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!

soooo, we had a BIRTHDAY PARTY....

for matthew!! :) i know sooooo last minute but it just couldn't be helped! we decided about 2 weeks in or less that.....but it went SOOOO WELL! we had NEVER had so little time to put it all together...we also had a BAPTISM on SUNDAY for both JOSHUA, TRISTAN (i am a GOD MOTHER NOW!!!) and MATTHEW!!! soooo we were REALLY BUSY!

anyway, we had a GREAT turn out and it was SOOOO NICE to see so many of our friends and family there!! we had about 60 people there...just PERFECT! sooo, i just wanted to share with you some pictures of this day!!

YUMMY!! CAKE!


ALEX HITTING THE PINATA! (THING ONE)


JOSHUA GETTING IN THE ACTION! (THING THREE)


JUST SOME ACTION!! (THING TWO)




soooo happy it turned out WONDERFUL! the weather was just BEAUTIFUL and the wind was blowing just soo....just enough to keep it cool and NO MOSQUITOS!! :)

went out to dinner for MATTHEW'S BIRTHDAY!

just had to share some pictures with ya! if you can't tell, i FINALLY got my program working to download my pics from my camera (thanks BIL!)...sooo, we went and took matthew out to eat at GOLDEN CORRAL because there is PLENTY of yummy stuff for him to eat there and he LOVES to eat there!! my MIL and FIL and our family went ther and it was just sooo nice to watch him eat and such....towards the end of the dinner, we had the wait staff come and SING for him HAPPY BIRTHDAY and it got me going...i did not THINK that would happen but there i was, CRYING...and i mean REALLY crying! i don't know...it was just so AMAZING to watch him be sooo happy and soo excited as we all sang to him...he was just sooo HAPPY...again, he is FIVE YEARS OLD!!! i remember it well when they didn't expect him to live past his first DAY!!! THANK YOU GOD FOR EVERY SECOND OF MY MATTHEW'S LIFE!!!! it was so neat because a fellow diner gave him $5 and he got soooo excited!!

sooo, here are some pictures of his DAY!!

MY SON.....THANK YOU GOD!

i just had post again.....this morning, when i went in cause i saw that matthew was stirring....i went in and my BEAUTIFUL, AMAZING, SMART, AND MIRACLE OF A BOY was saying something....GUESS WHAT HE WAS SAYING?!?!?!? my beautiful boy was saying..."FIVE, FIVE, FIVE..." OVER AND OVER AND OVER and he had his hand up SHOWING ME HE WAS FIVE!!!!!! he was facing the wall and he was looking at his hand and just saying that with a BIG SMILE over and over again!! :) he turned around to me and held up his hand and kept saying 'FIVE....FIVE!!" just soooooooo amazing! he is so HAPPY that today is his birthday....yesterday, when we told him it was his birthday today he started to JUMP up and down and get sooo happy!!

THANK YOU GOD FOR SUCH A MIRACLE BOY!!! WE ARE SOOOOOOOOOOO BLESSED!!!

HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY, MATTHEW ISAIAH!!!

ooooooohhhhhhh mmmmmyyyyyy GOOODDDNNNEEESS!!! our baby boy is FIVE YEARS OLD!!! wow, THANK YOU GOD for EVERY second of his beautiful life!! we have been so blessed to have him in our life....no words can describe the LOVE we feel for this special little boy!! FIVE LONG YEARS AGO, the drs told us when he was about an HOUR old that "we don't think he will make the transport (to the other hospital or surgery)" and they also told us >"i am sorry but your son will not make it thru the night"......BUT BUT BUT....they also told us, "WE MIGHT HAVE A MIRACLE ON OUR HANDS" and one of the MOST important statment made to us was "THERE IS SOMEONE MUCH HIGHER THAN ME (the cardiothorasic surgeon) AND THE DRS WORKING HERE"...an ACKNOWLEDGEMENT that OUR GOD was at WORK on this little MIRACLE BABY BOY!! OUR PRAYERS were being ANSWERED!!! to see him now, MOST don't know the STRUGGLES this little boy has been thru....until you realize that he does not talk, and has MANY MANY scars from surgeries and that he does not walk or eat.....you don't SEE any of that because he BEAUTIFUL BLINDING SMILE and GEORGEOUS HUGE EYES with those CRAZY eyelashes captivate you!! he has never met a stranger (unless he is a DOCTOR/NURSE) that he didn't LOVE!!! he is such a happy boy all the time!! ALL THE TIME!!! we are so amazed that he is OURS!!!

