how to rip our DVD's to our IPAD!!! YAYAYAAA...why is this soooooo awesome? well, with matthew going into the hospital on monday, i wanted to be able to put his FAVORITE movies on his iPad because they only have VHS in the rooms (or at least they DID have that) i am not sure if maybe they have upgrade since we've been there...we shall see, but i didn't want to take a chance that that was the case! it is only a trial version for 30 days but at least it will be there for this coming week!! :)
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
anointing of the sick today....
today was a great day...i had bible study this morning at my church and we were on ACTS 5:1-?? I had all the kids with me because TODAY matthew and i were going to meet with father pat and get an ANOINTING OF THE SICK which is one of the sacrament in CATHOLIC CHURCH! :) i never really new that we could get anointed in times of illnes or before surgery and such until i went to the ACTS RETREAT a couple of years ago....sooo matthew got his done because on MONDAY he will be having dental surgery and have a BRONCOSCOPY done all under GENERAL ANESTHESIA which he has not been under since 2007 when he had a RXN to the anesthesia and went into MOBITZ 2 COMPLETE HEART BLOCK...and it was a VERY scary time for us....soooooo, he was anointed, it was BEAUTIFUL....and then i was anointed too because on tuesday, i go for a PET SCAN to see if there is any more cancer in my body...it was BEAUTIFUL and i am at PEACE after being anointed...
today at the bible study, i am slowly understand and having things in my life be CLEARED UP...what do i mean? AGAIN, GOD has spoken to me about events that had happened in my life....we were talking about ACTS CHAPTER 5 and how the apostles had been beaten for their believe in JESUS and how they REJOICED in being beaten because if they were being BEATEN then that ment that they were doing what they were suppose to be doing in spreading and evangelizing JESUS name!! so they REJOICED in their pain!! they remember that JESUS had said that they were going to be beaten, killed, etc all the thing that had happened to JESUS in HIS NAME....that all will be happening to them like it happened to Him....and what spoked to me was that 8 years ago, what i did was CLEARED up for me..in my PAIN and in the crazyiness of everything that was happening to me and my family with matthew...thru it ALL with matthew heart issues, his surgery, them telling us that he was going to pass away on his 5th day...thru it ALL, i was PRAISING GOD, THANKING GOD and just loving on matthew and just PRAISING GOD for the 39 weeks (pregnancy) and 5 days of matthew's life and all the beautiful memories that we had with him....people didn't and COULDN'T understand why we were not crying, screaming or asking WHY HIM GOD...we never did that...we ACCEPTED what was going on and all we gave matthew up to GOD and told GOD that whatever is HIS will we ACCEPT it and we will still PRAISE HIM. we prayed for a miracle and we PRAYED sooooooo hard for healing but thru it all we thanked and praised GOD...people just didn't understand....and i couldnt explain all i knew was that i had TOTAL FAITH IN GOD that this was HIS WILL and that there was NOTHING WE COULD DO ABOUT IT...IT WAS HIS WILL...
thru this bible studying, i am learning soooo much and GOD is opening my EYES UP to GOD AND EVERYTHING AROUND ME...he is speaking to me sooooo much....I LOVE YOU AND THANK YOU GOD FOR EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE....I PRAISE YOUR NAME!!! :)
Posted by Maria at 7:50 PM 0 comments
Friday, October 05, 2012
God spoke to me...
i LOVE GOD...i am in love with this man!!! and recently i started doing BIBLE STUDY on THE BOOK OF ACTS at our church and oh what an AMAZING thing that is! i have NEVER done a bible study before so this is very amazing and interesting and i just WISHED i had done it A LONG TIME before now!!! i can't wait to finish this one and start on a new one, GOD WILLING!!
this week, we were studying ACTS 4:1-?? and it was really awesome to do a study on this...it had to do with how PETER AND JOHN were arrested because they had healed a beggar at the temple enterance and the rabbi's and leaders heard about it and they were upset because he did it in THE NAME OF JESUS! and they were upset because he kept praising JESUS and they wanted none of that...they eventually had to let them go because they DID NO WRONG...this chapter brought home the thought that JESUS had to go thru a lot on his journey...and that because they loved him so much, they would also have to go thru the same things....prison, fights, etc...and they took on that cross because all they wanted to do was EVANGELIZE about the LOVE, POWER that is JESUS!!! AND one of the things that was brought home was if you are going to joyously speak about JESUS, praise JESUS you must do it BOLDLY!!! with all your heart and soul....
well, what was funny was that as i was listening to this, GOD put in my head an incident that happened over 6 years ago with a very then close family member of mine...we had words (as emails do) about my miracle matthew, about LIFE, about how powerful prayer is and what a BEAUTIFUL thing GOD is and how HE can perform miracles...we had a difference of opinions and i was told that THERE IS NO GOD...needless to say, i was EXTREMELY shocked when told this...well, i BOLDLY EVANGELIZED to this person about JESUS and the beautiful things he had done for my family and most especially MATTHEW....needless to say, we have not spoke in over 6 years to my saddness....after this day in bible study, i was soooooo HAPPY that the one thing i NEVER regretted was that i BOLDLY proclaimed my FAITH and my LOVE OF JESUS... i have tried numerous times in the last 6 years to try to mend the fences and try to get them to talk to me but to no avail...this person wants nothing to do with me and for alllllll of my growing up years, from itty bitty to 6 years ago, we have always written to each other and talked to each other...it is so sad to me that i have no part in that life now...and they have none in mine....BUT TODAY, I WAS TOLD BY GOD THAT HE WAS PROUD OF ME...i was at PEACE with what happened 6 years ago and that NOTHING i did was wrong....that we no longer talk is just cross i have to bear....i think of my family memeber OFTEN because i have always had contact with them but GOD WILLING someday, we will once again communicate....i will wait for them to contact me because my heart has grown heavy with the MANY times that i have tried to apologize and try to get them to talk to me and i won't go there anymore...and i have not in over 2 years...
LIFE IS GOOD....GOD IS GOOD....THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING TO ME GOD AND EASING MY THOUGHTS!!! I LOVE YOU!
Posted by Maria at 10:03 PM 1 comments
Friday, September 28, 2012
WHAT'S IN A NAME?? and on my 40th BIRTHDAY!
TODAY in bible study, THE BOOKS OF ACTS CHAPTER 3...was just AMAZING...i KNEW how powerful a name is but how AMAZINGLY POWERFUL the NAME OF JESUS is just....awesome! one thing i found out was the i never knew that when i ended my prayers with 'in JESUS NAME I PRAY, AMEN'...it was not just an ending to a prayer but when we said that, we were ENVOKING HIM!! wowowowowow.....when we speak HIS name, it is the MOST powerful thing!! I never realized that at MASS on sunday, the FIRST thing that our priest says is 'IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT'...and when he does that, the whole ROOM and MASS CHANGES...the priest ENVOLKES JESUS to be PRESENT in the room!! wowowowow...i never knew that he did that for that reason! just amazing...and a name is a power tool...back in the days, to know the NAME of a DEMON, GOD, ETC means that you had control(?) of them...and DEMONS don't like you to know their names...like in exorcisms demons won't give you their name and when you find IT out, you can then CAST THE DEMON OUT of a person!!! well, JESUS loved us soooooooo much that he GLADLY gave us his NAME that we may use it to PERFORM MIRACLES, PERFORM HEALINGS, TO JOYFULLY CALL HIS NAME AND PRAISE HIM....wowowowowow....and i remember VIVIDLY when matthew was born and we would pray over him and pray for him, i would BOLDLY say JESUS's name and in HIS NAME i would PRAY that my son would be HEALED and that he would grant us the MIRACLE that my son would live!!! IN JESUS NAME....such a STRONG and POWERFUL statement...the apostles would heal people using this...so after today, i BOLDLY say his name and i PERPOSEFULLY say the beginning and ending of my prayers IN HIS NAME...knowing that i am ENVOLKING JESUS right then and there...the BEAUTY of it is just amazing...THANK YOU JESUS FOR LOVING US SO MUCH THAT YOU WOULD GIVE US THAT GIFT OF YOUR NAME AND THE GIFT OF YOU!!! I LOVE YOU JESUS!
sooooo, all of this i learned ON MY BIRTHDAY! what an AMAZING GIFT i was given to have KNOWLEDGE about such a powerful and beautiful NAME...
my family and i had an amazing time on my birthday....we ordered in pizza, watched THE AVENGERS and just relaxed and enjoyed our time together...i LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!
