MY NEW BLOG!!

hola!! i just had to let ya'll know that i have a NEW BLOG!! yes, i will still have this one as my MAIN FAMILY BLOG but i decided to get another one just for ME!! and it is called

AND THEN THERE WAS ME!!!

www.andthentherewasmaria.blogspot.com

this blog will be about silly things, nothing and EVEYTHING! i have soooo wanted to blog about my fav tv show but i just didint' thinkg that it belonged on this blog...or a new book i am reading or a recipe or ANYTHING....this other blog will be about just THINGS....

anyway, just wanted everyone to know IF YOU ARE INTERESTED....just a fun blog about everything!! i hope you will stop by sometime!!

take care and GOD BLESS.....

Tonight (News) midnight for me & 1600hrs your time back home

Tonight at midnight, I will finally be able to say I
am going home next month. I have been waiting for
this moment for a long time and can not wait. My boys
have grown so much and mamma is doing such a great job
taking care of them back home. She is the true Hero.
Ya'll take care and I'll talk to ya'll later. I have
to go to bed now, I go in at midnight my time. Bueno.
James

thank you all...

for the thought and prayers....matthew is still sick and we are at our WITS END trying to figure out what to do for this little guy! his congestion is increasing (as usual), he is starting to cough and we are suctioning out like crazy AGAIN and he is just getting tons of treatments....sooooo, now we start the "what do we do?" for matthew....i have been in contact with his pulmonologist since thursday and we are right now just trying to get it TOGETHER....and solve the mistery of WHY he keeps getting sick?! so, i have been thinking and this is JUST A THEORY...nothing more....well, i have been just WRACKING MY BRAIN trying to find a KEY to this and the thing i came up with on thursday is....ready for this???....COULD it be his TONSILECTOMY/ADNOIDS removal done LAST YEAR in may? hmmmm....SINCE he had that done, he has been junky....not clear...sooo, could something have happen in there? and in there i mean, in his nose where the adnoids where taken out? maybe it has not healed? maybe...??? SOMETHING?! but, i am going to HOPEFULLY see his ENT sometime in may....still a long time.....unless i can squeeze an appt somewhere else!and i had to add that as of TONIGHT, he is on AGAIN, a 10 day dose of OMNICEPH (antibiotic) (he just came off of this on the 24th after a 30+ day dose of it!) and then we are on a NEW med called ZERTEC....then after he finishes his 10 day dose, he will be on AMOXACIL (antibiotic) forEVER....we are hoping to get an appt SOON with an ENT....

anyway, thank you all for the thoughts and prayers...he is hanging in there and he is as HAPPY AS EVER!!

and now, i will leave you with some pictures....

we took some pictures at TARGET and here are a couple of them...




joshua just partying till he DROPS!!


MATTHEW in the hospital....still HAPPY!


ALEX mugging for the camera!


MATTHEW giving love to his baby brother...


the BOYS EASTER picture....

well, it didn't take him long....

this morning, i woke up to the sounds of matthew moaning at 4am.....i went to check on him and yes, you guessed it, HE WAS BURNING UP WITH FEVER!!! 102.5 and congested.....ok, it only took him over 48 HOURS to get sick again after his last dose of ANTIBIOTICS!!!!!!!!!!!! i could keep going with those !...all i could do was LAUGH because you just had to in disbelief or sit there and SCREAM!!!!! so, i called the pulmonologist this am and told her what was going on and when the nurse called me back, the first thing out of her mouth was, "oh, no!! your kidding! " what else was there to say?! if you remember the last post on his CT the dr said, that if in the NEXT 7-10 days he got sick again, then we probably KNEW it was the SINUS!! soooo....did he catch something at the hospital? or is this what has been plaguing him since june? or is it the sinus? we are BACK on treatments every 4 hours and suctioning...his nose started up AGAIN too! and he's congested....what do i DO? i feel sooo bad for this little guy....it didn't take more than 3 days to get sick again.....he was better for a little more than 2 weeks this time around....not much time if you think about it! poor little guy........so now we see what the dr has to say...i think she is going to send us over to an ENT....i PRAY THAT THEY DON'T SEND US TO THE ENT CLINIC AT WHMC....but i am pretty sure we will end up there...and that is not a good thing...why? because then we would have to be there at WHMC instead of our hospital of choice!! well, as long as they get it right, right?

