Vacation Bible School!!

Oh my.
This summer has just shifted into turbo speed, and I'm hanging on for dear life!!
Seriously, it has been like a tsunami and I tried so hard to carefully plan so it wouldn't become like that.
Because of this, I've had to let the non-essentials go lately, and my blog falls into that category.
Over the next week or so though, I'm going to try to put the brakes on this ride and get caught up.
Please, patience....grace?

Just after I left off posting, we stepped off into our final week of VBS for the summer.....at our church.
I had the delightful opportunity of directing and coordinating the drama every morning.
It was SO. much. work!
It took SO. much. time!
But it was SO worth it.
Our oldest daughter had her stage debut and had the part of the ditzy girl.
She really enjoyed learning what it takes to act and pull together a daily skit that can be used of God
to share the gospel with children!!

(I tried to include a picture of each of my children enjoying their time,
and this picture is of the puppets that Ashlyn participated in during song time.)

*I did not get a picture of Aryn because every time she saw me, she would cry.

Summer Fun: Homemade finger paints!

Summer is always a blur of activity around our house during the summer months.
I am always so glad to be free of the pressure of school work that HAS to be done along with the myriad of other household things, and to throw open the doors and run outside!!
This week my children were involved in their 3rd VBS (2 during this week....1 in the morning, and 1 in the evening), my oldest has been at summer church camp for teens, and my 12 year old has been house "sitting" for 2 different families as well.
It has been busy.
We did find ourselves home one afternoon with some "fun" time, and I decided to experiment with several ideas I found on Pinterest.
The first thing we tried (and loved!) was making our own finger paints.
You can find the tutorial we used here.

We loved it, and it turned out just as the recipe said it would.

Happy Father's Day!

I wish I could say that I came up with this fun idea all on my own.

But that would be dishonest.

I totally copied this off of a friend's facebook post.

I don't know where she found it, but I'm so glad she shared it!!

"Dear Daddy,

We were going to give you a "Whopping" "100 Grand" for Father's Day,

but the money slipped through our "Butterfingers".  We didn't have an "Extra" "Whatchamacallit"

to sell, and it wasn't "Payday."  We didn't think a pet "KitKat," or a trip to New "York," or

an "Orbit" around the "MilkyWay" would be appropriate.  We do want to wish you

"Mounds" of "Almond Joy" both "Now&Later" as you eat this card.

We hope it doesn't make you "Rolo"ver and get sick.

If it does, we promise not to "Snicker."

Love,

Your Favorite,

"Air Heads"

T1 Tuesdays: Death of a dream......so long Dexcom!

**WARNING:  This post is strictly a venting session!  I'm just clearing my mind.  Maybe as a little therapy, maybe to bring awareness to the struggles of families trying to give the best care they can to a child with Type 1 Diabetes, but certainly not to be a piece full of edification and joy.  Just FYI....in case you get bored easily. 


Maybe you remember last summer.......
our Type 1 Diabetic daughter went to summer church camp.....
without a parent along.....

and had a nearly catastrophic diabetic event!

(Stupid I know!!!  Please don't beat me up about this as I've already done it myself!
I promise.....it will NEVER happen again!)

If you're interested in reading the whole story.....you can find it here.

After that whole fiasco, my husband and I decided that we NEEDED to get her

a continuous glucose monitoring system.

The only one really available to us was the "Dexcom" brand.

If you are unfamiliar with this technology, click on that name and go check it out.

It is AMAZING!!

It is, bar none, the single most fantastic tool available for diabetics and their caregivers!

I feel it is life saving and should be in the hands of everyone who wants to learn how

to use the information!

So I pursued it.

Read about that process here.

In the end, we felt enormously blessed to have gotten into this device and loved what it did for us.

Read about our excitement here.

We never had a moment's trouble with this.

It worked like a charm.

So when it came time to order more sensors (a monthly prescription),

we were told some gut wrenching news.

Read about that here.

Basically we were told that at the beginning of this calendar year, our deductible had reset and we would have to pay yet another $2000 after already paying $2000 just the previous August, to get the sensors she needed at the covered price.

The out-of-pocket until we could meet that deductible would be $280 for 4 sensors (one month's supply).

That is just out-of-the-question for a family of 8 living only on a policeman's salary!

So we shelved it......praying that our city would change insurance companies yet again come June 1.

