boy, that surgery was HORRIBLE!!! :(

well, i had my surgery on WED FEB 17 and it was....HORRIBLE!!! :( i have had 3 c-sections and this takes the CAKE!!! well, i had a 5 HOUR surgery and then one hour AFTER trying to wake me UP!! the way it was explained was that my HAITAL HERNIA was the size of a mans fist, then my stomache went THRU the hernia into my CHEST above my DIAPHRAM....so they had to PULL my tummy out of my chest, FIX the hernia with some WIRE MESH, then REDO my NISSEN WRAP and then ANCHOR my stomache down so that it doesn't go back UP into my chest by placing a GTUBE for 6 weeks ....yep...not good at ALL!!! and then i am on a LIQUID DIET for about 4-6 weeks!! YUMMY!!! and trust me, if i EAT anything that is toooooo big, IT HURTS and it just STICKS in my throat and just SLIDES realllly slow until FINALLY it goes down....not a good feeling...it could take up to 5 mins to go DOWN!!! i was sooooooo miserable after i had surgery while in the hospital...i spent over 24 hours in ICU because i had a collapsed lung and fluid AROUND my lungs (plura effusion) and i was in SOOOO MUCH CHEST PAIN!! MISSERABLE!! and then, about 5 hours before i went to the 7th floor, they brought in someone that had an ARM TRANSPLANT and her room had to be at 80 DEGREES and because our rooms shared a thermastat, MY ROOM WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOO HOT!!! man, it was REALLY bad....and then when i went up to the floor, i was just sooooo miserable...YUCKY!! it was not a good stay...and my FIBRO was kicking my BUTT and those beds were NOT comfy and my back and my chest....and up until the DAY i got out, i could only have 60cc of WATER every 6 hours...yes 60CC!!! that is like NOTHING!! until right before i left...CRAZY! and i could catch my breath and i was just yUCKY YUCKY YUCKY! i could go on and on....bBUT BUT BUT BUT....IT COULD ALWAYS BE WORST!!! sooooo, I AM BLESSED!!!!! BLESSED!!! BLESSED!!! THANK YOU GOD!!! :)

MATTHEW is in the hospital.....and other news...

HELLO EVERYONE!!

i hope everyone is doing WONDERFUL and enjoying their 2nd month of the year!! as for us, well, we are doing fine....i tell you, i hope we are getting all the 'bad' stuff out of the way EARLY in the year so that the rest of the year would be sssmmmoooottthhhh sailing!!! :)

i just wanted to send out an update.....i know, 2 in 2 months...well, matthew is in the hospital right now....he was admitted yesterday due to a rash ALL OVER that started last week....i am sooooo THANKFUL that we have such a WONDERFUL dr that didn't just blow off his symptoms like most drs would have and instead decided that after seeing him 2 days (mon/wed) that he needed to be admitted cause he was not getting better....they diagnosed him with KAWASAKI SYNDROME....his cardiologist said we needed to play the lottery cause him have TAPVR (rare CHD) and now this (which is also very rare) is just unheard of!! only matthew would say DIFFERENT!!! soooo, this is the earliest diagnosis (we were 72 hours into it) she has ever made so that is a GREAT AND AMAZING thing!! it dropped his chances for an anuerism to 2% or sooo...THANK YOU GOD! they are treating it with IVIG and HIGH DOES OF ASPRIN (5 baby asprins every 6 hours)...they started his IVIG and asprin last night....i am just praying that he responds to it...he has been so miserable now for a couple of days....he didn't ever look like matthew... i had only heard it because JET TRAVOLTA had it when he was 3 and i remember when he died, the mother said that THAT was what caused his death (which was NOT true)...anyway, if you google it is says that young kids get it (which is why it is soooo rare for matthew) and that it imight be caused by cleaning your carpets...not true...it is actually your body fighting itself because there is a virus in it...not a good thing...it does effect the heart, which scared me SILLY!!! and plenty of fluid....he is finally looking a LITTLE better...you can see pics on facebook...he was soooo swollen and red all over....just so you know, the symptoms are ALL OVER RASH, FEVER FOR 5 DAYS, LIPS-SWOLLEN, RED AND CRACKED, EYES-RED (RACCON EYES BUT RED) AND THE WHITES ARE RED TOO (KINDA CREEPY LOOKING), FEET/HANDS- SWOLLEN AND RED, TONGUE- LOOKS LIKE A STRAWBERRY (BRIGHT RED AND HIS TASTE BUDS WHITE) AND SWOLLEN LYMPH NODES(he did NOT have that yet)..as she was reading the signs/symptoms, i just kept nodding........his face just look HORRIBLE!! at first we thought it was a rxn to one of his drugs and we were AFRAID that it would be on of his SZ meds and that would have BAD cause he is on such a 'perfect' mix and dose right now that i sure didn't want to mess with it!!! and neither did his nuerologist! anyway, GOD WILLING we will be getting out of here this weekend....it was funny cause his pedi dr said laughingly, 'well, good news is that there is no holidays this weekend!!" and i had to remind him that valentines day was on sunday and then presidents day was on monday!! he just GROANED!! if you remember, matthew is NOTORIOUS for having 'drama' on holidays or on vacations....just last month he was dx with RSV (i don't think i mentioned that before) on NEW YEARS EVE.....only MATTHEW!!! :) soooo, any prayers or good thoughts would be REALLY appreciated....

