Awards and Guns!!!

Friday was a special day at our house! Early in the week we were notified by both Emily and Luke's teachers that they were both going to be receiving a Special Recognition Award at the Awards Ceremony at school on Friday morning. Emily received hers for being a "Super 2nd Grader" and Luke got his for "His Enthusiasm for Learning and Always Doing His Best". Only three kids received awards from each class, so needless to say, we were very proud of both of them.

(Sorry about the hand in the picture !)

(Luke was excited about getting his award even though you can not see his face.)

The proud kiddos with their awards at home! Alot of missing teeth in this picture!! :)

Then on a completely different note......something that I thought would never happen.....YEP..... MY daughter LOVES deer hunting! VERY hard to believe, I know. I have even tried to get her to feel sorry for what they are killing, but it has not worked yet. So, since it is deer season right now and Jeff and Luke have been to the deer camp hunting and shooting their guns, Jeff thought it would be a great time to buy Emily her own PINK BB Gun. She had been wanting one for awhile and it just happened to be the perfect time, so Jeff went ahead and bought Emily her pink BB gun. Needless to say, she was beyond delighted!

Halloween 2009

This year for Halloween Emily was a Gymnast and Luke was Darth Vader. For many months now, Emily had been saying she wanted to be a gymnast for Halloween. I thought that when it was actually time to buy costumes she would change her mind, but that was truly what she wanted to be. She wanted to wear her competition leo and warm ups that she wears to meets along with some of her medals she has won recently. It could not be simpler and that was fine by me!

It was an easy, but fun evening. We went Trick or Treating to my parents house and to Aunt Robin's. Then instead of Trick or Treating at neighbors' houses or going to carnivals around town, the kids wanted to go back to our house and hand out candy to the many Trick or Treaters that stopped by.

Also, this past week Luke had to take a decorated pumpkin to school. We made a Mummy. It was rather easy to make and I think it turned out ok. We first painted the pumpkin black, glued the goggly eyes on and then wrapped strips of this stuff called Quick Wrap around it. To make the strips you dip them them in warm water and then place it on the pumpkin. Then when it dries it is very hard. It was our first time to use it and worked rather well for what we needed.

Kindergarten Fairy Tale Day Parade

Luke's class has been studying fairy tales at school. As a culminating activity, all of the kids are to dress up as a character from a nursery rhyme or fairy tale and participate in a parade through the halls of the school with all of the other kindergartners while all of the 1st-5th graders watch. So, Luke dressed up as Pinocchio. He has never been a kid that likes to dress up in costumes, but he really enjoyed being Pinocchio. I think he is the cutest Pinocchio I have ever seen!

Another Fun Gymnastics Meet!

Today we went to Tomball for another gymnastics meet for Emily. We had to be in Tomball at 7:15, so that meant I had to get up at 4:00 this morning in order to get myself dressed and to have enough time to fix Emily's hair and eat breakfast. For her meets, it is required to have her hair in this gymnastics style bun. The bun takes me about 30 minutes to do and when finished fixing it, I have to sew it together with embroidery thread and a needle to secure it to her head. Crazy, I know!

Regardless of the early start this morning, Emily had another great meet. She got a 9.0 on her floor routine which was the highest on her team. All the girls at her level all have to do the same routine to the same music. It is always fun to watch her perform! We are so proud of how well she did again! Here is the video of her on the floor......

I also thought I would post her on the vault. The vault has always been very hard for Emily because of how short she is. At this level, the girls don't use the actual vault yet, but instead do the required skill by landing on a mat. The mat they have to land on is as tall as Emily, making it a little bit harder for her. Next year they will start using the actual vault and that will make me very nervous! But regardless she did well on the vault today...here is her video! Enjoy!

Emily's Gymnastics Meet

This past weekend Emily competed in her second gymnastics meet. She did so well and we are so proud of her. :)

Overall, she had the second highest all around score on her team. She had the highest score from her team on the vault. But even better, she got the highest score on her beam routine out of all of the girls on her team AND out of all of the girls her age there competing against each other. WOW!!!! These meets are the real thing with real judges and everything! One of the judges was a Nationally Ranked judge that had even judged at the Olympics! We have learned they just don't hand out good scores, the girls really have to earn them.

I know as parents we are all so proud of our children, but as we watched her perform her routine I sat so amazed and so unbelievably proud of her. She had worked so hard and her hard work was paying off and it all showed in her routine. Jeff and I were so nervous for her!! I have a hard time just walking across a beam, but Emily is so confidant and performs as if she is just standing on the floor! I think she looks so graceful as she is doing it. To me, the beam is one of the hardest apparatus' in gymnastics. Just one little wobble, she could fall and all of her hard work would be for nothing.

