Evans's Episodes

Spreading the Love - Siblings Need Some Too

2012-01-26T12:22:00.000-08:00

Where DOES the time go? I have had such a hard time keeping up with this blog because I spend WAY too much time on Facebook!As we start a new year, I am going to get back into keeping this blog updated. As a Mom to a child with special needs, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't learn something about myself, or my son, or other people who interact with him, including his brothers!Chance is an awesome kid, but he requires a lot of me. Thanks to Anna, our wonderful respite worker, I have had more time with my other two boys and I'm so thankful. We started off 2012 with a short trip to Florida, just me, Cannon and Colin, to visit Grandma and Pop Pop. What a relaxing time and what great memories we made just me and the sibs!We went swimming, visited the coolest theme park, Legoland, and saw the alligators at Hammock State Park. While I missed Chance dearly and loved hearing his "mamas" on the phone, it was precious much needed time with my typical sons. Years ago, at the Angelman Syndrome Conference in St.Louis, one of the presenters recommended that we make intentional efforts to do things with our typical kids without the special needs child. It was hard to swallow at first, but I have learned how amazingly important it is. We also do special things together as a family and I do special things just with Chance. So why wouldn't I do special things with Cannon and Colin.Thanks Grandma and Pop Pop for showing us such a great time.

Chance and Karaoke

2010-01-04T19:31:00.000-08:00

Since Facebook came along, I haven't updated the blog in a long time. Thought it was overdue for some attention! We had a tremendously great Christmas. God has blessed us and we are so thankful. The kids were totally cute, but no one was cuter than Chance singing on the karaoke machine that Grandma got the boys. Check it out in this video! Makes me giggle everytime.

2nd Annual VA Area Angelman Syndrome Picnic

2009-08-12T20:14:00.001-07:00

This year's Angelman Picnic was again held at Clearbrook Park in Virginia. We had a gorgeous day, and I'm not talking about the weather. It was such a joy to share the day with so many families and their angels. And the weather was gorgeous too. We had great food, great company, and great fun. Here's a little video montage of some pictures from our day.
Mark your calendars for next year; the first Saturday of August, same place, same time!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Dewey Beach 2009

2009-07-15T17:52:00.001-07:00

We finally took the plunge and took the boys to the beach. You know with three young boys we weren't about to do it alone, so mom came along... and we are so glad. Unfortunately, after that long weekend, she's now laid up and unable to walk. I guess we worked her too hard!
We packed a lot into our weekend. Three trips to the beach, a ride on the Jolly Trolley to the boardwalk to have icecream and ride rides at FunLand, steamed crabs and the Outlets on our way out of town on Sunday. It was really great to see Chip, Keegan and Ellie.
The boys loved the beach. Colin was a little scared of the water, but by Sunday, he put his feet in. Chance and Cannon were fearless. Thank goodness for floatation jackets!
I have tried several times to upload pics, but I'm failing. You can go to www.facebook.com/hevans7020 to see the pics from the weekend.

The Boys of Summer

2009-07-03T17:54:00.000-07:00

We are in full swing of summer around here. Whenever possible, the boys are outside playing! Daddy is doing a great job of keeping them entertained... boys will be boys. Here are some fun pics from the summer. Cannon in the pool with his buddies. Chance and Colin on the motorcycle and 4-wheeler, Colin making bisquits with Daddy, Family Fun Day at the park with train rides, Cannon's last Kings Kids concert before summer break, and my favorite... Chance trying to eat noodles with chopsticks!
Chance has also taken swimming lessons... pics to come soon. And Cannon and Colin attended their first summer camp of the season at OLP. This week's theme was God's Creation. It was adorable. I will have pics and videos to come soon of that too.

Jake's Make-a-Wish Party

2009-07-03T17:24:00.000-07:00

Our friends Michelle and Dustin, the proud parents of two beautiful kids, Jake (who has Angelman's like Chance) and Bailey, hosted a Make-a-Wish party. Their son Jake was granted a wish and they received a beautiful adaptive swing set, complete with a rope swing, ramps and lots of cool sensory stuff! We enjoyed the day so much watching all the kids interact and play. I do think, however, that Dustin's tractor train stole the show over the swing set. All three of our boys absolutely loved that thing and insisted on being driven around all the deer paths through the woods pretty much the entire time we were there! Dustin and Michelle have a beautiful home and we were blessed to be a part of the party. It was nice to spend the day with parents of an angel and be able to relax and not apologize for Chance all day long. He was a bit of a stinker as the day went on... also managed to put his whole hand right smack dab in the middle of the cake. Thankfully, Michelle had already snapped some pictures of it! I hope we can get together more as it's nice to remember that we aren't alone in this journey of raising an angel and typical kids. Thanks for having us to your party Jake! Maybe you'll come to our Make-a-Wish party some day... guess I should apply, eh?

Raspberry Picking at Orr's Farm

2009-07-03T17:17:00.000-07:00

I took advantage of some gorgeous weather and took the boys to Orr's Farm this week. Rob got a much deserved day on the golf course and I dragged the boys to pick raspberries! It was actually really fun. We took a hay ride out to the patch and picked 8 pints of berries. I think Chance picked more leaves than berries, but he sure had fun. Colin got bored after one pint, and relaxed under a nearby apple tree in the shade. The weather was perfect, the boys did great and we had a wonderful day. We came home and made 10 jars of jam. Cannon had a blast smashing the berries. He keeps asking if we can smash more and make more jam! If anyone wants so, let me know! We still have 8 jars and it is GOOD!

Cannon's PreK Graduation

2009-05-25T21:03:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure if you would call it graduation, since there were no caps and gowns or anything like that, but "Our Little Preschool" held their end of the year picnic in the park this past week. Cannon received his special book and got to share one more beautiful day in the park with his teachers and friends from Preschool. I love how Colin snuck into the picture too. Hard to believe he's going to go to kindergarten next year. Where does the time go? Oy! Next year, Colin starts at OLP!

Are we Down Under? NOOOO! It's just West Virginia!

2009-05-25T20:47:00.000-07:00

Well, you'd think from the pictures that the boys were on a walk about in the Outback Bush of Australia, but nope... they are in the backyard bush of our West Virginia home. Leave it to Daddy to come up with a way to make a lazy (almost) summer day fun, just by putting hats on! Now that our deck is done, the baby pools are full, and the trampoline is up, we are really enjoying the backyard.
Last night Rob busted out the fire pit, marshmallows and chocolate and had the kids make smores when they got home from Kings Kids. It was lots of fun. There was one time Rob poured lighter fluid on the fire and it lit up pretty good. Chance started clapping, Cannon leaned in with a big smile, and Colin... well, he took off running so fast that I nearly peed my pants laughing. Oh, the distinct personalities of my sons! You can see in the one picture below where Chance is clapping, Rob is cracking up and looking over to the other side of the yard. Yeah, he's laughing at Colin bolting off. I promise you, it was so funny. Colin was like "AHHHH... I'm outta here!"

Today, for Memorial Day, we just played outside alllllllll day. We had at least 12 of the neighbor kids in our yard at one point! It was hilarious. We just love it. Personally, I'd much rather have the kids in my yard where I can keep an eye on them!

Angelman Syndrome Walk-a-thon 2009

2009-05-25T18:16:00.001-07:00

This year's Angelman Syndrome walk-a-thon was as fun and rewarding as last years. This year, Team Chance consisted of Chance (of course), Mommy, Daddy, Cannon, Colin, Grandmom, Pop Pop, and Auntie La La. We had cool weather and a fun tailgate lunch after the walk. The highlight for me was watching Chance cross the finish line. He just gets so excited to see everyone cheering for him. I also thoroughly enjoyed seeing old friends from the AS community. We really are a tight family of families! Here is a video of Chance crossing the finish line and several pictures.

May is the Month for Birthdays!

