Saying “Hasta la vista, baby!” to 2010 (with a vengeance like the Terminator)

This year was definitely an emotional roller-coaster for our little family. We would like to start off by thanking all of our friends and family who stood by us and supported us during our difficult time! We definitely learned quickly who was for us and who was against us. It was amazing to see how good and truth prevailed! The hard times can not and will not over-shadow the blessings that we received this year!

**Wil started 1st grade and turned 7 on November 28th! He’s reading on his own thanks to the amazing phonics program, www.clicknkids.com His language development has improved drastically, especially since he began his in-home Perceptual-Motor therapy! Early this year he was diagnosed with ADD and most likely has Asperger’s Syndrome (he can’t be fully tested with his delayed language from his metabolic disorder). Thanks to these findings, we have found better ways to teach him! Wil enjoys anything mechanical. He also taught himself how to use a computer :)

**Joshua turns 3 tomorrow (29th)! He graduated from the Regional Center last week! For the last year, he has received in-home speech therapy and education. He is highly social and talking up a storm! He loves coloring (he calls it “yellow green”), singing, musical instruments...and most importantly to him, GOLF! He can spend hours on his Wii Golf and indoor putting green. His Aunt Dani bought him his first set of Champion clubs for Christmas!! I guess his mini putt-putt putter will now be passed on to Orion.

**Orion turned 16 months on Christmas! This year, he was accepted into the Regional Center and now receives in-home speech and education therapy like Joshua did. He loves to go up to people and say “hola” (we assume this is thanks to Dora and Diego)...his other word is “uh oh” any time he knocks something over! He loves climbing upstairs to explore whenever he’s lucky enough that we forget to close the baby gate. His favorite thing is bullying his older brothers. We are also discovering his love for musical instruments and singing! His favorite past-time is when Mommy or Daddy reads him Goodnight Moon (he received his own copy for Christmas this year)!

**Melissa is having fun homeschooling the boys and helping them in their therapy! She enjoys the time she gets to spend with her sisters golfing. In her minimal spare time she is busy running our new business www.madmaui.com We have been very fortunate to go into business with the Trupiano family and look forward to all the new opportunities that have come about with Mad Maui!

**Billy finally graduated with his Masters in Systems Engineering. His graduation celebration was held at The Grand Del Mar. We are very thankful that his Masters program was free from the beginning! He continues to work for SAIC in the military’s SPAWAR division (Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command).

We got to end this exhausting year with a wonderful vacation in Las Vegas (the boys didn’t want to leave) and a great time with family and friends during the holidays!!

We wish you all a VERY Happy & Prosperous New Year filled with MANY blessings!
Love,
Billy, Melissa, Wil, Josh, & Orion!

PS...please pray for:
~Ethan Donley and that his omphalocele will be fully healed

~Grandpa Linder Tanksley's pain and cancer
~Healing and financial support for Debi Gooden (she had a brain aneurysm on Christmas Eve and is without medical insurance)
~Jacob Thornburg’s arm (he had surgery last night to repair multiple fractures from a scooter accident)

While we couldn't access our tanksofwrath account, we created this...

http://rambunctiousboys.blogspot.com/

A poem about my Grandpa who just passed away

Grandpa & Wil 7/4/2004

*my wonderful cousin Val will read this at

his funeral since I am unable to attend it

~My Grandpa~

Richard Charles Walters

(May 2, 1927--Feb. 9, 2010)

Even though I can't be here

to say my goodbyes,

I want to share some memories

through a grandchild's eyes

Everyone liked my Grandpa,

he was the nicest man around

In all the ends of the universe,

no better grandpa is found

He could always make you laugh

with his witty little jokes,

Or with funny faces

and ticklish finger pokes

He'd watch me from his porch

with attentive loving eyes,

As my sis and I ran the field

catching fireflies

Phillies games on TV,

at home in his chair

The smell of his cigarettes

filling up the air

Piercing ravioli as a

delicate precious art

Laying them on the table

perfectly spaced apart

Farmer's Market shopping sprees,

visits to the fish hatchery,

Allentown fireworks

were some of life's greatest perks

Early morning coffee brews

with Grandma at his side

Trips to visit Grandma's grave,

consoling him as he cried

How he held my oldest son

with so much joy in his face

You know at home with family

was his favorite place

But now he sits with Grandma

on Heaven's balcony

They watch our lives continue on,

never leaving you and me

Love, Melissa

a quick update...

joshua does NOT have a hole in his heart!!!!! his heart looks and appears to function perfectly! at this time, they will not try and figure out why his electrical conduction is abnormal.

thank you for your prayers!

Update & request prayer

Well, our sweet almost 5 month old, Orion has had 2 near-SIDs type episodes. The most recent one happened in December when his motion-sensing baby monitor alarmed at 3:07 am. It alarms after 20 seconds of no breathing/movement. When I found him, he was not breathing, was pale, & did not respond to stimulation until I picked him up out of his crib...was about to start CPR when he began to breath on his own. Then, within the same week, his urine started smelling like maple syrup. I brought in diapers to his pediatrician who was able to smell it, as well.

Orion visited our friendly geneticist with the other boys last week. Orion's labs were normal (which was expected). The geneticist decided to do an EKG on all 3 boys...Wil & Orion were normal. Joshua, on the other hand, has a "right bundle branch block with a left axis deviation" (NOT a normal EKG for a child...more like what I'd see for an elderly

person).

After the cardiologist reviewed the EKG, he believes Josh may have a hole in his heart (also

because he had apnic episodes as an infant...a few similar to Orion's and once where he turned purple even though he wasn't choking on anything). Next Weds @ 1:15pm, Josh will undergo an echocardiography where they can look at his heart as it moves to see if it functions properly. If

he does have a hole & doesn't close on its own, he is at risk for many heart complications as he reaches adulthood. If it is repairable, they would do it through open-heart surgery while he is still a child. If he doesn't have a hole, they still need to find out why he has such an abnormal EKG reading. Obviously, there are too many "IFs"...just trying to trust God right now...

Good news:

--about the metabolic thing...we have been referred to another specialist in LA with a "chance" that a research team may study our kids' disorder.

--the geneticist requested that a holter monitor (it's a medical grade device to monitor the heart) be ordered for Orion...we'll find out from the cardiologist next week if he approves it.

--Joshua was approved to receive free weekly speech and education services through the SD Regional Center...it is nice that the therapists come to our home. He's already 2 and only has about 5 words he uses. We are hoping that his language delays will not be as significant as Wil's.

--Wil's language skills are improving more and more. And, he's becoming a brilliant computer wiz like his daddy =) UPDATE: found out from doc that Wil got approved for a comprehensive developmental testing (after he was rejected over a month ago)

Thank you so much for praying for our sons! A huge blessing is that they don't even know there is something "wrong" with them. They are very healthy despite all this stuff. My prayer is that they can all grow up to lead normal healthy lives.