happy and excited and just STUNNED!! what!?!? might you ask am i so excited about?!?!?!?! well, TODAY after much work to get it done WE GOT THE NEWS THAT WE WERE APPROVED FOR THE BED FOR MATTHEW ISAIAH!!!

we have been working on trying to get this bed since SEPTEMBER...it is a special needs bed called SLEEP SAFER HILO BED (http://www.sleepsafebed.com/sleepsafer_hi_lo.htm) and it is REALLY hard to get approval for it...so, we started back in september trying to get it because we knew it would be a long time coming...well, the reason it took so long was that the ORIGINAL company that we started the WHOLE LONG PROCESS with went out of buisness so we had to start FRESH again from the begining with another DME company...so, with the holidays and all, things started to get behind until FINALLY 2 weeks ago, we got it all together and sent it on to our primary insurance....well, they told us FLAT OUT that they would NOT approve this bed....they had 2 other beds that they approved but i did NOT like them whatsoever so i told the DME to get the denial and we would TRY to go thru medicaid....well, we got that denial and it came in on WED 23rd and i immediately faxed it over to the DME so that they could send it along with all the WONDERFUL paper work that the drs had worked soooooo hard on....well, it usually takes 72 hours to get a approval/denial and i got the call TODAY...the DME worker was ALSO stunned becuase it normally does not go thru the FIRST time thru and for it to go thru....WOWOWOWOWOWOWOW....THANK YOU GOD!!! soooo, she is ordering the bed and GOD WILLING we will be getting the bed SOON! matthew is getting REALLY TO BIG for his crib and he can't sleep in something that is not contained because he has his pulse ox all night plus his night feeding pump running so if he got out of bed, he could really hurt himself...well, he has also gotten STUCK in the rails of the crib (his legs & arms) because he is chuncky and i won't forget ONE TIME i thought i would have to call the fire department or someone to HELP!!!

ANYWAY, i am sooooo happy and EXCITED that he will be getting his bed sometime in the near future!! THANK YOU GOD!!! :)

awwww.....

something so touching happened today! i was going thru a tub of clothes that my best buddy D gave me, clothes that her little one had out grown...well, i finally got to it today so i could sort it and guess what i found?!?!? MY BABIES CLOTHES!!! wowowowowow....i thought i had lost ALL of them (remember, i had a big yard sale in dec 2006 the month BEFORE i found out i was pg) and i had forgotten that i had passed along all of matthew and alex clothes to my buddy because i THOUGHT i would not need them anymore and THERE THEY WERE!!! AWWWWW!! that is the BEST thing!! as i was pulling them out, i could remember seeing the 2 older boys in them and i am so happy to have them BACK so that my 3rd baby can wear it!! that is just REALLY soooooo exciting!!

i have also been making BREAD recently since it has been soooo cold....i made some yummy BANANA bread and recently, i made some pumkin bread and WOW, i sure improved on the last bach!! it is sooooo YUMMY!! the poor nurses are my guinny pigs but they said that it was really good this last one!! YUM!!

well, i have not heard from james in a COUPLE of days and i am just a bit worried. i know he is really busy, he is working 6 days on and only 1 day off...i just hope he is well...we miss him like CRAZY and just can't wait to get him home with us....i have been just DREAMING of what we would do together....just BEING together....i can't believe that it has been over 7 months since he left....josh is 5 months old now too...wowowowowow...time is flying by!!

the boys are getting better SLOWLY BUT SURELY...i am going to call the dr tomorrow because matthew has been REALLY tired recently and i just want to check his levels especially his iron level...he use to be anemic sooooo....GOD WILLING that is ALL that is going on....

wow, a week into it....

it has been a week since my kiddos started to get sick!! joshua is still coughing and matthew is still coughing....but alex and i both seem to have missed the sick train THANK YOU GOD!!!! i felt sick there for a bit but then that was it...i just hope that these 2 boys get better REALLY SOON! dr on friday said that if by 10 days down the road (31st) JOSHUA is still coughing, i need to take him BACK in and keep MATTHEW on the tamiflu for another round!!!! i was like, "you're kidding, right?!" but he just doesn't want to take the chance that matthew gets the flu!! and now, matthew is wheezing all over so we are really being aggressive with his treatments and suctioning...poor kid! although he is doing just fine, THANK GOD!!

