My parents....

well, i came to an AMAZING realization today....it is funny because when talking about my FAITH, i always SAY that as a family growing up, we were ALWAYS at church and we were ALWAYS so ACTIVE in our church community....but i don't think i have ever THANKED MY PARENTS for such an AMAZING UPBRINGING IN THE CHURCH!!!!!!!!!!! i have always said that i was brought up IN CHURCH but i have never come to the realization that it was BECAUSE OF MY PARENTS that that is why i am the way i AM....that is so WIERD! and UNFORTUNATLY, BOTH my parents are gone now...i will never get the chance to tell them FACE TO FACE THANK YOU for the BEAUTIFUL GIFT of bringing me FAITH TO MY LIFE....and even though, as a family, there was a LOT of trumoil in my growing up life, the most BEAUTIFUL thing that i have continued to RECIEVE from my PARENTS is MY FAITH....that was something that they have ALWAYS taught me and THANK YOU, MOM AND DAD for that!!! that is why i was able to meet my hubby, have my kids, go thru what i went thru with my beautiful MIRACLE SON MATTHEW and all the other things that have come in my life, it has ALL been BECAUSE OF MY FAITH given to me FROM MY PARENTS that i was able to LIVE MY LIFE AND BE AND FEEL BLESSED!!!

something that came to me as i was praying today....WHAT A BLESSING!!! THANK YOU GOD!

getting READY!!!

WOOOHOOOO!!!! we are heading OFF to go to JELLYSTONE RV RESORT tomorrow for a couple of days! :) LOVE being able to head out and just get away for a while....we are also going with some GREAT friends of ours for thier FIRST RV TRIP in their BRAND NEW RV that they got this week!!! WOOO HOOO!!!!! i know that THEY are crazy excited as we are...we will love being to show them the ropes....what is funny is that we have NEVER been camping with any other family or friends!!! yep, in all our ears, we usually go by ourselves....so it should be pretty cool to have another family with us...they also have 3 kids too...i know the BOYS will have a BLAST!!! and being able to chat with my girlfriend...nice!!!


sooooo EVERYONE have a GREAT weekend....see ya soooooonnn...

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY, MATTHEW ISAIAH!!!

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY, MATTHEW ISAIAH!!!
May 21, 2011…

Praise God, our miracle son is 7 years old today. What a BLESSING it has been to have him in our lives for every SECOND of it! We THANK GOD for those seconds everyday knowing how close it came that he might not have been with us. We are THANKFUL and we are BLESSED!!!!!!!!

Matthew had a rough start in life. He has been thru so much in his 7 years of life…most people could not even IMAGE what he has gone thru. But thru it ALL, with everything, he has ALWAYS been such a HAPPY BOY…yes, happy! We always say that he MUST have seen GOD during those first 5 days of life because he is always so happy. We know that GOD the Father holds him, shelters him and looks over him everyday.

Now, I know most of you have probably heard his MIRACLE BIRTH story so I won’t put those words down again. BUT if you have not heard about what a TRUE MIRACLE he is, please follow this link to our BLOG and you can read all about it. TRULY A MIRACLE FROM GOD!!! http://blessingsinmylife.blogspot.com/2008/05/miracle-matthews-story.html

