FAMILY UPDATE!!

HELLO FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!

i hope everyone is doing GREAT!!! it has been a while since i last EMAILED but all is well, THANK YOU GOD!! ....we have been enjoying the BEAUTIFUL WEATHER!! who would have thought that last weekend, we were FREEZING with temps just about 40's all day and this week, it has been AWESOME with high's about 80!! we actually had to put the AIR CONDITIONER ON again!!! amazing! we have been going out side everyday and the boys have been playing on their bikes and just enjoying the beautiful days and breeze!!! we are just missing ONE THING to make things soooo much better....daddy!! :( but time is going by soooo fast!!!

well, i will give a little bit of update on the boys!! here they go...

well, friday, both older boys (awww...i can't believe i can say that!!) went to the dentist and i am SOOOOOOOOO VERY PROUD OF ALEX!! OMG, it was such a CHALLENGE to take him to the dentist at the begining...i mean, screaming, crying and just TERRIFIED of the dentist!!! well, today, he was my BIG BOY and he did NOT CRY and he has known about the appt since about a month ago and he had NO PROBLEMS with it!! we got there and he let them clean his teeth, look at his teath, scrape his teeth, take XRAYS, floss them and EVERYTHING!! with no DRAMA at all!! awwww...my BIG BOY!!! he has been riding his big boy bike (with the training wheels) like crazy!! he loves it and he looks really cute! and he wears his helmet and everything! i am so proud of him! in class, well, we have been having issues in that area where he has not wanted to DO class!! i have had to really get on him and try to get him back on it! he LOVES it but i gues i need to move him up a grade level to keep him interested! we are still doing the kinder curriculum because i don't want to stress him out....i am moving up on the math part to 1st grade but everything else...it is just review...i am excited about next year because i really can't wait to challenge him....i hope to do better in that grade with him...he loves to read and we have reading time where he reads me a book!!! and then writing, he is doing great!! he i working HARD to get those letters looking good! i am so proud of him! and he still just AMAZES ME on his IMAGINATION!!! this little boy LOVES his LEGOS and he is forever playing with them and making such AMAZING ROBOTS, TRUCKS, AIRPLANES YOU NAME IT!! and i just got him a TRAIN one that is for older kids and BOY, ALL BY HIMSELF, reading the directions he made all 3 trains you can make with this kit!! and those are TINY little legos!!! i am just in awe of him! he can also draw on his writing board and he loves to draw transformers and robots....just in awe...

now, matthew, on the other hand, was just FREAKING OUT at the dentist, poor baby! he did NOT like it at all!!! soooo, GOD WILLING, he will be having a ANGIO CT SCAN in june-ish or so and they will be doing it under general anesthesia, HOPEFULLY the dentist can go and do whatever it is she needs to do (scraping and such) WITHOUT fear of aspiration!! it is scary!! but we can not do it any other way because he starts to gag and wretch and just scream and cry! i hope that MAYBE someday he will get over it but i just don't think so! i know how scary the dentist are!! they just about OWN MY TEETH!! anyway, he is doing great in school too! his teacher comes out 2 times a week for 2 hours and he is learning soooo much...i KNEW he was a smarty but he has shown me how MUCH of a smarty he is! he is able to SORT objects by color and thing, he is learning to talk more and he is such a SMARTY!! example...teacher tells him to give her a RED block, and in front of him are 5 block of different color with the red one right in front...he will procede to hand her EVERY BLOCK BUT THE RED ONE and just be smiling and laughing about it!! he is such a STINKER sometimes!!! he can be a bit stubborn but i will TAKE THAT!! :) matthew is getting some NEW AFO'S that the ankle actually flexes!! that will be nice as he is learning to walk more and is doing more!! i am just so proud of his accomplishments! we have been concerned because he has been getting really tired recenlty and we are just closely monitoring him with that!!! GOD WILLING it is nothing......AND just this week alone, matthew has had 3 SEIZURES already with the one on FRIDAY NIGHT (which is RARE in itself) happening WHILE HE WAS AWAKE!! that freaked me out because that happened when he was going to sleep and apparently, he started to stare at the cieling fan that was on and it caused him to go into this totally unresponsive state...i had gone in to turn off the tv that he was watching when i noticed he was STILL AWAKE, or so i thought, until i went over to him and noticed his HUGE PUPILS and just blank stare...man, i was worried!! i had JUST called my MIL to come over because i thought i was going to have to call EMS cause he was TOTALLY not responding when, BAMMM, he takes this HUGE BREATH and snaps out of it! i don't know HOW LONG he was acutually IN IT before i FOUND him and he was in it for at least 10 mins when i got to him....man, that was REALLY scary cause i was soooo sure i was getting ready to call EMS....please, give a thought or prayer for this little guy that he does NOT have a seizure....so scary!

