so, we decided to UPGRADE...

our camera from the usual digital small camera to a SLR CAMERA!!! WOOO-HOOO am i excited!!! i am so happy that i will FINALLY be able to capture a picture of my children without them having to wait FOREVER for the thing to actually TAKE it and then another shot taking that much LONGER!!! soooo, all day long, we were determined we would get a camera for our trip to disney....best buy had a pretty great deal where you got the camera we wanted and a lens and a battery for $799.00...not tooo bad...well, we went to walmart and the exact camera was about $30 cheaper and a lens that was BETTER was cheaper too....hmmmmm.....so, we decided to look at one of our BENEFITS which would be with AAFES EXCHANGE ONLINE....and guess what i just bought????




Canon® EOS Digital Rebel XS 10.1MP Digital SLR Camera w/ 18-55mm IS Lens Kit
Price Was...$595.00
Price Now...$545.00

Capture the moment and all it's details frame by frame. A DIGIC III image processor and advanced 7-point autofocus system help you take total control over every frame you shoot. Compatible with all EF lenses, E-TTL wireless autoflash and many EOS system accessories. Integrated cleaning system. Direct printing capability with compatible printers.

10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor
EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens
2.5" LCD
Lens Optical Image Stabilizer
SD / SDHC memory card compatible
USB 2.0 connection
Kit Includes:

Li-Ion battery pack
Battery charger
Video and interface cables
Wide strap
EOS digital solutions disc
User'™s manual
Color: Black

Power: 100-240V (auto adjusts), AC, 50/60Hz

Size: 3 3/4"H — 5"W — 2 3/8"D

Weight: 15.84 oz

AND this is what we ended up paying....$545.00 - 15%(using Coupon Code: 8286pcr3) = $463.25 TOTAL!!! we saved $81.00 with the 15% off deal!!! and NO SHIPPING AND NO TAXES!!!!!!!!!!! can you say DEAL?! and we swere SOOOOO CLOSE to going for the package deal at BEST BUY because it had the extra lense and battery.....so, just right now, this camera came out to be $187.00 CHEAPER than BEST BUY!!! and yes we didnt get the lens BUT the cannon lens that they had at WALMART for a 75mm-300mm was $175.00 compared to the one that was part of the deal at best buy for $349.00 (75mm-220mm)!!! sooooo, as usual, we learned our leason not to rush into it! and to look at our benefits! we just got a GREAT camera for sooooo much LESS than we could find it anywhere else AND we do have to pay TAXES ON IT!!! :) sooo, it should be here by the end of the week, PLEASE GOD!!! that way we can learn how to use it!! :)

anyway, just had to share our good news!!! we have 20 days LEFT till we LEAVE!!! :)

THE LITTLEST HEROES PROJECT...

WOW....we have just been accepted into this wonderful program....here is a LINK to the website...here is what they do, straight from their website:

The Littlest Heroes Project is a non-profit based organization founded in January 2008, made up of professional photographers nationwide that provide free photo sessions to our nations Littlest Heroes. This is our way of giving back and taking a stand for these children who sometimes feel forgotten because of their illnesses. We are here to let them know that they are heroes to many, and to share their inspirational stories and photos with the world.

wow, they are just amazing...all these photographers giving their time...well, i just sent off the names of the photographers...i actually asked for 2 in FLORIDA (if they could be there when we are there mid- april) and then of course here at home...i don't know if he can get the FLORIDA part but i thought i would try! it would be nice to have them do it while we wer there so we could have those precious memories but ANYWHERE it happens is just a BLESSING!!!

so i am going to pass along this wonderful info to ANYONE out there with a special needs kiddo so they can be blessed too!!!

ok, so i am HERE AT THE PARTY!! FINALLY!

i have been SOOOOO EXCITED for the longest time...waiting for the ULTIMATE BLOG PARTY 2009.....and i am LATE!!! soooo, to all those that make it here, HOLA!! my name is maria and WELCOME to my BLOG!!! with soooo much going on in my family this week(read below sick!) my time flew and i forgot to get my post in!!! but HERE I AM...better late than never!!!

i am so excited to be here...i am a SAHM and i alsoe HOMESCHOOL....i have a WONDERFUL husband who is active duty military and is the LOVE of my life!! we have 3 boys, ages 6, 4, AND 1....my 4 year old is our SPECIAL NEEDS kiddo....our little miracle man!!

anyway, my party is kinda slow...we have so much going on in our lives that i din't even have time to FIX the place up!!! but i do have some good music to listen too!! :) just some of my favorite tunes!!! please browse around and see what our family is up too!! here are a couple of links to our boys pictures from their birthdays!!

my husband deployment video:

A Year Without Daddy....Deployment.

