Not Celiac :)

We got a call from the endocrinologist today to let us know that test results were in and that Jenny does not have Celiac! Yeah! We still are not sure what she does have but are very relieved that it is not that! We will go for more blood work now--probably tomorrow :( and then we will go ahead and go see Dr. Selva on Monday to see if she has any other ideas. Thought I would just give you an update.

Another Week gone by.

Yes I know it has been a whole week. Seems like life goes by very quickly around here--probably in your neck of the woods as well. We are continuing to do well for the most part. Paul is still busy and stressed with his job. He leaves for a business trip Monday and will be gone for a week and then will be home a week and gone for another week. :( I am continuing to do my bookkeeping, transcription, volunteer work, housework, mommy work, etc.... Seems like a never ending job, but one I do enjoy.

Bren has had a pretty good week, a few highs and a few lows, but overall he is feeling good and getting to school every day. He got to basketball practice this week and to his game. He also went with me to Sammy's first puppy training class--he really enjoyed that and has been working with him constantly.

Jennifer continues to struggle with her stomach issue. Paul and I are concerned and are anxious for Monday to come when we will see the Endocrinologist and get the results back from the blood work we had done on Monday. A run down of her scenario is that she has been having stomach issues for about 5-6 months now. At first we were convinced that she was having sympathy pains for her brother--or maybe feeling the need for extra attention. We worked on that, had her talk to her counselor and even took her to her regular doctor on several occasions--but really never came up with anything. Then about 2 months ago she had really bad pain on a Saturday--we thought maybe an appendicitis so we went to urgent care. They discovered strep throat, did an abdominal x-ray but found nothing else. So we came home treated the strep and again hoped the rest would go away. A week later after the medicine was through we still were dealing with more of the same. Her teacher had noticed that she didn't want to eat, even if they had cupcakes (maybe she would eat a bite or two) and also she noticed that after lunch each day at calendar time she felt horrible and asked to lay on her desk. We have been noticing similar symptoms at home at meal times she usually stops about half way through her meal and complains of stomach pains. Her pain is always worse when she is tired. She is constantly emotional, over sensitive and and grumpy. We took her to an allergist, did food allergy testing, which came back with nothing. Discovered that she had asthma, and started her on Pulmicort daily for that. He also thought we should try some acid reflux meds for a few weeks. We did this using Previcid before breakfast and before dinner. After two weeks with no change we stopped this attempt. The allergist also gave us several other possible causes to consider: Celiac Disease, Abdominal Migraines, Chrone's Disease, or an Ulcer. So Monday we will find out about Celiac Disease. We have ruled out Acid Reflux, Constipation and most likely Ulcer as the acid reflux meds should have helped that as well. If it is not Celiac (which I hope it is not) we will go back to our gp and have more blood work done. She has given urine, stool, and blood thus far. Poor princess. We know she feels bad, you can tell by looking at her, but amazingly enough and probably the reason it took us so long to really believe her is that she keeps going and finds energy to go to school, play, etc... She doesn't want to stop anything--but now she finally is having to stop some things. Anyways, keep praying for her and I will keep you posted on what we find out.

Ryan--well what can we say about him. He is a bundle of joy--most days. He loves his new Wii, and would play it 24 hours a day if allowed. He loves our new pup Sammy and daily reminds me that he still loves Kodi. He got a special praise note home from his teacher yesterday saying that he is finally making progress on writing his name. He is a typical boy I guess, he doesn't want to be bothered with anything that involves sitting and not playing. :) He loves school and is on a countdown for Kindergarten to start. Almost every day he asks how many days now momma.

My flowers are starting to pop up and I am so excited! I am ready for spring. We have had several beautiful days and it has made me excited to get outside and play in my gardens.