FIVE YEARS OLD....FIVE BEAUTIFUL AMAZING YEARS with him!!! he is the most amazing CHILD ever!! i really mean it! he is ALWAYS smiling and wanting to sit in your lap, give you hugs and kisses and wanting to READ!! he LOVES books!!! he LOVES flipping thru the pages of a magazing to look at stuf...he loves his MOVIES and he LOVES to talk on his COMMUNICATOR! he loves to be where ever we are...he enjoys sitting in his feeding chair and being at the table with us...he loves to chew on his food and loves to eat whatever we are eating...he is so AWARE of EVERYTHING now...just shows how much more he has grown...he is always just so happy....he loves his DADDY and LOVES to be with him!! he LOVES his brothers....his BIG BROTHER ALEX is his idol! he loves to see what he is doing and try to do it too! his BABY BROTHER JOSHUA...he LOVES to torment him! he wants EVERYTHING he has...it is so AWESOME to see him develope MENTALLY because that means he understands EVERYTHING!!

SOOOOOO, MATTHEW ISAIAH....WE ARE SO PROUD TO BE YOUR AMILY...WE ARE SO BLESSED TO HAVE YOU IN OUR LIVES!!! THANK YOU GOD FOR OUR LITTLE MIRACLE!! YOU HAVE TOUCHED EVERYONE THAT KNOWS YOU WITH YOUR STORY!!!

WE LOVE YOU MATTHEW ISAIAH!!!!!!

if you want to read his MIRACLE STORY...click HERE..

you can also see his 4 year MONTAGE HERE...

i will post his NEW montage SOON!!!

JOSHUA has a EEG today....

well, today, joshua has an EEG today....and to make that just a BIT worst...it is SLEEP DEPRIVED ONE!! YIKES! so last night, i held him back from sleep for 2 hours PAST his sleep time and then woke him up 2 hours BEFORE he normally woke up!!! and let me tell you, he did NOT want to wake up!!!! he was soooo cute, he was rolling around the bed moaning because i had the lights on and trying to open his eyes! CUTE! he even laid with his head over the side of the bed....just pitifully looking at me!

ok, big question i have been asked is WHY are you doing this?! well, for a while now, some nights when he falls asleep, he starts to TWITCH/spasm pretty hard....and it goes on for about 5 mins or so....sometimes it is so hard that i get STARTLED thinking he is going to fall....he also has had tons of night where he WAKES UP screaming for no reason and sometimes he is can't be consoled....and then the reason is that with MATTHEW having SLEEP SEIZURES, it is just a precaution for us and something to EASE my piece of mind!! i know in my heart that all is well....

anyway, he also got bloodwork done on monday and he was AMAZING!! they had to take out 4 vials of BLOOD!!! and thru it all he was just amazing!!

soooo, i will post when i get the results....any thoughts or prayers would be appreciated.....

MAKE A WISH FOUNDATION......(MAW)

THANK YOU sooooo much!! this organization was the one that accepted Matthew as a WISH KID....we were soooooo thrilled!!!

soooo, here is my post on this WONDERFUL ORGANIZATION!!! i previously posted about GIVE KIDS THE WORLD VILLAGE and now this is about the WONDERFUL ORGANIZATION that BROUGHT us TO GKTW!!! MAKE A WISH is an amazing organization that grants WISHES to children with life threatening and terminally ill children.....unfortunatly my child falls into this category....but because he did, my beautiful amazing SON was BLESSED with a wish to DISNEY WORLD FLORIDA!!!! a once in a lifetime WISH!! and all i can say is BECAUSE of this WONDERFUL ORGINZATION it happened!!