Anyway, I have included her routine for you all to see! The filming is not the best because we were far away from her, but you can at least see what she is doing. (Please ignore the music in the background that is for the girls that are competing on the floor and all of the people screaming. There were some loud people there!)

Pretty good, huh......

The Big Day .... Kindergarten and 2nd Grade!

Well, the countdown is finally over, school has officially started. Luke started kindergarten and Emily is a big 2nd grader. How could I already have two kids in school? It is so hard to believe that our preschool days are over.

The kids had a great first day. I knew Emily would be fine. For her, it was like just taking up where she left off in May. But I was anxious to see how Luke would do. Well, he did great!! So, grown up!! In fact he even told me, "Mommy, you are going to miss me so much. You are going to be so lonely now when you go to the grocery store without me." As hard as that is for me to hear, I am glad he is confidant and ready to start this next stage in his life.

Emily and Luke were both eager to go this morning. Jeff and I were both able to go and drop them off together. We all got through the morning with no tears. I knew I would miss them, but I was excited to come back and get them to hear all about their day. Luckily, I did not have to stay away long because Luke's teacher asked me to come back at 10:45 to help out with lunch. That was a great way for Mommy to gradually break away from her little one.

It has been our tradition on the first day of school for my mother to come with me to pick up the kids and then go get ice cream. We walked up to get the kids and they were both so excited to tell me about their day.

It was so sweet to hear all of the things that both Emily and Luke wanted to tell me. I know that Luke had only been away from me for a few hours, but he seemed so much older now when he was talking to me. His expression, tone and thoughts were no longer that of a preschooler, but one of a BIG kindergarten kid. I guess I had already forgotten how much growth is made during the kindergarten year. I was not overwhelmed with sadness this morning when I left him, but honestly tonight my heart is sad. Don't get me wrong, I am delighted my little boy had a terrific day, but as he talked non-stop through supper tonight to me and his daddy about his day, I realized how much he grew up today and will continue to do so throughout the next year. It just reminded me once again our preschool days our over. For the last eight years, my life has been dedicated to being a stay at home mom. But now, those words mean a little bit different to me. Gone are the days of dirty diapers, bottles and naps and I will admit that it does makes me sad. My house is now quiet throughout most of the day and those sweet little shadows that were once so closely behind me are growing up and are sitting in desks in a classroom. When I was in that preschool stage there were days that I thought it would never end. But I would be lying if I said I don't miss those days of a baby crying over the monitor as they are waking up from a nap or sweet little hands needing me to help them feed them. Yes, my kids still need me but in a different way now. I guess the realization of that finally hit me tonight as I sat and listened to Luke describe his day. I will never have those days back. They will spend most of their day with someone else and I can just hope and pray when they come home they will not forget to tell me the most important points. I know this is a great time in both of their lives. I am excited to see how they will grow both mentally and physically throughout the next year. Hopefully, there will be tons of good days with just a few bad ones here and there. But I am proud to be Emily and Luke's mom and am honored to be able to experience this next stage in their life with them.

Here a few pictures from our morning!

Update on Luke

As most of you know, we went to Temple again on Friday to meet with the pediatric endocrinologist to discuss the results from Luke's IV Glucose Tolerance Test he had last week. From what the new nurse told us last week on the phone, we knew that his numbers were worse than last year and his body was not doing as well as it did then. Of course, this was something we did not want to hear for Luke.

Well, Jeff and I went prepared with many questions and wanted to hear the doctor's explanation of the test results. After the doctor explained what the test was suppose to show, he then told us that Luke's results were not any better or not any worse than what they were a year ago when we last did the test. WHAT???? That was not what the nurse had told us at all! Basically, what the doctor was telling us was one of the scenarios that Jeff and I were praying for other than he never becoming a diabetic. Luke's body was still hovering in the normal range thus allowing him to not need insulin right now. The doctor still emphasized that in his opinion, Luke will still become a diabetic at some point, but we just do not know when. It could be anytime, anywhere from a few months from now to 20 -30 years. The doctor is hoping that Luke's body can hold off long enough until there is a cure!