Posted by Maria at 10:12 PM 0 comments
Saturday, August 25, 2012
JOSHUA IS FIVE TODAY!!!
ok...running a bit late in writing this but i DO have an excuse!! :) it has been this crazy kinda month...
anyway, today, joshua, our baby, turned 5...hard to believe that 5 years ago, my baby boy was born and daddy went a way to IRAQ 2 days later!!! yep, it is something you NEVER forget...but to see our baby boy growing up...it is just AMAZING TO ME...and he is TOTALLY A MOMMA'S BOY!! and i LOVE IT! :) he just loves to be near me, and just loves to cuddle with me and rub my ear...LOVE IT!! this year, he wanted a machine gun that makes all kind of noises...he LOVES those and then some bay blades too....we just chilled out and ordered in and played WII for a long time...he LOVES to do that...awwwww....my littlest guy is now 5!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!
Posted by Maria at 8:27 PM 0 comments
Friday, August 10, 2012
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEX!!
TODAY, my beautiful son ALEX turns 10 years old....wow, how the time has FLOWN!! i can't believe that it was 10 years ago TODAY that i finally after 2 miscarriages, became a MOMMY for the first time!! what a BLESSING it was for james and i to have that beautiful child....and what an ADVENTURE we had when we had him!! i remember i found out i was pg on the DAY my husband was being DEPLOYED to RED RIVER ARMY DEPOT after 9/11!! what a shock but such an SURPRISE to find that out!! and then after a scare thinking that we were going to MISCARRY again, we find out, that by COINCIDENCE the DAY I CONCIEVED (from the baby length on the sonogram) coincided with the day we went to RIPLEYS BELIEVE IT OR NOT AND james and i RUBING THE AFRICAN FERTILITY GODS!! yes, we did it on a LARK because we so happen to be downtown during the LIGHTING OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE the day after thanksgiving!! :) soooo, many things happened during my pregnancy...first, i was PREGNANT and i STAYED PREGNANT (THANK YOU GOD) and second, james was GONE thru the ENTIRE PREGNANCY because he was deployed to TEXARKANA!!! yep, we spent a total of less than 30 days during the WHOLE PG together!!!! we missed soooo much of our pg first together!! but then, that BEAUTIFUL day on the 10th of august, i woke up at 5am and my water broke, calling james to let him know, DRIVING MYSELF to the hospital and then checking in and waiting patiently to find out what was going to happen and waiting PATIENTLY for james to make the 7 hour drive home to be with me during my labor....laboring for more than 32 hours and NEVER dilating past 3cm....until FINALLY, the decided to go ahead and do a C-SECTION....then having a CRAZY time with anesthesia....but then, giving birth to the most AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL BABY in the WHOLE WORLD!!!! what an awesome thing it was...we had my mom, mil, brother, family, friends there to welcome him into the world...it was truly a beautiful day in my life. i LOVED becoming a mom...being BLESSED with that beautiful baby boy....and james was such a NATURAL DADDY!!!!! oh, the JOY seeing the smile on his face and just seeing his happiness in becoming a father....it was truly such an awesome sight and he did such a GREAT JOB!!!
and so the years have happened and we are now 10 years into my sons beautiful life...i can't believe that a DECADE has happened already in a BLINK of the eye...wowow...i THANK GOD for every SECOND of his little life!! he is ALMOST as tall as i am...probably by the end of the YEAR he might pass me up!! who would have believed that (and i can already hear my nieces saying that it is EASY to pass you up, aunt chayo!!:) alex has done AMAZING in his schooling years!! he is now going to 5th grade and he LOVES HOMESCHOOLING!! he is soooo smart and he amazes me with his thinking process and also he can remember sooo many things! and what an AMAZING BIG BROTHER he is to both of his brothers! he takes care of both of them and is always willing to help with them...even, helping with MATTHEW when there is a medical problem! and this child has gone thru soooooooooo much too in his short life. he has practically LIVED at the DOCTORS OFFICE/HOSPITAL with matthew...and thru all of these appointments where he has had to be QUIET for a long period of times and being such a a good kiddo and just sitting there playing quietly and understanding that this was serious ....wowowowow...i love this child soooo much and i always PRAY TO GOD that HE GUIDE me in the RAISING of my children ESPECIALLY ALEX since he and i are soooo alike that we are SOOOOOO STUBBORN!!!
soooo....TODAY, AUGUST 10TH WE CELEBRATE OUR SON'S LIFE....WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD FOR BLESSING US WITH THAT BEAUTIFUL CHILD AND WE PRAY THAT HE CONTINUES TO GROW AND STAY HEALTHY AND STRONG!!!!!! WE LOVE YOU, SON!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Posted by Maria at 12:00 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
SURGERY DAY.......
so, today is the DAY...i am of course right now writing from my memory because after i had the surgery, i lost the use of my right arm for about 7 days and even today (8/7/12), i can't do much and it is hurting me a LITTLE BIT to type this but i will SLOWLY try to finish and get caught up on my blogging!!
sooo, the day started with getting up early and getting ready in some comfy clothes and no food or drinks since midnight...i COMPLETELY forgot about my paralyzed tummy and that i SHOULD have tried to empty it a couple of days BEFORE HAND....oh well, too late now! so, my MIL came over and will be staying with the boys for me and of course matts nurse will be taking care of him...honestly felt surreal because i was not apprehensive or upset or worried or ANYTHING...it just felt like another normal day! i was not even NERVOUS!!!! SO, james and i left the house about 0730 and headed over to the medical center area to get ready...it was AWESOME having james there...i knew that he was going to have to take a lot of the load for at LEAST couple of days until i was back on my feet but i didn't feel bad and i KNEW that he could do it!! i remember when i have been on my own with my 3 kids when james was deployed to IRAQ and every time that he has to leave for duty for a couple of days-weeks...so i KNOW if i can do it, so can HE!!
soooo, we get there and head up to the front desk and as i am getting my paperwork, my phone rings and i step away to answer because the number looks familiar and as i am talking to the lady, james is like pointing to the lady with her back to me at the desk who is CALLING AND TALKING TO ME ON THE PHONE!! HAHAHAHAHA...pretty funny stuff!! we all laughed about it! so, i finish my paperwork and with in 15 mins, we was taken back and i was told to remove everything and put on my gown/hat etc...unfortunatly, it NEVER fails every time that i have a surgery it almost NEVER fails that AF ARRIVES!! GRRRR...anyway, TMI...so, i laid down and just chit chatted with james and the nurse and answered tons of questions and signed some forms...she started an IV on me (after blowing one attempted on my left inner forearm) she started one on OLD FAITHFUL which is my left hand! :) there are soooo many scars there from the numerous IV's i have had....anyway, the resident came in, then the DR and then the anesthesiologist...we all had tons of questions on what to expect...he marked my right arm and showed me more or less how big the cut was going to be...WOWOWOWOW...i didn't know it was going to be that BIG! about 3-4 inches...pretty long..oh well!! i am getting ready to have enough scars to compete with matthews scars BUT HIS ARE WAY COOLER!! ;-) anyway, after james and i blessed each other, they put some comfy meds in my IV and off i went!! wowow, it didn't take but a minute!!!!
so, i wake up with my arm in a HUGE cast looking thing....and in PAIN...they end up giving me the MOST MORPHINE they could and i still would not get rid of the pain, then they started me on the stronger stuff and it took a couple more shots of that before FINALLY had the pain under control. i explained it was probably because i took pain meds daily that it was not working for me...they agreed! anyway, i was off the bed and in a recliner with in 30 mins of waking up and OUT THE DOOR within about another 30 mins!! crazy how quick they get you in and out!! the surgery lasted about 1 1/2 hours long, 45 asleep in recovery and then another 45-1 hour after waking up out the door! ********THEY TOOK OUT MY TUMOR (SYNOVIAL SARCOMA) WHICH WAS ENCASED, AND THERE WAS A NERVE ON TOP OF THE TUMOR (WHICH EXPLAINED MY EXTREME PAIN THAT I HAVE BEEN HAVING AND ALSO WHEN I HIT IT OR WHEN MY NERVE STARTED FIRING) IT MENT I WAS GOING TO BE NUMB IN THAT ARE (WHICH IS FINE WITH ME BECAUSE AFTER ALL THE PAIN I HAVE HAD, I DEFINETLY NEEDED THE RELIEF WITH THAT...THEN AFTER THEY TOOK THE TUMOR OUT, HE FOUND SOME MORE SUSPICIOUS LOOKING STUFF AND HE REMOVED THAT TOO ALONG WITH SOME HEALTHY TISSUE TO GET IT BIOPSED....THEY STILL DONT' KNOW IF I WILL HAVE CHEMO/RADIATION THERAPY AFTERWARDS...ONCE THEY GET THE RESULTS, THEY WILL HAVE A ROUND HOUSE MEETING AND TALK ABOUT OPTIONS WITH ALL THESE ONCOLOGIST AND OTHER DRS, THEN WHEN I GO FOR MY FOLLOW UP MEETING ON THE 13TH, I WILL HOPEFULLY GET THE RESULTS THERE*********
anyway, back to me, as we leave the parking garage, i started feeling sick ended up tossing up (or my interpretation of it since i can't really do it) and did it again when i got home a couple of times...crazy!! after that i just chilled on my couch with my arm up and just trying to keep ahead of the pain and the SWELLING on my hand...as long as i kept my arm up, it kept the swelling down a bit...after that, i just layer down for a bit and relaxed...THANK YOU GOD FOR A GREAT SURGERY DAY!!!!!
