New Insulin Program

Kidlet Three has had Type I diabetes for five years. The type of insulin and the schedule in which he gets his shots was set up five years ago, when he was first diagnosed.

There are many types of insulin and different schedules when to get the insulin. There are syringes, pens and pumps to get the insulin into the body. There are insulins that can be mixed together and other insulins that shouldn’t be given at the same time.

Sometimes it can be overwhelming trying to learn what would be the best for our child and keeping up to date with everything!

With all of his sports and the lifestyle we choose to lead, it was getting harder and harder for us to manage Kidlet Three's blood sugar levels. Almost a year ago we asked the doctor to switch to a different insulin-taking program and the answer was yes. Then we asked for a newer type of insulin and the answer was no. We had a major decision to make. The doctor has had a lot of experience with diabetes (it is his specialty) but the new literature and the recommendations on the American Diabetes Association (ADA) website didn't match the information he was giving us.

So after praying and studying the literature, we switched doctors. It was the right decision! This doctor’s recommendation for an insulin program matched exactly what I had read on the ADA website!

We had to go back to school to learn the new insulin program. We visited the diabetes education nurse and the dietitian several times over a two-week program to “un-learn” the program we had been using and to “learn” the new program.  

Here Kidlet is learning to calculate how much insulin he will give himself based on what his blood sugar level is.

 The two insulins are Lantus and Novolog.  Lantus is one shot a day and the Novolog is three shots per day with meals.  Our training included scenarios written on this poster.  This is a replica of a "log book" that we keep with each blood poke and insulin amount recorded.

Can you see the mohawk!  He really caught onto this training more quickly than The Husband and I.  He was asking really good questions here.

The Husband asking his questions

 This is an insulin pen.  It is like a pen with a refillable ink cartridge.  At the end of the pen is a dial to "dial up" how much insulin should be given during a shot.  It is a really neat gadget and Kidlet Three loves this now better than the syringes he has been using.

It is a lot of information here, isn't it!  Sometime I feel like we are computer programmers because IF blood sugar is "xyz", THEN do "this" ELSE do "this". 

Diabetes shows us what amazing bodies God created.  Oh my heart cries out for a cure and I believe there will be one in the near future.  I am praying for the person that God will use to bring forth a cure. 

If you have any questions about diabetes or what you've read here, let me know.

Waterproof

"The water slid right off, as did a little mud...the Bible dried out completely...I'll give it a big hosanna." National Geographic Adventure

"The Waterproof Bible is an answer to the prayers of people like me, who enjoy early mornings in a canoe, learning about God from His Word and His world." Rusty Pritchard - President and Co-founder, Flourish

Have you heard of a waterproof Bible?  I hadn't. 

Kidlet One and Favorite Son-in-Law gave The Husband and I our own waterproof Bibles for anniversary gifts in August.

My prayer times have changed drastically. No longer do I have to worry about perching my Bible on the bathtub edge. Now, it comes in with me.

God’s Word is alive and well in the Prayer Closet of my home.

Chicken and Vegetables in Casserole

Warning...this recipe is really good!  I was paging through one of the cookbooks in my collection and decided to try some new meals for the family.

 Would you believe I used Diet Mountain Dew and tomatoes in a delicious recipe?  Check this out.

 2 to 3 pounds chicken.  I used 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

 A co-worker brought in fresh rosemary to share.  I've been drying some but for this recipe you need 1/2 teaspoon.

 Heat 3 T. butter.  I used olive oil.

 Combine 1/3 cup flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp. pepper and the rosemary.  Dredge the chicken in this mixture and place in the heated, heavy skillet.

Brown the chicken on all sides.
Place the chicken in a 2-quart casserole and bake in a 325 degrees preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes.


 Heat 1 additional tablespoon of butter or olive oil with the remaining oil in the skillet.  Add the onion (and mushrooms but my family won't eat mushrooms so I didn't use them).  Cook until mushrooms are lightly browned.

 Add remaining ingredients (this is the step where the Diet Mountain Dew is added), bring mixture to boiling and simmer about 3 minutes.

 Pour hot sauce over chicken during last 10 minutes of cooking.

 This is a photo of the cooked mixture.  I love the colors!