All of this was great to hear! We were a little frustrated that the nurse would have given us her explanation of the test results when they were obviously not exactly accurate. We understand that she is new, but it would have been better for her just to say that she really just did not know what the numbers meant and that it would be best to wait and hear what the doctor had to say about it. It was just so emotionally draining what she had put us through. But in the end, that really does not matter! We were just so happy to hear the real test results and to know Luke is still doing fine.

Yes, unfortunately, Luke will develop diabetes at some point according to the doctors, BUT his body is still functioning as well as it was a year ago when we last did the test. Really that is all we could ask for right now! This is great news to Jeff and I. We are so thankful to God that he is still allowing Luke's body to function so well without the need of insulin. We are trying to be strong and remain hopeful that Luke can go many, many years without insulin. We know that the doctor thinks that Luke will eventually need insulin at some point in the future , but GOD is the only one who knows the outcome of all of this and our faith and hope rests in Him. God is good and will see us through what ever the future holds!

Thank you to all of you that have been praying for us! We could not have gotten through this without your many prayers and sweet thoughts.

A Visit From the Tooth Fairy!!!

A few days ago, Luke announced he had a loose toof (that is how he says it). We really did not believe him because he has said this before, but they were never the least bit loose. But this time it was. I could not believe it! I know from past experience what a HUGE deal loosing a tooth can be to a five or six year old. I can remember when Emily was in kindergarten her world was just about to come to an end because EVERYONE BUT HER had lost a tooth. But ofcourse, she did finally lose one and five teeth later she is still loosing them! So, I guess since Luke had to watch Emily loose so many teeth, he too thought his time would never come to loose a tooth. However, I am glad to say on Wednesday after ALOT of wiggling on Luke's behalf, he has lost his first tooth!

Even though he does not look like it, he was really excited to loose his tooth!

Here he is all tucked into bed waiting for the tooth fairy to come. His tooth is in the little red treasure chest!

The Story of a Little Boy and His Pumpkin

Yep, you read it correctly, this post is about a pumpkin! I know that it is July, but for the last few months our house has had a lot of excitement centered around a pumpkin. I guess it all started one day late in the Spring when Jeff and Luke went to Lowe's to get some things for our garden. Not only did they get somethings for our garden, but Luke ran in the house to show me his $0.99 pumpkin seed they just bought. The growing plan as described on the cup was to plant it in this little bathroom size cup and keep it in the house until it starts growing and then move it outside and plant it in our garden. I thought this all sounded great in theory, but did I actually ever think it would grow a pumpkin, absolutely not.

Well, after a few weeks of Luke watering it, talking to it and watching it on his bed side table, it FINALLY started to grow in the cup. So, Luke and Jeff transferred it to our little garden. Again, I thought for sure this would kill the pumpkin. Because seriously this 99 cent pumpkin seed would never make it from the cup to the garden and eventually turn into a pumpkin, would it?

I don't think that a day passed over the next few months that Luke did not care for his pumpkin plant. And then, one day Luke came running back into the house and was jumping up and down screaming he could see a green pumpkin on his vine. We all ran out to see it and sure enough, there was a little green pumpkin on the vine that was about the size of a golf ball. None of us could believe it!

Over many days and weeks, the little green pumpkin grew and grew and eventually started to turn orange. Yep, Luke had done it! He had grown a PUMPKIN!!!! In the end, Jeff talked Luke into cutting it from the vine because it was starting to get soft on one side. So, they cut it and Luke enjoyed having the pumpkin back inside the house with him for a few days. He would even sleep with it on his pillow, too sweet!

Finally, over the weekend, Jeff thought it was time to carve our pumpkin because it was starting to turn bad. So, we spent our July Saturday night carving a pumpkin. I did not know how Luke would take it seeing his pumpkin being cut open, but he did ok.

Needless to say, this little 99 cent pumpkin has brought a lot of FUN to our family. Hope you enjoy the video!

Not Good News!

The nurse called late yesterday and told us that Luke's test results were back and the numbers from the test were worse than last year. Basically, to simplify the meaning of the test, they were looking at how his pancreas responded to large amounts of glucose and sadly, his pancreas did not do well. Which means he will become a diabetic. That was not what we were wanting or praying for.

She started referring to him as a diabetic and not as pre diabetic anymore and that really upset me. HE IS NOT A DIABETIC UNTIL HE IS ENDURING ALL THAT EMILY DOES!!!!! It is hard to be hopeful at this point that he is not going to be a diabetic, but I know that God can change any of this. I am very bitter, angry, and sad. It really irritates me when people have told me over the course of the last two days that you all are going to be fine. That it is going to be easier this time around because you will already know what you are doing because you have already done it before with Emily. Yes, we will be fine, but NO, it does not make it easier. Why would it be? Yes, we will take care of Luke and do everything we have done with Emily for him. But it is because we have done it before with Emily, that makes it so much harder knowing everything that Luke is going to have to face. Plus, Luke has seen all what Emily does and know how bad it can be.

