sleep study tonight....

for matthew...this is #4?? the new pulmonologist wants to make SURE that he does not have any sleep apnea anymore....aparently, the last place we went to a year ago ALWAYS says that everything is fine!! so he just wants to double check!!

james is going to have a ROUGH night tonight!! he will stay home with both alex and JOSHUA....did i mention that JOSHUA still nurses at night?!?!?! hehehehehehe....poor daddy! well, the only advice i could give hime is to remain CALM and to just offer him the sippy cup!!! he will be FINE but i can't wait for the morning to hear about it!!

as for me....well, can you say, LOOKING FORWARD TO IT?!?!?! come on, you have to admit that a night where i can LAY on my STOMACH or my BACK and not have a child attatched (i call myself a human pacifier) is a night worth it?? i will be taking my book and my ipod and just RELAXING!! :) or so i hope!

anyway, any good thoughts or prayers will be appreciated!!

gggrrrrrrrrrr.....

you know, i just don't understand people.....last month, we had our truck broken into and had a lot of valuable things stolen and our glass broken etc....well, today, IN BROAD DAYLIGHT AGAIN, one of our SNOW GLOBES (inflateables) was stolen from the front of our home!!! just amazing...it had to happen this morning...WHY are people soooo evil?? it just makes no sense to me....and this thing was ANCORED DOWN by my husband by army stakes deep into the ground and they were still willing to pull it out...make noooo sense...when i got home from the dentist, and we noticed it was missing, i called james who was soooo upset about it...he put so much effort and love into the decorating of our home that for someone to steal it......anyway, the boys and i walked down our street making SURE that the wind had not carried it away or something ( a cold front moved in with high winds) but nothing...as we were walking, my beautiful boy said to me, "mommy, if those people wanted the snow globe, they should have just asked to borrow it, we would have let them..not steal it..that is just not nice!" awwww......

STREP THROAT....HUH??

WELL, it has been a CRAZY 4 weeks....we have enjoyed our thanksgiving with our husband & daddy this year....it made it soooo much more special having him here with us! it was a WONDERFUL DAY!!!!!

matthew got sick on us about a week before thanksgiving...just a head cold..nothing major....he got over that in a couple of days but then just last weekend (the weekend of thanksgiving) he caught something else....we did not go to the dr and just we just kept trucking along...this one, he had in his chest so we did TONS of nebs and suctioning....he also had wheezing and it was starting to affect his oxygen sats (this weekend he was on oxygen for sleeping and he was border line 90-92 while asleep) so i snuck him in on an appt for joshua (we are still having weight issues with him (19lbs at 15 months)) and he agreeded that he did have wheezing and a red throat and we would check with strep...he said i don't think it will show up because he is ALREADY on antibiotics...you can catch VIRUSES on antibiotics but not something like strep...or so we thought! it came back POSITIVE....that is VERY WORRISOME because if it is not working with OMNICEPH (his antibiotic) that is SCARY! a super bug?? so we are now also on AUGMENTIN for 10 days....i am really worried about it! he is going to cultur it and find out what happens...

please keep him in thought and prayer....i am worried......

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!!!

YAYAYAYAYAYA!!! my husband is now 21 years old!! wooohoo!! he is now offically legal to drink!!! :) ok, so maybe he is not 21 years old, he is just a bit older but TODAY IS HIS BIRTHDAY!!! what a BLESSING we have in him! we are so thankful that he is in our life!!!!!!

unfortunatly, he is out of town for a couple of days but we will DEFINETLY be celebrating when he comes home!!

sooo, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY! we love you and can't wait to have you home with us again!!!

it's been 5 years...

since my mom has passed away. hard to believe that she is gone. my dh and i ALWAYS think about her and remember all the things that we did with her. i can STILL smell her around me sometimes. i know...but REALLY, at our home, sometimes, all of the sudden i will smell cigarette smoke in our home (where we don't smoke) or maybe one of her signature mexican meals. YUMMY! and as soon as i smell that, i will IMMEDIATELY think of her and REMEMBER...for me, i am sad that she didn't get to meet her other 2 grandchildren. she LOVED LOVED LOVED her grandson ALEX (she passed away when alex was 15-months old) and she KNEW i was pg with matthew....i believe that she met matthew when he was so very ill his first 5 days of life....i remember talking to her, when he was 5 days old and they had taken him off ECMO and they told us he was going to die, i talked to her and told her "mom, you can't have him yet!! i want to have him with me for a while FIRST!" ....i know she would have LOVED being with her 3 grandchildren if she was alive.....

anyway, it is 5 years ago today that she passed away and we miss her VERY MUCH! we think about her all the time and we HOPE we are keeping her memory alive for our children....

MAN, what a weekend....

we had such WONDERFUL plans for this weekend....we were getting ready to go to AUSTIN to go with james for his military confrence....we LOVE going with daddy on these trips and me homeschooling allows us to be able to just GO when we want!! well, we were READY by thursday night to get going and we decided we were going to spend a wholde DAY friday just in austin!! we took 2 cars so that i could come home early on sunday (leave by 6am with the boys) so that alex would not miss a sunday school day...well, we get there about 12:30 pm, drop off the older 2004 vehicle RIGHT IN FRONT of the hotel....we left across the highway to the movies and we had some lunch and then drove back across the highway and as we turn to park next to our truck, i said, "james becareful with all that...." if you filled in the word with GLASS you are correct....in the less than 4 HOURS we were gone, they BROKE INTO OUR VEHICLE!!! they stole james TOOLS, some of them that we JUST replaced/bought, my beautiful SON'S RUGSACK that daddy had bought for him while he was over in iraq and about 15 of my sons treasured TRANSFORMERS were in there.....i am soooo ANGRY that someone evil person did this!!! they broke our window, took out the keyhole in the driver's side door, they dented our frame.....GGGGRRRRR.....now we have to pay $1000 deductiblev total for the repairs AND the property loss....but on the "bright" side, we still have our health AND we still have our CAR!!! and a funny thing, BOTH our computers laptops were in the car and they MISSED THEM!!! man, i am SOOOO NOT a happy camper. we ended up coming straight back home and my dh missed his confrence. and i am just PARANOID now...we went to garden ridge and i was terrified that someone was going to steal and break into our vehilcle!!! i have NEVER had that happened to me.....i feel so violated!!! :( so now, we have to file our claims, which i HATE to do but there was A LOT of equipment lost in our vehicle!! and our car had more than a $1000 worth of damange on it!!

anyway...

my smart boy....

wow, i am so proud of my son matthew!! today, i had a heart to heart with his homebound teacher. i had to let him know that i didn't think he was challenging my son enough and that it was more PLAY than anything...well after i reminded him that he DOES know his ABC's, numbers, shapes and colors, he was FLOORED!! i guess he didn't get or understand our original talk when he started and i was just really lax about just reminding him again...he is soooo smart that he was PLAYING him!! he was just making himself to be just not there when he was just messing with the teacher!! i would always let the teacher know not to let him get away with anything...anyway, the teacher was AMAZED!!!!! he told me that he was doing some flash cards we have with him of his abc & 123 and he got MOST if not ALL of them right!! he would go thru a whole bunch of cards and then put down 2 or 3 of them and then ask him to give him a certain card AND HE WOULD!! such a smarty! we had to use the reward system because he LOVES his music so i told the teacher to make him do something and if he didn't want to , let him know he could get his music if he did his work first! worked like a CHARM! and, i reminded him that when he READS to him, to ask him about the pictures in the book...that is something we do! i will read him a book and then ask him "where is the shoe?" or where is the color blue" or whatever and he gets it right! anyway, i am really excited about it! teacher said he was AMAZED because even most average 4 year olds DON'T RECOGNIZED THEIR ABC &123!! my smart boy! he probably knows how to READ and we don't know it!! :)

this weekend....WONDERFUL!

this past weekend, we were on a FAMILY OUTING!!! well, kinda a working holiday. james had a confrence for recruiting and retention in GRAPEVINE, TX and we got to GO!!! YIPPEEE!!! this was one of the SMALL things i misseed with james being gone. we use to always go with him when he went anywhere. we always had so much fun just being in a hotel and such. anyway, we left on THURSDAY and it took us about 5 hours to get there and my boys are just so travel savy!! they all did GREAT!! we got there and checked into the HYATT PLACE in grapevine and WOW, it was BEAUTIFUL! VERY NICE! the room was very big, with a HUGE 42" TV and just plenty of room where the boys weren't on top of each other! well, friday, the boys and i just chilled out in the room while james atteneded his confrence. it was nice to just hang out there in the room and READ! we did a little bit of school work with alex and that is something i LOVE about homeschooling. we can homeschool ANYWHERE and i love being able to travel with james whenever we can!!! with now worries about being truant!! anyway, on saturday, it was family day and we were on the field by 7am!!! james had a KICK BALL game and they lost their match....we then went to the TUG OF WAR game and they WON!! then we went to the horseshoe game and we lost...it was fun being the cheering squad for them! we then went and had a GREAT lunch there (very nicely set up at the HILTON across the parking lot from where we were staying) and then there was a whole bunch of different bouncy kinda of play structures and events spread around ...alex had a BLAST!! they had pumpkin painting that we did and we also had a hay ride!! wejust had sooooo much FUN!!! That evening, we attended an award banquet with our children. we are soooo proud of them!! they behaved so well. we got a TON of compliments on them! there were alot of other kiddos there with their parents and EVERYONE looked sooooooo sharp! the soldiers all had on their class A'S or their BLUES and then us the families were all dressed nicely! we just had a WONDERFUL TIME! the food was pretty awesome and the company was very awesome!! now did i forget to mention the MOST IMPORTANT THING?!?!?!?!


MY WONDERFUL BEAUTIFUL HERO OF A HUSBAND WON AN AWARD THERE....

HE WON BEST RETENTION IN THE STATE OF TEXAS!!!!!!!!!!!! wooooooooo hoooooooo!!! i am so proud of this man!! out all of the STATE OF TEXAS....which is REALLY big...he was the BEST!!!! :) WOW, I AM JUST SO PROUD OF HIM!!!

ANYWAY, we had a WONDERFUL weekend.....just WONDERFUL!!

i forgot to post:

of a couple of things that Matthew has gotten for himself...we are so excited that we got a SPECIAL NEEDS TRICYCLE for him!! awww...he looks SOOOO CUTE in it!! it is a RIFTON TRICYCLE...here is a picture of him in it:

showing dad his new wheels:


doesn't he look so cute?


playdate with his buddy:


Our trip to the ZOO!!!

boy, sure tires a baby out!!


he is OUT!!


boys fishing at the "pond" at the zoo!