Sammy is doing pretty well. A few more accidents, a couple of teeth marks in some shoes, a chair arm, oh, and Paul's blue tooth headset (well he ate that)--he also has eating and thrown up to count 4 socks. I thought we were doing well, but evidently not good enough. :( Kodi is adjusting. He hasn't barked or growled at Sammy in a few days. Is eating again (he took a "I don't like him" stand for a few days), is back to sleeping on the couch and I even noticed yesterday that he was lying beside him on the floor. So I think overall it is good for him. He gets up to follow Sammy outside whenever he goes out (which is more often then he was going out before) and follows him up and down the stairs to keep him out of trouble (I guess--or maybe to make sure Sammy is not getting attention or a treat that he is not getting), either way he seems to be moving around a bit more which is good.

I will try to keep up a little more often. I will also post a picture of my first Daffodil, should be any day now. :)

Peace

Well almost a perfect day

I have been bragging on Sammy to everyone because he has been the absolute perfect puppy so far. Until tonight he had not had any accidents at all (and still only one). We had 13 kids here today, 2 floor babies, and 5 adults and he never chewed on a single person (uninvited). He mesmerized everyone that visited! I do think that tonight he finally started to "let down his hair a bit" though. As he tore down the stairs earlier this evening and went flying around the room like a helicopter, he flew to my side and took a nice chew on my back :( He was just playing but he was quite a puppy at that moment. Jen had her first tear with a scratch from puppy teeth on her arm, and my living room rug had its first soiling. But all in all I can't complain. Rosemary did an amazing job with Sammy. He already knows his name, he understands and responds to "no" very well. We are working on "drop" but I think we are not far from it! I found the lady that did our training with Kodi and will go tomorrow to set up puppy classes that will start next week. She was excited for us to be back with her. I also set up a vet appointment for Friday--so all is going well with Sammy.

Kodi is having a hard time. He is pouting a bit. He hasn't gotten on the couch all day today which is usually where he lives. We are all trying to give him much attention, in fact I would say that he is getting more than he usually gets. I have the sense today that he is hurting quite a bit, he has been limping a lot today. We will keep on the same path with as much attention and love as we can give.

Bren had a great day!!! His highest number today was 110 with no lows!!!! WOW!!!! He looks great and had a great day. Jenny did okay today, I think that her stomach ache is a bit better, but still not gone. We have continued on the acid reflux meds but I am not sure that they do much for her--I just keep hoping.

Ryan had a busy day with lots of kids to play with. Emily's kids were here all day and then my new neighbor, Jamie and her two kids came over for an hour or two, Gina was here with Addyson, and then Cheryl and her kids showed up about the time Bren and Jen came home from school. He was not unhappy once today--well, until bedtime. :)

Paul leaves in the morning for Denver again. He will only be gone one night but we are all sad to see him go. It should be an eventful evening with the new puppy on my own. Tomorrow should prove to be a much quieter, more peaceful day for me.

Mosley-Sammy :)

Well we did it! We got another dog! We started looking last week and found this adorable Lab/Newfoundland Mix at the animal shelter. He was in foster care and looking for the perfect home. :) The lady that was keeping him, named Rosemary, did a wonderful job with him, and he is very well adjusted. Already he is going up and down our stairs (he wasn't so sure at first), trying his best to get up on the counter and the sofa (both we are discouraging) The picture are cute pictures of him while we were trying to coach him down the stairs the first time. Now he is going up and down like he has been doing it for years. Sammy is already 44 pounds and is quite big. He is expected to be around 100 pounds--they think. Well, more about Sammy later! Enjoy our cute pictures :) I am sure many more will come.

Sweet Kodi

I took Kodi to the vet yesterday for a check up. I found another large lump under his front right leg, close to where we did the surgery to remove the cancer while we were in Corpus. The vet looked at it, felt around and said "I think it is best to just leave it alone". After giving Kodi a full exam, and Kodi groaning and moaning a lot when he touched his hips, joints, or legs. He said really that Kodi's pain was getting quite bad. He said that in his opinion we need to just keep him as pain free until we felt that his quality of life was bad enough to put him down. This was a hard thing to hear! Kodi had lost 8.9 pounds and the vet said that that weight loss probably added another 3-4 months to his life. So that is good and we will just continue to try to move more down that path. Kodi will be 11 in August. The vet said that he has never seen a chocolate lab live longer than 13 years and that with Kodi's size 11 would be amazing. He did say though that with the exception of the most likely cancer and the hip and joint arthritis that Kodi was in great condition. He said that he had never seen a dog with such a nice coat, teeth, and gums at this age. :) We are considering the idea of getting a pup right away. It would be hard, and I am not sure I really want to, but it was suggested by the vet that it might give Kodi a bit more life for little while and that he could help the pup figure out how to live in our home. So we are thinking a bit about that. We will see. We now have Kodi on three different pain meds twice daily. We are going to continue that until he gets too sedated or it is obvious that it is not working. :( The vet said that at most Kodi has another year, we would be blessed with any of that time. He is the best dog ever! We love him!