Posted by Maria at 11:30 PM 0 comments
Monday, July 30, 2012
getting ready for my surgery tomorrow...
and i am FINE...i got the call that i had to be at the surgery place by 0815ish and i am READY...i don't know what is going happen, how much it is going to hurt or how it is going to feel ANYTHING but i am just ready to get this part of my life STARTED so that it can be FINISHED GOD WILLING....i have had sooooo many people praying for me and i have felt soooo BLESSED about this because i feel such LOVE AND COMFORT from those wonderful people all around the world!! i have been BLESSED!!!! i have done nothing really to get ready...i have not let this upcoming surgery really affect my everyday life....i have just continued to live my life to the fullest and just ready for whatever is to come....
Posted by Maria at 11:30 PM 0 comments
Thursday, July 26, 2012
DAY 5....ON THE ROAD HOME!! :)
started our day with the signature breakfast and then just packed up and OUT the door we were by 1030!! i LOVE MY KIDS...they are such GREAT GREAT GREAT TRAVELERS!!! they just hang out and watch what is going around the drive and play with games etc. alex has started his CAR LICENSE WATCH and it was so much fun checking out all the different car and their plates...it ended up taking us about 6 hours or so...we made it back JUST IN TIME to pick up our pooch, SIMBA from the vet...he was soooooo excited to see us!! :) he is just such a GREAT part of our family...it was awesome to see him and have him back in our home..i know that he was in shell shock and wondering where we were...he is STILL such a puppy...not even a year old!!
well, this vacation will be going down as the THE BEST VACATION EVER!!!!!!! it felt so awesome and we had so much family time!! and you know that we were just together the WHOLE time and you know this because if you know ME you know that i am a READER..i love to read and i can put down a book a day and during a normal week, i usually read at LEAST 2 books...and i think the WHOLE 5 DAYS i think i read about 50 PAGES...PAGES...PAGES!! that is crazy!! so NOT ME! we had soooo much fun and it was just GREAT to be together...the LODGE was like that...all we had is FAMILY TIME...from the water park, to running around the lodge looking for clues for the MAGI game...it was just amazing!!! and what was funny, is that in a LITTLE park of my mind, i thought of this vacation as MY MAKE A WISH vacation!! cause i KNEW that i was going to have surgery on my cancer on tuesday 31st and i didn't know WHAT i was going to have to do after the surgery wether i was going to have to do chemo/radiation....so, i want to think and i KNOW that GOD gave us this AMAZING VACATION so that we could just be with family and just be TOGETHER...I THANK YOU GOD FOR BLESSING OUR FAMILY WITH SUCH AN AMAZING VACATION!!! <3 <3
Posted by Maria at 11:30 PM 0 comments
Labels: alex, boys, cancer, family update, vacation
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
DAY 4....LEGOLAND DISCOVERY IN GRAPEVINE
SOOOOO, today our day was going to revolve around LEGOLAND DISCOVERY ZONE...we are making this trip for our beautiful son ALEX who LOVES legos!! :) we started our day with a YUMMY breakfast at the hotel and it was REALLY good! kinda like a bistro type of yummy stuff and it was just GOOD!! then we headed on down the STREET and ended up in line to buy tickets for LEGOLAND.... the wait was FOREVER (about 1:30 hours) but it was worth it. it was soooo awesome seeing the boys get to play with the legos and build things and see all the different creations that where built there at the place...it was AWESOME!! we were there for about 4 hours and the boys all had a GREAT time...!!
after that, we just picked up some to go meals, went back to the hotel room and ate and relaxed and watched a movie....afterwards, all the boys went SWIMMING for a couple of hours...it was really nice if a little breezy...i just hung out and watched the boys and enjoyed reading a bit on a lounge....
after wards we went back to the room and just CHILLED OUT and watched tv and relaxed and then off to bed....we packed and put as much as we could in the car and just left the smaller stuff so there was not that much left to put away...sad that this trip is almost over!!! :(
Posted by Maria at 11:48 PM 0 comments
Labels: alex, boys, family update, vacation
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
AWWWW....LAST DAY AT GREAT WOLF LODGE..
SO, TODAY, we were ready to leave the LODGE....well, not READY but it was time for us to go...we decided to get everything packed up and then continue on our QUEST to finish all the stuff we had on our PAW PASS...so, we packed up and were out of the room at 1100 and then we walked around the lodge, go all the goodies we needed to get....at 1300 LEGO LAND group was there and they were having LEGOLAND CONTESTS and the boys joined in for a couple of contest! of course, alex had a BLAST!!! and we had lunch there at the LODGE and then after we were done, about 1530, we left the LODGE, drove DOWN THE STREET and checked into our HYATT PLACE HOTEL ROOM!! wow, this vacation had DEFINETLY made our BEST EVER VACATIONS!!! really, we have just had such an AMAZING time here in GRAPEVINE!! so, after we checked in, it was time to RELAX...nothing to do but watch a movie on our HUGE screen TV and then just RELAX, RELAX, RELAX!!! that was the plan for today to recover from the craziness of the LODGE!! so, after we watched our movie we headed out to eat some DINNER at BUFFALO WILD WINGS for some wings....OK, i personally DO NOT LIKE that place but dad wanted to go and it was his turn to pick, so we headed out and as USUAL, i ended up not eating my stuff and sending it back and then ordering something ELSE and then ended up with a HAMBURGER when i asked for a chicken sandwich!! but THANK YOU GOD, we are so blessed and i didn't complain and ate my burger, which was good....it was just nice to be out!! we get back to the hotel and.....EVERYONE PASSED OUT again!!! it was funny to see everyone just falling asleep where ever they were sitting...this adventure had really taken it's toll on our bodies but we would not have it any other way!!! THANK YOU GOD for another amazing day!!!
Posted by Maria at 11:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: blessed, boys, family update, vacation
Monday, July 23, 2012
DAY 2 OF OUR VACATION....
so, today is day 2 of our vacation and we were READY and had so many things planned for today. we planned to eat our breakfast and do some more MAGI QUEST and look around the lodge until after lunch. we had planned ahead and brought our OWN BREAKFAST/LUNCH stuff so that we didn't have to pay the CRAZY amount at each of those meals instead just ate in our room and BOY we are happy we did that! and then we were READY for our watermark adventure!!! we got dressed in our swimsuits and then got going! the BEAUTIFUL thing about that waterpark is you don't have to take your own towels they provide them for you!! and then our key to our room was our wrist bands!! pretty cool huh?! so we really didn't have to bring anything and since it was indoors, no sunscreen needed! :) so, we played around until about 1800...went to our room, got dressed and headed out to eat at GOLDEN CORRAL!! :) and it was not the best...but it was not packed so that made up for it all because with sooooo many people at the LODGE it is CRAZY how awesome it was that there was not a crowd!!!
so, afterwards we get home and we play MAGI QUEST until 2300!! yep, it is sooooo addicting! we were running up and DOWN that those stairs, boy, i got a SERIOUS work out that day!!!!! really, it was CRAZY and i didn't know how awesome that game was! really, i can't wait to come back JUST for that game!! and next time, i hope the boys can go on their own...i know alex would LOVE that because we were dragging him DOWN because we were sooooo slow and if we had matthew with us, then we had to use the elevator (THANK GOD!!)...regardless, it was AWESOME and at the end of the night, the boys had FINALLY finished their whole QUEST and were MASTER MAGI!!!!! we could have started the ADVENTURE part (yes, there is MORE to the game) but we knew we would not be able to even get CLOSE to finishing it!! we didn't get to fight the DRAGON but i was talking to someone else and they came back a YEAR later and their game was saved and they were able to start their game where they left off!! COOOOOL!!
so, after all that long day, EVERYONE was EXHAUSTED and i think within 15 mins of coming into the room and getting ready for bed, they WHOLE ROOM WAS QUIET!!!! snoring, coughing, etc was going on in the room...NICE!~!! i forgot to mention that one of the BIG things unfortunately, was that JOSHUA had a COLD during all this time...poor baby was coughing and snotty all weekend!!!!! ;( as soon as we get home, OFF to the drs he goes!!!