I want to just write about who MATTHEW ISAIAH is….there are so many WORDS that describe and have become Matthew. He is a MIRACLE…when he was born his prognosis was the cardiologist did not think he would make the 15 min drive to the other hospital. He was that sick. His heart defect was so bad (obstructive) and his lungs were so bad…he was a blue baby. After his 8 hour open heart surgery when he was 8 hours old, at 5 days old being taken off the ECMO (heart lung bypass machine) to ‘die a natural death’…the MIRACLE that when almost 24 hours after being taken off and given the grim news that he would not make the night, he is awake, wiggling toes, grabbing our fingers and not as BLUE as he was on day 5!!! And day after day of those first 98 days in the hospital, proving doctors wrong….doctors never able to give a prognosis or tell us WHAT to expect because at every turn, GOD thru MATTHEW would prove them wrong or do the complete opposite!!! He pulled out his vent a couple of times during those days and during all the drama that that caused he would sit up and SMILE such a big beautiful smile and the RTs, nurses and drs would just MARVEL that he seemed to KNOW when he was ready to be off the vent and do AMAZING….of leaving the hospital WITHOUT a trache and a vent that they drs wanted him to leave with because he would ‘not grow’ because of his rapid breathing….going home and doing AMAZING until he was 5 months old and started SEIZING and given a diagnosis of INFANTILE SPASMS and being told to ‘video tape what he was doing at 5 months because he may never do anything more than that’….another miracle when INFANTILE SPASMS didn’t materialize and SHOCKING the neurologist because in all his 20+ years of practice he had NEVER had a pt diagnosed due to the earmark TYPE of seizures and not progress and continue with the infantile spasms…He is so STRONG…stronger than ANYONE can be…he has just been such an AMAZING little boy….thru all the hour/2 hour long seizures where he has to be rushed by EMS, being intubated, being poked, being bagged because he stops breathing…hospitalizations due to all his seizures, his respiratory condition (he has CHRONIC LUNG DISEASE)…ALL his numerous illness here at home where he is on and off oxygen, oral steroids, antibiotics, 6+ nebulizer treatments a day and being suctioned and just recently, he is now having to wear a CPAP machine while he sleeps and just being such a TROOPER and not fight it and just ACCEPTS IT…that is something that is sooooo STRONG about him…he will be getting a blood drawn, getting suctioned, getting some procedure done, a sleep study with all the wires on his head, being messed with medically and thru it all, he might be crying but he doesn’t FIGHT….he does pull away, he just cries and doesn’t fight…it is just so amazing to see him be so strong…it breaks my HEART because I know it is because he has been thru soooo much that that this is ‘normal’ is why he is like he is…the medical staff are just in awe of him because I will hold his arm down and he won’t try to kick, punch or anything else, he will just cry and if I have my phone out or something is distracting him, he won’t even CRY while getting a blood draw….my beautiful baby boy has been thru so much that it is just something ‘normal’ for him that he just accepts it…and when he is done……HE SMILES!!! This big beautiful SMILE…what a miracle and blessing this little boy is in our family….we NEVER keep him home when we are out and about…he goes with us EVERYWHERE…we take trips as a family….enjoy RVing….parties….normal everyday stuff like groceries, church, everywhere…..we are so PROUD of him and we are so IN LOVE with this little boy…he brings so much light in our lives and so much JOY!! To remember everything he has been thru, to remember how CLOSE it was that he was ALMOST not going to be a LIVING part of our lives…..we embrace, feel blessed, & are THANKFUL for every second and give PRAISE to GOD for this little miracle in our lives.

If you have never actually MET Matthew but have followed his life since he was born, know that we WISH that you could meet him so he he could know that you have been a part of his life because you have been out there THINKING and PRAYING for him. He would grace you with his love, his hugs and his SMILES…and if you have a phone, and you let him play with it, well, you would have made a FRIEND FOR EVER!!! This little guy LOVES phones and we actually have to talk code if we talk about our phone or where it is and GOD FORBID it rings and it is hidden some where and he hears it…it’s OVER!!! The phone is HIS!! He is such a great little guy. Always happy and always HAPPIEST wherever DADA is at…his favorite word in the world is DADA…I really need to video tape him when dad comes home…the JOY he shows makes you want to cry! Although thinking back if you put on his favorite movie he kinda does the same think…..JUST KIDDING! His love for dada is just AMAZING…

So THANK YOU ALL for all these last 7 years of thinking of Matthew and PRAYING for Matthew. We are BLESSED that we ‘know’ you and we are BLESSED that you love our son, as we do.

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY, MATTHEW ISAIAH. We PRAY that there are MANY MANY MANY more. WE LOVE YOU and are so BLESSED and HAPPY that GOD has been so amazing to us that he has bless us with YOU in our lives. You are such a JOY to us and we are sooooooo PROUD OF YOU!!!! WE LOVE YOU, MATTHEW ISAIAH WITH ALL OUR HEART!!!! GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS!!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=de6e9d4511069c6f5aade8&skin_id=1604&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url

Love,
Maria, James, Alex, & Joshua
www.blessingsinmylife.blogspot.com

AMAZING!!!!!!!!

beautiful, amazing, incredible.....just got home from an AMAZING CATHOLIC CHRISTIAN CONCERT BY JOSH BLAKESLY at our church, PRINCE OF PEACE....it was really beautiful and emotional...the difference in it being Catholic is that we did ADORATION of JESUS during the concert in we kneeled for about 30-45 mins and just ADORED and WORSHIPED and LOVED JESUS...amazing...POWERFUL....and to see all our fellow FAMILIES IN CHRIST lift up their hands to God...loved it! and what a WONDERFUL way to THANK GOD for my husbands promotion to E7 (SERGEANT 1ST CLASS)....