as for the OTHER news for the month...i am going to be having surgery next week (17th)...yep, they decided that i needed to have my stomach corrected after all....they think my nissen is fine BUT apparently, all my GERD/reflux symptoms i had been having since i had joshua were because i had a hiatal hernia and my nissen/stomach went THRU it and is now sitting above my diaphram!!!!! so, THAT is why i am having such a time with my reflux/pain...it's getting SQUISHED by my diaphram every time i BREATH!! FIGURES! :) soooo, they are going to pull down my stomach to where it is suppose to be, anchore it with a GTUBE (yes, matthew and i are going to be TWINS cause we will BOTH have feeding tubes) then fix up the hiatal hernia!! now, the gtube is just temporary (about a month) so that my stomache will adhere to the wall there where the gtube...then they will take it out and it will close up and my stomache SHOULD never move from that place again and go back UP! :) i know, WIERD!!! i guess i can say the same thing as i said about matthew....ONLY YOU, MARIA, THIS WILL HAPPEN TO! :) but hey, maybe they can do a little lypo/tummy tuck when they are in there?!?!? i will have to ask the drs about that!! ok...i think the WORST thing about this whole surgery is that i am going to be on a FULL LIQUID DIET for about 3 weeks....i did this 10 years ago when i had the nissen and it was hard then, i can't imagine how hard it is going to be NOW that i have 3 kids!!!!!! the crazy thng is that you can't ''cheat" like any other time...you know, grab a pinch of food here, a bite there...nope, if i did that, i could CHOKE to death!! my esophagus will be so swollen, it will not let anything but liquid thru!! so, instead, i will be eating applesauce, jello, pudding, broth with no noodles or anything, and ensure for 3 weeks....YYYYUUUUMMMMYYYY!!!! james says he will be on the diet WITH me...i give him 2 days before he caves!!! i am just wanting this to be done and over with....one of my aunts jokingly asked 'what are you giving up for LENT? SOLIDS?" which i thought was sooo funny! i had actually not realized that i would be having surgery ON ASH WED!! who knew?! it has got to be a good day since it is a HOLY day of obligation! :) i need to make sure i get some ashes from somewhere after my surgery....i just MIGHT give up solids for 40 days and nights...maybe....of course, my luck,you would think that i would lose ALLLL this weight and i end up gaining it or something....i NEED to lose some...i hope that is an ADDED benefit!! ;)

anyway, my other 2 boys are doing WONDERFUL....alex is doing great in his class...he is just sooooo smart! :) he amazed me the other day (every day) when he asked what SUDUKO was...i showed him what the concept was and that was IT, he figured it out and started working on a puzzle IMMEDIATLY!!! it took me FOREVER to figure out WHAT i was suppose to do!!!!!!! and i am so proud...his math, he is doing GREAT! he is adding/subtracting/borrowing/carrying over up to the 100's and working on the 1000's! and again, i didn't have to really teach him anything...just showed him what to do one time and he was OFFF!!!! :) love it! and GOD WILLING, this year in May, he will be making his FIRST COMMUNION and we are sooooo excited and happy!!! :) big boy...and this week, he started his first HOMESCHOOL PE CLASS and boy, he LOVED IT!! there are about 13 kids in it and she made them do laps, jumping jacks, sprints, jump rope etc and he said he had a BLAST! he was sooo worried about the week after i had my surgery and who was going to take him cause he didn't want to miss! i told him that i would take him...he LOVED IT!