OUR OLDEST ALEX!:

James Alex Turns 6!

OUR MIRACLE MATTHEW:

MATTHEW ISAIAH is 4!

OUR LITTLEST JOSHUA:

Happy Birthday, Joshua Michael!
well, really quick, we are soooo excited that NEXT MONTH, we will be going to DISNEY WORLD thru the MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION!!! we are soooo blessed!! so if you want to find out how our trip went, please stop by late april to find out how it all went!! we are soooooo excited!!

ok, i am OFF to find some new friends and visit some parties!! everyone, take care, GOD BLESS and THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY!!! OH, and don't forget to leave me a message to say you stopped by!!!

LOVE,
MARIA

wow, made CHILES RELLENOS today!!

yep, going back to my ROOTS! I had NEVER made them and personally i don't LIKE them but my beautiful hubby loves them soooo, i made them for him!! my MIL said it would take a LONG TIME.....AND IT DID!! i think 2.5 hours from start to finish!!! WOW!! that was just crazy...will i ever make them again...?? i guess if he asks me to, i will....i tried them but they are NOT MY CUP OF TEA!! i invited my MIL and she and my dh said they were REALLY REALLY GOOD!! i told me that even if they WERE NOT, to LIE because it was CRAZY LONG to make!!! but they assured me that it was VERY good and that just perfect!!! soooo, if anyone is interested in making them, here is the website for them CHILE RELLENO'S

HAPPY EATING!!!

sick sick SICK!!!

WOWOWOW...crazy....it all started with josh...on monday, he ended up going to the dr with PINK EYE in both eyes!!! then on that friday, he started with a runny nose and coughing, and since we are SOOOO CLOSE, he decided to pass it along to ME!! then of course, matthew couldn't NOT be included and by SUNDAY, he was coughing and runny nose!! so, we took them to the dr on monday and JOSH had an ear infection and wheezing so he is on an ANTIBIOTIC and NEBULIZER TREATMENTS 4X A DAY!! and then matthew had wheezing and is on his ORAL STEROIDS and NEBULIZER TREATMENTS 4X A DAY!!! yep, it is a REALLY BUSY here at home!!! and then matthew has needed to be on oxygen for 2 days now cause he is soooo congested!! and of couse then there is mommy, i have a WICKED cough and runny nose! i describe it as coughing out a LUNG and blowing out BRAIN MATTER ALLLLL DAY LONG!!! not pretty!! but i DO sound REALLY sexy with my sexy voice!!! or lack of voice!! and of course ALLLL WEEK LONG i have been on the phone for the boys!!!

anyway, just hopping that this goes FAR FAR AWAY!! OR at least this is the last time till AFTER APRIL 24th!!!

did you see this??

well, i finally got to see my DVR selections from when we were gone this week over to the coast...well, we LOVE ABC's WHAT WOULD YOU DO? series that they have...well, this last one, REALLY got to me...i was just crying and it was just such an EYE OPENER!! i was even crying over it a day later after we came out of church....well, here is the VIDEO if you have not see it...i promise it is soooo worth the 5 mins or so that it is....the part, as you will find out, is the LAST PART that has me going (even now, just thinking of it!)

ABC VIDEO "WHAT WOULD YOU DO?"

anyway, any thought or comments??? really a tear jerker....makes me think REALLY HARD about things in my life...

brrrr....we are at the COAST!

OH BOY!! we have been having a PRETTY GREAT time here on the coast since we got here on wed....yeah, it has been a bit nippy but what would spring break be with out that?! but really we have just enjoyed being together as a family in our RV....the boys have been fishing and i have been relaxing and just reading...like i told my dh, if we wer at home, we would be doing NOTHING...or cleaning...at least here, we are out of the house and enjoying just being together, playing board games or just fishing and having a grand time, regarless of the weather....

soo, i hope everyone is doing GREAT and enjoying their own spring break, whenever that is!!!

