The Dukes of 3

After Much Thought

2011-09-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

So after much thought and debate over a new blog site name for our family adventures, I have finally come up with a new blog title and site. I have taken the suggestion of a friend from church who really waned me to rename our children to correspond with the Dukes of Hazzard show. Even though I would chuckle at the thought each time, I have finally taken her suggestion...

The new blog will be titled: Adventures of Daisy and Bo Duke.

So go ahead and click on over and check out our new adventures as we quickly approach life as a family of 4 instead of 3 with much excitement!

A Lot to Learn

2011-08-04T07:04:00.000-07:00

This week was supposed to be kind of a down week but has turned out to be quite busy just in different ways. One of the great joys of being a mother are the incredibly hilarious things that your children say. This week has been no exception especially with more and more talk about baby Elijah coming.

So I decided one day this week that SG and I would venture over to Target and allow her to pick out something for baby Elijah. All of this with my intentions of making her feel more of the expectation and preparation process, also maybe to ease his arrival come later this year. My initial thought was for her to pick out an outfit since she loves being such a fashionista, but I quickly had to change our plans upon realizing that Target's selection of newborn boy clothes was, to put it politely, pathetic!

My direction of interest for her then turned to a lovie for baby Elijah. She now sleeps with 3 lovies (a blanket, "shakey" bunny, and Knuffle bunny). She promptly found a little puppy dog that has a shaker in it and she said, "I can have shakey bunny and he can have shakey doggy!" As a mommy I was quickly relieved thinking that she was getting the concept that over the next few months not everything was going to be for her.

Well, my thoughts were quickly shattered when we got in the car and she asked if she could sleep with Elijah's shakey doggy until he got here and then she would share it. Oh, well...

The other item that she has been literally begging to purchase since finding out she was going to be a big sister was a pack of pacifiers. I really don't know where this obsession began but it has cracked me up. Me, being the planner that I am, have been stocking-up on diapers and wipes when they are on sale and I have coupons. So we frequent baby aisles often and EVERY time she asks if we can buy the baby a pacifier. Now mind you SG has not had a pacifier since she was 18 months old and doesn't even remember having one, except when we tell her about it.

So as we perused the pacifiers, she chose ones that were pink at first of course since that is all she has known. Then I kindly re-directed her towards the blues and greens. Since we have been studying our letters (capital and lower case) this summer she quickly recognize one that had a "little" d and a heart on it and asked, "Does this say 'I love daddy'?" I was shocked she was putting together her context clues to put this together. It made Mommy proud that what we have been doing each day is paying off!

Needless to say we picked out the "I love daddy" pacifiers and "adorable" ones. She was so excited about the pacifiers.

Since we couldn't find any clothes at Target, later that day SG told me, "I am going to my room to find some clothes for Elijah." I can't say I really expected what came from this, but she came back to me with this concerned look on her face.
I asked her what was wrong and she promptly said, "I can't find a skirt that is too small for me that Elijah could wear." Trying to be sensitive to her feelings but rolling with laughter inside, I gently explained to her that boys don't wear skirts. she just looked up at me with those beautiful blue eyes and compassionate look on her face, "Oh" was all she said.

I can't even begin to explain all of the hilarious and creative ideas she has come up with this week. But one thing I can say is that based on the events of this week, including getting some baby time with one of our friend's baby boy who is a little over 2 months old, she is going to be a huge help to Mommy and Daddy and a big sister full of love!

On another note...be on the lookout soon for our blog address to be changing. I will post a link on this site to our new site once I get it set-up. We just don't feel that the title of this blog fits us anymore since we are growing beyond 3 now.

Happy Thursday!

A Mover and Shaker

2011-07-27T14:28:00.001-07:00

Today was our big day...We found out today whether SG was going to have a little brother or sister. Each of us had our own guesses (after all we had a 50/50 chance). SG had said about 2 weeks ago that we didn't need to go to see Mommy's doctor because she already knew that it was a girl and even if it wasn't, "It's o.k. because it can change into a girl." (We don't have a clue where she got this idea in her little 3 year old mind.)

Myself and Josh both had a strong pull towards it being a boy, neither of us for the same reasoning. Being a mommy I knew things were different this go around than the first but I just couldn't really explain it. Josh just "had a feeling", but I quickly reminded him that he had the same feelings when we found out that we were having SG.

So after a wonderful breakfast with our amazing accompanist from church and Mommy consuming the liquid amount prescribed by the ultrasound tech (might I add that it made me quite uncomfortable considering this baby loves to kick my bladder...and we now have proof!), we trucked over to the doctor's office. We even picked Josh up despite him work literally less than a football fields length from the doctor's office, which is also located in the hospital where our little bit will be delivered.

Following games of horsey and serenading the entire OB/GYN waiting room (thank you SG) we were called back. SG eagerly handed our DVD to our ultrasound tech and promptly asked her, "Is it a girl?" The tech said she didn't know but we were about to find out. So as we are going back, this turned out to be a time of 'Out of the mouth of Babes' because SG said very loudly in the room, "Mommy you're showing your panties."
Josh quickly responded with, "Well, you shows yours everyday so at least she waits until she is in the doctor's office." I about died.
Then SG continued, "Mommy, she's (the tech) is getting jelly all over you. You might want to say stop." Again...out of the mouth of babes!

So only after about 5 minutes of measuring various body parts our little bit decided to reveal itself to us...IT'S A BOY! Or as we will be calling him...it is Elijah Christopher Duke. He is looking very healthy weighing in at a guesstimation of 12 ounces. He is a mover and shaker, for he had the tech going all over my abdomen. Yet he is a little camera shy because he refused to give us a frontal view of his face even after trying for several minutes. However, he did "stand" directly on my bladder during the last, oh, 10 minutes of the viewing. So now I know that I am not just imagining things.

We will have a 2nd ultrasound in about 2 months to see if we can finally get him to show his face, but overall we were very pleased with all of the images we got today.

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY ELIJAH!

Deep in the Hundred Acre Woods

2011-07-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

Monday we took SG to her first movie theatre experience. We went to see the new Winnie the Pooh movie. Josh and I knew that we wanted to take her but finding the time was the big question of all. So at lunch we made a last minute call to go to the last matinee of the day.

We didn't tell SG where we were going to keep the suspision alive. All we told her was that we needed to clean up and take a nap so we would be well rested for our surprise. Well, do to a very eventful weekend with Ama and Papa making a drop-in visit, SG was still in recovery mode; so, needless to say the 2 hours I had allotted for nap was not enough.

So Mommy did what any mommy would do for a child's first experience, I woke her up with much enthusiasm in my voice and stared at the beautiful blue eyes of a still exhausted 3 year old. After much persuasion, she arose from her comfortable slumber.
And we were off...to the movies.

Upon arriving she was mesmerized by the concession stand at first, but who isn't. For still at the ripe age of 28,I look at all the choices of the concession stand like they have changed from the last time I was there. (Which generally they never do.)Josh ordered us a popcorn to share with EXTRA butter (that is an understatement after we got home and realized the grease stains on our clothes from just holding the bag...thanks DAWN for being a great grease releaser).

As the previews started, SG kept asking, "Where's Pooh?" However, she was quite intriguied by the previews for the new Chipmunk movie (thank you Janice) and the re-release of the Lion King. Mommy showed her age when I got so excited about the new Muppet movie coming out and SG looked up at me with this blank stare as if to say, "Why are you so excited about that? I've never heard of such craziness in my life." Oh, well. Guess I will have to go to that one solo. :)

About 2/3 of the way through the movie, after examining where the movie was being projected from, playing musical chairs with Mommy and Daddy, and eating at least 8 cups full of popcorn, SG look up at Mommy and said, "Can we go home?" I thought,'Are you serious?' But I soon realized that at home when she has even watched the 5 minute Little People movies that she generally looses interest quickly and goes to play in her room...or would rather go read books.(except for the Cinderella movie) I will count my blessings for now.

Overall, she loved her first movie experience. She was recapping the entire movie with her stuffed Tigger, Pooh and Eeyore this morning in bed with Josh. She even said that maybe Tigger could find that "Backsoon" if he drank some of her Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothiethat I had made them for breakfast. I just stood there and laughed...

I know this will not be her last movie going experience, but I do hope that it was a memorable one for the time being.

Life is...

2011-06-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

The last few months of our lives have truly been an adventure. We have experienced more in the last 3 months than I have in a long time. So to break it down a little for some of our long distant readers I will do so by the month...
MARCH
* On Josh's 31st birthday, we found out the sell of our house had fallen through, only 1 1/2 weeks from closing, due to the falling through of our buyers house sale.
* Praise the Lord! Only one week later our buyers house went back under contract and a new closing date was set.
* One week after all these events, we got the exciting news that Samantha Grace was going to be a BIG SISTER! The amount of excitement cannot be adequately explained, especially to our readers who know how much we have prayed for this baby.

APRIL
* Only 1 week before we were to close on the house that we thought we were going to be purchasing, some uncontrollable circumstances from the seller, Josh and I decided to let this home go and go back out to the searching field.
* The Lord opened so many doors for us to look and we found and locked down our current home in Trinity, AL. It has moved us out a little more in the country but still in the neighborhood community. We love it! Our town feels like Mayberry. (No joke!)
* One week after finding our new home, my favorite sister-in-law gave birth to precious Hadley Elise 7 weeks early! She is beautiful and doing awesome!
* In the same week that we found our house, we survived the dramatic tornado adventure.

MAY
* Sadly only a week after we welcomed Hadley into the world, we sad goodbye to SG's great-grandfather.
* A few weeks later, we closed on our new home (we had to wait for the construction to be completed). We are loving every minute!
* Unfortunately, the day we closed on our home we said goodbye to precious Aunt Libby. We miss her sweet disposition everyday!

JUNE
* This month we have been very busy...hosting guests...My mom came and visited for a week shortly followed by Mimi and Bobo.
* Just a few days after hosting our guests, the 3 of us went to Atlanta to Reach the Nations in Atlanta. Wow! What an amazing mission experience! Some pictures to come in a later post.
* Mommy and Daddy also visited the dermatologist since Ama's recent surgery to remove skin cancer. Mommy had to return for some minor basal cell removal recently. So thankful that I went when I did. Recovery is good practice for when little bit arrives for SG since I cannot lift her for 2 weeks.

I know this is a lot to share. I am 15 weeks along in pregnancy. Little bit is due to arrive around December 5 unless s/he decides to make an early arrival like SG did.
Hope this update finds you and your family doing well! Would love to hear from you!

The House that Built Me

2011-03-19T04:24:00.001-07:00

Personal thoughts from Mommy:
I don't know if any of my readers are familiar with the song by Miranda Lambert called "The House that Built Me" but basically the whole idea behind the song is that the person is journeying back to the house where she grew up as a child. I have, for some reason that I am now understanding, been drawn to this song for the past few weeks.
The last few weeks have been quite an emotional journey for us. As I previously posted, we sold our home in Montgomery. After the realization of this fact finally hit home, I for some reason began thinking a lot about the home I lived in as a child in Knoxville, Tennessee.
(Note: To my mommy and daddy you might want to grab a Kleenex.)
This home meant a lot to me...Just like the song says (paraphrased) the people that now occupy that home will never know what happened in each room, but I do. I remember where I was for each special event. I remember very vividly trying on my mother's wedding dress, sliding down our dual staircases with my brother in sleeping bags to see who was the fastest, and I remember sitting on those back stairs numerous times to "just think about it" after crossing the line. I remember where the piano sat and I spent many a hours practicing various instruments with music leaned on the piano. I remember making chocolate covered cherries with my precious Ama and drying homemade noodles with my strong, yet gentle Papa on the large kitchen island. This was and still is "The House that Built Me".

I believe that the reason so many of the memories are flooding into my mind at this time is because Daddy and I have recently purchased our second home (since being married) and are getting ready to pretty much re-do 80% of the home cosmetically. I commented last night that I have never bought so much paint and supplies as we did at one time! But the main thing that I think about are the amazing memories that SG will have of this home. What will she be writing 20 years from now about the house that built her.

I also believe that another reason that I think about our home in Knoxville is because my immediate family is facing some big medical trials right now. About 2 weeks ago my Mommy was diagnosed with Melanoma found in the shoulder area of one of her arms. Knowing that this can be pretty common, I have to admit that I pretty much shrugged it off at first. However, her surgery to remove the rest of the cancer from that area and further, if necessary, was Monday. I have to admit that the reality of it began to set in around 2:00 PM (at which time she was undergoing surgery). Then when I got the report from her that the area in which they removed measured 6 inches long by 3 inches wide...I got worried. So a flood of memories began to flow because I wasn't expecting it to be this much of a removal. I honestly thought that it was "contained" in the small area where the original biopsy was performed. So the house that built me now was transported from the physical home in Knoxville into the spiritual home of God.

I knew right then that God had destined me to be studying the first book of James this week, not only for that reason, but for many circumstances combined. For in James, and I leave you with this, it states

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds,because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything...Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. James 1:2-4,12

Our God is So Good

2011-03-09T11:45:00.000-08:00

Just a short little update on our family...
We are all doing great! We are thoroughly enjoying getting to know our new home. It feels like we have been here forever...everyone is like family at Westmeade and in Decatur for that matter.

As many of you know, our biggest prayer request during our transition was for our home in Montgomery to sell. Well, despite having 15 listings with the same floor plan and around the same price range, God again showed up and showed off because we have officially sold our home in Montgomery. Might I add that there had not been a home sold in our neighborhood since November and there is new construction going on right now in our neighborhood. God is so good...all the time!

This is a bitter sweet time for Daddy and Mommy because this was the first home that we purchased. And as many of you know, several monumental memories were made in that home. Thankfully Mimi has placed the memories of this home in all of our future homes with the pen and ink drawing she made of our home a few years ago. THANK YOU!

We covet your prayers as we discern where our new home in Decatur will be soon. We just thank all of our prayer warriors again for earnestly praying for God to send us a buyer.

I leave you now with a few pictures of things we have been up to lately in our new home and while visiting family in Tennessee.

We took SG to see Cinderella with Mimi and Bobo at a local high school in Franklin, TN. She loved it to say the least!

We went camping at Mount Sano in Huntsville, AL. This was SG's first camping experience!

Daddy and SG at one of the overlooks on our hike in Mount Sano! Best hiking buddies!

This is one of Mommy's favorites. SG wanted to play airplane during our hike, so we did. Mommy will cherish this forever!

This, That and the Other

2011-01-16T13:40:00.000-08:00

We can't believe it but it has been almost 3 weeks since our move to Decatur. As the old saying goes..."Time flies when you're having fun!"

These past 2 weeks have been quite humorous to say the least. During our 2nd week in Decatur the city found sediments in the water so we began to feel like the colonial people having to bring water in to bathe, flush toilets, etc. It was quite interesting seeing Chick-Fil-A pour our drinks out of 2 liters and limit us to only a small handful of ice chips. I told Daddy that I was going to start collecting 50 cents for each person that walked by our table checking to see if the restrooms were open. Quite hysterical to say the least. After recovering our water the next wave of "unusual Decatur behavior" began...

You got it! SNOW!

We had somewhere between 10-12 inches fall in our neighborhood. It was great packing snow. SG requested a snow princess castle, which Mommy attempted to build using an empty mop bucket. I had much more success with this snow than I did with the sand in Gulf Shores in October. However, I think SG enjoyed devouring the snow more than she liked playing in it. (We had to tell her to only eat the snow in yard that didn't have foot prints because we caught her a time or two while walking to our friends' house down the street trying to stop for a bite to eat.

Since we couldn't really go anywhere all day Monday due to the snow AND ice on the roads...we spent a lot of time with our friends the Echols. SG has really taken to their daughter, Reagan. They could be sisters if you look really fast. Peas in a pod!

After the snow finally subsided enough for the schools to reopen, SG had her first day of school at Church Street Academy (thanks Christy for the recommendation!). SG loved it! She loves school so much that I couldn't hold her from it at all. She will be in an older 2's class, but the neatest things are the "classes" that they go to throughout her time there. She will be going to a science, social studies, art, music, gym, and Bible class. The greatest thing is that she will be able to stay there, if we choose, through Kindergarten!

First Day of School

Daddy has had a busy week as well despite the snow. We had an impromptu choir practice on Thursday evening for an hour. Then...about 100 music ministry participants descended upon our home for a dessert social. It was sooo much fun! Mommy loves hosting people at our home so this was right up her alley. We loved the great fellowship had by all! Then this morning we had a packed house in the choir loft! We are looking forward to adding more chairs next week!

The Lord's blessings have been too numerous to count over the past few weeks. We are so thankful for the people that have been helping and loving on us! All we can say is...THANK YOU!

Off and Running!

2011-01-05T12:46:00.001-08:00

Today is Daddy's 3rd day at our new church in Decatur. We are loving getting to know the community but most of all the people are so sweet!

SG and I spent this morning running a bunch of errands (without getting lost I might add). She is still trying to grasp the whole concept of this move. This afternoon she asked why we are living in a new house and where our otherhouse had gone. So I tried, in my best Mommy explanation, to explain it all to her.

I am enjoying having some extra time to really sort through all my to-do list that I had in Montgomery but never felt I could completely get it all done. I am learning, after finally cleaning out my e-mail box and reading my favorite frugal website about rearranging my schedule and making it actually work. I have set some pretty lofty, yet obtainable goals, for myself in the coming year.

The big news of this week is two fold:
1. SG had her quarterly Diabetes check-up yesterday and got a rave review from Dr.L in Birmingham. YEAH!
2. We have found a preschool for SG to attend and Mommy does not have to go too! This is a HUGE thing for all of us. We will make our final visit on Friday (prayers please) and SG will, hopefully, begin attending on Monday. She will maintain the 3 day schedule she had in Montgomery to try and keep some consistency with her former schedule. I am so excited to have Mommy time!

We cannot thank all of our sweet friends both in Montgomery and Decatur for all your prayers and support during our time of transition! We have seen God's hand at work in so many ways every step of the way! We give Him all glory and honor!

Saying Goodbye

2010-12-27T14:42:00.000-08:00

Today is our last day in Montgomery. We packed and packed and packed. A HUGE thanks to our family and hired friends all their help. We got all...I mean almost all...of our stuff packed into a 26 foot truck and one of our vehicles. There is just enough room for SG to ride along on the roof...Just kidding!

Earlier today, around lunch time, some of SG and Mommy's friends came by to say good-bye. At first, the kids just enjoyed running back and forth in the empty house. Then out the blue SG came up to her little friend Cooper and said, "Cooper...I am going to miss you." Mommy thought she was going to melt into the floor. Mommy has done really good about holding the emotional side in until today.

Mommy and Daddy really didn't know how much of the whole "moving" thing SG was grasping, but I think today really explained it all. Below are just a few pics of what our house has looked like the past few weeks and what our yard looked like this morning. New pics of Decatur to come later.

For now...please pray for our safe travel and smooth transition.

This Grand Adventure

2010-12-08T13:38:00.000-08:00

I am sitting in the peaceful quietness of Panera Bread at 3PM in the afternoon enjoying a late lunch (by myself), so I decided now is the perfect time to play catch-up for all our friends and family.

Just so you know how technologically I fell behind, as I write this entry I have over 200 pictures finally downloading off of my camera into my Shutterfly account. I have not downloaded since MAY! This is not like my personality, but many of my readers know that our family has been through quite the rollercoaster ride personally since this past July.

As Beth Moore spoke last night at my Bible Study (on DVD of course), I finally put all the pieces to our puzzle together. Once we stopped trying to stack the bricks of our life and just let God do the writing and "stacking" then things will all work out for the betterment of everyone involved.