first let me tell you that i will work HARD to try to bring awarness to this foundation....it is because of THEM that i met so many OTHER families there at GKTW that had been granted wishes....other SPECIAL kiddos and their families that have been thru what my son has gone thru or WORST!! just amazing...they grant these kids their WISH....something that is so special to them and then make them feel like they are the most SPECIAL KIDS OUT THERE!! this foundation goes out of it's way to make these kids know that they are LOVED and that they are HONORED to be with these kiddos and their family....they don't just hand you the wish and are gone...no, they make you feel like they are BLESSED to be in your childs presence!!! and it is all about the child!! this SPECIAL child that has been THRU SOOOO MUCH in their little lives.....they are the REASON that they are here!!! what an AMAZING organziation!!

well, let me let you in on some ways that you might be able to HELP the MAKE A WISH FOUNDATION...

you can DONATE directly TO our local MAKE A WISH FOUNDATION thru this LINK they have several WAYS you can make a donation! you can even donate your TIME to help them by VOLUNTEERING!! some day, GOD WILLING, i would love to be a volunteer there!
-------------------------------------------------

you can buy something from their STORE!!! it is called the MAKE A WISH MARKETPLACE!! you can purchase some items knowing that it goes towards the WISHES of these SPECIAL KIDS!!

------------------------------------------

there is an ONGOING fundraising going on for MAW....if you GO to any

MAGGIANO'S LITTLE ITALY
April 30–May 27, 2009


Maggiano’s Little Italy locations across the country will encourage their guests to Eat-A-Dish for Make-A-Wish to help raise funds for the Make-A-Wish Foundation®.

The promotion includes donations through the purchase of feature menu items, gift card sales and the purchase of wish stars.

Over the past five years, Maggiano’s has raised more than $700,000 through this promotion! Please visit your nearest Maggiano’s to help support your local Make-A-Wish chapter

------------------------------ -

THEN there is the BETTY CROCKER SIRRING UP WISHES and you can go vote EVERY DAY THRU THE MONTH OF MAY for a certain MAKE A WISH location nearest you and they are granting 12 WISHES IN 12 WEEKS!! to sign up it is FREE and you get some GREAT BENEFITS such as FREE news letters and recepices!! GREAT stuff! i am going to VOTE every WEEK for our LOCAL MAW!! help them make theses SPECIAL KIDDOS WISHES COME TRUE!!
------------------------------------

i am going to also try and update and let everyone know when there is a new FUNDRAISNING EFFORT by MAKE A WISH!!!

take care and THANK YOU MAKE A WISH for my son's WISH YOU GRANTED!!! :)

GOD BLESS...

Matthew has CEREBRAL PALSEY....(CP)

ok....so i KNOW this....but i FORGET THIS!!! today, i had an ARDS meeting at his school for his homebound and to talk to everyone about our future goals and what he has done this school year....it was pretty cool to hear how much he has PROGRESSED!! i love it! soooo, i was talking to one of the therapist and we were talking about what we wanted him to do....and there is another family that i am REALLY close to and what STARTLED me was that she said, "you can't compare matthew to ANYONE ELSE!! he has CP and that makes LOTS of things HARD FOR HIM!!" and that was like a WOW moment....he has been diagnosed since he was a year old....and REALLY, i just was SHOCKED when she REMINDED ME that he HAS CP!!! i told her, that when she said that, it just SHOCKED ME...she told me that it was because we are such wonderful parents that we treat him JUST like the other two so we don't SEE his DISABLITLY!!! and that is it EXACTLY....i FORGET that he has CP...i really do!! with that other little boy who is also special needs, he just started to walk (they are a month apart) and i was soooo excited for HIM....and then i thought to myself...ok matthew, LET'S GO!! YOU CAN DO IT!!....FORGETTING that it is HARDER for him to do THAT and many OTHER THINGS....i don't SEE him with CP.....

anyway, such a SHOCKER but a WAKE UP CALL that he DOES need a lot of work and he is NOT LIKE OTHER KIDDOS!!! i love my son soooooooo much that i dont' SEE his disablities!! such a special little boy....

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!