and joshua...really, what can i say...he is such a CUTIE, and such a SMARTY...i love when he talks and tells me 'love you', and just huggs and loves on me...he is still a mama's boy and i am LOVING IT! ;) he is still a little bully!!! he will go up to matthew and wrestle him DOWN!! and we have to be VERY careful cause he and matthew fight alllll the time! and i mean FIGHT....i tell you, in a former life, i don't know WHO joshua was....maybe a soldier or something cause he knows how to 'shoot' a rifle and gun (even with sticks and such), he can box and fight, wants to play with KNIFES, SCISSORS & FIRE and he LOVES to play all kinds of sports...scary!!! just the other day, we had SUCH a scare cause i had left my pill box in my purse and he got a hold of it and took a couple of bites of my PILLS!!!!! CAN YOU SAY OMG! how scary?! we had to take him to the ER per poison control cause i didn't know how many he had taken....but THANK GOD, everything was just fine...IF he actually had any, it was really minute....it sure taught me a BIG lesson that i guess i had forgot or just was not as watchful but after this, i am looking at EVERYTHING around him to make sure he can't hurt himself...again, ONLY JOSHUA!!!

and james is doing great...such a AMAZING hubby and daddy! he is working HARD and just being recognized for it...we are sooo proud of him....he is getting ready for the BIG move....he is trying to find his soldiers other places to move them to (other battalions)...it's alot of work...not to mention that HE has to find a job himself!!!! :) but again, that is my MAN!!! love him...he and i celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on 2/1/10...it has been 13 years of BLISS....i have always been soooo THANKFUL to GOD and felt soooo BLESSED that GOD brought him into my life...he is just an amazing daddy and husband....not many would be able to go thru what we have gone thru (with matthew) and still be around....not many would LOVINGLY, WILLINGLY learn everything they have to do so that their children would be healthy and happy...he is something else! THANK YOU GOD!

anyway, sorry to 'talk' your eyes off....i really just meant to talk to you about matthew but i thought i would throw everything else in...i would appreciate ANY thoughts and prayers for our beautiful son MATTHEW....he has been thru soooo much in his life...and in the last month and a half, he has had to deal with RSV, tons of treatments, suctioning and steroids and now THIS!!! i just pray that there are no lasting effects from this....

and if you can spare a thought for me, i would also appreciate any thoughts and prayers for me for next week when i have my surgery...i worry about my boys and leaving them for a couple of days....again, i am just so THANKFUL that james is a GREAT father that i KNOW they will be taken care of WAY beyond anything! and for all those weeks on the liquid diet...YIKES!!!

ANYWAY, take care and GOD BLESS....i will be updating on matthew on FACEBOOK and i will try to do on my BLOG too (www.blessingsinmylife.blogspot.com) ....if you are on FACEBOOK and want me to add you to my 'friend', just email me with your info and i will look for you on FB...apparently, you can TRY to look for me but there are SOOOOOO many ME's out there, you can't find me!!! :)

ok....GOD'S BLESSINGS TO ALL!!!

MARIA, JAMES, ALEX, MATTHEW & JOSHUA

HAPPY NEW YEARS YA'LL!

GREETINGS and MANY BLESSING TO YOU!!!!

we hope that the last decade has been AMAZING for everyone and that 2009 was just as wonderful! i know it has been a VERY VERY LONG TIME since i have updated ya'll on our family so i thought this would be a great time to do it!! :)

WELL, this was something i posted on my FACEBOOK so i thought i would share it here too:

HAPPY NEW YEARS! well, this decade brought MANY changes to my life one of which is MOTHERHOOD, having the most PERFECT babies ('02, '04, '07), THANK YOU GOD....it brough to me the most PURE and LOVING knowledge that MY GOD IS AN AWESOME GOD and THRU HIM, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE...GOD showed us a MIRACLE when he blessed us with MATTHEW and how AMAZING the power of PRAYER is...also, bring many new people in my life because of our Miracle baby, Matthew, who we would have NEVER had in our lives...nurse, doctors, therapist, new friends, just so many...