I am learning slowly not to "stack my bricks" too high. The Lord has taught me, especially over the past 3 months, to slow down and that I cannot conquer everything alone.

Now that I am done with my sermonette (I need to remember what I tell my husband all the time: Less is more.)

SG's update: She has been in outstanding health. We are still struggling, at times, trying to find a regulatory range for her diabetes but she is handeling everything like a CHAMP! She has even gotten to the point now where she helps Mommy and Daddy change out her site, which tends to minimize some of the tears. I have a co-worker at school who also has Type I Diabetes, and she has been such a blessing and HUGE help to me and SG at so many times throughout the year!

Mommy and Daddy are getting ready to begin final performances for their last Living Christmas Tree in Montgomery, Alabama. Yes...I did say last.

As many of you know, the Lord has protected our family at many times throughout the year when we felt he was calling us to one church or another by firmly closing the doors. However, we have felt the call of the Lord and he has open wide the gates in more ways than just for Daddy's calling to serve to move to Decatur, Alabama.

Daddy will begin serving as Minister of Music at Westmeade Baptist Church. Our entire family is SO excited to see how the Lord has and is going to use us in this wonderful body of believers. Throughout this transition I have been easily reminded through SG's child like faith how Christ showed his love to us and how we should extend it to others. She has been so flexible and adjusted so easily in all situations that we have put her in over the last 3 months.

We are looking forward to see how God works through our Daddy and Westmeade Baptist Church. Please pray for us during this time of transition.

May God bless you and your family during this Christmas season!

Song quotes by SG

2010-12-06T03:20:00.000-08:00

So as many of you have read from some of my previous posts, SG LOVES to sing and, for the most part, generally sings the right words. However, she is known to have some misinterpretations of some of the lyrics. Here are two of her latest...

There is a song about Peter, James and John that is on her Bible songs CD that we have literally worn out in the car (most of the songs we can't play any more because they are so messed up on the CD). The song is supposed to say "Peter, James and John in a sailboat out on the deep blue sea". But according to SG Peter, James and John are now located in a sandbox out on the deep blue sea. Just in case you missed that section in the Bible.

But her latest one that has to be my favorite goes with an all time traditional Christmas song "Go Tell It on the Mountain". The end of the chorus says "Go tell on the Mountain that Jesus Christ is Born!" However, SG promised me in a heated 2 1/2 year old discussion on the way home from church last night that it does not say that in the last line. She "knows" that it says "Go tell it on the Mountain that Jesus Christ is Hot!" I am just quoting my 2 1/2 year old.

Hope this brings you as much laughter and joy to your day as it has ours this weekend! May we remember to "Go tell it on the Mountain" each and every day because He is born and "Might to Save".

This Little Lemon Lime

2010-09-13T17:11:00.000-07:00

So as many of my readers can view from my facebook page, Samantha Grace likes to "perform" on stage. Well, her latest performance is of "This Little Light of Mine". However, according to her it is "This Little Lemon Lime". Enjoy!

Invisible Hands

2010-08-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, two year olds can say the funniest things. Well, just these past few weeks SG has been having "conversations" with God while we are driving in the car. Some of them go like this,

SG: Hey, God, whatcha doin'?

Silence

SG: Ok. I'm not doin' anything. Just riding in the car.

Mom: So what is God up to SG?

SG: Just watching over us.

Mom: Anything else?

SG: Yeah, relaxing.

These conversations seem so cute and innocent when they happen. But her conversations I think came to life this weekend. Our church truly did have God watching over us with his invisible hands of protection. As you follow this link you can read and watch about what a true blessing it is that 14 lives were spared yesterday.

I write all of this cute conversation and link it to this story just to reiterate how important it is not only to openly talk to our children about God's hedge of protection, love and the joy He brings to our lives, but also the importance of praying. We have continually taught SG how praying is just talking to God. So she has, in her two year old mind, created these open conversations with God knowing that he is just "relaxing" and listening.

This power of prayer is truly what saved the lives of 14 young men yesterday. So as you go through this week and you are sitting at stop lights, cleaning dishes or, as in my case, tripping over another toy...stop and have a light hearted "conversation" with God. After all, He's watching over us and just relaxing in his heavenly chair!

A New Do

2010-07-29T11:30:00.000-07:00

Today SG and Mommy tagged along with SG's Godmommy to the hair salon, also known at our house as Miss Pam's. SG and Mommy had talked all the way to Perry Street about getting her hair trimmed, but she was quite insistent about not getting it cut.

However, upon not only being in Miss Pam's shop 5 minutes and receiving the traditional lollipop, SG insisted that she was to get her hair cut after Cecile. Well, we all did it with a held breath...lifted SG up onto the special chair, adorned her with the oh, so cool ice cream apron and waited an abated breath for the second tears of rejection. For, you see, a couple months ago we tried the same thing since she was convinced that she needed her hair cut too, but we were not successful as the tears flowed before the ice cream apron was even put on.

Today, on the other hand, was a totally different experience. She hopped up in the chair and sat with a stare of amazement watching Miss Pam's every move. For just a 5 minute trim, she did FANTASTIC! Now her hair will grow out in not the Billy Ray Cyrus style but in little, I mean, BIG girl style! (No worries...the curls are still there grandparents!)

Mommy has added some pics from the experience. Hope you enjoy!

P.S. After getting our hair trimmed, we went to see Miss Alice's puppies! SO CUTE!

A Big Stretch

2010-07-23T06:48:00.001-07:00

As the summer is quickly coming to an end, we, as a family, have much to reflect upon...

We have had so many wonderful blessings this summer from fabulous family memories, two great get aways for Mommy and Daddy to the Bahamas and Arizona (where I write this post from currently), and onto some the of the biggest growth and challenge in our spiritual walk in quite some time.

As I mentioned in previous posts, our family would be taking some big steps that we had never ventured. Well, those big steps have taken an unexpected turn yet knowing that God is in complete control we will walk along this journey with our Heavenly Father. Just like with our SG's diabetes, we will never fully understand the greatest extent to the unanswered question of "Why?" but we do know that God is in complete control.

I know that for some of my readers the vagueness (is that a word?)of this post may not mean much, but if we could ask for one thing from your family towards ours it would be to pray. May you and your family enjoy the last few days of summer before the school year begins.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." - James 1:2-3

It's Been....

2010-07-11T15:53:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been quite some time since you have heard from us. (My father-in-law said that his reading material has dwindled since I haven't been writing as often.) But I guess the grue reason why I haven't written in quite some time is because...well...I really don't know.

I was looking back at my posting log and found at least 13 unfinished posts. WOW! I have a lot of thoughts that I would love to put out there but after contemplating them some more just don't feel they truly meet the purpose of our blog. (They probably belong my in my journal of thoughts but this is so much more convenient at times than pen and paper.)

So for a quick update on our family...
Samantha Grace
* She is growing like a weed.
* She is struggling over the past week with her diabetes trying to keep it in normal range. We are either in extreme highs or lows at various points throughout the day. No true explanation for these extremes. We are, however, thankful that we will be visiting Birmingham within the next week for our 2 1/2 month check-up.
* She is growing more and more independent every day!
* Finally, she can say her entire name clearly! This is huge because Samantha is so difficult for 2 year old to get out let alone her entire name.

Mommy and Daddy
* Enjoying shorter work hours and weeks for more family time.
* Getting ready to help lead worship at a conference in Arizona. (Mommy has never been there!)
* Getting ready to take some big steps...details to come in the next few weeks.

I promise to be more loyal in writing in the coming weeks for those of you wanting to know more about our "big steps". I will also post some too cute pictures of SG taken in the last few weeks of summer.

Blessings to all!

Daddy's Day

2010-06-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

So today we celebrate the joy of having such wonderful Daddy's in our lives. Samantha Grace and I had been working on Daddy's project for some time now. But since Daddy will be going on a trip for the next week we moved our celebration up a few days. (Honestly, Mommy just couldn't wait to give the gift.)Unfortunately, I can't show you the exact gift but I can give you the pictures that were included in the gift.

These were taken by my friend Meredith Sellars. I just LOVED the natural look of her photos.

Also apart of our Daddy's Day celebration we took a trip to the zoo. We got to experience one of our zoo's newest features...The Giraffe Encounter. Yes, we got up-close-and-personal with our zoo's giraffes. We fed them some giraffe food concoction in an ice cream cone. If Mommy was to be honest, I think the giraffe was more interested int eh ice cream cone than the actual giraffe food. But the best part were these pictures Mommy caught during the feed...

Samantha Grace and Mommy are so thankful for an amazing Daddy and husband! We wish you and your family a Happy Daddy's Day too!

Just a Shot

2010-06-10T16:15:00.001-07:00

Earlier this week we went on a long car ride. One of the treats that SG got to experience was eating "cheesey puffs" aka Cheetos. This is a rare item for us to have in our house, so when they "hopped" into her treat bag her eyes lit up with surprise and joy. Here is one of the during pictures of our treat.

Tears were Flowing

2010-06-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

Tonight on the way to church, Samantha Grace and I were chit-chatting like we always do. Going through the usuals...

SG: Where's Daddy?
Mommy: Where do you think he is?
SG: At church.
Mommy: Yes, honey.

SG: Mommy, Look! There's sunshine.
Mommy: I see it Boo-Boo. Isn't it bright?!
SG: Y-E-A-H Mommy!

Then came the silence...until I heard this:

"Dear Jesus, Tank you for day. Mommy. Daddy and A-Grace (Side Note: She can't quite say her first name yet.) Jesus, Amen"

Then she said: "Mommy, I pray for you and Daddy."

My heart just sank and melt while tears welled up in my eyes. Then came questions about going to church and then Heaven. I know these were only small seeds, but they are being planted. Wow! How the Lord works through you and your children in mysterious ways.

We ended the ride with the conversation ending like this:

SG: "Mommy what do you do in Heaven?"

Mommy: "Sing to Jesus and go to church all the time." (I had to put it in two year old lingo)

SG: "I don't want to go there right now Mommy...I want to go to church."

Mommy: "I do too. Let's go to church to learn more about Jesus."

SG: "YEAH!"

I just LOVE being a Mommy!

Just Keeping Up

2010-06-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

A week ago, Mommy and Daddy were just returning from a week in the Bahamas aboard the beautiful NCL Sky. (Highly recommend!)

Thinking that they had had a restful and rejuvenating time, Samantha Grace quickly reminded them how tiring it is to keep up with a two-year-old. Here are just a few shots of what has happend in the last 3 days. (Please Note: Daddy has been down for the count due to a bacterial infection so Mommy has been taking these adventures with SG either alone or with awesome friends!)

Swimming in the Monkey pool. (Getting Mommy's laptop wet when Skyping with Mimi and Bobo.)

Swimming at the Waters and playing "big" ball. We have now learned how to climb on the ball and almost do a forward roll off of it.

Playing at the playground in 85+ heat!

A trip to the zoo with SG's friend Scarlett!

Needless to say Mommy was exhausted by Saturday evening. She has to say that she is somewhat glad that the Lord sent a thunderstorm Saturday night to cancel a planned swim trip. Always another day...

This week holds new adventures for our family. Please be praying for us as we journey to wherever the Lord places us next.

A New Chapter

2010-05-22T13:31:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Samantha Grace "graduated" from the 1-year old room into the 2-year old room. Mommy has to say that I am a bit tearful. We have LOVED our teachers this year. They have been some of the most compassionate and loving teachers!

When SG comes home and constantly asks, "Where's Berta (it's really Roberta but she can't say it all)?" or "Where's Christi?" You know it's been a great year!

She has made some fantastic friends and memories! Some we will never forget. One of the best "presents" that SG brought home was a collage of pictures of her and her friends from her class. My! How she has grown and changed since the beginning of the year. She is such a littl girl now!

There is one picture, in particular, where she is standing with her friend Beasley and she has her arm around her, leaning her head on Beasley's shoulder and smiling from ear-to-ear. It looks like a picture you would have seend in a high school year book. It just made Mommy cry.

We have now enetered our summer season. We know that there are still many possible changes on the horizon for our family and wait upon the Lord for some answers. But for now we are enjoying the laughter, water playing, swing-set swinging and friend playing times each moment that we get!

Mommy cannot thank Miss Roberta and Miss Christi for any better year than this! You guys are the best and the memories will last a life time!

A Year Later

2010-05-07T10:35:00.000-07:00

Some of you may not realize but last week has a great significance on our lives as a family. Exactly one year ago, we put our sweet Samantha Grace's life in the hands of wonderful doctor's and nurses here at home and at our wonderful Children's Hospital upon the realization of a diagnosis of Type I Diabetes. To mark the year of dramatic changes, I first thought I could compose a letter, but later thought that pictures do a much better job of explaining than I can do in words. Plus have you ever tried to write a letter to your child...not easy! So here in pictures are some of the journeys we have taken since May 8, 2009.

Almost 1 month prior to diagnosis.

Exactly one week prior to diagnosis.

Leaving PICU and heading to a regular room at Children's Hospital on day 3!

About 1 month after diagnosis in Nashville on the lake!

My first Braves game. September 2009.

Collecting rocks with SG's Uncle Vance. October 2009.

Beach trip with Bobo, Mimi, Mommy and Daddy. October 2009.

Tulip Fairy. Halloween 2009.

Thanksgiving 2009. Family Hike in Nashville.
Received our insulin pump. Such an answer to prayer!

Finger/Body painting at Mimi's. November 2009.

Christmas 2009. Only a day after being hospitalized with Type A & B Flu and a double ear infection.

Her favorite Christmas gift. Christmas 2009.

Learning all about Skyping. January 2010.

Riding the carousel at the Nashville Zoo. March 2010.

First petting zoo experience at the Atlanta Zoo. April 2010.

Dress-up like Abby. April 2010.

Samantha Grace and her "big brothers". May 2, 2010.

After all this fun and dramatic physical changes in our little angel, when the day is said and done Samantha Grace is just plain...

wiped out.

"Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." - Psalm 106:3

What a Day!

2010-04-24T20:56:00.001-07:00

Today SG experienced her first friend birthday party. She was a little tentative at first, but slowly took to...

A Picture with the Special Guest (Snow White)

Listening to the Special Guest with Mommy
and
Listening to my friend and Snow White sing "Someday My Prince will Come"

Mowing my Friend's Grass

Sliding Down a SUPER Fast slide

Riding Home After Lots of Fun with My Cool New Shades and Jewelry.

Later on this evening, SG decided to try on one of her birthday outfits...

We even got a family photo with our little Abby Cadabby!

New Hobby

2010-04-23T20:15:00.001-07:00

My husband gives me a hard time frequently about my hobbies...as the continue to add up. Some of my favorite hobbies are those that I can do while watching my favorite TV show and newly released movies on DVD (i.e. scrapbooking, sewing, etc.).

Since I have a cute little princess for a daughter, I knew the time would come when bows would start to consume our lives. Not wanting to pay the usual $5.00 plus for a hair bow, I knew that I could make them on my own but just needed a little instruction. From several helpful friends and family members, I finally have mastered "my way" of making bows successfully!

Tonight while catching up on one of my favorite reality TV shows, I was able to make 4 hairbows in less than 2 hours, hot glued and secured to all barretts! I am so proud!

Tomorrow...a vintage pillow case dress!

P.S. Here is a picture of a few bows that I completed tonight.

Cheese Cow

2010-04-20T19:38:00.000-07:00

So many experienced moms have told me through the past few months that once they (meaning children) really start putting words together, they can say the funniest things. Take this conversation between SG and Mommy from today as an example:

Today while driving home from one of our many YMCA's in Montgomery, SG said, "Cows! Mommy! I see cows!"

I replied, "Yes, Samantha Grace those are just like the cows that live by our house."

A few minutes passed and SG asked,"Whatcha doing?" Side Note: This is one of her favorite questions right now that is usually asked at least 5 times in the matter of a few minutes.

I replied, "Driving to our house. Look, Samantha Grace there are some more cows."

SG replies without any extended period of thought, "Those my cows Momma."

"Oh, really...What kind of cows do you have?" I asked.

"Cheese cows. Mine cows cheese," replied SG.

"Really Samantha Grace. Well, let me tell you a little bit about cows. Cows produce milk and milk is then turned into cheese. Maybe once day Daddy and I can take you to a dairy farm and see the cows and how they make milk and cheese," I explained.

"I walk to cows Momma?!" SG asked.

"No not today," as I lowered her out of the car," maybe another day soon."

"Oh...(thinking)okay," SG stated.

If only I could have had a camera to continuously shoot her facial expressions throughout this conversation. She was quite determined that the cows belonged to her and that they were cheese cows. She even got her pointer finger going and hand motions trying to explain everything. Quite hysterical!

So next time you see the cows off of Thorington Road, just remember they belong to Samantha Grace and that they are Cheese Cows!
Happy Tuesday!

Oh What Fun!

2010-04-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

Today we had SG's 2nd birthday party. Words cannot express how much fun we all had...here are some pictures to show all the excitement!

This is how SG burned off the sugar from her cookie!

Turning 2

2010-04-15T13:52:00.000-07:00

Time flies when your having.... You can fill in the blank. For us it could include a multitude of things that have encompassed the last year of little Samantha Grace's life, or shall I say now, "big" girl Samantha Grace's life. She has proudly known that this week was her birthday. She knows she has turned two (I think partly because that is her favorite number right now), and she has loved all of the attention she has gotten. But who wouldn't?! I have included some of the minor celebration pictures from this week thus far and a couple videos. We will have BIG celebration this weekend with family and close friends. This celebration is almost two fold for us, not only a celebration of her birthday but also a celebration of life. For only two and half weeks after her first birthday was she Life Flighted to Birmingham with a looming diagnosis of her diabetes. (More on that milestone to come at a later date.) Praise the Lord for he IS good!

Pet Pig

2010-04-05T16:37:00.001-07:00

Today in our first day of, literally, Hot 'Lanta, we ventured to the Atlanta Zoo. My parents have lived in Atlanta for over 6 years and I have yet to go to the zoo, so this was as much an experience for me as for SG. We started off our day with a visit from Mr. Meerkat.

She wasn't too keen of visiting him by herself but was A-okay with Mommy. She even blew him kisses as we walked away.

We then ventured into the African jungle where we visited the very dirty elephants, zebras, girraffes, and rhinos. We even saw the mommy and daddy lion on top of "Pride Rock".

Following our African journey, we went further into the jungles to find the monkeys and gorillas. The gorillas and monkeys proved to us that spring has sprung and love is in the air. Wow! They were active! SG thought they were hilarious and kept askin if she could hold them.

After leaving the frisky monkeys, SG had the priveledge (I don't think she would have classified it as that, once you see the picture.) of being up close and personal with the largest Kamodo Dragon I have ever seen. She was okay with it until it literally was face-to-face with her. The only thing separating her and the dragon was the plexi-glass. We told her it was the Goldfish on her tray that he wanted.

Finally, and possibly Mommy's favorite, was the introduction of the Panda Bears to SG. She had never seen and/or read about a Panda Bear before. Her comment,and I quote, "Eww, Mommy day (they) are dirty. Take bath." Yes, SG is quite an observer when it comes to dirt. She can find the tiniest speck of dirt on you or her and insist on cleaning it right away. She is not really the dig in the dirt kind of girl, despite her love of playing outside.

Above: Female

Above: Male".

Oh, wait, I almost forgot SG's favorite. Her favorite part, by far, was the petting zoo. One would have thought she lived on a farm with how comfortable she was with "herding" the goats and sheep, telling them where to eat and navigating her way between the sleeping pigs to get to the one she really wanted to pet. Quite funny! We had to beg and plead with her to get her out of the "farm".

All in all it was a great day at the zoo. We all left completely exhausted!

