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.....

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!!

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

GONZALEZ FAMILY UPDATE...prayers needed please!

Hola Family and friends!



We hope that everyone has had a WONDERFUL 8 months of the year and are ready for the last couple of months left of 2010!!! As for us, well, it has been DEFINETLY an UP and DOWN kind of year. So much has happened in the last 8 months that sometimes I am just in awe of what has gone on!! J I haven’t give anyone on update in a VERY long time so I thought I would go ahead and get one out…



Well, as a family all is wonderful. We are enjoying life and being together as a family. Nothing makes us happier than when we spend time with each other. Having the blessing of being able to be together and watch our children grow, is just such a GRAND experience and we THANK GOD everyday for such blessings!! We have done a couple of camping times. This summer, we took a 2 weeks vacation and did some RVing and spent some time at the coast. Just tons of FAMILY time. Since we have a pool, boy, we have DEFINETLY had some great use out of it. The boys LOVE going swimming!!



Well, our little alex is now 8 YEARS OLD!!! Wow, it is just AMAZING to me to have an 8 years old in our house. And he is GROWING by leaps and bounds. He is out of his 5 point harnest and into a booster chair now. That is a big thing for him. He is such a cutie. He is now in 3rd grade and doing FABULOUSLY in our homeschool work. He has a Monday playdate and a Tuesday PE class and he LOVES it!!! J just watching him play with other kids, is great. We usually have a very busy schedule and he still manages to IMPRESS me in how smart he is. Just watching him think his way thru a problem or read something and then remember what he read and know what it talked about is just so amazing to me. He loves his baby brothers and just has so much fun playing with them. He is such a GREAT big brother!! J



Then there is Matthew. Well, matthew is now 6 years old. Again, AMAZING! He has been thru some rough roads with him since the beginning of this year. Lets see, he started the year off with RSV, went on to have KAWASAKI SYNDROME and was hospitalized for 4 days, and now, well, the scariest of all things is happening to matthew, and we are asking for MANY MANY MANY PRAYERS for this little boy. For a while now, he has been REALLY restless during the night and was ALL over the place, so I called his neurologist to let him know that SOMETHING was going on….well, On June 29th, he had massive seizure that we had to be taken to the hospital via EMS….he then had a 24 hour video EEG done and come to find out that he was having seizures in the front and back ALL THE TIME. As he lay sleeping at 0700, the dr walked in and was watching his monitor and said that he was having seizures the whole time…that was just so HEARTBREAKING for me to hear! I knew SOMETHING was going on but was so hoping it was not THAT!!! So, we were placed on a new seizure med called VIMPAT on top of his other 2 seizure meds…and these sezirues are VERY different…not like anything we had ever seen. The other scary thing is that he stops breathing with these seizures and we have had to BAG him, which we personally have never had to do. Usually the EMS crew does it. Well, not anymore…and what a horrible feeling it is to have to BAG your son with oxygen, have him BLUE, totally unresponsive & his Oxygen sats down in the 40’s…well, since the 29th of June, he has had a 2 more seizures in July and 5 in August and here we are on September 1st and I PRAY that they finally STOP!! If you can imagine, it went from 2 seizure in 2 YEARS to 8 seizures in less than 2 MONTHS….A new seizure med was started on Aug 30th and we are back on CLONOPIN so we are now officially up to 4 seizure med….not HAPPY! And it makes HIM not happy. You can tell it is definetly affecting him because he is REALLY sleepy and very irratible! My poor little boy. we are now thinking of getting some NIGHT NURSING…yep, the one we said we would NOT get but because these seizures are not your regular ones and they are happening at ALL hours of his sleep, I am not getting much sleep at all. I actually have a CRICK in my neck from turning to look at the monitor every couple of minutes…I need someone to watch him sleep!!! L So, what we are going to start in this coming month is, he is going to be placed on the KETOGENIC DIET which has been known to help with stopping seizures. So, they will take him off of his current G-TUBE formula (peptimum, jr) to a KETO-CAL formula. I read up on it and basically, it is a LOW-CARB diet…I THINK we will be admitted into the hospital for a couple of days…NC Baptist I think…and if he does well on this, then HOPEFULLY the seizures will have stopped, maybe some meds taken off and all will be well..PLEASE JESUS, let it all go WELL!!!! But other than that, he is doing AMAZING!!! He is in 1st grade now and he is getting SOOO BIG! He is so smart too. I love when he talks to us or he tries really hard to tell us something. And the BEST thing that came out of his seizures is that he is EATING ORALLY LIKE A CHAMP! Yep, my little boy is LOVING eating. He wakes up and signs EAT and he eats breakfast, lunch and dinner. And I am talking he EATS not just nibbles. Could be why he has gained so much weight!! He is now 42 lbs!!! he is getting HEAVY! But he is such a cutie and he is getting so strong. Unfortunately, with these recent seizures, he has had some weakness now that is causing him to be MORE LOW TONED….i just pray that he gets his strength back SOON!!! He loves his brothers and loves to challenge them! He is SOMETHING else when he gets MAD at one of them. He will sit there and YELL at them if they are having issues. So cute!!! That is our little boy!!