THANK YOU GOD for a WONDERFUL DECADE and an AMAZING 2009! on with the NEW...I WILL EMBRACE this year with all that YOU give me, knowing that i am LOVED and am BLESSED ... because i have the most important thing....GOD IN MY LIFE......

and that is just a FRACTION of what the last decade and year has been like....James and I started our family in the 2000's and what a BLESSING that has been in our lives.....

well, Alex has been doing great...he is 7!!! :) although right now, he is SICK as are ALL of us...not the way i wanted to start the new year...other than that, he is doing GREAT at his 2nd grade schooling...we are still homeschooling and he is loving every minute of it...much better this year than last when he kept TESTING me....he is such a smarty and loves to figure out things...i am hoping to get him started on SOMETHING that will having him doing some fun stuff/learning with others...maybe a sport or maybe something academic...not sure what he would love to do...if there was a CLASS on LEGOS, STAR WARS OR WII i know he would be in his element!! :) but other than that, he has found his new best friend...his baby brother josh...they are forever playing together and since baby brother totally looks up to big brother, it is a plus...he copies everythign that alex does!!! he follows him everywhere....and with matthew, well, it is definetly a test of patients when it is matthew turn at the WII and matthew loves to push the home button and drive big brother a bit crazy!!! but he loves his brother matthew and loves to just mess with him!! :) WONDERFUL big brother!

Matthew is doing fine...when he is not SICK like right this minute!!! unfortunatly, this new years brought him much illness....right now, we are doing our BEST not to let him get put in the hopsital...we just found out YESTERDAY that he has RSV....not good with his chronic lung disease...it is that ONE dx that we ALWAYS were worried if he got...soooo SCARY!!...he looks and feels really bad and is currently on oxygen, 2 antibiotics, neb treatments every 3 hours and oral steroids and a SHOT of ROSEFIN at the ER yesterday....he is barely keep his o2 sats up but he is working hard at it...poor baby....we had to dust off our oxygen equipment, it had been that long since he had been on it!! but, right now it is touch and go...he is a really sick little boy that the dr is PRAYING will stay out of that hospital...so are we!! but, onto other things, he has been doing wonderful in his kidergarden homebound class....his teach is AMAZING and he is really learning with her! he loves class time and she is teaching him SIGN!!! LOVE it!! and then his speech therapist thru the school is also amazing..he loves MS P and loves when it is time for her to come over...they are working on his talker and he is doing great!! my little man! he is also doing great in his PT/OT!!! he is sooooo close to walking now with his independent walker...he is making big strides in that department!! as for sickies, that has also been a blessing EXCEPT for tummy bugs...he has had 2 and that has really thrown his schedule off and now with RSV, well, he is doing pretty bad right now...anyway, he loves to torment his baby brother josh and loves to mess with alex...typical 5 year old!!!

well, onto our 2 year old....JOSHUA...well, what can i say....he is that little boy that has done EVERYTHING the other 2 boys NEVER have done...bite, hit, kick, jump off furniture, eat bugs, throw tantrums, not listen, and the list goes ON AND ON AND ON!!! ! OK, he is going to give me the GREY HAIRS!!! it is really funny cause it is soooooooo much 'josh, no' josh stop, etc etc...that is all you hear and he is not afraid of ANYTHING!!! he is really something....but he is sooo loving on top of that and loves to get hugs and kisses and loves to cuddle....he LOVES to follow big brother ALEX around and repeat and do EVERTHING he does....his Godfather (a police officer) asked us who taught him how to 'pretend' shoot a gun/shotgun...he is soooooo acurate on how he places his hands and how he looks down a site, it is SCARY!!!!!!! and he has been doing this since he was about a year old!! i sometimes wonder what he did in another life?!?!?! and then he is also a PRO with balls of anykind and has been since a baby! he throws a ball right at you, no matter what size, and FAR TOO and he can hit a baseball thrown at him with a bat, no matter how SMALL the ball is and how thin the bat is!!!! he can throw a basket ball in from FAR AWAY and make it and he is just a sports fiend!!! we know he will be our athletic kiddo!! he loves to TORMENT his big brother MATT and they are ALWAYS FIGHTING!!! santa had to bring them almost the EXACT SAME THING cause he knew if one had something, the other wanted that same one!!! boy, we have to keep them apart most days cause all you hear is one or the other crying or yelling!!!! anyway, he is doing GREAT!!