anyway, any prayres, good thoughts his way would be WONDERFUL.....i am jut sad for him....you just feel like pulling on your hairs in fustration...ESPEICALLY since he had been eating like a CHAMP....almost a full meal and today NOTHING....all because of this congestion.....i bet if he felt as good as he did the last 2 weeks, he would be eating ALL THE TIME!!! this child was doing sooooo well! from going from almost NOTHING by mouth to eating like a NORMAL KIDDO to back to nothing because he doesn't feel good....fustrating...

on a side note....it was kinda interesting this week starting on sat...it was my FIRST TIME having soooo many days WITHOUT a nurse!! i did not have one sat or sun, had one for 4 hour on tues and noone on wed!! and i did just fine, THANK YOU GOD! just one of those things!!!

MATTHEW had his CT today....

well, today, matthew had his CT done of his SINUS & LUNGS...it started REALLY early this am...we got out of the house by 645am because he had to be there at the hospital by 730am....well, we made it and got him checked in and then we were escorted back to the prep area...i spoke to the anesthesiologist and we went over some questions (the usual) and just learned that they were going to use "gas" as their general anesthesia...well, this thing went by SOOOO fast, literatly, within 15 mins, he was DONE and waking up ready to walk out of there! it was so funny! he was WIDE AWAKE immediately after being taken off the gas!! silly boy!

well, after a couple of ours in recovery, we walked over to the drs office to find out what she had to say and she said that his lungs are what they are....they are CHRONIC LUNG DISEASE.....they are very SCARRED...she showed me the CT and where they should be BLACK (as normal lungs look like), they are WHITE mainly instead of BLACK...that is not good...but they are what they are and GOD WILLING they will HEAL someday...as for his SINUS, well, the right side looked fine...normal....but the left side, while looked ALMOST normal, there was a small area that was slightly swollen and she said that she will have to keep an eye on it....the test is if he stays HEALTHY with no congestion the next 7-10 days (because he took his last dose of OMNICEPH ANTIBIOTIC monday) then we are ok....BUT if he should start to get congested, then she thinks that it is his SINUS and she will immediatley put him back on an antibiotic and then send us to a ENT that will do a procedure on his sinus to try to open them up!! just amazing.....

well, that is it....THANK GOD nothing to bad....he is what he is....i am so proud of him...he got a shot today of vaccine and it was given to him on his arm and he did not even WHIMPER!! no crying or anything!! so proud of him...

10,000 hits!!! WOOOO-HOOOOO!!

wow, i am so amazed that there has been over 10,000 hits to my BLOG!! WHO KNEW?!?! i have only had this blog out there since part of 2006 thru current....now that may NOT seem like a lot to those that have faithful followers and REALLY cool blogs, but for me, this is just shy of AMAZING!!! my blog offers nothing more than family news basically and to have that many people stop by...wow! i wish more people would comment good or bad but if not, that is ok!! and i sit there and see the map and all those dots showing that people are coming from ALL OVER THE WORLD....well, GEE, I AM SO TOUCHED, THANK YOU!!

anyway, i just had to post this...i have slowly watched my numbers go up....10,000...i wish i could celebrate or something!! i guess i will go out and buy SEA WORLD passes to mark the event?!?! sounds good to me!!

so, for everyone that has stopped by, THANK YOU FOR COMING BY!! I LOVED WRITING ALL ABOUT MY LIFE!! it has been so awesome to just see this blog grow for a little bittty thing that started off just as some place to journal...and actually my cuz up in seattle was the one that started me off....we originally started off at LIVEJOURNAL and then moving my way on to BLOGGER...and i have loved it ever since!!! so thank you, seattle cuz, for getting me started!!! :)

so, i hope ya'll keep coming back and checking in on our family....i will hopefully just get better at this blogging stuff as i move along! i can't wait to start blogging about my dh coming HOME someday soon!!! GOD WILLING!! but i love to blog about my family...

so, thanks for stopping by! i can't wait to make the next milestone down the road and share it with all of you!!! take care and GOD BLESS....

awwww...i got TAGGED!!!

i have NEVER been tagged before and i am really kinda EXCITED!!! it is a MEME TAG! i was tagged by one of my new blogger buddies ONE MORE EQUALS FOUR so THANK YOU for tagging me!!! sorry it took me a bit to get this going but i had been a bit busy with spring breaks and all my other posts!!! so, here are the rules...

Rules are:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.


and here i go....seven facts about me!!