JUST coming on really quick to wish ALL THE MOMMIES OUT THERE A VERY HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!!

my family is my JOY and i always feel sooooo BLESSED to have them in my life!!! i know MANY ladies out there that have wanted children sooooo badley but for whatever reason, they were never able to have children..... we've been blessed 3 times in our life and 2 angel babies....THANK YOU GOD!!

my beautiful boys gave me a WONDERFUL WEEKEND....we did a WHOLE bunch of stuff together as a family...and my boys bought me some BOOKS!!! and then on saturday, after a day of finishing our GARDEN that i have wanted to do for a long time (daddy and the boys did that for me), james and i were able to go take in a MOVIE for the first time in YEARS by ourselves!!! we watched 'X-MEN...WOLVERINE" which i HIGHLY recommend if you like that series!! anyway, it was really nice to just watch and adult movie...but we missed our boys!! our oldest neice watched the boys for us....then on mothers day, gave me a dozen roses and some of my FAVORITE chocolate!! after a great day at church, we had breakfast at our home (barbaco and tamales YUMMY!!) we went to my in laws for a BBQ and just had a great time together!! it is so awesome to see the kids with their grandparents....the love is MUTUAL!!

well, all my prayers to all the mommies out there in the world....BE STRONG, SHOW LOVE, AND KNOW THAT YOUR ARE BLESSED!!!

Matthew is going to get NEW WHEELS!!! :)

hello there!!! we are just sooooo excited that MATTHEW will be getting his NEW SET OF WHEELS in a couple of weeks!!! remember, at disney world, he BROKE his stroller/wheelchair and now it is time to move on to a 'REAL' wheelchair....we are going to be getting the

KIDS ROCK WHEELCHAIR by KIDSUP!!! here is a PICTURE of what he is getting EXACTLY!!



except we are going with the GREEN instead of the orange.....we are soooo excited because it is going to fit his needs exactly! why? because it actually ROCKS and is MEANT for him to extend himself like he does when he gets excited!!! that is AMAZING!! it is not a STATIC CHAIR....it moves with him if he gets excited and jumps around, we can still push him OR he can self propel himself!! :) i LOVE IT!! AND we can tilt him when he needs to sleep or relax!! soooo AWESOME!! it has been almost 4 years since he had a chair....the other one was falling APART on us!!

here is a VIDEO on what this wheelchair DOES!! VERY INTERESTING!!

i will let ya'll know when it comes in!! WOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!!!

MATTHEW out of hospital....the SCARE of my life...

hola everyone! i hope everyone is doing great....well, after 14 months of no seizures and 18 months without those BIG seizures, matthew had another sz on THURSDAY out of the blue.......and BLUE is the key word here...here is what happened...


