An Update on my Type 1 Diabetic....

Yesterday was Ashlyn's quarterly visit with her endocrinologist.

I was pretty much resigned to the fact that because her blood sugar levels have been so up and down the last couple months, that her A1C would be up higher than it's been since her diagnosis in February 2009. 

I haven't been able to figure out why her BG (blood glucose) numbers have been like a roller coaster. 

 It seems that if we don't TOTALLY focus on where she's at every minute of the day, she's either crashing or swinging up really high. 

 It's not unusual for her BG to be between 200 & 300 later in the afternoon every. single. day.

In the morning, she's either waking up slightly high or a little low, and then dropping to around 40 before lunch.

We've tried adjusting her insulin, and her ratios now stand at 1:5 for breakfast, 1:5 for lunch, and 1:4 for dinner.

Her bedtime Lantus dose is 20 units.

To me, that just seems like so much!!

Imagine my surprise when her the results of her blood test in the clinic came back with an A1C of

7.8%

"Not perfect, but not too bad."

That actually was exactly what it was in August, so I was okay with that.

But I know it's just because her crashes have balanced out her highs.

So the doctor gave us several recommendations to try:

1.  He told us that for some children, the long-acting insulin (Lantus) isn't always as "long-lasting" as it's supposed to be.  So he wants us to split her Lantus dosage to 9 units at bedtime, and 9 units at breakfast.

The idea is that it will cover her better throughout the entire day by giving her some at breakfast so it will last throughout the afternoon when she has been going so high.

2.  We're also scaling back her breakfast ratio short-acting insulin (Humalog) to 1:7.  Again, the idea here is maybe she doesn't need as much Humalog in the morning, hence why she's been crashing after an hour or so.

Plus with the extra dose of Lantus on top of that, she probably won't need as much Humalog.

3.  The doctor talked at length with me about the pros of getting her on either the insulin pump or omnipod.

I've been resistant up to this point, but I'm finding myself warming up to the idea because of how difficult it has become managing her BG levels lately.  I'm wondering if it will actually give us better control?  The doctor seems to think that it encourages "compliance" on the part of the child because it's a little less work (everything is right there hooked on your hip and you just have to push a button for a dose).

Overall, it was an encouraging visit, but a good reminder that this is something that we will always have to pay attention too.  There are no breaks or vacations from Type 1 Diabetes.  

There is no room for complacency.

I'm so glad we live when and where we do to have such technologically advanced methods of caring for our children!!  

I'm so thrilled for wonderful endocrinology team she has and that we have one of the BEST Children's Hospitals just 20 minutes from us!!!

God has everything in control for us,

even when we can't keep things under control!!

November 1

Robin Redbreast

"Bright yellow, red and orange,

The leaves come down in hosts;

The trees are Indian princes,

But soon they'll turn to ghosts;

The scanty pears and apples

Hang russet on the bough;

It's Autumn, Autumn, Autumn late,

'Twill soon be Winter now.

Robin, Robin Redbreast,

O Robin dear!

And what will this poor Robin do?

For pinching days are near.

~ William Allingham

When the Frost is on the Punkin

"When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock,

And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin' turkey-cock,

And the clackin' of the guineys,

and the cluckin' of the hens,

And the rooster's hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence;

O, it's then's the times a feller is a-feelin' at his best,

With the risin' sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest,

As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock,

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock.

They's something kind o'harty-like about the atmusfere

When the heat of summer's over and the coolin' fall is here--

Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossoms on the trees,

And the mumble of the hummin'-birds and buzzin' of the bees;

But the air's so appetizin; and the landscape through the haze

Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days

Is a pictur' that no painter has the colorin' to mock--

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock."

"The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn,

And the raspin' of the tangled leaves, as golden as the morn;

The stubble in the furries -- kind o' lonesome-like, but still

A-preachin' sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill;

The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed;

The hosses in theyr stalls below -- the clover overhead! --

O, it sets my hart a-clickin' like the tickin' of a clock,

When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock."

~James Whitcomb Riley

Saturdays are for: Celebrating a rich, full marriage

Fifty years!

Garrett was very serious about his cake eating.  I think this was his second piece.

The happy couple's grandson, who is 14, picked Garrett up and put his hat on Garrett.

He was delighted!

When I asked Mr. Hank the secret to achieving 50 years of marriage, his response was this:

"We put up with a lot of [junk] from each other, but we never even thought of splitting up."

A wise choice.

Never allow divorce to be the trump card in your back pocket.

It should never be an option.

Then, you HAVE to figure out how to work things out.