Why should both of our children have to have this horrid, life changing disease? We try to not let it manipulate our lives, but diabetes controls everything. There is not a minute, day or night, that you can let your guard down. There has been some peace knowing that for right now that Luke is ok, but hard to hear that time is passing quickly. They have told us to expect that Luke will probably develop diabetes just like when Emily did. Which means he WILL be a diabetic within the next year, after he turns six. It just breaks my heart.

The nurse told us that the doctor wants to meet with us to talk about Luke and the test results. So, we will go back to Temple once again next Friday to meet with him. I got really upset when she said he wanted to meet with us because I immediately thought that he was going to start Luke on inuslin. But the nurse said he did not mention anything like that. But if I remember correctly, they have told us that they could start him on insulin before his pancreas completely quits. I just hope they will not recommend that just yet. Please let him get a little older. He is just about to start kindergarten and is so excited about that. I just don't want that excitement to be spoiled and taken away because of diabetes.

We did tell Luke about the results. Poor little one! He noticed how upset I was and asked what was wrong with my eyes. We decided we were going to be honest with him. I told him we got the results back from the test we did the other day and that his body is going to be like Emily's one day and that we will eventually have to do with him what we do with Emily. He immediately started crying so hard. When Jeff got home he picked Luke up and gave him a big hug. Luke looked at Jeff and said, " I am scared Daddy". It just broke my heart! We assured him that God would take could care of him and he is not alone in this. We will be with him and that God is always with him and that HE has some plan as to why he has choosen you to have this disease. We are praying that the day Luke will need insulin will be many years from now. Please, God, let him be a little older. Please, God, please find a cure for diabetes!

Luke's IV Glucose Tolerance Test

Well, I know that it has seemed like I have been posting alot about diabetes, but it seems right now that is what our world is consisting of. Anyway, today we went back to Temple to do a IV Glucose Tolerance Test on Luke. As most of you know, we were told two weeks after Emily was diagnosed with diabetes that Luke, too, had 2 out of the 4 antibodies for diabetes.

At that point which was a year ago, our current dr. wanted to perform an IV Glucose Tolerance Test on Luke to see how well his pancreas could tolerate LARGE amounts of glucose. Luke hated the test and it was extremely painful for him. They had to put an IV in each arm of his little body. They used one set IV's to push high levels of glucose into, while drawing out blood from the other set of IV's. He was only 4 at the time and hated every minute of it. It took Jeff laying on top of him to hold him down, while two nurses pushed the glucose and drew his blood, while I held his hands down. Needless to say, it was the worst thing he had every gone through and a very traumatic experience for him. Unfortunately, at that time, his pancreas did not respond as well as we had hoped. His little pancreas did not handle the large amounts of glucose well. It was explained to us that just meant that the onset of his diabetes would probably be sooner than later according to this doctor. He recommended we repeat the test again in about a year to see how his pancreas would respond. That doctor has thankfully moved on and our new dr left it up to Jeff and I as to whether or not we wanted to repeat the test again. After much thinking and planning, we decided to do it only if they would agree to put Luke asleep to do the test. We were not going to allow him to have to go through something like that if we was going to be awake. He has not forgotten about it and may not ever. Plus, Jeff and I did not want him to be so anxious about dr's, needles and shots. Especially, if for some unGodly reason he is to develop diabetes soon because his little world would be dealing with all of these things alot.

Well, the drs agreed that we could put him to sleep to do the procedure, but we would have to do it in the PICU in Temple because they did not have the capabilites to put him to sleep in just the drs office. It sounded extreme, but we did not care as long as he did not know what was going on during the procedure.