Taking a ride on the BRACKENRIDGE EAGLE TRAIN!


HUH???

we are on the "PENDING WISH" list....

for the MAKE A WISH!!! here is the LINK to the site. wow, we recieved a DVD in the mail for family which gave us a tour of the different places we could go and what was over there at disney!! :) how we can plan our day etc....wow, can't believe it might someday happen for our family!! i never did post the pictures of when they came to interview our family...here are some of them:

The volunteers brought Matthew a GIFT:


Checking out all the gifts:


Matthew with his "WISH" wand!! every Make-a-Wish child gets one:


we are all so excited and feel soooo blessed!!

ONE YEAR AGO TODAY....

my beautiful SON MATTHEW had that BIG BIG BIG sz while we were at the OCTOBERFEST over in FREDRICKSBURG, TX and had to be AIRLIFED back to SAN ANTONIO....i will never forget that day....here is the LINK to that event...ANYWAY, the reason for THIS post is that, THRU THE GLORY OF GOD, my beautiful son HAS NOT HAD A MAJOR SIEZURE in a YEAR!!!! that is just AMAZING and WONDERFUL! it is hard to believe that a WHOLE YEAR has gone by without one!! these are the sz that use to last MORE than an HOUR and he would STOP BREATHING and need to be BAGGED and sent to the HOSPITAL via EMS/AIRLIFE because he would stop breathing...i have taken MANY a ride in the back of an AMBULANCE while they are going LIGHTS AND SIRENS...MANY a ride!! so to not have done one in a YEAR is just AMAZING!! THANK YOU GOD!! wowowowowwowowow...

sooooo for THIS and EVERYTHING in my life i give my LIFE TO GOD...i THANK HIM every DAY for all that he has BLESSED me with.......He is my LIFE and has all my LOVE for it all... THANK YOU GOD!!!

he's home!!!

YIPPPPEEEEE!! what a GREAT weekend this was....my babe CAME HOME! i got the call SATURDAy morning that they were MOVING OUT!! it took them over 6 HOURS to get here!! he said that in their convoy, they were moving about 40 mph and since he was with the big man, he had to keep riding UP and DOWN checking to make sure that everyone was where they were suppose to be! i am just so HAPPY!!! i prayed for him to make it for my birthday, and i a KNOW that is such a SILLY thing to pray for when there is so much more OUT THERE that is bigger than this but....anyway, my prayers were answered and he made it home! we even got to go togeher to a QUINCANERA which was nice!! my boys had so much fun DANCING and such!! AND i just had fun with my FAMILY AGAIN!!

and then on sunday, james had to go to work but that was ok...we ended up staying at HOME because joshua had a TEMP of 103!!!! and i was going by myself and i don't think i could have done that....josh was very irritable and just not feeling good and matthew LOVES to play on that....sooo, we stayed home and waited for daddy to come home...he came home around 3pm and just hung out together after that....awee...THANK YOU GOD for bring my DH home for my birthday!!!

hey there....

well, i just wanted to share with ya'll some pictures that james sent me from HOUSTON area....all i can say is WOW!! and may GOD BLESS THOSE PEOPLE and HELP THEM!!

he said he will send me more!! here they are...

IKE PHOTO'S

just thought i would share this with ya'll....

when o when will he COME HOME!

YEP, right now, we don't know WHEN he will be home! he called to let me know that there is no time frame WHEN he will be done over there!! not happy here! i had soooo much HOPE that he would be home FOR MY BIRTHDAY!!! last year was great but i COULDN'T WAIT FOR THIS YEAR!! i am really bummed and i am just PRAYING that he can come home SOON!!! he is very busy and is VERY TIRED...i just HOPE he comes home soon...


well, onto other news...joshua is walking MORE now...he is just soooooo cute!!! and boy, i am havingt a TIME with this little guy...he is all over the place and taking toys and such from the boys (especially MATHTEW) HE SEEMS to LOVE to torment him!! he got his 3 shots today...booohooo!

i am suffering right now...my fibro is crazxy right now...i can barely type..my hands are so swollen and i am hurting all over...walking is BAD and i have just TOTAL body ache right now...i am popping motrin right now and it is taking the edge off....i feel like i have the flu...walking up the stairs, FORGET ABOUT IT!! pain pain pain....

anyway, just tired and ready for my family to be back as one...

MATTHEW made me cry today....

today, after church, we were just being ther at home relaxing....well, i was changing JOSHUA his diaper and matthew was sitting next to me...so, i asked matthew, "would you go throw brother's diaper in the trash for me?" and he started to laugh and he grabbed the diaper and took off crawling his way ALLLLLLLLL THE WAY from the living room, to the kitchen to the PANTRY to the trash can and he THREW IT IN THE TRASH FOR ME!!!! i am so AMAZED!! HE is just soooooo smart! he didn't hesitate, he knew EXACTLY where he was going!!! I immediately called called james and i was able to get him and i told him and we BOTH started to cry/get teary eyed!! such a little thing but so exciting for us!!! sometimes, we forget that he understands EVERYTHING!! HE IS SUCH A SMARTY!!!

YAYAYAYAYAY MATTHEW!!

he MEMORIZED IT!

I am talking about my beautiful son ALEX who memorized the OUR FATHER in a little bit over ONE WEEK!!! :) I AM SO PROUD OF HIM!!! he needed to do it for CCD class for church.....and he DID!! i was AMAZED that last night, as we were saying our prayers, he said he could do it and he did!!! wowowowow....i just had to prompt him at the very end...awwwww...i can't wait to let daddy know! and he knows the SIGN OF THE CROSS and is learning the HAIL MARY and GLORY BE too!!! i am just so proud of him! he is doing AMAZING in his homeschool!! we are flying thru his 1st grade studies because he knows so much of it and when we get to the part he hasnt learned on, we will slow down and really get down to it! i decided to go thru the WHOLE BOOK instead of saying to myself to skip it...it is going well...

FINALLY FOUND IT!!

hello there!! i FINALLY found the SNL: SARAH PALIN/HILLARY CLINTON spoof in FULL!! i don't know how long it will be on it but here is the LINK!!

SNL SARAH PALIN/HILLARY CLINTON SKIT/

if you have not watched it, i HIGHLY recommended!!! TOOOOO FUNNY!! they did a GREAT JOB on it!!

anyway, all is well in my life...i talk to james a bit ago and he FINALLY got a BATH today! he had not had a bath (all of them) since they left here on saturday..i think he said they each got 5 gallons to bath with by poking holes in the jug and using the trickle that came out!! they are still in galveston and there is NO RUNNING WATER, NO ELECTRICITY and it is just DEVESTATING the damage the storm did....he said it was pretty bad....we don't know WHEN he will be home....and my birthday is coming up in a couple of days...i hope he makes it home if not, another year without him home....

ANYWAY, joshua is doing well, he is starting to REALLY walk everywhere...he is such a CUTIE!!! but since we are TRYING to put some weight on him, i am all over him and NOW he doesn't want anything to do with eating...GO FIGURE...

MATTHEW, we just finished the FIRST session of the 60 hour fast!! it was a FLOPP but at least i am ok knowing he does WELL and the medications are not going to cause an issue with him not eating and only being on pedialyte....i am excited to try it again in 2 weeks!!! this method is called the PALMER METHOD we are HOPING to wean him SOMEDAY off his g-tube...GOD WILLING...

I AM SO BLESSED....

I have the VERY BEST FRIENDS in the WHOLE WHOLE WHOLE WORLD!!! today, we were having GIRLS NIGHT OUT and we plan this like a MONTH in advance...well, with everything that is going on with james and IKE, i had to cancel myself going...well, my girls decided that if i couldn't make it to the party, THE PARTY WOULD MOVE TO ME! yep, the girls came over and we had such a BLAST!! what a WONDERFUL TIME i had today just chatting with the girls and really just having so much fun! we ordered out CHINESE FOOD (YYUUMMMMMYYYYYY) and then they brought cake and ice cream...so good! we just had a fun time talking and the boys did WONDERFUL too!!! alex was playing on the computer and the smaller boys were just playing and hamming it up for the ladies! time flew by and we laughed and talked and just enjoyed ourself so much!

these ladies brought me OUT OF MY FUNK for today!!! i was REALLY bummed this past couple of days with james being gone....it is hard this time around with him gone..i had just gotten use to FINALLY having him home and now he is gone AGAIN....just having to get BACK into the groove of it on my own....having the girls come over was just AWESOME!! THANK YOU LADIES!! MUCH LOVE TO YOU!

well, james is bummed because he is missing ANOTHER first....joshua is WALKING!! ok, not totally but he can take up to 20 steps and he is doing it on his own!! and on the subject of joshua....i took him to the drs office for a follow up due to his weight check...his official dx is FAILURE TO THRIVE...i look at him and can't see it but he is not on the charts!!! but i am not worrieda bout it...i am just giving him pediasure and lots of calories and see what happens...he is going back in 2 weeks to check up again....alex was the SAME WAY...he wasn't on the charts until he was 2 years old!!! but for joshua, he WAS on the charts but got sick and hasn't recovered his weight again!!! anyway, i will just keep pushing the protien and calories....

'GOD'S BOXES'

this was posted on another forum i belong too....brought me much comfort...

"God's Boxes"
I have in my hands two boxes which God gave me to hold.
He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black box,
And all your joys in the gold.

I heeded His words, and in the two boxes
Both my joys and sorrows I stored.
But though the gold became heavier each day,
The black was as light as before.

With curiosity, I opened the black box, I wanted to find out why
And I saw in the base of the box, a hole
Which my sorrows had fallen out by.

I showed the hole to God, and mused aloud,
I wonder where my sorrows could be?
He smiled a gentle smile at me,
"My child, they're all here with me".