1. well, hmmmm......i am REALLY SHORT!! i am UNDER 5 feet tall and i stopped growing in the 6th grade!!! what happen there? did i forget to drink milk?? i don't know but i stopped growing and that was that!!! i use to HATE being short but now, i kinda like it!!! just one of those things..

2. well, eat some CRAZY stuff....like CHINESE CANDY, CHAMOY, SAL LIMON, PICKLES, just tons of stuff that will rot your teeth, make you have holes in your tummy and really make you go 'YUCK!' BUT i love that kinda stuff!! it could be the reason i have GERD and also horrible teeth.....but YUMMY!!! i have cut down TONS but just watch me when i get a CRAVING!!

3. i LOVE TO READ!! i ALWAYS have a book with me!! i mean ALWAYS...i carry one with me WHEREEVER I GO...i am not kidding about that...i literatly have it in my hands, in my car everywhere. i even take it sometimes in the store with me so that if i don't have my kids with me, i can have a couple of minutes to read while waiting in line...NO KIDDING! it's kinda my obsession..i panic if i forgot it at home somehow....my favorite writer is NORA ROBERTS and i have almost all of her books!

4. i am still scared of the DARK...yes, that is my little secret...i get the willy-nilly's in the dark and i HATE it!! i literatly SCARY MYSELF by just walking into a dark place, even in my own house!!! needless to say, there is always nightlights on in my house ESPECIALLY now without james here!!

5. this is getting hard....i use to play the paino....a LONG TIME AGO...it has been more than 10 years since i last played BUT i got on it the other day and i actually REMEMBERED a couple of songs and how to play them!! my kids were amazed...and i use to play the violin, but NO WAY do i remember that one!!

6. ok, i am PRETTY POSITIVE about almost everything! i look at the glass as HALF FULL and TRY to all ways see the BEST of something and not the worst...my dh says that if everyone thought like me, the world would be a better place!!

7. well, when my mom was alive, we were so in tuned with each other that we had ESP....we always knew what we were both thinking even if we were not in the same house and we could also always know when we needed each other....ex. if i was REALLY SAD or something happened, she would call me and vice/versa...we just ALWAYS knew what was going on in our lives...it was so awesome...

and that is it!! i hope these 7 facts are ok!!

and here are my blogs i have tagged....some of these are people i actually KNOW and others are my new blog that i frequent after the blog party!!!! which was AMAZING if i do say so myself!!

1. http://hectichouse.blogspot.com/
2. http://www.powellfamilysa.blogspot.com/
3. http://5lilmonkeys.blogspot.com/
4. http://karlascrazylife.blogspot.com/
5. http://mylifeasasahm.blogspot.com/
6. http://mariamommyof4.blogspot.com/
7. http://www.writer-mommy.com/

anyway, TAKE CARE AND THANKS FOR TAGGING!! HAVE FUN!

SPRING BREAK!!!

well, we have had a GREAT WEEK....i really didn't know if i was going to do anything but we did!! just some FUN STUFF!! at the begining of the week, it was a REALLY WET time here in town...there was even some MUD RAIN!!! yeah, that was pretty freaky if you saw our vehicles!! they looked like we had all just gone MUDDING!! pretty strange!

well, on monday, we went to take pictures with the EASTER BUNNY!! awww, my sil reminded me that we had not taken them and we went to take them and here they are:




well, on wed, we went to the ZOO and had some FUN!! wow, i am so happy that we got there when it opened because when we got out of there at noon, the line was 5 deep and it was just crazy!! we got out of there right on time!! unfortuantly i forgot my camera!! i could not believe i did that!! anyway, we had a GREAT TIME and just enjoyed being with my cuz and her family!! FUN! and can't wait to go out there again!

then thursday, we went to see HORTON HEARS A WHO with a great friend of mine and her kids! we had lunch AT MCD's and then made our way over there!! NICE!! and very cute movie!! as for lunch, MATTHEW ATE A NUGGET (his first), AN ORDER OF SM FRIES, and 3 cups of POPCORN at the movies!!!! can you believe that???? that is the most he has eaten and he would have kept going! it has always been about endurence with his chewing and his jaws so i think he is building up the strength! i am so proud of him!! he is building up his strength!! YIPPPEEE!!! and we got some WONDERFUL NEWS but i will actually have it's own post!!