And they DID!!

Imagine my excitement....and hope.

But I've since found out that not only is the coverage nearly identical....but in some cases is more expensive......especially when it comes to covering the supplies for a Dexcom.

Going through a supplier that takes our new insurance....the sensors would cost nearly $400 for a month's supply until we could meet the $2000 deductible......though "only" $280 if purchased directly from Dexcom.....go figure.

So after this news, I decided I might as well sell it and get some money out of the thing......since we will obviously never be able to use this device in any sort of long term manner.

I listed it on a Facebook page for those needing diabetic supplies and for trading supplies.

All sorts of things started coming up about the legality of selling a prescription device.

Problems with insurance fraud and getting sensors for a device that has a serial number tied to another person and blah.....blah......blah.....

It's all so mind-numbing........I don't think I care anymore.

Really.

To think that something like this is being offered.......something that could save my daughter's LIFE......

yet you have to be independently wealthy to afford one.

I'm not trying to get an I-pod, or a DS, or an I-pad for my daughter.

I don't feel that because my husband actually HAS a job.....and WORKS it.....

and has employer provided insurance......

and that we have chosen to raise 6 children on his income alone.......

without government aide.....

that we are entitled to every little thing our society has to offer to make us happy and healthy.

I'm just flabbergasted that there are so many loopholes to getting what a chronically ill child needs for the best quality of life they can possibly have.......

and that we fit into every. single. one. of them!

Believe me, I know.  I'm not exaggerating.

I've made at least a dozen calls to different places trying to find someone or something that could change this situation for us, and no. thing is available for a family such as ours with private insurance.

I can see why people on government assistance have no motivation to get off.

At least you get what you need for your children......plus lots of other programs to help you!!

Anyway.......I have to walk away.

It's done.

Our Dexcom is a thing of the past.

It will now be sitting on a shelf in the back of a closet until I'm 95 and someone has to clean it out and finds it.

I can't look at it anymore.

Where are the grandparents?

This is so totally off the subjects I usually talk about here, but it's something I've been pondering over and over in my mind lately. It keeps coming back to me, and the more I think about it, the more important it seems to me.

One of the reasons I had for even beginning this blog was to have a sort of written record, a journal if you will, of things I believe are important that I want to pass on to my children. I don't always pull them all together and unload the contents of my head in their laps, so I'm hoping that one day they may have some of these thoughts written down for them in case they were wondering what their mom thinks about other than what's for dinner, or where my cell phone is.

Anyway, here lately I've been thinking about the importance of grandparents. Okay, now stop. Both sets of my children's grandparents read this blog....so let me say right here....and really LOUD.....I'm NOT talking about YOU! I'm referring to grandparents IN GENERAL!! NOT my parents or my husband's mother. Okay....that being said...let's move on with this.

Since I am now a very busy mother, there are days when I wish that someone would just knock on the door and say to me, "Would you mind if I took all your children with me to the park where we can play and enjoy an hour or so of fresh air. Then I might run them over for a $1 McDonalds ice cream cone afterward to round off the afternoon. Would you mind?"

First off, if someone ever did that, I would practically keel over from shock.

I remember doing that on occasion to a neighbor friend of mind who's children I adored, and we had such a fun time. Where ARE all the people that are like I was?? I know I'm NOT unusual, or fantastic, just somebody who enjoyed making a fun time with children. There are tons of people out there who are just like me....I'm not an anamoly here people.

So on those really tough days when I'm wishing for that person to come along and give me that precious golden hour to just get everything back in its place before it's all turned upside again, or to let me make that important call to the doctor without having to hide in the bathroom because of the wild animals screaming at each other all around me so loudly I can't hear the person on the other line, or to just go out and run some errands without making such a huge production about who's going and who's staying and who's babysitting......

my mind wanders to the grandparents.

What ARE they doing?

I KNOW they have WAY more quiet, free time on their hands now.

I know.

I'm married to their only son.

I'm the oldest of two....the other daughter grown and on her own too!!

Now again....before my relatives start calling me or shooting emails over to me reminding me of all they have to do in their "free" time.......I will explain momentarily to the rest of the world here what you are doing.

So when my mind starts to wander to the grandparents, I remind myself that many grandparents today are having to work until a later age than their own parents did. The economy is not great right now, and grandparents are taking a hit in their health insurance coverages, so many of them are having to work right on up into their 70's.