Posted by Maria at 11:30 PM 0 comments
Labels: boys, family update, vacation
Sunday, July 22, 2012
GREAT WOLF LODGE...WE ARE HERE!!
after a 3 hour delay on the time we had wanted to make it out of the house (1000 in stead of 0700) because there was SOOOO MUCH to do to get out of the house...we are OFF! IT was a nice steady drive out of town to grapevine texas....only DAD was the one that kept stopping to go potty!! hehehehehe...i told him he was worst then the kids having to keep stopping for HIM to go potty...but really a nice ride over there...our phones & iPad got a work out because our dvd players were messed up so they were playing on the electronic toys instead!! anyway, at 1645, we pulled up into the BEAUTIFUL LODGE and WOWOWOWOW, it was AWESOME to be there and see all the HUGE WOLVES there...wowowow, just coming INTO the place was AMAZING!!!! and the check in was BEAUTIFUL!!:) i mean, really, the whole EXPERIENCE was right in front of you as SOON as you get off the car! and the view of the indoor water park...REALLY?!?!?!?!?!?! IIII WAS SOOOO EXCITED! about excited as the kids! we check in and head up to our room (7018), we entered our BEAUTIFUL room with the KID CABIN inside and we went NUTS! the room is REALLY roomy and the VIEW that we had out of our window was pretty cool!
sooo, we had ourselves some SANDWHICHES and ate something then got dressed in our swimsuits and we were OFFF!!! wowowoowowo, that water park was soooooo cool! there was sooo much to do for the little kids and in the park and we had a BLAST!!! they went on all the kids slides and all the pools and had suuuuch a BLAST!!!
after we were done swimming (about 2030) we order a pizza from the WOLF DEN (not bad price for a LARGE CHEESE PIZZA it was only 13.00!!) can't beat not having to leave anywhere!! so we ate some pizza, went to pick up the MAGI WAND (we were only suppose to do ONE wand and have them share it BUT with josh wanting one too, we had to get another WOLF PAW PASS!) so we got started on the QUEST and boy, that game is SOOOOO MUCH MORE than i had EVEN thought it was! everyone told me to make sure that the boys did it and wowowowowowow, that may have been the CHERRY ON THE TOP!! really, this game is AMAZING and if i could of, i think I WOULD have done the game if i could do it by myself!! but it was EXHAUSTING because you had to go UP and DOWN the stairs and it was CRAZY!!!! but fun...and all you saw where TONS of kids playing the game and some where in their jammies and others in regular clothes just running around pointing their MAGI STICK. i wish we could have let ALEX go on his own or with his brother but even though we saw a lot of kids without parents, we just COULD NOT do it!! maybe the next time we come (because we WILL come again, GOD WILLING) we will let him go on his own!! :)
ended the night after 1100 time that the MAGI game ends and EVERYONE dropped off for a LONG comfy night in our beds!! GREAT FIRST DAY!!!
Posted by Maria at 11:30 PM 0 comments
Labels: boys, family update, vacation
Friday, July 20, 2012
SUMMER VACATION 2012
WOOOOHOOOOO!! GONZALEZ VACATION IS OFFICIALLY STARTED! :) dad has a week off work and we are going to make the mOST of our time as a family!!! we are starting our vacation at the WONDERFUL GREAT WOLF LODGE IN GRAPEVINE TEXAS! i have heard sooo much about this place from other friends that have come out here so i thought since our RV is out of commission for a bit, we would do some traveling in our car....so i BOOKED us a 2 night stay at the LODGE july 22-24....the boys and us are sooo excited and we can't WAIT for it to start. I NEEDED this time with my family because on the 31st, with my surgery to remove the cancer tumor out of my arm, i knew that for a while afterwards, i would not be able to do much...this week is going to be our get away, and my time to just relax...we are starting to pack our MILLION and one things of STUFF and get everything ready. there is always sooooo much to pack because with 3 boys, stuff gets CRAZY! the only thing is that there are NO TOYS this time...just stuff. i figured that they would not have down time with there being a INDOOR WATER PARK there, i figured we would be TIRED by the end of each night....soooo, HERE GOES OUR VACATION!!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
IT'S THERE...
you know, when you KNOW something is THERE, it kinda takes over that THING! KNOWING that there is a CANCEROUS TUMOR there on my forearm, well, i am GUARDING it more than usual and i am TOTALLY in tune with my forearm!! and of course, it seems like there is a magnet right on my arm so that anytime something goes by it, be it person or object, it never fails, it gets BUMPED which is VERY painful already!! oh well...and of course i just KNOW it is there...
i think about AFTER i have the surgery...how am i going to put my hair up, how i am going to do something as easy as clip on my bra, put my clothes on, etc...you never think too much about that but really, HOW am i going to do that?!?!? i just know it is going to BE PAINFUL!!! AT LEAST, i ALREADY drive with my LEFT HAND since my right arm has been in soooo much pain FOR EVER that i have had to learn to only drive with my left hand so i think THAT part will have come in handy!!
Posted by Maria at 1:15 PM 0 comments
Friday, July 13, 2012
PET SCAN DONE...some thoughts....
WELL, today at 1330, i got my scan done at SAMMC...it wasn't too bad but if u turn off all the lights, i might GLOW!! :) i had to get an IV with the RADIOACTIVE injection, sit for 90 minutes and then have the scan with some more CONTRAST and that is it!! start the whole processw at 1400 and finished by 1630...poor hubby had to wait for me...
i have had such AMAZING support from everyone near and far and i THANK GOD for all my family and firends that have reached out to us during this time in prayer, emails, calls, FB POST etc...i am ever soooooo BLESSED to have so many people that are praying for me and my family. when matthew was born, all we asked for is PRAYERS and I KNOW that that was one of the reasons he is here today....i have such FAITH in GOD that all will be well and that this is GOD'S PLAN and His plan is PERFECT! i have been calm about it and just going about my normal everyday life....i just know that all IS WELL...i have faith in GOD and i have faith that everything is happening EXACTLY how it is suppose to happen. back in the day (8years ago)i had so much FAITH, LOVE AND WONDER in GOD and all He was doing for us in our life at that time...with the birth of our precious son MATTHEW and everything he went thru, our faith was STRONG IN GOD...we knew that NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENED, it was going to be OK because everything was as GOD wanted it to be.....i gave my son up TO GOD during those days (and everyday) and that is what i have done with this diaseas...GOD IS SOOOO GOD and i know that all will be well! i thnk that i am sooooo LUCK AND BLESSED that i have this FAITH in MY GOD because THAT is the reason that i am doing so well with this shocking news of CANCER!!! i really have been calm and just ready to get started...i am soooo BLESSED because i have SEEN the other side of what i am going thru and how without FAITH some wonderful people dont do well...and i am doing well!!1 :) i sit here today, yesterday and wed with a SMILE on my face, no tears and just a sense of PEACE AND CALMNESS in my mind, heart and soul...life is BEAUTIFUL...GOD IS BEAUTIFUL and i know that i am goign to be ok!!! i look around me at my life and i SEE and i KNOW what a BLESSING that has been given to me and my family from GOD!!! and GOD has always been near me holding me and my family in HIS hands!!! GOD IS SOOOO GOOD!!!
sooo, i know i had posted that we had moved up the surgery to the 24th for the TUMOR removal BUT i have decided to leave it to the 31st because we were unable to move the DATES that we had chosen for out vacation trip to the GREAT WOLF LODGE during that same time...i asked the dr if it was OK to hold out for that extra week and he told me that 7 DAYS would not make a difference!! i did not want to disappoint the boys with canceling the trip...we have all been looking forward to this time and NOW MORE THAN EVER, i think we need this time away as a family before i have my surgery and the possibility of possible CHEMO/RADIATION....i didn't know what my life held in store and i wanted my family to ahve some WONDERFUL memories before we started on our journey!! :) sooooo we are gettign READY FOR OUR TRIP!! WOOOHOOO!!
sooo, i will be blogging about what is going on in my life more so again. i have so much to SAY and sooo much to write about...and more than ANYTHING i want to always remind everyone that GOD IS GOOOD, ALL THE TIME!! AND ALL THE TIME, GOD IS GOOD!!!!!
