a TAPVR baby has earned her wings....

yes, my new friend with the baby with TAPVR.....i found out early this morning that the beautiful little girl had passed away....i am so sadden for this family who i had JUST started to get to know...i met them about 2 weeks ago and when i went to visit the PICU with matthew....i later took the mom a gift bag full of goodies and got to see the little girl who was BEAUTIFUL with big eyes, lots of hair and who was soooo alert....i had JUST talked to the mom on monday about the upcoming MLH party on tues 11th and how we would meet up there (her and her son would be going) and we were excited because it would be fun etc.....well, when i got there to the party, she was not there...i remember i kept looking around for her and teling my other 2 buddies that i hoped everything was ok, and wondering why she had not made it etc...i thought about her thru out the party.....after i got home and settled everyone down, it was too late to call her so instead i emailed her telling her i hoped everything was fine and that she was missed and just to call me whenever...well, last night, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FOREVER, i actually got up off the couch, closed my compture and went to bed by 1030!! amazing!! :) when i got up this morning, i had email from a friend who had visited the family last night after the party and found out bout the baby.....i am so sad about this....if i had gone w/my instincts and called her at the party or if i had fallen asleep when i usually did, i would have known sooner....

unfortunatly, so is the life of families with CHDs....you never know....i know of a family who's little boy was doing WONDERFUL 4 years after he was born w/the same condition as matthew and just w/in the last couple of months, they are going in for a pacemaker....just never know...

sooooooo my thoughts and prayers are with this family as they deal with the pain and loss of thier tiny beautiful baby.....i pray for STRENGTH & COMFORT for them for the coming days ahead....

JOSHUA IS IN THE CLEAR!!

yayayayayay!!! today we went to his and matthews CARDIOLOGIST to get him checked out and after a THOROUGH exam including a ECHO....he is in the CLEAR and she said his heart and everything looks WONDERFUL!!!! YIPPPPEEEE!!!! such a relief! he was such a TROOPER too!

and my little matthew is FAMOUS!!! :) she sat down and looked at her notes and noticed that i had a child with TAPVR...so she asks me: "so, is this child alive?" i said "yes, he is 3 years old!!" she asked me "what is his name?" and when i told her she was like,"hey that sounds familiar..." and she started to ask me some questions and then she said "was he there at methodist and was pulled off of life support to die?" i said, "yes" and she started to remember!! she said they STILL talk about him there at the hospital!!! she was REALLY amazed!! she will be his cardiologist and was excited to be!! she has A LOT of reading to do!!! but she will meeting him on the 7th, GOD WILLING....she said she heard A LOT about him so she is excited to meet him!!! and my little guy is popular!! now, i SURE wish it was for something else but i am soooo happy to hear that he has touched so many lives and that he still lives in their hearts and memories!!

today we went to the MENDED LITTLE HEARTS meeting and it was REALLY nice!! we totally enjoyed ourselve and a GREAT friend of ours went too!! it was REALLY nice to see her!!!! i missed talking to her and can't wait to get back into the swing of things...

anyway, the days are coming faster and GOD WILLING james will be home soon for a visit...oh, i am COUNTING THE DAYS!!!

OUR FAMILY UPDATE!!

Hola everyone and HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALREADY!!



Hard to believe that the holiday season is upon us!! We hope everyone is doing GREAT! We are doing just fine, THANK YOU GOD! It has been almost SIX MONTHS since james left back in june!! AMAZING! But we are half way there now….GOD WILLING just 6 more months left and then my wonderful husband will be HOME!! Wowowowow..