I also know that many grandparents live half a country away from their grandchildren. I know.....my children's grandparents do. Those "little" issues put big dampers on all the fun they can have with those grandbabies.

But that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking about those grandparents who DO live near their grandchildren, who DO have a free day here and there where they COULD spend a couple hours with their grandchildren. I'm talking about those grandparents who DO NOT have to work full-time all week long with only the weekends to take care of their home, and vehicle, and personal needs, and ministering to those in need around them. Where are the GRANDPARENTS??

I see them around me (again....not in my FAMILY!!!!) and I hear about them occasionally. Grandparents who kind of feel like they've done their duty, raised their children, and now it's time for THEM. I suppose I will feel like that too (at least I imagine that some days!), but is that what the Bible says they are to do? Does the Bible say that our influence ends the minute our children marry and start their own family?

On the contrary, I find the complete opposite in Scripture.

Now, in the defense of some grandparents, I know there are situations (sad though they may be) where the grandparents do live close by, have a desire to be a part of their grandchildren's lives, have the time, but are not welcome by the parents. I can't imagine the kind of heartbreak that would be. But what a tragedy also for the grandchildren who don't get to have that relationship with them. What treasures those parents are rejecting for their children!!

I believe that grandparents have tremendous influence on the lives of their grandchildren. Why, my father's mother has left her fingerprints all over me and even on my children. While still living, she was a hoarder. We didn't know that it had a "name" at the time, and no one understood why her house looked like it did......but we kids didn't care. Why, she always got up early with us on Saturday mornings and would make homemade doughnuts out of biscuits in those tubes. I still remember how, too. Oooooo....they were sooooo good. I remember how she would sit down in a chair, with piles all around us, and she would read Sammy the Seal and laugh her great belly laugh at some of things Sammy did. I remember we would have to dig through the garage, but she gave us permission to ride my dad's old bikes around the neighborhood to visit the old lady around the corner who still used her outhouse in the backyard. Then my grandmother would yodel to us to come home. When it was time for bed, she would give us "back massages" with her old hand cream and turn on Bill Pierce and Songs in the Night on the radio.
 She was always gentle with the neighbor boy down the street who was slow and had some learning disabilities. She knew he needed Jesus just like the rest of us. She always made sure he had a job to do for her or something to make him feel needed. That left a great impression on me. I learned so much from how she treated people.
 Again, being the hoarder that she was, she kept everything. She kept every card, every letter, every pen, every scribbled piece of paper, every bookmark that anyone ever gave her. She made sure that everyone she met knew about Jesus too. How she loved to sing about her Savior. How she loved Scripture. THOSE were the things that I remember about my grandmother. Not a perfect person....who IS ?? But I knew she loved to have me around.

Grandparents have so much to offer their grandchildren:

They have TIME.

They have a less rushed sense of life.....things are quieter at their house. What a treasure for a child. So often moms and dads are so busy juggling multiple jobs and multiple cars and multiple children that the children don't get that special one-on-one time every day. That's where grandparents should step in. Look into the eyes of your grandchild and let them know that what they say is important!!

They have EXPERIENCE.

Teach your grandchildren something. Teach them how to garden or how to fish or how to sew or how to bake that special family recipe or how to read. Grandparents may be retired from an amazing, fulfilling career but what a treasure trove for those grandchildren to have exposure to your great mind!!! Are you teaching your grandchildren about your family values? What about songs and scripture? Do you take them to church with you?? Maybe the parents wished they could afford what you can teach those grandbabies. That's a great way for grandparents to step in.

They have MONEY.

I did not say grandparents are all money bags. In fact, I believe most grandparents are probably on fixed incomes, though some are not. I heard from the lady at JoAnn Fabrics a while ago that most of her customers who purchased those $10,000 embroidery machines for some fun at home were usually "well-off older widowed women who didn't know what else to do with their money." Now I understand that with lots of free time, it's nice to have something to keep you busy and creative. I get that. But my question is: Surely these ladies are fashioning beautiful pieces to pass on to their grandchildren and to teach them about textiles and art, etc?? I would hope so. I'm not judging, just wondering? I know not everyone can travel to other parts of the country with their grandchildren in tow teaching them history and geography as they go along, but am I the only one who thinks that would be GREAT FUN?? I don't have the money right now to get to do that......that's where grandparents can step in.