GOD'S BLESSING EVERYONE!!!
Posted by Maria at 9:01 PM 0 comments
Labels: cancer, family update, me
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
SYNOVIAL SARCOMA.....
ok...wowow....that is the diagnosis i JUST got from my ORTHOPEDICS ONCOLOGIST...we had an appt on july 5th and he said that he was very certain that it was NOT cancer and although he thought that the BIOPSY that was done was INCONCLUSIVE, he felt that it was NOT cancer since i had had it for over 5 years, he felt that it PROBABLY was NOT cancer but that we had to get it out...i was kinda upset at him because he said that it PROBABLY would not hurt and PROBABLY not help with the PAIN and that it should all be ok...i told him that i though i was on a nerve?! and he said he didn't think that at all...i told him that we shall see....
SOOOOO, AT 1600, the dr called me to let e know that he had shown HIS pathologist the biopsy and the pathologist said that it didn't look right so she decided to test it using a certain DYE TEST and he said it was very simple test...inject the cells and if they 'TURNED' it was POSITIVE...if it didn't, it was NEGATIVE...he said it turned IMMEDIATELY! so, he called me to let me know that instead of NO CANCER...i have been diagnosed with SYNOVIAL SARCOMA...and it is an aggressive type of cancer...sooooo, i WAS scheduled for surgery on the 31st to get it removed...now it has been moved up to the 24th AND i am having a PET SCAN to see if there is any more cancer anywhere else in my body....
soooo, am i ok with this? am i in shock? no,i am not in shock and i am as ok as i can be.... i had actually had a conversation with a friend TODAY about this particular subject that i was going to have a SERIOUS conversation with the surgeon to let him know not to be SURPRISED if it turned out to be MORE than the simple thing he was thinking and that it WAS ON THE NERVE not like he said he thought it was NOT....funny, huh? i guess GOD was giving me a gentle hint on this!! :)
sooo, GOD IS SOOOO GOD because while on the phone with me, he texted my other ortho oncologist at SAMMC to see how soon i could get my PET SCAN and i said that i would be surprised if i got it really soon, so he said he would text him to let him know what was going on....i hung up with the dr and within 15 MINUTES, the dr at SAMMC CALLS ME and said to come on in TOMORROW AT 0730 FOR A PET TEST!!!!!!!!! wowowowow, GOD IS SOOO GOOD! i have really been soooo blessed that things have really run smoothly with all of this and no real wait time with any of this...he also said that i should go have a 'punching session at all the military drs/bases' that had diagnosised me for that last 5+ years with TENNIS ELBOW and that i could start with HIM TOMORROW and it would be ok to give him a punch!!! such a good man....
soooo, any prayers or thought would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!! tomorrow, i have the PET SCAN AND I AM PRAYING AND ASKING FOR PRAYERS that there is no OTHER cancer spread thru my body....
I KNOW GOD IS GOOD AND HE IS HERE WITH ME AND MY FAMILY AND HE WILL SEE ME THRU!!! HE ALONG WITH ALL OF MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS IN PRAYER ARE WHAT WILL JUST BRING ME THRU THIS TIME AS HE HAS SEEN ME THRU MY LIFE!! THANK YOU GOD FOR ALWAYS BEING BY MY SIDE!!!
Posted by Maria at 5:28 PM 2 comments
Friday, June 08, 2012
NOT CANCER!!!!
THANK YOU GOD, i got the call from the PA from the ORTHOPEDIC ONCOLOGIST to let me know that they got the results from my BIOPSY OF MY FOREARM and it was NOT CANCER!!! WOWOWOWOWOWOW!! sooo thankful and sooo happy!! BUT i DO have a TUMOR and it is called a PERINEUROMA and i will have to have it removed. so, next week, they are going to have a ROUNDHOUSE MEETING with the ortho dr and all the other drs involved in my care and then they are ALL going over to the UNIVERSITY hospital to meet with the NERVE TUMOR DOCTORS there to let them see my case and see how they are going to achieve this. the PA told me that it is very delicate because they are going to try not to have me lose SENSATION in the arm or FUNCTION of the arm because of where the tumor is!!!! YIKES! so, i am to call the PA again on tuesday to find out what was said and where i am going from here. i am just SOOO HAPPY that SOMETHING i finally going to get DONE to my arm! it has hurt sooooo bad like for over 5 years and it has progressively gotten WORST so that it affects my everyday LIFE!! SO i am happy to get a move on here....but THANK YOU GOD first and for most because it is NOT CANCER!!! WOOOHOOO!! :)
Posted by Maria at 10:57 PM 0 comments
Sunday, May 27, 2012
OUR MIRACLE...MAY 27TH will always be....
the day that a MIRACLE was shown to us in MATTHEW ISAIAH...u know, i was going thru my blog looking for the story of our son and yes, i found the one of his birthday and the sadness of MAY 26TH but nothing on MAY 27TH!! and that is when our life looked soooo much better!! you see, MAY 27TH will always be a SPECIAL DAY for our family because THAT is the day that GOD gave us our MIRACLE in MATTHEW back! on THIS day, at MAY 27TH, 2004 @ 0200, james and i, after having passed him back and forth between us on that pillow to keep him still....we FINALLY put him BACK in his little warmer bed in PICU #18 because we were soooooooo tired and we were afraid to drop him! it took 4 people to get him in bed...he had 14 medication drips, a ventilator & so many other wires on him that you could not see the baby!!!! but we gently put him down...we kept talking to the nurses that whole night trying to find out what was going on. you see, everyone was soooooo POSITIVE that he would not make it thru the night and here we were already on the NEXT day and he was still holding strong. i remember the nurse telling me that he would just slowly stop being there...all his organs would start failing and then his little heart would stop...well, his heart rate when they first took him off of ECMO was WAY UP in the 200's and as the day went by, his little heart rate started to drop. i remember watching and just worrying when it would just STOP. and here we were, on THURSDAY MAY27th at 0200 in the morning, just so tired and so anxious about how it would happen and finally, putting the baby down and just sitting there in the rocking chair, with my legs SOOOO SWOLLEN and my back KILLING me after having had my c-section only 5 days before....with james by my side in a chair both of us EXHAUSTED and just so mentally DRAINED because we had been thru sooooo much these last 5+ days...with the BIRTH of our little boy MATTHEW ISAIAH, finding out about his heart and other issues, the ups and downs of his life....and now, just sitting here by his bedside, WAITING for the moment that according to ALL the doctors would come...i remember just watching those monitors and seeing all those lines and numbers and looking around his bed and seeing all his diffent pumps hanging from the iv poles and his ventilator....and then finally closing my eyes that were SOOOOOO tired and putting my head back on the wooden rocking chair and falling asleep.....
