FIGURED OUT.....

how to rip our DVD's to our IPAD!!! YAYAYAAA...why is this soooooo awesome? well, with matthew going into the hospital on monday, i wanted to be able to put his FAVORITE movies on his iPad because they only have VHS in the rooms (or at least they DID have that) i am not sure if maybe they have upgrade since we've been there...we shall see, but i didn't want to take a chance that that was the case! it is only a trial version for 30 days but at least it will be there for this coming week!! :)

anointing of the sick today....

today was a great day...i had bible study this morning at my church and we were on ACTS 5:1-?? I had all the kids with me because TODAY matthew and i were going to meet with father pat and get an ANOINTING OF THE SICK which is one of the sacrament in CATHOLIC CHURCH! :) i never really new that we could get anointed in times of illnes or before surgery and such until i went to the ACTS RETREAT a couple of years ago....sooo matthew got his done because on MONDAY he will be having dental surgery and have a BRONCOSCOPY done all under GENERAL ANESTHESIA which he has not been under since 2007 when he had a RXN to the anesthesia and went into MOBITZ 2 COMPLETE HEART BLOCK...and it was a VERY scary time for us....soooooo, he was anointed, it was BEAUTIFUL....and then i was anointed too because on tuesday, i go for a PET SCAN to see if there is any more cancer in my body...it was BEAUTIFUL and i am at PEACE after being anointed...

today at the bible study, i am slowly understand and having things in my life be CLEARED UP...what do i mean? AGAIN, GOD has spoken to me about events that had happened in my life....we were talking about ACTS CHAPTER 5 and how the apostles had been beaten for their believe in JESUS and how they REJOICED in being beaten because if they were being BEATEN then that ment that they were doing what they were suppose to be doing in spreading and evangelizing JESUS name!! so they REJOICED in their pain!! they remember that JESUS had said that they were going to be beaten, killed, etc all the thing that had happened to JESUS in HIS NAME....that all will be happening to them like it happened to Him....and what spoked to me was that 8 years ago, what i did was CLEARED up for me..in my PAIN and in the crazyiness of everything that was happening to me and my family with matthew...thru it ALL with matthew heart issues, his surgery, them telling us that he was going to pass away on his 5th day...thru it ALL, i was PRAISING GOD, THANKING GOD and just loving on matthew and just PRAISING GOD for the 39 weeks (pregnancy) and 5 days of matthew's life and all the beautiful memories that we had with him....people didn't and COULDN'T understand why we were not crying, screaming or asking WHY HIM GOD...we never did that...we ACCEPTED what was going on and all we gave matthew up to GOD and told GOD that whatever is HIS will we ACCEPT it and we will still PRAISE HIM. we prayed for a miracle and we PRAYED sooooooo hard for healing but thru it all we thanked and praised GOD...people just didn't understand....and i couldnt explain all i knew was that i had TOTAL FAITH IN GOD that this was HIS WILL and that there was NOTHING WE COULD DO ABOUT IT...IT WAS HIS WILL...

thru this bible studying, i am learning soooo much and GOD is opening my EYES UP to GOD AND EVERYTHING AROUND ME...he is speaking to me sooooo much....I LOVE YOU AND THANK YOU GOD FOR EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE....I PRAISE YOUR NAME!!! :)

God spoke to me...

i LOVE GOD...i am in love with this man!!! and recently i started doing BIBLE STUDY on THE BOOK OF ACTS at our church and oh what an AMAZING thing that is! i have NEVER done a bible study before so this is very amazing and interesting and i just WISHED i had done it A LONG TIME before now!!! i can't wait to finish this one and start on a new one, GOD WILLING!!

this week, we were studying ACTS 4:1-?? and it was really awesome to do a study on this...it had to do with how PETER AND JOHN were arrested because they had healed a beggar at the temple enterance and the rabbi's and leaders heard about it and they were upset because he did it in THE NAME OF JESUS! and they were upset because he kept praising JESUS and they wanted none of that...they eventually had to let them go because they DID NO WRONG...this chapter brought home the thought that JESUS had to go thru a lot on his journey...and that because they loved him so much, they would also have to go thru the same things....prison, fights, etc...and they took on that cross because all they wanted to do was EVANGELIZE about the LOVE, POWER that is JESUS!!! AND one of the things that was brought home was if you are going to joyously speak about JESUS, praise JESUS you must do it BOLDLY!!! with all your heart and soul....