2009-05-25T17:56:00.000-07:00

Since Colin's birthday is the 30th of April and Cannon's the 10th of May, we have twice now celebrated both birthdays together in a combined party. It saves on the cost and adds twice the fun! We also celebrate Mother's Day(10th this year) and Pop Pop's birthday (12th). We did celebrate Colin's actual birthday ON his birthday, but then he also got a party. He really lucked out this year! So we had a weekend of parties. I think everyone in the family got a Hallmark card of some sort, except for Daddy (poor thing). The boys party was at Galaxy Skateland, complete with face painting, a huge indoor pirate ship climbing area, ski ball, video games, pizza and cake. What a great time we all had. The place is a family run business and we just had a very very nice time! So that was Friday night. Saturday morning we had a yard sale (or should I say ROB had a yard sale). Mom and I entertained the kids. Saturday afternoon Mom, Ruby and I went to a ladies luncheon at church. Then Sunday we had church and Sunday night we had steaks on the grill for Pop Pop's birthday. Here are some pics from the weekend of parties!

They Really Are the KINGS Kids!

2009-03-25T16:39:00.000-07:00

Cannon joined the youngest choir group at our church called Kings Kids. He absolutely LOVES going every week and takes a lot of pride out of singing songs about Jesus. His first "performance" was totally cute. He's in the group with so many of his friends: Dominic, Ethan, Jasmine, Katie Lynn, and many many more. I'm so glad he loves it as much as he does. Here is a video of them singing and some pictures.

Family Fun Day at the Mall 2009

2009-03-25T16:27:00.000-07:00

Every year we, and hundreds of other kids, descend upon the Martinsburg Mall for a day of fun geared all for kids. Moon bounces, puppet shows, crafts, reptile exhibit, pony rides and so much more. The kids absolutely love it. They did so great this year. Chance has been sick, so he just wanted to go for the ride in his stroller, but Cannon and Colin walked the entire time. Needless to say, they were worn out after pizza in the food court!

My Three Sons

2009-03-25T16:25:00.001-07:00

I just couldn't resist putting these new pics of the boys up on the blog. They turned out so cute. The boys are all so beautiful. God has really blessed us with super cool kids!

Mardi Gras!

2009-03-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

As they do every year during Mardi Gras, Carol and the kids (minus Harris) came up to visit for the week. We got them right off the plane and started the fun with a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium. It was really great! Chance enjoyed being pushed around in Grandma's wheelchair. It was nice for us too. Didn't have to chase him around and it was light and easy to push! Plus access to all sorts of stuff... one of the VERY FEW perks to have a child with a disability. We also went snow tubing one night. I got to go this year! Just me and Cannon, and of course, Carol, Maddie and Travis. It was rainy at first, but it let up and we had a great time. Cannon kept saying "this is like a dream come true mommy!" "i went really really really really really really fast!" We had dinner out at Kobe Japanese one night and the kids got to try out chopsticks. Chance was mesmerized by the fire... Grandma... not so much! We took a trip down to JayDees Family Fun center and played video games, air hockey and climb in the climbing area. Also did a bowling night at good ol' Pikeside Bowling alley for some duckpins. I think the kids were sad to see them go home... we packed in so much fun, and Colin had a live in playmate with Maddie. He adored her! Unfortunately Carol had a heck of time trying to get home. We got some late winter snow and her flight got cancelled. Then it was a flight into a different state and rental car and a 2am return to her home before she got to rest. But, it was great to see them as always! As they do every year during Mardi Gras, Carol and the kids (minus Harris) came up to visit for the week. We got them right off the plane and started the fun with a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium. It was really great! Chance enjoyed being pushed around in Grandma's wheelchair. It was nice for us too. Didn't have to chase him around and it was light and easy to push! Plus access to all sorts of stuff... one of the VERY FEW perks to have a child with a disability. We also went snow tubing one night. I got to go this year! Just me and Cannon, and of course, Carol, Maddie and Travis. It was rainy at first, but it let up and we had a great time. Cannon kept saying "this is like a dream come true mommy!" "i went really really really really really really fast!" We had dinner out at Kobe Japanese one night and the kids got to try out chopsticks. Chance was mesmerized by the fire... Grandma... not so much! We took a trip down to JayDees Family Fun center and played video games, air hockey and climb in the climbing area. Also did a bowling night at good ol' Pikeside Bowling alley for some duckpins. I think the kids were sad to see them go home... we packed in so much fun, and Colin had a live in playmate with Maddie. He adored her! Unfortunately Carol had a heck of time trying to get home. We got some late winter snow and her flight got cancelled. Then it was a flight into a different state and rental car and a 2am return to her home before she got to rest. But, it was great to see them as always!

My Life Is...

2009-01-22T07:41:00.001-08:00

I subscribe to Rachel Coleman's blog. She's the Signing Time creator and stars in the videos with her daughter. She recently posts a nice blog about what life is. It touched me and I wanted to share it with you. She has a great blog and I highly recommend subscribing to it if you are a part of the disability community and just want to relate to the experiences of another family. www.signingtime.com/rachel

Here's the blog post

My Life Is…

Published by Rachel Coleman at 9:42 am under Crazy Little Thing Called Life

My Life Is…

Almost three years ago I noticed something about my life. I noticed that when I looked at all I was dealing with in work, family, home, and with my kids… when I looked at it all or even a part of it, I found myself saying, “Wow, this is really hard!”

I started to note each time I called my life “hard,” and when I told someone that things were “hard,” and I even noted when I thought that word. Loading a wheelchair into the car was hard. Traveling was hard. Miscommunications with Leah were hard. Lifting Lucy was hard. Communicating with my husband Aaron was hard. Filming and writing music was hard. Meetings were hard. Getting home before the bus arrived was hard. I also noticed that each day I was hitting the snooze button on my alarm clock over and over in a futile attempt to postpone getting up and dealing with my “hard” life.

Wow, “hard” was a powerful word and it was running rampant in my thoughts. It was almost a default word, a word I felt stuck with. I decided to try a little experiment. It was simple really. I would give up using the word “hard” to describe everything and I would find a new word or phrase to replace it with.

Was my life hard? Is my life hard? There are plenty of people who tried to convince me that my life really was hard, because in their eyes they completely believed that what I had was much harder than what they had. I didn’t care. I just couldn’t stand living with that thought about my kids and my family any more. Is having Leah really hard? Is Lucy hard? I dropped the word “hard” out of my vocabulary.

Now, what could fill that space? What would best describe my life? And how exciting to stand in front of a blank sheet of paper titled “My Life Is…” and be able to choose the next word. It was a little daunting. What would I choose to call my life?

I didn’t take the task lightly. I looked from many angles. One thing I saw was that I was managing a lot of unexpected circumstances. My life hadn’t gone the way I expected and I found myself wondering if anyone’s life goes the way that they expect. That would be so boring! I mean really! What if your life turned out exactly how you thought it would? My life could never be called boring. It was quite the opposite. That was it! Three years ago I wrote the words I now use to define and describe my life.

My life is an unexpected adventure!

It was simple and true, and so much more empowering than what I called my life before. For the past three years now, I have been living my life from that perspective and I think that anyone one who knows me or even watches from a distance would agree. My life IS an unexpected adventure.

This year, instead of a New Year’s Resolution, I invite you to take a look at the words you use to describe your life. Listen to the thoughts that are telling your story. If you have a default word, that leaves you clinging to your mattress, I invite you to take some time and fill in the blank for yourself with words that you choose.

My life is…

I can’t wait to hear what you come up with!

~Rachel

Photo Op!

2009-01-20T18:53:00.000-08:00

Okay, Okay... call me crazy... but if I can capture the nuanses of my little guys... I'm gonna! Colin has really become so animated in his facial expressions. It's hilarious to see him learn and try new things. One night this week during dinner, he was really into his corn on the cob and he also had fun posing for the camera. My kids are so used to me snapping pictures they automatically say "cheese" as soon as I put the camera to my eye!" This time, he decided to be silly for me and I ate it up!

Rub a Dub Dub!

2009-01-20T18:47:00.001-08:00

Some nights during bath time, I just want to scream... the kids are crazy... throwing bubbles at each other and driving me nuts. And other nights they are just so cute I can't help but soak up their cuteness. This is one of those nights when I just couldn't get enough of their cuteness!