I asked, God, why give me the boxes,
Why the gold, and the black with the hole?
"My child, the gold one is for you to count your blessings,
The black one is for you to let them go.

why is this harder....

than i think it SHOULD be....james being gone RIGHT NOW, working in HOUSTON/GALVESTON area is REALLY HARD...and COME ON, he was just gone for a YEAR but i am getting teary eyed over THIS?!?!? he doesn't know HOW LONG he will be gone.... i don't know if maybe it is because i had finally gotten use to having him home again, and now he is GONE?! but i TOTALLY MISS HIM HORRIBLY RIGHT NOW!!! he called earlier today to let me know that he was leaving and was going into GALVESTON to help out over there (he was in that LONG LONG LONG (OVER 400 VEHICLES) convoy you saw on the news)and that he MIGHT not be able to call for a COUPLE OF DAYS because of the phone lines and satelites and such being down and i just about LOST IT!!! really, what is my problem?! but i really got soooooooooo sad and started to cry because of this little thing? he IS in TEXAS, he IS not that far away....why am i getting upset because of THIS?!

anyway, i am really bummed right now because of this and because i was suppose to do a GNO on monday with my girlfriends and that is cxd now because james is gone and my MIL can't help me out and it was in honor of my birthday coming up and THAT got me going again....boo hoo for me, huh? just got to get over this and keep on trucking....there is absolutely NOTHING wrong in my world right now but i am just bummed....

anyway, my thoughts and prayers are going out to all those relief workers going OVER there to help out our fellow TEXANS and all the fellow TEXANS that are going thru this....

well, james is gone...

yep, he has been activated since wed? and he officially LEFT on thursday and he has been here in san antonio at "PORT SAN ANTONIO" which is the offical staging area for the hurricaine relief....well, he just called me and told me he was headed off to BEAUMONT, TX which is right in the worst are tomorrow...they are leaving at 8 am and he has NO IDEA what is offically going be doing!!! and it is BAD right now out there and i am just worried about what he will be going into...my thoughts and prayers are with all the people in harms way, those that chose to stay and now must stay strong and PRAY HARD as they wait it out...MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH THEM!!

well, ACTIVATED AGAIN!

yep, he is activatied again due to HURRICANE IKE!! and THIS ONE seems like it is taking aim for RIGHT HERE IN GOOD OL' SA!! yep, they are predicting 100mh WINDS and horrible weather to include tornadoes and such...scary stuff possibly happening this weekend!! i will pray for everyone...

WOW!

well, matthew was able to try out those 2 different piece of equipment...THE KIDWALK and the MYGO feeding system and all i can say is WOWOWOWOWOWOW!!! i, OF COURSE, forgot the !@#$%^&&((*&^%$ camera so i didn't get any pics of it but he looked soooo amazing in the KIDWALK!!!! we are going to GO FOR IT!! he had COMPLETE control over every move he made and he was able to KICK a ball if he wanted to, go up to a TABLE and stand there and get something...there was no "caged in" feeling like the GAIT TRAINER that he has does...he TOTALLY shuts down in that one! he does not like it! and in the kidwalk, he just TOOK OFF! the rep that brought it said that noramlly, kids that are first time users don't take off right away but you know matthew, he was OFF and he was turning on his own and he looked SOOO GOOD! he was very impressed with him in it! i was impressed and AMAZED at how AWESOME he looked in it! the new therapist was very impressed too! she had never seen one but she really liked it!!! so we PRAY that it will get covered by the insurance!!

and the MYGO was VERY NICE!!! he looked GREAT IN IT! and it keeps his pelvis in line which is a MUST for proper positioning for feeding...i WISH my child did NOT need as much support as he does but HE DOES and i have to do what i can to get him as MUCH as he NEEDS to help him live as NORMAL of a life as he can!!! soo, we are starting the process to get things moving so GOD WILLING in a COUPLE OF MONTHS, he can get the proper equipment he NEEDS!!! WISH US LUCK!

A MILITARY WIFE/GIRLFRIEND...

+++THIS CAME FROM ANOTHER FORUM BUT I JUST HAD POST IT...VERY TRUE!!!!+++++

Military Wives/Girlfriends....

The average age of the military wife..girlfriend is 20 years old.She isn't old enough to buy a beer, but is old enough to manage a whole household on her own and maybe she has a kid or two.

She probably never saw herself loving a man who was in the military, but she loves him regardless. Her penmanship has improved over the last few months, due to the excessive letter writing she has been doing. She cries alot,because she misses the man she swore to love. Her life isn't complete without him.

She looks very tired, because of her many nights without sleep, due to a late night phone call that never came or a call that came and kept her up all night, just because she heard his voice, she is too overjoyed to sleep.

As a wife, she is classified as a dependent, but she is totally independent. She tends to her household, her kids, her school work, and her job, all without her husband.

She manages to wear a smile, even though inside she's crying. She understands that the man she loves has to go far away. She understand that he can be taken away from her in a moments notice. She feels a great sense of pride and probably cries whenever she hears the National Anthem, sees a flag blowing in the breeze, or watches the news and hears about another death in Iraq, she worries that it might be him. She goes weeks without a call or a letter, but she writes him whenever she gets a free moment.

She knows how to convert civilian time into military time. She knows how to iron his clothes and how to get the creases just right.

Before he left she used to complain if she didn't see him for a day or two, but now she gets annoyed when she hears someone complaining about not seeing their boyfriends. She may not have seen him for months but she remembers everything about him, every scar he has, the way he smells,whether or not he snores.

She has every picture of him and them out and in frames, she stares at them for hours on end, she has read every letter at least 40 times. Even though her man is a half a world away, she still manages to go on with her life, as he would want her to.

You may not know what she looks like, but as soon as you see her in the store you'll know that her husband is a world away without even having to speak to her. Shes the one who's half frowning half smiling, she has at least one Support Our Troops pin that she wears and a magnet on her car. Half her wardrobe is based on his military branch. She owns lots of stuff that has his branch on it. She never knew that she could love the color camouflage green,tan, navy blue, red or black so much.

Next time you see her, you'll know her, thank her for what the man she loves is doing. She will greatly appreciate it and she will smile and thank you, and just because you thanked her she will smile the rest of the day.

wow, it really hit home....

today we had a WONDERFUL day and a very TIRING day....james was OFF today, THANK YOU GOD! he has worked SOOOO HARD for the last week....leaving before the kids were awake and most days, coming home AFTER the boys were in bed!! that was how hard he had worked!!! he worked thru the holiday weekend and everything!! ANYWAY, he took today off and he did some yard work and then we headed to the ZOO!! we had so much fun and we were there for about 3 hours and then we got on the TRAIN and took a train ride around BRACKENRIDGE PARK! it is so beautiful and brings back so many memories of going out there with the family and just having pic-nics and BBQ out there!!! anyway, we had a BLAST and we went to the BX and the boys got their hair cuts!!! anyway, all in all a BEAUTIFUL DAY and so much fun with my boys!!

well, what i meant about it REALLY hits home was that today, i was on one of my special needs sight and there is pretty COOL walker calle dthe TAOS WALKER...IT looks like an AWESOME walker MEANt for kids with Cerebral palsy (CP)........well, matthew has MILD CP and that diagnosis was give to him to help him with his medical equipment, or so i thought...well, as if you go to that site above for the TAOS walker, there is a video on it of kids walking with out it and then in it and when i saw those beautiful children walking....i saw my CHILD...he walks JUST LIKE THEM.....it hit home that YES MY SON DOES HAVE CP.......it is not just a diagnosis...it is THE TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! as i sat there and watched the video, i just started to cry because he DOES HAVE CP...even though i KNEW he did, to see OTHER children that DO have it, walking JUST like matthew made me just REALIZE IT...does that make sense? ANYWAY, it was just a BIG SHOCK...just seeing those children walking like my beautiful son......

anyway, we are working on getting him a new walker or gait trainer or SOMETHING...i am going to have to mention this product to the PT person on tuesday..he is going to try the KIDWALK on tuesday and also the MYGO feeding chair system to see if it will work for him.....wish us LUCK!

MAKE-A-WISH came over today!!

awwww.....we are SO EXCITED and feel SOOOO BLESSED....Matthew is going to get a WISH from the MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION!! :) these 2 wonderful ladies (volunteers) came over so that they could present matthew with his WAND and his CERTIFICATE....they came with a gift bag full of goodies for him...he sat at the table with us while they interviewed him...of course we had to answer for him but he was so happy to be there at the table with us...we had to sign a LOT of paperwork and then that was it! we picked DISNEY WORLD FLORIDA for his wish....we feel that that would be the BEST place for him...he LOVES water/swimming, he loves to get on RIDES and he loves anything DISNEY! so a perfect combination! we know that he will just ENJOY himself!! i am so happy for him! they told us that we would be staying at the GIVE KIDS THE WORLD RESORT this is a place were all the families are WISH KIDS from around the world....they built this place because so many wish kids wanted to go to disney that they built them a resort....wow is all i can say! i have started to look on line for pictures and such and it is just such an AMAZING place!!! we figure we will be going either early next year (jan- may) or maybe the end of next year...we are not sure...we have to check with james work to see when they can give him a week off!! we also need to be there when it is not soooo hot because matthew can not tolerate the heat...it is kinda going to be one of those cases where you have to go during the "winter" months to keep away from the HEAT BUT BUT BUT you also risk the ILLNESS peroid that is going on there....but we will do our best...they provide oxygen in our villa for him and everything...just AMAZING!!! i am so happy!! just a dream come true for matthew and our family...i know the boys will enjoying themselves and matthew will have a BLAST!

HAPPY LABOR DAY!!!

WELL, i hope that those able to enjoy this beautiful day in our part of the world are out there doing that!! and those that are dealing with the HURRICANE, i PRAY that they are all safe and that those displaced from their homes are some how getting much love and comfort from the american people around that supporting them!!!

well, we are home today, daddy is again working HARD during this time....everyday since wed, he has been gone before 6am and home AFTER 9pm...he is EXHAUSTED right now doing all this work...i am so proud of him! i am happy that he is HOME...others are all over the gulf coast and towards/in louisiana....i can only PRAY for all of them!!!

josh is starting to walk...he will walk with us holding his hands and sometimes only ONE hand...he is getting better at it! and yesterday, matthew ate some food that he had never had....RAMAN NOODLES AND PB & J!! yummy! he really enjoyed it! he has shaken his head 'NO NO" whenever i am getting ready to set him up on his feeds...i am taking this as a VERY positive note...i tell him that when he can eat by mouth MORE, i will take that pump away! he just gives me a look...GOD WILLING he will be getting better and eating more....we are SAD that his nurse of over a year and a half is getting ready to leave us at the end of the month....he is A RN NOW!!! :) again, we are so proud of him! he has been such a WONDERFUL NURSE to matthew....and matthew can't get enough of him! i think they have BOTH grown together!! :) and we actually had to let another nurse that had been with us for a year go earlier last month...i was so sad about that!! but we wanted to go to a 4 DAY nursing because daddy was off on fri-sun and we didn't want to schedule anyone there and then have to cancel their hours because we decided to go out of town or something....man....so, we will be on the look out for a NEW NURSE....i am kinda of worried about it because it is ALWAYS stressful when you look and get a new nurse...i will just PRAY that we find one that is WONDERFUL for matthew just like our last one!! :)

well, tomorrow, THE MAKE-A-WISH PEOPLE ARE COMING!!! man, i am so happy and excited! we are going to have our interview with them and get details and such!! WOOOHOOO!!!!! i don't know what is going to happen but that he is getting his wish is so EXCITING!!! :) i will post to let ya'll know how it went!