as for james, he is doing great too! his battalion at work is going away!! so, he is going to be getting a new position SOMEWHERE in the state of texas...we don't know what the future will bring our way or where we will be stationed but we SHOULD know by sept when it has 'J' out...but other than that, he is doing AMAZING and being in love with his boys...he can't seem to get enough of them!! :) he has enjoyed this last year home and we just pray every day that it doesn't come down that it is his 'turn' again....

as for me , well, i am doing GREAT!!!! other than having been dealing with my FIBROMYALGIA AND GERD this year, all is well. i have had many test, CT scans, MRI's, endoscopies and am currently on meds for all the above...it has been a bit stress full cause it has really escalated and i have been in pain for something everyday but it is starting to become unbearable where i need to take meds....and my GERD is back and they told me that my NISSENFUNDIPLICATION had slipped and that was why i was having so much gastro issues...so, right now, i am treating it with meds for as long as that works...we shall see what happens after that...i am just happy that FINALLY, i am being seen by a GASTRO DR and a RHEUMOTOLOGIST too!!! finally MEEEEE!! :) ANYWAY, all is going well, enjoying being with family and homeschooling! trying to get my clutter in order....when i find the time....loving my family...

if you keep up with our BLOG (www.blessingsinmylife.blogspot.com) and have noticed a LACK of content recently, it is that i am now ADDICTED (there i said it) to FACEBOOK!!! YES, facebook is such an AMAZING place to reconnect with family, friends and finding old friends.....i love the GAMES that you can play on it and just the posting of everyday life....it is a FREE website that lets you connect...it is not FLASHY like MYSPACE, no crazy music or anything, it is just a posting board where you can post 'what you are doing' and others can comment and see what is going on..with this being my 20th anniv since i graduated from high school, i have reconnected with MANY MANY friends from highschool that i had not talked to SINCE high school!!! :) and family, some that i don't ever talk to unless there is a wedding or funeral, i get to 'chat' with and keep in contact with all the time now!! it is nice to see what family and friends are doing....sooo, if you have NOT gotten a FACEBOOK ACCOUNT (www.facebook.com), come on over and look me up!! you can find me with this email address OR under my FULL NAME...i would love to connect with everyone!!

well, that is it...the FIRST LLLOOOONNNNGGGG email from me for the new year! you know you missed my letters!! ;) i have missed it too! it has been too long since i connected with everyone!! i will TRY to keep them coming!! i will try to post some pics of the kids on my blog next week and also, if you find me on FB, you can see some there too!! (hint hint!)

ok, FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS, HAPPY THANKSGIVING, MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEARS and all the other HOLIDAYS that go in between!!! we know we are soooo BLESSED to have each adn everyone of you out there!!! WE LOVE YA!!! MANY BLESSING to you and your families for the coming year!!!!!!

TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS!!!

LOVE,
JAMES, MARIA, ALEX, MATTHEW, & JOSHUA

HAD A DAY DATE...

yep, grandma watched the boys for us while james and i had a "DAY DATE" and we finished up our 'STUFF' for everyone!! yayayayayaya!!! it was nice to just get away for a couple of hours and do what we had to do....it was funny cause we stopped off at SUBWAY and i jumped off and james stayed in the car....with the kids...that were NOT IN OUR CAR!!! heheheheh...we were soooooo use to one of us jumping out and the other staying with the kids that it was just INGRAINED in us to do it!! as i was ordering, here come james out of the car and we BOTH laughed cause we were sooo use to it!!

anyway, just a GREAT friday for us!! it is soooo close!!

Alex made his RECONCILIATION!

SOOOO proud of my little guy! he made his 1st Reconciliation!! :) his first confession to a priest! that is sooooo EXCITING because he is one step closer to making his 1ST COMMUNION!!! awwww...we are so proud of him...i was SURE he would freeze when he had to actually talk to the priest but nope, he went to him, said his ACT OF CONTRITION and then all his sins etc...aww....and james and i actually went to confession too....we thought we would have to take a break from it since it had been about....10 years + since we had been!!! soooo bad! :( BUT it wasn't sooo bad...james had told me that i might have to come back and pick him up since it would take soooo long!! hahaha...

anyway, it hwas really nice to have done that as a family....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

WOW!! hard to believe that thanksgiving has come and gone and it is on to CHRISTMAS! time just seems to fly by! i look at my boys and just MARVEL that alex is now 7, matthew is now 5 and the BABY is now 2!!!! wow!

