MAKE-A-WISH CALLED TODAY....

and WE ARE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!! they called to get the nurses name (who is on CLOUD 9 excited to be going) for the reservation at the resort!!! WOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOO!!!! and we are leaving on....you ready for this.... APRIL 18-24TH!!!!! wowowowowowowowowowowowowowow....i am NOT excited at all...ok, I AM!!! the boys are soooo happy and excited....we are watching the DVD video that they sent us about DISNEY WORLD and it is so awesome to see matthew looking at all the STUFF there....and of course ALEX is just so excited ..he is bouncing around everywhere!!! ok, SO AM I!!! anyway, we are way excited and are going to look up EVERYTHING so we can get an idea how it works...so if anyone out there has had a wish granted to disney world, PLEASE email me or let me know!! i want to get an idea of how it works...

some have asked why not WAIT, maybe until matthew is older, or joshua is...well, unfortunatly, with the US beign at war, i NEVER know when james might have to go back (which is a certainty) or when things can happen for matthew...i would rather go NOW than lay it up to chance....

anyway, it is a dream come true!! and our family is VERY BLESSED AND THANKFUL!

My Grandpa passed away....

this past wendsday....he was 94 years old!!! just amazing....today was the funeral and it was really a nice one and best of all, it was AMAZING seeing all my cousins that i had not seen in such a long time!! there are not very many of us...there are 11 of his grandkids (my cousins)....and today, there was NINE OF THEM!!!!!! the other 2 were out of states....but to have us all there was just AMAZING...we had such a wonderful time just chatting together at the WAKE..my one regret was that we did not get a group pic of all the cousins!! i know it would have been a sight to SEE....what was so funny/sad was that in the obituary, it stated that Grandpa had 9 great grandkids....i kept coming up one short and i FINALLY figured out WHY!!!! i have a cousin that lives pretty far away and she has a daughter and we have not spoken in over 3 years now and i guess because of that, i COMPLETELY forgot about that child!!! i think that is such a SAD thing....when i figured it out, i was just sad that because of something that happened 3 years ago between us, she has cut me out of her life and because of THAT, her daughter has just....been gone?! i don't know but i get soooooo sad because she was my best friend since we were in kinder and that we have not talked in over 3 years...well, i just think that that is soooo sad....i sat there and i had to look for pics of my grandpa for his funeral and i found so many pics of us together in happier times....i always think about her and james always listens when i talk about her....i PRAY that someday things will clear up and we can get back to just being FAMILY...i know that things may never be the same but i just pray that we could just talk or communicate or SOMETHING....time moves by SOOOOOO FAST....things change every second and you NEVER know what can happen...one day you are here and the next, GONE....life is too short for that...

anyway, all our cousins said that it is sad that we only get together now when there is a funeral or a wedding....i hope that can change....

FEBRUARY IS CONGENITAL HEART DEFECT MONTH..

i know i have really never posted anything about this, which is OOOOHHHH sooo bad of me...but as most of you know, my son MATTHEW ISAIAH was born with a CHD called TOTAL ANOMALOUS PULMONARY VENEOUS RETURN (TAPVR) and we have been SOOO BLESSED to have him in our lives....he is such a MIRACLE to us and if you have never heard the story, here is a video i made of him when he turned 4 years old...


MATTHEW ISAIAH is 4!

well, there are so many organizations that are out there and some have FINALLY made it here to san antonio....there is one called MENDED LITTLE HEARTS and then another one called IT'S MY HEART...well, i just wanted to bring to your attention that the organization that i am a part of, they are selling HEART CARDS and they are pretty cool....i found this on another bloggers post and when i went to the site i just HAD to buy me some! so i thought i would pass along this to you!! here is the link...HEART CARDS VERY NICE CARDS!! i can't wait to get them in!!!

this heart mommy also had a BEAUTIFUL PRAYER that was called PRAYER FOR MY CHILD and if you would like to read it, you can find it HERE...

OK, TO everyone out there, family, friends, HEART FAMILIES, this month and EVERY month, may this find you being BLESSED with one more second with your children...i know as a heart mommy that having such SPECIAL BLESSINGS in our lives is such a JOY and i am so THANKFUL that GOD has blessed me with him....all our children are such blessings.....

i leave you with one of my FAVORITE poems/story...ENJOY...GOD BLESSINGS TO ALL...