Well, today I will speak about my beautiful wonderful loving husband FIRST!! Why, you ask??? Because this month, on November 18TH, he will have a BIRTHDAY!! Soooo, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!!!! WE LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU VERY MUCH!!! (anyone wanting to send him a email here is his address! gonzoair@sbcglobal.net and for those that have ALREADY sent him an email, THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF ME AND MY BOYS HEART!!! He told me that he had gotten a couple of emails and was soooo touched and EXCITED about it! So thanks for the cheer sent across the world to him!! You are making it more tolerable as his birthday approaches!) james will hopefully be having a GRAND birthday party that they throw for EACH soldier who has a birthday……..ok, probably not but hopefully, he will be able to EAT some of the goodies that have been sent to him from us and just THINK about us and KNOW that he is greatly loved and missed! He is doing fine. He is VERY BUSY!! Right now, he is doing 6 days on (1300 – 0100) and one day off (Tuesdays) and that is it….it leaves VERY LITTLE TIME for him to do much of anything! By the time he gets “home” and goes to sleep it is time to get up and go back to work!!! He will sometimes call after he gets off (4pm our time) and sometimes before he goes to work (about 2 am our time). He has posted some updates and I have placed them in our BLOG. He has also sent some pictures that I have posted on our blog too! So if you have not been by to visit our blog in a while, go check out all the new pics and news on our family!! But we are HALF WAY THERE now and GOD WILLING he will be home December 19th thru the 3rd of January!! I have not told the boys yet because I don’t want anything to happen to that date!! I know it will be a NICE surprise!!! We can’t WAIT!! THE COUNT DOWN IS ON!!!! I know that he will be SOOOO EXCITED to see the boys and really get to hold baby Joshua! Oooohhh how he has GROWN!! We are soooo excited!1



Well onto alex. Alex is doing REALLY GOOD! He is growing soooo much! He is very smart and very cute! He just surprises me all the time! I am so in awe of this little boy! I have to REMIND MYSELF that he is ONLY 5 YEARS OLD as of August!!!! Amazing! Let’s see…in homeschool, he knows how to read and READS ALL HIS DIRECTIONS for his CLASS!! Yep, I don’t even read those for him and he just does it and continues on!!! He also LOVES MATH!! Yep, my worst subject! He can sit there and do flash cards and add and subtract and he is really good at it!! He loves to do “math” while we are driving…I will tell him “what is 10 + 9 =” and he will yell out “19!!” and so on and so forth!! He can do pretty hard ones too with 2 numbers…I am just amazed! He is just doing really well. I can’t wait to really challenge him….i am really enjoying home schooling him and knowing he is doing really well! He enjoys our time together and the extra activities we do on Tuesday with the home school playdate with his buddies!! He is really having fun and meeting others that are also home schooled and there are A LOT!!



Matthew is doing really well. He is really working on communicating and he picked up a couple more signs. He is still such a HAPPY little boy! We are so blessed with him! He is also doing well in the PHYSICAL THERAPY area. He is really walking better and for a LONGER time now. He is trying so hard to walk and to get around more. He is always pulling up to stand when you are around and he has now mastered standing in his crib! We had to lower his crib to the lowest point and PRAY he doesn’t flip out of it! We are hoping to get him a special needs bed soon! It takes a while to get it so I am hoping it comes in by the end of jan!! but he is also doing class and we just got his progress report and she states he is IMPROVING and he is learning to recognize letter and numbers and actions and pictures!! He also loves to interact with the tv shows such as dora and diego. Anything that asks you a questions he will either nod or shake his head! He is too cute to watch! Well, right now, he is sick. He picked up a cold and passed along to his big brother! But we are just watching him. He is on increased neb treatments and also o 4 days of oral steroids. It was not the flu THANK GOD but something has messed with his lungs! He needed oxygen for his nap time but he is doing ok. We will just keep a watch on him!! he has also had some seizures....they have been SMALL THANK GOD but still they are SCARY!! we just PRAY that they STOP!!!!!!



Onto Joshua….he is doing so well! He is getting BIG! He is probably about 10 lbs now and he is just a CUTIE! And he STILL HAS BLUE EYES!!! J wowowow…what a handsome little boy! He is smiling and talking all the time! He also loves to play with his floor gym and sits there and smiles and plays with the little animals! Awwww…he is still eating like a CHAMP and just growing and growing aware of his surroundings! He loves to look around and just take it all in. he also loves to look at talk to his brothers! Matthew still doesn’t know what to make of him but he does know who he is! If Joshua starts to cry, then matthew will start to cry, then alex will start to yell and then I lose my MIND!! Yep, they all go on at the SAME TIME!!!!! Gggrrrr…matthew thinks it is the FUNNIEST THING to hear him cry!!!! anyway, he is doing GREAT!!