THANK YOU GOD FOR SUCH AN AMAZING NIGHT!!! I LOVE YOU!

WOMENS ACTS RETREAT, BABY!!!

woooohooooo!!! what a BLESSING it was to be able to go to this retreat (March 3-6)....it was just such an amazing experience....FINALLY being a part of my church community. that is something that i have CRAVED since we started going there back 14 years ago! i was always so use to be a PART of my church community growing up...i was in the chior, the youth group, part of the festival commity, helping out in festival events and such, even at TEXAS TECH i was involved in the retreat community & the chior and the student center...to go from full on a PART of commmunity to NOTHING was REALLY a shock...but i never changed that...i was a PCP (parking church parking lot) but NOW i am a PART of my community and part of ACTS!!! i am hoping that i will also be a part of the ROSARY GUILD! i think that is just such an AMAZING ministry!! i am EXCITED!!!!!! and now i have SISTERS IN CHRIST and BROTHERS IN CHRIST and i am A PART OF MY COMMUNITY!!!!!!!!!!!! woooohoooooo!!! :) PRAISE BE THE LORD for that BLESSING!!!

well, if you couldn't tell, the retreat was just amazing!! i LOVED every minute of it. it was REALLY REALLY HARD on thursday and some of friday because i was missing my boys soooooooo much! it was really the FIRST time i have ever had ABSOLUTELY NO CONTACT with them for 3 nights and FOUR DAYS!!!!!!!! that is what ALMOST kept me home because to leave my babies and not be here to watch over them ESPECIALLY my matthew that it was hard...remember i am a SAHM and a HOMESCHOOLING mom so they don't even go to school...the longest i don't see them is MAYBE a couple of hours!!! i kept crying whenever i thought about it (and you KNOW i am not a crier!!)....but i made it and after the first night, GOD saw me thru it and took away my anxiety and worry and just blessed me with PEACE!!!!!

soooo, now to CONTINUE what i have LEARNED this weekend so that i may bless my family. I LOVE YOU GOD AND I THANK YOU WITH ALL MY HEART AND SOUL FOR BEING BY MY SIDE EVERYDAY OF MY LIFE!!!! YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF WORLD!!

Rodeo time!!

well, today we went to the RODEO and enjoyed some crazy time with some other members of our family and we had a BLAST!!! we were there at the carnival area the whole time and the kids had a BLAST!! and wow, those workers there at the carnival area are just amazing! they were soooooo nice to my matthew....they would call him over and GIVE him stuffed animal prizes!!! he ended up coming home with 4 of them! just soooo nice and amazing! and they would let him get on the rides with dad and only one person had to pay AND they would let him go again if we wanted to! just soooo nice! THANK YOU GOD for them...really...it made matthew feel so special..he LOVED all his nice toys...we ended up getting season passes so we hope to go BACK there sometime this week and maybe just to go out to walk around for a while..we had a BLAST and the boys were OUT like a LIGHT tonight!!! so is dad...

well, THANK GOD my matthew is doing well..and JOSHUA is offically POTTY TRAINED!!! wooohooo!! he was the EASIEST ONE!! we offically started 1/25 and by 1/28 he was SET with no accidents! :)really happy with him...wooohoooo!! :)

HAPPY 14th ANNIVERSARY!!!