LOST HIS FIRST TOOTH!!!

well, our big boy MATTHEW lost his first tooth today!!!! what was funny was that this morning, he gagged, out of NO WHERE 2 times early in the morning....i would go check him and ask him what was wrong and he would just smile at me....well, i didn't figure out what happened until i went to put his feeding pump on and realized....HE LOST HIS TOOTH AND SWALLOWED IT!!! yep, he swallowed it!!! awwwww....no wonder he was gagging!! poor little guy! so now, we are going to cut out a tooth and decorate it and put it under the pillow for him...big brother is going to help out...so that the tooth fairy can come over and visit him!!!!


we are soooo excited!!!

we went to a party this weekend...

and we had a WONDERFUL time!! it was a cousin's child and she is now 4 years old...she is sooo cute!!! i had to go by myself because james was gone the whole weekend for guard duty...it is tough taking the kids by myself now that joshua is running around everywhere....before, when he was an infant, i could just pop him in my carrier/wrap/sling and be off with matthew in his wheelchair and alex riding on the back of it...now, well, josh doesn NOT want to be in the stroller (even though i can't do BOTH the wheelchair AND the stroller by myself)...anyway, i am so happy that my WONDERFUL family where so helpful with the kids....they are always there for me and the kids love them sooo much...my tio Z family is just the best...they are an example of an AMAZING LOVING family....they are aways there for each other and are always supporting each other...it is BEAUTIFUL to watch! i am so glad they have also always been there for ME!! i remember when matthew was born, almost their WHOLE FAMILY came to visit us at the hospital especially on the day that they told us that he was going to pass away....one of them was pg and we were acutlaly due on the SAME DAY and she along with her husband came over to the hosptial to be with us on what we thoughtw as his last day....so special...

well, what can i say except that my children andi had a BLAST and it was so nice to see everyone there!!! we also got to chat with tia I which was nice since i had not seen her in a while....we acutally exchanged christmas GIFTS!! hahahaha...one of those things!! we had a great time!! i sometimes get sad that my son has to be in his wheelchair while the other kids are playing but what am i to do? i can't WIAT for the day when he can be independent and WALK and PLAY with other kiddos...GOD WILLING SOON!!

There is ONE job that is ALWAYS looking for applicants....

well, i see sooooo many reports on the news on how people are losing there jobs, looking for a job and can't find anything....but there is ONE JOB in the united states that is ALWAYS looking for people and that would be....

THE UNITED STATES MILITARY

i just don't GET it that those that are QUALIFIED are not trying to get in...those that are young enough (i THINK the cut off age is somewhere 35 OR OLDER...maybe 40), are healthy enough and are in good standings in our comunity SHOULD be trying to get in...YES, it's a SACRIFICE, BUT for your FAMILY you are suppose to do what you HAVE to do...when my son MATTHEW was born and we KNEW the kind of medical bills we would have, james made the DIFFICULT decision to enter into the military...TRUST ME, we had a running list on our dry erase board on our wall with the PRO's/CON's going on about the military/civilian life...and there was so LITTLE PRO's on the civilian side and soooo many PRO's on the MILITARY side, that really, there was ABSOLUTLY NO REASON NOT TO GO FULL TIME IN THE ARMY!!! YES, it is scary with being DEPLOYED and such but for our family...that was the RIGHT OPTION...maybe not for EVERYONE but for us (ok,and a WHOLE lot of EVERYONE else out there), the HEALTH BENEFITS (100% coverage, NO CO-PAYS, NO DEDUCTIBLE, COST for a family of 5 LESS then $50 a MONTH), the PAY (for us it was MORE than DOUBLE what HE was making working for the STATE!!), the STABLITLIY (there will NEVER not be a NEED for the MILITARY), they will pay for your COLLEGE and if you or your spouse has OUTSTANDING college loans, they MIGHT pay for those TOO!!! they also will give you a CASH BONUS if you sign up, send you off to school to learn a new trade (you could be a nurse, dr, tech, lawyer, ANYTHING that you are qualified to do and that the military needs!!) AND if you have a COLLEGE DEGREE, you MIGHT go in as an OFFICER making a bunch more than that..i really could go on and on, so i am not.....my husband did NOT want to do it AT FIRST because like everyone else, it IS scary, but for US, his FAMILY, he knew that THAT was the WAY TO GO..our family has benefited SOOO MUCH by being military...yes, it is scary when he was deployed (view his deployment video), YES, we missed him...YES, it was a SACRIFICE him being gone (he missed 9 months of his baby boy's life)...but we ARE SSSSSOOOOO PROUD OF HIM!!! it has allowed me to continue to be home with our boys, to give my SPECIAL NEEDS BOY the procedures, medication and doctors visits he NEEDS without worry of cost (just imagine what we would have to pay for if we DIDN'T have this insurance...), the military will PAY FOR YOUR MORGAGE if you live off base so you don't even have THAT to worry about and it is NON-TAXABLE so during tax season, you are now in a LOWER TAX BRACKET when filing (and if you decide to live ON base, that is paid for too!! the only thing you HAVE to pay for is your cable and phone bill!!), so no matter which way you go, your HOUSE PAYMENT WILL BE PAID FOR!! it has allowed us to have many luxuries too, THANK YOU GOD....sooo, why are more people NOT joining the military for their COUNTRY and for their FAMILY ESPECIALLY during these hard times??? IT IS A MYSTERY TO ME!! i have brought up this subject MANY a times with friends and family....the military has been WONDERFUL to our family and we are BLESSED to be a part of that WONDERFUL family....