And onto me!! Yep, for me, I am doing FINE!!!! I am just enjoying my little family and missing my husband!!! Wow, It is hard to BELIEVE that it has been almost SIX MONTHS that james has been gone! Wowowowow…….people have asked me how I did it and HOW I always keep a positive attitude and a HAPPY attitude and I have to say that thru GOD it has keep me going and also that I could have it SO MUCH WORST!! I try HARD not to complain about ANYTHING that is going on because right now, I get the PRIVILEGE and the BLESSING to see, hear, and touch my babies and my family and friends and my beautiful husband does NOT have that right now and is SOOOO FAR AWAY from all that he loves…how can I complain about ANYTHING and how can I even THINK about being sad or upset? James and I mad a promise to each other that we would be HAPPY and we would not be UPSET with the separation of each other. Instead we would do our BEST to keep it up beat and just PRAY for the day that we can be together again as a family. And it has WORKED!! We talk on the phone and there is no tears just happy news back and forth. Our emails and letters are the same thing, just what is going on in our lives and how much we love and miss each other. It makes a difference I think, than if we were miserable and just down and out….i personally prefer it this way! It makes the days go by FASTER and just doing our best to keep the attitude for our family!!! J but I am doing fine. I have been dealing a TON with my fibromyalgia right now and it has been hard to sleep and just walk in the morning especially. It is hard to get up in the morning from bed!!! But all is well. I am just waiting for the time my family is completely TOGETHER!!! I have been sending james a carepackage every week and he has LOVED IT SOOOO MUCH! They have a small px for hundreds of soldiers (pictures in the blog of it) and they don’t get the little extras that we take for granted. So I send him tons of junk food and he told me that it really perks him up when he sees the boxes! He also get tons of crafts from the boys and also pictures of the boys. It makes me and the boys feel better when we get a box together for daddy!! We miss him so much! And we just got a care package from him and we are soooo excited!! My husband sent us some AWESOME BRACELETS that he MADE FOR US!! So awesome! And then he sent 3 little bears for each of the boys with t shirts on them with CAMP BUCCA on them. He sent us some iraq money, some cookies from there and a newspaper! He also sent us a card with a beautiful letter. He has been sending us cards and letters all the time….i am just SOOOOO BLESSED to have him as my HUSBAND…THANK YOU GOD!



Well, the new thing in our life is a GREAT foundation called THE STARLIGHT STARBRIGHT FOUNDATION…..we enrolled back in September and just got accepted in October and we have already done an event with them. They provided us with tickets to see ELMO LIVE and what a BLAST my boys had!!! We are also going to the ZOO tomorrow and wow, it sounds like they are going to be treating us like ROYALTY!! They will pull out all the stops for us!! It is a GREAT foundation and just a great way of getting the families with special needs together and OUT and helping them to have a ‘normal’ life!! James is so happy that they are helping and that his boys are having such a great time!! Here is the website for the organization: http://www.starlight.org/site/c.fuLQK6MMIpG/b.2534015/k.BB6E/Texas.htm



And MENDED LITTLE HEARTS is off and running now and I am sooo happy about it! They are a great bunch of families all pulled together due to our kiddos born with a CHD!! Slowly but surely the word is getting out and it is GROWING!!! Check out their website: http://mlhofsa.schendelsworld.com/index.htm



Well, that is it for now….not to long but hey, I am TIRED and have an infant that keeps me up late!! J there has been so many FIRST this year that is hard to believe that this year is ALMOST OVER!!! We went from a family of 4 to a family of 5, from a family together to a family apart…..birthdays, milestones etc just things that we are doing on two different countries…..WE PRAY THAT THIS WILL BE OVER SOON and JAMES will be HOME where he BELONGS!!



Anyway, we are so proud of him and we miss and love him very much. THANK YOU ALL for all your PRAYERS AND THOUGHTS for HIM as well as matthew and all of us. They are very appreciated!! THANK YOU!



Please think and Pray for ALL OUR SOLDIERS near and far especially those that are FAR AWAY from their loved ones during this holiday season......i know we will have a place at our table for THANKSGIVING for my husband to remind us that we are missing a VITAL part of our family that day!! OUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH HIM AND ALL OF OUR SOLDIERS....



take care everyone and GOD BLESS!!



tons of love,

James, Maria, Alex, Matthew, & Joshua

OUR FAMILY UPDATE.....DRAMA FOR MATTHEW...