So, we left this morning at 6:45 to be in Temple by 8:45 for his appointment. The dr in charge of the PICU met us outside of the PICU unit and was perplexed as to why we were wanting to put him to sleep for this kind of procedure. We attempted to explain our last experience and told him we did not want him to go through that again. Plus, we emphasized that we were told that was why we were at the PICU in order to have the option of putting him to sleep. If we were just going to attempt all of this again without some sort of sedation, we could have just done all of this at the drs office. I don't think he was real pleased to be messing with us, but we had to do what would be best for our son. After discussing our range of options from doing nothing to giving him oral sedation of vercet (Sp?) to a shot that would completely knock him out, we deceided on the oral sedation of vercet. It was not going to really make him completely asleep, but it would just make him feel very relaxed and really not care what they were doing to him. So, the dr led us to a treatment room luckily not inside the PICU. I was nervous about seeing all of those very sick kids dealing with alot worse than what we were. :(

They hooked Luke up to all of the machines and the dr gave the medicine to Luke and told us he should start feeling it in about 15 - 20 minutes. Well, Luke never really fell asleep, but he was DEFINTILY relaxed. He was very silly acting and very talkative to the nurses. He was very intrigued by the little red light that was on the tip of his finger that measured his pulse. I think that was the medicine kicking in! :)

It takes two nurses to do the test and to start all of the IV's. They first tried starting the IV in his hand, but were unsuccessful and had to do them in his arms. Luke was definitely aware and even cried a little, but it was nothing like before. So, that was an answered prayer and a blessing. After the IV's were in place, they began the tests of pushing the glucose and drawing the blood. Again, Luke was very aware of what was going on, but just very relaxed through it all. He actually kept the nurses and Jeff and I laughing with all of the silly things we was saying. Here is a picture of him with all of the IV's in his arm. :(

And a picture of one of the nurses drawing the blood.

It makes me sad to look at it and think about what his little body had to go through. He is just too little to have to endure something like that. But all in all, it was a successful day and Luke did great! Praise God!

Anyway, we do not have any test results back yet. I think that we should get the first set back at the end of this week and the rest of them a few weeks later. So, please pray that it has not progressed any further or EVEN MAYBE HAS IMPROVED, which is a possibility! I know GOD CAN DO ANYTHING!

Emily's Insulin Pump

Well, we survived the first part of Emily's training for her insulin pump. We went on Tuesday to meet with the pediatric endocrinologist nurse and the Medtronic pumps rep. This was the nurses first training on the pump because she was new to this department, so that is why the pump rep was there. The nurse really had studied all of the information and did a great job presenting it all to us, probably even better than the pump rep.

It was a three hour meeting filled with ups and downs and TONS of information. For the first 2 1'2 hours we reviewed all of the features offered on the pump. Extremely overhwelming! For the past week or so, the pump has been set in a practice mode so you can play with all of the features and play like you are giving insulin without it actually doing it. I asked alot of questions and it frustrated me because the rep really did not want to deviate from what she wanted to talk about. That is just not really that good for me. If I have questions, I am going to ask them. Especially when the questions and answers are related to my daughter living a healthy, SAFE life.

The bad part of the visit was when the nurse and rep realized it was 4:30 and it was soon quitting time. We had not even started talking about how to connect the pump to Emily or fill the pump with insulin. That was the main reason we were there and they only wanted to devote about 30 minutes to it. That was when I got really frustrated. Plus, the device we needed to use to insert the needle and tubing into Emily was not working the way it was suppose to. And the rep just kept telling me it is fine and just keep going. I am not ok with that. Finally, we switched out the device and it worked the way it was suppose to. At this point, I was so confused. There are about 15 steps to put the needle and tubing into Emily and because it was not working the way it was suppose to, I was not sure how we were going to do this when we were at home by ourselves. Then they showed us how to fill the insulin reservoir. Again, something the rep just flew through that required about 10 steps and did not really want to devote to much time on it. Thank goodness Jeff was there. Because I knew once we got home, between the two of us, hopefully we could do it.

Then the time came to actually connect it to Emily. She is allowed to wear the pump in any of the places she would normally get a shot - either her tummy, her arms, her bottom or her legs. She hates getting shots , but prefers them in her arms. So, that is where we decided to do it. She was so brave and did not even cry. I think that it hurts more than a shot, but since we only have to do it every three days it will be better than the 7 shots she gets each day.

So, now she has her insulin pump. For the first week, we are only using saline solution as we practice using the pump. This is the safest thing so that as we are learning, if we do make a mistake it is really not that big of a deal because she is only getting saline. Next week when we go back to Temple we will start using insulin. That makes me a lot more nervous. Because with the wrong push of just a few buttons, we could give her too much insulin and make Emily very sick.

We have to replace the tubing and needle every three days. So, Jeff and I had to replace it for the first time today. It was confusing and did not go as smoothly as we wanted, but hopefully it will get easier over time.