A Huntin' We will Go

2010-04-03T13:41:00.000-07:00

Today SG experienced her second "real" Easter Egg Hunt. This one was quite larger than her preschool hunt so at first it was a bit overwhelming. I have to say, though, that she even helped Mommy and Daddy "hide" eggs before the kids arrived and didn't try to open or take any of them. She thought it was hilarious that we were throwing them across a huge field.

She did not let us down today with her hunting skills. She came away with a basket full; however, I think overall she was more interested in the playhouse that our friends had outside. (She is obsessed with playhouses, yet it puzzles her why they don't have real running water in them.) She was very much in her element at our friends' home, for they have a ton of land and she could run for miles outside and not grow weary!

So far our Easter festivities have been a blast! It is so neat to see SG so full of life, especially looking back almost a year ago at the little girl we had. Such a huge change and blessing! We look forward to celebrating our risen Savior with our church family tomorrow and then Mommy and SG will be taking a mini-vacation to visit Ama, Papa and Uncle Wade. (Pictures will come soon!)

For now....HAPPY EASTER!

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us...Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ whom we have now received reconcilation." -Romans 5:8,11

An Afternoon

2010-04-02T13:27:00.001-07:00

We thoroughly enjoyed our Good Friday service this afternoon. SG and I got to sit with Miss Carol and Mr. Vance. I think this allowed her to make it through almost the entire service! I was completely impressed. After the service, we treated SG to a trip to the playground. I think she was more bemused by people watching than actually playing on the equipment. (Plus a lot of the equipment was extremely warm due to the 80 degree temps.)

Much like yesterday, the outside air is proving itself to take a toll on our little one.

I, like one of my college friends, love pictures of sleeping children. There is just something about the sweet innocence of little children sleeping, no matter what they may have done or acted like previously in the day. PEACE!

All Tuckered Out

2010-04-01T12:12:00.001-07:00

Discovering a World of Joy

2010-03-29T19:56:00.000-07:00

Over the last few weeks, our family has been discovering so many aspects of JOY that I think had been hidden due to our busy lives. Yet as we continue to be extremely busy, the Lord has been amazing in revealing his awesome power!

In addition to reveling his unthinkable and undeservable JOY, we have been enjoying watching Samantha Grace experience her 2nd Easter festivities. She has been "practicing" hunting Easter eggs at a variety of friends' homes. She was able to show off her "talent" today at preschool...All I can say is that I hope this is not a sign to come. (She was such a Hoarder.)

enJOY the amazing wonders of a 2-year-old's first egg hunt!

Trying to truly figure out what the heck is going on.

Checking out her loot and making sure no one has taken anything.
(She was a little possessive about her eggs!)

"I know I saw a piece of candy in here somewhere..."

"Where did it go?"

Happy Easter!

12 --> 9.7 --> 7.6!!

2010-03-24T17:16:00.000-07:00

So the numbers to the title of this posting might seem like a puzzle to you, the reader, and I honestly don't blame you for staring at them for a while trying to figure out what the "catch" is to the final solution. Well, the good news is that those numbers are and are not a math equation.

It does take a math equation, I suppose, to come up with these numbers but it also takes amazing skills on SG's parents, grandparents and caretakers to get these numbers. For those numbers represent an "average" of a 3 - 4 month time period of blood sugar readings (to put it in easy to understand terms). For a non-diabetic person you want your reading somewhere between 4-6 in a non-fasting blood sugar reading; however, for SG we are just happy to have anywhere below 12, which is where she was when she was diagnosed. (The longer at the high end of the spectrum the more long term effects she will have on the rest of her systems.) So upon receiving the wonderful news, that her A1C level (that's the average I mentioned before) had gone even lower from 9.7 at her last appointment to 7.6, I thought Dr.L and Mommy were going to cry. Mommy couldn't wait to call Daddy with this wonderful news.

Following our good news, we developed some new strategies to try and keep her levels from peaking and bottoming so much due to a toddler appetite lately (and the beautiful weather). Fortunately for SG, she will have the best diet of anyone in our household, for her doctor has restricted refined sugars (i.e., cakes, cookies, candy) for emergency situations only since these seem to be the main triggers for extreme highs into extreme lows no matter how we dose insulin. Dr.L also recommended a more organic/natural diet to avoid processed refined sugars. So needless to say, Mommy and SG had a little field trip to Whole Foods while in Birmingham. (Mommy didn't mind because it is one of her favorite grocery stores!)

On a non-medical note, we were so excited to celebrate Daddy's 30th birthday for almost an entire week. We spent some time with Mimi and Bobo over spring break, and Mommy and Daddy were treated to a night out on the town to the Schemerhorn Nashville Symphony Hall and a night in downtown Nashville. Needless to say Mommy and Daddy had a blast! Below are some of our pictures!

We also enjoyed getting our "fix" of motorcycle riding in the beautiful sunshine. We also took SG to the Nashville Zoo. She had so much fun! Pictures explain it all!

We are looking forward to Easter and her first true Easter Egg Hunt! (We have been practicing!) She is proving to be an excellent hunter! SG and Mommy look forward to a short trip to Atlanta and then a visit from Ama in a few weeks! We are also anticipating turning....2! (Time sure does fly!)

We cannot thank our readers enough for their unending prayer support over the, almost, last year! It sure has been quite a journey and each new day proves to be a new adventure only blessed by God!

Lenses and Focal Points

2010-02-15T20:23:00.000-08:00

So I come upon a post where there are more pictures than there are words to express how much fun we are having at our home lately watching SG grow and develop. We hope you enjoy all the pictures!

Our biggest milestone has been reached today! We "gave" all of our pacifiers, binkies, pap-paps to the babies at Children's Hospital because we are an almost big 2year old! SG even went to bed without a fuss for her pap-pap! YEAH!!!

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. - John 14:27

Missing the Mountains

2010-02-14T20:12:00.000-08:00

Thought I would post a short video of when we were first entering the mountains on Friday afternoon. The scene was very similar when we left this afternoon; however, there was already at least 1 1/2 inches of snow on the ground. I have to admit that seeing the deer, snow and overall view made me like a little kid at Christmas! I grew up seeing the Smoky Mountains from my bedroom window and visiting them quite often, so this brought back so many memories! Hope you all enjoy watching the snow falling!

A special thanks sent to all our new and old friends from the mountains, family, and Montgomery for a restful and adventureful Valentine's weekend! You all are such a blessing to our lives!

Tears are Overrated

2010-02-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

We thank everyone in advance for all the prayers for Samantha Grace and her recent minor surgery. Everything went great! When she returned from surgery, a mere 20 minutes, the nurses said the only time she cried was just after waking from anesthesia. (Who can blame her?)

All of the doctors and nurses were quite surprised with this considering the rest of the children around us were screaming on the way down the hall. We were very proud!

The tubes went into both ears successfully. The doctors also were able to drain some of the fluid from the ears prior to insertion of the tubes. We will continue to monitor fever and drainage for the next few days. She will receive antibiotic drops to help try and prevent infection over the next few days. SG will have a follow up ENT appointment in about 2 - 3 weeks.

We praise the Lord that nothing went wrong and that we were able to get our tubes as soon as possible.

Below are a few pics that we snapped during and after surgery, along with some pics from the North Georgia Mountains where we are taking a family break!

Birmingham's Eve

2010-02-09T12:30:00.000-08:00

As Samantha Grace and I gear up to head to Birmingham tomorrow afternoon, the time cannot pass quick enough. Our sleepless nights are adding up quickly, the wackiness (if that is a word) of her blood sugar numbers over the past several weeks are driving all of us crazy looking for answers, but my worries and storms are put to a halt when I read Rollin's mom's latest blog...In Brooke's words...

Somewhere inside I had finally found peace, comfort and then more bad news. We have to meet with her Dr. tomorrow to discuss Rollins having an MRI. I refused, but she was insistent. She wants to further understand what happened last Tuesday and look deeper than the CT scan. She thinks there might be something else wrong, a problem caused by the chemo. I don't know much more than that and won't know until we talk tomorrow at clinic, but I am angry and very scared. I never asked why this happened to Rollins 18 months ago, I just asked God why it wasn't me. Any mother would take the pain, and in Rollins case the Cancer, just to protect her child. I am very angry and just want her little body to be left alone. She has been through so much, not another complication. The Dr. ask why I was so scared of the MRI, was it b/c of what they might find? I guess the answer is yes. I am terrified of what they might find, she is my baby. I know it doesn't work this way, but hasn't she had enough - isn't the cancer enough? For those of you trying to call, I am sorry but can't talk right now - just feels best in the quiet with Rollins with me. I know I just got the call from the hospital and all this is new to me, I just feel like crumbling. What do I do? I guess I pick myself up and press on, but right now I am scared, angry and feel so helpless. Please pray for her just like you did in the hospital. Please pray that this is just something we have to go through, but everything will be fine. Please pray God lift her up and protect her from anything more. Please pray she is perfect, and I can go back to praying just for her leukemia.

I understand what it feels like to want to just hold your baby and be away from "the world". I understand what it is like to wonder, 'How much more can my little one take on?' So we stop and pray...

Pray...something we all do everyday whether in good times or bad times. Something that I was reading this morning on the treadmill was the importance of following through when we tell someone, "I'll pray for you." It should be solid commitment, for it is not only a commitment to that person(s) needs but also a commitment to God.

So I as I sit in my arm chair writing, wearing worn out jeans that remind me to fall on my knees and pray.

"How bold and free we then become in His presence, freely asking according to His will, sure that He's listening." -1 John 5:14 - 15 (The Message)

Our Little Monet

2010-02-06T06:55:00.000-08:00

Okay so the picture looks nothing like you would fine in the National Museum of Art, but SG and I had a blast doing this last night. She and I worked together on this masterpiece. Little does she know but she has several "reproductions" to do today. Hint...Hint...to some people because we have to get them shipped off.

On the health front...SG seems to be doing fine during the day. We have been fever free pretty much all week. She still has a TON of congestion hence her under eyes look puffy and black and blue and her nose runs all the time. She continues to have trouble sleeping waking 3-4 times during the night even with the aid of Tylenol and/or Motrin. We are eagerly awaiting Wednesday's appointment with our ENT in Birmingham.

We also ask that you continue to pray for little Rollins. Her health seems to be improving yet still having trouble with her oxygen levels. So we know that prayer has worked thus far and continue to use His strength and almight healing power to get her through this rough bump in the road. Then she will be able to return to chemo treatments to, hopefully, rid her little body of Lukemia forever!

Happy Saturday to all! Stay tuned this week for a surprise Valentine's treat!

A True Meaning

2010-02-04T13:26:00.000-08:00

Over, what has almost been a year, the Lord has been revealing to me each and everyday a deeper meaning of unconditional love. Today I witnessed my wonderful husband showing unconditional love to a sweet little girl.

Rollins Wilkerson

This sweet little angel is battling not only cancer but also RSV, high fevers, and possibly some other things. (To read her full story click here) Rollins has been on our hearts since the day that her grandmother, Jan, told us about her. Jan and I exchange our stories and frustrations often about the continual struggle of illnesses. We have a special connection through drastically different situations.

As my husband and I await the soon ear tube surgery for Samantha Grace, while knowing that her ears are still full of fluid that is infected, this seems so small. So last night just before counting sheep, my husband and I discussed today's events. He expressed that he really wanted to go and visit Rollins. I cannot say how much my heart just broke. Knowing that not every man would stop everything he is doing and drive almost 2 hours one way to lay hands on, pray over and hug family members of sweet little Rollins.

So I write all of this to say now is a time to pray. We must remember to praise Him in the good times and in the bad times.

I close with the lyrics to a song that has completely spoken to me over the past few weeks.

By The Gentle Waters
By the gentle waters,
You will safely lead me,
in green pastures feed me,
knowing what is best.

Though I often stray,
wander far away,
I can hear You say,
"Come to me and rest."

Though the path be rough and rugged,
though the trail be dark and steep,
still the gentle Shepherd watches o'er His sheep.

There's no need to fear when the Shepherd's near.
When Your voice I hear,
I find comfort sure.

Free from all alarm,
Sheltered from all harm,
in Your arms,
I can rest secure.

With the flock abiding,
all my needs supplying,
comforting and guiding,
leading all the way.

Jesus, loving Shepherd,
You'll forsake me never.
In Your flock forever,
I am not alone.

Though the darkness hide me,
You are close beside me.
Gentle Shepherd guide me
'til I'm safely home.

Shadows

2010-02-01T07:59:00.000-08:00

Have you ever watched a child admire or chase their shadow, or try to find your shadow? Or do you remember Mary Martin in Peter Pan finding her shadow and trying to reattach her shadow with a bar of soap? Thankfully, we never lose the amazement or our shadows for that matter. Sometimes we even feel we have shadows, other than our own personal ones, that follow us.

Such is the case for us yesterday...Poor Mimi and Bobo seem to have a "shadow" of some sort when they have come to visit the past few times. SG has managed to have some type of illness each time keeping us all on our toes. This past Friday SG was diagnosed with an ear infection in her right ear. (Look back at this blog for reference to our night prior to diagnosis.) Well, we all thought we were heading in the clear because SG was so full of personality the entire weekend that is until Sunday night...

After completing our Sunday activities and reading ourselves for Sunday night worship, Mimi and Mommy were getting ready to leave when our sweet friend Krisit came bringing SG. She said she just wasn't herself. Taking her blood sugar we found out that she had a low blood sugar. Mimi and Mommy started trying anything and everything to get SG's blood sugar back up. She wouldn't take anything. NOT EVEN CHOCOLATE!

SG cried the entire way home, her blood sugar started rising on its own without taking anything oral. This lead Mommy to believe that an infection was starting to brew. Upon arriving home, Mimi and Mommy prepared for anything and everything (doctor's visit, hospital, etc.). SG continued to cry unable to calm herself even when being held, rocked, etc., so the decision was made by Dr. B and us to see the doc on call Dr. W.

Dr. W found that both of her ears are extremely infected. We were taken off of the previously prescribed antibiotics and now will receive an antibiotic shot once a day over the next few days. So in our near future we will be heading to Birmingham to an ENT for tubes.

We are so thankful for all the help that Mimi, Bobo, Dr. B, Dr. W and all our friends were during this time. SG is doing better this morning. Still not herself but on the mend!

As Daddy and Mommy know, the Lord will not give us more than we can handle!

How are you feeling?

2010-01-31T14:11:00.001-08:00

Thought I would bring a smile to your face today!

Love,
SG

Samantha Grace's Sugar Busters

2010-01-30T18:36:00.000-08:00

We just want to take a few minutes and say...THANKS! We are so extremely blessed to have such supportive friends and family. Despite the dreary weather, there was a good turn-out for the race. Below are a few pictures from our outing.

Our team members that braved the weather,

Can you believe how many hills were in that course?

Glad to be done...3rd female overall!

SG really didn't know what was going on but had fun the rest of the day once she warmed up.

There are a few t-shirts (mainly S/M) still available and we will be taking JDRF donations up until Febraury 12. SG and Mommy are looking for another race where we could join together as "Samantha Grace's Sugar Busters" where fun can be had by all! Thanks, again, to everyone for their support.

Goin' Strollin'

2010-01-29T05:55:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had exceptionally beautiful weather in Montgomery! SG and Mommy enjoyed about 2 1/2 hours outside doing various activities. We started out our adventures by taking her babies, including Abby Cadabby, for a stroll. SG cracked Mommy up how she was so careful with her babies as we walked along the sidewalk. She did eventually "tire out" of pushing and wanted Mommy to push the stroller. Quite a task for Mommy since the stroller is less than 3 feet tall. Mommy is sure the neighbors got quite a chuckle over the whole thing. So she took some video of SG pushing just to give everyone a full perspective of our outing.

On a little bit heavier note...We do have two prayer requests to be lifted up. First, Daddy told Mommy of a family from Montgomery whose 6 month old was just diagnosed with Type I diabetes. They are continually struggling, like us, to find regulation. Unfortunately, their health insurance is not as good as it should be in this case. In addition, the instability has caused them to go back to Birmingham several times since being diagnosed in the last month. They are now, as Mommy and Daddy's understanding, in Birmingham for the next few weeks. SG and Mommy plan on making a surprise visit sometime next week to give this little girl's, Madison, parents a break. Our hearts break for this family because we do know how it feels to be so incredibly frustrated and not knowing any answers. We also pray for this family because they are not connected to a church family. Pray that Daddy and Mommy can be great witnesses to them in this special time of need!

Our second prayer request is for SG. She has been battling what we think is a cold, at the moment. We will be returning to the doctor this AM for a re-check because last night she was in an incredible amount of pain in what is to believe her right ear. We are all praying that it is not RSV because it is running like wild fire through her little preschool room and program. She and Mommy were up a lot last night battling ear aches (we believe) and high fevers up to 103.5. She is finally resting peacefully for more than hour right now. Please pray for clear answers at the doctor's office today, relief of pain and fever, and a lowering of blood sugars.

We, as a family, cannot thank all of you enough for your continual prayer support. It truly is how we press on each and every day. We know that the Lord has so richly blessed us with SG, and we know that He is using her diabetes to spread the great news about His love!

Papa Aust

2010-01-28T08:41:00.000-08:00

This week has been very busy at The Dukes of 3 Bakery, which we are all so thankful! I even constructed free handed my first Superman cake.

However, we have not been so busy that I have stopped trying new recipes for dinner. I have been trying to cook all of the Southern Living recipes in January's issue. We have enjoyed trying new things. I have made what I think are some of the best pancakes ever and I generally don't like pancakes. Since January is rapidly coming to an end, I am ever looking ahead to February's issue and the adorable cookies on the front cover and some of the new cupcakes I will be offering at the bakery.

Well, all this brings me to today's creation for dinner. I landed upon the Chicken 'n Dumplings recipe. The way that the magazine presented this recipe was in two forms: 1) Mama's Old Fashioned Way or 2)The Updated Quick and Easy way. I chose, since I am home today, Mama's way. I have to say it brought back some wonderful childhood memories of my Papa Aust.

You see my Ama and Papa Aust were quite the cooks. Nothing, usually, came from a box. Everything was from scratch, including the chocolate covered cherries that I miss so much! Well, one of the things that Papa Aust used to make were these flat noodles that you could use in just about any soup or stew. They were to die for! But they took some time to make, including drying over night. I have made these only once since being married.

So this morning as I read through the recipe for Mama's Chicken and Dumplings, I couldn't help but hear my Papa's voice in my head. "Roll them thin or they will be too doughy." I did just that...I rolled the dumplings nice and thin.

Papa you would have been proud. I rolled them thin and the smell is just divine.

Please visit my Southern Living blog where I will keep you up to date on my progress of cooking through the magaazine.

In the meantime, I will pull up a chair, a good book and enjoy a nice warm bowl of Chicken 'n Dumplins tonight!

Quiet Mommy-ent

2010-01-25T05:11:00.000-08:00

I am sitting in the quiet and stillness of the morning and enjoying every minute of it. I so take for granted these moments and am usually bussling throughout the house trying to get things done before the quietness is briskly taken away.

But something is so different this morning (maybe it's the getting up at 4 AM to workout)...I feel God's voice just continually telling me be still and listen to Him. (This is something I have really been trying to work on.)

So I challenge each Mommy out there to take a few of those precious quiet "Mommy-ments" and be still. If I can do it long enough to write this posting, any one can do it...so be still and know that He is God!

Done with Klass

2010-01-23T15:39:00.001-08:00

This has been a fairly normal week at our house. Samantha Grace has been full of energy this week keeping Mommy and Daddy on their toes! She is learning more words everyday.