And then there is JOSHUA who is now 3 years old. Wow, this little boy is SOMETHING else. I love him SOOO MUCH but he is the 3rd child…he is the one that gets into EVERYTHING…and he is currently into the terrible 2 at 3! He favorite word is NO or UH-HU…and he is a little con artist cause he will say in a whiny voice’no alex, stop’ and I will catch him saying that and alex is across the room or something and alex is like, I am not even touching you!!! So, he tries to get brother in trouble all the time. He is also very LOUD…he loves to sing but LOUDLY, he loves to play but play LOUDLY…my ears are usually ringing by the end of the day. But he LOVES to play with alex and he love to tease matthew. Such a CUTIE!!!



Well, james is doing very good. He is at a new unit here in san Antonio so that means that we are STAYING in san Antonio!! J either way I would have been happy but now especially with Matthews seizures, I am so glad we are staying here..we are hoping that he gets his promotion soon so then we can start looking for a new home…he finished PHASE 2 of his BNOC school….we REALLY need a one story house….matthew is getting soooooo heavy and with his recent seizures, he is almost too weak to go up the stairs on his own and we have to carry him and he is HEAVY!!! Anyway, james is doing well and he is gearing up for HUNTING SEASON. Yep, let the shooting begin! One of his favorite sports! He started TODAY at his new job and it is at CAMP BULLIS now so a bit closer than where he was at before. I feel sad for him because his whole unit before is now all scattered around TEXAS …they were sooo close. I know they will stay friends but no longer work together….



As for me, well, so-so…I am ALIVE and I am BLESSED so I really shouldn’t complain. But since my surgery back in feb 2010, my body has not been the same…I have been back and forth to the doctors and surgeons trying to find out WHY I am continue to have gastro issues…I have had colonoscopies, blood work, scopes, etc and they still don’t’ know what is going on. I wonder if they injured something while they did the surgery…anyway, I just wanted it FIX cause it is LIFE ALTERING what I am going thru…my fibro is kicking my butt too, but again, with all the stress of the surgery and now with matthew seizures, my little body is going nuts! J



But THANK YOU GOD, our little family is doing well. We have started up on our school year again and we are enjoying doing classes. Waiting for the HOLIDAYS to come. It is just around the corner now!!!! We take one day at a time and we take our evenings very seriously. We have tried to keep matthew to a strict in bed time of 8:30 to make sure he gets plenty of sleep. So needless to say, we are ALL on a schedule now. We tend to notice if we have had a LONG day, he will end up with a seizure!!



So, we hope this letter finds everyone doing AMAZING and well. We ask PLEASE if you can please pray for our little boy, MATTHEW that his seizures resolve and he has them NO MORE. I am so sad for him because now with all these meds, he is not the same little boy…he is really tired all the time and GRUMPY!! GOD WILLING these seizure meds GO AWAY!!!



Thanks again, everyone!! until next time, TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS!!!



James, Maria, Alex, Matthew, & Joshua

we are up to 6....

unfortunatly, the seizures are back...we are up to 6 szs now in just under 2 months...that is WAY WAY WAY up from 2 seizures in OVER TWO YEARS....i am so sad about my baby boy matthew...he had a sleep study done on tuesday night. their thought is that maybe he is having apnea episodes which in turn are causing him to have seizures?! we shall see how he did in his sleep study. all i want to know is WHY?!?! now i need to be very clear about this, it is not 'why him, God?" i don't THINK i have ever thought that, even when he was born with a heart defect. i love my son JUST THE WAY HE IS and i am very BLESSED to have him with us!! i am asking 'WHY is he having seizures again?' how can i HELP him...what is the cause so that we can try to fix it....that is the WHY i am thinking and asking...how can i help my little man...what is going on?! anyway, he had another sz last night...2 in fact...my poor little guy!! he slept thru them but he remained on oxygen all night long and he seemed to sleep very well...

i am praying that SOMETHING comes up that will explain why he is having these sz...

need to get back to blogging....

yep, it has been a LONG TIME since i really have been up to date on my blogging...life seems to get in the way of it....but really, there is really no reason...FACEBOOK is my new favorite place to post stuff but why i do it there and not here, well, i don't know! i SHOULD do it more often here because this is forever and facbook just keeps rolling by....

sooo, life has been great....my boys are all doing wonderful, THANK YOU GOD...we are getting ready to start our school...maybe next week?! we have all our curriculum, THANK YOU GOD and alex is ready to get going...i am just ready to get started back on our schedule...I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING and yestereday, i joined the NORTH WEST HOMESCHOOL EDUCATORS and i am really excited! field trips, tons of fellowship for me AND the boys...so i am excited...just need my history and science book and that should be this week! :)

wow, our pool is GREEN!! YUCKY! yep, after our birthday party on the 1st, with all the kiddos jumping in after playing hard and sweating all day, it just killed the pool!!! :( and since james is gone for 2 weeks, who gets to clean it up?! ME!! OH WELL...i just hope i can do it...i am PRAYING that today's treatment is IT...if not, it is dumping the water and doing it again...sign...pools are sooo much work but so much fun..