Mr.Luigi (Pronounced La-Wee-a-Gee!)

2009-01-20T18:42:00.001-08:00

Rob has done some cute stuff recently with the boys (I guess it takes one to know one!) He really is a kid at heart. Anyways, the other day I took Chance with me shopping and when we got home we found Rob wearing a chef hat, Colin wearing the chef outfit, and Cannon helping to make some homemade pizzas. Rob was using the most ridiculous fake Italian accent and the boys were mesmerized and so into it. Since then, everyday Chance uses his device to ask for pizza and Colin puts on the costume. Too cute. If you ever thought that the little things don't matter, think again. These are the things our kids will remember.

The Bowler Extraordinaire!

2009-01-20T18:23:00.000-08:00

Rob has recently rekindled his love of duckpin bowling. Yes, duckpin. For any of you prepared to make fun, you should read up on the sport... it's harder than golf and some of the greatest athletes of all time helped to launch this cool sport (Babe Ruth for one!) Rob joined a league here in town and has risen to the top rather quickly. Last week he rolled six straight strikes and managed to bring in his highest score ever. He even got his name immortalized on the big board. I surprised him this week by sneaking over there and taking a few pictures, printing them out and having them framed for him. Thought I'd share them on our blog! Congrats Rob! I'm proud of you!

Heroes

2009-01-17T18:29:00.000-08:00

This song was introduced to me by a wonderful woman I met just once at a ladies retreat at mom's church. Her name is Jennifer Ford and she is a mom of a special needs child, as am I. She and I hit it off and I took down her name and number. While we've never spoken since that conference, I think of her every time I open my bible, because the sticky note with her name is on the inside cover to remind me to pray for her. A few months ago, I received a package from her with a video of The Isaacs. It's a bluegrass gospel group and they sing a lot of beautiful songs, but one in particular meant a lot to her, and as it turns out... me too! I thought I'd share it with you. Enjoy... and grab some tissues.

2009 Here We Come!

2009-01-07T18:04:00.001-08:00

2008 was a year of change around here and we're looking forward to settling into 2009 and keeping things low key! Just being a family and enjoying our time at home together. Rob and I have lined up some respite providers, so we are looking forward to some date nights without the kids to reconnect and have some alone time! Here are some shots in the new year that I took with my new camera. Cannon being Batman and hanging with Daddy; Colin cruising on the motorcycle, flexing his muscles, dressed as Woody, and posing with the umbrella; and Chance hanging with Daddy. Of course I'm never in the pictures since I'm on the other side of the lens!

Merry Christmas - From Ours to Yours

2008-12-26T08:20:00.000-08:00

This year we've really enjoyed the holidays to the fullest. We were beaming with pride while Colin performed his first church Christmas musical singing "Jingle Jingle Happy Bells". Cannon's preschool also put on a musical called Christmas Around the World and Cannon's class represented Japan singing "Away in the Manger" wearing their cute hats and rocking baby Jesus in their arms. We enjoyed Christmas Eve candlelight service and when Pastor Mark asked who was the baby in the manger, Cannon loudly proclaimed "BABY JESUS". It was adorable. He also enjoyed the candles... again, boys and fire! Grandma and Pop Pop were here for a few days and the kids thoroughly enjoyed torturing Pop Pop with light sabers, drum sticks, etc! For Christmas, I think we have successfully attained just about every new techno gadget on the market. Grandma Ruby got a Wii and has already beaten Rob in a game of bowling. I got a new blackberry and a new Nikon SLR digital camera. I have already started to learn so much about how to use it and I can't wipe the smile off my face. I've wanted one of these for years. Rob got a Nano and has probably already spent his $45 in iTunes gift cards filling it up! Chance got a Radio Flyer Liberty ride on spring mounted horse and an mp3 player. He loves horses and he loves videos, so he's tickled. Cannon got spy gear so he can do secret missions and a Smart Cycle to stay active over the long winter. Colin got a puppet theater and puppets to put on some shows for us. Oh, and Santa brought The Brothers Three a new 4-wheeler that was a big hit. The Brothers Three is a series of bedtime stories that Rob started telling the kids and somehow I got roped into doing too. It's a bunch of stories that we make up as we go about three brothers on adventures! It was a relaxing couple of days topped off by probably the best meal I've ever eaten. And based on the "mmmmmms" and "oh wows" I heard during dinner, I think it was well received. Mom brought a whole filet and I used Aunt Mar's recipe with lots of olive oil and garlic! I really do love Christmas!

25 Years of Service - Happy Retirement Mom!

2008-12-07T18:53:00.001-08:00

Well hallelujah, the day has finally come. Mom retired after 25 years at Johns Hopkins University in the Molecular Biology and Genetics department. I have to say, I'll miss the personal link to the latest science, being the mom of a special needs child with a genetic condition, but alas, I guess I'll have to let it go, since Mom certainly deserves her retirement.
The department threw her a beautifully orchestrated retirement party with lots of food, drink and people. It was a wonderfully special day for Mom and I was so glad to be there to share in her joy. I'm so proud of her.
It was a especially nice that so many of our family was able to be there, except for poor Dad who had the stomach flu and wasn't able to come. He had a date with the toilet! Aunt Dar showed up unannounced on Thursday night and was welcomed with tears from Mom and Grams. And then Chip surprised Mom by showing up at JHU for the party.
After all the partying and presents, we headed back to Mom's to visit for a bit before heading home.

Horses With Hearts Awards Banquet 2008

2008-12-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

Last night Chance, and all the other riders in Horses With Hearts, were recognized for their accomplishments. It was a wonderful evening, celebrating diversity and volunteerism. We had a fantastic dinner and enjoyed watching each child and adult with special needs accept their trophees and share in their excitement. Chance was particularly proud and just couldn't wait to get up on stage. I couldn't believe it. I thought he'd be resistant, but he just about ran up to the stairs of the stage, calmly walked up and accepted his trophee. I wasn't sure if he was going to throw it in excitement or not, so I kept a close hand, but he did great. I prompted him to say thank you in sign language and I thought maybe he would use his device to say something into the microphone to the audience, but instead, he leaned into the microphone and let out a huge cheerful squeal! It was super funny and the crowd erupted in cheer and clapping. What a special moment. I've already put up a shelf in Chance's room for his trophee and I have big plans for redecorating his room with all horse stuff. He just loves the horses and is so proud to be a part of it!

Horses With Hearts has over 40 volunteers and a faith-centered vision. It was truly a pleasure for all of us to watch Chance ride each week and he was so proud. He just loves the horses and the people and I know each year he will continue to be blessed by this wonderful program. Visit their website for more information http://www.horseswithhearts.com/

Thanksgiving with the Fam!

2008-12-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

What a joy it was to have the whole family here for Thanksgiving. Chip was able to make the trip over from Delaware with Keegan and Ellie. Plus Mom, Dad, Aunt Deb, Uncle Jeff, Joey, and of course our troop and Grandma Ruby were all here. It was a blast. We spent Thursday playing outside until dinner. The kids had tons of fun riding the electric motorcycle and jeep. The grown ups lounged around until turkey time. On Friday we made a trip down to Fun Express in Winchester and enjoyed the rock wall, bowling, lazer tag, mini golf, video games, soft play and pizza. What more could any kid ask for!? I was sad to see them go on Friday night, but we kept busy on Saturday and Sunday decorating for Christmas! One holiday down, one on the way! I love this time of year!

TRICK OR TREAT!