Why do I hear stories that parents are struggling to find someone to keep all of their children for an evening so they can go out on a much needed date??
Really?
Is it because every. single. grandparent is out dancing or hosting a backyard barbeque for their seniors group from church?

Maybe our culture overlooks the great TREASURE a grandparent's presence is in the life of children.
That the older group doesn't have much to offer anymore.....they can't keep up with all that the children are involved in and can do with technology and social media these days.
Maybe we all need to look around and embrace the idea of multi-generations intermingling together.....
teaching each other.....
enjoying the jokes.....
smiling at the antics.....
hugging.....
accepting each other no matter the age difference because they STILL have value.
That every age and stage of life has something great to glean and learn from and enjoy!!

"The gray head is a crown of glory;

It is found in the way of righteousness."

Proverbs 16:31

Transparency: Tips for helping the overwhelmed

Let me just start right here by saying the last couple months......ok, who's kidding who.....
the last several YEARS have been extraordinarily difficult for me.
In the fall of 2005, my husband decides to change his career from accountant to police officer.
He gets hired in April of 2006 as a police officer after months of working through the extensive hiring process required for this job.
During this time, we find out we're expecting our 5th baby.
He is born in May of 2006 while my husband is going through police academy.
My husband begins work, on the night shift of course, in the early fall of that same year.
Just as I'm beginning another year of homeschooling 3 children with a toddler and a newborn.
Unexpectedly, we find out we're having our 6th baby in the spring of 2007.
During this time, I was still overseeing the children's ministries at our church, running the Wednesday evening programs for children, coordinating the nursery, and playing the organ.
When I found out I was expecting, I didn't know how I was going to be able to manage everything on my plate.
So I resigned all my positions, and we quietly changed churches.
(There's more to that story than just leaving our church because I had to much to do.....more later.)
That's when our 3rd son started throwing up everytime we went to Sunday morning services.
It was a half hour drive one way.
Our previous church was 3 minutes away from our house.
My husband was still working the night shift during all of this.....on the weekends.
That meant that most of the time, I had 6 children, including a newborn who was born in January of 2008, to get ready, fed and driven to church, by myself.
When you work the night shift, you don't magically go to being awake during the daytime hours on your days off.
But I struggled along.
In January of 2009, our 2nd child {who was not yet 9}became very ill. VERY.
She was diagnosed on February 11, 2009 with Type 1 Diabetes.
What I was struggling with before all that was NO.thing to this.
It was like unexpectedly bringing home a brand new baby again.....but with none of the support and encouragement.
I didn't know how I was going to handle all her needs plus the obvious needs two of my other children had with their schooling.
I felt like I was drowning.
In the summer of that same year, I had these two other children tested and the results helped me feel some relief that I wasn't going clinically insane and that I was not a worthless failure of a parent.
My oldest child, our oldest daughter, was diagnosed ADHD-Inattentive type.
My third child, our oldest son, was diagnosed ADHD-Combined Type.
But they also told us he was struggling with moderate anxiety levels too.
Hence the vomiting everytime we got off the highway on our way to church on Sunday mornings.
In the meantime, I can hardly get out of bed.
I'm exhausted and irritable, and I don't feel like myself.
I go for a physical and am referred to an endocrinologist for a nodule on my thyroid.
Within one year's time, we go from no medications or doctors to two children and myself on medications for conditions we can't control.
In the meantime, I'm still struggling to homeschool.
The biggest struggle isn't the schoolwork......it's GETTING to the schoolwork.
There are so many distractions in a tiny house packed with children and all their stuff.
Especially when you're constantly monitoring blood sugar numbers and medications, and toddlers, and a baby, and ADHD.
ADHD doesn't just manifest itself in being crazy hyper.
It's also sassy and disorganized and messy and aggressive and defiant.
It gets bored in 30 seconds and looks for something to keep it moving....usually by picking on a younger sibling.
So I say all of this....not to complain.
Not as an invitation to you to come join my pity party.

But to ask you to consider what is going on in your neighbor's life.
Or the life of your adult child.
Or the life of one of your fellow church members.
Or the life of the wife of your youth pastor.
Or the life of your spouse.