then friday, we basically just hung around and went to a FISH FRY at a local church and had lunch with my cuz t and her kiddos! it was fun...then we visited a aunt that i had not seen in YEARS and it was really nice to just see them and visit with them for a while!!

all in all, this week has been WONDERFUL!! this weekend will be the FIRST weekend WITHOUT NURSES!!! yep, they are both off this weekend so it will be just me and my kids! we plan to go to g-ma's house on EASTER and just hang out for a bit!! i sure wish james was there with us...

we talked to him friday and he is just so tired....can't wait to get home!!

and on a SIDE NOTE....i forgot to mention that we had attended a GREAT event by the STARLIGHT FOUNDATION on the 9th in AUSTIN!! we had soooo much fun! it was at the FOUR SEASONS there in austin and there was so much going on and the kids (and i) had a BLAST!!! i just love their events! i was so sad that we were unable to make the feb event of bowling but that was when matthew had strep!! anyway, just kuddos to them!! ALSO, for those here in our town, if you go to HOLLYWOOD VIDEO and you get that "damage protection" for 25 cents per rental, some of the procedes of that GOES to the starlight foundation!! just an FYI! i just found this out myself!!

WE GOT WONDERFUL NEWS THURSDAY!!!

OMG, i am soooo excited and HAPPY for our family....no, james is not coming home early, that would be the BEST news in the world....instead, i got a letter in the mail today....and it read....'CONGRATULATIONS!! MATTHEW IS BEING CONSIDERED FOR A WISH"!!! and what might that be about?!?! we were refered to the MAKE A WISH FOUNDATION a couple of months ago and i talk to them a couple of weeks ago and they said, that i would get one of two letters....either, "CONGRATULATIONS" OR A "WE ARE SORRY" and we got the CONGRATULATIONS LETTER!!! I AM SOOOOOOOOO HAPPY!! i KNOW that matthew is going to have a BLAST at our wish GOD WILLING wish of DISNEY!!! he just started getting on rides in 2006 (last year we did not make it to FIESTA TEXAS) and he was still a bit wobbly but NOW he is sooooo much STRONGER and so much more stable that i can JUST SEE him on the kiddy rides out there!! he would be having so much FUN!!! i can't wait! when it will happen is still unknown....it could be a year from now, it doesn't matter as long as little matthew stays strong and gets to go!!!

anyway, i am just in SHOCK and i am just so HAPPY!! this little boy deserves it ALL with everything that he has gone thru!!!! what he has gone thru in his almost 4 years of life is MUCH MUCH MUCH more than i have gone thru in my 35 years of life!! no one should have to go thru what he has done....and he has done it all with a SMILE and with so much STRENGTH....much more than i have...

anyway, just wanted to share with ya'll the wonderful news!!! i was able to tell james today and he was speechless and so happy for matthew!!!

ALEX'S POST...

WELL, alex is doing really well!! i am so proud of him! he has really started to understand that when i need him to listen, he DOES! he looks sooo handsome and is always asking so many questions....he is so smart! he loves to READ!! i am so proud of him! i tried to read to him but HE wanted to do that....and he did! he is reading really really good! and he LOVES math! he enjoyes it so much! i am just so proud of him....i am getting ready to look around to see what curriculum we will be having him on next year...wowow... he will be in 1st grade...i can't believe that!! i am just so amazed by him! he is so smart and he is really just getting to be such a BIG BOY!! he tells me all the time now, "no mom, i will do it!' or "I want to do it mom" and he loves to help me wash the dishes and to bring in the groceries!! wow! and he get's himself dressed everyday, reads his work directions everytime, and just loves to really be INDEPENDENT!! so proud...he loves to play with joshua and loves to hear him laugh...he is also starting to play with MATTHEW which is AWESOME because he does not normally do that but now he does. he also has a memory like an ELEPHANT (i think that is the animal!) like today, i asked him, "how old are your cousins going to be?" and he will calmly tell me how old each of them will be! and if i give him a BIG list of things we have to do (say 7) i will ask him what the first thing we have to do, he will tell me, we will do it and then i ask for the next thing and so on and HE WILL GET IT EXACTLY RIGHT!! i am just impressed! he will also not let me forget if i told him something!

anyway, he has been REALLY missing daddy...i think that he, like me, is starting to REALLY feel the gap or we are getting anxious about him GOD WILLING comeing home SOON! he has really been asking for his daddy and talking about daddy and how much he misses him....i am so sad for alex cause he is such a DADDY'S BOY!!

anyway, alex is doing GREAT!!

