I want those chips!

I've sat down so many times in the last 24 hours to write about these few days in our lives, but I have either been overcome in emotion or too weak in a nasty illness to get anything coherent together. Maybe today with a good night's rest and a healthy spirit I can make some sense of just how far we've come. 4 years ago this week Ken and I were faced with the most difficult diagnosis we could have ever imagined. Our sweet baby Jackson was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the tender age of 27 months.

Fear crept in as we watched him try to sleep in the hospital bed those cold March nights. Fear for what his new life would bring to our family. Fear for the pain he would likely endure. Fear for his very life. In our fear, God held our hands as we poked his tiny fingers and gave every shot. With each day we gained strength and perspective. We came to realize the gift we had been given. I no longer fear for his life the way I did and I no longer fear that I won't be able to make it through the day. I am thankful to be out of this tight grip of fear. He endures much pain, Ken and I and the other boys endure much pain. We have a very different family life than most of our friends and I am still tired most days from the constancy of diabetes in our life. I wish we could have a break, even just for one day. It is not to be. And I am ok with it. Fear holds no power over me any longer.

I pray daily for diabetes to be completely removed from his body and I know God hears my prayers. For whatever His reasons are, Jackson has diabetes and right now it's the way God wants it to be. And I am ok with it too. I am reminded of Romans 8 on a daily basis. There are so many great nuggets of God's truth found there from dealing with our fear and for knowing that God does not see Jackson's diabetes as BAD. That is a human label. Only He knows what wonder can come from this disease and HE is working it in our lives and the lives of the people we encounter.

I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me yesterday in such a unique and made just for Jennifer way. Isn't it so cool how He works???? I haven't been feeling well, but I had planned out supper anyway. When I woke from a nap yesterday afternoon, I had a very distinct craving for Subway. I rarely crave food in this way, but I didn't really think much of it. So I called Ken and told him I thought he should pick up Subway sandwiches for supper after he dropped Kenny off at practice. All I could think about was those sandwiches... As we sat down to eat, I started to laugh and cry all at the same time. When Jackson was in the hospital he wasn't talking at all, but after the 2nd day he sat up when Ken and I were eating Subway some dear friends brought in for us and said as clear as day, "I want those chips!" (I rather unwillingly gave up my bag of Doritos...) I will never forget the joy I felt and still feel to this day that he was being healed and made well by our Father in heaven through a tiny vial of clear fluid. My tiny baby was going to be ok. And he is still ok - THRIVING even! I was thankful that the Holy Spirit spoke to me in terms I can understand. There was no question on how the Lord wanted me to view this week. Not to remember the pain and fear, but to remember the joy I felt in his return to wholeness, diabetes and all. And I am ok with it.

A Texas Spring Break Round-up

Since we flew to Canada for Mathew's wedding in February, we did not make our annual Spring break trek to Nova Scotia this year. Though Rachel was not happy about that - we had a lot of fun hanging out here in Midland.

Rachel and I went to see Coraline in 3D at the movie theater. It was a good movie, but it was a bit creepy and it scared her in parts - but she says she liked it. (on a 'not the best parenting choice' side - I did not know it was a Tim Burton movie, or I might have convinced her to see another movie)

The annual tradition of planting a vegetable garden will be continued this year! Rachel and Daddy went to get peas, corn, carrots, beans (yellow and green), cantaloupe and a tomato plant. They spent one afternoon preparing the garden spots and pots - and then planted everything. This is the 1st year for cantaloupe so that should be interesting. They were both happy about the tomato plant for me - I will be so into those fresh tomatoes!!

We took Daddy to the Olive Garden for lunch one day - Rachel's most favourite place to go eat. And apparently most of Midland feels the same way because it is usually too busy to get into eat in less that a 45 minute wait. Thankfully it was not busy because of Spring Break! Speaking of food, one place we went was very exciting for Rachel was our dinner at Mr Gatti's. There was a Schlumberger Spouses Association family gathering one night. Since this is one of Rachel's favourite places to go eat and play games, we all went. The dinner was not bad - I tried mac&cheese pizza - not a combo I would attempt to make myself! Rachel was out of her mind because she is finally tall enough to go on the bumper cars.