Absent once again. :(

My mom called me today (she is home now) and informed me that I was behind on my blogging :) True enough once again I am behind. So let's see if I can catch all of you up on the happening of the Bordine household. :)

Ryan is having so much fun (as are all three kids and also a couple of adults--only Kodi seems to be left out) with our new Wii. The picture above is of Ryan and Blake playing Star Wars (okay so it is a bit staged). My mom bought a Wii and a number of games for the kids while she was here. The kids took in their gamecubes, games, controlers, etc... and traded them in and in exchange got 5 new Wii games. Paul says it is like Christmas with too many toys all over again. I would have to agree--they don't know which game to play first.

Paul surprised me this morning 3 times. :) When he got home from the gym he came in with his normal stuff, kissed me and said "Happy Valentine's Day honey." I thought--as he wanted me to think--that he wasn't bringing me flowers (he has done that a lot lately). But then he went outside again while I was still loading the dishwasher and brought in a dozen red roses and a huge box of chocolates. :) I smiled very widely. So he worked on those put them in my cobalt pitcher (my mother in law gave this to me years ago and it is my favorite rose vase--thanks J). So when I was finished sweeping the kitchen Paul appeared from outside again. This time with a bouquet of flowers from the local florist. I said why did I get two bouquets? He said because I deserved two bouquets. :) What a sweet honey.

Bren is doing pretty good. He started taking Pulmicort yesterday daily for his asthma (as did the other kids). We are going to try to see if we can get all the kids to stop their asthma cough permanently. He has been having high numbers at lunch and bedtime the past few days. Not sure what that is about. I am sure that today will be no different as he will get a bit of extra candy, etc... I am going to his valentine party so I can help him count carbs and eat what he wants. :) His number at bedtime last night was 398. Much too high. Other than feeling bad when he is high and his cough he is doing well. No more missed school lately and no more even asking to miss school!!!! Yeah!!!!!

Jenny is doing I think some better--but I don't know. She dressed up like a princess today (I will post a picture later). They were having a "Valentine Ball" in her class today. :) She was so excited. She said "mom I have never been to REAL ball before". Her teacher is so much fun! I set up an appointment with Bren's endocrinologist for March 3rd. We are taking her in for blood work next week. We are moving ahead with the Celiac testing. I am starting to question myself though because she has had two good days. Which means only a couple of stomach aches during the day and night. I remind myself that she has good days and bad. Overall I am not convinced that the acid reflux meds are working. But we are going to stick with them one more week. I want to give it a fair shot. If her good days continue long term then I guess I will cancel with Dr. Selva, but I don't know maybe we will go ahead with the testing anyway for peace of mind. Dr. Selva is a wonderful doctor that Paul and I both really respect. She has been so wonderful with Bren and us!

Ryan is doing great. We are starting to spend a lot of time with practicing his writing. He is the only one in his class that can't write his name. His teacher says that he is too busy and wanting to have fun to spend time writing. :( I guess typical third child and typical boy--but even so we are going to get started on that!!!!