this year we had a great thanksgiving...we went to the in laws and then spent some time with the kids and their family! it has been a NICE relaxing time!!! now alex and daddy are on the boat for a little fisihng while i stay at home with the little ones!! NICE!

well, FACEBOOKING has taken over all my time with blogging...i am sad that i have not been keeping up with my blog!! :( i love having this record of my life...well, i guess AGAIN, i need to start working on it!!! AGAIN!! i think i have said this at least 3 times, right>!>! well, if you want to follow me on FACEBOOK just look me up by queengonzo at yahoo dot com....i would love to follow YOU there too!!!

ok, gotta run finish my cleaning and stuff....HAPPY THANKSGIVING YA'LL!!!

well...is anyone ELSE freaked out yet...

with all this FLU?!?!?! my dh and and i were talking about this that years previous, you MIGHT have heard ONE family that got the flu....NOW....it is EVERYWHERE! SO SCARY! WE are soooo worried about our family catching it...we have heard soooo many of our families that have all cought it and we just sit here and wait?! it's scary...

anyway, we are all doing GREAT, THANK YOU JESUS! it has been a good week, just hangin out and working on our family...alex is doing AMAZING in 2nd grade...matthew is doing AMAZING in kinder with his teacher....joshua is doing AMAZING being a 2 year old!! :)

today, i had a couple of friends and we went to THE MOVIES to see....FAME!! my all time FAVORITE movie (ok, the original was) so i was eager to see this one....i actually had the soundtrack of the ORIGINAL movie on a RECORD and i have the VHS tape of the movie!! :) LOVE IT!

today...

would have been my moms 67th BIRTHDAY!! :( she is soooo missed...she left us almost 6 years ago and she never met MATTHEW and JOSHUA....i know she would have been soooo in love with them...with ALEX, her FIRST grandchild, she SPOILED him and loved him soooo much i can only IMAGINE what she would have thought of her other 2 grandchildren!! James and i always think of her and remember her baking, cooking, going with us camping and on our trips....she LOVED to cook and we use to have SUNDAY BRUNCH at her house with all of her brothers and sisters...it was such a time of laughter and being silly with family...that is missed...i feel that when my mom passed away, a part of HER family (brothers and sisters) was missing too....we don't get together anymore as a family for brunch.....that is missed by ME and my family...i LOVED those times of being together with my family....my grandmother lived with my mom and then we would have all of her bro and sis and their families, make homemade tortillas, carne guisada, menudo, beans and any type of taco filling you could think of....all HOMEMADE!!! fun fun fun....since she passed, we don't do that anymore...sooooo sad....

but just wanted to say.....MOM, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! MY BOYS STILL LET THEIR BALLOONS GO TO HEAVEN SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE THEM TOO!! WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!

I'M BACK!!! :)

hola there.....it has been soooo long since i have blog...i am sad that i have let it go....i have been CONSUMED (VERY ADDICTED) to FACEBOOK and i seem to post EVERYTHING there....i need to reconnect with my blog cause this is my RECORD of our life....sooo, i am BACK and i am going to make a promise to myself that THIS is where i need to post what is going on in my life FIRST!!! (BUT if you want to follow me on FACEBOOK, look me up!!:)

well, since i am back, i need to update on myself....i have had a fun filled last couple of months of FINALLY getting myself checked out....i have ALWAYS had a lot of problems in my life such as GASTRO, FIBRO, etc....so, i finally got myself an appt with a GASTRO, a RHEUMOTOLOGIST, and my dr and got things rolling...i have had MRI'S, ENDOSCOPY/COLONOSCOPY, UPPER GI's...i am now on 3 medications (2 for pain, 1 for gastro) and it is pretty bad...but i am FINALLY getting myself taken care of!!!

well, MATTHEW started school last week and he is doing AMAZING!!!!! YESTERDAY, he READ for the FIRST TIME!!! nad what do i mean about that? well, the teacher showed ome on monday a sheet of paper with 3 words on it (MATTHEW, MOMMY, DADDY) AND she would flip the card over and he would then SAY dada, when MOMMY came up he would point to MEEEEEE and when MATTHEW would come up, he would point to himself!!! is that not MAAZING?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?! what a MIRACLE!!!