We got crafty together. We made this potty girl chalk board. Jennifer had mentioned seeing this stuff at Michael's so we went to check it out. We bought the hot pink chalk board paint and the yarn and this is what we came up with. Since Rachel LOVES to paint, she was happy we put 3 coats of paint on our girl.

We celebrated St Patrick's day - green clothing and lots of green food!!

Daddy took Rachel golfing one afternoon. They played the front 9 at the golf course and Rachel beat Daddy's score. He said she did very well, but that they really needed to work on her putting. She would hit off the T and then take her ball to where his landed and play from there. When I asked her about her game she told me that the golf cart was the best part - even if she did not get to drive. That's my girl - gotta love the golf cart!

By far the coolest thing we got to do over the break was at Monahans Sandhill's State Park here in Texas. We took the 50-ish mile drive, rented our sledding discs and spent part of the afternoon sledding down the sand dunes. Rachel thought it was fabulous! The sand was so soft and pretty - I could have played in it all day! So there you have it - a week full of fun family time. Rachel is excited that school starts on Monday - she misses her teacher and her classmates. The week seemed to fly by, but I guess that happens when you are having fun!

xo Amy

Top 'O the Evening to Ye Lads and Lassies ...

I would say top o the morning but it is clearly no longer morning! We had a great and GREEN St Paddy's day today here in Texas. It all started at about 4am with Rachel coming into our room and asking if she could check to see if the Leprechauns had come to leave money in her green sugar. This is a tradition that we took up because of Jennifer and her kids. When I was telling Rachel about it yesterday she said to me "Mom Leprechauns are not real" to which I answered "Well last year they left 6 quarters for each of the boys at the Allred house". After that she could not get to making the green sugar fast enough. She was pleased as punch when she was finally allowed to go to the kitchen to check on the plate of sugar. You can see in the picture that she still looks half asleep - she did not even bother to get her glasses on! Thankfully it is Spring Break and so she did not have to go anywhere today.

We made a trip to Michael's to get a project that we will be working on tomorrow - she is very excited to make the "potty person" chalkboard. At least it is a project that will take more than 10 minutes and it is something she can use in her room. After we were done there we went to the play place at McDonald's so that she could run off some of her energy. She thought a picture at the bottom of the green slide would be perfect to show off her green attire today.

When we got home we set into making our green dinner. Green cake (note that Rachel applied the sprinkles), green pancakes, green sausages, green drinks and regular coloured spuds. Rachel was most impressed with her green mustache when she was finished her drink.

Happy St Patrick's Day from Texas! I am sure that Jennifer will have a green update soon too - but she has been crazy busy shuttling kiddos around to various sports and Church activities today!

xo Amy

In Full Swing

Little League baseball season is underway - here are the boys doing what they love to do best! Including our little guy, Kaden, he is definitely growing up and becoming more brave. Kenny has been busy in centerfield where he is pretty much the fastest kid on the field. And Jackson is the "big fish" of his team getting the chance to really show what he can do this year. He doesn't even have to hit off the tee very often because he hits most of the coach pitches. Lots of improvement all around. We are so proud of all the boys this weekend.

And we have to sunburns to prove it, LOL!

This is the theme of our next 6 weeks and I love it!

Now I am off to do their laundry...

xo, Jen

Jen's Update

Thought I would let you know about California happenings too. We have been super busy around here getting ready for our big move this summer to Wichita, KS where we grew up and Ken's company is headquartered, but I have been able to sneak in some scrappy time here and there. I am fully engrossed in the Library of Memories class with Stacy Julian at Big Picture Scrapbooking right now and lovin' it! I spent an entire weekend working through the sorting process with all my printed photos and now I have 2006-2008 printed photos all nicely set up in my storage binders. YAY!

Kenny is wrestling for his elementary school and lovin' it some of the time. He is struggling a bit with a new sport (for pretty much the first time in his life), but it has been a good learning experience even if a bit hard at times. He was able to wrestle JV a couple of weeks ago and learned much from his first competition.

Kaden had to have minor surgery last week that really took a toll on me as a mommy. He has a really REALLY rough time with anesthesia and I wasn't prepared for how difficult that was going to be for me. He is healing slowly as it is hard to keep a little one down for longer than 30 seconds.
Jackson celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday in style this week as "thing 1" He had a fun getting all dressed up with blue hair and his fun red shirt. A kite borrowed from a good friend rounded out the ensemble. LOVE it!