well, tomorrow we get to get out of the house for a bit...it has been a WEEK of not going ANYWHERE, keeping the 2 kids and myself AWAY from matthew and just overall ISOLATION....alex is ready for some PLAYTIME so i just PRAY that tuesday is a BEAUTIFUL DAY so we can go to the PARK for some fun with his buddies!!! and that wed everyone is healthy enough to have some company over for some MORE playtime!! it has been HARD to keep away from matthew....i have had MINIMAL contact with him...i look in on him from the doorway and he just gives me the lip...awww...it breaks my HEART!!! but i know it is for the BEST because he DOESN'T need the FLU!! soooo, we just keep doing what we are doing and just hope that everyone gets better SOON!!

oh, and if you are wondering about the songs, well, PAUL BRANT "I DO" was james and i wedding song and our 11th wedding anniversary is coming up on FEB. 1ST!! just getting ready for it....

THE FLU....

yes, the dreaded word FLU has struck our HOME!!! and who should get it but.....JOSHUA MICHAEL!! MY ALMOST 5 MONTH OLD!! i am so sad! he started to get sick on friday night 1130pm when he woke up BURNING and had a temp of 102 and during the night he spiked to 103.6....he started to cough and such;...i acutally called our local ASK A NURSE to find out what i could do for him...poor baby...sunday, he was jut a bit fussy but with no more temp....so on today, i decided to take him and matthew, who is SUPER JUNKY and not feeling good himself (but with no temp) to see our pediatrician and after he checks out the boys, he says, he will test josh for the flu because of his high temp and BOOM!! POSITIVE!!! i could not believe it! so he gave both MATTHEW & ALEX TAMIFLU and matthew some antibiotics and poor joshua got NOTHING because he is too young! so we just pray and just hope that he gets better....just tons of cuddles, feeding, and KEEPING HIM AWAY FROM MATTHEW!! dr said, keep him AWAY because matthew getting the flu is the difference in him GOING to the hospital and not going!!! yep, matthew is sick as it is WITHOUT the flu and to put that on top would be too much for his little body...sooo, as i sit here starting to feel sick myself...i just PRAY for my boys that they get BETTER!!....my 5 month old....awwwwwwwww.....i wish james was here with us.....

I WOULD LOVE TO THANK THESE PEOPLE....

http://mainetroopgreeters.com/Site/Home-1.html

WOW, someone posted this link to a WONDERFUL group of BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE that i so wish to THANK!! who, might you ask? this is the LINK to the group of people that were THERE AT THE AIRPORT in BANGOR, MAIN when my wonderful husband landed there on his way to IRAQ!!! isn't that awesome? these people did something i could NOT do because i was sooooooo far away, and that is WELCOME them to BANGOR, MAIN and then WISH THEM WELL, GIVE THEM THANKS, AND GIVE THEM BLESSINGS as they made their way BACK on their plane that would take them far far away......i was on the phone with james as he made his way thru the group lining the hallway leading back into the plane and i could hear the men & women saying "thank you" and "be safe" and i remember starting to CRY because i was SOOOOO HAPPY THAT SOMEONE WAS THERE TO SEE THEM OFF because i could not be there and I WOULD have been there if i could have!!! i can NEVER thank them enough for giving james a WARM LOVING send off...and GOD WILLING, when they arrive BACK in the U.S. they are SUPPOSE to go back thru there...

here are a couple of statments from their webtie:

"The Maine Troop Greeters consider it an honor to meet and greet our military troops regardless of the weather or time of night and with thunderous ovations and warm welcoming smiles, have greeted over 400,000 troops. "

"It is the Troop Greeters mission to make sure that no military person will ever step back onto American soil to an ungrateful nation. These troops have left behind all the comforts of home and most importantly; they have left behind their loved ones. The greeters feel it is an honor and a privilege to welcome them to Bangor, Maine. "

"Bangor is the last American soil our troops set foot on before going over seas and the first American soil our troops set foot on when returning to the United States."


so, if you would like, take a moment and check out this site and see what they do for OUR TROOPS! it is just amazing and such heartfelt way of saying THANK YOU to our troops.....they also have PHOTOS of ALL the troops that have been thru there...i tried looking for james but could not find him! i hope someone can find their love ones.....