With brown rice, this was a delicious meal.

Here is the recipe again, if you are interested.

Chicken and Vegetables in Casserole


2 to 3 pounds chicken
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
½ tsp crushed rosemary
3 T. butter or olive oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1 T. butter or olive oil
5 large mushrooms sliced
2/3 cup chopped onion
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and quartered
¼ cup minced parsley
½ can (7 oz) 7up (I used Diet Mountain Dew)
½ tsp. salt

Coat pieces of chicken with mixture of flour, salt, pepper and rosemary. Heat 3 T. butter or olive oil in a large, heavy skillet; add garlic. Put in chicken and brown well on all sides. Remove to a shallow 2-quart casserole. Set casserole in 325 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until chicken is tender.

Meanwhile, heat 1 T. butter with remaining butter in the skillet. Add mushrooms and onion stirring occasionally until mushrooms are lightly browned. Add remaining ingredients, bring mixture to boiling and simmer about 3 minutes. Pour hot sauce over baking chicken and bake 10 minutes longer.

An amazing meal!

Evolution of the Neighbor's Tree

Kind of sad, isn't it...a bare-naked tree.  At least it can provide a home to a bird in that nest way at the top!

Baby Quilt

I did it.

I finished a quilt.

All by myself.

Granted, it was a baby quilt.

But, the important thing is....I finished it ALL!

See, I've started multiple quilt tops and actually have finished...one.

With help.

On the first quilt, which was a wall hanging, a friend did the binding (outside) for me.

On this one, I did the binding and the quilting stitch. 

It only took me a year.

Seriously.

Here is the finished blankie.

Amazing!  It was fun and in my brother Jim's words...I did it! 

Beauty

I drove to the Town-of-My-Birthplace last week.  It was a beautiful fall day and I decided to ditch the interstate and drive back roads as far as I could.  It was as if God removed the veil from my eyes and allowed me to see the beauty of everything that I saw.  Colors were very vibrant and alive.  My spirit was refreshed and energized by that drive.  Several times I pulled the car over, actually put the car in park, and snapped some pictures.  There was a bald eagle at the side of the road that I didn't get a picture of but it was breathtaking!

God is so good to us.  The beauty He created just for us to enjoy.  Here are a few of the pictures for you to enjoy along with a verse that just seems to go along with how I felt during that drive.

Isaiah 52:7


How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger bringing good news, Breaking the news that all's well, proclaiming good times, announcing salvation, telling Zion, "Your God reigns!" Voices! Listen! Your scouts are shouting, thunderclap shouts, shouting in joyful unison. They see with their own eyes God coming back to Zion. Break into song! Boom it out, ruins of Jerusalem: "God has comforted his people! He's redeemed Jerusalem!" God has rolled up his sleeves. All the nations can see his holy, muscled arm. Everyone, from one end of the earth to the other, sees him at work, doing his salvation work.

Praise You, Lord!

Family Room Project

Our family room had become a storage room. Furniture from Kidlet Two's apartment(s) that he couldn't use in his current apartment was added to the furniture we already had. Furniture from The Father-in-Law's move out of his apartment into an assisted living joined our home. Oh, and the huge net you see there. Well, that goes to the Joe Mauer Batting machine that I wrote about here.

 Over a period of four to six months I started tackling this problem area. Oh, and the paint on the walls was this:

 After clearing a path to get to the walls, I was astonished to see many, many, many divots in the walls.  Divots that I guessed Kidlet Two might know something about.  See, when he was a teenager living at home, he got an air soft gun.  And he has now admitted to shooting the walls in the basement.  Multiple times. All over....

I spent HOURS patching the walls and sanding.

 The prep includes taping and sure takes a long time.

 From eggshell white walls I chose two-tone colors for this room.  The paint on the right is called Cocoa Bean and the paint on the left is called Chalkware.  I called them chocolate and vanilla ice cream!

 Kidlet Three helped me roll on the paint.

Walls that have shown fingerprints in the past are now painted that wonderful chocolately color that will hide marks.

 Cutting in...

 And getting rid of all of the stenciling I did about 20 years ago!

 Here is a shot of the almost finished room.  Some furniture has been re-arranged but we now have a functional family room. 

We love this room!  It is amazing!