Gonna Soak Up the Sun

I'm heading to Phoenix next weekend!  I haven't seen my older brother and his family for 2 1/2 years!  Their youngest was 3 months old the first and last time I saw him.  I can't wait.

I'm going by myself- this is the first time that I'll be away from Jada since her diagnosis.  Jeff has the entire weekend off, so I know that she's in good hands.  So- while I'm excited about going, I'm somewhat anxious about leaving her.  The last time I went away by myself was a little over 9 years ago- to a friend's wedding in Georgia and David was 11 months old.   I think I'm overdue!!

                     

Jada's Pink Camo Bag

I wanted to upload this picture last night with my post, but couldn't find my camera. This is Jada with her pink camoflauge bag, which holds her diabetic supplies when we are out and about. We were heading out to eat and it's her job to carry it to the car. It once got left at an Arby's and talk about panic! Fortunately, we realized as soon as we got home and called- the manager had just found it and was getting ready to call us. Our address and phone number is printed on the inside!

A Good Tired

Today started out beautiful and warm. Mr. Cardinal and his girlfriend were hanging out once again in the backyard. It was just one of those mornings that you knew it was going to be a good day- full energy and life. My kiddos woke up happy for the most part. David slept in later than normal as he has caught a cold and he had a hard time sleeping last night. Jada's numbers were good this morning and she slept well last night.
We spent the morning doing school and then Jeff called. He was working a split shift today and wanted to take us to the restaurant he is training at. So, we picked things up and headed off to eat lunch. Eating out can be difficult- more for me than Jada. She got to eat grilled chicken and broccoli while the others ate pretty much what they wanted. It didn't seem to bother her. Jeff ordered chips and queso as an appetizer- and I cringed. But- she didn't even ask for one chip. Every once in a while, I could see her eyeing them- but never asked. I was really proud of her for abstaining on her own will and not having to be reminded or turned down if she asked. Jeff did end up giving her a couple of chips.
We got home and I took the boys down to the Arkansas river. The city of Tulsa has a trail system that runs along the river and the boys rode their bikes while I tried to keep up with them while walking! The weather was perfect- mid 70's with lots of sunshine.
When I got home, Jeff headed back to work and I was going to get busy and fix dinner. The phone rang and it was our landlord- she was bringing someone over at 7 p.m. to look at the house!! Uh oh. It was 5:30 and I needed a clean house and needed to fix dinner. There was no way both of those things were going to happen. I fed the girls cereal (shouldn't have done that with Jada- she paid with a BG of over 300 at bedtime) and the boys helped me get the house in order. We were ready on time and the girls were even ready for bed by the time they got here!
The house is quiet and I am tired. The kind of tired that you feel after a good day. Jada ran high tonight- but at least I know why this time. We've got a lot of interest in people renting our house and I think we'll have someone to lease this house before we leave. I'm not at all anxious about it. I wish every day could be like this.

I'm Liking These Numbers!

Jada had a great day today!  She's had so many of those in a row that I feel as if I'm getting spoiled!  I love it when she wakes at a good number- it seems to set the tone for the day and her diabetes seems much more manageable.  She was right around 100 this morning and it was her day to have a breakfast "date" with daddy.  Once a week, he takes one of the kids out for some special time with him. Typically, he takes the kids to Panera Bread.  Obviously, that's not a great choice for Jada! :)  So, he takes her to a little restaurant down the street where she can get some eggs and toast.  

At lunch, she had dropped a little- down to 94, which isn't too far and with just having a peanut butter sandwich, she didn't need a shot! That's always a good thing!  She even had to have a little snack before her nap, because she had only risen to 115 an hour after she had eaten.  The banana she ate sent her a little high- just over 200- at her snack time.  But- she had a great nap and woke up happy.  So often I have to check her and wake her up so that she doesn't drop too low while sleeping.

At dinner, she was 169 and she had a carb free meal.  150 is her target blood sugar and because she was so close to her target, we opted for  no carbs and no shot.  It worked beautifully tonight.  At bedtime she was at 160!  She had 15 grams of carbs before bed, and hopefully, that will get her through the night.