Mommy was talking about being productive to Samantha Grace. Then SG just shouted out the word "ductive" trying to say the word "productive". Mommy was quite amazed. Then Mommy asked her to show her what she thought productive meant. After this she proceeded to pick-up all of the measuring cups that she had gotten out of the cabinet. Mommy praised her and was quite amazed! :)

Another amazing thing happened this week. For those of you that don't know, next Saturday, January 30th our family along with 30+ of our closest friends from church, area schools, and local gyms will join together for Montgomery's Diabetes 5K at the Capitol. We have formed a team called "Samantha Grace's Sugar Busters". (Thanks to Mrs.Ruth for our name!) We all have t-shirts made running/walking in her honor! We are pretty excited!

Not only are we going to be raising awareness about Type I diabetes, but a new friend that works for the sports section of our Montgomery Advertiser so graciously agreed to interview our family about SG's story. Kym Klass's article will run in tomorrow's paper. Unfortunately not all of our blog readers are in our area, so I have posted the article that will appear tomorrow below. Tomorrow I will post the actual article link from the paper!

If you would still like to support our team by giving to JDRF please e-mail me at cdukerunner@hotmail.com. I will be turning in our donation on February 1. I have a lofty goal of sending in $2,000 from t-shirts and other donations, but I know nothing is impossible with God's help! Thank you in advance to all our supporters!

Carri Duke has run five marathons, too many half marathons to remember the number and her share of shorter-distance road races.¶ But despite the miles she has run, and the time dedicated to training for each race, she learned her biggest challenge isn’t on the roads.¶ Her biggest challenge came when her then 12-month-old daughter, Samantha Grace, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.¶ A marathon is easy in comparison.¶ Duke will continue her fight for a cure for Type 1 Diabetes at Saturday’s House Leadership Race for Diabetes, which starts at 8 a.m. at the Alabama State Capitol on Washington Avenue. She will join a group of women -- her friends -- who will wear shirts with "Samantha Grace’s Sugar Busters" on it. There will be about 30 of them — women from Duke’s Montgomery church, First Baptist Church (where her husband Joshua Duke is the associate minister of music), as well as some of her running partners from Metro Fitness.¶ In Alabama, there typically are only four cases each year of a child under age 1 are diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Usually at this age, the disease is genetic. In Samantha Grace’s case, it was viral. When the then-12-month-old was weighed at her 1-year check-up, she only gained 9 ounces from her 9-month check up. Duke attributed that to her daughter’s metabolism. But soon, every time she started putting her down to sleep, her screams were piercing.¶ She ate a lot, and Duke -- assistant director at Trinity preschool -- thought maybe her daughter had stomach issues.¶ Samantha Grace would only sleep in 30-minute increments. Check-ups at the pediatrician office came back normal. But there was weight loss, chronic ear infections, and fever viruses. And doctors started taking more blood tests.¶ And when her blood sugar level was found to be more than 600, she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. There’s no cure for Type 1.¶ Before she was life-flighted to Children’s Hospital in Birmingham, Samantha Grace's level reached 914, and doctors didn’t know how she was still alive.¶ Normal levels for anybody is between about 70 and 120.¶ Samantha Grace takes gymnastics classes — she will have opportunities in sports just like any other child. She has a pump that pumps insulin into her every 10 minutes. Look at her, and know nothing will hold her back. There is an intensity in Duke when she talks about her daughter, about her condition and about every way it has affected her family of three. Ask Duke about her running, and she speaks with the same passion as she does about her daughter. She loves marathons for the challenge. To her, running is a drug. As many runners will say, it’s a stress reliever. ¶ She will be out with her friends on Saturday, with her daughter’s message on her shirts. She won’t give up until a cure has been found. Duke describes her now 22-month-old as a ball of energy, the light of her life. She said Samantha Grace has not been slowed down by the diabetes. "The days you are frustrated, and she says, ‘Mommy, I love you,’ you realize it’s not about only the diabetes," Duke said. It’s about loving your child."

One Step at a Time

2010-01-15T21:35:00.000-08:00

This has been an extremely busy week at the Duke household. Mommy has the opportunity tonight to sit and write some reflections upon our week.

Samantha Grace has been one big social butterfly this week, at least at home. She is starting to put more than two words together. Tonight she said her firs complete sentence, "I fix it." (She was referring to her Minnie Mouse lunch box kit that has randomly broken since Christmas.) She has also been working with Mommy on the letters "A", "B" and "C" not only recognizing them but also knowing words that start with each letter. She is doing really well for a 21 month old. She, once again, love gymnastics this week and almost completed a forward roll all by herself. She is extremely proud of herself. :)

She and Mommy also had the wonderful opportunity to meet with one of family friends to talk about the possibility of homeschooling in the future. Samantha Grace had a blast playing school for over two hours. Mommy enjoyed learning a lot but also the almost 4 hour nap that SG took upon our return home!

This brings Mommy upon some reflections and suggestions. While at our friends' house, Mommy was given several resources and some "fun" reads. One of the "fun" reads was the Duggars book. Mommy has to admit that at first she was quite skeptical; however, the Lord quickly opened my mind to the book. Mommy told Daddy that she took so much away from the book that she ordered after finishing it in 1 1/2 days. (That's really quick reading for a Mommy with a 21 month old running around.)Mommy has to highly recommend this as an easy yet very resourceful read!

Mommy is finding that the Lord is placing so many helpful people and resources in our lives more and more each day. It is so much about the small blessings in life that add up to be big blessings!

We bring this entry to a close...While Mommy enjoys this slow weekend, she is looking forward to some exciting weekends of baking, traveling and family in the next few weeks. So she will try to be faithful in updating the blog at least weekly but wanted to give all our readers a heads up!

"For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does."
-Psalm33:4

Y's Up with Tumbling Skypers

2010-01-09T12:27:00.000-08:00

So I was guilted, as I was reading one of my new favorite blogs,that I had not updated my own blog in quite some time and A LOT has been going on in our house since Christmas. Just when Mommy thought things might slow down a bit, it seems that some things have just been replaced by others.

As many of you already know, we received a web cam for Christmas. Well, it has been quite the toy...not for Mommy and Daddy but for Samantha Grace. She has now figured out that the camera plugs into the computer and that it "magically" dials up Mimi and Bobo. POOF***MAGIC*** and they are there! So it stands to reason that our almost 21 month old put the following two objects together the other night, and we were so lucky to catch it on film.

NOTE: As she was "talking" on the phone, she kept saying their names. You also have to know that we generally do have to make a phone call before we Skype to make sure everyone is connected!

In addition to making this wonderful technological connection, Samantha Grace has made yet another wonderful connection between her body and the gymnastics world. Yep! You got it! We have started taking gymnastic lessons (with Mommy of course). She started last week thanks to a generous gift! Words of just enjoyment could not fully express how much fun she had. Unfortunately, since Mommy "participates" in the class too she could only get some pre-class pics. But we all must say she looks pretty stellar in her new pink sparkly leotard! (I also included pics of the gym for all our family to see.)

So if you ever need a good laugh come to gymnastics with SG and Mommy, or there is always an open swap with Mommy because you do get quite a workout!

As for the newness in our entire family's life (no not a baby for those trying to guess), we have ALL been getting fit at our newest local YMCA. For Mimi and Bobo, I know this may come to a shock for you for Daddy's sake, but Mommy is so proud of him! We have all been going almost everyday for 2 weeks now. (Daddy even brought up the subject about going today!) Samantha Grace is loving the nursery time because of all the "new" toys and friends. This is great for all of us since the weather in the deep south has been so blustery lately!

We are all so thankful that everyone has been staying healthy with the cold weather. Our bakery is helping keep the house warm. (Please feel free to order your next birthday cake or any dessert from our bakery.) Mommy just made a dozen very adorable American Girl Doll themed cupcakes! She refused pictures...maybe next time! She will be making a wedding cake at the end of this month that will be sure to make the blog.

I guess that is all the news for now from The Dukes of 3. We pray that you and your family are having a blessed 2010 so far!

Oh, So Many Faces

2010-01-02T17:14:00.000-08:00

When visiting Mommy's parents recently in Atlanta, Samantha Grace was given two new Mr.Potato Heads. They have brought a lot of laughter to our days recently. We have put together many interesting Potato Heads, so we decided to start photographing some of them.

SG has caught on to the concept, which means that after each "new" potato is construted she brings it to Mommy saying "Cheese, cheese." That means to take a picture. One time she even brought Mommy the camera.

I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Roller Coasters and Easy Chairs

2009-12-26T12:03:00.000-08:00

I know...I know... No relation what-so-ever to the two things in the title, but I bet I have you reading already to see how they do relate. So I won't let the suspense hang any longer...

As many of you know, our family experienced quite a "ride" last weekend with litte Samantha Grace. Well, just when we thought all had come to a calm with her health and the family gathered near, Mommy came down with quite a bug. So all of the Dukes of 3 Bakery came to a complete HAULT for 24 hours (well, actually a little less) only 4 days before Christmas! But many thanks to Mimi and Ray-Ray, we caught right back up in less than 8 hours, making 4 cheesecakes, 3 red velvet cakes, 2 Italian Creme Cakes, 2 dozen cookies, 1 sheet cake and 1 butter cream cake! Needless to say we ALL had visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads on December 22!

Once our roller coaster ride began to come to the end, we enjoyed exchanging gifts with Daddy's side of the family. Pictures below illustrate some of SG's favorites. But none could be happier than dear old Daddy receiving a new GAS powered weed eater from Bobo and Mimi! (The storage shed is even getting a good cleaning to find its new home!)

Now I have to admit that one of SG's favorite gifts this Christmas so far (I say this because we will go see Mommy's family in a few short days.) only cost 99 cents and came from Auntie Ray-Ray and Uncle Jay-Jay. The video below tells it all too well. Mommy and Daddy are not too excited about this song entering our home, but we will take whatever to keep SG happy! ROLL TIDE!!

Following the excitement of Daddy's family being here, we enjoyed much Christmas fun with our Dukes of 3 family. Samantha Grace was enthrawled by the packages once the concept came about and we kept going until every last gift was open and each twist tie was off all the toys. Much excitement was seen when she discovered her new chair (pictured above) that now sits next to Mommy and Daddy's club chair. We have even added a pillow to it upon her request.

After the piles of paper and boxes were compounded, our family enjoyed an impromptu Christmas lunch at a friend's house. Nothing could have been more relaxing and enjoyable. Mommy and our friend's children enjoyed competeing on the newest Bop-it game (very addicting if you are as competitive as Mommmy can be), and SG tried her hardest to keep up with the BIG kids all over the house. She really didn't know what to think...she even tried to help assist Daddy and his friend assemble a new flat screen television (even funnier).

All-in-all we have had an adventure filled Christmas! We are looking forward to Pink Pig Rides in Atlanta and much more fun! (Pictures will come too!) Blessings to all and Happy New Year!

IV's and Pap-Paps

2009-12-21T08:20:00.000-08:00

So as most of our readers know, yesterday was quite an eventful day. Following my last update on Samantha Grace's health condition, her Daddy and I made the decision to take her to the ER.

Her temperature had risen to over 105 and her heart was racing accompanied by rapid breathing. Upon arrival to the hospital her heart rate was almost 200 beats per minute and her breathing was over 60 breaths per minute. The doctor's main focus at this point was to lower her heart rate, lower her breaths per minute and to get a larger dose of Tylenol and/or Motrin in her system to try bring the fever down.

In addition, they ran some tests to rule out RSV and neumonia. All of those tests came back negative and clean. Praise the Lord!

Following the Tylenol and a large antibiotic shot (trying to clear the ear canal), her temp had come down to 102; however, her heart was still in the 160 - 180 range with a goal of being 140 accompanied by still 60 breaths per minute. Therefore, Dr.M made the decision to start an IV and run some blood tests. We are so grateful that after 3 hours of fluids things began to improve! Her breathing slowed down to where she was able to rest comfortably for about an hour in my arms. Her temperature lowered to where her body was not in such a state of shock in order to keep all meds down including a full dose of Tamaflu.

Around 8 PM we were discharged from the hospital and brought home a worn out little girl. She was very surprised to have her grandparents (who had planned on coming anyways for the holidays) come visit in the hospital.

Mommy and Daddy are happy to report that she slept fever free until 4:30 AM! This is huge considering the past two nights we were up every 2 - 3 hours with vomitting or just plan restlessness.

Her personality is returning. The only struggles we have now are since the fever is gone and her appetite has not returned her blood sugar levels have been pretty low. We also are battling with the want for her Pap-Pap (pacifier) all day. I think we are just going to try and cut it cold turkey since this would be a good transition time.

We just praise the Lord for amazing doctors, for helping hands and dedicated prayer warriors! We know that God is in control of each and every situation that we may face; therefore, he deserves all glory and honor for providing us with the strength and knowledge to get throug yesterday's trials.

We are now looking forward to spending the holidays with family and friends. SG will be enjoying the view from our home for the next 3 - 4 days to make sure we keep everything under control. Thanks again to everyone and all of your prayers and support!

Sunday Mid-Morning Update

2009-12-20T09:02:00.000-08:00

Well, I would love to report that things are looking up but at the moment we are still sitting on pins and needles with this flu.

She has vomitted two more times this morning, still unable to even keep water down. We have just gotten word to cease the meds for now until an afternoon report is given and to start her on some "sugary" liquids.

She continues to run a fever between 104 - 105 throughout the morning. Priase the Lord our blood sugar numbers have not done anything too crazy, but we are expecting them to head in an upward direction due to fever and, hopefully, intake of some sugar liquids.

A Pig Filled Christmas

2009-12-19T21:08:00.000-08:00

UPDATE:
This is an update to the posting from previously on Saturday evening. It is now almost 4 AM. Yes, I am up...listening to the steady rhythm of our laundry machine. Samantha Grace has not had a great evening. She has woken every two hours since 8 PM and thrown up every 4 hours. We ask that you keep her in your prayers for now we are truly hitting a wall. She is not able to even keep her liquids down at this point.

We will return to half doses of her medicine in the morning, seeming as the entire dose is too strong which maybe the entire culprit of these 4 hour episodes. However, our biggest worry at this point is two fold:
1. Keeping her hydrated.
2. Her ears seem to bothering her more and more even though it was just her right ear yesterday.

We thank you in advance for all your prayers!

_____________________________________________________________________________________

I don't know about your family, but growing up my family ALWAYS had ham for Christmas dinner. It's one of those traditions that I just can't let go. The moment I start to see the commercials for Honey Baked Ham my mouth waters. (Then I am left with lots of ham to come up with some "creative" ways for leftovers besides sandwiches.) There really isn't any other time of the year to which I "crave" ham in any way shape or form. Just not really a ham fan.

This Christmas we will continue the tradition; however, we have added another realm to our Pig Filled Christmas...Swine Flu. Yep, our little Angel has once again filled our Christmas with antibiotics, high fevers and sleepless nights. Mommy has to give her personal testimony of the experience sine Samantha Grace is unable to report at the moment.

This morning Mommy returned from her run to find a very fussy SG. Unable to get her to eat (a very rare thing lately) or drink (extremely rare!), Mommy knew that something was wrong. So after completing a few things for our Bakery, Mommy cuddled with SG while Daddy did some much needed errands for work and the Bakery. During Daddy's outing, SG's fever went from 99 to 104 in less than an hour and was accompanied by vomit. She quickly lost all coloring and became very weak.

At this point, Mommy called Dr.B who gave us our directions for seeing the doc. Dr.W was great today! (We could not have been happier Dr. B! Thanks!)Our little Samantha Grace was definitely not herself because she didn't even have interest in "Nemo" or "Dori" when we were at the doc's office. (It was so sad for Mommy and Daddy.) While at the doc's office we found out that she tested positive for both strand A & B of the flu. She also has fluid starting to build behind her right ear. (How fun!)

Upon returning home SG and Daddy, spent the majority of the afternoon snoozing on the couch. Daddy said he didn't care if he got sick because this precious time was all worth it! Mommy has to agree!

We thought we were on the upswing of recovery for the day until just recently. About an hour ago, SG's fever spiked again to 103.5 and she vomited 2 more times. So fun! So the carpets have been cleaned once again, clothes changed and cuddle time has been enjoyed.

Mommy and Daddy are so thankful, once again, for the things that have not taken place amidst all of this. We are all excited about seeing family tomorrow! And, of course, we are eagerly anticipating seeing Samantha Grace open her gifts (none of which are wrapped yet)!

May you and your families have a blessed Christmas!

"Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things." -Psalm 98:1

Trails of Ducks and Tears

2009-12-09T14:41:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Mommy was able to get away for a few days to enjoy one of her favorite activities...running.

Mommy's running buddies headed north to Tennessee for the St.Jude Marathon. Upon our arrival "Aunt" Kaki and Mommy enjoyed some of the sights and sounds of Memphis, Tennessee, including the amazing 3 minutes of entertainment by the all too famous Peabody Ducks! We enjoyed front row seats for this ultra exciting event. Growing up in Tennessee, Mommy had witnessed this event but it had been over 10 years ago, so she and "Aunt" Kaki, who had never seen the ducks before, were like two kids at Christmas; hence, the numerous pictures below.

Mommy and all of the running gals had a great frigid (29 degrees with a 21 degree windchill factor)run for a wonderful cause. Mommy admitted to tearing up while running through the St. Jude campus realizing how grateful we are for ALL doctors and nurses and for Samantha Grace's life.

Mommy has to admit, though, that her favorite part of the trip was knowing that Daddy and Samantha Grace were having so much fun! She had a great time and her numbers seemed to stay in check while with Daddy. Mommy could not have been happier! :)

However, with good blood sugars usually comes a turn and/or change. As soon as Mommy returned SG started to have heavy congestion (light congestion has been a constant for almost 2 months) and yucky cough began again. Monday morning we realized that yet another sinus infection had set into her system. So needless to say Birmingham, with the roller coaster of numbers, prior to Mommy's trip, during her trip and post trip, has mandated that her diet be under strict supervision since we found that when Mommy prepacked for Daddy that numbers seemed to find some stability.

There ultimate goal is to find some stability with her health and blood sugar levels in order to prevent long term complications with her diabetes and overall health. We are always so thankful for all of the wonderful help that Dr. L has for us. We are already finding by sticking to a strict diet, even with a recovering infection, her numbers are a lot more stable, which makes Mommy and Daddy "sleep" a lot easier.

We are all looking forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus very soon with all our family. Samantha Grace is truly getting into the spirit of Christmas rearranging our Christmas decorations and tree ornaments. She is also enjoying reading Bible stories every night before bed while adding pieces to her nativity calendar as we look forward to Jesus' birth. We pray that you and your family are enjoying the true meaning of Christmas as well!

(Above picture is from first finger painting experience.)

It wasn't me...I promise!

2009-12-01T14:39:00.000-08:00

I know we haven't posted any of the super cute pics and/or details from Thanksgiving, but these pictures taken today couldn't wait. I promise this was not staged in any way shape or form...Hope they bring laughter to your day!

If you ever need a bathroom reorganizer I promise her rates are really cheap and she will take good care of all your baby dolls! :)

Keeping It Simple

2009-11-23T21:22:00.001-08:00

Dear Family,

I wanted to come up with something creative and fun for this Thanksgiving, but my creative thoughts I believe have all been baked into all the goodies that have been delivered. So in the midst of the middle of the night, my brain fired off this idea. I want to take the word THANKFUL and expound upon it to express my utmost thankfulness for this year.

As we all know this year has been a tremendous amount of ups and downs. My prayer is that you will feel all my true expressions of thankfulness.

T – Trust. I am so grateful for the trust I can put in our Lord no matter the situation. I am also grateful for the trust I have in friends and family through all of the valleys and mountain tops!