JAMES ALEX II is now 7 YEARS OLD!!

wow, where have the years gone too?? it is so hard to believe that my baby boy is now 7 years old and is in the 2nd grade! i am just so proud of this little boy and to remember when he was a little baby...my first little guy....

he was the one that we had waited for for SOOOOO long! over 5 years of trying before this littel miracle entered our life...and what a miracle he IS!! when i think of how what a 'RIPLEY'S BELIEVE IT OR NOT' moment....when i see how much he has GROWN in the recent years and how AMAZING he is...my heart fills with JOY! sometimes, i feel like i am too hard on him because he is the oldest and i have to remind myself that he is still a little boy even though he might ACT like he is a TEENAGER!! he is so smart that i sometimes forget....but oooohhhhh how i love that little boy....i am just in awe of him.....

well, to you baby boy, MOMMY AND DADDY AND YOUR 2 BABY BROTHERS LOVE YOU LIKE NO OTHER!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEX! WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

We are on vacation!!!!!

Hey there. Just wanted to say that we are officially on vacation!!!! One wonderful week together
rving at corpus Christi....we are at theNAS naval base rv park....it is beautiful here and so open
and spaceous!! we love it! We will be here for one whole week! Can you believe it $90 for the whole week?

I will post later when I can ....

GIVE KIDS THE WORLD NEWSLETTER!! :)

HEY THERE!!! just wanted to share withever one the GIVE KIDS THE WORLD newsletter!!

here is the link to that site:

http://www.gktw.org/newsletter/mm_summer_2009.html

ENJOY!!! :)

ME......

hello and WOW...it has been a LONE time since i have been around here!! sorry...life has been so busy with getting a new pool and just being busy in everyday stuff!!

well, this post is about ME...such a wierd way of doing it but i don't think i have many 'ME' post here!!! :) and this is my blog....hmmm??!! but as of today, i FINALLY after several years, been able to get some important APPOINTMENTS done!! for ME!!

sooo, i had 3 APPOINTMENTS that where for me and my issues...

sooo, last week, i had an appt for my ARM...i think i have talked about this right arm before but i FINALLY, 3rd times the charm, had a DOCTOR that would HELP ME with my ARM!! you see, my forearm hurst SOOOOOOOO BAD and can bring me to my KNEES when someone hits it or even taps it...i always say that if you are EVER mad at me and want to get at me, just hit me on my ARM!!! i start to CRY I( and you KNOW i am not a crier) when it is hit...it is osoooooo intense! anyway, i have gone 3times before on this issue in the last 2 years and the first time, they told me it was CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME, gave me a BRACE and sent me on my way....NO RELIEF...so i went back and this time , they told me it was TENNIS ELBOW and gave me a DIFFERENT brace and vitamin D and excersises....again, with NO RELIEF...so, this time, i went in AGAIN, armed with I AM GOING TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS additude and i had an AMAZING dr that actually listen to me and REALLY checked me out....she doesn't know what is wrong but now the pain has radiated to my SHOULDER and it is getting REALLY REALLY BAD....so, i am getting an MRI of my shoulder and arm, she is going to see what is wrong and MIGHT send me over to NEUROLOGY for my arm if there is nothing showing on the MRI and for my shoulder, she thinks maybe a TEAR and maybe i might need a steroid shot?!..but SOMETHING IS FINALLY BEING DONE!!! soooooooo happy!!! I pray nothing is wrong but still, at least they are looking at it!!

sooo, then yesterday, i had an appt with a DIFFERENT dr (but still in my team) on my FIBRO issue....i also did lab work for a cholesterol screening and such (which was AMAZING!! :) my bad colesterol(ldl) was 69, my good cholesterol(HDL) was 92 and the only thing HIGH was my triglycerides at 195...but she said because my good cholesterol was so AMAZING she said it canceled out any of the BAD!! :) soooo, YAY for me! anyway, onto the FIBROMYALGIA appt...well, we talkeda bout it and such and i told her that since i was diagnosed back on july 2003, i have not been followed by a REUMETOLOGIST since then!!! yup! so, she ordered some blood work and she did the PRESSURE POINTS on me at i had 16 out of 18 points that HURT!! YIKES!! it was horrible...i am ALWAYS in soooo much pain but i have just learned to deal with it...i couldn't really do anything for myself because i was either trying to get pg, pg, nursing so i didn't like to take meds! she got onto me and told me that i needed to take care of ME!! so she prescribed me FLEXIRIL (which i took last night and it PERECT cause i didn't feel tired the next day) and some 800MG IBUPROFIN...she said she would try to get me in to a REUMOTOLOGIST appt after i get my blood work ( i did some more blodd work today)...

