Sly As A Fox

 "Hi, buddy ol' pal.  Come here and give me a hug!"

 

 "Why sure cousin Amelia!  I love you!"

 

 "Bring it in.  Closer.  Closer."

 

 "JACKPOT!"

 

 "Wait a second.  I think I've been tricked."

 

"That was smooth, Amelia!"

Crazy Things I've Heard This Week

*I'm hearing impaled.  (Elizabeth)

*I got all of the sleep out of me.  (Mallory)

*He's cute. But not as cute as Taylor Lautner. With his shirt off.  (Elizabeth)

*Well Grammy smells like soap.  (Elizabeth)
And lavender.  (Drew)
{Said after a conversation about something that stunk}

 

*My voice is making him nauseous.  (Elizabeth)

*Drew:  Mom, something is growing on my chest.  (He was very concerned.)
Me:  It just looks like a mosquito bite.
Drew:  Oh. I was afraid I was growing a third nipple or something.

*Giving the little girls a bath, Lucy rolled onto her belly and wanted me to wash her with this soap by saying, "Elmo's World. My bum." while pointing to her bum.

Miss Blue Eyes

 This image is straight out of camera.  No editing. 

She is one lucky little lady to have such lovely peepers!

 

 

A Little Boy Bored At Church

I'm a pretty observant mother apparently.  I found these pics on my phone after church.  I didn't even know he had my phone.

Getting artsy.

 Getting his innocent baby sister involved.

 You can just see the mischievousness on his face!

Have I ever mentioned that this kid makes me laugh when I shouldn't?  All the time.

 

It's things like this that make me miss our Benny so much.  He would have LOVED these photos!  He would have laughed and laughed with me about these.  And this little guy's ability to not miss a chance to make people laugh reminds me of him.

Crazy Things I've Heard This Month

*Do you know your head is looking like a seven?  (Mallory, said to Drew after he cut his head)

*(Watching a tv program about parents that don't give their kids consequences)
Me:  How do you think those kids will turn out?
Elizabeth:  They will probably be stuck up and might turn out in the street. So snobby hobos.

*(Edward and Drew were working on Drew's Cub Scout first aid requirement.  It covered bandaging wounds.)
So should I go get a knife?  (Drew, completely serious, thinking he needed to create a wound that they could practice bandaging)

*Look, Mom. I'm a thigh dancer.  (Drew, showing me his dance moves)

*Please bless us never to have bad hair days for church.  (Mallory, said during family prayer last night)

Why My Son Is So Amazing

I love my kids.  I love them each for so many reasons.  They are unique, beautiful, special little people.  But I wanted to write about this handsome guy.

He is my hero.  He is just amazing.  I love him because of so many reasons.  I want to honor him for the way he handles this stupid, rotten, ugly disease of Type 1 Diabetes.  He has had a few times over the last three years since his diagnosis that he has broken down about it, but I can probably count the times on one hand.  His acceptance of this aspect of his life is truly to be admired.  He's a boss.

As we begin a new school year and the accompanying task of informing the teachers and staff of his daily care, he really steps up to the plate.  Not every T1 diabetic is comfortable with having others know of their disease, but it doesn't bother Ross.  I'm thankful for that.  In fact he is better off having everyone around him know about it.  I'm always grateful for the teachers who, when I go into the brief details of Ross and his care, show sincere concern and willingness to help.  And for those that give me the impression that they would rather be somewhere else than listening to this Momma talk about her son's health, I want to grab by the shirt and scream, "THIS IS IMPORTANT!  THIS IS LITERALLY A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH I'M DESCRIBING TO YOU!"

I spent the evening reading the CaringBridge page of a young woman that has some very, very severe health issues, T1D included.  Her mother is involved in several communities made up of other T1D parents.  She recently asked the other parents what they wished others knew about diabetes.  Here are there responses:

Trish: I wish people knew how serious and deadly this disease is. I honestly think people just think "Oh, it's just diabetes" without knowing what it takes to keep my T1 son alive everyday.

Betty: It IS hard, but it's doable...staying positive is the key...even when you don't think you can. Most antibiotics last 7-10 days...insulin is everyday, every time they eat...imagine how many times you have missed a dose of antibiotics...now what if your child's life depended on it.

Lori: Because of the dangerous, life-threatening side of the disease, it is harder to let our kids have the freedoms that their peers have. So don't judge us for being "over-protective" as many people criticize us of being. We don't have a choice.

Jeannette: The thing that irks me the most is the confusion between T1 and T2. I could pretty much tolerate the rest.
Shannon: I wish people understood that diabetes is serious and not just say, "Good thing it's ONLY diabetes."

Melanie: That I as a parent do know what I am doing, and while I do appreciate your concern, don't question everything I'm doing or tell my child what to do diabetes care wise. Know that most of what your going to say to me will probably go in one ear and out the other because that is my way of coping with all the "suggestions" people tend to have. I do respect your opinions and thoughts, and realize that until 4 years ago I probably had the same thoughts, but I know what's best for the care of my child and if I say she can or cannot do something or can or cannot eat something then my word is written in stone.