WELL.....james is activated!

yep, because of the HURRICANE down in the coast, he is being activated to help out texas and louisiana!!! we are so proud of him! as of right now, he will be here in san antonio in the "headquarters" of the operation!!

well, me and my boys are having a STAR WARS marathon!! all 6 epi while i try to clean our room!! just relaxing upstairs......joshua is getting into EVERYTHIN...so as i clean up something, he comes and takes things out or makes more mess!! FUN FUN FUN!! :)

WELL, one week of homeschooling down and i am SOOO LOVING my new system of planners and charts for us1!! much more organzied and i am even making a weekly MENU!!! so easy to know what we are having on what day!!!

anyway, i am truely enjoy myself and alex is learning so much!! every week we are going to study a STATE...this week, of course, we studied TEXAS and learned all kinds of easy facts and such !!

AUGUST UPDATE!!...WE ARE SO EXCITED!

Hola family and friends!

We hope everyone is doing GREAT!! As for us, well, AUGUST is a pretty busy month in our home!! We have enjoyed our time together as a FAMILY now since June 23rd!! it has been WONDERFUL having james HOME AGAIN!!!!

First, I MUST start with some WONDERFUL news that we received this week…..i am pretty sure you know that I think my WONDERFUL hubby is a HERO to our FAMILY, well, this week he got something so BIG and WONDERFUL given to him by the U.S. ARMY……our HERO got word that he will be receiving the THE BRONZE STAR MEDAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so PROUD OF HIM!!!!!!! This is such an HONOR for him and us and we could not be more proud of him!!!! I am not sure when they will be awarding him but I will let ya’ll know!!

Well on top of that news, this month, we have celebrated 2 special BIRTHDAYS!!!

On August 10th, we celebrated our big boys 6TH BIRTHDAY!!! YIPPEEE!!! So hard to believe that he is now 6 years old!!!!! AMAZING! We had a little party for him at a pizza place and we had a BLAST!!! It was really bittersweet because he actually asked james, after asking who was going to be there, “daddy, will you be there too?” and james said “of course I will be” and then he realized WHY he was asking, and he went on to hug him and told him that THIS YEAR daddy would be there for his birthday!! Awwww…..this last year he has grown SO MUCH…both physically and mentally! He is just such a smarty and is doing so well homeschooling!! We are really proud of him and all he has done this last year….He is starting 1st grade and we bought his FIRST true curriculum and we are so EXCITED!!! I can’t wait to get started…I know we will be a bit rusty but we sure are going TRY!! and he retains so much info, he can remember AMAZING facts!!! so awesome! he is excited about getting started doing class!! we ordered his curriculum and it is FAITH BASED so we will BOTH be learning so much about GOD and the world around us together!!

And then on August 25th, we celebrated our little baby’s 1st birthday!!!! WOWOWOW….hard hard hard to believe that he is ONE already!!! It seems like just YESTERDAY, I was in shock after finding out that on NEW YEARS 2007 that I was PREGNANT!!!! Awww, it has been just be such an awesome year….he has grown so much from that little bitty 6 lb 4 oz baby to a 17lb 8 oz little boy…he is pulling to stand, cruising, standing & babbling!! And his first word?!?!?! MAMAMAMAMA!!! AAWWWW!!!! I am so happy because that is my first baby that has EVER said my name FIRST!!! YIPPEEE!!! He is truly a mama’s boy and I am so happy! J FINALLY!!!! Anyway, he is doing well and such a little guy!! one bad habit is that he puts EVERYTHING---EVERYTHING IN HIS MOUTH!!! OMG, i have such a FEAR that he will choke on something! and i sweep and mop and this little one will FIND something to put in his mouth!!! AAARRRGGGGHHHH!!!! this is my first baby that has done that. i think because alex was our first and we kept him CONFINED to a specific area (because he was the only one) but now with 3 boys and a nurse, well, we can't and he has the run of the HOUSE!!! YIKES! We are so BLESSED to have him in our lives! And for his BIRTHDAY, he FELL OFF THE BED AT 3 AM!!!!! OMG, talk about SCARY!! Thank God he was just fine except he scared MOMMY AND DADDY like crazy!! Just our luck, after a YEAR of sleeping with us, his birthday would be the day he FALLS off the BED!!! He was fine, just scared himself and most of all US !!!! we are going to go out to eat at a favorite restaurant and just CELEBRATE his life!!!

Well, for the month of JUNE, and JULY we took some time off to be TOGETHER…we spent 2 wonderful weeks RV’ING together, just us, our little family of 5! It was really awesome to just BE together, without nurses, therapies and drs appts!! Wow, back to just being us….we spent our first week in ROCKPORT….we stayed at an RV PARK out there…it was WONDERFUL!! The ONLY bad part was MAN, those mosquitos were just about ready to TAKE US AWAY!!! Thank GOD we were SLIGHTLY smaller than THEY WERE!!!!!! Yep, they were pretty big and VERY BOLD….they would just STICK to you, without a thought on their mind except to eat off you!!! My little matthew and daddy got the worst of it (over 27 bites on matthew!)….anyway, it was nice just being together as a family….we did a lot of fun things around that area like the aquarium, fishing, the jetties, etc….very nice!!! We also took another 8 days at a WONDERFUL place called GUADALUPE RIVER RV RESORT….and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT! It was just BEAUTIFUL and peaceful….defiently a place to go! They have lots of cabins if you don’t have an rv and if you do, well, YOU MUST CHECK IT OUT!!! We had so much fun in Kerrville , tx!! it was just really relaxing and peaceful and just having so much fun swiming and being together. and THE RAIN HELD OUT until we got HOME!!! yep, GOD sure BLESSED us because our whole trip, we had no rain and just BEAUTIFUL days....and on our way home, the HURRICANE that hit texas came in THAT DAY!! the rain even waited until we got EVERYTHING OUT OF THE TRAILER!!! THANK YOU GOD! Anyway, we have pictures up at FLICKR for anyone wanting to see some pictures!!! And if you are up to READING , you can check out my BLOG for a COMPLETE (J) account of our vacation…and I do mean COMPLETE!! And you KNOW I can WRITE!!!

Well, MATTHEW is doing AWESOME!! We are so happy! Since late MAY early JUNE, he has been CLEAR IN THE LUNGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wowowowow, it has been so NICE to not have him SICK!!! ONE WHOLE YEAR of it…james likes to credit HIMSELF for matthew getting BETTER saying that he just missed daddy and that is why he was so sick for the past year…..pawsha!!! I told him it was the ANTIBIOTICS that he has been on since april/may and will continue to be on thru the winter….just as a precaution! So far so good!!! We are just trying to get him STRONG so that he can learn to WALK and TALK!! He is just getting BIGGER…he is such a HAPPY boy and now with daddy home, well, he is that much more HAPPIER!! He LOVES wrestling with his BROTHERS and boy, he is REALLY good at it!!! His baby brother enjoys tormenting him and vice versa….he is now got an ATTITUDE and before, if someone took something from him, he would just watch him do it and not say ANYTHING, well, NOW, boy, he lets you know if you are doing something he does not want you to do!!! He YELLS AT US!!! It is too cute to hear him just go off!! NEVER before has he really showed that kind of EMOTION and it is so awesome to see!!! And to see him get mad….josh doesn’t know what to make of it when he does it but he usually backs off if he does!!! He will be starting school soon and get back into the rhythm of it all!! YAYAy!

Well, as for james, apart from being home again, THANK YOU GOD, he is also back at work after over 40 days on leave!!! We are now starting to get into that kind of rhythm but we are so happy because he is now on working 4 days a week so that means we get him for 3 WHOLE DAYS….awww…that is so awesome and we are so happy about that! We can take a quick trip out of town if we wanted to…very nice!!! But he is back to working out and keeping in shape….we are just so happy to have him HOME!!

AS FOR ME, well, I am just hanging out with all my boys! It has been so AWESOME having my family back together. We are just EXCITED on everything…it is kinda bittersweet because whenever we do something, we always seem to ask our self, when was the last time we did this and sometimes it is almost 2 years ago!!! We lost a WHOLE YEAR TOGETHER….it sometimes doesn’t hit you until you think about that. And then there are the things we are doing that we realize it has been OVER a YEAR since we did it together….like going to CHURCH, going to eat somewhere, etc…just today, we started home school and how nice it was to have james here to ask alex how his day went and all of that…he even got to help get alex study area set up!! Anyway, it was just really nice!! I finally got a diagnosis for my arm that has been paining me in FOREVER…TENNIS ELBOW!!! Yeah, you know with all the time I have, I do SOOOOO MUCH tennis playing at the local country club….yeah right!!! I know that you can get it with out that but what a diagnosis…and with the FIBRO, it just amplifys the pain I am in!!! after josh is weaned, I hope to finally get some PAIN RELIEF from my FIBRO….i can’t even IMAGINE what it feels like to be PAIN FREE….soooooonnn!!

sooo, that is our AUGUST for 2008!! we are SO PROUD of JAMES and his BRONZE STAR METAL!!! just amazed and so happy that he is who he IS!! and then our boys turning one year older....we feel SOOOOO BLESSED, THANK YOU GOD!!

i put together some MONTAGES for both boys!! i hope you check them out!!

ALEX'S video montage


James Alex Turns 6!

JOSHUA'S video montage


Happy Birthday, Joshua Michael!

well, that is it for now...i know it has been a LONG TIME since i have kept up with ya'll and my blog but that will GOD WILING change now....