JOSHUA....

Onto Joshua, well, this little guy, all six month of him, is actually doing some INCREDIBLE THINGS!! What, might you ask would he be doing? Well, he is sitting all on his own and he is also just getting CUTER!! And he is such a CHARMER!! he also started to EAT 3/7/08 and i have two 'NOTE TO SELF' when it comes to him and eating...ok, it has been a LONG LONG time since i fed a BABY baby food!! over 5 years to be exact so my note to self are:
1. DO NOT FEED BABY TOO MUCH CEREAL.....what happened was...he got CONSTIPATED and i felt SOOOOO BAD!! he loved the stuff and didn't seem to get enough so i kept feeding him and BAMM...now he is CONSTIPATED and i feel so bad for him cause he was CRYING!! awww...
2. DO NOT OVER FEED BABY EVEN IF HE STILL WANTS MORE....well, he had a little bit of cereal and 1/2 jar of stage 1 baby food and he STILL wanted more so i proceded to FEED the rest of the 1/2 jar and then not too much later, well, let's just say he tossed up his food! i felt SO BAD yet again!!! man i need to get this straight!!

so, he is eating now and i am now SO CAUTIOUS about it that i am scared to feed him! but he does so well and so far, loves to eat!!! he also JUST CUT HIS FIRST TOOTH on 3/17/08!! AWWW...SOOOO CUTE!

MATTHEW's POST!

so, i will start with matthew, which is where i left off originally....matthew is doing GREAT THANK YOU GOD!! i am just so happy that he is just keep clear for now...he is still on his antibiotics until the 25th when he will be having his CT SCAN of his LUNGS AND SINUS...they are trying to find out if there is ANYTHING that is infected in there or WHAT!! he has been sick since june!!! poor guy!! anyway, he is doing WELL! he has also....drum roll please....he has STARTED TO EAT SO MUCH MORE THANK YOU GOD!! it started last friday, march 7th when he saw me feeding JOSHUA some cereal and it was ON!! he was too cute, making so much NOISE to get me to get him up at the table with us and that was it! he LOVES chicken noodle (like progreso soup) and he goes to TOWN!! and NOW, he wants breakfast, lunch and DINNER!! sometimes he eats TONS (ex. 1/2 cup of soup, 15 mcd's fries, bag of gerber puffs) wowowowow, that is AMAZING!! and that is in ONE sitting! he LOVES to eat! just today, he ate some terriaki chicken!! i am really nervous when he is eating meat but overall, he does well! and he likes to drink too! and he TELLS me he is hungry! he will start to cry out and when i ask him what he wants, he signs, EAT and MORE!!! and then when i put him on his chair he gets soooooooooo excitED! and then just yesterday, HE STOOD UP!! he pulled himself UP to STAND BY HIMSELF! he can do it if we are holding his hands and yesterday, i was nursing joshua on the couch and he wanted to stand up and i told him i couldn't help him so, HE DID!! awww, he was so proud of himself! he is so tall! you just forget cause you don't normally see him standing! and now, he also has some NEW AFO'S with articulating ankles (the have a joint and move) so now he is WALKING in his WALKER/GAIT TRAINER! i am so happy and excited! he could NEVER move forward in it, he just didn't have the strength to push off but now he does!!! and boy, you should see him on his little scooter car toy...he never went anywhere and now he scoots ALL OVER, back and forth!! even SIDEWAYS!! awww...he is getting so strong! and he is loving pulling up and moving around...i just PRAY he keeps moving FORWARD!! please GOD!!

I AM BACK!!!

wowowowowow, i had such a WONDERFUL BLOGGIN WEEK!! i had so much fun visiting all those WONDERFUL BLOGS out there!! i just was able to visit a HANDFUL (about 30 or so) and there are sooooo many MORE!! i am so happy that the 5 minutes for mom are still going to have those blog post up so that i can continue my journey meeting new friends!!!

well, if you can believe it, I WON A PRIZE!!! :) i won some books!! and you know me and books!! WOOOO-HOOOO!! i was so happy to read that!! i can't wait to recieve them!!! i have never won something like this!!

well, i know that i have not kept up my posting during this time...it was my little spring break....trying to get back on track with life in general and just enjoying VISITING BLOGS!!! and so much has gone on in my life...

