A leave of absence

I have taken a leave of absence from my blog. I'm not sure anyone noticed, and I'm alright with that. I'm also not committing to writing on here again. I do enjoy reading my past posts, and want to record what our life is like right now, since I'm a forgetful girl.

Life right now is busy. We took the month of January off of scheduled activities (minus piano and scouts and speech therapy). It was a nice break. December felt crazy with a baptism, Christmas, finals, a trip to California and school programs, activities. Yes, I had finals, as in, an Accounting 2010 final the week before Christmas - along with four school Christmas programs scheduled at the same time. It was crazy, crazy, crazy...but I enjoyed it. I don't know if I necessarily enjoyed the class so much, as I did getting back into learning. It's been so many, many years since I've been in college and it was fun to take a class 'just because'.

Anyway, January was a crazy month - I think the theme is crazy. Randy has been working many, many, many hours (read: video conferencing with the kids at night to at least see them -- meaning 11pm nights, every night) at work trying to finish up end of the year stuff, secure more business for 2011, and manage the building process of his new office, AND move into the new office space January 31st. He did it, continues to be busy and has a spectacular new office space. I am a proud lady. He works hard.

February is back to scheduled afternoons, etc. February is also Tyler's big month of evaluations and doctor appointments. He had a great visit with the Neurologist and Orthopedic Surgeon. We had very informative and helpful visits with the occupational and physical therapists. Tyler has one more big work up this month -- next week he has a GAIT lab. This is a three hour intensive lab where TYler wears probes on his legs and arms. He will then perform several different exercises (walking, standing, sitting, bending, etc) so the lab can measure his movements. It's pretty high tech. At the end of this lab (and the two months it takes to evaluate his results - with a team of 5 doctors), we (and the doctors/therapists) will have a specific plan put into place of how TYler's muscles are doing, how they are responding to stimulation and what specifically needs to be done for him and his CMT. The probes measure his muscle structure and the fibers and we will know how each muscle is doing in terms of strength. I'm really excited. He will have this GAIT lab performed every year and we will compare year to year how he is doing. Apparently this is a much better indication of the degeneration of the nerves than the EMG (needle/electric probe test) - and much less painful.

Of course, with all these evaluations comes recommendations of what needs to be done and exerercises for TYler. The best thing is that all the kids can participate in his therapy. Therapy includes Rock Climbing, Swimming, Piano and SPeech. The best thing for TYler is to MOVE. Anything that stimulates his muscles is a great thing...Rock climbing strenghtens his weakened upper body, piano keeps his fingers stimulated, swimming helps with his coordination and large muscle stimulation. Speech is for both McKell and TYler (and she's fabulous). I feel really fortunate that I've been able to coordinate therapy so well and that all the kids can participate. It keeps them committed to a cause and keeps them healthy.

It may seem as though we are overscheduled, but it's all in the name of therapy (and I know it's only for a few months, then the scheudle will change agian), and all the kids can do it together.

Weekly Schedule

Mondays - Speech Therapy and Cub Scouts
Tuesdays - Swimming
Wednesdays - Piano Lessons and Cub Scouts
Thursdays - Swimming
Fridays - Rock Climbing


We aren't over scheduled, we're busy, and we're happy. I feel like we are doing what we should right now and it's up to me to be organized. We are still done with classes/Scouts by 6pm every night. Enough time to read, have scripture study, and a short play/detox time for them. It falls to me how well we navigate through each day. If I'm organized, we do well. If I'm not organized, then we fall apart.

Right now the kids are working towards going to Disneyland the first weekend in March. I decided to take them out of school and go on a mini-spring break. On their 'real' spring break, we'll have two boys getting their tonsils out. So, we are all committed to working hard at school and at home to earn Disneyland (and money for treats there...max $5 a day per child treats..and my kids think that's so much money).

Right now things are going well. We're busy but happy. We're in a good place. I'm grateful to be the mother to these wildly energetic, creative and challenging children. I am in my element when I am with them and overwhelmed with love when I see their faces in the morning or when I pick them up from school. I love them. They make me happy.