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY, JAMES ALEX II!

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY, JAMES ALEX II!!

My baby boy Alex is 8 years old! Wow, we have been SOOO BLESSED with this little boy…THANK YOU GOD for this little boy. What a blessing he is in our family. I can’t believe he is now 8 years old. He is such a happy little boy. Always ready to help us whenever we ask and SO polite! He is the best big brother ever. Always helping out with the boys and being so calm and helping so much with his baby brothers. With matthew, he is always willing to help me with getting whatever I need…medical wise, wow, this little boy is amazing when it comes to drs appts for matthew. Being WONDERFUL there at the different appts and when matthew is in the hospital, he does great there. He has unfortunately had to witness several of matthew’s massive seizures and he has great at getting me the phone to call 911 and going downstairs to open the door for EMS….just such a BRAVE little boy! so proud of him! And for Joshua, he LOVES his baby brother and he LOVES playing with him. Finally, someone who he can play with and run around with and Joshua looks up to him…Joshua follows him everywhere! So cute…wants to do whatever Alex does! And so smart…he is now in the 3rd grade and he loves being homeschooled. He does so well in all his studies and just keeps amazing me on his memory of everything and what he learns. He ‘gets’ it quickly. He needs little if any help with his studies. He usually does it all on his own, only asking for help if he just doesn’t get it. So proud of him. And his belief in God is just amazing to watch. He loves learning all about HIM and he loves that our homeschool curriculum is based on our faith of Catholicism. He probably knows more than we do about it! And such a sponge when it comes to something he loves. And just loves his LEGO’s and his WII games. He is also just amazing when it comes to a computer. Since the age of 4, he has been able to get on, get to where he wants to go and play and get online like a pro! And he sits there and watches YOUTUBE and learns how to make LEGO’s figures and ships and such. Wow, his creations are just amazing.

Our son, Alex…what a BLESSING given to us from GOD. Back when we didn’t know if we could ever carry a baby to full term, here he was. He is our RIPLEY’s BELIEVE IT OR NOT baby (if you want to read his story…GO HERE) and with his pregnancy, daddy was gone for ALL 9 MONTHS because 9/11 had just happened and james was activated to Texarkana!!! But he made it for the birth of our FIRST BABY BOY…BLESSINGS…

SO, to end this, THANK YOU GOD for blessing us with this beautiful baby boy and THANK YOU GOD for every beautiful second that we have had with him…HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAMES ALEX II!!!! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

MATTHEW had a sz last night...

‎*yawn*long night..wow, i was just talking to my TAPVR friends about what it felt like 4 him to have a sz in middle of night & have to leave ur other kids..and it happened. that was so scary! but we r HOME & he looks good..i can't believe his O2 sats got into the 30'S & his lips turned BLUE! that was the FIRST time i personally had EVER had to BAG my boy!! they always did it in the ambulance but there was NO WAY i could wait! to see him not responding, O2 monitor going crazy, sats in the 40's & 30"s and knowing you have to BA...G HIM or he is going pass out or worst...that was really SCARY! Thank GOD i had his airway bag set up pinned to the wall above his oxygen and it was complete (thanks to METHODIST & our last hospital stay where i took the bag from the room) and i hooked it up and put it on him...wow, that was a crazy rush...i say that because so many emotions are going thru your body and then i had james call 9-1-1 and then we switched and i had to get his diastat in him ASAP....(valium to help stop his sz)...he sz for 25 mins that we actually saw him plus how ever long he sz before his monitor went off...scary!!
but, these sz are really different than the other ones....he seems to be responding to the DIASTAT with these so, i think we are going to NOT call EMS until after his diastat and he is STILL szing...the DIASTAT has seem to work...so i think i will give the DIASTAT after 3 mins....support him with oxygen and watch him...after another 5 mins if he is still not responding or still szing, i will call EMS...the decisions i have to make for my boy....you never think you would make THOSE kinds of decisions for anyone you love....but thru my FAITH and thru PRAYERS he and WE have come a long way...THANK YOU GOD FOR MY BOY!!!

thanks all for any thoughts and prayers...we are going to take it EASY today...and did i mention that my dh is leaving for 2 weeks this saturday?!?!? yep, going to be STRESSful the next 2 weeks on my own and with his sz....**sigh**