So there you have it! Our house will hopefully go on the market in the next couple of weeks. We are praying for our potential buyer that God will lead them to our home very soon and it can be a smooth transition for all. I have been spending lots of time in God's word the past few weeks being reminded of all He has done for me and all He will continue to do. It has been good as my mind drifts in fear of our future right now. Please be in prayer over our family as we navigate this transition. The other night after a particularly hard day in dealing with our relocation, Ken and I looked out to find this in our front yard. A good reminder for me that God keeps His promises!

xo, Jen

Amy's Update ...

Well it has been a busy while here in Texas! And we are finally at the end of some craziness! I think we will all be excited when Spring Break gets here at the end of next week. With all the medical testing and stuff that Rachel is going through - she is exhausted and I think she will be happy to have some jammie days with Mommy. I am thoroughly amazed at the difference in her since the beginning of February. Her teacher tells us that she can see it too - our girl is more alert and participating more in class. Good timing too since they took achievement tests all last week.

Cheer leading is over for the season - much to Rachel's delight. I think she liked it, but when I asked her if she would do it again next year this was her response ... "No! Mommy I have to cheer at basketball every Saturday - and I just like to relax on Saturday". All of the cheer squads got together and did a dance for the Upward closing banquet this past Tuesday. Rachel had missed 2 of the practices when we were in Toronto for Mathew's wedding and when we had to go see her doctor. Even though she was a little unsure of some of the steps - she did a great job. Here she is during the rehearsal - doing her most favourite step - the side kick! She was in the back - where she prefers to be!

I have finally scrapped a page!! Since Jennifer and I decided to step down from running Scrappin Mojo in December - I have been in a scrappy funk. BUT I BROKER FREE - sort of. I got 2 pages done last weekend. Here is my favourite one - I used a sketch from the Big Picture Scrapbooking class that I took from Cathy Zielski at the end of last year. I can't believe that these pictures are from 2006 - it does not seem that long ago! Rachel looks so tiny jumping into that pool.

I am taking another Big Picture Class with May Floam right now and there is an online social this weekend. I have some scrappy momentum and I am hoping to get some pages done this weekend too! I have to use some of my scrappy stash since Pat at A Peek Into Yesterday is getting all kinds of new stuff in at the store right now. Need to make room for some of those fun goodies!!

Have a great weekend!

xo Amy

RELIEF, THANKS and PRAISE

Rachel does not sleep through the night - ever. OK maybe once or twice but not very often. All those parents with those sweet little babies who sleep through the night - so jealous! Jennifer, my sister, other friends ... oh my kids sleep through the night - so sorry that Rachel does not. Grrr - although I am happy for them I sure wish Rachel would learn from their kiddos!!!

BUT it turns out that it is not all my fault that Rachel is the worst sleeper ever (although I will agree I have been a bit of an enabler). The doctors have finally listened to me and Rachel is now being seen by and allergy/lung specialist. Feb 2 we went to see him for the 1st time and after 6 hours of tests and exams - he diagnosed Rachel with asthma, sinus issues and allergies. A momma knows - I have felt that she had asthma but doctors kept saying "she is too young to be tested"; "she just has a cold"; "it is croupe".

Back to my sleeping God send!! Since Rachel has been being treated for this sinus infection (which the doc said she has had for a looong time) she is sleeping through the night .... EVERY night .... since Feb 3rd she has been up only twice. This is an unheard of run of full nights sleep for Jason, Rachel and I. You should see how clean my house is because of all my extra energy! Rachel's teacher says she can see a difference in her too - more rested and just feeling better overall - participating more in class, more active and more focused. We still have allergy testing to do and some more tests to get to the bottom of the "junky" lungs, but that damage could be from being born at 29 weeks or it could be from the untreated asthma. Well it could be anything, but they have ruled out lots of scary stuff this week! Whatever it is - we will deal with it!

Thanks to God we have found out what we have so far this month! I can see the difference in Rachel now that she is being treated properly for the asthma and the sinus stuff! YIPPEEEE. I am giddeee from all the sleep.

xo Amy