2008-11-01T17:57:00.000-07:00

Okay - now this is what I'm talking about! This Halloween was just so much fun! Colin was old enough to really get into it. Cannon was psyched up for it for weeks. And now that Chance has his communication device, he was able to really trick or treat.
We started the day off at school like normal, then headed to Rob's work for a party at Valley College for lunch. Can you guess who Rob is? Such a cute and original costume! Off to bed for a nap, dinner and then trick or treating. Grandma dressed up in her camos and gave out candy. She was such a trooper to sit out there for all that time, but I do think she had fun... and she nibbled a bit (chocolate freak that she is)! And it was such a treat for us to be able to go out together with the kids. The last couple of years we had to take turns while the other gave out candy. So this was nice!
Chance was the Incredible Hulk. Cannon was a Ninja Turtle and Colin was Woody from Toy Story. We had to laugh trying to put that god awful green face paint on Chance. He kept wanting to wipe it off. If we could just keep his hands off his face long enough for it to dry we'd be okay. Overall, it didn't look bad! Cannon didn't want to wear his mask that went with the costume, so we did his face green too. We were out trick or treating for about an hour and a half and the kids were great. Chance started doing the "I've had too much fun" sideways walk after a while and Rob let him take a few breaks and have a treat. He was pretty worn out when it was all said and done. Colin actually said, "Okay Mommy, I want to go home now!" ha ha ha ha... I wonder if I was having more fun than them?!
Here's a few pictures and a video of the boys getting some candy and Chance using his device to participate just like everyone else. Oh, it was so great! just made my heart sing to see Chance enjoying himself so much!
After bath, Daddy decided to turn off all the lights and make the house pitch black and the kids played with their light sticks for like an hour. Swinging them around, make shapes in the dark. I think Colin hit himself in the face with his enough times that he finally quit! It was lots of fun.
Let me tell you though, I'm glad Halloween only comes along once a year. They were so juiced up on sugar, it took me an hour to get Colin to sleep, Chance was up at least an hour and a half after his bed time meds (which usually kick in in 20-30 minutes) and Cannon, oh yeah, he was up until... are you ready for this?... MIDNIGHT! I had to nearly hold him down in bed to fall asleep! GRACIOUS.... once a year, that's all we can handle! :)

Halloween at Our Little Preschool

2008-11-01T17:48:00.001-07:00

Yup, we're back at Our Little Preschool! So things didn't work out so well for Cannon at the VA preschool, much to our disappointment. Let's just say that the "learning through play" philosophy didn' t go over too well with this former classroom teacher. Not to mention, the unstructured play was too hard for Cannon to handle. He needs structure, praise, and active learning. So, after several incidents, we decided it would be better to put him back in his old preschool. He loved it there, and actually cried to me for several weeks that he wanted to go back. So, THANK GOD, there was a space open. Let me just tell you, that's a God thing! When we first enrolled there, Katie Brinkley and I camped out bright and early in the morning to wait in line in what has become known in this country as the hunt for the spot in the best preschool! So to find out there was a spot open and Cannon could return, we were thrilled! Right away he got back into the swing of things and seriously, overnight, he just did a 180 in his behavior. He was sweet, obedient, and excited about going to school. Much to our surprise, his first week back he had a field trip, to... you guessed it... Ridgefield Farms! Twice in one week, man, he was a lucky kid! Then the third week back, it's time for a costume parade and a party! Here are a few pictures of Cannon back at the wonderful wonderful wonderful, Our Little Preschool! Oh, and isn't it so cute how Colin managed to slip into the class picture? He's so ready for school!

Dinosaur Land!

2008-11-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

So when you're looking for something fun to do with three boys, how could you possibly go wrong with dinosaurland? We went once last year, but Colin was too little to really enjoy it. This time, it was GREAT! Cannon wanted me to read every sign along the path about each and every dinosaur. He was really into learning about which ones were meat eaters and which ones were vegetable eaters. Chance just loved the freedom of running around (poor daddy got a work out!) Colin seemed a bit scared at first, but as soon as he realized they weren't going to come to life and bite him, he settled in. I think the mammoth was his favorite!

"I Wanna Be a Firefighter When I Grow Up!"

2008-10-10T16:26:00.000-07:00

Today was a walking field trip on the ground of the VA to the VA firehouse with Cannon's preschool. The kids were treated to the sounds of sirens and sights galore. They each got to sit in the driver's seat of the firetruck, walk through an ambulance and hold the firehouse. We got to tour where the firefighters rest, sleep and eat. When it was all done, each child got a goodie bag full of life saving tips and treats. It was a fun afternoon for all and the kids were all so good.

Pumpkinfest at Ridgefield Farm

2008-10-10T16:14:00.000-07:00

Cannon's preschool took a trip to Ridgefield Farms this year. I took Colin along and we had a super time. When I asked Cannon what his favorite part was, he said picking a pumpkin in the patch, going on a hay ride and the pirate ship. The kids were adorable and we had a lot of fun.

2008 Martinsburg Air Show

2008-10-10T15:46:00.000-07:00

We had a super great day at the 2008 Air Show. We enjoyed beautiful weather and lots of fun activities. When we first got there, Rob was reunited with a high school buddy who just happened to be the pilot of the largest aircraft in the US Airforce! It was so cool. Cannon and Daddy got a special tour. Then we headed off to some fighter planes where Cannon and Daddy geared up for battle. Colin was too little and Chance didn't want to get in. We stopped for a little snack break before hitting the inflatables! Cannon decided to take on a bigger boy in the pugle stick battle grounds. He got his butt kicked... poor thing, but it was funny! Then while Daddy and Chance went off for some funnel cakes, Cannon and Colin hit the moon bounces and worked off some wiggles. We ended our fun day watching the F16 fighter jet soar by at 650 miles per hour. We had a really great time.

Saddle Up Your Horses, We've Got a Trail to Blaze!

2008-09-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

Chance started his very first session of therapeudic horseback riding by fighting us tooth and nail to put that darn helmet on. But much to my surprise, he walked right up the ramp, stuck his foot in the stirrup and mounted his horse like he had done it a hundred times already! He was so confident and so happy up there, I just couldn't have been more proud. And when they had Bonnie go into a trot, Chance absolutely lit up the ring with his giggles. Check out this video below.
We are so grateful to Horses With Hearts and all the local businesses that donated money to allow families like ours to participate without cost. My desire is that horseback riding could be something special that Chance someday can do independently, if he chooses. So far, he seems to love it, and if he wants, we'll keep coming back.

First Day of PreK

2008-09-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

Cannon started PreK today at his new school! He went to PreK last year at a different school last year, but this year it's a new all day PreK program at a different location. It's a GREAT program with very qualified teachers. We are carpooling with two other neighbors, so we only drive once every three days. That helps with the time committment and gas prices, not to mention Morgan and Alex are Cannon's friends, so it's like a party every morning getting into the van!

My favorite part of this program is that they do "family-style" breakfast and lunch and we are not permitted to send in packed lunches. The kids have to at least try what is provided for lunch and they have to serve themselves! Can you imagine, 20 four year olds passing bowls of food and scooping out how much they want! ha ha ha... AND they have to pour their own milk! I guess maybe this is where they get the old saying "no use crying over spilt milk!"

They have lots of play time outside, in fact, Ms.Linda said "unless it's pouring down rain or below 30 degrees, they go out to play. Kids need to run!" They have a book center, an art center, a science center and a great curriculum. Today when Cannon got home I asked him what his favorite part of the day was and he said sleep time! He thought all of the kids napping on their floor cots with their special blankets and pillows was like one giant slumber party! ha ha ha... too cute.

I'm so excited about this school year for Cannon, and I believe he totally loved it on his first day!

Oh, and by the way, I TOTALLY enjoyed the SEVEN FULL HOURS of quiet in our home today. Colin was a bit lonely and bored, but Mommy loved it! And I'm pretty sure Daddy did too! (wink wink!)

The "R" Word is No Joke - by Maria Shriver

2008-08-28T05:15:00.000-07:00

This is a letter that Maria Shriver wrote the the LA Times regarding the use of the "R" word in the newly released film "Tropic Thunder". Personally, the word retard is incredibly insulting to our family, Chance, and all those affected by intellectual disabilities. The uproar about this film is hopefully raising awareness to the hurtfullness of this term. This letter from Maria Shriver was so good, I thought I'd post it.