I am getting ready to start scrapbooking again--maybe even tonight. I have a couple of projects that I need to get working on. Not only do I need to work on my regular books for our family but I want to do a book for my dad for his birthday in April. It is going to be a book about my family history and memories about fishing--and then relating it back to his book. I am really excited about it and just need to jump into it and then won't be able to stop. I also want to add some picts to my grandma's album that I made for her. I found an old roll of film at her house a while back and had to send it off to have it developed. I got it back and found an amazing set of pictures when my dad was young. It was pictures of my gram and her siblings and their kids. I had sets made for her and my uncle Danny (yours are in the mail as of today). So I want to label them and add them to her book. The third project I want to do involves pictures and memories my family has with Ronnie Bowen. I want to write down memories for us and his family and create a special album to treasure. So as you can see I have my plate full of fun!!!

Ryan and Darth Vader

Gina made me promise to write this down so here it is :) This morning when Ryan woke up he sounded horrible, coughing, wheezing, etc... Ryan said to me "Mommy when I breathe I sound like Darth Vader". He hit it right on! He did indeed sound like Darth Vader :( He stayed home this morning but by 10:00 he sounded fine. Sometimes the first morning cough and congestion is worse than anything.

We are scurrying around to get ready for BBQ tonight. My mom is coming back tomorrow. I talked to her today and she said she was having a wonderful time with Donna and her family and that she had a wonderful time with Phil and his family (what she got to see of them). Tomorrow is a busy day. We start with feeding the chickens in the morning--on to breakfast out, which is our morning feed the chicken ritual and then on to Bren's basketball game at 10:10 at Dexter Middle School. Some time this weekend I think that we intend to purchase a new TV, we are looking at the 32inch Panasonic and also some new pieces for the kids computer. Paul says he is going to do our taxes :) and we are going to spend the last day and a half with my mother. Maybe working on recovering a chair--that remains to be seen though. So a busy weekend. Not sure I will check in again before Monday. So have a good weekend, try to find peaceful moments.

Jennifer's Doctors Appointment

Well we found out a lot of possibilities but nothing concrete as of yet. What I did find out is that Jennifer's stomach pains are legitimate, as far as Dr. Osborne is concerned. He is confident that they are. We went through allergy testing today--which found nothing, she was not allergic to anything they could find. He did some lung testing and discovered that she has Asthma. The boys both have this diagnosis but Jenny never has. He says that if we treat the Asthma regularly for 10 months out of the year that we most likely will not have any more problems with Bronchitis or pneumonia. In the process of this test, the numbers showed him some possible lung damage, which he thinks may be related to acid from her stomach burning. So his first attempt at the problem will be to treat the Asthma and to also treat for Acid Reflux. He is really not confident that this is the problem, but as he put it--it is the lesser of two evils, so let's try it first. We will try that for two weeks and then will move on to screening for Celiac Disease. Celiac would without question be a much more challenging and serious diagnosis. Celiac is an auto immune disease like diabetes, for those of you that don't know. In a very uneducated nutshell, basically it involves a gluten free diet--and when untreated can lead to significant intestine damage and many things that come along with that. He also threw out one more possibility (which I am sure that there are many--these three just being the ones he has started with--seem to be the most likely with our family history) and that is abdominal migraines. I had never heard of such a thing. But I guess they have discovered that in children migraines can actually be abdominal and eventually turn into typical migraines. He said that usually treating with Motrin or Alieve will take care of the pain altogether. At this point though we don't want to try all the treatments at once--as then we wouldn't know which one was working. So we will start off with Acid Reflux and hope it is a winner. He said we should be able to tell a noticeable difference in 2-3 days and know for sure if it is gone within 2-3 weeks. If so we will go back in a year and check in. Otherwise we will check back in next month and schedule more testing. :(

I do feel positive that we are at least on a path and that her pain is legitimate and not emotional. It is so hard to know when you have an extremely emotional and reactive child, like Jennifer. We have tried to be super supportive to her--and I don't feel guilty--I just hope we can find a solution and fix it soon.

Bren and Ryan both had great days. Paul and I looked at buying a new TV tonight--but in the end put it off a little bit longer. We are kind of tired of having to bang our TV with a rubber mallet to get it to work--but then again it does still work if you bang it enough ;) I am sure a new TV is coming soon! I felt better today. The first day in a couple of weeks without a headache! YEAH!!!! Maybe I got through that one finally, just in time for my hormones to kick in :( Oh well! I am blessed and doing fine.