Hello everyone,

We hope everyone is doing WONDERFUL and that all is going well….as for us, we are hanging in here. It has been over 4 months along without james home…we miss him soooo much but we just PRAY that he continues to do well and know that we miss him and love him.

Well, I am going to go by youngest to oldest of the boys to give ya’ll an update. It has been a long while since I sent out an update on our family…

Joshua is now 6 weeks old! Wow, time has FLOWN since he was born. It is so hard to believe that I am a mommy of 3 and that I have an INFANT in my life again! I never thought I would but I did dream I would! He is such a cutie! He can hold his head up while on tummy time and also while on my shoulder. He has also flipped over from tummy to back a couple of times. He has also started smiling and cooing…awe.. he is such a CUTIE and I am soooo in love with him! His eyes are BEAUTIFUL but I am not sure if they will stay that way. My MIL reminded me that her daddy has those colored eyes (blue/grey/hazel) so I can only hope!! J but he is doing great!! He is such a cutie. He does cry A LOT so I am “baby wearing” tons because he does cry soooo much! I don’t think it is colic I think he just wants his MAMA! He is nursing like a CHAMP and doing really great! He loves his big brothers soooo much! We are soooo happy he is in our lives! I won’t lie and say that it has been a piece of cake but I would NEVER change it for ANYTHING in the world! Just to look at his beautiful face everyday, it is just SUCH A BLESSING and I am SOOOO HAPPY that GOD surprised us like he did when he gave Joshua to us….