Maria
Proud Army wife to James, mommy to Alex(5), Matthew(4) & Baby Joshua (1)

wow!! baptism...

hola!! well, things are trucking along in our neighborhood!! we have been just BUSY being us....it is really nice like that!!

well, today, we went to our FIRST baptism class so that we could baptise JOSHUA & Matthew!!! we are happy!!

i found something out that was PRETTY PROFOUND!! i had NO IDEA that the way that the church viewed a baptism was this: WE ARE BORN IN/FROM WATER AND THEN REBORN IN WATER IN THE CHURCH BY BAPTISM!!! WOWOWOW...i had NO IDEA!! that was pretty big...i just kept thinking about that. very interesting...GOD WILLING this will be a GROWING time for my family and i....

HE'S STANDING!!

yes, our little angel, 11 months old, is STANDING on his own and he is SO PROUD OF HIMSELF!! he looks so cute cause as SOON as he lets go, he starts to LAUGH and clap his hands!! awwwwwwww....my little baby is getting so big! hard to believe that GOD WILLING he will be a YEAR OLD come next month!!! we are just so proud of him!

we had the kids for a couple of days....

it was so nice! the kids were dropped off the day we got home on the 23rd and stayed with us until sat night!! wooooohoooo!! we love those kids and the boys just adore them too! we had so much fun. just being together, watching tv, ,movies, playing monopoly and even going to the movies to see "nim's island". it was fun! they even went FISHING on the lake on sat. i actually decided to stay home with the little one so that there was more room on the boat. they had a blast. it is so much fun being with the kids and they love being with us too!! :)

OUR VACATION PART 2!!!

OUR VACATION PART 2

JULY 16, 2008
Today, we were so excited to start our SECOND TRIP in our 2008 vacation!! We are so happy and EXCITED because we are going to go to THE GAUDALUPE RIVER RV RESPORT!!! The drive over here was beautiful! TEXAS HILL COUNTRY is just awesome and so beautiful. it only took us about a BIT over an hour to get to the RV RESORT and that is awesome to know so we can COME BACK!! It was a QUICK trip to make it out here and we didn’t even USE a1/2 tank!!! Anyway, we get into to town and I for one had NEVER been in Kerrville and it is such a cute town!!! I can’t wait to explore this town and see what it has to offer!! Soo, we got to the park and Wowowowowow, DEFINETELY going to be coming BACK HERE!!! It is so BEAUTIFUL, much nicer than the other park. REALLY an nice looking place and that is part of what is perfect about it. They have BEAUTIFUL trees all over and the RV spots and just perfect, on level ground and on concrete slabs with a concrete table and bench on a concrete slab….VERY NICE!! We got our site up (#72) and put our house together and then we just RELAXED….the breeze here is just amazing and NO MOSQUITOS!!!!  what a RELIEF! And let me tell you, the people here are really friendly….they have cabins and the walk to the water is just a couple of feet or so! There are 3 pools….although, sad to find out that 2 of them are for ADULTS ONLY…and they have a nice spa area. But everything is IMMACULATE and there are workers constantly patrolling the area just making sure that everything is fine. So after we got everything together we went SWIMMING, of course! The boys could NOT WAIT to get in there. They are my little fish! So, we went out there and went swimming and just relaxed all day. We did have to make a detour down to the WALMART (which is just down the road!) because my dear hubby left our bag of toiletries at home!! And I CAN blame him cause he was the last to use!!  but we set up our site with our solar lights, our grass and our chairs….feels so GOOD TO BE OUT HERE!! We are here till NEXT WED!! OOOHOOOO!!! James was kinda upset because there is this beautiful pond on site that has BIG FISH and there is no fishing there!!! Man, he is BUMMED!! He is going to try to work the workers here and see if he can do it or not!!

JULY 17, 2008
Today, we woke up to a BEAUTIFUL DAY here on the Guadalupe river!! Really just BEAUTIFUL WEATHER!! It is so awesome here. The breeze here is just really nice. It is not hot and not cold just PERFECT!! We went walking around the campground and just looking at the river and all the area. It is really just a beautiful park and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE!! Even if you don’t have an RV and just want a place to go, they have cabins here that you can rent out. The pools are CLEAN and the area itself is just well maintained. Thru out the WHOLE DAY they are patrolling the area and making sure there are no trash and such and just security! It was really nice. The place is really nice. So, we of COURSE ended up at the POOL that morning. It was really nice because we go there when it OPENS at 9am so that we can have just us in there and also to get it done in the AM so the babies can go have a bath and then a nap too! It works really well. We ended up BBQ some awesome food and just relaxing at the camp grounds….we also looked at fishing today!! We drove around looking to see if there was DEEPER waters somewhere and we found a couple of places. James and alex fished them too! Just looking around this town!

JULY 18, 2008
Wow! The RV’S ARE COMING IN!! they actually started coming in Thursday NIGHT…..it is so awesome because when we got here on Wednesday, there were SOME rv’s here but not many….there are 6 rows of about 12 sites in each (really nice sites) and there were probably about 12 or so rvs here already but by this afternoon the WHOLE PLACE WAS FULL!!!! There were so many out here! So neat to see them coming in. the different kind of rvs and the people. Until now, we were the ONLY HYBRID RV here but today another hybrid camper came in!! so exciting to see. You don’t see many of them out here. They are unusual. But I LOVE MY CAMPER. But man, parked next to the 5TH WHEEL RV’S, ours looks like a little TOY!!!! But again, we have had so many people come by to ask about our rv!!

Well, today we had some visitors!! We did our morning swim and then by lpm, james mom & dad came by to visit!1 AWWWW….WE HAD SO MUCH FUN! James BBQ some steak, chicken, & sausage and I made some veggies and some rice with some chips and dip….OMG YUM!!!! Really, it was like the BEST MEAL I had had in a long time!!!! We had some cheese cubes of mozza & cheddar and some awesome sweet grapes and strawberries!! It really was very very good! So afterwards, we took them on a walk around the grounds to see if we could see the deer that come out. And alex wanted to show them he could fish too!


JULY 19, 2008
Today, we did our usual swimming in the am and then after everyone was bathed and dressed and we took a drive out to FREDRICKSBURG, TX for the NIGHT IN OLD FREDRICKSBURG festival!! Well, it was kinda surreal going back to where MATTHEW had his last BIG SIEZURE on OCT 16TH, 2007!! Yep, we passed RIGHT by the helipad where he was airlifted to san Antonio and then when we got to the fairgrounds, I took james to where he had his big seizure….so hard to believe that it happened that time!! Kind sad for me…alex doesn’t really remember it until I reminded him about the helicopter and he then remembered! Well, of COURSE I forgot my camera but we had such a GREAT TIME. We got there and it was only 20 miles from where we were camped at!! NICE! So, we got there and alex, dad and matthew had a BLAST on the balloon thingies they had up and then we sat around and listened to some music and then headed over to get some goodies at the vendors. We then went around to look at all the artist stuff that was on sale….wow, we wish we could have gotten some of THAT!! If you have never been out to FREDRICKSBURG,TX, you need to! It is a beautiful town that has so many shops in the main area. We plan to go back there to check out all of the different shops when it get’s a bit cooler. It is a little to warm for matthew right now but SOON! We got back to our RV and decided to go swimming at about 9 pm…..it was very nice.

July 20, 2008
Today, we had to do laundry. So we decided to go into town and see if we could find a place to do our laundry and then we could go driving down HWY 16. I wanted to see what else was out there! So as we were driving down HWY 16 we picked up some ice cream from DQ (which on the way to the campgrounds from IH 10, we saw 4 of them!!!) we went looking for the laundry mat! We crossed over this bridge over the Gaudalupe river and there was this AWESOME PARK there and we decided to try it out after we put our laundry in. so we went back to the park and james fished for a bit while the boys chilled out….ok, only our PARTY ANIMAL MATTHEW was awake…so, we chilled out for about 30 mins or so and vowed to go back and do some more fishing. Anyway, on our way home, we picked up some CHURCH’S CHICKEN, you know you love THAT! And then we just made a fire and did some SMORES!! I think I am ALL SMORED OUT right now!! We have had them EVERYNIGHT!!! My poor teeth!

JULY 21, 2008
Today, after the ritual pool time in the AM…we BBQ’d some lunch today and BOY IT WAS SOOOOO YUMMY! We had FILET MINON (?) and some hamburgers for the boys and some greens….wow, it was so good!!  after we had some lunch, we decided to this time drive down HWY 27 to see what was there towards INGRAM and it was just SPECTACULAR driving!! It is so beautiful down that way with the rolling hills and beautiful river. The houses are awesome!!!! So pretty. Also, we found ANOTHER RV park right on the river that we MIGHT be coming to sometime in the future…it looks REALLY nice but NOT as clean/pretty as the one we stayed at….it was so nice to just drive around and see what was going on out there…they are such small towns and just such small shops and such. Really worth the drive!!! We got back to the RV and we ended up doing a BIG fire in our fire pit and just hanging out around it and watching Alex ride his bike all around and the other 2 boys just tumbling around the floor. It is so nice out here. Just so peaceful and quiet.