Why don't you offer to DO something to help shoulder the load they might have?
If you know a family who is living with Type 1 Diabetes.....
ask them if they have any financial needs?
Can you help them with groceries {or diapers or pull-ups} since the cost of medications and equipment for this condition is astronomical?
Would you consider keeping their child overnight so they can have one or two meals where they don't have to count carbohydrates and think about medications to cover their child's food?
How about giving the child a piece of super cool medical alert jewelry that their parent's can't afford or maybe funding that adorable medications bag that they have to take EVERYWHERE with them that contains medical supplies?
Just to distract from how frightening this disease is to live with?

If you know a family who has ONE child with ADHD......
Consider having that child over for just a couple hours {overnight would be better} to play or do crafts, so his parents can have some quiet time?
Some time without the stress.....the constant correcting......the refereeing between siblings?
Maybe you could take that child under your wing and do something special with them every WEEK?
They rarely get positive interaction.
They make everyone around them so frustrated that they daily have somebody upset with them.
They need special, intense coaching to know how to interact appropriately on a social level.
They always have to have the last word.....which causes constant friction with parents.
Consider asking me if my child could use some fun tutoring?
I'll tell you that they would LOVE it.....and so would I.
Someone who loves my children as much as I do and actually wants to do something meaningful for them and wants to see them grow up and be successful?

And don't just say...."I just don't know how you do it."
Because I don't.
We don't do it.......well.
We are barely surviving.
Pray for us.
Call us every week and offer to take a couple children to the park with your children.
I need a break.
I need to have some time to read a book, create something pretty, find new recipes for our extremely picky ADHD children.....clean my bathroom.
Don't give me a book to read.....I don't have time to read.
Don't pat me on the back, smile, and say, "I just don't know how you do it."
Don't ignore that I'm drowning.
If it looks like it might be crazy, ask.
Ask if I need some help....don't wait for me to ask you.....I don't have time to go to the bathroom....
much less make a phone call.
If you wake up with a entire glorious day spread out in front of you with nothing to do, and you wonder how on earth you can fill the time?
Give me a CALL??
Come clean my children's rooms and organize them for me?
I'm burnt out on doing that every week, and it looking no better the following day.
Offer to clean out my vehicle.
I just can't get to that.
Children already are notorious for leaving everything they own in the vehicle but compound that with 6 children who don't like the way shoes feel on their feet?

Come fold and put away my laundry for me?
There is laundry hanging over us every. single. day.
We have no laundry room.
It stacks up in my bedroom until I can get to that too.

Should I really have to ask for help?
I'm not good at that.
I can cook, and entertain children, and make lovely desserts and crafts and.....
all while drowning.
But I don't generally like to ask for help.
I guess I wasn't raised that way.
It's not an excuse.
I'm just explaining why I do what I do,

Doesn't everyone do better with some encouragement?
Look around you.
Lend a hand.
Be Jesus to someone desperate to know if they are even close to doing the right thing.
Give them hope that everything will turn out all right.
Let them know you are on their side and holding their hand as they go through very dark places.
Don't just pray...though that is the FIRST thing that should be done.
DO!
And learn that not only can you BE a blessing to those who are struggling, but you will find joy and encouragement for your own life because you gave.

Last birthday of the season

Birthday season runs from January to May in our house.
We have one birthday every month.....with 3 within a week and half's time in April.
Our oldest daughter has her birthday in August.
She just kinda hangs out there by herself......but she likes it that way!

This week we celebrated our youngest son's birthday.
This little guy has been climbing on the kitchen counter since JANUARY to lift the pages of the calendar checking for when it would be his turn to celebrate his birthday!
He finally turned 6 on Wednesday.
What a precious time we all had making him feel special!!
He was just so sweet and grateful and thrilled with whatever we could do.
He asked if I would take him out to McDonald's for dinner, just by himself.
Oh my.
What a yummy treat that was for me.
I can't tell you how that boy has stolen my heart!!
He was just pure delight and sweetness, and that is a memory that I will have tucked away in my heart forever!!
Afterward, I took him to a park that he has never been to, and we just had the most relaxing time just playing on the seesaw together and talking about how much Jesus loves him, and how he wants to be a policeman when he grows up.
I think I had just as much of a delightful time as he did on his special day!!
Click on the link below to see a collage of our celebration!
You can then click on each picture to get a better look!

This free photo collage customized with Smilebox