and then WAKING UP, in a PANIC worried that i had somehow MISSED the whole event and the last few minutes of his life.... and then hearing something right next to me and it was the NEW nurse on her shift (0630) and she was going over all of matthew and looking at his lines and his body and i remember jumping up and asking "is he ok?" and she saying "GOOD MORNING" with a big smile and she saying "he is doing fine!"...never THINKING i would hear those words about matthew and here she was saying that!! she said "LOOK!!!" and i REALLY looked at him and saw that his skin was not as blue as it was the day before...and HIS EYES WERE OPEN!!!! and just then, DR S. walking in and standing at the door, with his hands on his HIP and his HIP cocked to the side STARING at the monitors....and i remember, as i was standing over matthew bed, bending down to see and look in his eyes, and matthew HOLDING MY FINGER, i looked up at him and said, 'WE'RE STILL HERE!!!!" and him finally looking down at me and smiling and saying, "OK....LET'S SEE WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THIS BABY!!!" and then walking out and starting all the paper work to get BLOOD draws, X-rays, labs, cardiac sonogram, and soooo much more to see WHAT was going on with him!! he was sooooooooooo surprised and PLEASED to see that he had made it thru the night....i remember nurses stopping by to say HELLO and to just MARVEL at matthew because sooooo many nurses had all known what was going on with matthew and having been there the day before when we SANG and had a BIRTHDAY PARTY for him...remembered seeing all our relatives here with us and just kNOWING that YESTERDAY, MAY 26TH, 2004, that they were witnessing the last day, hours, minutes of a little boys life and then NOW, TODAY MAY 27TH, 2004, walking into PICU #18 TO see and WITNESS our MIRACLE MATTHEW ISAIAH!!!! really, it was such an amazing day ALL day, getting phone calls from family and friends asking how matthew was and what was going on....EXPECTING to hear bad news and to console but INSTEAD, HEARING SUCH AMAZING WONDERFUL NEWS that they could then pass along to all our other families!!! what a joy it was watching the activity again surrounding matthew where YESTERDAY, the 26th, it had been very FINAL with no real action with the doctors....then basically leaving us alone all day with our son and TODAY,MAY 27th, then going in and out of the room, poking, proding, and NOT LETTING US HOLD HIM AGAIN!!! i think that was the BIG thing for us at that time because YESTERDAY, 26TH, they had finally let us hold him even with his chest open and such BECAUSE they THOUGHT it was going to be his last day....and TODAY MAY 27TH, NOT letting us hold him BECAUSE they needed him to be STABLE so that they could continue to monitor him and see what was going on!!! i also remember our beautiful FRIENDS AND SISTERS DIXIE & CHRISTA, coming back TODAY MAY 27TH, after being with us ALL DAY YESTERDAY, because TODAY MAY 27TH, they had not heard the news that HE WAS STILL ALIVE, but COMING over early in the morning so that they could make the PLASTER CAST of his little hands for us (which we had decided to do AFTER he was suppose to have passed away to make it easier to do without all his equipment on and INSTEAD coming over and finding out that he was ALIVE and it was such a BLESSING AND MIRACLE and them taking video of him and watching his little EYES OPEN UP FOR THE FIRST TIME!!! we have the video where christa is walking in and she sees us over by matthew talking to him and his eyes are just OPEN and looking at us and just WATCHING US!!! we love that video!!! <3
SO MAY 27TH IS A SPECIAL DAY IN OUR FAMILY!!! and every year, we REMEMBER the MIRACLE that is MATTHEW ISAIAH!
Posted by Maria at 2:42 PM 1 comments
Labels: matthew
Saturday, May 26, 2012
SOME PICS OF MATTHEW ON GAME DAY!
TODAY, matthew was honored to be have been allowed to join this brother ALEX VIPERS TEAM in the dugout and to go on the field and pray and say 'good job' to the other team!! he was sooooo happy and it was just such a JOY to see him out there! we were also remembering that today, 5/26/12, 8 years ago, was the day that they had told us that he would not make it thru the night....and then to see him TODAY out there on the FIELD...WHAT A BLESSING AND THANK YOU JESUS FOR OUR BLESSING!! it just happened that it was today and it was just so special!!!
Posted by Maria at 11:30 AM 0 comments
Monday, May 21, 2012
MATTHEW ISAIAH IS 8 YEARS OLD TODAY!
TODAY is such a SPECIAL DAY in our life!!! TODAY, is our MIRACLE MATTHEW ISAIAH's 8th birthday!!!! woooohooo!! so awesome to just BELIEVE that he is now 8 years old!!!! just watching him and marveling at everything he is DOING…just last weekend, he MADE HIS 1ST COMMUNION, he learned to SUCK THRU A STRAW and just recently, he can tell you phonically how to spell his NAME!!! and that one, he surprised me one day at sunday school when i asked him to spell his name for me on his paper and he phonically spelled MATTHEW for me CORRECTLY with NO promptings from me!! just amazing!! and he has done SOOOOO WELL for his 2nd grade that he MASTER most if not ALL his goals!! we had to set all new goals for him for next year! it should be a CHALLENGING year but i know he will continue to do soooo amazing! my son matthew isaiah….born with a RARE CHD called TAPVR with extreme LUNG DAMAGE who was NOT expected to live…who had his 1st OH surgery at 8hrs old and lived in PICU for 98 days and had another open heart surgery and a g-tube placement before he left….who since that day, had been in and out of hospitals, ambulances, air helicopters, has nursing care at home along with enough equipment here (oxygen, nebulizer, suction, CPT vest, pulse oximeter, CPAP machine, feeding pumps, etc) that most doctors tend to keep him home even when he is soooo sick that MOST kiddos would be hospitalized! he has grown so much this year. he is now totally into WII SPORTS and LOVE LOVE LOVE BASEBALL! he loves to WATCH IT and PLAY IT! i really need to get him into a TEAM of his OWN so he can play TOO!! :) this year, he has really enjoyed being in his WALKER and playing with his TBALL and his BASKETBALL GOAL....he is really VOCAL now and can mostly CLEARLY get what he needs across to us now by using voice, gestures and his talker....he also has REALLY learned to EAT now and enjoys to EAT ALL THE TIME!!! it is so amazing for us to go to a restaurant and watch him eat, and especially something he REALLY likes, he can GO TO TOWN!!! i am so proud of him! he is such a trooper and ALWAYS can be tickled into a good mood! he LOVES all things ELECTRONIC and LOVES LOVES LOVES our IPHONES and his new IPAD! especially if he has internet access and can watch his YOUTUBE!!! AND you will never guess what he LOVES to watch?!?!?!?!? WII BASEBALL!!! heheheh...he can sit there and watch it all the time....i guess since that is his favorite game on the WII if he can't PLAY the WII he will watch OTHERS play the WII ON YOUTUBE! :)
SOOO, he keeps getting BIGGER on us...he is now 45 INCHES TALL (he is catching up to me! i am 59 inches tall! YIKES!) and he weighs 43 lbs....his feet are LITTLE!! I always remark on that because his baby brother JOSH has now PASSED him up on his shoe size!!! and he is 4! i guess he inherited his little feet from me! :) he is STILL wearing the SAME SIZE clothes now for about 3 years +!! he's the same weight just stretching on us!! and he LOVES his brothers...he is forever calling them either on his talker or vocally....and of COURSE his most favorite person in the WORLD is his DADA...HE calls for him every time the PHONE rings or there is a KNOCK on the door! it is soooo cute to hear him YELL out over and over 'DA, DA, DA, DA"...ALTHOUGH, in the MORNINGS, i get some PRETTY FIERCE hugs and kisses from him when DAD is not in the house!! i do CHERISH those moments that he is excited to see me and can't get enough of me!!!! awwww....
soooo, if you would like to READ MATTHEWS MIRACLE BIRTH STORY...please go HERE and you can read it....i have NOT made a MONTAGE of him YET...i plan to sometime in the near future!! but you know me, it has been a BIT crazy for me lately....
well, we are SOOOOO PROUD OF HIM and we are SOOOOOO BLESSED for EVER SECOND OF HIS LIFE and we just keep THANKING GOD EVERDAY for his little life!! we truly been blessed with him and just are EVER SO THANKFUL that he is OURS!!!
SOOOOO, THANK YOU GOD for the last EIGHT YEARS THAT YOU HAVE BLESSED US WITH OUR MIRACLE MATTHEW ISAIAH!!! WE PRAY TO HAVE MANY MANY MANY MORE YEARS WITH HIM!!! we pray that you keep him HEALTHY AND STRONG and just continue to keep him going!!! WE PRAISE YOU, GOD FOR EVERYTHING YOU HAVE BLESSED US WITH AND ALWAYS FOR THAT BEAUTIFUL LITTLE MIRACLE YOU GRANTED US WITH....MATTHEW ISAIAH....GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME!! ALL THE TIME, GOD IS GOOD!!! ALL PRAISE AND GLORY TO YOU GOD FOR OUR SON MATTHEW ISAIAH!!!
MATTHEW ISAIAH.....WE LOVE YOU AND ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!!! HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY, MATTHEW!!! GOD BLESS YOU ALWAYS!