well, matthew was taking a nap and the nurse had been watching....about 30 mins in, i checked on him to ask how his heartrate was....it had recently been in the 50's and i was just concerned with what it would be...she said it was 89 and that he had woken up...i told her just to let him chill out in his crib for a bit to see if he would go back to sleep....well, i went back in about 15 mins to check on him and he was still awake so i just walked in and said "let's go ahead and take him out, he is not going to back to sleep" so i raised his bed and i was just talking to him and he was just laying there actually looking steadily at the nurse....i tried to pull his gaze away and he would but then come right back....so i asked her if he had been staring when he woke up or if he had had a SZ...she said that no, he had been acting fine and had been smiling and such before i walked in to get him....i just felt LIKE SOMETHING was not RIGHT!!! it was really bugging me but i just KNEW that something didn't feel right....so i kept bugging him and trying to get him to interact with us...he WAS but just not very well...kinda lethargic like...sooo, i just kept on him...i turned on his DVD player and put on his FAVORITE show which he USUALLY goes crazy for and just gave it a quick stare and that was it....i told the nurse SOMETHING was up...i took his temperature, checked his shirt to make sure he had had a sz before (he drools ALOT when he does) AND just overall checked his limbs....we changed his G-TUBE and i was just messing with him and giving lots of love....i was concernec enough that i didn't want to leave him like i usually do to go finish up alex's homeschool....so then i said, 'i am going to cut your nails" something he HATES to do....so i get my clippers and he is just looking at me...then i start to clip and nothing...as i got to his second nail, i SAW HIM GET BLUE AROUND THE MOUTH AND FOREHEAD and i told the nurse, ' did you see that? pull on his pulse ox QUICK" AND she didn't know what was happening and then he did it again and i told her "get me the oxygen NOW" he is not breathing and he is BLUE!!!!" and as she did it, i HONESTLY with ALL MY HEART thought that he was having a HEART ATTACK...he had NEVER had this happen to him, turning blue like that i didn't know WHAT WAS GOING ON!! i had the HORRIBLE THOUGHT that i was going to have to do CPR on him because i thought he was DYING!!!! it was probably one of the SCARIEST time in my life....i had thoughts about THANK GOD WE DID MAKE -A-WISH....anyway, i started to blow on matthew trying to get him to breath and he was just LIFELESS and BLUE so, i got him down and kept trying to stimulate him while HURRYING the NURSE to QUICKLY get the oxygen...i called to my WONDERFUL SON, alex and told him to get me the phone because i had to call 911....he was sooo awesome!! i called 911 and i told him i did NOT know what was going on only that my son had stopped breathing and was blue and because YES had sz disorder but this was NOTHING like i had ever experienced.....he dropped his sats to 50...it was soooooo scary!!! EMS and FIRE got there within 5 mins and i administered his DIASTAT because he had finally started to have a sz the "normal' way...he was just lifeless....i told the parametics that they needed to bag him because i was sure his CO2 levels were high cause he was not effectivly breathing even though his O2 sats were 100%....they bearly heard any breath sounds....so off we went to ambulance and they started to bag him and we went CODE 3 to the hospital...the ended up INTUBATING him and they gave him 4 doses of ADIVAN (anti convulant) cause he was still szing and they did a cat scan and blood work....we ended up in PICU 7....later that evening, he SELF EXTUBATED himself :) everyone remembers when he did it both times as a BABY!!! :)

well, THANK YOU GOD, he is doing well....we came home today after less than 24 hours there....we increased one of his sz meds and as of RIGHT NOW he has been awake for 22 HOURS because he can't sleep!! i found out it is a side effect of all the MEDS he had and it will wear off soon...he is trying soooo hard to sleep but he just can't..he keeps crying and being upset...

well, THANK YOU ALL for the thoughts and prayers....we are now AGAIN on HIGH ALERT... we got REAL COMFY with him not having ANYTHING in over a year....i am very happy it didn't happen in FLORIDA and of course, matthew had to pick the PERFECT time when no one should be NEAR the hospital with all this FLU EPI!!

ANYWAY, please just pray that he SLEEPS COMFY tonight and these sz go away AGAIN!!

GOD BLESS....

WE ARE HOME!!!!!!!!!

WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW......

it goes on and on...because no WORDS in the human LANGUAGE can express how AMAZING this last week has been....there is NOTHING i can say that will give you a clear PICTURE of what a BLESSING it has been and what it was like....i can only give you a GLIMMER of what an amazing thing it was....so when i tell what happen, in your own words, put in words like: AMAZING, BLESSING, DAZZLING, ROYALTY, AWESOME, OUT OF THIS WORLD, etc....because i am doing this trip an IN JUSTICE by what i am about to write....that is absolutely how AMAZING it was.....we have been BLESSED and dreams DO COME TRUE!!!!!

SOOOO, for all those that don't like to read about someone elses trip, the VERY short of it was that it was AMAZING and we had such a BLAST ON OUR TRIP!!!

IF you want to read all about it...be warned i am going to go into DETAIL because this is also for my family to have a link to what an amazing time we had so we can NEVER forget it....even though i know we wouldn't!!! sooo, be ready for some heavy reading and some MAJOR picture works...i will probably make a montage of our time there (we took OVER 700 pictures!!)


sooooo, get ready read and look at some pictures!! it will take me a bit to write it all down but i WILL DO IT!!! i am actually going to DATE THEM in order of the days we left here starting with APRIL 18 and ending with APRIL 24TH...oh, what a RIDE!!

for those looking for info on GIVE KIDS THE WORLD or GKTW, i am going to be going into detail so if you don't want to know about the SURPRISES or the exact details, be warned that i will reveal them here in this BLOG!!! sooo....

TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS!!!

DAY 7....GOING HOME...SO SAD....

well, today is the day....we leave PARADISE for our own personal paradise....HOME!! alex keeps verbalizing what we are all thinking....I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!! yeah, we are all sad to be leaving KNOWING that are 'ONCE IN A LIFETIME' is over!!! but oooohhhhh the joy, fun and BLESSINGS we had and recieved during our stay is what is amazing.....i can't believe that was us and how much fun we had. we lived EVERY SINGLE DAY to it's FULLEST and the kids just had a BLAST!!! they enjoyed it all!! and this AMAZING BLESSING that we recieved was all made possible thru the MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION!!! that post is coming up about them SOON!

sooo, we started our day by making packing all our bags into the van, making sure that we had everything out of the villa before we left....then we packed up the kids and headed out to check out...awwwww....very bittersweet because i sat in the seat that we sat at when we FIRST arrived....after donating the extra stuff we had, we recieved our package and HEADED OUT!!! we were rushing (as usual) because we had forgotten to gas up the night before so we passed where we were suppose to gas up and ended up going to the MCDONALDS and getting breakfast, then going back to gas up and then we were OFF....and we were RUNNING!! yes, we were suppose to be at the airport BY 1000....well, we didn't get there till 1030!!! :( sooo, we were rushing to get EVERYTHING out of the rental van and onto one of those dolly's and then WAIT for the person to come get the keys etc from the rental place.....AVIS by the way....and then we were off!!! did we know where!? of COURSE not! we felt like a couple of chickens without HEADS!!! sooooo, we head off to check in and we are hurrying, not YET running but pretty close....so we finally find the AIR TRANS office and OF COURSE we didn't pre-check in at GKTW....yeah, we are NOT season flyers!!!! soooo, we stand in line with the other 10+ families ahead of us and i am starting to PANIC just a bit...as the time moves CLOSER to 1100....our plane leaves at 1153!!!!! soooo, we FINALLY get all that, check in our bags and off we go towards GATE 18.....so our nurse told us was our gate...so we travel to gates 1-50 and as i am standing in front of security READY to start the process, THANK GOD, james decides to look at the ticket the nurse was looking at and found out that we were in SEAT 18 and acutally.....ready for this.............GATE 97!!!!!!!!!! CAN YOU SAY OOOOOHHHHHHHHHH SSSHHHHHH*******@@@@@@@@@@@!!!! AND it was not just a bit a ways, it was CLEAR ACROSS THE OTHER SIDE OF THE AIRPORT!!!!! so, NOW we were RUNNING!!!!! just imagine, 3 adults, 3 kiddos one in a wheelchair another in a stroller, 4 carryons, one camera bag, one feeding bag, a blankie, a stuffed animal alex one AND A CAR SEAT....RUNNING ACROSS THE TERMINALS TO GATES 51-100!!! if that tells you HOW big this place was, nothing else will!! soooo, we FINALLY get to the security check point and we are sweating, freaking out knowing that we have a little over 30 mins before the plane leaves.....we look like a comedy group trying to get shoes off, fold up strollers, get our carry ons off our backs and onto the belt try to get everything done in MINUTES when we KNOW that it takes A LOT of minutes....OMG, it was 1130 and they stopped james carry on because of matthews formula....so FINALLY we are OFF and RUNNING LIKE CRAZY for the gate and OF COURSE the gate is not the FIRST ONE...ooooohhhhh no, it is WAY OVER THERE....so we FINALLY get there at about.....you ready for this......1140!!!! they were waiting for us and you have to remember we have ALL this stuff with us we have to stow AND we have 3 kids, 2 strollers that we had to BREAK DOWN and then put everyone in the plane....ok, did i MENTION we were the LAST ONES ON THE PLANE?!?!?! yeah, we ALMOST missed it!!! as we came down the VERY narrow aisles, we are that family that all you see is the people DUCKING because backpacks, kids feet, etc are going THRU!!! as we all finally get sorted out, everything SHOVED where ever we could and everyone is sitting where they are suppose to be....there we sit, AIR DUCTS BLASTING, faces SWEATING, out of breath.... we are FINALLY on our way HOME!!!!!! and boy, AT THAT MOMENT IN TIME....we were READY to go home!!!!! after all that crazyness, THANK YOU GOD, we made our layover, ended up getting home on time....and the boys were excited to be home....ME TOO for that matthew....we had an AMAZING time and had SOOOO MUCH fun and we just felt sooooo BLESSED to have been BLESSED with such an AMAZING ONCE IN A LIFETIME VACATION!!!! :) THANK YOU GOD FOR GETTING US HOME SAFETLY and THANK YOU GOD for MATTHEW'S MAKE A WISH TRIP!!! :)