Junie B. Jones.....

well, today we went to see this JUNIE B JONES, A WONDERFUL, FUNNY play with the STARLIGHT STARBRIGHT FOUNDATION! i was not sure how it would go because i was not sure if the boys would be interested in it but THEY WERE!! i was not sure if we would make it because joshua had started to get sick and matthew started to sound like he was working on it too ( i think the change in the weather) but we DID and i am so glad we MADE IT! alex really enjoyed the play and was laughing and just ENGROSSED in it and matthew was laughing and dancing with the show! myself, well, i LOVED IT!! i laughed SOOOO HARD and was just having soooo much fun with the whole STORY! it was a sold out show too! the place was PACKED! when the play was done, all the cast, past right by where we were sitting and the last two cast, junie & her best friend, stopped because they just HAD to say hello to little matthew...and of course, he was just FLIRTING with him and he was giving them "the lip" and just smiling at them!! they were just so funny cause they were gushing over him!! and afterwards, we were given little books and pens so the kids could go get the cast "autographs"....well, it was PACKED with everyone getting autographs so i asked alex, "are you sure you want to stand in line to do this? there are a LOT of people" and he said, "nope, i want to get autographs" so we did!! they all responded so great to his, "can i have your autograph" question (which i thought was SOOOOO CUTE when he said it) and then when they talked to matthew, awww, they were awesome!! he would hand the little book to them and they were gaga over him and would write little messages on his book...it was really cute!

we got to take a couple of pictures with JUNIE and here they are....

alex asking for an autograph from junie b jones....


matthew asking for his autograph...


us with junie b jones....


2 of the boys outside on a BEAUTIFUL day at the theater....

FEBRUARY IS CHD AWARENESS MONTH...

well, just wanted to remind everyone that THIS UPCOMING MONTH IS CHD AWARENESS MONTH! for those that don't know, MATTHEW our 3 year old, was born with a rare congenital heart defect(CHD) called TOTAL ANOMALOUS PULMONARY VENEOUS RETURN (TAPVR). He was not expected to LIVE after he was born. we were one of MANY that had absolutely NO IDEA that anything was wrong with Matthew until he was a couple of minutes old! He was a blue baby...he would not change colors and stayed BLUE....he was transfered to another hospital where he had OPEN HEART SURGERY at 8 hours old....when he was 5 days old, they took him off ECMO (life support) to die a natural death....he is now 3 years old and is such a SPECIAL MIRACLE OF A BOY! we are sooooo proud of him (his picture montage is on the right!)...

i am so happy that there is now a MENDED LITTLE HEARTS chapter here in My hometown. it is a CHD support group FINALLY!! i am so happy and it feels so good to have them here! well, they made a montage for the upcoming week of CHD AWARENESS...please check it out!! you will see matthew in a couple of shots too!! :)


CHD Awareness

awww...my hubby is FREEZING!!

well, i spoke to james today and my poor guy....he told me he is FREEZING!! he called me at 7pm our time (4am his time) to tell me that he HAD to get up because he was sooooooooooo cold (30 degrees or less) and he just could not get warm...they are sleeping in tents with NO HEATERS and all he has is his 2 SMALL LIGHT blankets and his jacket...he was sleeping in FULL UNIFORM with boots and all, with his jacket on and his 2 little blankets TRYING to keep warm! he told me he had to get up and he went to the DSN lines are because those places are HEATED!!! I asked him if he was the only one and he said, no, all you see is everyone SHIVERING because they are sooooo cold! i felt so bad for him! i wish there was SOMETHING i could do for him....