She has to wear the pump all day, every day. We just have to disconnect the tubing from the site while she baths or is swimming. I think that she is excited. She either keeps it in her pocket or we have a clip that we can use to clip it to her pants. She even has to sleep in it. I was really nervous the first night she slept in it because I wanted her to be comfortable while she was sleeping. As she and I were talking about the best place to clip it to her pajama pants , I just kept asking and asking was it ok and was it comfortable. She finally just looked at me and said, "Mommy it is just a clip. I will be fine". So sweet! I just had to smile. Yes, it is new and scary, but it helps that my sweet little girl has the kind of attitude that she does. Such a blessing from God to help her to have peace about all of this.

Emily and her PINK pump. When we saw that there was a pink pump, we knew that was the one for her!

The tubing that comes out from the end of the pump, we thread under her shirt, and out of the sleeve of her shirt to the needle that is inserted into her arm.

A BIG Change....

Tomorrow is a HUGE day for our family. We will be going to Temple to take part in the three step process for our daughter to get her first insulin pump. We all have alot of emotions going into this new phase of our lives. We are all excited, scared, anxious, nervous and the list could go on and on. We will go tomorrow and have them teach us how to put the pump into Emily. Jeff and I have spent the last week reading , watching DVD's, listening to CD's and rereading everything we have to do in order for this to be successful. We will start the pump with only saline solution while we learn the process of operating the pump and attaching the pump to Emily. Then we will go back next Tuesday and the following Tuesday to have them start the insulin part of the pump.

It has taken us about a year to all be on board for getting the pump. In the beginning, when the doctor's mentioned about getting Emily started on the pump, it was almost not possible because of the horrible health insurance we had at that time. Basically, we were going to have to pay in full for the pump (about $6000) and then about $450- 500 a month for the supplies to operate the pump. Our insurance just did not have good coverage for someone with diabetes. However, we are very fortunate that Jeff is one of the partners and owners of his engineering firm that we had the opportunity to choose a different insurance plan (one with better diabetes coverage) when it came time to renew it. After his company started looking, they found a new plan. It was almost to good to be true. But basically after we pay a $600 deductible, everything for Emily would be covered 100% including her pump and supplies. WOW! What a blessing from God. He saw our needs and met them beyond our wildest dreams. But regardless of money or an insurance change, we would have still gotten the pump for Emily a year ago if she was ready for it, but she just was not. We always told her we would never force her into it. Emily biggest concern was that she did not want to have something hanging off of her body for the rest of her life. I wish that I could tell her that would not be the case, but in all reality, that is what it is. We explained it that if we told her three years ago you would have to have 7 shots a day to stay healthy you would not want that either. But that is what we now have to do. It is just like what the pump. It will help manage your diabetes now and in the future. Plus, with the pump, she will only have to have one shot EVERY THREE days to insert the site for the pump instead of 6-7 shots EVERY DAY that she now receives. We will have to still check her blood sugar for the time being, but the shots have always been the hardest thing for Emily, as they should be. Once we get use to the pump, we will then be able to start using a Continuous Glucose Monitor (another sensor that will be given like a shot) that will monitor her blood sugar every 5 minutes and display her blood glucose level on the insulin pump monitor. It will reduce the number of times we have to do a finger stick to check her blood sugars from about 12 a day to about 3. Again, something very exciting to look forward to for Emily.

There are so many NEW things that we will have to do with the pump in this diabetes world we now live in. Please keep us, especially Emily, in your prayers over the next few weeks. This is something we know that will better control her diabetes. But let's face it, is a scary thing and there is ALOT of things that could go wrong with it. Yes, it will be hard for Jeff and I as we learn everything in great detail about the pump, but it will be the hardest for Emily. I will try to post about our experience tomorrow with some pictures for you all to see what we will be doing with her and her new pump. Please pray for a successful and smooth transition for us as we start Emily's new insulin pump.

Vacation or Not!

This past week we took our family vacation to San Antonio.  We had planned for this just to be a fun, relaxed vacation;  unfortunately, it turned out to be anything but relaxing.  We left on Wednesday morning with plans to stop at the Alamo before checking into our resort.  This was Emily's one request this year on our vacation.  She loves anything having to do with history. While eating lunch, we decided to see a documentary on the Alamo at the IMAX theaters.  This was a change of plans, but we thought it might help Emily and Luke understand some of the history behind the Alamo.  While Jeff and I enjoyed the movie, Luke wanted to know why were those men were being so mean to each other and Emily wanted to know if those were the real people that fought at the Alamo.  I do not think that they got it!    After the movie, we walked to the Alamo.  It was a mere 102 outside, so we did not stay long admiring the Alamo.  