The 'R-word' is no joke
For the intellectually disabled and their families, it's just as bad as the "N"-word.
By Maria Shriver August 22, 2008

This has been a year filled with teachable political moments. Racism, sexism, ageism and "change" have been debated at kitchen tables and water coolers across America. But this last week, those gathered around my kitchen table have been consumed with another discussion, one that is not Democratic or Republican -- it's the "R-word" debate.The "R-word" stands for "retard." For the 6 million to 8 million Americans with intellectual disabilities and their families, this word and its hurtful use is equal to the impact of the "N-word" on an African American.
The reason it's kitchen-table fodder is because of the Dreamworks film "Tropic Thunder," which topped the box-office charts when it opened last weekend and which will attract many more moviegoers this weekend. In the R-rated film, which I've seen, a character named Simple Jack is a caricature of a person with a developmental disability. In one of the scenes, the character played by Robert Downey Jr. chastises Ben Stiller's character for "going full retard," and the "R-word" is repeated many times.As a journalist, I respect the right to freedom of speech, and my kids will tell you I laugh the loudest when we see a comedy. But as the niece of someone who had a developmental disability, and as a member of the board of directors of Special Olympics International, I know how hurtful the "R-word" is to someone with a disability. I know why "Tropic Thunder's" opening was met by protests on behalf of the intellectually disabled.Listen to actor Eddie Barbanell, who serves on the Special Olympics board with me, and he will tell you in very emotional terms how the use of that word has made him feel rejected, stupid, demeaned.
Or you can talk to Special Olympics athlete Loretta Claiborne, who speaks on behalf of millions when she describes how the "R-word" has been used to mock and degrade her. She asks all of us to stop using this word without regard to its effect on the hearts and minds of people with disabilities.There is an old saying: "Sticks and stones will break my bones but names will never hurt me." Even when I chanted it as a child, I never believed it. Words do hurt -- they break people's spirits, they break people's dreams, they break people's hearts.Kids will see "Tropic Thunder," no matter the rating, and when they leave the theater and go out to their schools, their homes and their communities, they'll call each other the "R-word" because they think it's funny. They'll do it without any idea or regard to how it makes a person with a disability feel.Too many in the intellectually disabled movement cannot speak out for themselves. It is up to their families and those of us who advocate on their behalf to explain that calling someone by the "R-word" is no longer acceptable and is anything but funny.It's not acceptable in a movie theater; it's not acceptable on a playground. It's not acceptable that college coaches use it to chastise athletes. It's not OK to use it in a classroom or a boardroom."Tropic Thunder" is giving Claiborne, Barbanell and many other individuals and organizations that serve those with special needs -- the Special Olympics, the National Down Syndrome Society, the Arc, the American Assn. of People with Disabilities, Parent to Parent-USA -- a teachable moment. They are ready to join with the entertainment industry to change minds. Dreamworks' decision to include a public service announcement with DVDs of "Tropic Thunder" is an important first step, but far more needs to be done.Just as important, parents must talk to kids at our kitchen tables about how we have felt when someone called us stupid, idiotic or lame. Because once we put ourselves in someone else's shoes, certain names just aren't that funny any more.I often quote the Hopi prayer that tells us not to look outside ourselves for a leader. It tells us that we are the ones we have been waiting for. We can exchange one "R-word" for another: respect. We can teach our children that name-calling hurts.Let's makes the "R-word" as unacceptable as the "N-word." Think of all we can accomplish if we work together.It's one thing in this political season that shouldn't require a water-cooler debate.Maria Shriver is the first lady of California.

Idlewild Summer 2008

2008-08-20T17:11:00.000-07:00

I'd like to think that I could make a trip to Idlewild Park in Ligonier, PA annually with the boys, but man it's hard to coordinate. We did manage to pull it off this year. Cheri came up from Charlotte, Angie came from Reading, we came from Martinsburg, Aunt Dar, Aunt Mar and Uncle Ronnie came from Pittsburgh, and mom came from Columbia. We all met up at the park and had a GREAT time. We started with a picnic lunch and then headed over to the kiddie rides. The little ones had a blast. The bigger boys headed to the bigger rides and met up with us later at Soak Zone. All in all, we spent nearly 8 hours at the park and by the time we left, the kids were spent! Super great time and so great to be with family.

Good Bye Charlie

2008-08-05T06:08:00.001-07:00

Sadly, my father-in-law passed away last night around 8pm. He was surrounded by his family and after a long two week decline, finally left us. We miss him. I wanted to say thank you to so many who have supported us, watched our children, prayed for us, brought food, etc. The support of our friends and family has been very comforting.

VA Area Angelman Picnic

2008-08-04T04:53:00.000-07:00

What a BEAUTIFUL day we had, and I'm not referring to the weather! Seriously, it was such a delight to be around other AS families and just share a great day. The park was perfect, right down to the adaptive swing in the playground. The weather was gorgeous. The pool water was just right and I think I speak for us all when I say we had a very nice time. Thank you to all who made the trip up. I think we'll try to have this picnic annually and hopefully get a good local chapter going and have other events as well. Here are some pictures of our day.

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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

2008-07-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

Anyone who even remotely suggests that augmentative technology is too expensive has GOT to see these videos. We are trialing a few different voice output devices for Chance. Basically we're trying to find the right device that will give him a voice of his own. We have our first one and he's doing so well with it. I can't wait until we've trialed them all and we settle on the one we're going to get him so we can customize it for him more. Below are some great videos of him using his device. Also, Chance has been using ZacBrowser on my computer a lot lately. He absolutely loves his computer time and he's gotten quite good with the mouse. Thought I'd share a video of him playing on the computer. Him playing computer games and talking with a device are two things I never thought he would do. He has proven me wrong over and over again and it's just a nice reminder that I should never sell him short or assume he can't do something. The world is his to conquer! Enjoy!

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Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Fourth of July

2008-07-17T13:56:00.000-07:00

Since it rained on the fourth of July, the big fireworks in Martinsburg were postponed until the next day. That made for a long fun weekend of fireworks. We spent the actual forth just in our street with sparklers, little fireworks and some big ones blasting off over our house from the base of the mountain just down the way. Colin got a little scared, Cannon was FEARLESS and pretty much pyromaniac, and Chance just ran around like a chicken with his head cut off! ha ha ha... all in all... I was SOOOO ready for it to all be over, but it was fun while it lasted.

The Dog Days of Summer

2008-07-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

This has been a LONG summer already. We are so ready for the routine of the school year! I think we're running out of creative things to entertain the kids for little or no money!
So far we have had a camp out in the living room, played Rock Star, pretended to be body builders, and tortured the kids with steamed crabs. I guess our work here is done! Is it time for school yet?

Father's Day at the Animal Show

2008-07-17T05:26:00.000-07:00

Our local little mall does some nice things for kids from time to time. I guess that's to make up for the fact that shopping there is a joke. In any case, Father's Day weekend this year they had a big ol red and white circus tent up and hosted a free animal farm complete with tigers, camels, snakes, monkeys and more. Cannon thought the whole thing was "stinky" but I think he still enjoyed it. Chance was a bit tired and clingy but he started to loosen up and enjoy it. Colin was in awe! It was a nice day.

An 'Angel' Among Us - Newspaper Article by Crystal Schelle

2008-06-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

A wonderful writer and photographer, Crystal Schelle and Ron Agnir did a piece on Chance and our family in our local newspaper, The Journal. I was absolutely blown away by the scale and detail of the article and very grateful for the awareness that has been raised about Angelman Syndrome, disabilities in general, and Chance. We really want our community to embrace our son and his unique gifts, and so far Martinsburg has not disappointed! But even more so, we hope that seeing the bright smile and glimmering blue eyes of Chance helps to put a face on disability so that when you see someone in public with special needs you recognize that they are someone's son or daughter, brother or sister, aunt, uncle or cousin. Someone brought that baby into the world and loves them, but even more so, God loves them. We hope you enjoy the article as much as we did! Thank you so much Crystal and Ron, it was beautifully done!

http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/507847.html?nav=5004

Summer of Fun!