JOSHUA looking out the window to the CLOUDS!!


THANK YOU GOD, we made it HOME!! :)


this is ALLLLLL OUR LUGGAGE!!! YIKES!

DAY 6.....

wow....we were starting to get sad that TOMORROW we were leaving back home!!! so sad....well, we started our day off by getting up, getting dressed and heading out to go eat some yummy breakfast at the GINGERBREAD HOUSE....we decided to ride the little train to get there and enjoyed a little more that day....we decided that we would take it LIGHT today because we knew that we had to pack and TODAY was CHRISTMAS AT GKTW!!!!! soooo, we could miss that!! so, after eating some breakfast and then playing at the merry-go-round and then go play in the CASTLE of WISHES...the boys enjoyed being there and just looking at everything in there....

we walked back to our villa and on the way we visited MATTHEW'S BOUNDLESS PLAYGROUND for some fun there....all the boys had so much fun going down the slides and climbing all the way up!! we had fun just swinging and watching the boys!!

sooo, today we went to ISLAND OF ADVENTURES to check out a couple of thrill rides and just to say we WENT there....we did discover a COOL place called SEUSS LANDING! and we got to ride a couple of their rides there, everything was so awesome there because it was all DR SEUSS themed park and it was so AWESOME!!! just like who-ville and some other famous books....very AWESOME!! the nurse and i decided we just HAD to get on ONE thrill ride and we chose.......THE DUELING DRAGON ROLLERCOASTER!! here is a VIDEO i found on YOUTUBE!! IT WAS AMAZING!!! i wish i could have done it MORE than once!! and we just walked RIGHT IN with no wait!!! :) soooooo awesome!!

well, we rushed thru the park because we wanted to be out of there BY 4:30 because the walk back to the car was CRAZY and did i mention that it was VERY HOT????? it reached to 94 degrees and we FELT IT AND THE HUMIDITY THRU OUR PORES!! yep, hot! so, we hustled out of there back in the car and OFF we were back to GKTW to eat some dinner, have a WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS DAY and the make the boys pillows and put matthews star...

sooo, we got there and went in to the GINGERBREAD HOUSE and ate our CHRISTMAS DINNER!! YUMMY turkey with ALL the trimmings...we THOROUGHLY ENJOYED every bite! and the boys did too! after we had some dinner, we went ahead and went out to walk around GKTW and listen to the Christmas music and look at all the BEAUTIFUL Christmas decorations that had been put around the place....just the attention to details that are always there....so AMAZING! i of course got all emotional...they had cookie making station, some snow cones and then, we got to go into the theater (which we had not explored yet) and who was waiting on the other side?!?!?! SANTA CLAUS!!! oooohhhh...the boys were soooo excited! josh didn't seem to thrilled but we all were....well, as soon as we put the boys on santa's lap, JOSH didn't want anything to do with HIM and THEN because baby brother went off, so did MATTHEW!! yep, those were OUR kids pitching a fit!! and we couldn't get them off fast enough!!! anyway, it was too funny! they were soooo awesome EACH boy was able to pick a toy from the MOUNTAIN of toys there...sooooo generous...our boys were just LOVEING it! well, after all of that excitment...we went outside and we found out that there was going to be a PARADE out there!! awwww...it was so awesome!!! the floats and the characters...so amazing...they all came over and talked to the kids and we had seen earlier in the evening a busload of high schoolers that had come in and i realized YET AGAIN, that this wonderful parade was made up of all these HIGH SCHOOLERS that had given up an evening to be with us and make some wonderful kids HAPPY with their presence....of course, again, there i go with the waterworks! just AMAZING!! and then it SNOWED there and we had sooo much getting it EVERYWHERE....