well, what was funny was that as i was listening to this, GOD put in my head an incident that happened over 6 years ago with a very then close family member of mine...we had words (as emails do) about my miracle matthew, about LIFE, about how powerful prayer is and what a BEAUTIFUL thing GOD is and how HE can perform miracles...we had a difference of opinions and i was told that THERE IS NO GOD...needless to say, i was EXTREMELY shocked when told this...well, i BOLDLY EVANGELIZED to this person about JESUS and the beautiful things he had done for my family and most especially MATTHEW....needless to say, we have not spoke in over 6 years to my saddness....after this day in bible study, i was soooooo HAPPY that the one thing i NEVER regretted was that i BOLDLY proclaimed my FAITH and my LOVE OF JESUS... i have tried numerous times in the last 6 years to try to mend the fences and try to get them to talk to me but to no avail...this person wants nothing to do with me and for alllllll of my growing up years, from itty bitty to 6 years ago, we have always written to each other and talked to each other...it is so sad to me that i have no part in that life now...and they have none in mine....BUT TODAY, I WAS TOLD BY GOD THAT HE WAS PROUD OF ME...i was at PEACE with what happened 6 years ago and that NOTHING i did was wrong....that we no longer talk is just cross i have to bear....i think of my family memeber OFTEN because i have always had contact with them but GOD WILLING someday, we will once again communicate....i will wait for them to contact me because my heart has grown heavy with the MANY times that i have tried to apologize and try to get them to talk to me and i won't go there anymore...and i have not in over 2 years...

LIFE IS GOOD....GOD IS GOOD....THANK YOU FOR SPEAKING TO ME GOD AND EASING MY THOUGHTS!!! I LOVE YOU!

WHAT'S IN A NAME?? and on my 40th BIRTHDAY!

TODAY in bible study, THE BOOKS OF ACTS CHAPTER 3...was just AMAZING...i KNEW how powerful a name is but how AMAZINGLY POWERFUL the NAME OF JESUS is just....awesome! one thing i found out was the i never knew that when i ended my prayers with 'in JESUS NAME I PRAY, AMEN'...it was not just an ending to a prayer but when we said that, we were ENVOKING HIM!! wowowowowow.....when we speak HIS name, it is the MOST powerful thing!! I never realized that at MASS on sunday, the FIRST thing that our priest says is 'IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT'...and when he does that, the whole ROOM and MASS CHANGES...the priest ENVOLKES JESUS to be PRESENT in the room!! wowowowow...i never knew that he did that for that reason! just amazing...and a name is a power tool...back in the days, to know the NAME of a DEMON, GOD, ETC means that you had control(?) of them...and DEMONS don't like you to know their names...like in exorcisms demons won't give you their name and when you find IT out, you can then CAST THE DEMON OUT of a person!!! well, JESUS loved us soooooooo much that he GLADLY gave us his NAME that we may use it to PERFORM MIRACLES, PERFORM HEALINGS, TO JOYFULLY CALL HIS NAME AND PRAISE HIM....wowowowowow....and i remember VIVIDLY when matthew was born and we would pray over him and pray for him, i would BOLDLY say JESUS's name and in HIS NAME i would PRAY that my son would be HEALED and that he would grant us the MIRACLE that my son would live!!! IN JESUS NAME....such a STRONG and POWERFUL statement...the apostles would heal people using this...so after today, i BOLDLY say his name and i PERPOSEFULLY say the beginning and ending of my prayers IN HIS NAME...knowing that i am ENVOLKING JESUS right then and there...the BEAUTY of it is just amazing...THANK YOU JESUS FOR LOVING US SO MUCH THAT YOU WOULD GIVE US THAT GIFT OF YOUR NAME AND THE GIFT OF YOU!!! I LOVE YOU JESUS!

sooooo, all of this i learned ON MY BIRTHDAY! what an AMAZING GIFT i was given to have KNOWLEDGE about such a powerful and beautiful NAME...

my family and i had an amazing time on my birthday....we ordered in pizza, watched THE AVENGERS and just relaxed and enjoyed our time together...i LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT!!