JULY 22, 2008
Today, we started to get everything together to head on out tomorrow. We got up early, as usual, and just had a nice breakfast and did our usual swimming! We also went to go FISHING at the park and just enjoy our last full day here at the camp ground. We BBQ for the last time and we just walked around the grounds and watched the deer and such. we decided to go EAT OUT FOR DINNER for the last time and we tried this resturant called BILLY GENE'S RESTAURANT and wow, that was a WONDERFUL RESTAURANT!! i mean, REALLY nice! we were really impressed with the service there. they totally treated us so awesome and also treated MATTHEW in his wheelchair like he was so important! really a great place and the FOOD!! OMG, IT WAS DELICIOUS!! i mean, we would HIGHLY reccommend it to ANYONE!! james had the CHICKEN FRIED STEAK, i had the CILANTRO & LIME GRILLED SALMON and wow, everything was just really yummy! i know we will DEFINETLY be back someday! after we ate, we went fishing at the local park for a while and just hung out. alex caught a FISH all by himself!!! james and i were just so proud of him! when we got back to the RV, we had to put up the awning because it got really windy. It seemed that everyone decided to go to sleep early!! We are SAD to see it end…


JULY 23, 2008
Well, we woke up early to go walk the dog. It was so nice to be walking around when nobody else was up and awake. We as a family went for a nice walk, saw some deer, let the dog do it’s business and then we took tons of pictures of us as a family. It was really nice and quiet! Then we got down to business getting everything loaded and packed and then hooked up! And then we were OFF!! We left the grounds around 1200 and we headed home. It was such a GREAT FAMILY VACATION. We both agreed it was the BEST we had EVER had in our lives! It was just such an awesome time of getting together and talking, laughin and just enjoying each other. THANK YOU GOD! We can’t WAIT to do this AGAIN!!! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNN

OUR VACATION 2008....PART ONE!

hola folks!! it has been a LONG TIME since i updated our blog but i have been so BUSY enjoying our family back as one that time has just FLOWN! we have a lot to write about so here it goes!! (JUST A NOTE, PHOTOS WILL BE ADDED SOON!!)

well, to start things off, we are all doing GREAT being back together and get back in the groove of being a family together again. it was not HARD AT ALL!! i am so happy to say...i know that SOME people have a really hard time getting thing working again after such a long seperation but for us, THANK YOU GOD, it just felt NATURAL and everything just fell into place!! the boys did well and daddy and mommy did awesome too! josh is loving on daddy all the time and so are the other 2 boys. it is so great to see daddy playing with his boys....that is something the TRUELY missed! i know that for me, i lost a little of that when he went away. i noticed that it was WAY WAY WAY harder to PLAY with my boys after he left....i think i lost a little of my "fun" and "easy" way with the boys and i know it makes me sad thinking about the last year where i SLOWLY lost the ability to just have fun with my boys....i know it was just part of the stress and the seperation but know that dady is back, i PLAN ON GETTING IT BACK!! i find myself REALLY trying so hard to not just brush off my boys when they are being silly and trying really hard to be silly with them....trust me, after a YEAR of correcting them and really feeling uptight, it is hard to get out of it but i am WORKING ON IT!! my boys mean the WORLD to me and i am sad at myself for letting that part of myself go away....so these last couple of weeks with james, i have tried to let HIM being the dissaplinator and kinda TRY to keep a low keep...i guess i didn't realized how much work it took being both daddy AND mommy and how much stress it put on me!! so, i am trying my hardest just to be a MOMMY and not both right now....I AM A WORK IN PROGRESS!!!!

SOOOOO, on to our vacation....we are having SOOOOOO MUCH FUN!!!! we love our rv and we are just ENJOYIN BEING A FAMILY TOGHETHER....the boys and i NEEDED to get away from that house that has keep us tied to it for a YEAR....it felt GOOD leaving it behind and just not worrying about it!!! since james left, i had NOT been away from the house overnight other than the hospital! so this was so needed ESPECIALLY since when james is home, we tend to go out of town at least ONCE a month!!! and what was more important than that is THAT WE ARE BY OURSELVES, WITHOUT NURSE, WITHOUT THERAPIES AND APPOINTMENTS...just OUR FAMILY....NO ONE ELSE!! we felt bad cause our nieces and nephew wanted to come but we just explained that we needed to be together just us and that after these trips, we would RV again and THEN they could come...i am so happy that we stayed STRONG on that because we needed this time just for us......well, what i have done is kinda JOURNALIZED (is there such a word?!) and i will post PART ONE, WHICH IS OUR GULF COAST ADVENTURE and then later i will post PART TWO WHICH IS OUR HILL COUNTRY ADVENTURE!! SOOO, happy reading as i post!! take care and GOD BLESS...

OUR VACATION 2008

JULY 8TH
OUR FIRST VACATION in over a YEAR!! and boy, we are soooo excited to FINALLY get MOVING!! yesterday and today were both days of trying to get EVERYTHING together....PACKING OMG is soooo HARD with 3 little ones in everything and wanting something....ANYWAY, we FINALLY got the trailer packed and ready to go TODAY....we had to STILL drop off the dog to the KENNEL and then we could head off...well, we had to make it here by 5pm and it was ALREADY 1200!! and did i forget it was RAINING?!?!?! soooo, we were off...we had a GREAT trip here to ANCIENT OAKS RV PARK in ROCKPORT, TX...it did rain almost the whole way but it was OK!! i told james, 'i don't CARE if it rains...i just want to GET AWAY from HOME for a while!!' and he agreed with me! we were just so happy to be OFF in our RV and be together as a FAMILY!!!

WELL, we got here at about 4:30 and it started RAINING!! we set up the RV, and started to put ALL our stuff away that we KNEW we could not do WITH OUT!! :) u know how that goes...we had SOOOO MUCH STUFF!! but, at least THIS time, we will be out here for more than a couple of days!! we here for 6 nights and 7 days! and of course AFTER james was soaked and had the RV up, IT STOPPED RAINING!!! oh well!

we had a GREAT trip here, the boys are having a BLAST and going CRAZY in the RV and can't wait to go swiming and fishing tomorrow GOD WILLING!! the weather is suppose to be BEAUTIFUL (even though i think it is just fine right now) and HOT! we headed over to the nearest WALMART to get the things we decided to wait on until we got here....we have also learned soooo much from just looking at all the other RV'S...we are also something of an ODDITY because aparently, not many people have SEEN a HYBRID RV like ours and we have been getting lots of people stop by to ask us about it and they just think it is the COOLEST thing!! :) we LOVE OUR RV! they have asked us all about it!! if you haven't seen a picture of it, let me describe it to you: it is a TRAVEL TRAILER when you look at it, it looks like everyone else BUT ours has THREE drop down doors, 2 on side in the BACK and one in the VERY FRONT nd when you drop those down, there is TENT ENDS just like the POP UP TENTS and we now have 2 queen size beds and a king in the front!!!! wow! tons of room!! we just LOVE IT!! but, HERE IT IS:

July 9th, 2008:

TODAY was such a beautiful day to wake up to! Of course, even after such a LATE NIGHT (probably went to bed after 1am) our boys don’t know NOT TO WAKE UP EARLY!! Yep, everyone was WIDE AWAKE by 730 am!!!! I can tell you this, that since we had kids, we have NOT slept in in OVER 5 years!!!! Yep, all our boys are EARLY RISERS! Usually by 7 am, EVERYDAY, they are up and running! So I guess an extra 30 mins IS vacation time!!  anyway, it was GREAT to wake up and just KNOW you are out with your family in our RV and just enjoying our time together!! We had a lot to do in the morning…we had to finish putting the POP UP GIZMOS on the bunk ends…what this is is a SOLAR BLANKET especially made for our RV that goes over the BUNK ENDS so that it can keep the HEAT OUTSIDE!1 what is owesome is that in the WINTER, you turn the blankets so that the silver stuff in on the BOTTOM and that will keep the heat INSIDE!! Gotta love that! Anyway, we heard about these thru my RV FORUMS that I visit and they all swear by them so we ended up getting them sight unseen and BOY we are SOOOO HAPPY we did! They did the job and IMMEDIATELY you could feel the difference in the bunk end and it was not as hot as it was!! WOW!! GREAT THING TO HAVE!! Soooo, we did all of that and then alex, james and matthew went SWIMMING at the pool and I stayed back to let Joshua have his nap. Well, the boys came home, and we gave them baths and OOOHHHH how fun THAT was!! Our bathroom is TINY in size!! It is just too funny…and I am a SMALL person and I STILL felt like I was a giant in that shower!! Very small…the boys loved it though and there is a tub for matthew and josh! Anyway, after we did that we headed out to explore ROCKPORT, TX and just look around…wow, it was BEAUTIFUL!! There are so many beautiful HOUSES out there expecially those on the BEACH….wow..and then we decided to go eat at THE BOILING POT resteraunt and that was an EXPERIENCE! James and had never been there but we decided to try it out…it was kinda spicy but it was pretty neat to see them just DUMP the food on our table! We had a lot of fun making a MESS, the boys had a BLAST with their “hammers” to crack the crab legs with and just enjoying the food…crab legs, sausage, blue crab (the whole thing! James scared alex with it!! He almost fell of the chair!), potatoes, corn on the cob and shrimp! Yummy! It was all so good but it was a bit spice for the boys so after we ate, we headed out the the McD’s and had some food for the boys! We really just had so much fun today! And to top it all off, we went SWIMMING at about 9pm and all the boys had a BLAST!! We then came home and made us some HOME MADE POPCORN with real butter and sat around and enjoyed our night snack! After the 2 youngest were in bed, we ended up sitting outside in the BEAUTIFUL sultry night and sitting under our awning and enjoying the night sky with all those stars out there….we bought some OUTSIDE CARPET GRASS for the boys so that they can be outside with us and not be worried that they would be no place to put them but with that grass, we can put them on the ground and they can crawl and roll around on it! And I like it because I can just come out of the RV and be able to just step onto a clean area without my shoes!!

JULY 10TH, 2008
WOW, we are just having so much fun enjoying ourself without any worries. It has been VERY RELAXING for both james and i. he made mention that he NEEDED this time because he had been really stressed out and he hated feeling like that. He kept feeling like that he was just wound up tight but now, MORE RELAXED! As I told him, it felt GOOD to be out of the house FINALLY! I had been stuck there for a year without any break, over 365 days total spent there EXCEPT for the short “break” that we had when matthew was sick in the hospital!!!! I know I could have gone where ever BUT with 3 children and having matthew and all his equipment BY MYSELF was just a bit much. But now, our family is COMPLETE and we are OUT OF THERE!! And we are already dreaming and planning on our NEXT RVING experience after these 2 weeks!!

Well, back to our vacation…we went driving around the ROCKPORT/FULTON area and if you have never been over here, it is BEAUTIFUL and the properties are gorgeous and the view is amazing!! We enjoyed just playing tourist and driving around and having fun! We came home and went swimming for about an hour and just had fun with the boys…all the boys LOVE the water….matthew can’t swim in anything but either FRESH water or CLORINATED water due to his g-tube so no ocean or river for us! But that is why we had to have a park with a pool for him because he LOVES to swim! We then took the boys to go see WALL-E at the local cinema 4….CUTE PLACE!!! It didn’t look like ANY movie theater I have ever been to. It was TINY and looked like just a normal building. It was a CUTE movie too! Everyone enjoyed it! Well, we then had a visitor come see us today, it was james best friend! He is currently at the police academy here in CORPUS CHRISTI and he came by and we went out to eat at MOONDOG RESTAURANT…..it was really good and it was GREAT talking to him and just having a great time together. (And on a side note, He and his wife are going to be the GODPARENTS for matthew when he gets re-baptised….well, actually, he can’t get RE baptized but they have to formalize it at our church since when he got first baptized, it was in the operating room at a couple of hours old!! So we are very excited about that!! ) we then went fishing out on the bay and it was fun watching the “men” try to fish and net get birds nest!! But everyone had a GREAT TIME!!!