H – Helicopters full of helping hands. I truly believe that God laid his magnificent healing hands and gift of wisdom on the doctors and nurses aboard the Children’s Life Flight helicopter to transport our little angel.

A – Adventures. This year has been full of firsts for Samantha Grace. All of which through her precious eyes are grand new adventures. I just can’t explain that with each new adventure I tear up with such joy.

N – Notes. I have always been a HUGE fan of writing hand written notes. I just think that it has such a personal touch that we are slowly losing through our technology age. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the notes that we received during Samantha Grace’s most difficult days. Those days that the tears came with no explanation, the notes were so uplifting!

K – Kindness. The kindness of friends, families, and strangers has been overwhelming from every angle. I never thought that the past 6 months of our lives would have impacted our family more than ever. I am truly learning about the kindness of a warm smile.

F – Family. I know…I know. It sounds so cheesy. But it is true. I am so thankful not only for my family, but I am also thankful for my heavenly family.

U – Unfortunate Events. This may sound peculiar, but I truly am thankful for all the unfortunate events of our lives. For I am thankful for the things that did not happen through all those events. I am thankful for the doors that these events have opened and closed.

L – Love! The love of our Heavenly Father is ever abounding. The growing and abounding love I have for Joshua and Samantha Grace. And the expanding love of all friends and family.

I know that this may seem quo to many. But these are only a few things that I have wanted to express to friends and family. My ultimate prayer is that you all have a fabulous and thankful Thanksgiving too!

Blessings,

The Dukes of 3
Joshua, Carri, & Samantha Grace

Blessed Beyond Measure

2009-11-11T06:53:00.000-08:00

This morning as I began to write I couldn't even wrap my arms around the facts about how immeasurably bless our family is each and every day. There have been some daily reminders of this through the past few weeks that I would like to share.

Last week, we found out that Mimi, Grandbo and Auntie Ray-Ray would be participating in the Nashville Diabetes walk in honor of Samantha Grace. Below are some picture from their walk. We are so grateful for all the participation to raise money to one day find a cure.

Then a few days later I found out that other family members would be giving all of the United Way donations this year to Juvenile Diabetes in honor of Samantha Grace. I could not have been happier, for never know if one day that money could go towards the ultimate cure.

Just as I thought could not have gotten any better, the Lord continued to shine! As many of you know, we opened our own business (The Dukes of 3 Bakery)this week. We could not be happier with its progress thus far. I am staying busy but at a rate to which I can gradually get my feet per say. Wow! We are blessed!

Lastly, yesterday the Lord opened some doors earlier in the week, which lead to us having the opportunity to share Samantha Grace's story with a local news station. Her story was then beautifully orchestrated and presented last night on the 10 o'clock news. Our prayer is that not only would others become more aware of Juvenile Diabetes but that this story might help bring someone elses child to early detection rather than getting to the state where Samantha Grace had been. As soon as a video is available to post I will do so for those that might have missed it.

Again, I can not express how much the Lord is bestowing his blessings upon our family. I fully believe that when we remain faithful through words, acts, and prayer that he is faithful in return too!

6 Months

2009-11-08T21:09:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe but today we marked the 6th month since Samantha Grace's diagnosis with Type I diabetes.

Today I could not have heard two more fitting bench mark sermons. Once was about Jesus going to the pool at Bethesda and healing a man that had been sitting by the pool for over 38 years in hopes of being healed by these "miracle" waters. The second sermon I heard today was on Philippians 3:1-14.

This is a scripture passage that I visit frequently; however, tonight it sunk in with a totally new depth in my heart. Especially the all too familiar portion in verses 13 - 14:

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

This scripture brought an incredible peace to my heart knowing that one of the "goals" in heaven will be a life without diabetes...or any childhood illness for that matter.

I also have to mention that when I am came home from church, I had a very touching e-mail from a friend in Birmingham whose daughter is battling cancer. Her daughter is only 3 years old. (I will be running the St. Jude Marathon in December in her honor.) So while Samantha Grace may have diabetes, our hearts ache as a family for our precious little friend.

Samantha Grace is growing so fast before our eyes! She is all girl and taking on more of a 2-year-old personality every day.

Medical update: SG is continuing to experience a roller coaster of blood sugar levels. Daddy and I have come the conclusion that we will continue to see this wave of numbers until she reaches some leveling in growth hormones and other changes that take effect during the young years.

She is finally showing some signs of getting over a sinus infection that has been lingering on for almost 4 weeks. We will finish our antibiotics in a few days!

SG is doing remarkably well with breaking of the pacifier habit. She has stopped asking for it during the day. The only time she BOLTS for the refrigerator (that's where we keep them to soothe any teething gums) is for nap or bedtime.

Overall, the Lord has been good in helping us understand what is best for Samantha Grace. She has been able to stay out of a doctor's office (except for the endocrinology appointments) for illness and/or emergencies for almost 3 weeks! We look forward to adding more weeks to our healthy days in the future.

Grand Opening

2009-11-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

Joshua and I would like to announce we are taking a HUGE leap in the midst of the tough economic times. But as we live by each day...NOTHING is impossible without God!

We would like to announce the grand opening of our new business. We have decided to open a home and mail delivery bakery called The Dukes of 3 Bakery.

We felt the name was very fitting since it has become somewhat of our "Code Name" since Samantha Grace's diagnosis. I am offering a free dozen of cookies, of your choice, for the first 10 orders placed. All you have to do is once you order, I will e-mail you to tell you that you have "won" a dozen cookies. Then you can reply to that e-mail with your choice of cookie type.

We also ask for you to feel free to pass along this information to any friend or family member because our best form of advertisement at this point is via word of mouth.

Don't forget Christmas is just around the corner. The items we are selling make great gifts for around the office, school or for your next Christmas gathering.

Baking Spirits,

Carri

Once Upon a Time

2009-11-03T18:40:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time there lived a beautiful tulip fairy who wanted to make everyone in America aware about Type I Diabetes during National Diabetes Awareness month.

She wants everyone to know that she is not alone...that there will be over 40 children diagnosed per day will join her this year alone totaling over 15,000 children.

She also, along with her Mommy and Daddy, want everyone to know that our biggest prayer each and every day is for a cure.

Finally, our fairy tale Tulip Fairy would like you to consider supporting JDRF.

One day our Tulip Fair knows that there will be a Happily Every After Ending to this fairy tale ending.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Side Note: So Mommy let Samantha Grace get ahold of the post today. She told me that she was just going to post her adorable pictures from our Fall Festival at church. Mommy does have to agree with all the opinions and facts that our "Tulip Fairy" provided. She would have to encourage everyone to support JDRF sometime over the next year. You can even purchase your Christmas cards from the JDRF website.

Samantha Grace has been having some ups and downs over the last few days. We are now on our 2nd antibiotic to get over a sinus infection. We are seeing improvements with the antibiotics and a new nasal spray (thanks to a sweet friend at school for the advice). She is, however, not showing any signs of slowing down.

This week she so proudly went down the "Big Girl" slide all by herself and laughed with much excitement all the way to the bottom. She proudly sat in "class" as the Pre-K4's "taught" her during late room at school. It was a priceless picture! She also enjoyed teaching music with Mommy on Tuesday morning. She liked to tell the children that they were not to play with the toys in her classroom but to line up for their teacher. Obviously all in her own way of talking. Quite hilarious.

Mommy and Daddy have been working on following directions the first time with SG. We have to report proudly that she is doing awesome thus far. We have to confess that we have been using mini M&M's as a reward along with dances of praises. SG responds with clapping and her own dancing too!

Mommy and Daddy are thoroughly enjoying watching our little angel grow more and more every day! It's hard to believe that over a year and half has gone by thus far. Time does fly when you are having fun!

So Here We Are

2009-10-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

So I realize that I have not posted in quite some time. I have just recently left a popular social network to enter full force into my blogging world. Mommy and Daddy felt that the best way to catch-up all friends and family on the past few weeks and/or even months of Samantha Grace's adventures would be through a visual representation. So enjoy! (All comments and/or questions are more than welcome!)

Enjoying the indoor pool at the beach in October!

Reading the Bible before bed.

Picnic in the backyard!

Cheering on the Montgomery Biscuits on Diabetes Night!

Samantha Grace's 1st Braves Game!

1st Pony Ride as a Tulip Fairy at the Fall Festival.

Mommy & Samantha Grace pausing from taking Christmas Card pictures at the beach!
(Yes! It was cold...45 and below in October!)

Playing in one of my facorite toys...a box!

Hanging out with Daddy after a long day in the ER with high blood sugars!

Leaving footprints in the sand.

Playing in shaving creme!

Does it look like SG had fun or what?!

Watching Samantha Grace's ducks.

Our pumpking on Halloween Night.

SG making sure we didn't leave any of the "yuckies" inside.

We hope that you all enjoyed our adventures of late. Samantha Grace is adjusting to her Pinkie (the pump) very well. We are still trying to attain some form of stabilization. We thank each and every one of your for all your prayers and support.

On a final note, as we approach November 1 our family would like to make you aware that November is National Diabetes Awareness Month. We would love to have any and all of your support for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in hopes of one day finding a cure for this disease.

The Eagle Has Landed

2009-10-08T07:11:00.000-07:00

Alright...a NASA space shuttle has not landed in our back yard but it might as well have landed there. This week has been a week of celebrations in our house.

On Tuesday, we packed the car for a full day of learning at Children's Hospital. We were making our journey towards pump insertion. We have to admit from a Mommy and Daddy point of view that after our first class we felt numb. We looked at each other and thought, "I feel like a kid trying to learn how to ride a bike all over again." We knew that there would be falls, scraps and bruises along the way as we learned all these new formulas, buttons, and methods of keeping Samantha Grace's blood glucose levels in check.

Towards the end of the class, we were able to insert the pump (which is much like an IV line) into SG. Mommy was overjoyed, for she was the one to draw the short straw, that SG did not cry when the inset (site where the line is inserted into her little body) was place on her bottom. Samantha Grace, we have to say, had had a wonderful time playing with Mary Austin while Mommy and Daddy were learning which helped in the overall "trauma" set-up. Following her pump being inserted (with only saline this week), we all enjoyed a peaceful ride home with a sleeping baby.

Wednesday proved to be the first bump in the road. SG woke up very fussy. (Side Note: She is not a morning person at all.) So Mommy attributed it to being sleepy, adjusting to the pump, and possibly teething. So being the "responsible" parents, Mommy and Daddy decided to begin the pain prevention process with a little Motrin. Well...

After a huge struggle to get her to eat breakfast, which ended up consisting more of candy corn that anything nutritious since that is all I could get her to eat, I found her blood sugar to be going off the charts (406) just before lunch time at school. We later discovered that she was running a 101 temp. So off to nap time we went with another dose of Motrin.

Following nap, Mommy thought all was well because Samantha Grace woke up sweaty and seemed to be "back to normal" personality wise. However, we soon found her back into a state of crabbiness, magnetism (attached to Mommy's side), and a temp up to 103. At this point in our journey, we now visit the doc. All tests came back negative so we were diagnosed with a fever virus. (Side Note: She was also have difficulties using the restroom.)

We continued the overlapping of fever meds through the night along with elevated blood sugars. (When diabetics run fevers they tend to run high.) She woke-up this morning with a semi-high blood sugar level, but the fever seemed to have subsided. However, as I now write, the fever has returned and we are trying some new remedies to get her digestive system back in order.

Mommy and Daddy ask that you pray for little SG. She is in quite a bit of pain due to the digestive problems. Also pray for the fever to break soon because the fever is using up the liquids we are trying to get down her which doesn't help the other problem. We thank you for all your prayers and support.

P.S. She is doing great so far with the pump. Doesn't really understand the whole thing yet.

You Are Approved!

2009-09-27T09:55:00.001-07:00

Many of us on a weekly, if not daily basis, receive stacks of credit card mailings or even phone calls notifying us that we have been approved for an amazing, beautiful and "free" credit card. This week we received many of those mailings and several of those polite offers; however, we so graciously turned each of these offers away with a polite, "No thank you," or a trip down shredder lane. Yet on the upside we did receive an offer this week that one, at least in our household, could not turn away...

We found out this past Wednesday that Samantha Grace had been approved to receive her insulin pump by the insurance company. I might add that this was completed after all the paperwork was complete and a doctor's visit made in what our case worker for Blue Cross stated,"Record time!" Less than one month has passed since our doctor's visit and only 4 days had passed since the receipt of the paper work to our insurance company. I have to say that a lot of this would not have happened without some God-sent angels to help us along the way with Blue Cross Insurance.

After getting the wonderful approval phone call, we set-up for the delivery of the pump, which will be next Wednesday. Following the delivery, we will set-up several Birmingham appointments to get her actually on the pump. We will also, at this point, make an appointment to see a pediatric eye doctor for precautionary measures that were stated in a previous posting.

We could not be more joyous over this fabulous news! The Lord provided at a time of much need, for Samantha Grace has had quite a week with her blood sugar levels running in the high range for a good portion of the week.

We covet all of your prayers as we journey through these next few phases. We also ask that you pray as Mommy and Samantha Grace travel to meet with one of our Congressman as an advocate for Juvenile Diabetes on Monday, September 28. Thank you again for all the prayers. Our God is so good!

4 Month Update Full of Artistic Ability

2009-09-15T10:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we marked some major milestones in our lives…Samantha Grace turned 17 months old yesterday. We also marked just over the 4 month mark of her Type I Diabetes diagnosis. Finally, the biggest news of all is that Samantha Grace’s A1C level (a level that marks, basically, whether or not a person’s blood sugar levels has been somewhat in “normal” range) has drastically changed for the better. We have moved from a score of over 11 down to a score 7.8!

Mommy was moved to tears at Samantha Grace’s doctor’s appointment. Her doctor was extremely moved as well. We all had a “group hug” moment to celebrate. SG has also grown almost 3 inches since her diagnosis. This is great! Dr. L, the bestest endocrinologist, was very impressed by SG’s new looks!

Dr. L gave Mommy and Daddy a HUGE round of applause for their hard work, lost sleep and unending love to helping Samantha Grace be as healthy as can be with diabetes. He said that without our dedication her A1C levels would not have changed this drastically in just 4 months.

On a more prayerful note…there were some concerns that Dr. L still had about SG. 1) Dr. L is still a little concerned about her weight gaining process. She has not gained any more weight in the past 1 ½ months. (I keep telling myself that she is just growing taller and leveling out in weight for a time.)
2) There are also some concerns about her depth perception abilities. She tends to struggle perceiving the depth of steps and has to “feel” her way a lot of times. Therefore, Dr. L has suggested that we see a pediatric ophthalmologist. It is possible that prior to her diagnosis that her sight might have been affected from drastic fluctuations in blood sugars.

Dr. L also gave us some awesome tips to help with the “stresses” that could be causing such fluctuations in blood sugar levels while at school.

Finally, we should have an insulin pump in our precious hands in less than 2 weeks! Once we get the pump in our hands, we will be setting up classes in Birmingham followed by some back-to-back doctor’s appointments in Birmingham. But as Dr. L put it today, “It will ALL be definitely worth it!”

On a lighter note…We were also able to enjoy some “Girl Time” while in Birmingham. Samantha Grace enjoyed playing dolls at Pottery Barn for Kids and entertaining all the employees while Mommy and Godmommy “shopped” for big girl bedding in the future. We later met up with Mary Austin for a scrumptious bite to eat. We all couldn’t decide if SG was more interested in eating or flirting with the waiters (quite a distraction). SG was also privileged enough to have the mayor of Birmingham hold the door for her on her way out of the restaurant. (Honestly, Mommy nor SG would have known it was him if Godmommy hadn’t pointed it out.)

Overall, today has been an awesome day! We could not be happier with SG’s progress. We do ask that you pray about the two concerns that were previously mentioned. We should be seeing an eye doctor around, hopefully, the same time we go for pump education classes. Thank you in advance for all your prayers and support!

P.S. Samantha Grace decided today to express her true inner artist by painting our hardwood floor, tile, kitchen and herself golden yellow. Following her painting activities, she explored the musical side of her artistic abilities at Kindermusik.

Roller Coasters, Nursing Homes, Kisses and More

2009-08-31T13:35:00.000-07:00

Alright to all my faithful followers, I send my deepest apologies for the lack of writing over the past few weeks. Our life has been on a bit of a roller coaster ride from every angle.

I will start with the most important update...SAMANTHA GRACE.
I have to say that these past few weeks she has been at the front of the roller coaster ride. We and her doctors are at a loss for what her body might be going through besides the normal things that 1-year-olds go through. We have experienced some of our lowest lows and highest highs in quite some time since diagnosis. Unfortunately, last week we also experienced one of our first at-home-scares. SG had a "Degree 2" seizure. (This type is one where the patient is unresponsive to one's name being called and stares with glassy eyes into space, much like day dreaming but unresponsive.)I was so thankful that her preschool teachers noticed a change in her demeanor and came and got me immediately.

The mystery of the seizure is that it occurred when she was overly high (472) not low, which is usually when one occurs. This is one of many mysteries to her endocrinologist. In addition to the occurrence of the seizure, Dr. L doesn't know why we can't get somewhat of a leveling or consistency to her Blood Glucose levels. In less than a 24 hour period her readings were 223, 411, 412, 107 & 82. This has been her story for over 5 days.

We are still waiting to hear from our Insulin Pump rep. in Birmingham to see if we are going to get the pump without a "fight". The good news that I owe a HUGE thanks to a wonderful church member is that our "special" insulin will now be able to be filled here in Montgomery! PRAISE THE LORD!!!

On a much lighter note...Samantha Grace has had quite a few new life adventures. She has now joined the in-home ministry visiting team. She went to Wesley Gardens with her Godmother and Aunt Phyllis becoming quite the hit with all the people there distributing kisses to all of the residents. Mr. Harwell, a church member, drew a picture of a puppy for SG. They had quite the fun-filled day enjoying a nice lunch at Panera afterward followed by an elongated nap.

SG has also officially started preschool! She is enjoying the playtime with other children and all the wonderful attention that her fabulous teachers give her. I am enjoying being able to witness all her interactions (I am the assistant director at the school.) as well as the fantastic naps when we get home!

We have enjoyed traveling to a variety of destinations as of lately for some quality family time. SG experienced her first Montgomery Biscuits game this week supporting Juvenile Diabetes all the while. We are looking forward to visiting Ama and Papa this week to celebrate Papa's 60th birthday! SG will be able to see a HUGE baseball stadium this week and her first Atlanta Braves game as well!

As a family, we continue to thank our Lord for so many of you that have and still are praying for us. As you can see by this entry, just when things appear to be stabilizing we are thrown another curve ball. Our continual prayer request is for stability. Along with that we are still praying for the decision makers of BCBS of Alabama that they would see our need for the pump. Finally, we ask that you would pray that the Lord would pour large amounts of wisdom in some medical and other decisions that will have to be made in the near future.

The Votes are Needed

2009-08-19T05:22:00.000-07:00

We all could use a little extra cash in our pockets these days right?! Well, my sister and brother-in-law have found the perfect way. They recently went to Panama City on vacation and, as we all do on vacation, took several pictures. After returning home they found out about a contest with their local newspaper, The Tennessean, and their photo has been picked as one of the top 20 photos. Now it is up to the readers to vote on the top picture. Right now they are in 2nd place so that is where you come into play! Click on this link and vote for picture number 6. If they win, they will take home that extra cash. (I am hoping a get a little split for publicizing all of this Justin and Rachel! HA! HA!)

I will post a little later today about other things going on in our little world. Have a great day!

Heavy Hearts

2009-08-09T12:27:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends and Family:

Joshua and I come to you this Lord's Day with heavy hearts. We found out just before bed last night that a dear couple in our Sunday School class lost their twin girls during birth. The couples names are Ashley and Barrett. Our entire class is deeply saddened by this loss. Joshua and I found ourselves unable to sleep last night not knowing how to best minister to and pray for this couple.