JOSHUA IS FIVE TODAY!!!

ok...running a bit late in writing this but i DO have an excuse!! :) it has been this crazy kinda month...

anyway, today, joshua, our baby, turned 5...hard to believe that 5 years ago, my baby boy was born and daddy went a way to IRAQ 2 days later!!! yep, it is something you NEVER forget...but to see our baby boy growing up...it is just AMAZING TO ME...and he is TOTALLY A MOMMA'S BOY!! and i LOVE IT! :) he just loves to be near me, and just loves to cuddle with me and rub my ear...LOVE IT!! this year, he wanted a machine gun that makes all kind of noises...he LOVES those and then some bay blades too....we just chilled out and ordered in and played WII for a long time...he LOVES to do that...awwwww....my littlest guy is now 5!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ALEX!!

TODAY, my beautiful son ALEX turns 10 years old....wow, how the time has FLOWN!! i can't believe that it was 10 years ago TODAY that i finally after 2 miscarriages, became a MOMMY for the first time!! what a BLESSING it was for james and i to have that beautiful child....and what an ADVENTURE we had when we had him!! i remember i found out i was pg on the DAY my husband was being DEPLOYED to RED RIVER ARMY DEPOT after 9/11!! what a shock but such an SURPRISE to find that out!! and then after a scare thinking that we were going to MISCARRY again, we find out, that by COINCIDENCE the DAY I CONCIEVED (from the baby length on the sonogram) coincided with the day we went to RIPLEYS BELIEVE IT OR NOT AND james and i RUBING THE AFRICAN FERTILITY GODS!! yes, we did it on a LARK because we so happen to be downtown during the LIGHTING OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE the day after thanksgiving!! :) soooo, many things happened during my pregnancy...first, i was PREGNANT and i STAYED PREGNANT (THANK YOU GOD) and second, james was GONE thru the ENTIRE PREGNANCY because he was deployed to TEXARKANA!!! yep, we spent a total of less than 30 days during the WHOLE PG together!!!! we missed soooo much of our pg first together!! but then, that BEAUTIFUL day on the 10th of august, i woke up at 5am and my water broke, calling james to let him know, DRIVING MYSELF to the hospital and then checking in and waiting patiently to find out what was going to happen and waiting PATIENTLY for james to make the 7 hour drive home to be with me during my labor....laboring for more than 32 hours and NEVER dilating past 3cm....until FINALLY, the decided to go ahead and do a C-SECTION....then having a CRAZY time with anesthesia....but then, giving birth to the most AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL BABY in the WHOLE WORLD!!!! what an awesome thing it was...we had my mom, mil, brother, family, friends there to welcome him into the world...it was truly a beautiful day in my life. i LOVED becoming a mom...being BLESSED with that beautiful baby boy....and james was such a NATURAL DADDY!!!!! oh, the JOY seeing the smile on his face and just seeing his happiness in becoming a father....it was truly such an awesome sight and he did such a GREAT JOB!!!

and so the years have happened and we are now 10 years into my sons beautiful life...i can't believe that a DECADE has happened already in a BLINK of the eye...wowow...i THANK GOD for every SECOND of his little life!! he is ALMOST as tall as i am...probably by the end of the YEAR he might pass me up!! who would have believed that (and i can already hear my nieces saying that it is EASY to pass you up, aunt chayo!!:) alex has done AMAZING in his schooling years!! he is now going to 5th grade and he LOVES HOMESCHOOLING!! he is soooo smart and he amazes me with his thinking process and also he can remember sooo many things! and what an AMAZING BIG BROTHER he is to both of his brothers! he takes care of both of them and is always willing to help with them...even, helping with MATTHEW when there is a medical problem! and this child has gone thru soooooooooo much too in his short life. he has practically LIVED at the DOCTORS OFFICE/HOSPITAL with matthew...and thru all of these appointments where he has had to be QUIET for a long period of times and being such a a good kiddo and just sitting there playing quietly and understanding that this was serious ....wowowowow...i love this child soooo much and i always PRAY TO GOD that HE GUIDE me in the RAISING of my children ESPECIALLY ALEX since he and i are soooo alike that we are SOOOOOO STUBBORN!!!

soooo....TODAY, AUGUST 10TH WE CELEBRATE OUR SON'S LIFE....WE GIVE GLORY TO GOD FOR BLESSING US WITH THAT BEAUTIFUL CHILD AND WE PRAY THAT HE CONTINUES TO GROW AND STAY HEALTHY AND STRONG!!!!!! WE LOVE YOU, SON!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

SURGERY DAY.......