JULY 11TH, 2008
Wow, today, another BEAUTIFUL DAY here in ROCKPORT, TX!!! It has been GORGEOUS out here with NO RAIN!! It is just sunny and breezy. We are far enough away from the ocean that we don’t have that STRONG constant breeze going on just enough to keep stuff a BIT cool! It has been in the low 90’s and just awesome! Today, we ended up going over to PORT ARANSAS my favorite place!! I always say that when we win the lotto, that we are going to build us a vacation house out there!! Port Aransas is just a very touristy kinda place but it is such a SMALL place that it is PERFECT! We always go there when we come to the coast, just tradition. When we were driving over from rockport, only 6 miles away, we realized it had been 2 YEARS since we had been to the coast!!!!! I can’t believe it had been that long! And there had been so many changes out here! We noticed new buildings and new things along our way! Very nice! Matthew was 2 and alex was 3 the last time we came here!!! WOW! But we enjoyed our trip down memory lane and cruising around, james stopped and tried to fish a bit but it was too windy and the sand was blowing everywhere! We were on the JETTIES and it was pretty bad. But that was ok…he told me that he had A LONG TIME to be fishing and THIS TIME was just for us family and being together! Awwww…that is why I LOVE THIS MAN EVEN MORE EVERYDAY! So, we picked up a couple of things from our local HEB and came home, went swimming and then came home and BBQ!! Yummy! It was really good until we realized we had no CAN OPENER!!!! So, we did it the old fashion way and used a knife to pry it open!! Everything was really yummy and we had such a good time…the mosquitos are OUT right now and with the wind kicking, the candles won’t stay lit! so we ended up having to eat inside even though we had planned to be OUTSIDE! And our little matthew is really sensitive to the bites…..again, just another WONDERFUL day on our vacation!!!


JULY 12TH, 2008
today, we are going to be going to the CORPUS CHRIST AQUARIUM after the boys have had their naps!!! we are sooo excited! but first, we did some SWIMING early in the day then everyone had baths and then naps and OFF WE WENT!! it was pretty awesome...the trip out to CORPUS from ROCKPORT was only about 20 mins....pretty nice drive along the coast. we got there and THANK YOU GOD someone told us about getting a discount there if we had the SEASON PASS for the SAN ANTONIO ZOO....instead of paying OVER $50 to get in, we ended up paying only $20!!!! WHAT A GREAT SAVINGS! so we went around and looked at it all and the boys REALLY loved it. they loved seeing all the fish and being able to touch some of them. it was just a REALLY nice time looking around. we saw the LEXINGTON but unfortunatly, it is NOT handicap friendly so we decided against going out there...i can't imagine that with having such a HARD time 2 years ago with matthew how it would be THIS year?!?!? YIKES! and having josh too! so, we looked around and then we decided to head on back to the RV so we could go swimming....that is one thing we LOVE TO DO ! the boys all enjoy it so much. unfortunatly, the MOSQUITOS are just HORRIBLE OUT HERE!! I mean, the boys went swimming and they got bit ALL ALONG THE FORHEAD!!! we counted matthew and he had OVER 24 bites by the time we got out of there!!! and when they walked in there was actually MOSQUITOES STUCK AND FEEDING ON JAMES!!!!!! i killed about 4 off his BACK! they were just going along for the RIDE!! i think that was the one big downfall and that was not able to go outside and ENJOY the breeze....i think we are going to invest in a ZAPPER for the RV and we can use it at the house too!!

JULY 13TH, 2008
we got up early and headed out early to do some more grocery shopping (and BOY, WALMART IS LOVING US!!!!!!) we went to pick up some MEAT for a BBQ that we were having at james families home...he has family here (mom's side) and we just had a nice day visiting with everyone and enjoying the AWESOME food that was of cooked and all the family time that we spent. james was able to visit with family that he had not seen in a VERY VERY LONG TIME....it was just really really nice. it was also our last full day of our fist leg of our trip....so after we spent some time there, we head on home and went SWIMMING for the last time....the whole time SWATTING and trying to ve very careful about the MOSQUITOS...then we head on home and took our baths and started to put away the stuff so that we could be ready to ROLL by about 1030 or so! it was much easier heading out then putting stuff in. we were happy we had such a GREAT TIME this trip....we can't wait to do it again sometime....


JULY 14TH, 2008
well, today, we are OFF BACK TO SAN ANTONIO!!! wow, what a WONDERFUL 7 days and 6 nights we had TOGETHER AS A FAMILY....we just enjoyed EVERY SECOND (except the mosquitos!!) but those come with the territory i guess....we will be better prepared on that front NEXT TIME!! today, we just packed up and headed out to go pick up our dog and head on home and do some LAUNDRY and restock....wow, i just LOVE our RV!!! we knew when we bought this that it was a WONDERFUL investment into our FAMILY. we look around all the other RV'ers and see them all with their kids and family...older kids, younger kids, family and know that we did the BEST thing for our family. thru this RV, we have a chance to just connect AWAY from our home in a place that is small enough that we are RIGHT THERE with each other. we are able to EXPLORE places around our area and further out as a family...we see what a this does for us. it keeps us close and i know, that now we started our kids out YOUNG doing camping, although it is in COMFORT for MATTHEW's medical needs, we know that because of this, they are going to LOVE the outdoors that much more. we have just been BLESSED to be able to do this for them. of course, now that we are doing this, james wants something BIGGER!!!! i am ok with this but he sees some of the others and wants a hand on THOSE! i told him AFTER we pay off the truck and this RV we will look into that....anyway, again, you CAN NOT BEAT the price that we paid for this week for lodging...we paid ONLY $150 for 6 nights and 7 days with FULL hook up (sewer, electricity, cable, water) and had all the comforts of HOME!! you GOT to love that!!! :)


now ONTO OUR NEXT ADVENTURE STARTING JULY 16TH!! :) I WILL BE ADDING PHOTOS SOON!!

Getting Ready for our VACATION!!!

hello there!!! we have been having SOOOO MUCH FUN getting ready to finally GO on our vacation!! yeah, i know, we should have ALREADY been GONE but with our special needs kiddo, we have to cancel therapies, nurses, etc to GO but FINALLY after 2 weeks of looking and getting ready, WE WILL BE LEAVING EARLY NEXT WEEK FOR 2 WEEKS!!! WOOOOOHOOOO!! i am so excited!! we decided on 1 week at the TEXAS COAST at a RV park called CLICK HERE->ANCIENT OAKS RV PARK AND then leave there and head on over to the HILL COUNTRY and RV at another park called CLICK HERE->GUADALUPE RIVER RV RESORT....IT WAS CRAZY trying to decide where to GO! i know that texas is BIG so, it just made it THAT MUCH HARDER to choose from all those hundreds of SITES!! but GOD WILLING all will go well!

we have been washing and waxing, checking tire pressures, getting a SWAY BAR and ELECTRONIC BRAKE installed, cleaning the inside of the RV and just buying STUFF to go IN IT!! wow, so much fun and as the day gets closer sooooo EXCITED!!

it has just been so AWESOME spending all this time with MY FAMILY....we have missed soooo much this last year. we have just spent EVERY MOMENT together and just enjoying each other....the boys have been going CRAZY and just alllllll over daddy... joshua knows his daddy and he crawls right over to him...it is just such a JOY to see the BOYS together...no words can describe the feeling in me when i see them wrestling or playing....and it has taken such a LOAD off ME! i told james i was SOOOO HAPPY to have him home....it has helped me so much...just having that OTHER half of me home....i have actually took TWO (2) NAPS in the last 2 DAYS!!! WOWOWOWOWOW...can't tell you when the LAST time i did THAT!! and i RELAXED totally knowing that my boys were in PERFECT HANDS!!

anyway, matthew had his ANGIO CT today and it went well...don't have the results yet but he was put TOTALLY under and was intubated.....when he got to recovery room he was TOTALLY OUT...poor guy! but we were out of there within 1 1/2 hours after he got out....GOD WILLING all will look good! he held his BREATH when they put the mask on him to put him under and he ended up going into the low 50's before he finally relaxed and let the med take him to lala land!! anyway, he did GREAT afterwards....HE IS ALSO DOWN TO 2ML twice a day (down from 5mls 2 times a day) of trileptal....

i hope we have it all...i can't WAIT to GOOOOOO!!

OK, take care and GOD BLESS...

WELCOME TO HOLLAND...POEM...

my friends and i were talkinga bout this poem...it was brought to my attention when i FIRST had MATTHEW and found out what a SPECIAL guy he was....when i first read it it was sucha BEAUTIFUL poem and one that said, THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM FEELING/GOING THRU!! so, i decided to post it on this blog so other might read it if they have never done so and maybe find comfort in it!! TAKE CARE AND GOD BLESS...

Welcome To Holland
by Emily Perl Kingsley

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a
disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience
to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this......

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation
trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans.
The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn
some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your
bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess
comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm
supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and
there you must stay.

The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible,
disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a
different
place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new
language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have
met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than
Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you
look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and
Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all
bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of
your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I
had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the
loss of that dream is a very very significant loss.

But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to
Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things
...
about Holland

-------------THIS IS THE FOLLOW UP ON THAT POEM-------------------------------

Celebrating Holland - I'm Home

I have been in Holland for a while now. It has become home. I have had time
to catch my breath, to settle in and adjust, and to accept this different trip
than I'd planned.

I reflect back on those years when I first landed in Holland and remember
clearly my shock, my fear, my anger. In those first few years, I tried to
get back to Italy as planned, but Holland was where I was to stay. Today, I can
say how far I have come on this unexpected journey, how much I have learned
about Holland. But it has been a journey of time.

I worked hard. I bought new guidebooks. I learned a new language, and I
slowly found my way around in Holland. I met others whose plans had changed like
mine and who could share my experience. Some of these fellow travellers had been
in Holland longer than I and were seasoned guides, assisting me along the way.
Many have encouraged me and have taught me to open my eyes to the wonder and
gifts to behold in this new land. We supported one another, some have become
very special friends, and I have discovered a community of caring. Holland
isn't so bad.