Louise: When I go into the school to talk the talk I'm not just "overreacting" and I do know you have another twenty or so children to be responsible for. The whole time I sit across from you describing what to look for, I'm hoping that you are astute enough to recognise that look in my eyes is not anger, but fear. Fear that you're looking at your watch because you're not getting the message. She is your student for 6+ hours a day but she is my life and my baby.

Jennifer: I didn't know how much it could affect every single part of a person's body and life until it happened to someone I loved. I think if you could tell someone something about diabetes its that it CAN and DOES happen to even you, it's not just something you hear about on TV. It should be something everyone should be educated about.
(From the young woman's mother)  And lastly MY thoughts. If I could tell you anything it would be that we D-Parents did NOT cause our kid's diabetes by the foods we fed them or the activities we let them (or didn't force them) to do. Type 1 Diabetes is an AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE...just like Celiac Disease, Addison's Disease, Hypothyroidism, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Graves Disease. NONE of these diseases can be prevented.

I wish that people knew that when our kids blood sugar goes low it's a medical emergency that has to be treated NOW. If it's not they can have seizures, go into a coma, or die.

I wish people knew that more T1 diabetics die from low blood sugar than high blood sugar...and their blood sugar levels have a nasty little habit of dropping during the night, which is why a large number of us get up every two hours during the night to check their blood sugar levels.

I wish people knew that we are literally fighting for our kids lives every single minute of every single day, so if you REALLY want to help then educate yourselves, ask us questions, learn how to recognize the warning signs and what to do in an emergency.



Amen.  Amen.  Amen.  I agree with everyone of those statements.  Every time someone says to me, "My grandma has diabetes."  I just want to say, "Not the same.  At all."  I don't think too many people realize how serious this disease can be.  And I can't really blame them.  Before April 20, 2009, I can't say I knew too much.  But, boy, have we learned a lot about it since.  And that's why I want to publicly express my admiration for my thirteen-year old son.  Because he handles this whole awful thing with such determination and dignity.  I hope others can understand my excitement when a hopeful new study comes out that has the potential to make huge strides in Type 1 treatment.  And I hope others will understand my desire to put as much money as possible into research.

I love this boy!

San Francisco

Due to Edward's dedication and hard work throughout the year at American Family Insurance, he qualified for a trip to San Francisco.  We left the kids at home with Grammy and Grandad (We didn't feel too badly for leaving them since they got to experience paradise just a few weeks prior!).  Funny enough, two days after we got back, my parents also had a business trip in San Francisco.  Amazingly enough, they stayed at the same hotel and were exactly two floors above our room!  We were in 2065, and they were in 2265.  So crazy considering our respective companies booked the trips!

Edward and I left the 100 degree July weather, and were welcomed by 50-60 degree weather.  Oh, it felt so nice!  We were glad we packed jackets and jeans, because we were cold that first day until we got a little acclimated!

Bay Bridge

Alcatraz

This was one of the highlights of our trip.  It was very interesting.  We highly recommend the tour. 

I think this was near the famous Pier 39.  Pier 39 was interesting and worth stopping by but very touristy.  It honestly reminded me of Universal Walk down in Orlando.  It was so crowded and had many of the same types of shops.  But I'm glad I can say I've been there.

Golden Gate Bridge

July is the cool/foggy season in San Fran.  Only one day could we see the top of the bridge.  It was still gorgeous.  We didn't have time to walk/bike across the bridge, but we did cross it by bus.  I was so sorry we didn't get a chance to stop!  Oh the photo opportunities!

Muir Woods was another of our favorite spots.  It was unbelievably beautiful!  I think I could have stayed for hours.  This is a must for anyone visiting the San Francisco area.  I was so in awe of God's creations!

We had a funny experience while we were there.  There were a lot of homeless people downtown.  Being from small town Missouri, that's not something we are too accustomed to.  After finishing only half my dinner one night, I asked for a box with the intention of finding someone that could use it.  As we stepped out of the restaurant, Edward pointed across the street to a small Asian woman pushing a little cart.  We set off to catch up to her, weaving in and out of the crowd.  As we reached her, I was just getting ready to tap her on the shoulder when we realized she wasn't homeless at all.  She was just a street vendor, packing up her supplies and heading home for the day.  Oops!  That could have been a little embarrassing.  Instead we found another man that could use it instead. 

We really enjoyed San Francisco. It's a place I would love to go back to and hopefully take the kids someday. I felt like we needed more than four days for sure. We found the people to be friendly and helpful. The food was delicious. The weather was superb!

Wright Family Vacation 2012

Every other year, my very generous parents treat us to a wonderful vacation.  Some trips are small and some our big.  This year's vacation has been our biggest.  Because my dad travels all over the country, he quickly acquires many frequent flier miles and hotel points.  He chose to redeem those points for a stay in Grand Cayman Island, and we were the lucky beneficiaries.  We spent a week in paradise in early June.  We visited the amazing Turtle Farm and had such a great time seeing and touching sea turtles of all sizes.  We took a fun adventure on a pirate ship, including jumping off the back of the eighteen foot tall ship.  The snorkeling on the island was unreal.  I could never describe how beautiful it was.  But mostly we just were beach bums.  I am ready to go back!

Thanks for the memories, Grammy and Grandad!