Then we drove to our resort, La Cantera.  We had stayed there two years ago and enjoyed it.  It is one of the nicest places we have ever stayed.  

However, this time it seemed that the air condtioning was not working in our room.  We just thought that it was because it was so hot outside and the air had not really been turned on before we came in the room.  So, we decided to change into our swimming suits and hit the amazingly, pretty pools.  

There is a small slide the kids really enjoy.  While we were swimming, the hotel staff was making S'mores at the firepit for the kids to enjoy.  It was getting late so we decieded to go back to the room, change clothes and get something to eat for supper.  Unfortunately, when we went back to our room, it was still pretty hot.  So, we decided to call the front desk and let them know that there must be something wrong with the room's air conditioning.  So, we were moved to another room.  As a side note, our first room was on the top floor .  A few days before leaving, we received an email asking if we wanted to upgrade our room for a short fee.  We decided to take advantage of the offer because it allowed us to recieve free breakfasts, drinks, and snacks while we were staying there.  The hotel did not have any other rooms on the top floor , so they moved us to another floor, but still allowed us to take advantage of the upgrades that came with the room on the top floor.  Needless to say, the second room was not as nice as the first and the kids were a little disappointed because it did not have a walk out balacony.  I am not sure why they liked the balcony so much, but for them it was just so much fun to go out there.  You can tell my kids are not use to staying at hotels because they were so impressed with the phone in the bathroom and that there were two sinks in the bathroom.  I just love that!  However, the room was not as nice as what we were paying for, so we talked to the front desk once again.   We were so over joyed with their kindness.   They told us they would move us to the Casitas.  They are these EXTREMELY nice rooms a little bit away from the main hotel area.  It was definitely the nicest place we had ever stayed.  The kids loved it because we had our own swimming pool and hot tub right outside our back porch.  These little houses are not near the hotel, so they give you your own personal golf cart to use to get around the resort while you are staying there.  That was a lot of fun, especially for Jeff.  I think that was his favorite part of the vacation!  

Here is a picture of the swimming pool and hot tub at our casita!

Finally, we were ready to go eat.  As we were leaving, I noticed I had two missed calls on my phone.  One from my mother and then one from my sister.  At first, I did not think much about it.  I thought that maybe they were just calling to check to see if we had gotten there safely.  I called my mother back and from the minute she answered the phone, I could tell by her voice something was wrong.  She immediatley said she needed to call me back.  She quickly called me back and said that my grandmother was in the hospital and just had had  a stroke.  She started filling me in on the details.  Needless to say, I was beyond sad and worried about her.  She was not doing well.  At this point, she was not able to walk, talk clearly or remember anything. Ofcourse, I no longer wanted to be in San Antonio.  Jeff said we could get our things and go home, but  my mother was against us leaving and said we should stay and  she would call me if anything changed.  For the next 6-7 hours I stayed in contact with my family via texting and calling.  Throughout this time, they had decided to fly my grandmother by helicopter to Temple to see a specialist that was going to attempt a procedure to stop the stroke.  It was a risky procedure because of her age , which by the way is 89.  They were going to make the final decision once the specialist saw her in Temple.  My parents, along with my aunts and uncles all drove to Temple while my grandmother was being flown to Temple.  My dad called me at 2:00 in the morning and told me that after the new dr's evaluation they decided to not do the procedure.  It was just too risky and she was not bad enough to take that risk.   I tried to get some sleep that night, but it was really hard to relax.  

After talking to my mother on Thursday morning, we decided to stay unless things got worse with my grandmother.  So, we got ready and went to Fiesta Texas.  This was our second time to go with the kids.  Not much has changed since the last time we were there.    It was beyond hot and nothing too special.  I think the kids enjoyed the rides, but by 2:00 we had seen and done all that Fiesta Texas has to offer.  

So, we went back to the resort to cool off in the pools.  This was one of my favorite moments of our vacation.  The water was so refreshing and the staff was there around the pool to wait on your every need.  I loved the Strawberry Smoothie they brought to me!    