Posted by Maria at 12:00 AM 0 comments
Labels: birthday, family update, matthew
Saturday, May 19, 2012
LAST OF THE CYO SCHEDULE FOR THE BOYS!
well, the CYO BASEBALL season is closing out and boy, for our FIRST EVER BASEBALL season it has been an amazing time! we have enjoyed the practices and the games sooooo much with the boys and watching the boys make friends with their team mates is awesome! well, we are excited and so proud of them because this was JOSH first season and he was playing TBALL and he did great!!! he is such an athlete! and then there was our big boy ALEX who has NEVER NEVER played any kind of sport and who never WANTED to play, he decided to TRY baseball....he HATED IT at first...being in the SUN all day, having to WEAR A CUP (and finding out what that was!!) and it being HOT!! HE WAS SOOOO NOT USE TO THAT! but, as the season continued and he got better, having NEVER known how to CATCH A BALL OR HIT A BALL, he has done AMAZING!! he has been to the batting cages and he has hit some AMAZING balls which has given him confidence galore! and then playing catch with his team mates where when he first started, poor baby, he was FOREVER missing and then having to run for the ball, NOW is catching most of the balls!!! so proud of his accomplishments! he has even learned to ignore the CUP!!! and how scary it must have been to go up to the plate and TRY TO HIT THE BALL with all these people watching!!! WE ARE JUST SO PROUD OF THEM!!
sooooo, the last of the CYO GAMES ARE AS FOLLOWED:
MAY 19TH
1245-JOSH'S GAME AT ST ELIZEBETH ANN SEATON in BEORNE
1400-ALEX GAME AT OUR LADY OF GUADALUP on bandera
MAY 20TH
1530-JOSH GAME AT ST MATTHEW'S CHURCH
1745-ALEX GAME AT ST MATTHEWS CHURCH
MAY 26TH
1015-JOSH GAMES ST GREGORY CHURCH
1130-ALEX GAME AT ST GREGORY CHURCH
SAT JUNE 2ND DAD WILL BE GONE FOR THESE NEXT GAMES..HE WILL BE AT HIS 2WEEKS TRAINING SOOO SAD
1130-JOSH GAME AT ST ELIZABETH ANN SEATON in BEORNE
1400-ALEX GAME AT ST MATTHEW'S CHURCH
JUNE 3RD
1300-ALEX GAME AT ST ELIZABETH ANN SEATON in BEORNE
1415-JOSH GAME AT PRINCE OF PEACEWE WILL HAVE TO MISS THIS ONE BECAUSE OF ALEX GAME :(
soooo, we are excited about all of this!! :) they have had a GREAT SEASON!!! i hope that maybe someone can take josh to his LAST GAME because i am not sure if they do anything special for them or not....i will ask the coach and if they DO do something special then i will DEFINETLY have to look for someone to take him!! :) i would hate for him to miss it...
well, here it is...the last of the schedule!!!
Friday, May 18, 2012
today was such a BLESSING!!
GOD IS GOOD!!!! today, a beautiful sister of mine invited me to a prayer group that met today....she had emailed me earlier this week and i was unsure if i could make it but like always, THE LORD showed me and told me to go. and it was BEAUTIFUL!!! it was soooo uplifting.....i am EVER so thankful to those ladies and i feel so spiritually RESTORED! i was anointed and prayed over and it felt AMAZING...i felt so hot when they were praying over me and then when she started to talk, bless, open herself TO me....i started to cry...i have so much FAITH that everything will be ok with my arm because i KNOW GOD is here and that he is with me....but what came out was that i DID have fears...they were hidden and they were not of GOD...there was worry about WHAT was going to happen and there was worry that if IT WAS going to be cancer, who would take care of the boys?!?!?! and when she hit upon those, i started to cry...and i am not a crier and it was just soooooo powerful....i left it at JESUS feet...i feel so happy and i feel sooooooooooo energized!! i keep smelling the beautiful ROSE anointment oils they used...it is soooo relaxing and makes me think of MOTHER MARY!
well, i am off to bed...today was the 1st day of the 9 days of the NOVENA FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT!! yesterday was THE LORDS ASSUMPTION INTO HEAVEN!! today STARTED the 9 days of prayer that everyone did after JESUS ASSENDED and 9 days from now, NEXT SUNDAY is PENTACOST SUNDAY...they day that the HOLY SPIRIT CAME TO THEM AND IT LOOKED LIKE TONGUES OF FLAMES and they started to speak in TONGUES!! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL DAY IT IS AND WILL BE!!!!
wednsday will be the day they do my BIOPSY ON MY ARM....praying for good news!
Posted by Maria at 11:30 PM 0 comments
Labels: me
Saturday, May 12, 2012
MATTHEW MADE HIS 1ST COMMUNION!!
WE ARE SOOOOO PROUD of our son!!! today, he finished another of his sacraments (baptism, reconciliation & now 1st communion) and we are so blessed!! it was such an exciting day. we got him his little shirt with a tie, some slacks and his new black shoes. we bought him rosary, his prayer book and all his little stuff. we had so many people that were praying for him and he was sooooooo excited. we had practice earlier in the week for him and he was going to be bringing up the BASKET OF FLOWERS during the offeratory and he looks soooo cute! he had to walk in with his HANDS IN PRAYER and he did! he had been practicing...all the kids that were around him were so excited by him and continued to talk to him and try to teach him new words. it was really cute because they were allll trying to teach him words and how to clap etc. awwwwwww.....on top of our PRINCE OF PEACE community being there, my aunt and uncle ZEKE & CYNDI, his nurse and her fiancé, our good friends the ARNDTS, grandma, uncle bubba and family and his 2nd grade teacher!!! it was so nice of everyone! :) and we were soooooo worried about him actually taking the BODY AND BLOOD of CHRIST!~!! he is G-TUBE FED and yes he DOES eat but not on demand! he has to WANT to eat and this was something different! :) so the FATHER and i figured out that he would place a small piece of the HOST on a spoon with some water and then spoon feed him...well, matthew wanted NONE OF IT!! so we kept trying and FINALLY he opened his mouth and we put it in there...he was ok after that...for the wine, i had a SMALL syringe and i probably gave him something like .2 cc of the stuff and squirted it in his mouth!!! he was fine and everyone in the church was watching and you could see that everyone was just smiling!!! we had people come up to us after mass and congratulated him and also tell us that they were soooo moved by it all!!!! you see, to have him make this sacrament was just so amazing thinking back to when he was born and they were giving me NO HOPE what so ever and here we are, making this amazing event!!! THANK YOU GOD FOR OUR LITTLE MIRACLE!!!!!
Posted by Maria at 10:30 AM 0 comments
Labels: matthew
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
FIRST DOCTORS APPT.....DONE....
SO, today was my first appt with the ORTHOPEDICS department at SAMMC....it started at 1045 and ended at 1300! so, after getting the BEAUTIFUL BIG NEW AND IMPROVED BAMC hospital, i had to navigate the CRAZY hallways from one side of the hospital to the other!! boy, i almost needed a COMPASS!!! i know i could have STILL been there lost if i hadn't asked so many people WHERE AM I!?!?! anyway, finally got to see the PA there at orthopedics...VERY VERY nice man!!! was very comfortable with him. after he and his dr looked at the MRI, they felt that it was PROBABLY a PERIPHERAL NERVE SHEATH TUMOR instead of a histiosytoma....still not sure if it is cancer or not and will not be able to find out until i get an BIOPSY...soooo, i asked him was this something he sees a lot or something interesting and rare...he said VERY RARE and VERY INTERESTING...he has been consulting with many of his peers to see what they think....so,he said that we were going to go ahead and have surgery, remove tumor and then BIOPSY the tumor to see what it is.....so then they sent me off to RADIOLOGY to get an XRAY of my arm....done....as i am leaving the hospital (after negotiating the halls again) , i get to the outer door and check my phone and find out that he had called and left me a message...COME BACK....WE ARE THINKING OF SOMETHING ELSE WE MIGHT DO!!! LUCKILY, i saw that before i left, so turned around negotiated the halls AGAIN, made my way back and went back to talk to them....he said that after talking to ANOTHER doctor, she felt that instead of going in and having surgery right away, that maybe a better option would be to do a ULTRASOUND GUIDED BIOPSY of the tumor and IT MIGHT NOT BE A TUMORE BUT MIGHT BE A BUNDLE OF NERVES?! he said, that my chances of it being CANCER if it WAS a BUNDLE OF NERVES just went DOWN!!!!! so, then i scheduled a ULTRASOUND that is set up for TOMORROW at 1130 and then i have to make ANOTHER appt to see the PA again.....and then they will see if it is POSSIBLE to do the non invasive surgery or if it is NOT possible and then do the FULL SURGERY... sooooo, to recap: BEST CASE SENERIO: ULTRA SOUND SHOWS THAT IT WAS NOT A PERIPHERAL NERVE SHEATH TUMOR AND THEY CAN DO A ULTRASOUND GUIDED BIOPSY AND THERE IS ANOTHER WAY OF TREATING THIS MASS WITHOUT DOING OUTRIGHT SURGERY AND BIOPSY IS NOT CANCER WORST CASE SENERIO: ULTRA SOUND SHOWS THAT IT IS A PERIPHERAL NERVE SHEATH TUMOR, CAN'T DO A ULTRASOUND GUIDED BIOPSY AND NEED TO HAVE AN OPERATION TO REMOVE THE TUMOR AND BIOPSY IT tomorrow, i am going to do an ultrasound in the morning and then i should be going back to see the orthopedics dr and see what happens.... so there it is...we shall see what this day brings...it has been a LONG day....LONG LONG LONG day....i left at 0930, got home at 1315 just long enough for james and the boys to come and pick me up and we were off again (i never left my car) and ran over to grab some take out because we were going to watch the 1405 showing of the AVENGERS (which was AMAZING!!!!!), came home for EXACTLY one hour (long enough for matthew to have his teacher and some CLASS), AS SOON as she walked out, we WERE OUT of here and headed to 1ST COMMUNION PRACTICE over at the church and we made it home at 2055!!! boy, my DOGS hurt!!! heeheheheeee....just a bit crazy right now!!! hope tomorrow goes GREAT!!!! THANK YOU EVERYONE AND MANY BLESSINGS EVERYONE!