anyway, joshua has learned a couple of new things this week...he FOUND HIS HAIR(which is JUST coming back in after falling out)!! he looks sooooo cute when he reaches up there and starts to scratch it!! awww...and then he found his FEET!! he LOVES to grab them and try to EAT THEM!!! TOOOO CUTE! he has also started to blow rasberries (i think that is what they are called) so he sounds soooooo cute!!! and of course, he gets the other boys into it and they are ALL doing it at the same time and ALL are cracking up together!!! it is a sight to see! he also has JUST started to sit by himself! he can sit there for at least a couple of minutes before he over corrects and falls over! and this little guy is the first little one that will CRY when he topples over! he is our drama boy too! such a CUTIE!!

well, james is doing well! he is just struggling with the work...he calculated that he is working about 81 hours a WEEK!!! that is ALOT OF TIME!! and he is just exhausted!! they recently had to move from their compound to another one while the original one was being worked on......i know that his compound that he works at, has been COMMENTED on that it is one of the best one out there and the soldiers are doing an AMAZING job there!! they also are the only ones with a CATWALK (that they built) running over the compound that allows them to see down on the people and the higher ups where REALLY impressed with that!! i am so proud of him!!! his unit is a mixture of several different states so they call themselves CHAOS!! awwww..anyway, we are able to talk to each other more on the internet because he FINALLY got internet acces from his room!!! yayayayaya!! he does NOT need to be out in the bitter cold to get on the internet...what a BLESSING!! so now he can get on for a couple of minutes, call me, and then i can jump on the computer and we can video chat with each other and he can see the kids....it is GREAT!!! the boys LOVE to talk to daddy!! i have just posted his latest UPDATE from bucca over at our blog!!! so, if you would like to read it, please go right over!! :)

well, as for me, i am doing fine....just trucking along here at home just WAITING for my hubby! we just celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary on the 1st of the month....AWWWWW! i am so in love with that beautiful man! i have been just busy with the boys and making sure we are doing everything we can! the nurses schedule is kinda different so i don't have ANY nurse on thursday and that is kinda right in the middle of the week but we have handled it just fine. i don't normally go anywhere on that day...just relax! my FIBROMYALGIA is REALLY acting up lately...it is so hard in the morning to get out of bed and walk down those stairs to get the door for the nurses...it is so painful....i can't even describe to you have much it HURTS! not to mention the REST of my body! i feel like such an old lady somedays....i have had to take some MOTRIN to help ease some of the pain....it helps somewhat but man! i just deal with it!! i can't take what is prescribed for me because of the kiddos...those things would KNOCK ME OUT if i took them! anyway, all is well! i just can't WAIT to get daddy home!!!

CHD Awareness Week has officially started FEB 7-14! MLH of SA is excited to let you know that we have received a state and city proclamation from Texas Governor Rick Perry and San Antonio Mayor Phil Hardberger in recognition of CHD awareness.....FINALLY! there is something in san antonio to HELP spread awareness of CONGENITAL HEART DEFECTS!!! unfortunatly, i was unable to be much help this year with the booth and such but i KNOW they are doing a WONDERFUL JOB at any and all events!!

well, that is it for the update....if you have not been by our BLOG (www.blessingsinmylife.blogspot.com) in a while, come check out all the NEW pictures of the boys!! they are growing sooooo fast! i also backtracked all our time with DADDY on our blog (look for date of dec 23rd to current) to see what happened, pictures of our time and also some current pics and videos too!!

GOD BLESS EVERYONE!! we are doing fine just waiting for james to COME HOME SAFELTY!!!!

take care and thanks for reading,
JAMES, MARIA, ALEX, MATTHEW, & JOSHUA!! :)