so, today is the DAY...i am of course right now writing from my memory because after i had the surgery, i lost the use of my right arm for about 7 days and even today (8/7/12), i can't do much and it is hurting me a LITTLE BIT to type this but i will SLOWLY try to finish and get caught up on my blogging!!


sooo, the day started with getting up early and getting ready in some comfy clothes and no food or drinks since midnight...i COMPLETELY forgot about my paralyzed tummy and that i SHOULD have tried to empty it a couple of days BEFORE HAND....oh well, too late now! so, my MIL came over and will be staying with the boys for me and of course matts nurse will be taking care of him...honestly felt surreal because i was not apprehensive or upset or worried or ANYTHING...it just felt like another normal day! i was not even NERVOUS!!!! SO, james and i left the house about 0730 and headed over to the medical center area to get ready...it was AWESOME having james there...i knew that he was going to have to take a lot of the load for at LEAST couple of days until i was back on my feet but i didn't feel bad and i KNEW that he could do it!! i remember when i have been on my own with my 3 kids when james was deployed to IRAQ and every time that he has to leave for duty for a couple of days-weeks...so i KNOW if i can do it, so can HE!!

soooo, we get there and head up to the front desk and as i am getting my paperwork, my phone rings and i step away to answer because the number looks familiar and as i am talking to the lady, james is like pointing to the lady with her back to me at the desk who is CALLING AND TALKING TO ME ON THE PHONE!! HAHAHAHAHA...pretty funny stuff!! we all laughed about it! so, i finish my paperwork and with in 15 mins, we was taken back and i was told to remove everything and put on my gown/hat etc...unfortunatly, it NEVER fails every time that i have a surgery it almost NEVER fails that AF ARRIVES!! GRRRR...anyway, TMI...so, i laid down and just chit chatted with james and the nurse and answered tons of questions and signed some forms...she started an IV on me (after blowing one attempted on my left inner forearm) she started one on OLD FAITHFUL which is my left hand! :) there are soooo many scars there from the numerous IV's i have had....anyway, the resident came in, then the DR and then the anesthesiologist...we all had tons of questions on what to expect...he marked my right arm and showed me more or less how big the cut was going to be...WOWOWOWOW...i didn't know it was going to be that BIG! about 3-4 inches...pretty long..oh well!! i am getting ready to have enough scars to compete with matthews scars BUT HIS ARE WAY COOLER!! ;-) anyway, after james and i blessed each other, they put some comfy meds in my IV and off i went!! wowow, it didn't take but a minute!!!!

so, i wake up with my arm in a HUGE cast looking thing....and in PAIN...they end up giving me the MOST MORPHINE they could and i still would not get rid of the pain, then they started me on the stronger stuff and it took a couple more shots of that before FINALLY had the pain under control. i explained it was probably because i took pain meds daily that it was not working for me...they agreed! anyway, i was off the bed and in a recliner with in 30 mins of waking up and OUT THE DOOR within about another 30 mins!! crazy how quick they get you in and out!! the surgery lasted about 1 1/2 hours long, 45 asleep in recovery and then another 45-1 hour after waking up out the door! ********THEY TOOK OUT MY TUMOR (SYNOVIAL SARCOMA) WHICH WAS ENCASED, AND THERE WAS A NERVE ON TOP OF THE TUMOR (WHICH EXPLAINED MY EXTREME PAIN THAT I HAVE BEEN HAVING AND ALSO WHEN I HIT IT OR WHEN MY NERVE STARTED FIRING) IT MENT I WAS GOING TO BE NUMB IN THAT ARE (WHICH IS FINE WITH ME BECAUSE AFTER ALL THE PAIN I HAVE HAD, I DEFINETLY NEEDED THE RELIEF WITH THAT...THEN AFTER THEY TOOK THE TUMOR OUT, HE FOUND SOME MORE SUSPICIOUS LOOKING STUFF AND HE REMOVED THAT TOO ALONG WITH SOME HEALTHY TISSUE TO GET IT BIOPSED....THEY STILL DONT' KNOW IF I WILL HAVE CHEMO/RADIATION THERAPY AFTERWARDS...ONCE THEY GET THE RESULTS, THEY WILL HAVE A ROUND HOUSE MEETING AND TALK ABOUT OPTIONS WITH ALL THESE ONCOLOGIST AND OTHER DRS, THEN WHEN I GO FOR MY FOLLOW UP MEETING ON THE 13TH, I WILL HOPEFULLY GET THE RESULTS THERE*********

anyway, back to me, as we leave the parking garage, i started feeling sick ended up tossing up (or my interpretation of it since i can't really do it) and did it again when i got home a couple of times...crazy!! after that i just chilled on my couch with my arm up and just trying to keep ahead of the pain and the SWELLING on my hand...as long as i kept my arm up, it kept the swelling down a bit...after that, i just layer down for a bit and relaxed...THANK YOU GOD FOR A GREAT SURGERY DAY!!!!!