2008-06-13T05:51:00.000-07:00

Well, the much anticipated, and in some cases, much dreaded beginning of summer has arrived! School is out and that means three kids home all day unless we make some plans. School has been out ONE WEEK and they've already gone to the park, the pool, gymnastics, movies, and a playdate! ha ha ha... just have to laugh at how we can't stand to be doing nothing in this family. But when we just relax and settle down to some good ol' fashioned family time at home, we really do have lots of fun. The little inflatable alligator pool (which we have affectionately named Alexander the Alligator) is no match for the froggy slide, giant mushrooms and tons of screaming kids at War Memorial Pool, but Alexander does keep us cool and allows for Cannonball to do some, well... cannonballs! It's really nice to see Grandma and Grandpa Evans, who live with us, spending time with the kids too. Also, in this neighborhood, the kids are never alone as there are tons of friends to play with. I think Rob is the biggest kid of them all! He certainly comes up with some funny things to do with the neighborhood kids that I would never think to do. I guess it takes a child at heart to think like a child! The soda bottle volano had to be at the top of the list of silly things to do (check out the video below - too funny)! And the best part about fun in the sun, is that the kids get good and wiped out and sleep so well, including Daddy!

Angelman Syndrome Walk-a-thon Washington DC 2008

2008-05-19T11:07:00.000-07:00

Every year the Angelman Syndrome Foundation and hundreds of volunteers organize ASF Walk-a-thons in cities all around the country. This year, for the first time, we participated in the Washington DC location. The walkers for Team 2nd Chance were myself, Rob, Grandmom Hunsicker, Cannon, Colin (who rode) and of course... CHANCE! There were at least 400 people there and probably 50 or so angels. It was really special to be a part of it. Team "2nd Chance" raised over $2000 for the ASF. We're still waiting to hear if the ASF hit their 1 million dollar goal throughout the country. Let's pray!
Thank you so much to all of our family and friends who sponsored Chance. He had a GREAT time. We did the long 2.5 mile walk and Chance walked probably close to half of it, if not more. If we didn't make him sit and ride for a rest, he probably would have walked the whole thing! The best part was watching his face light up when he realized everyone was clapping for him as he crossed the finish line. I had to fight back the water works (go figure!)
Afterwards, there was a catered lunch of BBQ that was out of this world! The weather was PERFECT! Thanks for all the prayers!
It was really great to meet Susan, Kassidy, Katrina, Justin, Sean, Jenna, Jule, Niko and all the other angels and their families. Today was just what we needed to remind us that this long journey isn't one we do alone. We have a super Angelman Family and we're so grateful. We're already looking forward to the next walk and the next conference!

Aaaaarrrrghhh Matie!

2008-05-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

Cannon turned 4 in pirate fashion at Chick-fil-a. Cannon's fourth birthday party was a lot of fun. He invited several of his friends and Grandmom and Pop Pop made the trip all the way out to celebrate too. The boys and girls played in the play zone for a bit while dinner was being organized. After dinner we had cupcakes, icecream, presents and more playing in the play zone. Chick-fil-a was very accomodating and we really appreciated all they did for us to make his party such a good time for all!

With an Oink Oink Here, and an Moo Moo There

2008-05-19T10:54:00.001-07:00

My baby is TWO! Good grief it's hard to believe. We celebrated Colin's 2nd birthday with a Barnyard theme since he just LOVES his barn animals. It was just a small family gathering since so many of us were sick, we decided to spare our potential party guests from our germs! The animal caps were really cute and all of us got into the spirit... including Pop Pop, who we all know hates to mess up his hair! hee hee

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

2008-05-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

Chance earned a free ticket to the Hagerstown Suns minor league baseball game for good behavior throughout the school year. Several students in other classes did too. So Rob and I made arrangements to both go with Chance. We loaded up the busses and head to the game. It was a beautiful sunny day and we thoroughly enjoyed our time just with Chance. Robin and Pastor Curt were here to watch Cannon and Colin. Also, Ron our neighbor took Cannon to and from school for us. Here are some pics of Chance and some of his friends at school and a cool video. Chance really loved all the clapping, stomping and music! It was a great day for all of us.

Look Out Spiderman, There's a NEW Superhero... CANNONBALL!

2008-05-07T13:07:00.000-07:00

Cannon was recently invited to Thomas' birthday party and the special guest, besides the birthday boy... was SPIDERMAN! Well, Cannon was beside himself. He just loved seeing Spiderman and wanted to follow him around telling him all about himself. I just got a big kick out of it and had to share some pics of Cannon and Spiderman slinging webs. The party also had pony rides, and of course, Cannon was all over that. He even hammed it up for the camera! Thanks Thomas for the invite! We had a GREAT time.

Family Fun Day at the Mall

2008-05-07T12:52:00.001-07:00

Each year our little local mall (I call it little because I grew up 2 miles from King of Prussia mall) holds a Family Fun Day. Grandmom came up to enjoy the fun with us. The boys rode ponies, saw a great puppet show, ate pizza, did crafts, played games, and had lots of fun. It's all free and I seriously can't think of anything I look forward to more with my kids. There was a man there with a remote control miniature school bus. Cannon seemed to really like the dragon thing on top of it and Colin had no idea how it was moving on it's own. It was really cute.

Angelman Syndrome Walk-a-thon

2008-05-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

As many of you already know, May 17th is the 10th annual Angelman Syndrome Walk-a-thon and this year, Chance, myself, Rob and Grandmom Hunsicker will all be walking for "Team 2nd Chance". For more information or to sponsor Chance please visit www.firstgiving.com/chanceevans. Please pray for good weather, good turnout, lots of awareness generated, and that we meet our overall million dollar goal. Dr. Weeber is embarking on some very significant AS research and I'm sure the ASF would like to offer funding support for his and others' research.

Check out this very encouraging article on research that could chance Chance's life and the lives of thousands of other angels.
http://spectrumpublications.com/index.php/April/May-2008/Spectrum-Magazine-Category/a-long-shot-pays-off.html

Easter 2008

2008-03-28T10:41:00.000-07:00

With the dawn of Spring comes the earliest Easter we've ever seen or ever will see in our lifetime! The kids had lots of fun festivities: Easter parties at school, field trips, egg hunts, visiting the Easter Bunny, baskets, Grandmom and Pop Pop, and candy, candy, candy. Although it does seem like we're the only family on the planet that made their kids wait until after church to have their egg hunt and search for their baskets. Frankly, they didn't even know they were getting any of that, so it didn't really phase them! We leave so early for church that trying to do all that in the AM would be a nightmare and then after church everyone is starving and tired. So we ate lunch and took naps. After naps we did the egg hunt and then the baskets. It was nice actually. Made the day stretch out longer! Here's a little video of the egg hunt and then some pictures.

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Chance's New AmTryke

2008-01-04T19:30:00.000-08:00

I don't think there are words to describe how warm and fuzzy my heart felt watching Chance ride his new AmTryke today. Fedex came at 4pm to deliver the huge box and by 5pm, after Rob and I put it all together, we were outside giving it a whirl. It was starting to get dark, but we just HAD to get one first try on the new bike. It's AWESOME!

Just about 2 months ago I contacted Ambucs and submitted some paperwork to get Chance added to their National Wishlist. This is an organization that helps to get special needs children a set of wheels of their own. Therapeudic bikes are very expensive. Chance's picture was added to their list and I told a few family members and friends about it. Within two weeks, our wish was granted. The day after Christmas I got an email from Ambucs letting us know that Chance received enough donations to completely pay for his bike (which is about $800).

So I'm very very grateful, overwhelmed, blessed.... more than words can say. I don't know yet who the donors are, but I'm supposed to get a letter with all that information in the next couple of weeks for those who did not donate anonymously. We intend to send a personal note with a picture of Chance on his new bike to each donor, but until then, I wanted to share this video with everyone, just so you can see the sheer joy on his face. He absolutely loves it! Now I just need to work on getting him to wear the helmet! hee hee

Too cold to Go Outside? Naaaaah!