well, we started homeschool classes again today...it was nice for ME to get back into the swing of things...alex on the other hand is having a HARD TIME! he got a bit lazy and it will take a while to get him back on track! but i am still so proud of him.....he knows how to count by TWOS, THREES, FOURS, FIVES, SIX, SEVEN...etc!! i asked him to count by 10's ...no problem!! he even tried to count by 11, 12 etc! he is SUCH A SMARTIE!! i mean, i am in AWE of this little boy! he can add and subtract with 2 numbers!! (20-5=15 etc)he LOVES math!! i love this guy soooo much! i am so proud of him! he is doing reallhy good on the bike that santa got him! he looks so cute when he is riding it!!

matthew is doing really well too in school. our new teacher comes out 2 times a week for 2 hours each. they do learning, music, art etc...much better than the 1 hour 4 times a week! i really like it and he seems to really like her! she TALKS TO HIM! trust me, that makes a difference! on a BAD note, he has had FOUR sz since the new year....2 small ones lasting LESS than a minute on the 4th & 8th and then just this SUNDAY morning at 3 am, he had 2 MAJOR ONES!! yes, he woke up at 2:30am and i went in and changed his diaper and then i just had a BAD FEELING about it so i stayed up and watched him from my room and then BAMMMM at 3:45am he started to have a sz...it lasted for about 5 mins!! so after that, i watched him again and then BAMMM at 4:19am he started to go at it AGAIN for another almost 5 mins!!! i was really starting to worry that i might end up in the HOSPITAL and call EMS because he sometimes does it that the 3rd time is a CHARM!! but THANK YOU GOD he stopped and slept...of course, i didn't sleep!! i think i had a total of about 2 hours of sleep that night....my poor baby! i was already planning and trying to remember where my pants where who i was going to call etc....i just PRAY that he stays HEALTHY with NO SZS!!!!

joshua is doing GREAT!! he is such a cutie! we love him soooo much! just today, he started SITTING!! yes, you read right...before when we would have him sit, he woudl immediatley topple over...but today, he sat up for about 20 secs or so before he went over and that was because he was reaching for something!! toooo cute! i need to take a pic of him!

well, james should be back at base camp tomorrow...i hope so for him because he needs to be where thereis a HEATER!!

and...i added some music on here that i LOVE!! just GOOD MUSIC...james and i love these artist and these songs...we say that when he gets back, GOD WILLING, we are going to DANCE to these songs...even if it is on our PATIO!! :) so enjoy! i will be changing songs as i go...

JAMES UPDATE....R&R SUMMARY...LOVE, JAMES

January 12, 2008
Camp Ali Al Salem, Iraq
Summary of R&R in Dec 07
Operation Iraqi Freedom
2007-2008

Well, here I am again, back in the Middle East. My R&R is done and now back to work. I am sending this letter out to all to let ya’ll know how my beautiful time back home was with my family and friends.

after much traveling starting from camp bucca to kuwait we waited around for our flight home....But hey, at least I knew I was on my way home to see my wife, the boys, family, and friends.

So, I waited and waited and watched some movies in the theater to pass time. I could not sleep, because I was to excited to see my boys and mamma. Then on the night of the 21st we go through customs. Boy, let me tell you customs was a pain. Once that was done, our bags where put on a truck and all I had was my carry on and what I was wearing. It was a good thing that I decided to bring my jacket with me because that night was the coldest it has been over here in the Middle East. I don’t know exact temperature, but I would have to guess that it was at least about 30 with 10mph winds, plus or minus 5 deg. Once through that they put us in 2 tents for everybody that was going home on R&R. Those tents where freezing like nobodies business. That’s why I was happy to have brought my jacket. I was this close to leaving it in Bucca. Anyway, so we stayed in the tent till morning. Then on the morning of the 22nd we got on the bus and they drove us to Kuwait International Airport. From there we got on the plane and made our way to Germany.

We left there and headed straight for Dallas, Texas. We got in Dallas between 2200-2300hrs. That’s where I had to stay again because it was to late to catch a flight to SA. That was a bummer, because now I am ONLY 3.5 hrs from home. The Army put us in a nice hotel. The next morning I got up super early, like 0400hrs and got ready and went down stairs to have a real glass of milk, milk in the Middle East is not exactly great. We then left the hotel by shuttle to the DFW Airport, and I was on my way home.

