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....