Wonder if we can do this again tomorrow?

Friday Lows

It seems I've spent the weekend battling lows with Jada. My sister in law and her family came on Thursday. Actually- they brought David back. He had been staying with them since the previous weekend. They left today and we had a great time. They have four children ranging from age 11 down to 4 months. We had a houseful and plenty of excitement around here with kids running all over the place.
All of the excitement and activity caused several lows. At about 10 am on Friday, she started acting hungry and crabby. Checked her and she was 107 and apparently falling fast. I gave her 15 grams, because I wasn't sure what time we would eat lunch. At 10:30, she didn't appear to be any better, so I checked and she was at 84. Sheesh. I gave her half a banana. A little while later we left and drove through McDonalds and took our food to the park. I checked her again at 11:30 before we ate and she was at 104. I was glad she didn't spike but decided not to give her a shot with her cheeseburger because I knew she'd be running around and I was concerned that she would drop again. I would have thought that the 30 grams of carbs in that cheeseburger (the bun) would have been enough to spike her. Not so. At noon, she looks a little peaked and is moving slowly. Checked and she was at 80!! I gave her a 100 calorie snack pack and made her sit for a few minutes. I couldn't keep her down- she wanted to run and play, so I let her go. I checked her again 15 minutes later- 72. Holy cow. At that point, I decided she was done playing and I dug into my purse for the candy I keep for emergencies and a juice box. We went back to the van and turned on a movie while she ate smarties and drank her juice box and the other kids finished playing. I was beginning to get concerned and I couldn't figure out why she was having a hard time coming up- I still don't know why. My only guess is that she was burning sugar nearly as fast as she could consume it. She finally spiked to 274 and began to slowly come down after that- I don't think I'd ever been more relieved to see a high blood sugar!
The rest of the weekend she was pretty good. We did have some moments when cousins and siblings got to have donuts, cake and ice cream and she was unable to have it. I just hate that. She would eventually get to have it, but not until a meal. It's times like that in which I really look forward to the day that she will be on a pump and we can be a little more relaxed and flexible with what and when she eats. It's pretty tough to offer her a piece of cheese or a handful of nuts or a spoonful of peanut butter when everyone else is indulging in chocolate. We did have some Sprite Zero on hand and she had a little of that- but it's not what she really wanted. She lucked out and was a tad low after her nap today and scored a small piece of chocolte cake- you would have thought she won the lottery!

We Rocked Our World

A couple of posts ago, I mentioned that we were going to be "rocking our world" when we announced to our family and friends about some upcoming changes to our life.  Well- we did it and now I feel free to share with you about our life change coming.

We are moving back to Alaska.  We are so excited yet a little nervous.  We began to pray intently about going back after Christmas and  much to our surprise (really- we shouldn't have been surprised)- God began to swing the doors wide open.  Jeff has taken a job with a restaurant in Fairbanks and we will be back in Fairbanks by the end of March!!  Winter won't even really be over when we arrive!

Some have been very supportive, but this decision has also brought on some criticism from some of our family and friends.  Some are calling us "irresponsible" with Jada- moving to a place where healthcare isn't as top notch as it is in the lower 48.  My greatest fear about this move- was Jada.  I was concerned about healthcare for her and called the Diabetes Clinic in Fairbanks.  I talked to the inpatient educator who informed me- that in a town of 35,000 people, they have at least 1 new diagnosis a month of Type 1 diabetes.  To me- that's a lot.  There is a good support group that meets once a month and even though there are no endocrinologists in Fairbanks, there are a number of pediatricians that specialize in diabetes AND we can go to Anchorage if we feel the care is not adequate.  So- that's where we are with moving and diabetes.  Jeff and I are confident that we can take care of her and we will get the support that we need in order to do so and to do so well.