Now, the best part of it all. The landing in SA was the best thing ever. I made my way off the plane to see my wife and boys waiting for me right outside the boarding gate. Just to see the looks on my boy’s faces and my wife was just unexplainable. Alex, came at me at a slow running pace not knowing how fast to come to me. I grabbed him and gave him the biggest hug ever with kisses. I then saw Matthew holding his little arms up to me for a hug and kiss as well. I looked over and saw Mamma and Joshua to give them the same. My boys have grown so much in the past few months. Next thing you know I have them all in my arms. There was just so much love and happiness going on. It was great to see my son Joshua for the second time only. Seeing my boys and mamma meant the world to me. My heart was filled with so much love and warmth. Once we got going on our way to go get my bag from baggage claim I come through the gate not only to get my bag but to another surprise, my mom, my brother, my nieces, my nephew, my sister in-laws. my aunt, uncle, cousins, and friends. That was the warmest thing my heart has felt in a long time, knowing that I was missed by all. I was so happy to see all of them and thank them so much for coming to the airport to see me arrive. We stayed there down by the baggage claim area and talked and hugged and kissed. Then Channel 4 showed up to interview me. I came on the 5 & 10 o’clock news. That was pretty cool. And hey guess what, I didn’t cry this time on TV.

From there we went on to eat at Pico de Gallo downtown and I had me some Migas. Boy, they where good. For those that don’t know, that is my favorite dish of all times for breakfast. Once we where done with breakfast, my babydoll, boys, and me went home to a nicely decorated living & dinning room with banners and streamers. The Banner was a U.S. Flag that said “Welcome Home Daddy”. That was cool. Thank you mommy and boys. Thank you my cousin for decorating. We went up stairs to shower to get ready to head out for some more action.

Once done, getting ready at the house we headed on our way to pick up my nieces and nephew to head on out to Santa’s Ranch just south of San Marcos. My boys had been telling mommy that they wanted to go there. We make it a tradition to go see Christmas Lights every year. The boys love it so much and get so excited. We stopped off at McDonalds to get some dinner for the kids and then we went on over to Bill Millers for the grown ups. We had a blast at Santa’s Ranch. I am happy we got to do that for the boys and the kids. Mamma and I where so happy.

The next day, we did some massive last minute Christmas shopping and spent more money than we thought we where going to spend. Next thing you know it is Christmas Eve and we had my nieces and nephew come over to the house so we can celebrate Christmas with them since we would not be see them on Christmas Day. We had a good time. The following where our guest at the house: Grandma, Aunt Inglis, Aunt Indy, Tessa, Marissa, Ian, David, and a few other guests dropped by. We had Tamales with homemade Chile from mamma’s kitchen. Boy it was good. We finished the night off by mamma busting out the cookie making stuff, and we made some cookies for Santa Clause and the kids. That was fun stuff just to watch the boys and kids make and decorate the cookies. Mamma put them in the oven and boy they came out good. Once everybody left, we got some cookies & milk together for Santa and some carrots for the Reindeer. We headed on up stairs and went to bed so Santa can come and do his thing.

The next morning 25 December 2007 was on. We all woke up and put on our slippers to go down stairs to see if Santa came by, sure enough he did. He left a bunch of presents around the Christmas tree! Yeah! The boys where so excited and could not wait to open all the gifts that Santa left. It was a beautiful morning with mamma and the boys. Mamma and I had some coffee together just watching and helping the boys with all the presents. Boy, just to see the look on the boy’s faces was the best thing ever. It was like they hit the lotto or something. Remember that movie called “Christmas Story”? Well, that’s exactly how our living room looked with all the wrapping paper and toys and clothes and all the other nice gifts the boys got. And of course they want to open each box and play with them as they open. They are so silly. I love my boys and mamma like there ain’t no tomorrow. Once we got done, we went upstairs to get ready for Christmas dinner at our house. Everybody came to our house this year for Christmas and we had a great time. Mamma made an awesome turkey. I love turkey. We closed Christmas day off by playing with all the new toys the boys got. It was awesome to spend Christmas at home with my boys and mamma and not in the Middle East. Especially been my son Joshua’s first Christmas.
The rest of the days went real smooth and great. We spent a lot of family time together and did a lot of wrestling, laughing, playing and just being together as a Happy Family! Momma and I even went on a little date. We went to dinner and caught a movie. That was cool. Thanks babe.
I could go on and on about how every day went, but I would need another computer with more fingers to type. To sum it up over all, my whole leave was the best ever and now my heart is full of love and happiness to last till June 2008. That’s when the real vacation begins and my heart becomes full again for a lifetime…SSG Gonzalez signing out till later.