getting ready for my surgery tomorrow...

and i am FINE...i got the call that i had to be at the surgery place by 0815ish and i am READY...i don't know what is going happen, how much it is going to hurt or how it is going to feel ANYTHING but i am just ready to get this part of my life STARTED so that it can be FINISHED GOD WILLING....i have had sooooo many people praying for me and i have felt soooo BLESSED about this because i feel such LOVE AND COMFORT from those wonderful people all around the world!! i have been BLESSED!!!! i have done nothing really to get ready...i have not let this upcoming surgery really affect my everyday life....i have just continued to live my life to the fullest and just ready for whatever is to come....

DAY 5....ON THE ROAD HOME!! :)

started our day with the signature breakfast and then just packed up and OUT the door we were by 1030!! i LOVE MY KIDS...they are such GREAT GREAT GREAT TRAVELERS!!! they just hang out and watch what is going around the drive and play with games etc. alex has started his CAR LICENSE WATCH and it was so much fun checking out all the different car and their plates...it ended up taking us about 6 hours or so...we made it back JUST IN TIME to pick up our pooch, SIMBA from the vet...he was soooooo excited to see us!! :) he is just such a GREAT part of our family...it was awesome to see him and have him back in our home..i know that he was in shell shock and wondering where we were...he is STILL such a puppy...not even a year old!!

well, this vacation will be going down as the THE BEST VACATION EVER!!!!!!! it felt so awesome and we had so much family time!! and you know that we were just together the WHOLE time and you know this because if you know ME you know that i am a READER..i love to read and i can put down a book a day and during a normal week, i usually read at LEAST 2 books...and i think the WHOLE 5 DAYS i think i read about 50 PAGES...PAGES...PAGES!! that is crazy!! so NOT ME! we had soooo much fun and it was just GREAT to be together...the LODGE was like that...all we had is FAMILY TIME...from the water park, to running around the lodge looking for clues for the MAGI game...it was just amazing!!! and what was funny, is that in a LITTLE park of my mind, i thought of this vacation as MY MAKE A WISH vacation!! cause i KNEW that i was going to have surgery on my cancer on tuesday 31st and i didn't know WHAT i was going to have to do after the surgery wether i was going to have to do chemo/radiation....so, i want to think and i KNOW that GOD gave us this AMAZING VACATION so that we could just be with family and just be TOGETHER...I THANK YOU GOD FOR BLESSING OUR FAMILY WITH SUCH AN AMAZING VACATION!!! <3 <3

DAY 4....LEGOLAND DISCOVERY IN GRAPEVINE

SOOOOO, today our day was going to revolve around LEGOLAND DISCOVERY ZONE...we are making this trip for our beautiful son ALEX who LOVES legos!! :) we started our day with a YUMMY breakfast at the hotel and it was REALLY good! kinda like a bistro type of yummy stuff and it was just GOOD!! then we headed on down the STREET and ended up in line to buy tickets for LEGOLAND.... the wait was FOREVER (about 1:30 hours) but it was worth it. it was soooo awesome seeing the boys get to play with the legos and build things and see all the different creations that where built there at the place...it was AWESOME!! we were there for about 4 hours and the boys all had a GREAT time...!!

after that, we just picked up some to go meals, went back to the hotel room and ate and relaxed and watched a movie....afterwards, all the boys went SWIMMING for a couple of hours...it was really nice if a little breezy...i just hung out and watched the boys and enjoyed reading a bit on a lounge....

after wards we went back to the room and just CHILLED OUT and watched tv and relaxed and then off to bed....we packed and put as much as we could in the car and just left the smaller stuff so there was not that much left to put away...sad that this trip is almost over!!! :(

AWWWW....LAST DAY AT GREAT WOLF LODGE..