2008-01-04T19:22:00.000-08:00

I think this was the LONGEST most ETERNAL Christmas break I've ever experienced. I couldn't wait to send Cannon and Chance back to school yesterday! But alas, I digress. The 2 week Christmas break had us all looking for ways to keep the kids busy. Rob finally said, I don't care how cold it is, we're driving jeeps tomorrow. So sure enough, we got up, it was FREEZING, but I bundled up the boys and they hit the pavement in their jeeps. Luke front next door came out later and joined us so it was lots of fun! You can tell how cold it was by the frozen snot on Colin's face! ha ha ha! AND, here's a miracle for you... Chance wore a hat and didn't take it off. I couldn't convince him to keep the gloves on, so I eventually put a pair of tube socks on under his coat to keep his fingers warm, but the hat was a BIG surprise, so he had to have been pretty darn cold!

Christmas 2007

2008-01-04T18:01:00.000-08:00

This year's Christmas was different in so many ways, good and bad. The good was that we had Rob's parents here with us Christmas morning and we got to celebrate it in our new home. The bad was that my parents weren't here Christmas morning, but they were visiting with my brother and came to see us a few days later.

The boys put out cookies and milk for Santa and some celery for the reindeer. We also spread special reindeer stuff in our yard to make sure they could find our new house. (basically it was oatmeal to lure the reindeer and glitter so the moon would light up our front yard and they could find their way!) So the boys spread that all over the grass in the front yard.

Chance was the first one awake and he decided to slice right into one of Grandma's presents. Then he came running back upstairs to wake us up. He was nodding and smiling! It was hilarious. I said "Did Santa come?" and he just started jumping and hooting. A few minutes later, Cannon and Colin came in and we went downstairs. But mean ol mommy wouldn't let them open any presents until Grandma and Granddad came down too. So they had to sit there and look at those presents for nearly a half an hour! ha ha ha... true torture I tell you. I wanted them to be able to share the fun of Christmas with Grandma and Granddad. So I'm glad we waited.

Santa brought all sorts of cool Spiderman stuff. Colin just enjoyed opening presents, he didn't really care what was in it, except for the Lucky Duck game. That was a HUGE hit. He walks around the house now going "Quack Quack??!!" Like, "where is my duck game?" It's too cute. And Chance got lots and lots of clothes to wear to school. His biggest present came today (1/4/08), his new AmTryke.

It's amazing how quickly Christmas morning goes by and how much preparation goes into it!

We did celebrate the birth of Jesus by attending candlelight services at church. As usual, it was beautiful. We kept Chance with us for service and sent the two younger ones to their classrooms. Chance did GREAT in church. The week before Cannon sang in the church Christmas musical and did excellent. Check out the adorable video!

Talk About Timing

2007-12-14T19:45:00.000-08:00

Just four days after moving into our new house, we get several inches of snow! Thank you GOD for sparing us this weather until we were moved in! The "For Sale" sign wasn't even down yet! It was lots of fun for the boys and I to bundle up for the first snowfall of the season! Colin reminded me so much of the little boy from A Christmas Story... "I can't get up!"

Mary Had a Little Lamb!

2007-12-14T13:16:00.001-08:00

Cannon's preschool did an adorable Christmas production where each class represented the different animals, angels, etc in the manger. He and his classmates were all dressed as sheep. Here's a little video clip. Cannon is on the top row, far left. His best friend Dominic is on the top right dressed as the "black sheep"! hee hee

After their part of the production, the kids filed off the stage... all except for Cannon! He stood there, waiting for specific instructions from his teacher to get off the stage. Too cute!

Preparing for Our New Home

2007-11-24T19:17:00.000-08:00

Next weekend, in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are moving out of our current home and into a new home. We'll be creating an apartment in the basement and Rob's parents will be coming to live with us. In addition, we have to clean up, paint and shampoo carpets in our current home as we plan to rent this out for a few years before selling it. It's crazy how much we have to do, but so far, it's all going very smoothly. One hour after putting our "For Rent" sign up, we got a call. So we're hoping for a signed lease from that family so we can breath easier knowing this house is getting paid for. We have a lot of things to do in the new home to get ready to move in, mostly with making it safe for the boys. We need door alarms, locks, gates etc for Chance. We have a walk through on Monday, settlement Friday and moving Saturday. Oh, and I'm hosting a baby shower Saturday morning for a friend at church! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Here are a few pics of the new house I took with my phone.

Cannon's All Grown Up

2007-11-04T18:23:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I just can't believe how quickly my kids seem to be growing up... literally before my eyes. Colin went from being a baby to being a toddler overnight it seemed! Now Cannon, he is so much older than 3! He's so much fun and so SMART! He just wants to understand and be a part of everything. It really is fun to experience things all over again through his eyes.

Falling for Halloween Time

2007-11-04T17:54:00.000-08:00

Fall and Halloween have been so much fun this year. Between pumpkin patch trips and trick or treating, the kids were kept busy for weeks!

Cannon's preschool had a field trip to Old McDonald's Farm. And Chance's kindergarten class had a field trip to Ridgefield Farm. Mommy went on Cannon's field trip and Daddy went on Chance's! Both trips included corn mazes, lessons on pumpkins, petting zoos, play time, a hay ride, and of course, picking out a pumpkin.

Now Trick or Treating was a TOTAL blast! In my day, there was one day a year to trick or treat. Now it seems like everyone has their own plan. There's trick or treating at the mall, at the outlets, at the senior center, in the neighborhood the weekend before, on the day of Halloween.... it never ended! We decided to do trick or treating at Somerford Assisted Living the week before and then in our neighborhood on the Saturday before Halloween. It was so much fun! Chance and Cannon walked up to the doors and were so polite. Colin went along for the ride! And Cannon's preschool had a costume parade. Here he is with his best bud Dominic and his little girlfriend Annabella.

Colin's First Year in Review - video

2007-10-04T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a video montage I put together of Colin's entire first year. He's 17 months old already and I can hardly believe it. My baby is not a baby anymore. I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every moment!

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Our Future Worship Leader!

2007-09-26T17:03:00.001-07:00

Cannon has definitely inherited his Mommy's musical nature. He loves to play any instrument he can get his hands on, and he REALLY loves to sing. Since all I ever have on the radio is Christian music, he's learning the songs and singing along. Nothing like hearing your three year old singing his little heart out about Jesus. Anyways - recently I was asked to learn a song called Ocean's Will Part to sing as an offering for church and to sing with the band I sing with. So I played it a lot to practice and Cannon came to affectionately call it "Mommy's song". Today I put my CD on and went into my room to do some work while he played with his matchbox cars in the living room. Next thing I know I hear the joyful sounds of him singing along to the song. I knew he knew some of the words, but this time he knew them all! And not only that but he was lifting his hand in praise. It was so cute I had to capture it on video. Take a look!

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Colin's Sucker!

2007-09-22T18:43:00.001-07:00

My little man is just that, a little man. Hard to believe he's going on 17 months already. I remember bringing him home like it was yesterday. It's simply sad how fast the time goes by when they are this little. I just ADORE all three of my boys, but since Colin is my last baby, I can't help but think he's just the cutest EVER! I love this little clip of him slurping on his lollipop and wandering around the house. He makes even walking look cute!

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Chance's Communication Practice

2007-09-22T18:33:00.001-07:00

Typically each night, or at least several times a week, we sit down with Chance and work on his communication. We just recently updated his communication board, so we spent some time helping him get familiar with where everything was on the board. Clearly you can see in these two videos that Chance knows his stuff! He loves to work for lotion! Crazy what motivates our angels!

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Angelman Syndrome Information

2007-09-05T06:09:00.001-07:00

This video is Susan, her husband and Ryan sharing information on Angelman Syndrome. I hope you find it informative.

Jumpin Jeepers!!!

2007-08-29T09:34:00.001-07:00

Cannon and Dominic are the best of buds and they sure did have a great time driving the jeeps around yesterday. I don't know, perhaps we should drop the legal driving age to 3?!!

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Sprinkler Time!

2007-08-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

One our favorite things to do in the summer is play in the sprinkler. We seriously have quite a water bill each month, but it's worth it for the fun we have!