Posted by Maria at 10:33 PM 0 comments
Sunday, May 06, 2012
happy day today!!!
matthew is feeling better!!! after over a week of being soooo sick with congestion, wheezing and just feeling lousy, last night was the first night in almost a WEEK without having to need oxygen!!! woooohooo...he has another antibiotic on board after going to see his pulmonolgist on friday because he was STILL wheezing and having a hard time breathing after 9 doses of oral steroids, 4 days of an antibiotic and TONS AND TONS of nebulizer treatments every 3-4 hours...he has finally feels BETTER!!! still wheezing BUT able to keep his oxygen sats UP without the use of oxygen. it is such a BLESSING to us to see him back to almost normal. he is such a special little boy that even though he doesn't feel GREAT, he still smiles and laughs and just is MATTHEW.....SO NOw to CLEAR HIM UP so he doesn't have to have any more neb treatments and can just go back to 'normal' for him....he is REALLY starting to HATE the nebs and the suction and i don't blame him for it!!! i would hate it!! and now they are talking about getting him a IPV machine for the house...we were soooooo close to having to admit him into the hospital!!!! the dr was really worried about him/..after seeing the X-ray that we took on friday, he said there was INCREASED MARKINGS...hmmmm....poor baby! just happy that he has not needed to be admitted!!! WHEEEEWW!!! and ON a happy note, TODAY matthew started to SUCK ON A STRAW!!! whooohooo!! he lost his suck reflex at 7 months old and has never been able to do it since!! but recently he started to give KISSES, and today, i put them together with his ONE WAY VALVE STRAW and cup and told him to 'give the straw a kiss matt' and waalaa!! he DID IT@!!!! soooo happy and in AMAZEMENT of him! now just to watch him that he doesn't suck toooooooo hard that he aspirates!!! ;) AS FOR ME, well i am doing fine....thinking of my arm and wondering what will happen on tuesday at the drs office. they called me on friday morning to tell me that they could see me on tuesday....that was QUICK as far as the military system workings so i was VERY VERY happy to get that phone call the next morning after getting the news of my arm!~!! THANK YOU GOD! now to start this journey....i PRAY that there is a 'QUICK FIX' for this and it isn't the WORST CASE scenario...i can only PRAY that it is something that is treatable....BUT whatEVER the outcome, i am READY!! with GOD and my family and friends behind me, i will the strength to do ANYTHING.... after what matthew goes thru EVERYDAY, i know i can do it....and i will do it with a SMILE because i have FAITH in MY GOD that all will be well and it is HIS will!! if you can remember MAY 21st - MAY 26TH, 2004 when we got the news of matthew you will remember that thru iT ALLLLL, i had complete FAITH in GOD and i accepted it all and knew that whatever happened was GOD'S WILL and i believe now the same thing...GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!!! ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD!!!! ready for TUESDAY to get here and find out some more!!!
Posted by Maria at 3:58 PM 0 comments
Thursday, May 03, 2012
FIBROUS HISTIOCYTOMA.....
BIG WORD huh?? Well, before this morning, it was a word that i had never heard....that and also PERIPHERAL NERVE SHEATH TUMOR.....well, after more than FIVE YEARS of pain and going to drs to find out WHAT THE HECK was wrong with my right forearm (and being told OVER AND OVER that it was TENNIS ELBOW), FINALLY, the PHYSICAL THERAPIST who was working with me, after palpating the area, decided that something was WRONG with my forearm and that if it WAS TENNIS ELBOW, it sure would not STILL be hurting YEARS LATER and progressively getting worst!!!! and he also palpated something on it that felt like a nodule....hmmmmmm, it took a PHYSICAL THERAPIST to FINALLY realize that SOMETHING was wrong with my arm!!! he told me i NEEDED to get an MRI ASAP because it was NOT NORMAL!!! SO, after FIRST having to make an appt with my PCM, then waiting for her to agree with him that i SHOULD get an MRI (after telling me YET AGAIN, that the symptoms SOUNDED like TENNIS ELBOW!!!), I got my MRI 3 weeks later and here i am, with an CONSULT to be seen by a ORTHOPEDIC ONCOLOGIST!!! yes, i am going to see a dr that specializes in CANCER....for my arm....that has been hurting for MORE THAN 5 YEARS....that i have gone to the dr OVER AND OVER again....and being told that it was TENNIS ELBOW!!! hmmm... so, there was no SHOCK involved in hear this diagnosis....i was soooooo calm!!! and IMMEDIATELY, the song YAHWEH, I KNOW YOU ARE NEAR.....i LOVE that song and i started to sing and think of that song...it brought me so much peace and it's one of my favorite songs and reminds me that he is EVER by MY SIDE and that i have nothing to fear....after everything that my beautiful son MATTHEW ISAIAH went thru, NOTHING that is going on in my life is ANYTHING compared to what he has gone thru and continues to go thru...he is such a STONG little boy and just seeing him everyday always and forever will assure me of my SAVIORS BEING BY MY SIDE....no matter WHAT is happening in my life, it is GOD'S WILL and it is HIS will through it all and he will see me thru it, one second at a time!!! :) soooo, i ask for prayers because that is one thing that i have such STRONG FAITH in that prayers are sooooo amazing and so strong and that when we ASK, HE WILL ANSWER AND HE WILL HEAR!!! i am ready for anything because 'THRU GOD, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE' MATTHEW 19:26....THAT has been our SAYING since OUR MATTHEW was born! :) and it continues to bring is strength thru our life!! sooooo, THANK YOU in advance for any prayers and good thoughts...i don't know what life will bring but i KNOW that THRU GOD, all will be ok and that my life is HIS and whatever He decides for me, is EXACTLY the way it needs to be!! :)
Posted by Maria at 11:03 PM 1 comments
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
BLESSINGS!!!!!
GOD IS SOOOOO GOOD!! today we found out that MATTHEW was selected to receive some BLESSINGS from VARIETY OF TEXAS CHARITY GROUP!!!!!!!!! wooooohooooooo............again, just AMAZED and feeling sooooooo BLESSED that it has happened.....we asked for an UMBRELLA SPECIAL NEEDS STROLLER---we asked for this because right now, he has a WHEELCHAIR that weighs about 60+ and to get it out and into our SUV, it is a double lift and/or using the WHEELCHAIR LIFT....when i am by myself, it takes me about 20+ minutes to get it set up, out, break it down, set up his wheelchair, put him in and then off we go....when it is COLD, RAINY, HOT, ETC, it is pretty hard!!! :) but we are blessed and the wheelchair doesn't fit into a car (for the nurse to take him somewhere) and so we have been using joshua's small umbrella stroller and poor baby is soooooo big for this!!! feet drag etc...so now we are going to have what he needs!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!! and then we asked for an IPAD for him and they said YES!!! this will help matt communicate, get better with pointing and just there are soooo many apps that could help him!! NEEDLESS TO SAY WE ARE SO GRATEFUL AND THANKFUL FOR THIS!!!!!! this group helps out special need families with stuff that insurance won't pay for, have denied, etc.....wowowowowowow.....so GOD WILLING in a couple of weeks we should get everything! :)soooooo YAYAYA! I CAN'T WAIT.....
Posted by Maria at 11:54 AM 0 comments
Labels: matthew