AFTER our amazing evening there, we went over to the CASTLE OF MIRACLES and the boys redeemed their coupon for their PILLOWS that they each got to keep, and then matthew's STAR was placed on the CEILING of this beautiful place FOREVER!! we even got a PASSPORT with a barcode and we could ALWAYS go back so that we could see EXACTLY where matthews star was with his name on it!! just amazing to see all the OTHER stars that were up there from all the OTHER MIRACLE kids that have passed through those doors....sooooooooo BLESSED...'

well, after a WONDERFUL EVENING, the nurse and i ended up going BACK to the villa so that we could pack all our clothing and get that done...the boys ended up staying and playing some PUTT PUTT and the video games and such....it made it easier so we could get it done BEFORE the boys got there....it was REALLY NICE!

here are some pictures from our day out there!

SEUSS LANDING there at ISLAND OF ADVENTURES! soooo much fun!


HORTON HEARS A WHO!! so DETAILED!


CAT IN THE HAT!! cute!


so excited to see THE CAT IN THE HAT!!!


The Grinch and let me tell you he was in CHARACTER!! very moody!


my cute big BOY!!!


here he is in the car!!!


Back at GKTW...wait to take a picture with SANTA!


2 of the 3 boys NOT excited about this!!! :( both josh & matthew SCREAMED and CRIED!


"MOM, CAN I TAKE THIS HOME?" he LOVES popcorn like we all do!


aaaawwwwwwww.....


The decorations for CHRISTMAS DAY at GKTW!!!


POSING with MAYOR CLAYTON...the MAYOR of GKTW!


IT'S SNOWING AT GKTW!! sooooo exciting!


Dad giving kisses all the way around! one for JOSHUA!


ONE FOR MATTHEW!!!


ONE FOR ALEX!!!


ONE FOR ME!!! :)


MATTHEW posing with some characters!

DAY 5.....

ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY in FLORIDA!!!! yes, we were sooooo tired and we could feel it all catching up to us but we were having so much fun that we tried not to let it get us down!! we all got ready and dressed and then had a CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST there at our villa which they came and dropped off....NICE!! then we were OFF!!!

sooo, we started our day off by parking our car at MK and taking the monorail over to EPCOT to check things out!! wow, what a GREAT PLACE!!! i think james and i would really enjoy it MORE if we were by ourself out there because of all the different countries and exploring them all! the boys were interested but not by much! we did go and to the CRUSH show which the boys LOVED and we got to meet a couple of characters there too! we also got to take a BREAK at the BASE21 area that is available to the WISH FAMILIES...it is an AMAZING PLACE that is actually part of SIEMENS lounge....very nice!! the very nice lady there was so kind and we were able to cool off and have some beverages and just watch matthew become FASINATED by the floor!! the receptionest could change the color of the floor and matthew could not get ENOUGH!!!

AFTER we left there, we took the MONORAIL over to MK to spend the rest of the day there...we just enjoyed doing the rides again that we REALLY liked and just had a fun and walked around....we stayed around for the PARADE OF LIGHTS again and the FIREWORKS SHOW...again, we didn't leave there till 1045 pm...we were SOOOOO TIRED but SOOOO HAPPY!! what an ADVENTURE we were having!!!!

EPCOT BALL!!!


visiting with SNOW WHITE!! he was acting all SHY!!


OUR BEAUTIFUL BABY BOYS!!! :)


AWWW.....DONALD DUCK!


JUST BEING GOOFY!!!


CHIP AND DALE! joshua was having NONE OF IT!


HEY?! DID YOU SEE THAT?!?! Matthew was AMAZED at BASE21 because their floor changes COLORS!! HE LOVED IT and couldn't stop LAUGHIN!!


wow, it changes colors again!!! can we get one of these?!?


THE BALL again!


the beautiful CASTLE at DISNEY!


THE PRINCESS AND HER COURT!


it's just soooo PRETTY!! so detailed!


WOW....this is what it looks like at the end of the day!