let's see, i have been doing fine....missing james and just WAITING and COUNTING the days that he will GOD WILLING come home!! hard to believe that it has been OVER 9 MONTHS SINCE HE LEFT!!! wwowow....i miss him so much! i just think of him and just get sad that he is missing so much of our kids lives! he is missing seeing joshua eat, sit up, talk tons and matthew starting to walk, alex just growing and reading and so much....just us being the family that we ARE!!! it is getting HARDER, if can believe that as the days are getting CLOSER?! does that make sense to anyone??? i hear him and get so ANXIOUS to have him here!! i guess that is it...but i can't WAIT to get him HOME WITH HIS FAMILY!! i keep thinking about RV'ING with our FAMILY for a while and just being TOGETHER!!! i just keep PRAYING that he comes home HEALTHY AND SAFETLY!!!

anyway, i am doing fine...just adjusting to having my 3 boys that are ALL starting to be active at the SAME TIME!! it is fun to see matthew starting to want to do things because joshua is doing it!! and alex is just amazing me with his knowledge of EVERYTHING!!! he just comes up with the best things!

i love my ALONE time! that time is after all the boys are asleep and i get to watch all the shows i DVR'd!! sometimes, i find myself staying up till 1200 just watching my shows or seeing whats on tv! it is just a time for ME, no cartoons no kids...just ME! i REALLY love it!! i also love spending time with my WONDERFUL friends...i love when we go out to eat lunch together just the girls or just talking during playdates or just talking on the phone...that is MY TIME....i need that adult converstation with other mommy's....we had so much FUN when we did our girls lunch out just LAUGHING at our stories....i love that time!!! my MIL has been such a HELP!! i am so happy i had her here....i THANK GOD FOR HER!! she has been a true help!!!

james is doing BETTER!! he thinks that it might have been the SAND STORMS that were going on...he said they were BAD!! he is taking some allergy pills and just still trying to adjust his times so that he is AWAKE in the early AM thru pm...it is really tough! at least, there is LESS people in the lines for the phone during those times!! anyway, he is COUNTING THE DAYS till he get's home..he is so tired and wants to come HOME!!

so many people have offered to help and I SO APPRECIATE IT!!! THANK YOU ALL! i have gotten emails, and phonecalls....i am so grateful!! thank you!!!

well, i am going to do some seperate posts for the boys....so much to tell!

ULTIMATE BLOG PARTY!!

hello there!! i am soooo excited to be joining everyone in the ULTIMATE BLOG PARTY hosted by 5 minutes for MOMS!! my first time hosting a PARTY!! WOO-HOO!! my name is MARIA and my dh and i have 3 BEAUTIFUL BOYS!! i started this blog a couple of years ago so that our family and friends could keep up with us....this blog has seen the homeschooling and growing up of ALEX our oldest, it has seen a lot of DRAMA (from my beautiful miracle MATTHEW) who is our SPECIAL NEEDS BABY (tons of drama there!!), the BIRTH of our newest addition JOSHUA and to the deployement of our daddy/husband to IRAQ in june 2007....we are just soooo blessed to have our family....we are a family that is so IN LOVE with each other and just enjoy being a part of ONE!! I FEEL SO BLESSED!

some interesting links for our family...

PICTURE MONTAGES:
our 10th wedding anniversary (2007)

CLICK HERE!!

alex 4 year birthday (2006) (he is 5 now)

CLICK HERE FOR ALEX

WHY our matthew is our MIRACLE BABY....how GOD showed us a miracle in him (warning:graphic pictures included of matthew)

CLICK HERE FOR MIRACLE MATTHEW

thanks for stoping by!! hope to meet ya'll soon!!

PS,
if you would like to JOIN in the party, click on the ULTIMATE BLOG PARTY button the right and it will take you where you need to go!!! or click on THIS!!! SO MUCH FUN to meet so many new friends!!! and all the blogs (over a 1000 for you to visit!!) bye for now!!

james is sick right now...

yep, my dh is not feeling well AT ALL!! i feel so bad for him...wheni talked to him on the phone, he sounded HORRIBLE!! he emailed me and said he just felt aweful but that he was going to "suck it up" because he said that as MUCH as matthew goes thru and doesn't complain, he wants to be just like him! we have always said that matthew is our ISPIRATION and our STRENGTH because he is always so happy and strong no matthew what is going on....but i hope that he takes care of himself...he needs to be HEALTHY out there!!! and then he is REALLY HURTING with the new schedule that they have out there!! he is now working OPPOSITE of what he was working about a week ago!! so now he is going from am to pm!! and he is having a HARD TIME adjusting! when i talked to him, he sounded SOOOOOOO TIRED, like you just want to go to sleep tired and i told him "aren't you gettingready to go in?" and he said yes, i told him he sound so tired...he said that they have been SOOOOO BUSY there in his compound that it is not even funny....they he has been sick...

so, any thoughts and prayers for him and his buddies would be appreciated....he doesn't sound good at all!!!

matthew is HOME!!!!