I think that Holland is used to wayward travellers like me and has become a
land of hospitality, reaching out to welcome, assist, and support newcomers.
Over the years, I've wondered what life would have been like if I'd landed
in Italy as planned. Would life have been easier? Would it have been as
rewarding?W ould I have learned the important lessons I benefit from today?

Sure, this journey has been challenging and at times I would (and still do)
stomp my feet and cry out in frustration and protest. And, yes, Holland is
slower paced and less flashy that Italy, but this, too, has been an
unexpected gift. I have learned to slow down and look closer at things, with a new
appreciation for the remarkable beauty of Holland. I have discovered that it
doesn't matter where you land. What's more important is what you make of
your journey and how you see and enjoy the very special things that Holland has
to offer. I have come to love Holland and call it home.

Yes, I landed in a place I hadn't planned. Yet I am thankful, for this
destination has been richer than I could have imagined!

JAMES IS HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU GOD, he is HOME HOME HOME!!!!!! YIIIIPPPEEEEEEEEEEE!!! FINALLY, the post that i have wanted to write is here.....he is HOME HOME HOME!!! (can you tell i am EXCITED?) HEHEHEHEHEHE...this is just the BEST DAY in a LONG TIME...we got the news LATE AFTERNOON that he would be able to come home....it was kinda crazy because unitl about 3pm he was not sure if he could be home TODAY or tomorrow!! AND the last plane left at 5pm!!! so, he got his ticket, and literally RAN to get his stuff and find a RIDE to the airport and MAKE it to his flight!!! one guy didn't make it and thru james, was able to rebook a later flight...it was CRAZY!! soooo, he came in at 1030pm and we were waiting in the CELL PHONE LOT and 2 out 3 kiddos were awake to greet him in the car when we picked him up!!! and that would be our PARTY ANIMAL MATTHEW!! yep, he was WIDE AWAKE!! such a cutie!! and all he wanted to do was give daddy hugs but man, if you have not been in that area where you pick up people at the airport, MAN IT IS CRAZY!!! there was a TRAFFIC JAM and we were FINALLY able to get him and GET OUT!! CRAZY! but he is HOME HOME HOME!!! :) as far as i know, he will be OFF for at LEAST 30 DAYS!!! and we are making PLANS for a RV VACATION for at least 2 of those weeks and we are sooooooo happy and excited about that! that is something that we have been looking forward to and talking about now since DAY ONE of his DEPLOYMENT!! really, that was something that we CLUNG TO, DREAMED and PLANNED and THOUGHT OF during our year apart!Soooo......YYYYIIIIPPPPPEEEEEEE!!!!!

there was something else that i thought of was that joshua has only seen daddy for TWENTY-NINE DAYS out of his 10 months of life!!! amazing...and sad!! but we are going to change that......daddy scared joshua when he woke up in the car and saw daddy kissing on him....awww...

AND on a SIDE NOTE, matthew will be going to have an ANGIO CT done on JULY 2nd...any thoughts and prayers for him would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

anyway, THANK YOU ALL for all the LOVE, PRAYERS AND SUPPORT this last year!! we are SO BLESSED to have people there for us during this whole year!! thank you as ALWAYS! this year has been an EXPERIENCE that was DEFINETLY a time of GROWTH and of just learning to trust in GOD for everything.....we have grown closer as a family as the days and months passed us by....we relied on each other for SUPPORT and LOVE because we knew that THAT was what was going to keep us STRONG....it was hard to be a way from each other, we knew that THRU GOD, all would be well and we would JOYFULLY WAIT for the day that we could be back together as a FAMILY....and here we ARE!! WE MADE IT!! what seemed so long ago may/june 2007 when the day that we DREADED when we found out that he would be deployed and KNOWING that he would be gone for SO LONG.....and now we have gone thru a YEAR of GROWTH with the addition to our family with joshua and just the growing of our boys matthew and alex....what a STORY we tell our children.....something they will never forget...AND NOW we will learn to be together again, enjoy EVERY SECOND we have together and just remember how LONG we had not been together and just CHERISH and HOLD each other close because we KNOW how it felt to be apart...we are just so PROUD of our HERO JAMES...THANK YOU GOD for bringing him home SAFETLY....

SOOOOO THE NEWS IS....HE IS HOME HOME HOME, THANK YOU GOD!!! and if you have not had a chance to visit his montage, here is the LINK to it:

A Year Without Daddy....Deployment.

WOW...matthew...SZ MEDS...

is being taken OFF of one of his SZ MEDS!!!! WOWOWOWOWOW....he is being weaned off of his TRILEPTAL which he has been on for at least 2 years?! or longer...WOOOOHOOO!! so now, GOD WILLING, he will only be on 3 sz meds!! this is important because that will help him WAKE UP mentally because all those sz meds surpress his brain to help stop the sz!! soo, what does this mean? it MIGHT mean that he will start to progress developmentally now without this med....wowowow..we are really happy and excited....dr hopes to have down to TWO meds by the end of the YEAR!! that would be GREAT!! it is kinda scary because you don't know if this will start the sz again but all we can do is PRAY!! we are going down one ML a week until july 17th when he SHOULD be off of his med...please pray that he does well in this and the sz don't start up again!! and of course that he starts progress too!!

thanks sooo much....

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY...montage of deployment!

hello everyone...

we hope everyone is doing GREAT!!! as for us, we are doing just fine...we are ANXIOUSLY awaiting james coming home from BNCOC out in LOUISIANA!!! ! yep, he will GOD WILLING be home MAYBE next weekend!! we did spend an AWESOME 11 days together before he had to go back and we crammed AS MUCH as we could in that time!!! it was pretty awesome to have him here!!

well, we wanted to wish all the FATHER'S out there HAPPY FATHER'S DAY from our family to yours! james will be missing yet ANOTHER fathers day so we will end up celebrating when he get's home, GOD WILLING! SOON!!

SO, for fathers day, i made a picture MONTAGE of james year of deployment! i hope ya'll will go check it out! here is the link to the video:

A Year Without Daddy....Deployment.

welllll, since i am already bothering ya'll, i might as well give a LITTLE update on our family!! i promise it won't be THAT long!! heheheheh

ok, start off with alex, he is doing GREAT!! he is almost 6 years old and he is such a SMARTIE! i am constantly AMAZED at his ablity to pick everything up!! he LOVES to read and he LOVES to learn stuff...one day, i decided to teach him his days of the week, and i asked him if he knew them, and he just SAID THEM!! so i said, ooookkkkk, let's learn the months of the year....AND AGAIN, he just started to say them!!! i hadn't got to that YET and he already KNEW THEM!!! and then we started to do the STATES and we used this online map activity and by then end of the day, he knew ALL the states and where they went on a BLANK MAP!! :) anyway, i am excited about getting him started on 1st grade now...i know he will do soooo well!! THANK YOU GOD!

then onto MATTHEW...hmmm. ..what can i say except....HE IS STILL SICK OVER A YEAR LATER!!!! can you believe it? i can't....it is so fustrating to hear him junky and yucky!! i don't know if we should just ACCEPT that this is his normal now?! i don't know what ELSE to think?! he has been on ANTIBIOTICS for almost a year and for over 3 months SOLID....he has also went thru 2 rounds of oral steroids in less than a MONTH!! that's a LOT......we just can't clear him UP!! why? any prayers on this would be GREATLY appreciated! ! we have been in and out of his pulmonologist office...we also went to the CARDIOLOGIST this month and she said she was in AWE on how he looks!! she was concerned that because of his congestion, that MAYBE it had to do with his HEART and not his lungs....that got me worried...but she said that his ECHO looked good...we are going to have an ANGIO CT done on 7/2/08 under sedation to see what the anatomy of his heart looks like....so PLEASE any good thoughts on that would be appreciated! we also found out WHICH tapvr he had and it was TAPVR INFRADIAPHRAGMATIC, which is the WORST kind, just a little something we found out about...well, over all, he is doing GREAT!! he is pulling up to STAND and also CRUISING...he is also eating more when he is NOT too sick....but he impressed james by pointing out letters and numbers, colors and objects!! awww...he is such a CUTIE!!! we are just so proud of him and now he is FOUR.....AMAZING! !

and then there was little JOSHUA...wow, he is almost 10 months OLD!! and he is CRAWLING ALL OVER THE PLACE!!! yes, he started crawling right before james came HOME! and he is GOOD!! i don't remember alex getting into as much stuff as this little guy is! he is also putting EVERYTHING in his MOUTH!!! YIKES!! even if i sweep and mop, he will find that ONE piece that i missed and put it in his MOUTH!! he is something ELSE! and he is ALL over the place...it is so cute to watch! and WATCH i do!! he is eating baby food now and also just started on the CHERIEOS!! and he loves them! he is also wanting EVERYTHING that someone has! and he is VERY stuborn when he wants something and you take him away from it by putting him in another room, he will IMMEDIATELY crawl back over there as FAST as he can! and he looks like he wants to start pulling to stand...so WATCH OUT! I am just GLAD that all our gates and stuff are still up!! he already took a tumble out the back door when brother decided he wanted him to join us outside!! and he got pretty banged up from it...:( anyway, too cute!

james is doing fine..he is VERY TIRED because his school has been pretty TOUGH!! he has really been working HARD and LONG...he said ALMOST as bad as bucca!! he get's up at 4am and doesn't finish class until 7pm and then he has TONS of homework.... but he is doing fine...he is not to far away in louisiana... we are just PRAYING for the day he can come HOME!!!

as for me, well, i am doing fine...i am TIRED and ready for james to come home for good! i told him that once he is home, i can finally go to the drs and get my arm checked out, my fibro looked at to get it under control (i hope) and then...drum roll please....MY BRACES PUT ON!! yes, i will be metal mouth for about 2 years...i sure don't WANT them but i don't get a choice...YIKES! ! i know i will not enjoy the next 2 years...i just hope i can handle the PAIN along with the pain from my FIBRO!!! i don't know! i am kinda nervous about it! i wanted to wait until james came home because i didn't want to SCARE HIM OFF!!

oookkkk, not toooo bad, right? i dont' think it was THAT long...i could do WORST! :) don't forget to visit our BLOG (www.blessingsinmyli fe.blogspot. com) for some pictures.... ANYWAY, i hope everyone has a GREAT weekend and father days! know that we think of all our FAMILY and FRIENDS all the time!! take care and GOD BLESS