We are back on for our weekly BBQ again tomorrow night and look forward to starting our new tradition of serving chicken and Baked potatoes as well as hamburgers. We are hoping for a great turn out! :)

Tag, You're It

10 Random Facts about Rhonda Lee
1) I spent 10 years of my childhood in Southeast Alaska on or around a fishing boat, experiencing bears, whales, glaciers, and lots of salmon first hand.
2) I didn't learn to drive until I was 18.
3) I don't like beer--or even most alcohol (unless it is very sweet).
4) I have the best friends in the whole world
5) I have lived in all the West Coast States.
6) I was home schooled in 7th-11th grades.
7) I had 3 natural childbirths with no pain meds. I love to talk about childbirth and would love to be a Doula.
8) My oldest child has Type 1 Diabetes.
9) I am 1/16 Choctaw Indian. My grandmother's mother was Choctaw.
10) I am married to the most amazing, compassionate, passionate, gentle, wonderful man ever!

I am tagging:
1) Cheryl ;)
2) Gina
3) Connie
4) Donna
5) Kristy
6) J
7) Lori
8) Randy
9) Holly
10) Diana

I've been tagged

"8" thing I say often:
1) KIDS!
2) Get out of the kitchen Kodi
3) I'm Sorry
4) I love you
5) You're okay
6) Answering the phone "hello"
7) Turn off the TV
8) Let Kodi outside please

"8" Artists I never tire of:
1) Jars of Clay
2) Alison Krauss
3) Zach Wilson in Acapella
4) Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
5) Barbra Streisand
6) Paul Overstreet
7) Anne Murray
8) Willie Nelson
9) Neil Diamond

"8" Things I am Passionate about:
1) My faith
2) My husband and my marriage
3) My children
4) My church family
5) Children seeing and learning about God's love
6) Loving my friends
7) Being there for people that are hurting
8) Finding a cure for diabetes

"8" thing I want to do before I die:
1) Take my children to Southeast Alaska and go out on a boat
2) Watch my children grow up and experience God
3) Play with my grandchildren
4) Own an RV and travel around the US
5) Return to Bonaire with Paul
6) Go to Disneyland or Disneyworld with my kids
7) Have a working hot tub
8) Grow old with Paul

"8" TV shows I watch:
1) The Ellen Show
2) Paula Dean's Cooking Shows
3) CSI
4) Law and Order
5) Monk
6) Psych
7) The Office
8) House

"8" Things that attract me to my friends:
1) They love me as I am
2) They are compassionate towards others
3) They enjoy things that I like
4) They are honest
5) They like my family
6) They share my passions and dreams
7) They can be spontaneous
8) They like to laugh and have fun

"8" Things that I learned in 2007:
1) That I have truly amazing friends.
2) That I love to scrapbook.
3) That my children don't need toys for Christmas.
4) That I can't always fix what hurts.
5) That I sound a lot like my mom--when talking to my kids (this was especially apparent when she was here)
6) That life is short and I need to live each day as if it was my last
7) That I have an extremely brave and courageous son.
8) That God can love me and care for me when I let HIM!

"8" people I am tagging:
1) Erin
2) Gina
3) J.
4) Connie
5) Randy
6) Holly
7) Diana
8) Donna
9) Kristy

Days behind

Well here I am just having started this blog and already I have missed several days. :( Let's see if I can catch everyone up :)

Tomorrow I am taking Jenny over to Beaverton to see an Allergy doctor to have some allergy tests done. She has been having pretty much constant stomach aches for weeks, maybe even months now and we have to get to the bottom of it. At first we thought she was just feeling sad about Bren and the extra attention he is getting (although he doesn't want it) with his Diabetes, but it has gone beyond that now. She seems to have a stomach ache almost every time she eats--even if it is a cupcake or a cookie. So we are going to see if we come up with anything that she might be having issues with. She has been to see the counselor at school and has told some humdingers of stories: 1) that she had phemonia and that her mommy wasn't giving her her medicine any more (that ended her up in the nurses office and with me taking her to the doctor to prove that she was not sick--she did have phenmonia a few weeks before that but she was done with her medicine). 2) That her brother chased her around the house with his needles (which I know is not true) and that it made her sick when her brother tested at the table at dinner time ( which I also know is not true--she follows him around to watch him). So we are trying to validate her feelings. Give her lots of extra hugs, and lap time. She loves to read and scrapbook with me and loves to play "Bird Bingo" with Paul--as well as other things. :) I know that this will all pass and that we will get through it but it seems overwhelming some days to be a parent!