For we know what it is like to sit at the feet of Jesus and pray that he spare the life of our child, but this is a loss that has deeply impacted us. We found ourselves drying tears during church as our pastor beautifully intertwined their story into his sermon about going through the storms in life.

I write to ask for your prayers. This is a couple that will need deep prayer even weeks, months and years from now. I thank you in advance for all of your prayers. Also, if you feel compelled to give to this family in the manner our Sunday School class has chosen via monetary gifts to purchase frozen meals for the future, please contact me via e-mail.

In His footsteps,
Carri

THE Pump and Magic White Sauce

2009-08-06T10:11:00.001-07:00

So I have been composing this update for four days now, but it has yet to be "penned" onto the actual blog site from my head. I have to give all credit to Daddy for coming up with the title for this entry. It came to him over our weekend trip to Grandbo and Mimi's house with the events that took place. Details later...

For so many who have asked either in passing, on the phone, at church, etc. for a medical update it goes a little something like this...Samantha Grace is doing fabulous! She has now been sickness free (minus our current yeast infection due to the antibiotics we just came off of a few weeks back)for almost 2 1/2 weeks! Mommy cannot express how relieved she is not to be using the nose syringe, not giving insurmountable doses of Tylenol/Motrin, not purchasing or giving antibiotics, steroids, and, most of all, not giving an extreme number of extra shots every day!

(Being a typical toddler enjoying...OREOS!)

SG's blood sugar numbers are still unstable; however, as we have explained before this is to be expected with a toddler. For example, last night she played non-stop over at her Godmother's house from 3:00 - 8:30. Therefore, she had a low blood sugar reading prior to bed, but no sweat, especially for Samantha Grace because this means she gets to go to her "special" drawer in the fridge and pick out a mini Juicy Juice box. (This is one of her favorites! And she can drink out of the juice box all by herself. One shall not try to help her because she is Miss Independent!)

The exciting news in her medical world is that she is in the working process of getting an insulin pump. Which means her set eating schedule will be no more. (Can I get a HUGE AMEN!?) However, it does mean that our trips to Birmingham Children's will be more frequent for the next few months for check-ups and more education classes. A LARGE prayer request right now is that the insurance company will approve her for the pump despite only being on the shots for 3 months. We should know something in 2 -3 weeks. If we don't get approved right now then we will wait until November (our 6 month mark) which still is not bad. We are just excited to reduce her injections, not blood sugar testings, to only 2 or 3 a week from 30+ per week. The other good news is that once we pay for the pump (our copay) then all of her equipment will be completely covered by insurance no more out of pocket expenses!

(She thought it was funny that she got OREO in her hair!)

Now onto Life news...
Since my last entry, we ventured to Nashville for a quick weekend get-a-way. We were able to spend time with Mimi and Grandbo. We also visited Daddy's grandparents who will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary later this month, which we weren't going to be able to attend due to prior engagements at home.

We discovered, over the past few weeks, that one of the best ways to insure that SG will eat is to have something to dip her food into (i.e., ketchup, mustard, etc.). Well, since ketchup is pretty high on the sugar count, I explored and found that sour cream was really low on the carbs (1g per 2 tablespoons for those of you who are interested). Well, lets just say we now refer to sour cream at our house as the "magic white sauce". She loves to not only dip her food into sour cream but to eat it by the hand fulls. Hence, this week she was eating a cheese quesadilla and dipping it into her sour cream in Daddy's office. I turned my back to talk to Mr.Chip and Daddy, turned around, and found Samantha Grace's entire hand digging out a scoop of sour cream! Pictures below tell all...

She also enjoys applesauce and sugar free syrup as her dipping sauces. She also knows how to say the word "dip" and will say it as she is dipping her food. Quite hysterical!

This week we also found out that our sweet friend Ruthie Grace was going to be having some surgery. (She is only 2 months old.) We were quite shocked but we also knew that this surgery was probably going to have to come sooner or later. I am glad to report that she made it well through surgery. And after talking to her Mommy this morning (Dr.M), she is doing great. She woke up about 11 PM last night talking up a storm. They are actually on their way home from Birmingham as I am currently writing my fingers raw. (Whew! What a week off of the blog will do to you?!)

We also found out that Ruthie Grace will not have to have hip surgery. She has hip dysplasia and has been wearing a harness to help "heal" it; however, if the harness did not work its magic surgery was going to have to be the next option. But this is a HUGE praise that the harness was once again proven faithful. (We have another friend whose baby wore the harness as well and it worked wonders too!) HUGE praise this week!

I close this week asking, again, for prayers for Samantha Grace's continual good health. Also, that the health insurance company would see the need for SG's pump and approve it without any hesitations. I ask, in advance, for a smooth transitions as we experience some new changes with medical and other needs. Lastly, I ask for prayer for Ruthie Grace's healing process. It might be a long road but it is definitely one that God is in complete control of every minute.

Prayers for Jack

2009-07-30T14:15:00.001-07:00

As so many of you who read our blog have been and are still praying for Samantha Grace, I ask that you lift prayers for our good friends that Davidsons. Their 2nd son, Jack, born on April 1, 2009 was admitted to the hospital today.

I don't know all the details except that he had stopped breathing for some time. I will try to post updates as they come available. Below is a picture of precious Jack and his big brother Jay just after Jack's birth.

We want to Pump You Up

2009-07-29T11:19:00.000-07:00

So I know it has been quite some time since I have posted, almost a week, I think, to be exact. After our trip to Ohio (Daddy and I led worship for an international conference), life returned back to "normal" with a few added excitements added to the mix.

I have to brag but since we left and since our return home, Samantha Grace has been viral, bacterial, you-name-it infection FREE! This has been a huge praise for she is able to breathe comfortable, play without inhibitants and most of all not take any extra meds that play with her blood sugar levels. Since the discontinuation of her steroids from Croupe, her blood sugars have stabilized themselves into a more normal routine for the past few days! The Lord IS good!

We have been enjoying our week of "normal" by playing with friends who are visiting from South Korea. It has been a joy watching SG interact with older "siblings" and just to the shear addition of multiple warm bodies in one house! She absolutely loves the additional baby dolls that the girls brought! (Thanks Mary G for sharing your dolly with SG!) I have enjoyed catching up with our friend Jenny and exchanging favors despite a 13 hour time difference once they depart us!

We enjoyed a short overnight visit, as well, by SG's Auntie Ray-Ray (Rachel) and Uncle Justin. They were passing through on their way to the beach.
Daddy, Samantha Grace and I are excited to be returning to Birmingham later this week. Daddy and I will be attending a class on insulin pumps. I know this probably doesn't sound too exciting to the common man, but this will, hopefully, produce less tears throughout the day. If you are curious as to what this

We will continue our trip north up to Nashville to celebrate Josh's grandparents'
60th wedding anniversary. And, of course, for SG to be spoiled rotten by her grandparents.

As we look froward to soon embarking on another road trip, we pray that SG maintains good blood sugar levels. A lot of times just the minimal amount of stress of sitting in her carseat for long periods of time can cause her sugar levels to do crazy things. We also pray that we don't "pick-up" any new bugs in TN. Daddy and I are surely enjoying a "bug" free little girl.

As for now, here are some pictures from our trip to Columbus, Ohio.

Above: The COSI or to all of us...the Science Museum. It was pretty cool! It had a unicycle suspended mid-air through the middle of the museum that you could ride. SG thought that was great fun to watch!

Above: The Columbus City Scape. It was a pretty city full of lots of hills. We had great walks each day! One of the big things I love about large cities...walking EVERYWHERE!

Below: A Greek restaurant in town. AWESOME! There was also a HUGE Greek church that was an entire city block long and deep! It made some of the large churches in Montgomery look like peanuts!

The picture above is of William McKinley (25th President) who is one of my distant cousins. This picture is for you Ama.

Samantha Grace had so much fun in Columbus that she slept the entire plane ride back in our laps. The way she was laying did not allow us to use our tray tables, hence the peanuts on her dress.

Thanks again for all of your prayers! We continue to be healthy and living the life a true 1-year-old!

2009-07-18T03:30:00.000-07:00

So I started writing last saturday but I got a little overwhelmed packing for a week of travel and never finished. I bring all good news thus far for the start of this week.

Daddy and I decided to keep SG out of the nursery this week since she was still getting over her sickness and knowing that we would be going out of town for an entire week. For those of you that are parents know that it is NOT fun traveling with a sick baby. I bring a report that our strategy worked! We not only have ridded ourselves of all our stuffy nose, but we have remained well thus far into our trip.

We had a very smooth plane ride to Columbus, Ohio. Samantha Grace was a gold star passenger sleeping the entire flight to Ohio. Upon our arrival we discovered that SG's coveted lovie took a bath in grape juice. So she was beginnng to smell like an addition to the communion elements! Thanks to the nice people in our hotel we were able to give Bunny a Woolite bath last night.

This morning we ALL enjoyed sleeping in way past our usual wakeup times. We then took advantage of Starbucks free pastries for breakfast and discovered Ohio 's version of the Curb Market in Montgomery. Except here it is called the pearl market, like a hidden gem in Columbus. We enjoyed sampling some scrumptious fruis and veggies and found some sweet trays that we will be bringing back home for our sweet tooth friends. There was even one bakery that was featured on Bobb Flay's Throw Down challenges there too!

SG's blood sugars have been leveling out since our arrival. From getting over the steroids that were in here system, the antibiotics and just the fact of being sick has sent her numbers all over the place. But I have to say she has beena trooper through all of it.

Please continue to pray that Samantha Grace will continue to stay well even after our return home. Also pray that we will continue to have somewhat of a leveling of her blood sugar numbers for a few days.

Bumpy Ride

2009-07-15T07:05:00.000-07:00

As many of you know one of Samantha Grace's favorite activities is riding in her luxurious Radio Flyer wagon. As we have found, the ride is not always the smoothest depending on what type of terrain we would be traveling. Much like Samantha Grace's wagon rides, so has been her health.

We are once again experiencing one of those bumps in the road. After a day and a half of fabulous blood sugar levels, Daddy and I noticed that SG's levels began to creep up into the 300's and would not budge, even despite SG's slowly decreasing appetite. We also noticed that she was beginning to have difficulty breathing. She was sounding like a sea lion at the zoo when she would breathe-in.

Therefore, our weekly call-in to Dr.M was made. We came to the conclusion that SG had croup. So she was immediately put on steroids and an antibiotic to help prevent sinus infections/ear infections and to battle the starting of pink eye (we think). Unfortunately, before she was started on any of these medications she was still struggling with 300+ blood sugar levels.

I made the executive decision to call back to Birmingham (I called them just the day before) to see if they would finally increase her insulin to bring some internal comfort to her. (She has been very irritable, and always is, when she is high.) They decided to increase all of her insulin levels, which we started last night. On a down side, the steroids that she is on cause the blood sugar levels to naturally run higher.

So last night we had some mild scares with blood sugars at 549 and 541 in 2 consecutive readings. Thankfully around midnight her body decided to "take" the injection and her levels started to go down into the upper 200's. This also allowed Samantha Grace to rest easier in the night.

The positive things are that once the insulin does take affect, about 10 minutes post injection, Samantha Grace does not even seem sick (other than her stuffy nose and seal breathing). This has allowed her to play and enjoy herself throughout the day. She also has only ran mild fevers throughout the entire ordeal! (Huge Praise!)

Our prayers for the next few days include:
1) Rapid recovery with minimal pain/discomfort
2) Minimal amounts of extra injections (she received a total of 10 injections yesterday compared to a normal of 5 in one day)
3) The ability for her body to stay well for a longer period of time in order to build up the immune system.
4) Leveling of blood sugars to a safer range.

We ask that you join us in these prayers. We would like to take the "wagon ride" back onto smoother terrain very soon. For Daddy and I have found that there is supreme power in the power of prayer!

Bed of Roses

2009-07-09T04:56:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, before the day came to an end around midnight upon our arrival to Atlanta, I realized that we were marking the 2 month mark of Samantha Grace's diagnosis. I have to say, as I have mentioned many times, this has been a roller coaster ride. We never truly know what is around the next corner.

However, I have to say that Thursday night I witnessed a glimmer of hope into the future. Upon my mom's request, we watched the ABC (yes, our family finally ventured away from Fox News) Nightly News. They did an amazing feature story on the possibility and trial of an artificial pancreas. Much to my own amazement, it DOES NOT require an actual transplant but rather an external "machine" of sorts. For the opportunity to see something of this nature actually in working motion of a young lady was a true miracle to me and Josh. (Click Here or on "artificial pancreas" for story.)

Samantha Grace has had some rough days this week while dealing with the symptoms brought on by Roseola. Today has been our first day to see her back to "normal". We have been thoroughly enjoying our time with Ama and Papa. She has been a constant ball of energy. (I honestly think it has been building up inside of her all week but she just didn't have the energy to release it all.)

We all enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Paula Deen's cousins restaurant. (Cecile you would have died to have had her cookies and cakes!)We then ventured to the "ritzy" Alpharetta to visit a coveted little girl store...American Girl. Yes, I have already brought SG into the American Girl Doll madness. We actually started her collection at Christmas last year upon the notification of the retirement of the Samantha Doll(Thanks to a "secret Santa") but she will not be receiving her for quite some time. Instead, today she got her first Bitty Baby doll. She had a melt down in the store after we showed her the baby but told her we had to pay for it before we could take it out of the box.

Thankfully, we had already made most of our decisions, so the melt down lasted only a little while. She loves her new baby! (Pictures will come soon.) Ama and Papa bought baby a new outfit as well! It screams Samantha Grace!

ABOVE: She got a kick out of riding on the bellboy carts at the hotel.

SG and I enjoyed a Friday of rest and relaxation while Daddy finished up his conference. Around lunch time, Daddy decided that he had had enough of choir promo-packs and needed to be released into the world of true reality before breaking down. (Chip, can we get an Amen?!) So after lunch, we piled back into the car to head home.

As we all know, it is nice to get away for a little R-and-R, but it truly is nice returning home. We are looking forward to somewhat of a "low-key" week before traveling up north for another conference where Mommy and Daddy will be playing for worship.

Our biggest request for the next few weeks is minimal sickness, for as we all know it is not fun traveling with a sick baby, Mommy or Daddy. But especially pray for SG's health. She has really been through the works for the past 2 months with various viral infections, colds, fevers, rashes, etc. Thanks again to our wonderful prayer warriors and support team!

These are the People in Your Neighborhood

2009-07-07T06:42:00.000-07:00

There is a song from Sesame Street that talks about the different people that live in your neighborhood. When I was thinking about a title for today's post, this song kept ringing in my head. It could be the never ending "Kiddie Songs" that ring through our house at various times of the day or it might be...stand back...the creative juices in my head at work again.
(WARNING: With my brain in full operation dangerous things are bound to occur! Just kidding!)

Last night, we had the pleasure of meeting some new friends while getting together with some "old" friends here in our own neighborhood. (Hence the title.) Our new friends were from Columbia, Tennessee, so Josh and I already had an instant connection. One member of this family, Mark, had attended medical school with Dr. M and his wife, Tina, was an avid runner like myself. They had brought a lot of entertainment with them to Dr. M's house...5 children! Samantha Grace was in hog-heaven, especially with little Emery and Liam. (Sorry Tina if I misspelled their names.)

We all then enjoyed a scrumptious dinner and some fun pool time. SG had never seen children jump off the diving board like the kids were doing. It was so nice to sit around the pool edge, chit-chat with Dr.M and Tina while the Daddies played with, to borrow a phrase, the Many Small Children.

I enjoyed a morning run with Tina this morning. We battled what felt like 99% humidity for about a 6 mile run. Did I mention that Tina is about 20 weeks pregnant? (She is definitely a woman after my own heart!) We discussed possibly getting together the next time we head "up north" to Franklin for at least dinner with the families.

I have to say a special thanks to Dr. M for having us over for dinner and for having such awesome friends! We all had a blast! Now I must return to my Dr. Mommy roll for it seems as though we are battling a nasty little fever again...

Happy Tuesday to all!

Not Me! Monday: Singin' in the Rain

2009-07-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it has been awhile since I have done one of these...almost 2 months to be exact. But after today's events and some of the events of this past week I just couldn't resist.

So to start off, after not having rain for almost a month in Montgomery, I so did not strip my little precious package down to her diaper and let her play in the rain or even the mud in the garden. I most definitely did not catch it on tape too! (Yes, the video has commentary because I was so not talking to her Daddy on the phone at the same time.)

After noticing the tendencies of the heavy traffic through the kitchen, I so did not mop the kitchen floor 3 times in one day. No one can be that OCD about a kitchen floor. Plus Daddy did not tell Mommy to just sweep it and let it go. That's what 2 type-A, first-born personalities will do for you.

Following a very long and exhausting morning with SG, I ABSOLUTELY DID NOT go to a friends pool, by myself and read a "People" magazine cover-to-cover before returning home. I wouldn't want to fill my mind with that meaningless business. Mommy should be reading books by Piper, Dobson, etc. Right?!

I so did not turn the stereo up really loud and listen to some of my "old school" favorites every time I was in the car by myself. How could someone call that therapy? Such childish behavior...

Finally, this past weekend I unplug the television to prevent little hands from repeatedly turning it on & off. And then forget to tell Daddy what I had done and come home to find the bag of batteries gone through and the entertainment center pulled from the wall. (Daddy did agree that I had done the smart thing though.)

Lazy Dayz

2009-07-06T06:52:00.000-07:00

I would love to write and tell you about this wonderful firework show, gigantic barbeque full of all the 4th of July favorites, and magnificent parades that we participated in during this past weekend...but the true case is none of this happened. We decided the best thing for us would be to just spend some quality family time together. So here is a quick synopsis of our weekend adventures... The Montgomery Summer Sun proved itself to be true with a quick warming on Friday while we ventured through the zoo. We found most of the animals hiding in the shade tyring to sequenture every ounce of cool air that they could, or we would find them doing something like this... Friday afternoon looked like a lazy Sunday afternoon. By 2:30 everyone was "down for the count" in some way shape or form...Daddy and Samantha Grace enjoyed the man-made comfort of the A/C, while Mommy chose for a sauna-laidened 3 mile run followed by some sun bathing time in the peaceful serenity of a close friend's pool! (It has become somewhat of an escape oasis for Mommy.) After our re-charge, we enjoyed our Friday tradition of homemade pizza and a movie along with a visit from Mary Austin and Cecile. Needless to say, Mommy and Daddy were exhausted after chasing a very energized Samantha Grace. (See video below.)

The 4th of July greeted us with much energy after a long night with SG. (Blood sugars are still going crazy at times in the middle of the night.) Mommy joined friends for a early, long Saturday morning run and a trip to the farmer's market. The family then went for a short wagon ride/walk through the neighborhood to visit the ducks at the pond. We then journeyed to Home Depot to think of any home improvement projects that we could get done while we had the time. Samantha Grace enjoyed all the boxes that made different noises right on her level. (She wasn't having much of the stroller.)

After enjoying the afternoon at the pool with our friend Kaki and thoroughly enjoying the Deer Creek Splash Park, we brought home a tuckered out Samantha Grace and called it a day! Happy Birthday America! Sunday.. We enjoyed a fabulous time of worship. We are finding it harder to take Samantha Grace to the nursery because she is in love with music so much. As soon as she hears the piano at church, she starts to make a b-line into the sanctuary. She was not a happy camper when Mommy scooped her up and told her she had to go to the nursery, but I know she had a blast with all her friends.