SO, TODAY, we were ready to leave the LODGE....well, not READY but it was time for us to go...we decided to get everything packed up and then continue on our QUEST to finish all the stuff we had on our PAW PASS...so, we packed up and were out of the room at 1100 and then we walked around the lodge, go all the goodies we needed to get....at 1300 LEGO LAND group was there and they were having LEGOLAND CONTESTS and the boys joined in for a couple of contest! of course, alex had a BLAST!!! and we had lunch there at the LODGE and then after we were done, about 1530, we left the LODGE, drove DOWN THE STREET and checked into our HYATT PLACE HOTEL ROOM!! wow, this vacation had DEFINETLY made our BEST EVER VACATIONS!!! really, we have just had such an AMAZING time here in GRAPEVINE!! so, after we checked in, it was time to RELAX...nothing to do but watch a movie on our HUGE screen TV and then just RELAX, RELAX, RELAX!!! that was the plan for today to recover from the craziness of the LODGE!! so, after we watched our movie we headed out to eat some DINNER at BUFFALO WILD WINGS for some wings....OK, i personally DO NOT LIKE that place but dad wanted to go and it was his turn to pick, so we headed out and as USUAL, i ended up not eating my stuff and sending it back and then ordering something ELSE and then ended up with a HAMBURGER when i asked for a chicken sandwich!! but THANK YOU GOD, we are so blessed and i didn't complain and ate my burger, which was good....it was just nice to be out!! we get back to the hotel and.....EVERYONE PASSED OUT again!!! it was funny to see everyone just falling asleep where ever they were sitting...this adventure had really taken it's toll on our bodies but we would not have it any other way!!! THANK YOU GOD for another amazing day!!!

DAY 2 OF OUR VACATION....

so, today is day 2 of our vacation and we were READY and had so many things planned for today. we planned to eat our breakfast and do some more MAGI QUEST and look around the lodge until after lunch. we had planned ahead and brought our OWN BREAKFAST/LUNCH stuff so that we didn't have to pay the CRAZY amount at each of those meals instead just ate in our room and BOY we are happy we did that! and then we were READY for our watermark adventure!!! we got dressed in our swimsuits and then got going! the BEAUTIFUL thing about that waterpark is you don't have to take your own towels they provide them for you!! and then our key to our room was our wrist bands!! pretty cool huh?! so we really didn't have to bring anything and since it was indoors, no sunscreen needed! :) so, we played around until about 1800...went to our room, got dressed and headed out to eat at GOLDEN CORRAL!! :) and it was not the best...but it was not packed so that made up for it all because with sooooo many people at the LODGE it is CRAZY how awesome it was that there was not a crowd!!!

so, afterwards we get home and we play MAGI QUEST until 2300!! yep, it is sooooo addicting! we were running up and DOWN that those stairs, boy, i got a SERIOUS work out that day!!!!! really, it was CRAZY and i didn't know how awesome that game was! really, i can't wait to come back JUST for that game!! and next time, i hope the boys can go on their own...i know alex would LOVE that because we were dragging him DOWN because we were sooooo slow and if we had matthew with us, then we had to use the elevator (THANK GOD!!)...regardless, it was AWESOME and at the end of the night, the boys had FINALLY finished their whole QUEST and were MASTER MAGI!!!!! we could have started the ADVENTURE part (yes, there is MORE to the game) but we knew we would not be able to even get CLOSE to finishing it!! we didn't get to fight the DRAGON but i was talking to someone else and they came back a YEAR later and their game was saved and they were able to start their game where they left off!! COOOOOL!!

so, after all that long day, EVERYONE was EXHAUSTED and i think within 15 mins of coming into the room and getting ready for bed, they WHOLE ROOM WAS QUIET!!!! snoring, coughing, etc was going on in the room...NICE!~!! i forgot to mention that one of the BIG things unfortunately, was that JOSHUA had a COLD during all this time...poor baby was coughing and snotty all weekend!!!!! ;( as soon as we get home, OFF to the drs he goes!!!