Bren has had a fairly good week. He woke up low this morning (well 62--kind of low). I am trying to decide how to respond to this one. If I call the doctor they will take back some of his Lantus. We got up early this morning--about an hour early and I am wondering if maybe he would have come up a bit with the "Dawn effect" although I am not sure really what that is or does. But what would have happened if we would have gotten up on time--would he have been really low??? I don't want to change his Lantus (long term insulin) number because I afraid he will then be high again during the day and we will go back to feeling bad and wanting to stay home from school. Overall his number have been great lately. He is feeling good and getting to school on time with a smile--which is huge right now for us. But the low has made me nervous--I may have to get up and check him a lot tonight :( For my own peace of mind.

Ryan was superstar this week at school :) I read to his class today and he loved it! He sat beside me in a chair and told the kids about every page before I read it, while I read it and when I was finished reading it! :) He caused much grief at school this week when he waited until today to have lunch with Blake. :( He had three days and three friends and he told me that he "saved the best for last". I am so grateful that he has Blake as his best friend! They have so much fun together--well most of the time! The picture to the left is Ryan pulling Blake the day that we had "snow" :)

My mom was here for a couple of days last week. Which was a treat. She makes it to visit about once every 5 or more years. The kids loved being with her and are looking forward to having one more day with her. She will come back on Saturday morning--maybe in time for Bren's basketball game and will stay until early Monday morning when she flies home. I think that she has had a wonderful time with her brother Phil and has really enjoyed having the down time there. She has spent lots of time reading and napping and just enjoying being quiet. She leaves tomorrow to got to spend a couple of nights with my sister Donna. They are planning a big family dinner there on Friday night--I know that she will enjoy seeing everyone.

Well along with not writing in my Blog I have also had about a three day vacation from scrapbooking :( I love to do it and am anxious to get back to it. I had Emily's kids on Monday and then yesterday and today I had transcription to do that was due tonight, so I found that I had no time for fun :(

Paul is back at work and getting back into the swing of things. He seems to have caught up quickly from his time off last week (his trip to Texas). He said again today that he is so glad to be working at home--we are all glad of that! What a blessing it is. Now that we have moved him into the guest room--okay so now it is the study or office--having him here and on the phone is not stressful at all. With his door closed he can't hear anything--which is wonderful. I can have kids and friends over and not feel stressed about it.

Well enough for tonight. I will try to write more tomorrow after our Dr. appointment. Pray that they find an answer that is easy! HA! Nothing seems easy--at least not in my life lately. :(

Peace.

OMSI Membership Night

We went to OMSI tonight with Eric and Cheryl, Blake and Kaylin, and Eli and Evan. :) We had a great time. We got to see the new Dinosaur exhibit--although I must say it was not as impressive as we had hoped. The kids had a great time as you will see from the pictures :) The one with Bren's hair makes me think that he needs one of those machines attached to his chest to keep his hair out of his eyes while playing basketball :) Enjoy.

Basketball

Well today was Bren's second basketball game playing in a YMCA league. He played against our neighbor Cody and his team. I have attached several pictures which I will describe for you :) The first one you will see Bren looks a bit like Alphalfa. He is actually blowing the hair out of his eyes, which he does about every 5 seconds the whole time he is playing. He is absolutely determined not to cut his hair and as of yet Paul and I have not made the decision to fight this battle. We have taken many pictures of him blowing it out of the way--but this does not bother him in the slightest :(

The next three pictures are just of him playing and are good action shots :) He didn't quite make that basket--but almost.