After swimming, we got dressed and did a little shopping at this little place near the resort.  It has all of my favorite shops.  However, we did not get to stay long because we had told the kids we would take them to play Putt- Putt.  We were going to go to this little place not too far from the resort that we had played at before the last time we were there on vacation.  We were not inside the establishment  more than 5 minutes, when we heard over the loud speaker, " Would the owners of a Black Chevy Tahoe please come to the front desk".  It did not sound good and indeed it was not.  Upon seeing the manger of the place, he informed us that our car had just been broken into.   We immediately went outside and looked to see how bad it was.   They had used a screw driver to break the lock in order to get in.  Needless to say, they destroyed the lock and driver side door handle to get in.  They destroyed the inside of the car by opening up the center console and glove compartment looking for stuff.   They did not take much other than some of the accessories that go with my iphone.  The bad part was just the thought of someone violating our personal space and going through all of our stuff.  The manager said that they had them on the security tapes.  It appeared that there were two guys and then one girl that waited in the car.   All of this happenend within about 20 seconds and it continued the whole time the car alarm was going off.   How good are the car alarms????  Fortunately, it seemed that they stopped not because of the alarm going off,  but because another employee that worked at the Putt- Putt place was taking out the trash and noticed the alarm and saw the guys at my car.  Once they made eye contact, they jumped in their car and sped away.   I guess we were lucky because they really did not take much especially since Jeff's set of golf clubs were in the back of the car.  I guess they got scared off before they were able to take them.  After filing a police report with the SAPD, we were assured that we would probabaly not hear anything else.  It appears that car burglaries are not  high on their priority list in San Antonio.  Obviously, we did not feel like playing much putt - putt at this point.  So,  we went to Target to buy  some stuff to clean up our car.  Not a fun evening and nothing I really wished our kids had to be a part of.

Of course, this post would not be complete without a picture of my car! :(

Finally, on Friday things started to seem to get better.  Jeff was able to play golf at one of the Resort Golf courses that is super nice.  Then after some more swimming,  I was able to have a massage and a pedicure.  I really enjoyed it considering all that had recently taken place.  We had a semi nice evening eating supper at Papasitos.  The food is always good, but the service was not great and the manager noticed it and gave us a $25 gift card for our next visit to their restarurant.  At this point, we did not even really care that the service was not good.  We were just glad to be eating a good meal and appreciate that nothing bad had happenend that day.

On Saturday, we checked out and started back home.  Jeff and the kids were kind enough to let me do a little shopping at the outlet mall in San Marcos.  

All in all, was it all that bad?  I guess that is up to you and how much one can tolerate. Thankfully, we are back at home.  My grandmother has been released to a rehab facility back in town.  Her stroke was on the left side of her brain which controls her memory.  She is doing ok physically, but struggles with remembering.   Please keep her in your prayers.

FINALLY, Luke's 5th Birthday Post !!

I am so embarrassed that I am just now posting about Luke's 5th birthday.  I almost thought about now even doing it since it has been sooooo long, but since I use my blog as somewhat as a online scrapbook,  I just could not leave it out.  So, here goes ( I hope I can still remember all of the details)......

We had his party at Mt. Aggie.    We had been to several birthday parties there in the past and have always loved it, so he was very excited to have his party there.  Luke is not a real sweets lover, so we did not do cake and ice cream, but instead got a cookie cake. Regardless of the cloudy weather and the storms earlier that morning, I think that everyone had a great time! 

(I know I always do all of my pictures in slideshows, but I can not ever decide on which pictures are my favorites!)

Luke

Luke recently turned five. (I will post about his birthday party soon.) So, in celebration of his first few years, I have put together a slide show of some of my favorite baby pictures. It is hard to believe it has already been five years. Notice the cheeks!!! What a sweet baby boy! I miss those days. Hope you enjoy it!

Our Easter!!!

We had a great Easter. It is one of our favorite family holidays. We are all at home and got to spend alot of time together as a family. On Good Friday, we went to the park and had a family picnic. Then we went home to dye Easter eggs. Fun for everyone. Then on Saturday, we packed up and went to my parent's house to pick flowers. It is a tradition in my family to pick flowers to use to make an Easter nest for your eggs. (I did not realize how cool it was outside and my kids had shorts on. So, they had to borrow very old jackets from my mother to wear while we were picking the flowers. So don't look at their jackets.) Then we hunted for Easter eggs and had an Easter dinner with them. Once we were home we made the nests. I think that the kids enjoy it. Then on Easter morning, the kids woke up way too early. They were very eager to see what the Easter bunny had brought them and to hunt for the eggs he had left them. Once we are done, we got ready and went to church. I thought they looked so cute. Then we get together with more family for Easter lunch and hunted for more eggs. It is so much fun and we always enjoy all that comes with Easter.