14 YEARS ago, I married the most wonderful man in my life that GOD had BLESSED me with!! And I am so HAPPY to say that being married to him HAS been the best 14 years of my life. I know some of you have heard about how I met him but for those that don’t know, well, you can call it a TRUE love story BLESSED by GOD! 
See, over 16 years ago I met the love of my life! What is AMAZING is that my husband is my COUSIN'S BEST FRIEND and has been since middle school!! we have probably met each other SOMETIME during all those years they were friends...he was always WITH my cousin and we use to have tons of parties and get togethers and such growing up...wow...it took a PARTY in NOV 1994 that was given for him and all my cousins for their birthdays for us to meet and fall in love at FIRST SIGHT! yes, that was us, LOVE...it was so pure and so SPECIAL...GOD brought us together in such a special way..what’s funny is that my cousin invited me to this party that she and her family were having for a couple of my cousin AND JAMES because all their birthdays were in NOV. at first I didn’t want to go because I WAS very shy and I couldn’t get any of my friends to go with me, but I had promised her I would go (what’s funny is that out of the BLUE she called me to invite me to the party (we usually only saw each other on holidays or special occations so it was different))anyway, so I went and WOW, when she said PARTY she meant PARTY! I was expecting a small gathering, but there were cars lined up BLOCKS away and as I got nearer to the house, I see strobe lights and hear MUSIC and tons of people! Wowowowow…not very comfortable for me and getting ready to turn around and HEAD HOME!!! But I said a prayer, “Lord, if I can’t find a parking space right near her house, I will have turn around, because I am scared and by myself”..thinking I had the PERFECT out because I just figured with this many cars and people there would DEFINETLY not be a spot anywhere near the house, and as I come up, RIGHT IN FRONT of her house, there is a parking space OPEN!! Wow, if that was not GOD clearly wanting me to be there, I don’t know what else he could have done!! So, I said, “ok Lord, I am staying, please be near me and help me to get thru this night!” so I walk up and I recognize NO ONE in all the crowd and that’s when I hear my name being called and look up and see my cousin and this guy coming up to me..she hugs me and this guy with her gives me a one arm hug and says ‘ hey, I’m JAMES your cousin too” and I said, ‘uh, your not MY cousin” and tricia, my cousin says, “this is James, Joey’s best friend”..I said, “Hi”…I thought he was soooo cute but figured that he MUST have a girlfriend or someone special and was off limits so I turned around and we went inside to say hola to my family…well, from then, he followed me EVERYWHERE!! It was funny but like he will tell you, I just ‘blew him off’..I was really just so unsure of myself and self conscious that I just could NOT believe that he had any interest in ME! Anyway, the night went on and he asked me to dance and that was it…LOVE!  (he actually went home that night and told his MOM that he had met the woman he was going to MARRY!) ...GOD showed me that not all men are horrible and abusive...that there are good men out there! HE showed me on that day as CLEAR as a bell what type of man my husband was....how? well, as we went to the store that night i met him, i ACCIDDENTLY spilled about 20oz red punch on my husband BRAND NEW TRUCK (it was 2 DAYS old!)!! OMG, i was so SCARED and EMBARRASED because i was SURE that he would yell at me, hit me or SOMETHING, which i know that he had every right to (at the time) but instead, my wonderful husband sat there and consoled me and told me "HEY, IT'S OK! IT IS JUST A TRUCK! IT WILL CLEAN UP!!!!" can you IMAGINE?! i was in SHOCK, but i was ready to go home because i was so upset and crying and when i told him i was going home, he told me "DON'T GO...I JUST MET YOU!! PLEASE STAY..." awwwwww....that was when GOD showed me what a special man that was! he NEVER got upset or mad at me that i spilled that drink in his truck...not ONCE! that is what and who my man is!! since that day, we have been inseperable....we have always enjoyed being together and just being US...where he goes, I go! When other couples went out without each other, we NEVER have!! We feel STRONGLY that as a couple, we will only go out together…we are all about our family FIRST and we LOVE to spend our time together and go camping and just hanging out…we both feel SOOO BLESSED that GOD had brought us together and HE has BLESSED us THREE TIMES with our beautiful kiddos!! everything that we have, that we ARE and just EVERYTHING we know are THRU GOD!! And THANK YOU GOD for 14 years of marriage BLISS!!! What a BLESSING it has been!!!
.....

THIS PICTURE WAS TAKEN THE DAY WE MET!!! just look at us...we are SOUL MATES....


ON OUR WEDDING DAY....


AT OUR RECEPTION...


THIS montage was done LAST YEAR for our 10 year anniversart...please feel free and check it out if you would like to see our years together in pictures ..

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

JOSHUA IS POTTY TRAINED!

wooohooo!! we started doing this on 1/25/11 and he was done by 1/28!! he was going poops in there and EVERYTHING!! soooo proud of him! no accidents and even when i WANT to put one on him (diaper) because we are going somewhere but he doesn't want one! only at night do i put one on him JUST IN CASE but he has been doing soooo well for MONTHS by waking up dry but i wanted to wait until i felt he was ready and i a SOOOO GLAD i did. so many people where telling me that he needed to be out of diapers but i just didn't think he was ready but boy, when i decided to do it and it WORKED i KNEW it was the right time...and he is doing AMAZING. THANK YOU GOD! :) love it! so now my big boy is potty trained and is doing so well. wooo hooo!!