Now onto MATTHEW….well, we have been doing OK now for a bit. He did get sick AGAIN after that long illness (5 weeks) he had right before I had Joshua. He FINALLY had gotten well when BAM! He got sick AGAIN (2 weeks)! All respiratory issues. He was placed on ANOTHER 2 rounds of oral steroids and increase neb treatments and antibiotics too. Poor little guy! He just can’t catch a BREAK! But therapy wise, he is dong BEAUTIFULLY!! He has really started to TALK now for speech! He has been saying TONS of words such as : OPEN, BOOK, ALL DONE, RIGHT THERE, MAMA, DADA, ALEX, JOSHUA and so many other words. He is also EATING AGAIN FINALLY!! It had been MONTHS since he had stopped eating orally but now, he is eating CHIPS, POPCORN (HIS FAV), PUFFS, and bites of my food! He is doing really AWESOME with his teacher too! He has really impressed me and HER with all that he knows! They have been doing tons of ABC stuff and recognizing objects in books and such. When they read books, she will ask him to point to an object and he will find it!! I am SOOO PROUD OF HIM! And then his PHYSICAL & OCCUPATIONAL are going really GREAT too! He can walk all over the house with us holding his hands!! And he is getting stronger all over too! He LOVES to pull up and just stand and watch TV. He also is getting into EVERYTHING by crawling places and tearing into everything. He also is getting VERY STUBBORN…I just love him to PIECES!! Well on Friday, matthew had a SLEEP STUDY done but unfortunately he only slept for about 3 hours and during that time, the tech kept waking him to change a probe or fix this or that so that at 1:00 am he finally woke up FOR GOOD! We ended up leaving at about 2:30 am because I just KNEW he would NOT go back to sleep!! He had all these probes on his face and head and all over his body. So now I think we will need to do it AGAIN because they need more time to study!! Sooo, Now onto the DRAMA we just had on Saturday…yes, we had MAJOR DRAMA!! Where do I begin?! I DREADED when it would happen with out james here. I wondered how things would work out and how it would all pan out. I KNEW it would, a whole year with out some drama from matthew would be a MIRACLE and we prayed for it but…..Well, my brother & SIL called to invite us to go to FREDRICKSBURG to the octoberfest there. We decided that would be AWESOME to get away to the hillcountry for a while and enjoy a festival! So, my MIL, my 3 kids headed out for a BEAUTIFUL day out! It was warm with a nice breeze. So off we went! We get there and there are TONS of people out and that town is BEAUTIFUL if you had not been there in a while! It is soooo charming. Anyway, we were just getting there and we decided to sit down and listen to some music while I nursed Joshua and matthew took his nap. We had been there MAYBE 20 mins when I noticed that matthew eyes behind his lids where just MOVING all over the place! I had thought to myself that MAYBE he had was having a very vivid dream or something and also in the back of my mind I thought SEIZURE….soooo, I had just pointed it out to my brother when matthew opened up his eyes a slit. I was afraid that he would freak out at all the people or something and get scared so I called his name…he didn’t respond….i just had a BAD FEELING about it. So then he starts to drool and I KNEW he was HAVING A SEIZURE…..so I give Joshua to my SIL and start to talk and try to get matthew to respond with NO RESPONSE….he was TOTALLY UNRESPONSIVE! I told my brother that we need to try to wake him. His eyes were FIXED and unresponsive and he was just LIMP. So we were doing EVERYTHING we normally do to try to wake him up with the big thing being that phone message that james left just in case he HAD a seizure. It didn’t work…after about 5 mins, I told my bro, WE NEED TO GIVE HIM HIS DIASTAT. His oxygen sats were fine but he just was FIXATED and rolling his eyes up…so scary looking. We lay a blanket down and give him his rectal diastat. NOTHING….i told my bro, we need to find someone ASAP…his OXYGEN SATS WERE DROPPING quickly!! He ran to find someone while I continue to try to get him out of it. His sats started to drop QUICKLY and they ended up in the high 50’s to low 60’s and I KNEW he needed help ASAP because he was ineffectively breathing. His CO2 levels were probably sky high!! (of course I didn’t have my oxygen on the stroller because he wasn’t sick! I had it but it was in the car!!) Anyway, my bro gets back with the security guards and you know that old movie question “is there a dr in the house?” well someone must have asked because there was roughly 4 doctors there and a paramedic who were all trying to help us out. We were all trying to stimulate him…..i ended up giving him a dose of klonopin too. Anyway, EMS came and grabbed him immediately and took him away. I got in the back of the unit and I immediately told them that they needed to bag him because he does this when he has his long seizures where he doesn’t breath effectively and his CO2 levels go up and they always have to bag him…..well, THANK YOU GOD they listened to me because they IMMEDIATELY started to bag him!!! I was SOOOO HAPPY because some professionals don’t like to be told what to do. But they listened…there was also 3 parents on board WITH HEART BABIES OF THEIR OWN!!! J so they knew what I was talking about! Anyway, he was STILL seizing after 45 mins…..they decided to go ahead and AIRLIFE him to METHODIST CHILDRENS instead of taking him to the local hospital…by the time the copter got there, he was POST ICTAL and after the flight crew checked him out and decided they were going to intubate because there was NO BREATHS SOUNDS in his chest, they checked for a gag reflex and he gagged and he started to get responsive! He sure HATES those VENTS!! J that’s my boy!….so matthew got ANOTHER ride in a HELICOPTER! Alex was awake this time to see it and he was in AWE that his brother got a ride….anyway, AGAIN, I couldn’t go with him to the hospital but at least THIS TIME I had FAITH in the hospital they were going to! (if you can remember the incident in MISSOURI (you can look up that even in my BLOG for JUNE 2006 ))this is the hospital we ALWAYS go to and they know him there and at least have all his RECORDS! Anyway, my MIL and the boys and I headed out driving back to san Antonio from fredricksburg…it took us only about 40 mins to get home! Yeah, I was on a mission!! Anyway, after dropping off alex and my mil, I was off with Joshua to be at the hospital. He was ok. He was VERY tired and just sleeping but he was “back”. They decided to keep us for a 23 hour stay to observe him since he did stop breathing there for a while. Not a problem. Joshua, matthew and I stayed there at the hospital for a night and everyone did great and we got to go home on SUNDAY!! J SOOOO HAPPY! But boy, that was just WAY scary!!! THANK GOD he is fine…for those that don’t remember, it has been since December 16, 2006 since he had a BIG SIEZURE!!! Thank GOD! and it had been since September 16, 2007 since he had his last little seizure! I got a little bit toooooo comfy I guess! I need to brush up again on everything! We are now back on alert….we have never been AWAY from being very alert during his nap time but I know that we have just gotten comfy about him NOT having those BIG seizure…..they did change ONE of his meds ONLY, thank GOD….his TOPOMAX was increased by ½ a pill twice a day. They think that MAYBE he had his seizure because of sleep deprivation (his sleep study on Friday) and maybe he was starting to get sick (he has this slight rash on his body…virus?)…whatever it was GO AWAY!!! I don’t want to see my boy that way AGAIN!! It has been such a LONG TIME since it had happened (dec) that if sure took me back! My poor brother, SIL & MIL got an EYEFULL because they had never witnessed matthew like that….it IS very scary to see a child just be unresponsive, eyes rolling, and barely breathing…..everyone did great and no panic!! Ems commented that they were pretty impressed I was so calm…hey, that is my baby and it would do NO GOOD if I freaked out, right? I just focused on HIM and of course PRAYED!!! Anyway, we are going to take him to the dr and just start our vigil and WATCH HIM!!