Love, James

JAMES IS GONE BACK NOW....

we dropped him off at the airport at 6am on tue 8th....we got the boys up and placed them in the car and then we drove off....we just talked about what a GREAT time we had these last 2 weeks and how much FUN it was to be together....and how BLESSED we were also....when we got there,


and let me tell you, when james was leaving on tuesday and we were dropping him off at the airport, we were double parked in the area where you drop off your passengers and there was this man, sitting on the back of his truck, i guess WAITING for whoever was coming off the plane.....well, as james got out of the car, i followed from my side and i noticed him watching us as james opened up the back of the truck, put his uniform hat on, and got on his uniform coat....he just kept watching...so, as james went around the truck to start giving kisses and hugs to the boys, i finally spoke up and said, "he is leaving back to IRAQ today..." he said, 'oh....IRAQ?" and i said, "yep..." and then i turned around to give my hugs and kisses to james....we just held each other and talked a bit before he let me go....we got his duffle bag out of the truck and his carry on case....and he told me, "i will walk you to the driver seat.." and as we did that and said our final goodbyes, it was soooo hard for me to drive away....he and i both had tears in our eyes but smiles on our faces...the boys where saying "goodby daddy" and as i finally drove off, i looked in my rear view mirror for my last glimpse of james, and i see him waving to us and turning around to walk into the airport and he is stopped by that man who shook his hand.....i asked james later on that day what he had said and he told me that the man had simply said, 'THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND GOD BLESS..." that is PROFOUND for these men and women who serve in the military.....PROFOUND.....i am soooo PROUD of my man and i am sooooo blessed to live in this COUNTRY.....i will not HESITATE to say "THANK YOU" to those that serve.....ALSO, here is a WONDERFUL WAY to say THANKS to our troops when you see them...i know that when i do see them, and i DON'T say THANK YOU, i always feel like, man, if i had ONLY gone up to them and said THANK YOU....well, here is a GREAT way of being able to do that....here is a short clip...it is called THE GRATITUDE CAMPAIN....click on this link... www.gratitudecampaign.org/fullmovie.php

james arrived at ALI-A-SALEM on wed 9th after traveling from san antonio, to dallas, to atlanta, to ireland to kuwait!!! he got there after over 22 hours of travel...but THANK GOD he made it fine...just trying to adjust to the change of time!

anyway, since then, we have ENJOYED viewing each other on our WEBCAMS that we got for CHRISTMAS this year!!! i know, we should have done that BEFORE but we just didn't and know that we DO have them it is sooo muc FUN! with him being able to see the boys and talk to them at the same time and also us getting to see daddy....very NICE!! we use the service SKYPE that was recommended by OTHER military families and it is FREE and MUCH BETTER QUALITY then using YAHOO or something like that!! if you do webcam, try it out!! it is REALLY NICE!! here is the link to it!: http://www.skype.com/welcomeback/?cm_mmc=google/latsearch-_-NA-US|EN-_-BD-_-campaign=NA-US|EN:BD|adgroup=skype+exact/E|keyword=skype|matchtype=Exact|creative=1039335326

anyway, we have just been trying to get back into the "normal" of things for us here at home....with APPOINTMENTS, THERAPY, TEACHERS AND SUCH....just NORMAL things again....we are all thinking about when daddy will be BACK!! we are happy and excited...the boys did very well with him being gone. i think they NEEDED to see him for a bit and now they are READY for the next phase of the deployemnt...alex knows that JUNE daddy will be home, GOD WILLING....i am EXCITED that there is LESS than 5 months left!!

matthew has had 2 sz since the begining of the year...small ones but he had them! i figured he would have them a bit more with all the change in routine and dad home and all the exitement of the holiday but THANK GOD it did not happen!! i just PRAY that they are not setting us UP!!

well, now i am up to date!! FINALLY! thanks for catching up with our family....i will now post an EMAIL i recieved from james today in the next post....enjoy!!