Lazy Dayz theme continued on during Sunday...SG decided to romp around the house in nothing but a diaper and her tutu. She also loved throwing herself into our comforter that had been brought down off the bed for cleaning. SG, though, gave Daddy and Mommy the best gift ever during the afternoon...a 3 hour nap! Yes, since we are trying to drop the morning nap our afternoon naps have become quite longer. This was much welcomed since Daddy had mowed the lawn and Mommy had just burned every muscle fiber in her body thanks to her friend Kaki's sweet invitation to a sculpt/cardio class.

Mommy and Daddy ended the day with a relaxing dinner out, while Samantha Grace enjoyed some playtime! Needless to say we were all exhausted by the weekend's end and "hit the sack" with much delight!

I'm a Big Girl Now!!

2009-07-03T19:47:00.000-07:00

Okay your remember this picture from a week ago...

Well, I regret writing that we weren't quite ready for the "big girl" potty. We have been trying every night before her bath to get her to "try" and to much effort (singing ABC's, reading books, etc.) nothing. That is until tonight...She made Mommy and Daddy so proud! She went potty in her potty. We cheered and jumped up and down! She proceeded to stand up, cheer and run to the bath tub.

This is only our first steps to being potty trained but I must say that I am a very proud Mommy. It is music to my ears to have a child potty trained before 2 years of age! (Budget friendly too!)

Happy 4th to all!

All in a Days Work

2009-07-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

Well, I tried very hard to get Samantha Grace to write today's posting, but she quickly told me that she needed to take care of all her babies instead of writing today. At least now she knows what Mommy goes through every day!

Samantha Grace and I have enjoyed a very relaxing, catch-up on house work Wednesday. (I was even able to catch a few afternoon ZZZ's since Josh and I had a long night with SG last night...darn teeth.)After some nap time, SG decided that she, her new baby (still taking name suggestions) and her other baby doll needed to have a "window seat" in the kitchen. Following Samantha Grace's strategic placement of her dolls on the window, she promptly started pulling on my pant leg and pointing to the ledge.

I carefully place her with her dolls on the ledge and this is what resulted...

Yesterday, Samantha Grace and I needed to get some outside yard work done while Daddy was at work (aka, pulling weeds and any heat belabored plants). Well, Samantha Grace had some other agendas while we were outside, which included an incident that I think every kids goes through at some point or another...eating dirt. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, SG ingested a large handful of dirt and was eagerly going for a second before I stopped her. She also enjoyed a stroll (with shoes on) in the grass but was not a big fan of sitting in the grass. The texture is still a little strange to her, but I can't say as I blame her.

Daddy and I also thank our special friends for some quality couple time yesterday afternoon. It was much needed and very much appreciated. Unfortunately, SG decided not to nap yesterday afternoon; however, it did result in sleeping in until 9:00 AM!

Today, trying to beat the crowds and the heat, we are heading to one of SG's favorite sites in Montgomery...the Zoo. Happy early 4th to everyone!

Babies, Politics and Cheesecakes

2009-06-30T13:13:00.000-07:00

Note to my readers: Mommy is in no way endorsing any candidates, at the moment, for the Alabama Governor race. Also, this entry is written from the perspective of Samantha Grace.

Last night, our family experienced something new for the first time from a first person perspective...politics. We have always been heavily involved in politics. I don't think we ever get together with fellow family members/friends without talking politics, especially Daddy & Grandbo. Well, as many of you know Alabama is coming up on a HUGE political race that is very important, not only for our state, but for our nation as well. We are getting ready to elect a new governor! (So if you are 17 years older than me you qualify to vote, so exercise your right!) .

So after receiving an invitation to meet one of the republican candidates, Daddy and Mommy couldn't resist the opportunity. Despite the fact that I was comfortable in my cotton "My Dad's a Hunk" t-shirt and comfy lounge pants, Mommy insisted that I change into a fancy, linen dress. Just in case I forgot who I was, Mommy had my initials not only on my dress but also monogrammed on my fancy panties. The car ride was a blast because Mommy sat in the back seat with me, we boogied to Veggie Tales (after telling Daddy to turn off talk radio), and I got to eat grapes and Goldfish.

I didn't think it could get any better until we arrived...My friend Alli Beth was there too! When we walked into Mr. Mark and Mrs. Eegee's house, I was a bit overwhelmed I have to say for all the new faces, but I due have to admit that I quickly warmed up and made myself at home. Mommy let me stroll around until the "big man", Mr. Tim James, decided it was his turn to steal the spotlight. Then before I knew it...Mr. James had scooped me up. 'HOT DOG!' I thought. Front row seat! (I even offered him my cheese cracker.) After he spoke some really big things that I didn't understand, he let me go.

Mommy told me later that it reminded her of the times that she has seen presidential candidates carrying other people's babies. Oh, well, I thought it was great! After that I decided to go exploring and found the perfect rocking chair in Mrs. Eegee's sitting room! I loved it because it was just my size. I also discovered another Alabama delicacy...Pecans! I loved them, especially the salty ones.

Needless to say I was dog tired when we returned home. Mommy said I fell asleep on the way home, but I think she was telling a fib. (Mommy note: She did fall dead asleep!) I did have some trouble going to bed last night because I am cutting teeth and other things but Mommy rocked me to sleep with ease!

Since last night was so exciting and entertaining, I was glad to have a relaxing morning at Cecile's house. I took a great nap this morning and helped around the house. I even helped Cecile vacuum and learned a new phrase to say, "Mama bye-bye."

After we enjoyed a yummy lunch from Dirk's (the cornbread and BBQ chicken is great!), Mommy and Cecile decided to travel to a new store to Mommy. While we were there, Mommy and Cecile didn't notice that I had "snatched" a baby doll with its own bed off of the shelf until later on in the store. I had to take the baby...she needed some hugs and love. Mommy told me that I could only hold it as we walked through the store. (Honestly, I was so bored because Mommy and Cecile kept looking at all these things that I couldn't touch!)

As we got ready to leave, Mommy bent down to take the baby from me, but Cecile saved the baby...Yep, you got it! I got to bring the baby home with me. Mommy fixed her bed. I even put her down for a nap before I went to take in some ZZZZs of my own. Her picture is below. I haven't named her yet, so if you have any suggestions I would love to have them! Mommy even said that if we pick your suggestion she will make you a homemade cheesecake of your choice! (If I were you I wouldn't pass this up!)

Well, it is time for me to put my tired fingers to rest now. This typing thing wears me out. I hope you all are having good week thus far. Mommy is going to finish up with some prayer request.

MOMMY'S REQUESTS
Thank you Samantha Grace for giving Mommy's writing brain a break for today! I hope that you all enjoyed our life from the perspective of our 1-year-old. I do ask that you continue to pray for stabilization. This is probably #1 on our request line for we have been on a wild roller coaster ride for the past week and continue. Next, prayers for wisdom for the doctors as they look at all our elements of our case day-in-and-day-out. I also ask that you pray for the continual good health and growth of our new friend Ruthie Grace and her Mommy. Thanks again for your continual support and prayers!

Somethings Are Overrated

2009-06-29T06:39:00.000-07:00

This morning Samantha Grace woke up in a very vivacious mood. She has been constantly on the go from the first minute. And as it is with most 1 year olds, she does not stay focused on one thing for very long.

After a morning shower, she decided that clothes were not her thing for today. (Mommy had another idea later on for her.) So SG gladly paraded around the house without any added shame. What we can ALL learn from a one-year-old?! I later found her peacefully sitting on her bench in her room "looking out the window". Side note: If you notice the blinds are closed in the picture, but that does not inhibit her imagination.

Backing up a bit, last night SG and I had a mother/daughter night at home while Daddy was at work. Mommy enjoyed SG's extra long afternoon nap allowing some "honey-do" things to be completed, hold extra long, uninterrupted phone conversations, and even make some extra moist brownies! But I think the best time we had was the spaghetti throwing dinner, "Hercules" soundtrack dancing, and the piano tune banging. (Boy! Does SG have rhythm?!)

Return to Monday, after finally agreeing to clothing herself for the day, SG re-discovered one of her new favorite items to play with in the pantry...coffee filters. You see, Mommy was gifted a "new" coffee maker from SG's godmother because she got a real new one but it used different filters from the one Mommy originally had at home. So Mommy sent the coffee maker to Mimi and Grandbo's house to insure she and great-granddad would always have a cup of coffee in the morning when visiting. Anyways, some of the "old" filters are still here and they are SG's new favorite thing to take out of the pantry and crumple. Evidence is presented below...

I sign-off for now with SG's signature trademark. Thought: It could be something like Carol Burnett's ear tug.

WHD

2009-06-27T13:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome Home Daddy Day (WHD) is in full swing at our house today. We were so excited to see our Daddy come home late last night after being away for a while!

SG and I allow Daddy some RR time early on this morning due to his late arrival. We enjoyed a mother/daughter trip to our local farmers' markets. We bought some delicious fruits and vegetables. SG was so excited about seeing the blueberries that I thought I was going to have to wash them right then and there. She could spot them a mile away at each stand!

Samantha Grace has enjoyed helping unpacking Daddy's suitcase and even putting things back into the suitcase. A couple of times she even tried to pull (it rolls) the suitcase through the house. It was hilarious!

We have been having a blast today being all 3 of us again! After the heat calms itself down we will be dunking ourselves in the pool this evening again! SG and I had a lovely time in the pool last night and enjoyed a very nice dinner with friends. Overall, though last week was lots of fun for all of us, I truly believe we are all glad to be back in our own "routine".

Looking forward to celebrating another special day...whenever I can think of a reason!

We Have Confirmation

2009-06-26T07:07:00.000-07:00

After a much needed break away, I returned last night to find out that Samantha Grace definitely confirmed Dr.M's diagnosis. A viral infection has planted itself, once again, in her little body. She threw-up all her dinner and then some last night.

Her blood sugars ran high through the night with intervention. She was somewhat high this morning but nothing to constitute any extra insulin.

I felt all of your prayers last night, for after the 2AM check I slept like a baby, which I have not done in some time. I feel much more refreshed and renewed today.

I know, ultimately, God has great and wonderful things planned for our entire family. However, in the midst of all these bumps in the road, as we all know, it is sometimes hard to see those bright moments.

Samantha Grace and I are looking forward to seeing our Daddy tonight! He and his "crew" will be returning home from Orlando late tonight. We look forward to family time tomorrow and, hopefully, lots of splashing in the pool!

For the time being, SG is getting much needed rest as I write this morning. We will be transition back to the Duke house this afternoon sometime after spending a wonderful two days with her Godparents! SG has thoroughly enjoyed herself...she even learned a how to help with a few more chores.

(I will say that she is not for hire.)

Lastly, the photo below was taken several weeks ago, but it is one that I have been meaning to get posted.

All that I Can Say

2009-06-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

I often have people who read our blog come up to me and tell me that they will come to our site just to listen to the music. Well, today I did just that...came to listen. When I began to listen the song "All that I Can Say" began to play and I broke.

All that I Can Say...

I just got off the phone with sweet Christy and after talking and her listening...I now sob. It has been probably the most frustrating and grueling mental days since leaving the hospital. Much to which I attribute I don't have my strong hold, Josh, standing by my side.

All that I Can Say...

When I went to the pharmacy today to pick up Samantha Grace's "special" insulin, I just felt like crumbling when the pharmacist told me the amount. I couldn't take one more "blow" this week. I thought to myself that a trip to Birmingham might have been cheaper than the amount I was shelling out and somewhat renewing.

I know many of you comment on how strong I am in dealing with this disease and my little angel. But I have to come out and tell you that I am quickly falling from my strong tower. I so want to scream from the mountain tops, raise my arms and ask God for the road map in this journey.

All that I Can Say...

On a brighter note, I am making progress in putting Montgomery back on the map with the fundraising aspect of diabetic research. I received the paper work this week to get my Juvenile Diabetes Run/Walk together thanks to my sweet friend Lisa. I am now trying to think of a creative name for the event. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

All that I Can Say...

I thank Samantha Grace's godmother and godfather for truly stepping up this week. You guys are such amazing people and some our true anchors! Thanks for everything!

All that I Can Say...

I continue to ask for your prayers for SG. What a lot of people don't realize is that these rough days can and do have prolonged effects on her body. I also continue to ask for prayers for Josh's group in Orlando. (They will be home tomorrow!)

For now that is All that I Can Say...So Stop and Listen...

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's....

2009-06-25T09:08:00.001-07:00

Another virus...Yep, you got it! SG and I spent part of our morning at our favorite spot...the doctor. We all, Dr. M included, wanted to make sure there wasn't some underlying factor that might be causing all of her high levels or more like wild roller coaster ride.

After evaluating everything, including a strep test, we came to the conclusion that we probably have an underlying virus that is playing with our sugars and giving us an irritated throat. Few! This actually brings relief to my mind to some extent. At least I know that it might actually be something.

Hopefully today we will be returning to our "special" insulin. We will once again be going through a transition period. So we ask for smooth sailing because we will be giving new amounts per Dr. A's orders on Monday after I broke the bottle.

SG and I will be chillin' at home and/or with friends today and having a pretty low-key day. We will hopefully, blood sugar numbers and weather permitting, be going swimming sometime this weekend with Ruthie Grace! Thanks to all the prayers for SG. We are still pretty crazy right now number wise, so a prayer of stability is still #1!

I May Never Walk on Water

2009-06-24T16:29:00.000-07:00

I may never walk on water,
but I'll never drown.
God may never part the oceans,
but I'll stand my ground
My faith in not in my beliefs
but in the One I've found.
His word is sure,
when I am not
His heart and mine are bound.

This short poem is from Beth Moore's book Further Still. It is so fitting for the past 2 days that I have been walking through. Thus the reason for such a long delay in posting anything.

Following the morning posts on Monday morning, I have felt as if Satan has been one step in front of me testing my mental, physical and spiritual strength. I have had the best help over the last few days, but we have hit some pitfalls.

Following Samantha Grace's lunch dosage of insulin on Monday, I gracefully knocked the new bottle of "special" insulin off the table and sent it crashing onto my tile floor. As the smell (not pleasant at all) began to permeate my kitchen, my mind began a marathon race of how I was going to get this filled again considering we just had it filled in Birmingham last Thursday.

I quickly called one of our local hospitals because we had been told that these hospitals would fill it; however, I was quickly denied because we were not a patient. Pacing like a lion about to be fed a huge juicy steak, I called Children's Hospital and requested a refill to be shipped overnight and offering to pay any amount to have it shipped. The words came back again...DENIED!

I was told that I basically needed to run an obstacle course in order to get a medication that my child needed by that night. The insurance company was making me basically walk a tight rope in order to find a pharmacy in our town instead of trying to be helpful in maybe giving me a list of possible pharmacies. Then I was told that the first day I could fill the medication would be Wednesday...

After finally finding a pharmacy to fill it (it basically took finding a needle in a haystack), I spoke with SG's nurses/doctors in B-ham to get their directions for the time being. They directed us to return to our old insulin until Thursday...thus brings us up to Tuesday.

Tuesday morning started pretty normal. Then came lunch!? SG's blood sugar spiked to 480 prior to lunch. We were able to finally, after 6 hours, get it down to 315. Then, I guess based on the high numbers, she refused to eat a full supper. Therefore, our bedtime reading was normal at 104. However, it only lasted two hours to be awoken at 10:30 to a reading of 356. After getting her calmed down and diaper changed (soaked to the bone bringing back not so good memories), I went to bed shortly there after knowing I needed to get back up in a couple of hours to re-test.

Unfortunately, she woke me before my alarm went off with a blood curdling scream. Bloodshot eyes I meander into the kitchen and zombie-like walk through the steps, wash hands, load needle, load test strips, prick, test...398! I couldn't believe my eyes. I even turned on SG's bedroom light to make sure I was reading it correctly. I quickly walked, with her in arm, to the kitchen. Grabbed the insulin and brought some relief to our little angel. She slept the rest of the night soundly.

This morning she woke with a blood sugar at the lowest it has been all day 201. The rest of the day we have flirted high. The doctors don't want to do anything because we will be returning to the other insulin tomorrow. So this leaves me frustrated beyond belief. Not to mention I have had to iron out other issues with SG's diabetes this week that have brought on more stress.

I just thank so much, again, my friends/family for all their support this week. Wow! You guys truly are more rocks and support. Poor Daddy feels so helpless right now because he is out of town this week, but I completely feel his prayers.

We ask that you continue to pray that this medicine would eventually take hold before tomorrow and we change AGAIN! I also ask that you pray for our congressmen and senators because with these recent issues the ideas of the recent health care plan truly do scare us as parents of a child who needs much medical attention. Plus we have very close friends whom this would effect as well.

I apologize for the length of this post but these are the true events of the week so far. Like Beth Moore said,
His word is sure,
when I am not
His heart and mine are bound.

Do You Think We're Ready?

2009-06-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

So I couldn't resist...

Sadly it didn't last long, so I think we will wait for another day.

A Day Late and a Few ...

2009-06-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

Dollars short...well, not really. I had all good intentions to write yesterday with it being Father's Day and all, but I took full advantage of SG & Daddy nap time to go restock the Mother's Cupboard. But here are the thoughts that ran races around my mind yesterday...

On the note of Father's Day:
I could not express enough of how much SG and I are thankful for our Daddy. He is such a self-less person with extreme amounts of patience. Daddy brings enormous laughter to our days. He is our great spiritual tour guide through all the valleys and mountaintops that we face every day. From a Mommy stand point, he has helped beyond so many measurable points with so many obstacles that Mommy has faced in the past 5 years. We could not have asked for a better Daddy! Happy Belated Father's Day!

P.S. Ask Daddy to show you his snazzy new pants and shirt that we gave him!

Speaking of Daddy, today we shipped him off with 52 of his closest 7th & 8th grade friends to Orlando for a week. SG and I are hangin' out with some friends this week. Looking forward to a cool and FREE trip to the Art Museum today. (Pictures to come tonight.) We will also be doing some "honey do" items to help around the house. SG & I are so thankful that Daddy was able to "fix" the AC unit last night. We thought it had gone to AC heaven but a sweet lady helped Daddy work out the problem.

SG has been doing pretty good with her health since the change to the new insulin. She has been a little fussy over the last few days with her shots for some reason. But I praise the Lord for the great appetite that Samantha Grace has been showing the past few days. We still have some lower GI problems with the adjustment to the new meds, but they are very workable.

Mommy wants to thank Missy M. & Missy S. for stopping, listening, and helping her in more ways than can be expressed. Mommy also asks for prayer for an unspoken matter. We are looking forward to hanging out with Ruthie Grace more this week and taking many night-time dips in the swimming pool.

Now off to culture our little minds with Art.

Who's There...

2009-06-19T17:11:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned two nights ago, we experienced quite a throw for the worse with Samantha Grace's blood sugar levels with some changes. Thankfully after a phone conference with her doctors and nurses (the ones we deal with on a weekly basis), Mommy and Daddy found out that we had been right all along about her new insulin dosages. So her amounts were changed and overall we have had a good day (only 1 high level so far).

We all thoroughly enjoyed the LAST day of VBS! After singing the last "All Aboard the Boomerang Express", Samantha Grace and I boarded the Hamblin express for lunch and much needed rest (especially for little SG). While visiting, Mommy enjoyed making dinner for baby Ruthie Grace's family, including aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. (Even Ziggy, the Bassett Hound, got to enjoy some of the delectable treats.)

But the cutest thing that happened while at the "Hamblin Express" was that her godmother has taught her to shrug her shoulders and raise her arms in question of "Who's there?" each time the alarm system beeps signaling that someone has entered the house. So now, usually, each time the doorbell rings or a door opens SG with shrug her shoulders and raise her arms like she is trying to ask, "Who's there?" (She'll even, if she is sitting in your lap, look up at you with a question in her eyes.)