The 4th pictures is a "this reminds me of Paul playing football" picture. For any of you that ever
have watched Paul on the sidelines at a football game you have noticed that he paces and chews his fingers. :( Well although Bren did actually put his fingers in his mouth--he sure reminded me of his daddy once again. :)

The last picture is of his friend Kaylin. We went to watch her play after Bren's game. This is a shot of a basket that she made!

They are both doing great and seem to love playing basketball!!!!

We were suppose to go to OMSI tonight for the "members only" opening night of the new Dinosaur Exhibit. But at the moment I am not sure that will happen. :( It has been snowing since breakfast and seems to be sticking for the moment. We will see what happens as the day goes on. No snow was forcasted for this weekend at all :)

Before and After

The first picture was taken two days before we went to the hospital when Bren was diagnosed. (Last March)

The second was taken two weeks ago. He looks so much better and healther. (Less than a year later)

We are so glad that our son is back again! We feel so blessed. Without question his "betes" is a challenge for him and for our entire family, but he is such a courageous and strong child and handles each change, crisis and adjustment in stride.

We are thankful for the strength that God blessed him with.

Before he was diagnosed he had melt down moments almost everyday and sometimes multiple times each day. He would drop to the floor, cry, scream, etc... A typical child fit. Now those fits are almost gone completely. Usually when they do happen they can be attributed to his blood sugar numbers. Today he had one of those moments where he started screaming and crying because he wanted a turn on the computer to play Webkins. He tested a little bit later at my request and had a number of 384. It is amazing how accurate that is. His highs or lows truly make him feel awful--as I have never experienced this I wouldn't know. If he is under 70 or over 250 we see issues with emotions, stomach aches, headaches and just feeling awful. After a correction shot of insulin and some cuddle time he was back on track waiting for his turn patiently. I am glad I can be aware of this and can see his signs. At the same time I struggle with not wanting to always blame his behavior on highs or lows. He is responsible for his actions and we are working on that and will continue to.

Scrapbooking

I have been having so much fun scrapbooking the last few months. I now have a table and area in my bedroom where I can scrapbook without having to clean up :) I am really enjoying it and am getting so much more done! I used to wait until we had a scrapbook party of some kind and then I would do a bunch of pages--now I do one or two a day--it is going so well (did I already say that?). The picture here is of the wall above my desk. I bought cheap white letters and decorated them. I also bought cheap brown clipboards and decorated them so that I can hang my new and fun pages as I finish them. It is such a good outlet for me and such a joy!

Blueberries

I am not sure if you can tell by this picture but Bren discovered my blueberry stash tonight in the freezer. He loves blueberries and can have a whole cup for only 15 carbs--which thrills him! Today was a hard day for me. I woke in the night with another migraine. I have had four so far this month--many more than I usually have. I ended up keeping all the kids home this morning because I couldn't get them ready for school. I got up and tried on three different occasions but every time I ended up getting sick. Just what my kids needed was another day at home. :(

Tonight we watched "Mr. Bean's Holiday"--I almost could not sit through this one. Mr. Bean was altogether too much for me. Watching him eat a shrimp whole almost pushed me back into another last night. After Mr Bean the kids convinced me to watch another one. So we watched "Artic Tale". A good movie--if you like nature films. It was another "March of the Penguins". Not exactly what I expected, but our family loves nature films.

Tomorrow morning Bren will play basketball at 11:15--I will try to post a couple of pictures of him shooting tomorrow night. We are also going to the "member only" night tomorrow night at OMSI to see the new Dinosaur Exhibit. I expect it will be fun!

I talked to Paul tonight for quite a while. He said the service for Ronnie was beautiful--that he was reminded how Ronnie was a person that lived life to the fullest with no regrets. What a blessing and gift to those he left behind. I am still praying constantly for his family, for Janice, Preston, Jennifer, Bobbie Diane, Lisa, and Rob, as well as all the other family that are so heartbroken. I know that this has been a hard day for so many I love, my heart has been with all of you, even if my body was miles away.