Kids do and say the cutest things!

Our kids do and say the cutest things.  The other night we had each of the kids perform a talent.  Whitney's talent was singing one of Michael's favorite songs to him, the theme song from "Baby Signing Time".  As she sang so sweetly to him we looked over at Michael to see what his reaction would be.  He had such a content look on his face--and his fingers stuck in his ears!  It certainly wasn't a reflection of Whitney's singing abilities, just a sign of Michael's impeccable comedic timing.

Last night we showed the kids some home videos of themselves at the hospital on the day they were born.  Before we showed the videos we asked each of them where they lived before they were born, and where they were when they were born.  Here are their answers:

Where were you before you were born?

Sarah: In heaven
Whitney: In England
Spencer: In a tent

Where were you when you were born?

Sarah: In Colorado in a hospital
Whitney: In England
Spencer: With the penguins

Michael's been doing pretty well sitting up by himself.  He still struggles with balance, though, and we periodically hear a loud thud when he falls over.  But he's now strong enough to push himself back up to a sitting position.  Last week he was sitting by us while we were having family prayer and we noticed that he had his arms folded.  We'd never really taught him how to fold his arms during a prayer, but he's a smart kid and was copying what we do.  He even managed to keep them folded until about halfway through the prayer when he lost his balance and toppled over.

On a more serious note, Michael has another MRI next Thursday, January 24, to see if the tumor shows any signs of coming back.  This is another big milestone for us because, if the scan comes out clean, it means he's doing well enough that we can begin meeting with additional specialists to determine what the next steps are for improving Michael's quality of life.  For example, what hormones is he missing due to radiation damage, and what can be done to replace them?  Is there anything more that can be done to help with his facial paralysis and improve his balance/coordination?  We've had a lot of illnesses running through the family lately, with Michael having been hit especially hard, so we're praying he'll be healthy enough to go through with his MRI next week, and that the scan will be clean.