and then TODAY, i had my appt for GASTRO/SLEEP...well, it was the same doctor as yesterday and we started to talk....i told her my previous history, about beind diag since i was 15 and having my NISSEN FUNDO in 1999 and that since i had that, i had NOT been back to a gastro since THEN!! i started to think about it and thought i need to get back to see a gastro....also, the last 2 years, i started to get HEARTBURN again, tummy issues and diahrea...also, my chest pains and such...so i KNEW ti was coming BACK!! the nissen is suppose to hold for 15 years but since i had had 3 kids since it happened, i figured that maybe the pressure of having the kids might have added some years to me! THEN i started to worry because i USE to have polyps (in the colon) before and i had not been checked in 10 years and then the reason that i had the NISSEN is because i had the begining of BARRETS ESOPHAGEAL SYNDROM which is basically ESOPHOGEAL CANCER...and i had not had a check up in over 10 years...yeah, that is BAD!!! :( anyway, i don't know WHY i started to think of that but i did...so, i am going to get a consult to GASTRO and while i was at the office and she was doing a check up on me, she noticed something...she was like, WHAT IS THAT? and i was like, huh? she said that she had not noticed that yesterday and when she pointed it out, i told her that i had had that for a while and i always that thought it had to do with my FIRBRO and being stressed...well, she said, i don't think so...and now i have to have an ULTRASOUND on my neck/shoulder because she said that there is a MASS there, which i saw and now i am SLIGHTLY freaked out about....she said that it is not normal but she didn't feel any lumps more of a squishy MASS on my shoulder...i just pray it comes out ok!

soooo, there it is...a post about ME!! :) and most of it is good becuase i am finally taking CARE of ME!! that had been on the back burner for so long...but now, it is about ME and taking care of ME!! :) hey, i like that word...MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME!! LOL

anyway, so now i am on NEXIUM, FLEXIRIL, IBUPROFIN and i am getting an MRI and ULTRASOUND and i am getting consults to GASTRO for sure, possibliy to REUMOTOLOGY and NEUROLOGY...i have had 2 panels of BLOOD WORK done...wow, all in a weeks time! not too shabby! i just pray that all the results are just as great as the cholesterol screening!! :)

the POOL IS UP!! :)

YES, after much talk back and forth, we finally did it....we bought an ABOVE GROUND POOL!! :) soooo, excited and happy! our boys LOVE to get in the water so this is a WELCOME addition to our family...it is nothing fancy but it is PERFECT! it is a 15' x 48" pool and it is sooooo awesome! the boys are all so excited about getting in! they can't WAIT for it to fill up!! neither can WE!!

ANYWAY, I will have to upload some pictures of it...we decided to put the pool near the privacy fence...it is a secluded spot with nobody's windows looking onto it!! i LOVE THAT SPOT! so excited it fit just right!

anyway...more pictures coming SOON!

so i am reading this book and WOW...

i am a BIG BIG BIG romance reading kinda gal..i read about 2-3 books a week on a good week...just my way of 'getting away'...anyway, i am reading this book by LORI WICK "bamboo & lace" is the name and i hadn't really realized that it is Christian based and it is pretty cool and giving me INSIGHT!! :) gotta love that...well, there have been a couple of passages that have really hit home and made me THINK...and i just started the book but i just had to blog about it!! sooo...

just a quick thing"IS God in charge here or not? when did He call and tell you to take over? be yourself with these people! Say things you're thinking and stop fearing their rejection." and of course that is soooo me! i am SOMETIMES struck mute because i want to say something but i FEAR being thought of wrong or saying the wrong thing...i need to trust more in GOD and just know that he will put the words i need in my mind!!!

and then this: "I use to get angry with Evan and Peter when they ddidn't do things my way. Then I understood that all anger is directed at God. If He's in control-and of course He is-then my growing angry at any situation menas that i disagree with His rule and authority" and WOW...well, i tend to get angry with alex a BUNCH when we are doing school work and he is just soooooooo lax and not really doing his best and just taking his time...why? he is doing his work....but it FUSTRATES ME because i know, that if he just worked a bit FASTER, he could finish and be able to play and such...i don't need to do that!!!

anyway, just something i am reading and is making me think things thru!!! so far so good on the book too!! :) pretty cute!