We are moving back to the place that we love and the people that we have a heart for.  Jeff is a recovering alcoholic and I- a recovering codependent. Those two just go hand in hand so well! :)  Alcoholism is rampant in the far north.  Actually, any addiction that you can think of is rampant and families are torn apart on a daily basis because of this.  God has given us a heart for the families of the far north.  He changed our life and because of His grace- we are still married and in love with each other.  I look at what we went through and I'm amazed that our family is still intact.  It's not because of us- but because of Him.  Our passion is to come alongside others who are where we have been and give them encouragement and hope.  Why Alaska?  Because people there are hurting, lonely and ready for their life to change- unlike anywhere we've lived.  Also- we believe that God has led us there and He it's obvious that He is once again making a clear path for us to go back.  When we committed going back to prayer, He immediately opened a door and continues to make that path straight.

So- go ahead and call us crazy! :)  Living for ourselves is empty but living for Him has filled our lives with peace and joy- even when it doesn't seem right to others.

It's My Birthday

 I am sitting in an oh-so- quiet house.  Outside, I can hear our resident cardinal chirping and the resident woodpecker knocking away.  Jeff has taken the children grocery shopping and upon their return, he has given me the afternoon off.  I haven't decided yet what to do.  Barnes and Noble is always a favorite place for me to hang out.  Books and coffee- what's better than that?  I even thought about catching a movie- some good chick flick that Jeff would only go to in order to humor me. :) Shopping just doesn't sound appealing.  I'm still burned-out from Christmas shopping.  Malls at this point make me gag.  Whatever I decide to do, it will be lovely and relaxing, as my morning has been.  I'm quite sure that Jeff has plans for my birthday here at home and will spend the afternoon with the kids getting things together.  He does this almost every year and I love to see what they come up with.

My 35 years have been blessed.  I was raised in a good, stable Christ-centered home with parents who loved me unconditionally. Jeff and I have had some rough years- but those are behind us and we have definitely moved on to a wonderful place together.  My children are amazing and they have taught me more than I could ever teach them.  Even our incessant moving around has been a huge blessing, because it has caused me to remain a flexible person and I've learned much about relationships and how to maintain them over the years and miles.  My family- Jeff's side and mine- are amazing people.  All of them and I love them will all my heart- they've seen us through some rough times.  My friends are a gift from the Lord.  I am managing to keep in touch with my friends from all the way back to my childhood and God has used many of them in very special ways, especially over the last year to encourage and comfort me.  

I am blessed and could ask for nothing more than what I've been given in this life. 

Happenings

I'm wishing I could share what's on my heart tonight.  I want to badly, but I'm just not entirely sure who all reads my blog.  Nothing bad has happened between myself or anyone else- there are just things happening in our life right now that in a few days, when we make it known to the world (at least our world), will rock the boat.  There are some who just won't understand- who won't even want to.  There are some who will have a hard time with it, then will be happy for us.  It's causing turmoil inside of me, because I know the conflict ahead and I dread it.  But I know that what we are doing is the right thing to do.  If anyone thinks of us in the next few days, throw up a prayer that God would continue to confirm to us this path He is leading us down and that we would be obedient, no matter the consequences.

Seeing Improvement!

The last time I blogged, I felt as if I were going into a panic with Jada's  nearly out of control spiking!  I am still amazed at how this disease can cause me to have sleepless nights and worry-full days!  So, I am happy to report that we are seeing much better numbers!  

We did some more tweaking with the novolog and are dosing before she eats.  For some reason, it seems more imperative that we do it at breakfast because she doesn't have as many problems with spiking after lunch or supper.   I'm resting better, breathing easier!

Tonight I took David and his buddy Joseph to Incredible Pizza to celebrate David reading over 11,000 minutes for school (which, by the way, was done BEFORE Christmas!).  Jeff stayed home with the girls and Eli (who was supposed to have gone with us, but the poor kid had the privilege revoked after repeated infractions!).   It was a good night---just spending time with my biggest boy and he actually requested that I go and not Jeff- which is somewhat unusual.  The guys are always off doing their "thing"- and I'm really glad they do, it's just nice to be wanted! :)