We are Back .....

... and we had SO much fun!!! Although there were lots of people at Disneyland - we did not think we had to wait in line that much. In all it was a great time to be in Disney - the Christmas decorations and celebrations were awesome!!! Here are just a few pictures of all our fun!!! Some of our favourite rides included -

Space Mountain (Jennifer was not as fond of this as Ken, Rachel, Kenny and I - Jason did not ride it)
Soaring Over California - this was totally awesome.
Buzz Lightyear - this was one of Jackson's favourites
Pirates of the Carribean - this was AWESOME - Kaden thought the animals were all real - so cute!
California Screaming - Kenny, Ken and I loved this roller coaster.


We stood in line for a LOOOONG time to meet Mickey - totally worth it!!!!!!!

Jackson loves Pluto so he was most excited to see him!!

The Incredibles holds a special place in our worlds - especially for Jennifer so this was so fun!

Watching the parade - everything was all done up for Christmas - so much fun!!!

Attempts to get family pictures for Christmas cards were not as easy as we had hoped!!!

A huge highlight for the kids!!! Lightning McQueen! How fun!

Jason and I took Rachel to the Princess Lunch and she thought it was fabulous. She loved all the Princesses - but chose a Belle t-shirt!

We're Off to See the Mouse & All His Friends

The suitcases are packed, the tickets are booked and we are good to GO! We will all meet at our Hotel tomorrow night - wahoo!! Then wednesday - friday we are playing with the mouse at Disneyland. This is a celebration for Jackson getting his pump - and now an extra one since he will also be getting continuous glucose monitoring!!! A very special Thanksgiving in our families for sure.

It has been over a year since we have all been together (although Jennifer and I saw each other in June). I just can't wait to be in California and just be hanging out like old times. This is going to be SO much fun - in a taking 4 kids to Disney kind of way!!!!!!!

See y'all after the holiday with pictures. Until then have a happy and safe Thanksgiving with all your loved ones.

Answered Prayers

God is just so good! I can't say it enough. Yesterday was a day for joy and thanksgiving in our house because our insurance company decided to cover the Continuous Glucose Monitoring Sensors for Jackson. What does that mean? It means we will have real time glucose readings, safety alarms, and glucose trend data around the clock. We will know what Jackson's blood sugars are without having to poke his little finger and better yet we will have these readings EVERY MINUTE OF EVERY DAY!!!!! This stands to revolutionize the way we take care of our little guy. Here is a picture of what it will look like on his body, although he wears his pump on his bottom where there is some fat.

The story about how this happened is rather long, but the gist of it is, we chose Jackson's pump a year ago with the hope that someday he would be able to get these sensors. We had no idea how soon that would be. Most insurance companies won't cover them, especially for children under age 7 and we happen to have one of the few that consider paying on a case by case basis. Ken spoke with a nurse from the insurance a couple of days ago and after his conversation we were mobilizing for a denial of benefits. They just don't get what it is like to live with this disease! Instead, she called Ken back yesterday morning and told him as a result of their conversation (and Ken's powers of negotiation) that they are going to make an exception for our little guy. I think it is because Ken loves him so much that he will do whatever it takes to make Jackson's life better and stronger and longer. I seriously love this man!

OK, so back to the subject, they are paying and we are so happy! I can't wait to be able to put dinner on the table and let Jackson just eat with only a look at his pump. And when he is going low, the pump will tell us. No more middle of the night checks. Ahhh. It is going to be a fun and crazy ride and I can't wait to get on!

On another Diabetes note, we received a message from JDRF today that our team raised almost 1/6th of the total amount for the Walk to Cure Diabetes this past June. Jack's Pack officially raised over $7,000! I am so thankful for the research and dedication of this great organization.

Tuesday Project Prompt

So we are coming upon the season of needing gift tags. I made these little tags - 2.5x2.5 inches using scraps. They are not especially Christmas-y but you get the idea. They were totally quick and easy to make.

Happy Birthday to Ken

Well now all 4 parents in the Allred/vanderKooi world are officially in their 30's. Hopefully Ken will have a great relaxing day watching football!!

ETA: He got to celebrate in style at the final game of the World Series a few weeks ago. The trip of a lifetime and one he had been dreaming of since he was a little boy. Happy Birthday Honey! Glad you are in this life with me! Love, Jennifer

What I am working on ...

Amy here ... been busy crafting away ... here are 4 cards that I made for Rachel's teacher. Her favourite colour is purple and I love these new papers from Sassafrass Lass!

My hair - Day 2

OK so I did not do as good a job as Donia ... but I did not do too badly!

Look what I did ....

Now let's see if I can make it look like this on my own tomorrow ...

Tuesday Project Prompt

Happy tuesday everyone! I (Amy) was thinking today would be a great day to start our project prompts - being that Christmas is on its way.

So the first project ... decorated boxes ... they are little - but can be oh so cute - and who would not love to get a present in one of these ... wouldn't a gift card look cute in here?? I made the top one and Jennifer made the one on the bottom.

Pocketful of Treasures

YAY! I (Jennifer) was chosen as a member of the Pocketful of Treasures Design Team for a second term. I really enjoyed getting to know the girls there and especially the teaching aspect. I have lots of classes in my little heading just screaming to be taught. This year they decided to make the term only 6 months because there is just so much talent here in Fresno and they want to spread the love. I look forward to meeting and working with a new bunch of ladies! If you are in the Fresno/Clovis area this is the place to be!!

I'm here too!

Hee Hee! Look at me! I can actually remember the log in stuff right now. Just popping to say hi and see if Amy notices I was here. :) A few thoughts this morning about living on the edge have my mind turning and I think I need a bit of a nap. For now, here is a page I finished up last night of my Carseat Cowboy.

Crafting on Saturday

So Jennifer is off teaching her class - there were 6 people signed up as of last night. She has worked so hard to get classes to hold so this is so awesome!!

While Jennifer is teaching today I am busy crafting here at home. I am busy making Christmas presents for people. Stay tuned as I will be posting the instructions to make some of them here soon!

So there is this nasty squirrel who lives in the Pecan tree in our backyard. Everytime our poor cat goes outside that nasty squirrel climbs down the tree and starts screaming at Jennifer (yes Rachel named her cat after the person Jennifer). As soon as she comes back inside the squirrel stops. So I went out to check out this nasty little creature - and it started yelling at me!! At least now the cat and Jennifer's dog Reggie have something in common - except that in Jennifer's backyard it is birds who are bugging the dog!

What are we working on?

Tomorrow Jennifer will be teaching her first class at her local scrappy store ... Pocket Full of Treasures. I am so excited for her!! Wish I had a scrappy store here so I could get some teaching in!!! Oh well - someday. Also keep checking in on us ... we are going to do some class projects here on the blog - very exciting!

For now here we are this past June on our cruise ...

Welcome

OK here it is our blog and we are going to commit to updating it often!!