Well, onto ALEX….alex is doing……fine? I think I am going to look into a counselor at the base due to the deployment. I think he is starting to REALLY feel it now and is showing tons of behavioral issues. I am not sure how much is 5 year old stuff and how much is because of dad, new baby etc. he has been doing WONDERFUL on the homeschool issues. I am so proud of him! He reads now so he is doing AWESOME there! He also has picked up adding and subtracting…I am just AMAZED!! He has the concept down of something like, 5+5=10 or the subtracting….wow! he can do it only with numbers or with items too. And like I said, he is reading now. VERY WELL! He loves to pick up something and start to read. He also likes to read to matthew and Joshua. But on the behavioral front, he has started to yell at me and others and refuse to do stuff. He has started lying and also really acting up! I am praying that it is all normal (which other moms have confirmed) but I think with james being gone, it might be that much more, you know? Sooooo, I will continue to work on that. We have also started going to HOMESCHOOL PLAYDATE at the park on Tuesdays. It is AWESOME for both of us! It is really awesome to see soooooooooooo many other families home schooling their children. On average, there is about 30 or so kiddos out their and their families and I am told that there is actually less the last 2 times I went out there so there are MORE! And this group is mainly for the NW side of san Antonio ! Anyway, it is really nice for him to see that he is not the ONLY one that gets home schooled. He has made some friends and me too! It is nice to talk to other parents about home schooling their kiddos!!! Last week I felt sooooo bad for him because he got tore up by ants 5 mins into our 2nd visit to the park…..the whole story is on our blog if you want to read it! He also has a Wednesday playdate with his cuz and he has a BLAST and sooooo do I! I look forward to it too! And, he has also started SUNDAY SCHOOL at our church and he LOVES going!! I about CRIED the first time I left him….it was sooooooo hard but he loves it and is doing GREAT!

then there is james. Our BRAVE BRAVE HERO!! He is doing fine. He is getting worked to the bone but he says it makes the days go by fast! Hard to believe that it is over FOUR MONTHS since he left!!!!! Wowowowowow….it has been going by pretty fast, THANK GOD!!! He is working at the PRISON there at CAMP BUCCA . I am able to be told what he does but whatever it is, it is pretty intense and very busy….but he says he likes it because it makes the day go by faster. They just changed shifts and NOW he is not happy. The way they are working does not allow them almost ANY TIME to do anything but eat sleep and work. There is really no down time. I have been talking to him almost EVERY DAY, THANK GOD! That makes it easier for us. Sometimes it is at 1 am but that is A-OK for me. ANYTIME we can talk is perfect!! But we miss him sooooo much…I have been sending him a care package at least once a week and he LOVES GETTING THEM!! It is a piece of home….and I send him tons of snacks and I told him that what ever he DOESN’T want, he can give it away to another soldier…..soooo, anyone want to send him or any of his soldiers a care package, PLEASE EMAIL ME AND I WILL GIVE YOU HIS PHYSICAL ADDRESS!!! I KNOW he would appreciate ANYTHING sent to him! And just so you know, they have boxes at the post office that are FLAT RATE $8.00 NO MATTER HOW HEAVY and trust me, I sent a HEAVY box and it only cost that!! J if you try to send it in a regular box it might be more!! Also, if you send a card, it is regular first class stamp, nothing different…..and I just found out Saturday, don’t send it PARCEL POST because it will take 2 MONTHS to get there!! I am glad he told me that before I sent it and I was able to change it!! J also, he really NEEDS the interaction….he really loves EVERYTHING email & of course care package he gets. He said that now that he knows how hard it is to be away from the family, he will do MORE for others out there over seas. we are HOPING that he will be home by December 19th…that is his leave date so GOD WILLING he will be home for 2 weeks during that time!!