HOLA EVERYONE....

i just wanted to drop a quick note to let you know that we are HOME!! THANK YOU for all the prayers and good thoughts for matthew........MATTHEW IS HOME!! THANK YOU GOD! we are so very happy to be back in our own home in his NEW BED....more of that later...anyway, today, we were seen by 2 drs that both said that he was STILL SICK and STILL WHEEZING ALL OVER but, they gave me the option to stay there at the hospital or go home....i told them that we would love to go home! thank GOD for nursing care to help me thru the day....it is going to be REALLY TOUGH the next couple of days because right now, he is on neb treatments every 3 hours for 2 more days, then down to every 4 hours then down to every 6 hours then back to normal....he went home on his oral steroid for another 8 days and he will be on omniceph antibiotic for another 21 days (he has been on an antibiotic since the 22nd!!)...he will be having a CT SINUS SCAN on 3/25 to see if they can see if MAYBE that is what is causing all this drama for matthew...he has been sick on and off since JUNE, has been on antibiotics about 5 rounds, oral steroids about 4 rounds and just albuterol treatment over and over for TOO many to count!! so they will check that out and see if there is ANYTHING THERE!! i am so happy they are trying to find that out because it has been SOOO HARD watching he get sick all the time...and knowing we are doing all we can to keep him HEALTHY and for us not to be able too.....very fustrating and very draining.... very sad....so, i just PRAY PRAY PRAY that they can help out my little guy because as draining and fustrating it is for ME it is nothing to say what it must be like for MATTHEW....he can't TELL ME how he really feels or what pain he is in or anything.....altough, with that BEAUTIFUL SMILE he has, well, it makes it hard to even believe that he is feeling as bad as i know he must be....

and another thing, my son ALEX is SICK NOW TOO!! since sat, he has had a temperature...so off we go to the drs tomorrow....man, i am TIRED....

i just wanted to say THANK YOU from my family for all the support that has been given to our family as we went thru this VERY TRYING time in our lives...with james being so far away, and me here at home with the boys, it was very SCARY time not know how things were going to work...but i KNEW THRU GOD that everything would fall into place and it DID!! my wonderful MIL took over alex THANK GOD and they had a great time together....i kept joshua with me and we stayed with matthew....now the hardest part was LEAVING matthew to come home to be with alex and run errands for the house....everytime i left he would CRY THE WHOLE TIME....it was heartbreaking....i NEVER have left matthew by himself when he has been in the hospital....james would do the running around and i would stay with matthew....i hope i NEVER have to do that AGAIN!!! matthew is sick as it is and to leave him there BY HIMSELF broke my heart....well, we had some WONDERFUL FRIENDS that came over the the hospital and brought food and goodies....wow, i know james kept saying that he was so happy that so many people cared and helped us out! it made a DIFFERENCE in how "enjoyable" the stay was (if you can call it that)....we did get to see a whole bunch of our wonderful family of nurses/RT/staff and it was wonderful for them to see how BIG matthew was!! it had been almost a YEAR or longer since they saw him...and of course seeing the new baby....he kept getting taken away for at least 45min or so each time....i had no problems because they are our family....

well, the last of the update is that MATTHEW GOT HIS SLEEP SAFER BED!!! this bed is BEAUTIFUL and he so deserves it!! i will post pictures of it on my blog (as soon as i get another moment to do it!) so you can see it!! it is REALLY NICE!! i can't wait to buy some sheets for him...awww....he looks like such a BIG BOY in his BIG BOY BED!!! and it is really nice!!! he got it the DAY that everything went haywire and he slept in it ONE NIGHT before we were in the hospital...

anyway, thanks again for all the EMAILS, PHONE CALLS, love and support that was given to us....you will NEVER know how much it meant to us....with everything going on, knowing that ya'll are out there means the world to us! THANK YOU!!

i will keep everyone updated on our BLOG www.blessingsinmylife.blogspot.com and also post pictures SOON of the beautiful bed and him it.....know that we appreciate all the thoughts and prayers for this little boy and our family....we feel SO BLESSED!!

take care and GOD BLESS..

