...And He's Off!

You may want to turn off the music down below since this video has it's own.
...Thanks Maddie, for introducing me to the wonderful world of video editing!

Shout It From The Roof Tops!......

Corban is officially Keppra free!

Goodbye amber bottle of liquid anger

Good riddance grape tasting hallucinations

Farewell container of aggressiveness

Tingly sensations, we bid you adieu.

Send-off 2 milliliters of night terrors

Depart small vial of mood swings

Bon voyage clumsiness in fluid form

Keppra, sayonara to you!

A Camping We Will Go!

What is it about the sky filled with a gazillion stars while roasting marshmallows around a campfire that has such magical effect in making all other nuisances of camping not matter? What is it about a family of 6 being cooped up in one small living space that creates stronger bonds even with everyone's own quirks and peculiar habits? What is it about making lasting memories with our children that makes dealing with bugs, dirt, creative cooking, strange sleeping arrangements, packing and unpacking more bearable? Well bearable it was to go camping and enjoy time as a family without the daily doldrums -some of them were left behind, at least.
The scenery was beautiful, the company was great as we spent a 4 day trip in a place called Camelot Resort that is the halfway point between Heber and Vernal, UT with our neighbors we're lucky enough to call friends, the Johnson's. Both Brandons (Fuller and Johnson) enjoyed playing in the river with the kids. Tarryn took to the water like a fish, and hardly wanted to spend any time on land after getting the guts to jump off the swing into the water and learning how to take a ride down the river on a tube with her own personal river stick she found. We found hidden talents in Makade as we discovered how quickly he can scale a mountain side to get to the top then back down again. Corban had a love/hate relationship with the water and a love/hate relationship with being out side for extended amounts of time. He spent a lot of time watching The Incredibles on our portable DVD player. (Like I said, "roughing it".) Kellan had the hardest time (which in turn meant I had the hardest time) figuring how to nap with people all around, and being confined to the small area of outdoor carpet the Johnson's had laid down in front of their trailer since he still prefers crawling for mobility. All in all, we had a wonderful trip and will be going out again soon. Being engulfed in nature is wonderful (just avoid nesting season for mosquitoes), but my heart belongs to that star-filled sky that hides behind any city's lights. Where you find yourself lost in listening to their secrets of how small but significant part you play in God's plan. Okay, maybe it's just my perspective of what the stars are trying to tell me. ; )

Fish Kiss

Kellan has a new funny face he pulls while eating so I had to record it and share. He certainly isn't lacking in personality, face expressions, or vocal chords.

***I guess this is where I should write a word of caution regarding lowering your volume as Kellan seems to be testing his lungs.

Growth Spurt

Sometimes while living in every-day life, you forget to actually look at the progress that is being made by each individual child. That is until they hit some type of major mile-stone; then your senses become awakend and your eyes open as if seeing them in some new light. I love when this happens and wish it would happen more often for me as I don't want to miss a moment of their development.

What brought this to my attention (once again), was how much Kellan is learning. All in a week he's learned to climb a flight of stairs, say "Hi!", take a step unaided, and make the funniest/cutest fishy kiss faces ever!

Then I got thinking about the others...Today Corban (not even 3 1/2) told us that we were listening to track 17 on the radio as if he's always known the number, he's also undergone a week of potty training. Makade has become quite the teacher in guiding the family in various Kung Fu positions, stances, and moves. And Tarryn is becoming an amazing helper in the kitchen (when she wants to) and has even been there to flip the pancakes when they would've burned down the house while I was side-tracked by other children.

Point is, sometimes, aside from the mess and every-day doldrums if you really stop to look at these sweet children, you get to witness amazing every-day miracles. Maybe this is one of those 'the cup is half-full' moments for me...even if a half-full cup in my home means a possible spill to clean up, I'll take it with a smile.

Good News

With the new medication Corban is on, he's been seizure free for 10 weeks now! This is the longest he's ever gone and we're ecstatic that it's looking more and more like we'll pass this record.

Along with the Depakote (new medication), comes the blood work that needs to be taken to check his levels. After our visit to the vampire squad on Monday, we've finally gotten the long awaited call. ....Corban has aced the test! His levels came back at a 64 when the doctor was looking for any number above 50. This means we can gradually reduce his old medication (Keppra) until he is only on Depakote! We are thrilled, as getting rid of Keppra means gaining our son's sweet personality back one-hundred percent!

I Want To Live Like Animals

Sorry; I took the song off of the slide because I could no longer stand listening to that one single song repeatedly. If you are interested in hearing it, it's by Savage Garden entitled, Animal Song. I suggest you Google it.

Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting

We did it. We took a scary leap and put Makade into a Kung Fu class. Brandon and I find it frightening because Makade tends to use his limbs as tools when frustrated at siblings. We know he needs an outlet for pent up energy and also to harness that energy into something more positive than using Big Sister as a punching bag. More than harnessing the energy, we want for our son to learn self discipline. -If not, there is the #1 rule that remains: "The day you use Kung Fu on any of your siblings is the day that you no longer return to class."

After dropping Makade off for his first lesson today, I snuck back to watch him in action without having him feel conscious that I was observing. ....It's been a long time since I've seen a smile that big on his face! All caution fled from my body at that moment and I hope it continues this way.

A new kind of camp song

In addition to our ritual evening family prayer, family hug, family chant, handshakes and noggins; Brandon and I started doing things to get Corban's wiggles out before the prayer. This started with a simple stretch session then gradually went to a quick version of Hokey Pokey and now is alternated with Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes. So as we knelt down last evening to complete our tradition before bedtime, I was surprised Corban was the first one to softly start singing Old MacDonald in replace of a wiggle song. It was so sweet to hear him sing E-I-E-I-O with such reverence as if he were singing Kumbaya that I couldn't help but join him; and shortly after, the whole family was reverently singing along. Throughout the various verses of Quacks, Moos, Baas, Oinks, and Clucks I couldn't help but think of old times sitting around a camp fire singing and swaying to the music. And even though the song wasn't one I would've chosen, it was still a sweet moment that I get to keep as a memory.