As for me, well I am doing FINE. Right this minute I am EXHAUSTED from such a stressful weekend. I didn’t get almost ANY SLEEP….but other than that, I am doing fine. I am also been soooo busy with matthew, Joshua & alex that it gets crazy!! Don’t come to my house cause it is a MESS!! I don’t seem to have ANY time to do stuff around here!! It is CRAZY! But it is a AWESOME! Anyway, I am hoping that I can lose some MORE WEIGHT….i am trying!! Anyway, I am enjoying my time with my boys and interacting with my friends…..it feels good to talk to the ladies and just have ADULT conversations with other mommies!! Anyway, I just wait for the phone to ring and to get the email!! I CAN’T wait to see him SOMEDAY soon!! J

Well, that is IT for the news on the family front…I think! There has been a GREAT development in san Antonio with a NEW CHD PARENT SUPPORT GROUP FINALLY here in san Antonio !! It is called MENDED LITTLE HEARTS ..I am sooooo excited! It just started in the month of August and I went to the 2nd meeting in September and it was GREAT! A MUCH needed group here in san Antonio ! But I must pass this along!! PLEASE, if you have a CHANCE and would like to help out a worthy cause, if you could go visit the

Chick-fil-A is the FIRST SPONSOR and is hosting a fundraiser for Mended Little Hearts of San Antonio on Oct 10th from 4 –8 PM by donating 20% of all proceeds sold. this will be at the MEDICAL DR LOCATION in the medical center area (4715 Medical Drive). Purchase must mention MENDED LITTLE HEARTS so they could get the credit!! Be sure to come by to “eat chikin 4 us”.

I would really appreciate anyone going out there and supporting this WORTHY CAUSE! This group will be doing stuff like hospital visitation, parental support, email support to parents and also phone support. They will also like to provide care packages to families in the hospital and just as much as possible for families like mine that have been affected with a CONGENITAL HEART DEFECT (CHD)….soooo please, support this!! I AM!

Well, I hope everyone is doing well. We are here and it is always good to visit and talk to ya’ll. I LOVE to hear from people….it makes me feel less lonely and helps me deal with james being gone so long. And I LOVE to visit with everyone too! So, DON’T BE A STRANGER!! J

Well, I am off! Sorry so long but I had A LOT to say!! Please, if you can keep matthew in prayer or good thought after the scare we had on Saturday, I would APPRECIATE IT! I know that james would too….it was really hard for him to hear that all this happened during the weekend and he JUST heard about it on Monday. He was really upset….he just wants to be HOME! But we are SOOOOO PROUD OF HIM and we just LOVE HIM, MISS HIM AND SUPPORT HIM!!

Ok, take care everyone and I hope to hear from some of ya’ll!! And I would appreciate anyone emailing or sending something to james!! It makes him feel soooo much better! Also don’t forget to visit our BLOG to see some new pics, and videos!! I am working on somemore soon!!

Take care and GOD BLESS…

LOVE,
JAMES, MARIA, ALEX, MATTHEW & JOSHUA

MENDED LITTLE HEARTS MEETING.....

well, today i went to my first meeting of the MENDED LITTLE HEARTS....this is a WONDERFUL organization that is devoted to parents of kiddos with CHDS....FINALLY there is something here in san antonio....it AMAZED ME that after matthew was born and i went looking for support here in san antonio....there was NOTHING here!! with SOOOOO MANY heart hospitals and patients here, NOTHING!! i wanted to have something and start it up but i just never had the time i needed to do it! but i am SOOO HAPPY that they are here now...the meeting was great and very informative and also very encouraging! they are going to have care packages, hospital visitations, & just support for other families going thru a HEART BABY....

anyway, i am sooo happy and excited to meet other families that have heart babies...to learn about them and to be part of the "heart family" that i am part of...i just pray that more people come and join so that others can get the support they need....