GREAT WOLF LODGE...WE ARE HERE!!

after a 3 hour delay on the time we had wanted to make it out of the house (1000 in stead of 0700) because there was SOOOO MUCH to do to get out of the house...we are OFF! IT was a nice steady drive out of town to grapevine texas....only DAD was the one that kept stopping to go potty!! hehehehehe...i told him he was worst then the kids having to keep stopping for HIM to go potty...but really a nice ride over there...our phones & iPad got a work out because our dvd players were messed up so they were playing on the electronic toys instead!! anyway, at 1645, we pulled up into the BEAUTIFUL LODGE and WOWOWOWOW, it was AWESOME to be there and see all the HUGE WOLVES there...wowowow, just coming INTO the place was AMAZING!!!! and the check in was BEAUTIFUL!!:) i mean, really, the whole EXPERIENCE was right in front of you as SOON as you get off the car! and the view of the indoor water park...REALLY?!?!?!?!?!?! IIII WAS SOOOO EXCITED! about excited as the kids! we check in and head up to our room (7018), we entered our BEAUTIFUL room with the KID CABIN inside and we went NUTS! the room is REALLY roomy and the VIEW that we had out of our window was pretty cool!

sooo, we had ourselves some SANDWHICHES and ate something then got dressed in our swimsuits and we were OFFF!!! wowowoowowo, that water park was soooooo cool! there was sooo much to do for the little kids and in the park and we had a BLAST!!! they went on all the kids slides and all the pools and had suuuuch a BLAST!!!

after we were done swimming (about 2030) we order a pizza from the WOLF DEN (not bad price for a LARGE CHEESE PIZZA it was only 13.00!!) can't beat not having to leave anywhere!! so we ate some pizza, went to pick up the MAGI WAND (we were only suppose to do ONE wand and have them share it BUT with josh wanting one too, we had to get another WOLF PAW PASS!) so we got started on the QUEST and boy, that game is SOOOOO MUCH MORE than i had EVEN thought it was! everyone told me to make sure that the boys did it and wowowowowowow, that may have been the CHERRY ON THE TOP!! really, this game is AMAZING and if i could of, i think I WOULD have done the game if i could do it by myself!! but it was EXHAUSTING because you had to go UP and DOWN the stairs and it was CRAZY!!!! but fun...and all you saw where TONS of kids playing the game and some where in their jammies and others in regular clothes just running around pointing their MAGI STICK. i wish we could have let ALEX go on his own or with his brother but even though we saw a lot of kids without parents, we just COULD NOT do it!! maybe the next time we come (because we WILL come again, GOD WILLING) we will let him go on his own!! :)

ended the night after 1100 time that the MAGI game ends and EVERYONE dropped off for a LONG comfy night in our beds!! GREAT FIRST DAY!!!

SUMMER VACATION 2012

WOOOOHOOOOO!! GONZALEZ VACATION IS OFFICIALLY STARTED! :) dad has a week off work and we are going to make the mOST of our time as a family!!! we are starting our vacation at the WONDERFUL GREAT WOLF LODGE IN GRAPEVINE TEXAS! i have heard sooo much about this place from other friends that have come out here so i thought since our RV is out of commission for a bit, we would do some traveling in our car....so i BOOKED us a 2 night stay at the LODGE july 22-24....the boys and us are sooo excited and we can't WAIT for it to start. I NEEDED this time with my family because on the 31st, with my surgery to remove the cancer tumor out of my arm, i knew that for a while afterwards, i would not be able to do much...this week is going to be our get away, and my time to just relax...we are starting to pack our MILLION and one things of STUFF and get everything ready. there is always sooooo much to pack because with 3 boys, stuff gets CRAZY! the only thing is that there are NO TOYS this time...just stuff. i figured that they would not have down time with there being a INDOOR WATER PARK there, i figured we would be TIRED by the end of each night....soooo, HERE GOES OUR VACATION!!

IT'S THERE...

you know, when you KNOW something is THERE, it kinda takes over that THING! KNOWING that there is a CANCEROUS TUMOR there on my forearm, well, i am GUARDING it more than usual and i am TOTALLY in tune with my forearm!! and of course, it seems like there is a magnet right on my arm so that anytime something goes by it, be it person or object, it never fails, it gets BUMPED which is VERY painful already!! oh well...and of course i just KNOW it is there...

i think about AFTER i have the surgery...how am i going to put my hair up, how i am going to do something as easy as clip on my bra, put my clothes on, etc...you never think too much about that but really, HOW am i going to do that?!?!? i just know it is going to BE PAINFUL!!! AT LEAST, i ALREADY drive with my LEFT HAND since my right arm has been in soooo much pain FOR EVER that i have had to learn to only drive with my left hand so i think THAT part will have come in handy!!