Welcome To Holland
by Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a
disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience
to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation
trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans.
The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn
some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your
bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess
comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm
supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and
there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible,
disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a
different
place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new
language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have
met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than
Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you
look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and
Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all
bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of
your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I
had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the
loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to
Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things
...
about Holland

-------------THIS IS THE FOLLOW UP ON THAT POEM-------------------------------

CELEBRATING HOLLAND--I'M HOME

I have been in Holland for a while now. It has become home. I have had time
to catch my breath, to settle in and adjust, and to accept this different trip
than I'd planned.

I reflect back on those years when I first landed in Holland and remember
clearly my shock, my fear, my anger. In those first few years, I tried to
get back to Italy as planned, but Holland was where I was to stay. Today, I can
say how far I have come on this unexpected journey, how much I have learned
about Holland. But it has been a journey of time.

I worked hard. I bought new guidebooks. I learned a new language, and I
slowly found my way around in Holland. I met others whose plans had changed like
mine and who could share my experience. Some of these fellow travellers had been
in Holland longer than I and were seasoned guides, assisting me along the way.
Many have encouraged me and have taught me to open my eyes to the wonder and
gifts to behold in this new land. We supported one another, some have become
very special friends, and I have discovered a community of caring. Holland
isn't so bad.

I think that Holland is used to wayward travellers like me and has become a
land of hospitality, reaching out to welcome, assist, and support newcomers.
Over the years, I've wondered what life would have been like if I'd landed
in Italy as planned. Would life have been easier? Would it have been as
rewarding?W ould I have learned the important lessons I benefit from today?

Sure, this journey has been challenging and at times I would (and still do)
stomp my feet and cry out in frustration and protest. And, yes, Holland is
slower paced and less flashy that Italy, but this, too, has been an
unexpected gift. I have learned to slow down and look closer at things, with a new
appreciation for the remarkable beauty of Holland. I have discovered that it
doesn't matter where you land. What's more important is what you make of
your journey and how you see and enjoy the very special things that Holland has
to offer. I have come to love Holland and call it home.

Yes, I landed in a place I hadn't planned. Yet I am thankful, for this
destination has been richer than I could have imagined!

ONE YEAR TODAY....

OK...wowowowow....THANK YOU GOD because as of this afternoon, it has been ONE YEAR that matthew has been SEIZURE FREE!!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU GOD!!! it is sooooo amazing to me that we have had NONE!!! i won't lie to you and say that i don't check him ALL THE TIME to see if he is having a sz but NOTHING!!! what has done it?? well, a year ago, KEPRA was introduced into his sz med cocktail...he was taken off ZONEGRAM and put on TOPOMAX, and then he kept his usual TRILEPTAL & KLONOPIN and the dr tried KEPRA because he was STILL having sz....after a couple of months of no sz, TRILEPTAL was taken off in JULY and then after a couple of more months no sz, KLONOPIN was taken off in dec 2008!!! so, now we are on TWO sz meds...KEPRA & TOPOMAX!!!!! WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWW....i am just so happy for him!! we are still cautious about it but thank you LORD, nothing!!

soooo, HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, MATTHEW....for a SOLID year, the sz have been GONE!! and we give ALL GLORY to GOD!!!!! because thru HIM, this has happened!!!

SO, the days of being a human pacifer....

are OVER!! yes, he is 17 months old and WEANED!!!!! i can't believe that i DID IT!! 17 months of BF ....WOWOWOWOWOWOWOW....this is the longest time i have done with any of my kids and i am sooooo.....PROUD?! of myself?! he was soooo amazing and EASY to nurse...but after being BITTEN 3 times in a row and not gently...that was IT!! and i knew he was not nursing that much because i did not feel ANY discomfort not nursing for over 24 hours!!! YAYAYAYAYAY....he was ready..he only nursed at night anyway....so, now to help him to learn to sleep in his BED!!! that will happen soon...i am half way there!!!!

just another milestone....

12 YEARS TODAY....

my beautiful, wonderful hubby and i have been married for 12 YEARS TODAY!!! what a BLESSING it has been to have him in my life....i love this man SOOO MUCH and to just bask in his love is just such a BLESSING for me in my life...he is an AMAZING man, husband and father....when GOD brought him in my life, i knew true joy and love....he is just a blessing...

well, today we came home from our trip to CORPUS CHRISTI and we had a lovely weekend with family.....it was nice to get away as a family for a couple of days!!! we can't wait to go again in a couple of weeks...spending time as a family is just such a BLESSING and i love every minute of it!! THANK YOU GOD for my LIFE!!!