i am a just a very PROUD military wife and we can't THANK the military ENOUGH for everything they do and WHO THEY ARE....

FEEDING CLINIC results...

well, ON friday we went to the FEEDING CLINIC at the local hospital for BOTH joshua and matthew....

for joshua, they told me....well, that he was just a TINY LITTLE GUY!! :) i guess he will take after his mommy (4'11.5" tall!) he weighs in at 20 lbs 11 oz and is 29" long!!! yeah, he is very small!! we JUST were able to turn him around in the car and buy him his big boy seat!! and did i mention hei s 18 months old?!?!? yep, he is small!! she said that even though he is little she said he is WELL PORPORTIONED so not to worry...he is just tiny! so she just told us to continue to do what we are doing and as long as he continues on a curve (he is not on the growth chart) then all is well!!! no need to bring him back!!!

onto matthew, well, he is ALSO doing reall well...the illness in feb set him back some because he has just recently started to eat again AND we had to start up the NEXIUM again because he was not tolerating his feeds....but he is SLOWLY inching his way back to his reagular feeding schedule!!! yayayayaya....he is STILL 37lbs (1 years later) and he is still growing well...he is tall for his age and he is just such a CUTIE!!! she was really impressed on seeing him eat some CHICKEN NUGGETS, you know his FAVORITE meal and she was just really happy to see him...we are scheduled for a MODIFIED BARRIUM swallow at the end of the month because we are thinking of starting up VITAL STIM again but for his FACE!!! yep, his little face has almost NO muscle tone!! in the last 2 weeks he JUST started to put his lips together and make the OOOOHHHH sound!! or pursed lips...that is his NEW favorite face to make!!! anyway, he is doing greatr....we shall see what comes up NEXT!!!

a BEAUTIFUL explanation for DEATH...

HOLA everyone....my uncle passed this along to us...i thought it was a perfect way to explain how NOT to be afraid of DEATH....our LORD AND SAVIOR is waiting on the other side...WHY are we AFRAID?!?!?!?! i sometimes wonder what our son MATTHEW saw as he struggled those first 5 days of life....i am SURE he met our LORD and knew such PEACE and LOVE that THAT is the reason he is always so happy and smiling...he has KNOWN and BEEN in the presence of HIM and is NOT AFRAID....

GOD's blessing to you all...

~DEATH~
WHAT A WONDERFUL WAY TO EXPLAIN IT .



A sick man turned to his doctor as he was preparing to
Leave the examination room and said,
'Doctor, I am afraid to die.
Tell me what lies on the other side.'
Very quietly, the doctor said, 'I don't know.'
'You don't know? You're, a Christian man,
And don't know what's on the other side?'
The doctor was holding the handle of the door;
On the other side came a sound of scratching and whining,
And as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room
And leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.


Turning to the patient, the doctor said,
'Did you notice my dog?
He's never been in this room before.
He didn't know what was inside.
He knew nothing except that his master was here,
And when the door opened, he sprang in without fear.



I know little of what is on the other side of death,
But I do know one thing...
I know my Master is there and that is enough.


May today there be peace within you.

May you trust God that you are exactly

Where you are meant to be.

I believe that friends are quiet angels

Who lift us to our feet when our wings

Have trouble remembering how to fly.