Angelman Syndrome Conference

2007-08-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

Rob and I had an absolutely AWESOME time at the Angelman Syndrome Conference in St.Louis. Thank you to my mom, Aunt Dar, and Aunt Deb for the enormous task of watching the boys for us while we were gone. Thank you to our church families at IBC, HPCC and Wildwood for your financial support, prayer support, and meals! And thank you to all our friends for your support and prayers. We learned so much about ourselves as parents/caregivers, and we learned a TON about Chance. We believe he is so much more capable than we initially thought and we're excited to see how his life unfolds. We were encouraged by the hundreds of families and angels we met there. It was really emotional for us to meet other angels. Rob and I also enjoyed some LONG overdue alone time. We hope to make the trip to the conference every two years to continue to learn, but more importantly to see our new extended family!

During on of our lunch breaks, Rob did this crazy trampoline thing in the mall. He was a bit scared at first, but he settled in and was jumping REALLY high!
The next picture is our hotel. It's the old historic St.Louis Union Station, completely renovated into the Hyatt Regency and a mall. Very cool!

Okay- so I'm a dorky tourist!

This is the keynote speaker Dr. Elizabeth Thiele sharing her research on seizures. She was very very good!

Summer Time and Icecream

2007-07-17T16:01:00.000-07:00

It simply doesn't get any sweeter than this! It's just a lot of fun to make icecream cones and let the boys make a huge mess of themselves outside. It's one of the few times that they actually sit quietly for a few minutes together!

Chance's First Day of Kindergarten

2007-07-09T11:01:00.000-07:00

Watching for the bus to come!
I know, I know... it's summer, so how can it be his first day of Kindergarten? Well, Chance is part of the Extended School Year program for special needs and it just so happened that his first day of Kindergarten falls in July. He did GREAT! So much better than I expected. I guess I was just a nervous ninny, but his new teacher, Ms.Ginnie said he did better than she expected. Chance was so excited to see the bus coming, so that was a relief. And Ms.Ginnie was at the door when the bus pulled up to school, so he recognized her and was instantly at ease. I think we're going to have a good year!

He was so excited to get on the bus, he was pulling on my arm!

Angelman Syndrome Videos - Chance Evans

2007-06-27T07:10:00.000-07:00

Here are a series of videos of Chance over the last couple of years. I'm posting these for my AS friends so everyone can see another angel and his accomplishments. Enjoy!

Chance took his first independent steps on April 15th, 2005, so this is just 2 weeks later and he's walking across a room. Simply amazing and simply through prayer! This was a special time for us.

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Chance seemed so enthralled by all the people, but he did smile a few times so I think he had fun. Ms. Cheryl is one of our pastor's wives and she LOVES Chance. The feeling is mutual. He adores her too!

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The only thing that Chance is able to say verbally is "MaMa"! Thank you God for giving me at least that! Here's video of him saying "MaMa". This was probably the first week he started doing it. Before that, he said nothing.

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Chance is in the back row in front of his classroom aid. What I love about this is that Chance is participating with his peers and doing the hand motions at the right time just like everyone else. He may not sing along verbally, but he certainly knows how to participate! So awesome.

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I get such a kick out of this. I call him my little chicken when he runs. I am so proud of how far he has come in the last two years!

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It's a ZOO Around Here!

2007-06-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

We made our first ever trip to the National Zoo in Washington D.C. on June 7th. Myself, Grandma and the three boys geared up for a long, fun-filled, hot day of animal watching. We had a really nice time and the boys were just great all day! Cannon really loved the Reptile House. The lizards, fish and turtles were all his favorite. Chance seemed to really like the Small Mammal House where we saw meerkats, porcupines, rats and other fine little critters. He seemd to make friends with this one little critter (don't ask me what it was!) Me, I really just loved seeing the panda and the elephants. Couldn't tell you what Colin liked. He pretty much sat in the stroller all day with his mouth hanging open just enthralled in all the people and excitement. There were quite a few kids on field trips there. I thought by mid June field trips would be all done since kids get out of school right around then, but I was wrong.

It was a good trip, but I think I'd rather go to our local Catoctin Wildlife Preserve and Zoo over the National Zoo anyday. You can get up close and personal with a Bengal Tiger at Catoctin, versus being 200 yards away from the tigers at National. Oh well, it was fun and it was an experience!

Chance's PreK Graduation

2007-06-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

Today (6/1/07) was a momentous occassion for Chance. He has been at Pikeside Special Needs Preschool for two years now and next year he's off to Kindergarten at Tuscorora Elementary. He was SOOOO proud of himself and did a GREAT job singing along to the ABCs with his classmates. He was the first one in the processional and the first name called. So exciting. Mommy was a wreck, crying through it all. It was really hard to say goodbye to Ms.Lisa, Ms.Diana, Ms.Chrissy, Ms.Patti, Ms.Cindy and all the therapists that worked with him. He really loved it there. Here are a few pictures of the day. boohooo.... and HORRAAYYYY for Chance!

Fist in the processional and then getting the BIG DIPLOMA!! WOOHOOOO!

Principal Dean Warrenfeltz giving the closing remarks and Ms.Lisa, Chance's favorite teacher EVER. He absolutely loved her. Followed her around! Too cute.

Ms. Diana - Chance's Speech Therapist

Ms. Chrissy - Chance's Classroom Aide

Colin's First Birthday - Cannon's Third Birthday Dino-mite Cookout and Party!

2007-05-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, May 5th, we had a combined cookout/party for Cannon and Colin's birthdays. We invited all our friends from church and my parents.

All week the weather forecast was 70 degrees and sunny. Well, when I woke up on Saturday and saw the sky I checked the weather and wouldn't you know it, 40% chance of showers in the late afternoon. Well, at 4pm, right as people were arriving for the party, the sprinkles started. By the time we ate, it was coming down pretty good. We crammed in the house, on the deck under the awning, anywhere we could fit. Thankfully, shortly after we finished eating, the skies cleared and the kids were able to play outside.

The boys received a lot of really nice toys and gifts from friends, which was an especially nice treat, considering we told people not to bring gifts, but to bring food! ha ha ha...

We sang happy birthday and enjoyed watching Colin (and Cannon really) make a complete mess of themselves and their cake! Click here to see a clip from the party!

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DINOSAURS!

2007-05-08T17:30:00.000-07:00

We made a trip to Dinosaur Land on Friday, May 4th as a little family field trip / birthday treat for Cannon. He was so amazed. I think all of us had a really great time!

Chance - Our "Angel"

2007-04-26T19:42:00.000-07:00

On April 25th, 2007 at 4pm we finally got the news we've been waiting nearly 4 years to hear, Chance has Angelman Syndrome. He has the UBE3a mutation. Already I've made some great friends in the AS community via email and the message boards. Everyone wants to see faces, I know I love to put faces with names! So I'm posting this so my new friends and AS family can see our family and our angel. Thanks for all your wonderful emails and support.

Here are pics of the family. Chance 4.5, Cannon 3, Colin 1, Heather and Rob!

My boys! Man, they are cute.

Chance is so proud!

Chilling with Mommy before bed time.

Loving on Daddy!

All smiles in the snow! Keeping a hood and gloves on is ALWAYS a challenge. Thank goodness for strong velcro and thick long socks for gloves!

Nothing like some good sensory play in the tub with pink cool whip! :)

Colin's First Haircut

2007-04-12T04:30:00.000-07:00

I was always told that getting the first haircut before the first birthday was bad luck. But I also couldn't stand Colin's hair in his eyes anymore, so we took him in March for his first haircut. I do believe he actually liked it! He was all smiles!

2007-04-11T05:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our Easter Fun!

Easter Fun

2007-04-11T05:08:00.000-07:00

Easter this year was a blessed and fun event for the Evans boys. We spent the weekend before Easter at Grandma and Granddad Evans's place at an Easter Egg Hunt and Magic Show. The boys collected several eggs and loved showing them off to the Easter Bunny. Then we were treated to cupcakes and juice while we watched a magic show and Cannon got to be the beautiful assisstant!

On Easter Day Grandma and Pop Pop Hunsicker came to church with us. After church Grandma and Granddad Evans also came over and we had a nice ham dinner. After dinner we had another Easter Egg hunt in our house and we looked for Easter Baskets. It was a lot of fun.