MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! FAMILY UPDATE..

Merry Christmas from our Family! December 2010

Hola Family and Friends,

We are praying that everyone is doing wonderful and have been enjoying the Christmas Season. We are all doing well. The boys just keep getting bigger and cuter if that is possible! J We just wanted to give everyone a family update to let ya’ll know what has been going on in our little piece of heaven on earth!

Alex is now 8 years old and he is doing wonderful. He is in 3rd grade and is enjoying his Homeschool work. He is so smart and has been excelling in all his studies. He does amazing creations with his legos and just last month, dad got his drums out for him and all I can say is WOW! He is so good at the drums! I guess he gets that from his dad! ;) he loves to read anything that has to do with legos! And BOY does he know his FAITH and his BIBLE stories! So proud of him!!! He is always reminding me and teaching me something about that….

Matthew is now 6 years old and he is getting so big! He is in 1st grade and is so smart. Health wise it has been an up and down year. Earlier in the year, he was diagnosed with Kawasaki syndrome and spent some time in the hospital. Then in June, he started having seizures again…he ended up having 8 seizures in less than 2 months and went several times to the hospital via EMS. They were very bad and scary, but THANK YOU GOD, it has been over 3 months since he has had them. There has been a change in his medications that have helped. We now also have NIGHT NURING again. This was something we said we would NEVER get again but it has been a GOD SENT! His seizure were happening at ALL hours so for a while there, I had not been SLEEPING cause we just never knew WHEN they would happen. The nurse has really helped me get some sleep. I was running on about 3 hours of fit ful sleep trying to watch him. My neck actually hurt like CRAZY from glancing over at the monitor every couple of minutes!! Unfortunately, one of the seizures that he had in August was REALLY bad that I thought he might had had a stroke cause his left side was not working after he was done and as a result, he has been hyperextending his left arm and his left side is weaker all the way down….he will now need to wear a brace being especially made for his arm because everytime he crawls, he kept falling cause his arm would buckle!! L But, one of The great side of the seizure is he is now eating ORALLY and has had his G-tube feed reduced because he is doing so well and has gained so much weight because of it! J what a BLESSING to have to buy him his OWN meal now cause he will eat it all! Just love it! Respiratory wise, he is doing well and as long as he is on his antibiotic, he remains healthy. He LOVES watching movies and his current favorite shows is KIPPER and THE UPSIDE DOWN SHOW….yep, he is ALWAYS trying to ‘turn me off’ on his remote or pause me! If you haven’t seen this show, it is pretty cute and funny. He LAUGHS so hard when he watches it. He usually falls asleep to this show. Something new he has been doing is that his is pulling up on EVERYTHING!! For those with kiddos, remember that age when they were JUST learning to walk and they would pull up on EVERYTHING, well, that is what is happening but this is a 45 lb little boy doing it that can SEE over the counter and is forever pulling up onto the counter and pulling things Off of the counters, sticking his hands in dirty dish water, etc etc….yep, it has been fun trying to keep up with him…but he is cute!! Lots more bruises now than every before.

Joshua is now 3 years old and he is such a CUTIE! He is really smart and loves sports. He is AMAZING playing basketball and making shots! We are in AWE of him cause he will not MISS! And just recently, Santa brought him an early gift and it was a full size basketball and we found out he could dribble and walk at the same time! Yep, very talented! J he loves to sing and copy EVERYTHING that his big brother is doing. And I am happy to say he is STILL a mama’s boy!! awww..he cuddles with me all the time. Now if only I could get him potty trained…..

James is doing well. He is at a new job site over in Camp Bullis and is trying to get it all straight. God willing, he will be promoted soon to an E7!! We are anxiously waiting for that day. He so deserves it! He did some hunting this year but unfortunately, did not shoot anything. In November, he attended an ACTS retreat at our church & he received God back into his life. He was always there but now James feels Him, sees Him and is just SOAKED in His presence! It’s been a BLESSING! He is just such an AMAZING daddy and husband and we have been soooo blessed that God put him in our lives.

As for myself, I am doing well. I had some surgery for my reflux earlier in the year that REALLY took a LONG time for me to recover. I ended up with a partial collapsed lung & some plural effusion and collitis. It is still a battle…my fibromyalgia has been really rough. I am actually in physical therapy 2 times a week for it. Lots of pain and just yuck. GOD WILLING this too will pass and it will settle back down. The therapist is forever saying that I need to make sure and TELL him if it hurts because he knows that I have been putting up with the pain for SOOO long but he doesn’t want me to take it anymore. He wants to make sure that he is doing something to help me. And it has….but I know it is going to be slow progress….still trying to decide if I am going to do the steroid shot on my arm or not….well, this year, was my 20 year reunion from HIGH SCHOOL!! Wowow, who KNEW! It seems like just yesterday I was in high school! Can’t believe it has been over 20 years!!!! And wow, how time has changed everything!! Just crazy! Well, on a sad note, my father passed away this year. So that means that both my parents are gone now. My only brother, Daniel, Is currently serving in alfganistan and will be there for a year. Please say a prayer for him and all our soldiers so that they may come home soon and safelty!

i have been BLESSED always in my life. Nothing in my life is so bad, thru GOD! He brings such blessings and joys in my life that I try not to ever complain!!! GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME! ALL THE TIME, GOD IS GOOD!

So there you have it! our family update. We Pray that this finds you and your families healthy and happy and joyfully awaiting the coming New Year! Always remember that “..thru GOD, all things are possible” matt 19:26.

We would love to hear from ya’ll to let us know how ya’ll are doing! Please drop us a line sometime!

Happy New Years!!

Love, James, Maria, Alex, Matthew & Joshua
gonzoair@sbcglobal.net or queengonzo@yahoo.com