Following a much needed nap, SG came home and enjoyed a much needed dinner. Then the excitement didn't stop there. We jumped in the pool at Dr. M and Ruthie Grace's house along with two new friends (Dr. M's niece and nephew). Nephew C got a kick out of SG. Once everyone was out of the pool it was like they were best buds! We all had a blast. Mommy told Daddy that we needed to take SG swimming every night before bed because she went down like an angel last night! (And is still asleep as I type this at 7:45 AM!)

We again thank everyone for their prayers and concerns over the past few days. As we continue to tell each one of you, this is still a learning process, and we are taking each step hour-by-hour. But most importantly we know that God's hand of protection is fully enveloping us every day!

Prayer for SG

2009-06-18T19:45:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my previous posting today, the doctors in Birmingham made a change to one of Samantha Grace's insulins. Well, the change has already started playing havoc in her little body.

Prior to bedtime tonight in a matter of 20 minutes her blood sugar went form 376 to 440. (The waiting period was caused for a doctor's response in Birmingham.) We ended up giving 3 1/2 units of insulin to bring her back down, hopefully.

I say hopefully because I have to wait 45 more minutes before I can recheck and make sure the medications are doing the trick.

Mommy and Daddy were quickly reminded of the piercing cries and inability to console our little princess. Our prayer is that she will be able to rest peacefully tonight and that the 440 blood sugar level would be the highest it goes tonight. We will call her doctor in the morning to discuss this matter and see what changes should be made.

Thank you, in advance, for your prayers!

Oh! The Changes We Do Have

2009-06-17T14:51:00.000-07:00

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

As I have been mentioning in several of our posts our sweet Dr. M was in the process of adopting a little baby. Well, the Lord has truly blessed Dr. M in the entire process. It has been a very quick and amazing thing!

Last Friday we were notified that Dr.M had a little girl, Ruth Gracelyn, in her arms! We were extatic! Yesterday, Samantha Grace and I had the wonderful pleasure of "hanging out" with Ruthie Grace and Mommy. She is a doll! (Pictures to come.) She has so much brown hair and she looks a lot like her grandaddy (I think). I even got the prize award for getting her to burp not once but twice while I was there. (According to her Mommy this is quite an honor because she is not a good burper.)

Along with new friends, we made our first return post-hospital trip to Birmingham today. After surviving Birmingham construction traffic, we safely arrived to our appointment. Samantha Grace was SO relieved to be "rescued" from her car seat.

In triage we found out that we now weigh...wait for it...wait for it...19 pounds! We were very relieved to find out that Dr. L had not ordered any labs for today! Praise the Lord! We had a wonderful conversation with Dr. A (the follow-up doctor) and came up with some new strategies to combat some of her finicky eating habits.

We have now changed to a new short acting insulin that has to be filled at either Children's Hospital or at a Baptist Hospital here in Montgomery. (Can you hear the excitement in my voice?!) We have to continue to check her in the middle of the night because instead of getting 1 full strength amount of insulin at each meal she is getting 1/10th strength. Pretty crazy sounding to Josh and I, but we will see what happens.

We also talked to the insulin pump director. They are really proactive about getting her on a pump by this fall! We were shocked! They strongly believe that this will aid in a big way at bringing some stablization to her numbers. They did tell us that even if we are out of the honeymoon phase that her numbers will continue to roller coaster because of her age. So Josh and I will return in one month to Birmingham for some pre-pump classes to make our decision final.

Today has been a long day, but we are very pleased with everything! Thank you to everyone for your prayers for this day!

Zzzzz's

2009-06-15T18:26:00.000-07:00

I apologize to all my daily readers for the absence of a Sunday post. I have to admit that I was just (to borrow a term from a fellow blogger) Tapped Dry from a LONG week.

This past week as I have been mentioning from previous posts, Samantha Grace has been struggling with her appetite. I think from looking back at all her symptoms starting Friday evening until this morning that SG possibly had a stomach virus that resulted in the loss of appetite. On the bright side, I think we are on the downhill, for we have had a pretty "big" appetite in comparison to the other days.

Today was the first day of VBS at our church and due to SG's struggles to keep her blood sugar levels up, I chose to send her to a close friend's house, who is a nurse, instead of coming to church with me. While she was there Nurse B showed her a card that made a loud snoring sound. SG decided to carry the card around repeatedly opening it to hear the snoring and then when she was done with the card she bent over, handed the card to Nurse B and proceeded to make a loud snoring sound. It was hillarious! (I have tried numerous times since then to get her to make the snoring sound but she won't. I think it was "magic" of the card!)

We also are excitedly preparing for a new surprise coming tomorrow...details to come. Along with pictures...

As for now here are some pictures from our recent playdate.

Buckets of Fun

2009-06-13T17:15:00.001-07:00

Thanks to the generosity of a wonderful church family we were able to enjoy a fabulous afternoon at the pool! Samantha Grace, once again, showed no fear of the water. She especially took to the water guns that were left for play. Mommy and Daddy were a little disturbed that she would put the front end of the water gun in her mouth and laugh after someone would squirt it into her mouth but it was all in fun!

After all the fun we have had today, I must say, from a Mommy perspective, I am a little worried about SG. Her eating habits have been slowly slacking. She shows no signs of sickness; however, despite decreasing her lunch dosage of insulin to compensate for her lack of eating we could only get her to eat a glass of juice (due to low blood sugars prior to lunch) and 3 - 5 Cheezeits.

She continues to be abounding with energy; however, we are still concerned. It was another struggle tonight at dinner accompanied by a low blood sugar. So I leave this short entry with a huge request of prayer for a return of appetite to SG to help stabilize her blood sugars.

Thanks again to our wonderful "Pool Donors"! (Pictures will be coming soon!)

A Day Full of Hope & Firsts

2009-06-12T12:28:00.000-07:00

Today has been a beautiful sun-shiny 90 degree day! Mommy and Daddy were awoken by sweet Samantha Grace (SG: I figured most people knew these initials but I want to clarify for any new readers) at 6:15 AM. This is quite an early time for our little princess considering we usually don't rise from our beauty sleep until 7:00 - 7:15. Poor Daddy tried so hard to get SG back to sleep with some beloved "cuddle" time but SG just was not going to have it this morning. (Yesterday morning they had "cuddle" time for about an before Mommy returned from working out.)SG was much more mesmerized with the fan (she makes circular motions with her arms while pointing to fans), playing with the comforter and climbing all over Daddy's belly to think about "cuddle" time.

So our day had to begin...Mommy decided since SG loved the fountains and sprinklers so much at the Renaissance last weekend that we would try a joint shower this morning to save water and time, mainly time. So SG and Mommy jumped into the shower with such glee but were quickly met with some minor tears. However, once Mommy moved the shower head down (we have one of those hose-like shower heads in her bathroom) much joy was brought to this fine engagement.

After choosing our outfit, knowing we had a much anticipated playdate, we proceeded to empty the entire box of shoes (now a daily thing) to "help" Mommy pick out the perfect pair. We settled on a pair of pink sandals; however, they only lasted until lunch time today. Mommy doesn't think they were really made for walking because they just didn't flex or move very well with SG's feet. They brought about more frustration than anything. But Mommy gives her two thumbs up for putting up with them for as long as she did!

Following our fantabulous (Is that a word?) nap and snack, we packed the car full of goodies and headed over to our new friend's, Hope, house. This little unknown fact was that this was SG's first ever scheduled playdate. We have had several impromptu playdates just because people stopped by for a short visit, but nothing of this nature. Needless to say, WE HAD A BLAST! The girls were such "individuals" at the beginning but as the afternoon progressed became more interactive with one another. SG had a first hand lesson on sharing today too! (Tanya, this was exactly what she needed because she is so spoiled rotten!)

Mommy has to put her "two cents" in on the playdate too. Mommy thinks that this was perfect because she has truly not seen SG walk as much as she did in those few hours during our playdate. SG would pick-up toys and walk for quite some time without falling, including stepping up over the lip of a large carpet. Mommy could not have been prouder also with the way Samantha Grace was so gentle and easy going! (Cecile, she didn't even pull the cat's tail when it was sleeping on the couch!)

With all these exciting things going on today, we have also been having a fabulous day in the medical world. With the reduction in her dinner dosage, we have seen the nights go a lot better thus far as far as the low numbers are considered. We have gone back into a picky eating mode for some strange reason today so I am a little worried but have been trying to "catch-up" in some ways at snack or before naps. I think that if I would let SG live on (right now) Cheeze-Its, peaches/mandarin oranges, cheese, smoothies and milk she would probably be a happy camper. But this will only last for a little while.

Mommy and Samantha Grace would like to send a BIG hug and thanks to Tanya and Hope for inviting us over today! We had a ball and look forward to more playdates in the future! We also thank Lisa for the sweet encouraging letter that we received today and are looking forward to some "splashes" in the near future! Our family is looking forward to a somewhat slow weekend and a lot of quality family time.

We are praying for our One Voice Choir and their safe return home in a few days. We also ask that you continue to pray for our pediatrician and her adoption process. Finally, we ask for pray, again, for SG's upcoming visit to Birmingham that all would go smoothly and minimal pain would be experienced on her end.

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
-Psalm 118:24

In Her Shoes

2009-06-11T07:45:00.000-07:00

In Her Shoes is one of my favorite "girly" movies. I have to say that I am a strong Cameron Diaz follower when it comes to "Chick Flicks" and I absolutely LOVE shoes. If I could have as many shoes as Cameron's "sister" in the movie had I don't know what I would do besides stand and stare in my closet for minutes on end trying to decide which shoes to wear. Fortunately I do not have this problem; however, I think that Samantha Grace is going to have this problem soon...

Yesterday Samantha Grace added to her ever growing shoe collection with a fancy new pair of New Balance tennis shoes from our sweet friend Peggy. She refused to put on the shoes at the store, but our "Aunt" Phyllis finally got her left foot to relax and SG proudly sported her new shoes!

Side Note:She has a tendency to curl tightly her feet when putting on shoes. I partially blame myself because I haven't pushed the shoe thing until I found out that she has to wear them at school next year.

SG was especially excited when she discovered that her new kicks made a loud sound on hardwood floors. So "Aunt" Phyllis and Cecile sang "If You're Happy and You Know It" over and over (the verse about stomping feet) allowing her to make her shoes bang on the floor. She thought it was a riot!

The funniest thing, though, was watching her try to crawl and walk with her shoes one. She found that crawling Crab Style was the best option. When walking she would, at first, pick up her feet really high. My marching band friends would call this the "high-step march". After a while, I am told, she finally returned to regular steps.

Needless to say, I think that we are finally "off and running" with the whole walking idea. I hope to have some more video with a further walking trip soon.

On Another Note:I had a great conversation with the nurses in Birmingham today. There were not any drastic changes to medications/diet this week. We did lower her evening dose of insulin due to the lack of dinner appetite; however, I think this one is going to come back and bite us because she ate like a horse tonight! You never know!

We all enjoyed a fun evening at Shakespeare Park. Daddy and SG strolled around the park looking at all the variances in duck/goose/swan/chicken species (those of you from Montgomery understand this) and playing in the fountain in front of the theatre. Imagine large bouts of small child's laughter and splashes! I think if Daddy had let her, she would have gone "swimming" in the fountain. Mommy and "Aunt" Carolyn went for a very hot jog around the park enjoying the beautiful day that God had blessed us with today.

Today has been a GREAT day and all credit is given to our Loving Lord!

P.S. Pictures of SG's stylin' shoes will be coming soon! She went to catch some much needed ZZZ's before I could get the pics.

Hot, Hot, Hot

2009-06-10T06:36:00.000-07:00

As for most of the south, Montgomery has truly set into summer. (We will have a high of 96 today!) So the temperatures can only be described with one word...HOT...well, o.k. two words, humid and hot.

Since the temperatures rise so quickly, SG and I usually have to do any outside activities either extra early in the morning or later in the evening prior to bed time. So some of our daily activities have changed, especially since that now we have to monitor her even more closely with the heat. So I thought I would give you a little picture of one of SG's new favorite activities.

On Monday we had gone to Target to pick-up a few things. One of the things I needed to pick-up was some touch-up nail polish. Well, as a lot of you know SG is not a sit-still kind of child. So she was bent down with me examining the vast array of colorful bottles that she later discovered make incredible sounds when hit against another hard surface. (Don't worry nothing was broken or damaged by this experiment.)

SG had conveniently picked-up a light pearly pink bottle and kept showing it to me. Upon trying to put it back in its original place, SG met this action with a great protest. I told her that we would not be buying any polish today but maybe later in the week. As we continued to stroll through the store picking up random items, I had a sense of remorse and thought that painting toe nails would be a fun and cool activity. I caved...and went back and bought the pink polish.

When we returned home SG gladly sat on the counter and enjoyed every minute of her "pedicure". Well, the pampering didn't stop on Monday...

Yesterday while I was learning about how Queen Esther was treated to many "beautification" treatments, SG was enjoying her own "beautification" treatment but this time by a professional. Cecile had taken her to the beauty salon with her because she had to get her hair cut, so to help pass the time the nail technician allowed her to sit at her table and paint her toes...again. Man! Her toes are pretty stellar!

SG's toes were painted a pink that is called "Hot, Hot, Hot" so if you ask her what color her toes are she will proudly say "Ha, Ha, Ha". We don't quite have the "t" sound down yet. I told her Daddy that we were training her early to enjoy the pampering.

On another note...Several people have been asking how we have been doing on the medical end. Samantha Grace has been hanging pretty steady with blood sugar levels, although we have been consistent on the high side during the day. She is still having some troubles eating, especially at dinner that results in lows before bed. However, I think this too can be easily overcome. She just wants to play so much harder at night time and outside.

Her Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease has pretty much diminished. She has a few blisters left on her body but for the most part everything is gone. We are just so pleased that it didn't get as bad as it could have.

We will be returning to Birmingham in a week for our first follow-up appointment. I will be curious to get her lab results. (HUGE Prayer request because Samantha Grace is not a fan of labs.) There will be one test called the A1C that they will do. This shows how the glucose gathers around the blood cells. The last time we scored an 11.7 which is very bad. We are hoping for at least an 8 or 9 this time, which shows Samantha Grace is showing improvement on her blood sugar levels.

Joshua and I will also be attending more education classes. This will also be a time for us to get a lot of our looming questions answered. So the day will be filled with lots of fun, learning and family time!

For the time being, SG and I will be enjoying time at the pool, reading books and many pedicures.

And there were in the fields...

2009-06-09T06:30:00.000-07:00

Were a multitude of heavenly hosts. Okay...so only 4 Heavenly Hosts of descended upon my living room, but the are the most beautiful angels. Here is the finished painting that a friend of ours did for us. Again if you are interested in the painter and getting one for yourself feel free to e-mail me.

Finally!

2009-06-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

O.K. So it has been exactly a week since I promised this video. I finally got it to load properly; however, you will have to tilt your head or turn your computer screen to get it turned in the right direction. I hope Samantha Grace inspires you to raise your spirit fingers today! Happy viewing!

1 Month...

2009-06-08T09:20:00.000-07:00

We measure so much in time. Whether it be in seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, etc. we put a lot of our day dependent upon time. I am a complete type-A personality. My husband has to "calm" me down a lot because I am a non-stop person, very goal oriented. If I make a to-do list then it has to be done or I don't feel like it has been a successful day. Time is a huge manager of my day!

Today we are measuring in several units around our house. Some of the abbreviations you might see written on various things around the house are CC, Units, mg/dL, g, oz., carbs, calories, minutes/seconds, AM, PM. So many things to measure...But today we will remember it in months.

1 month ago today...
- Mommy got a new part-time job as the assistant director at SG's preschool.
- Mommy took SG to see Dr.M upon the doctor's request.
- Dr.MH took excellent care of SG at Baptist South's ER.
- SG weighed 16 lbs. (Today she weighs 18lbs. 9oz.!)
- SG "blew" out 3 blood glucose meters until finally measuring 914 mg/dL.
- SG took her first and, hopefully, only Life Flight ride to Birmingham
Children's Hospital.
- Mommy and Daddy made it to Birmingham in record time to comfort SG in the PICU.
- Children's Hospital confirmed a diagnosis of Type I diabetes and took amazing care of SG for the next 6 days!

These are memories, numbers and measurements of which some of us never want to see again. Yet it causes us to pause and remember that God knew that Samantha Grace had much more to do here on Earth. It also makes Mommy and Daddy realize the long road ahead of us and to reflect on our "new" life.

I have taken a very strong stance with a new friend with plans of becoming very active in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation . As a lot of my readers can already imagine, I am working on bringing back the JDRF Walk; however, I have plans of adding a 5K run to the mix. Bet you couldn't guess. So if you have a business or company and feel compelled to sponsor the future JDRF Run/Walk please feel free to e-mail me. (I thank, in advance, all of our sponsors and my running set-up crew!)

At this key point in our journey, I, again, thank everyone for their countless prayers. God is so good!

Don't Cry Over Spilt Peaches

2009-06-07T14:14:00.000-07:00

We are slowly returning to our "normal" routine. We have now gone over 48 hours without a fever! Spirit fingers inserted here! We rejoice over the fever diminishing because this is one thing that can really play havoc on SG's blood sugars.

Speaking of blood sugars...With the continual healing of her hand-foot-mouth disease is the slow return of her never ending appetite. Last night I felt like she couldn't get enough to eat, which resulted in a 400 blood sugar level at midnight. (I also have to mention that prior to dinner we had a 364 level that was corrected however we continued to give her a 1/2 dose of insulin because we thought she was still going to be picky over eating based on lunch.) So after giving an extra (correctional) dose of insulin at midnight and getting her to settle back down around 1:00 AM, we decided to return to our normal doses of insulin today. Which of course did somewhat get us because SG once again was picky at breakfast today and would only eat smooth, chilly things for breakfast.

Fortunately, the picky eating and a refusal of snack this morning didn't do that much harm to her levels, and she ate a magnificent lunch (thanks Kim & Cecile) of a grilled cheese, some french fries from 5 Guys, and lots to drink! We also got to visit with our new little friend Hope for a few minutes! We were so excited and really liked her pink toe nails. (Beth we might stop by for a free pedicure because Miss Carri is not good with that.)

She thoroughly enjoyed her lunch and brought much satisfaction to knock her out for a relaxing afternoon nap. Her nap was broken up in order to make sure she got her snack in before dinner which is when we had a MELT DOWN! I had given some peaches for snack, and when she went to grab one out of the bowl, the bowl flipped dumping the peaches all over the floor. Insert large tears and crying here. You would have thought SG had just received a big shot or the lab techs were here to visit for blood work. She did not calm down no matter how much I told her it wasn't a big deal, kisses on the forehead, back rubs...nothing worked until I put a new bowl of peaches on a plate. Her cow plate to be exact in which she responded with a loud MOOO!

Overall, I think we are beginning to return to some form of normalcy. My OCD is kicking in a lot the closer we are getting to our next appointment. I currently revamping SG's recording blood sugar log to allow for more detailed notes when "crazy" things occur; I bought a food scale today because I just can visualize 20g of an item in my head or with a measuring cup; and I am frantically trying to "sterilize" as much of my house to try to prevent any more sickness in the near future.

We all thank you for all your prayer support, baskets of goodies, flowers, etc. They have been the best pick-me-ups over the past few weeks. I wanted to take a minute to stop and say thanks because I worry so much that I might have forgotten to write some of you for the kind little gestures that you do each and every day! THANK YOU!

"I thank my God every time I remember you." - Philippians 1:3

P.S. Lisa your card yesterday meant the world to us! Thank you!