JAMES, MARIA, ALEX, MATTHEW, & JOSHUA

"BETTER"

yes, that is our word for today...BETTER!! he is slowly improving and doing better. he is currently on 1 liter of oxygen and they are slowly bringing that down...GOD WILLING we will be let out by MONDAY....of course, whatever he needs to be at is where he will be. he is more active now and is playing and trying to jump out of his crib...MUCH BETTER!! unfortunatly he is still really junky and they are getting TONS of secretions out of him but all in all, better....

alex is doing well...he and grandma are having a wonderful 'SLEEPOVER' athome...he is enjoying his time with grandma....joshua is doing well too....he is never far from me and just enjoying playing on the floor on a mat with his toys....the nurses are giving him lots of love too!!

THANK YOU ALL for all the support and words of encouragment ya'll have given us...we are sooooo thankful! james feels so much more at easy knowing that there are so many out there that are praying, thinking and helping us out....it has just been WONDERFUL! i prayed that there would be no extended stays while james was gone but it was not meant to be!! but HEY, over 8 months gone and it happened now...THANK YOU GOD! we just hope to go home SOON!!

anyway, i will keep ya'll posted...it has been a bit of an adjustment with having a BABY here too and alex being at home with grandma....i can't be WITH matthew when they are doing something where i would NORMALLY be right next to his side because usually the baby is in my arms or needing attention (never fails!) and with alex, i am having to LEAVE MATTHEW by himself (which i have NEVER NEVER DONE!!) while i go visit with alex and do some running around for the house!! i was HEARTBROKEN when i left yesterday to go be with alex and buy diapers for joshua, that he apparently CRIED the whole time i was GONE and when i walked down the hall i could hear him and when i walked in he was crying too!! that made me sooooo sad! usually, james is doing the running around with alex and i stay put with matthew but....

anyway, GOD WILLING SOON we will be HOME!!! i will keep ya'll updated...

matthew is slowly getting better....

hello all, well, PRAYERS ARE WORKING, THANK YOU GOD and everyone!! well, last night he did MUCH BETTER than the night before....he is down to 1.5 liters of oxygen and is holding his own. he is still sating low at 92 and when he falls asleep or gets excited, he will drop into the 80's but still, it is BETTER than being on 6 liters of oxygen and doing the same....he is still getting his IPV treatments every 4 hours and his albuterol in between there...he is still on a HIGH dose oral steroids but he is COMPLAINING and getting FUSSY and that is WONDERFUL TO HEAR!! he had been really quiet and not talking and such but today, he is sitting up and playing with his toys instead of just listlessly laying there doing nothing.....so THANK GOD FOR FUSSINESS!! :) he is still a very sick little boy but THRU PRAYERS i know he will turn around! we also got transfered to PIMC out of PICU so that is a step in the right direction!! AND i also have my laptop and now the hospital has WIRELESS INTERNET in the rooms soooooo YAYAYAYAYA!!! i get to play too and update with more easy than having to run up to the 4th floor and wait for a computer to update!!! :)

alex is doing well with grandma....he is having the run of the house!! he LOVES his grandma and grandma loves right back! he can do no wrong so i probably will have a little spoiled kiddo by the time we finally get back home!!! but that is ok...he deserves to be SPOILED!!! joshua is doing well too! he is doing great and just enjoying all the attention!!!

i have been BLESSED to have so many friends and family asking us what is needed and praying for us....THANK YOU ALL!!! my heart swells as i write this!! i have a WONDERFUL LOVING FRIEND that brought me lunch yesterday (thank you) and today and another that said she would do that for sunday....THANK YOU THANK YOU!! my husband is in IRAQ and he has been really upset about this....he is usually the one that is running around with alex and bring food and just being our SUPPORT at home while i am usually with matthew so he has been SOOOO TOUCHED that my friends are helping out with such a big thing like FOOD!! unfortunatly, we have had to make the hospital our home for a time and we hoped that during his tour we would not have to go thru this extended stay (in october, he had a big sz w/airlife but we got out the next day) but unfortunately it has happened but we are FINE, THANK YOU GOD......

so, THANK YOU EVERYONE for the prayers, good thought and support during this time...i will keep ya'll updated!!