And this lady is a testimony to women everywhere who have prayed for decades

for a husband who has chosen not to receive Christ as his Savior, nor to attend church together,

yet remains faithful and loving to her man.

Wonderful times!!

Monday Fundays!!!

This last Monday we took a little trip that has become an annual family fall tradition and one that my children look forward to EVERY year. 

 Even though Lexi is now a teenager, she still enjoys this.

My husband and I enjoy it too.  

And the best part.....besides being in a fun, relaxing atmosphere with the whole family.....is that it is all free!!  What could be better???

Here are the first pictures of our youngest who refused to enjoy herself or even smile at the beginning of our day!!

Isn't this just pure joy!!

We kept losing Garrett and finding him here.

Still no smiling!!

Now, of course, by lunchtime, we are happy and smiling,

because we just.......peed our pants!!

Completely. Soaked. 

And, of course, I had brought no extra clothes for her.

 But that obviously did not bother her, and she was completely thrilled with the rest of the day!!

How to teach our daughters that homemaking has value!!

What is God doing?

Sometimes the days here at our house are overwhelming.

Sometimes the days are intensely frustrating.

Sometimes I wonder if my children will E.V.E.R. grow up.

Sometimes I hate the mind-numbing routine of having to figure out how many carbohydrates are on a plate....at every. single. meal.

Sometimes I hate that every. single. responsibility can be an emotional struggle for my son.

Sometimes I hate that my daughter can NOT retain any Math concepts from the previous day.

Sometimes I hate that the clock rules my life.
Sometimes I hate that we have to keep our eye on every. single. penny in our budget
 with never any wiggle room.

Sometimes I wonder what God is doing in my life.

I know He's up to something big.

I know I was created to worship Him and bring Him glory.

I know His ways are perfect.

I know that He is sovereign.

I know that He is good.

I know that He is love.

I know He has a plan.

I know I must see these struggles as tiny parts of the big picture He is creating out of my life.

The Weaver

My life is but a weaving

Between my Lord and me,

I cannot chose the colors

He worketh steadily.

Ofttimes He weaveth sorrow,

And I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper

And I, the underside.

Not till the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly

Shall God unroll the canvas

And explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful

In the Weaver's skillful hand

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned.

~~Author Unknown

Friday's Fabulous Family Recipe!!

This lovely recipe came to me from a friend in our very first church in Michigan. 

I have to admit that the first time I tried it, over a decade ago, I was not impressed.

In fact, I almost tossed the recipe.

It was just sooooo dry, you could hardly swallow it.

But I did hang on to it, and it came all the way down here to Texas.

Recently, I've been playing with different cornbread recipes.

I never realized that the recipes are different in different parts of the country.

Here in the southwest, you have "Southern Cornbread" which is best baked in a cast iron skillet.

It develops a bit of a crunchy outer crust, but in my opinion it's still pretty dry. 

 (Kinda goes along with the Texas summers, I guess)

But I found the MOST delightful recipe for SWEET cornbread, (yes, you read it right...SWEET)

and it's DIVINE!!

So, I remembered this recipe and decided to see this cornbread made any difference!!

Can I just say, that my husband and I can't get enough of this stuff!!!

SO delicious!!!

The recipe came to me originally named "Cornbread Casserole,"

but I think it sounds better as.....

Layered Tex-Mex Delight!!!

First, you slice a 9 x 13 square of cornbread in half crosswise,

and place the bottom half back into the 9 x 13 " pan 

Next, spread 1 large can (is it 28 oz.?) of refried beans over the cornbread.

Top with 1 pound of browned, ground meat (I use turkey).

Sprinkle on as many chopped green onions that you enjoy.

Top all with 3-4 cups of shredded cheese (I used cheddar).

Finally, place the top half of the cornbread on top of the cheese layer.  Your pan will be really full at this point.

Spread on a 16-ounce jar of your favorite salsa.

Bake this in the oven at 350 degrees until heated through and cheese is melted (approximately 20 minutes).

I did not cover mine since the pan is so full, but I may try the next time carefully folding some tin foil over it all to keep it even moister.

Slice into squares and serve with extra salsa and sour cream for garnish.

Enjoy the warm, oooey, goodness.

You can use whichever cornbread recipe you want, 

but I like how moist, thick,  and cake-like the sweet cornbread is.

Sweet Cornbread

1 cup all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2/3 cup white sugar (I used my organic cane sugar crystals)
1 t. salt
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil

I doubled all the measurements for my 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
Spray or grease your pan, and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder.  Stir in egg, milk, vegetable oil until well combined.  Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean.

DELISH!!!