TIME flying by....

wow, the time is just FLYING BY....sadly....i am just getting so sad that those minutes that we are together are growing shorter..wowowowowow....we started to really cram in everything because we knew that monday was our last offical day together....we would be dropping off james on TUES 8TH...wow, just around the corner it was just flying!! i kept praying it would SLOW DOWN!!

soooo, on sunday, james got to go with us to MASS and take ALEX to his sunday school! james was really excited and he got to meet and the teacher...he even took some pictures...he was soooo proud!then afterwards we went to eat some mexican breakfast and it was soooo ymmy! we then just hung around the house and watched ALEX ride his bike because SANTA got it for him!! he LOVED his new bike!!

then on monday, our last day together, we had a kids day! we went to the ZOO with our WONDERFUL YEAR PASSES that STARLIGHT gave us and just had a BLAST!! it was nice to go as a family and just spend some fun family time together. we went EVERYWHERE but our favorite place was the TINY TOTS area where the boys did a craft and we spent about 2 hours in that area! it was soooo much fun!

and then we went to CHUCK-E-CHEESE and had some more family time! we had fun playing games, and just being together...the boys were having fun and it was just some QUALITIY FAMILY TIME...

HERE ARE SOME PICTURES....AND I WILL ALSO UPLOAD SOME PICTURES ON MY FLICKR ACCOUNT(CLICK ON THE CALENDAR ON THE RIGHT WHEN YOU SEE OUR PICTURES AND IT WILL TAKE YOU TO OUR FLICKR ACCOUNT AND PICS)!

ALEX with his new bike!


MATTHEW & JOSHUA playing together..


JAMES & the boys in a tunnel at the ZOO!!


JAMES, G-MA, G-PA, THE KIDS & ME at the zoo!!


BIG BRO ALEX & MATTHEW HAVING FUN...


BIG BRO MATTHEW & JOSHUA HAVING FUN....


DADDY & HIS BOYS WRESTLING...


OUR 3 BOYS...

HAPPY NEW YEARS......2008!!!

HAPPY NEW YEARS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!!

well, our new years started off WONDERFUL because my wonderful hubby is HOME!! :) that makes this new years AWESOME!! we spent it at james family home and we had a GREAT TIME!! we had some yummy MENUDO and just some awesome time with family. it was nice to see everyone there! we were there for a while but were home by 1000 for matthew meds and such. it was nice to be home together....we put the boys to bed and then james and i watched the firework show on the TV and from our bedroom window. that is the AWESOME thing about our bedroom is that we have a GREAT view of the skyline. we live some what on a hill and we saw all the fireworks going off all around the city. very nice and quiet!

we then spent the rest of our days of the new year just hanging out. the time keeps getting shorter together...so sad...but james and i had a GREAT DATE NIGHT on wed 2nd...it was AWESOME and so needed...james and i (and our little tag along joshua) went to eat at MACARONI GRILL (yummy) and then we went to the PALLADIUM and saw I AM LEGEND in IMAX!!! NICE! it was a great movie and we just enjoyed ourselves. it was nice to spend some time alone with james to just talk. we enjoyed our time together...can't wait to do it again!!

but here are some pictures of what was happening...

first bath together...is he BITING or giving a smooch?!?! A SMOOCH!!


FAMILY at the bbq on sat 5th!!


MORE FAMILY at the bbq!


ALEX in his little truck!! (RV sitting WAITING for us to use it!)

ALEX FIRST DEER HUNT!

What a way to start the New Year! I took Alex on his
first Deer Hunt and what a hunt it was. Thanks to my
buddy and best friend Steve that I have known since
Elementary School. Alex was successful for his first
hunt as you can see in the pics. My son did so well
out there even though we had a run in with a bunch of
Daddy Long Legs that scared my Alex and he was ready
to go home. I am happy to say that he toughed it out
and had an awsome experience and I recommend it to all
who have children to share the experience with the
outdoors. Enjoy and God Bless.
Love always,
James