New Diagnosis

I knew this day would come.  We've had another diagnosis.  It was only a matter of time until Mary Claire told me that Megan (her American Girl doll) had been diagnosed with diabetes just like her.  I was really surprised it took so long for one of her "friends" to get it too. (it's been almost seven years now!)  Today Megan got her pump and a really great matching pump pouch (just like Mary Claire's!).  We reassured Megan as we put a new site on her tummy.  She got to stay up extra late, and she's not as sad now.

The things I'm never prepared for.  This is just one of the things we take as they come, because in our children's lives they are very real.  She'd asked me WHEN (for goodness sake's!) I was going to finish her new Valentine's pump pouch (yes, she was wearing last year's today).  I guess I've procrastinated a bit..I've had the fabric for at least a month!  I even had it cut, ironed and ready to go.  Ha!  And then, other stuff got in the way.  So, while I was sewing her Valentine's pouch, she dug around in my fabric and found enough of the pink peace sign fabric to make one for Megan, and told me matter-of-factly that Megan had been diagnosed today, and she was sad.


I could hardly ignore that!  I made both, and got them all cheered up with some pink.  Here is Mary Claire's new pouch:

You can hardly even see her name!  (But she kinda likes it on there anyway)

And here is Megan's pump pouch:

heehee-it's so tiny!  It was too small to put a zipper in, but Mary Claire really wanted one!

And here she is with her tummy site and her new pump pouch.  She's taken it well so far. : )

Yesterday was a super-busy day, so I didn't even have time to write!  We cleaned, made adorable strawberry cupcakes (and little paper *flags* to go in them..), made dinner for friends, had a date night... I'll just show you!

Look at these perfect cupcakes, just waiting for frosting!

I got a chance to try the new kit Ches got me for Christmas

This is the super-cool creme-filling needle attachment.  You stick it through the top (or bottom) of the cupcake to the center, and squirt in the filling.  I even made homemade fluffy whipped frosting to fill the cupcakes!

Mary Claire and I made cute little flower picks to stick into the cupcakes.  They each had a name or word with a tiny picture, then we stuck a toothpick on the back with little heart stickers. : )

Aren't they cute?  (After the filling mess, I didn't mess with special designer frosting!  It was getting late, and I had to take a shower before we went out.)  Do those little hearts look familiar?  We had extras left from our Valentine cards, so we stuck pairs together around a toothpick and put them in the extra cupcakes!

Here's a closeup of Gigi's (with a cupcake picture!)

...and Mary Claire's with a rainbow!

And I'd forgotten to show you our finished Valentine's boxes:

I told you they weren't perfect.  Clay added "bolts" to his mailbox-so cute!

I'm praying you will be blessed by the wonderful love of God this Valentine's Day!  Enjoy your day tomorrow, and think of all the ways God shows you how much He loves you.  We are blessed.  God, please show us how to be thankful for the gifts You've chosen for us.  Even diabetes.

I have loved you with an everlasting love...with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

Jeremiah 31:3

Treasure Chests

Thursday...More Snow Days...We'll now be hanging out together till Monday!  The boys played outside again today, more laundry, more cute pictures! : )

On some snow..guess how much?

Would you believe we had this much snow?

He was feeling very photogenic-can you tell? : )

The kids got to watch some movies online with Netflix.  It worked for the most part.  Every 20-30 minutes it would tell me there was a problem with our internet, and it would stop (and I would hear my name!).  We finally got Ches in the house (after shoveling the entire driveway of its two feet of snow!), and then he added the app on the iPad, and Mary Claire was in business! (unlimited movies-she was thrilled!)

Ches was really going to bat for me, bless his heart.  I missed my hair appointment on Wednesday, due to snow, and I was SAD.  I have to wait five whole weeks, when I used to go every four...and five is torture!  So, today they were finally back in business, and they called me at the same time I was calling them.  I tried to reschedule, but the next available date (since they only work Tuesday-Friday) is next Friday, the 18th.  Umm..hello?  That's waayy too long!  I'm a blonde, remember?  So, they penciled me in for 2pm this afternoon, and Ches worked on the driveway.  We tried to get our POA to clear the neighborhood, especially since we have the money, but not everyone wants to pay the bulldozer man $2500, when it will melt off this weekend (probably).  So, bad hair.  For another whole week. : (

Friday...Sorry, I got so sleepy and never posted!  Today we (drum roll please..) Got Dressed!  We've been lounging around, watching television, and not keeping to a real routine other than meals.  But, today!  We got the kids bathed, dressed, and O-U-T!  Ches took the kids to Chick-Fil-A, I cleaned up the house, put in a turkey for dinner, and headed out myself.

The roads were not quite what I thought they'd be.  I slipped and slid around our neighborhood, but the city streets were much better.  I did wonderfully on the dry main roads (and had a bit of jealousy for all those trucks I saw with those fancy scoopers on the front..I want one!).  I picked up Mary Claire at CFA, and we found a bump of snow to park on at Wal-Mart.  They'd cleared the parking lot, left 8-10 foot piles of snow, and there were random areas of snow left.  We got one of those lucky spots. : )  We gathered groceries and stuff to make dinner for a friend.  We are so excited-we are making them pink cupcakes tomorrow!

We got home, unloaded the van, and found this adorable dragon in our house:

I've heard that you should never wake a sleeping dragon.

I started on some dressing and dinner, and continued work on the kids' Valentine boxes.  I don't know what possesses me sometimes.  Why do I love to make things?  It's just plain fun.  We used these basic boring supplies:

We couldn't use anything bigger than a shoebox, and we didn't have any of those!  We've recycled them all.  So..here are some things to use.  The gears started working...

Clay wanted a rounded US Mailbox, so we added toilet paper rolls to the top of the graham cracker box.  We left the opening at the bottom, so he could get his valentines out if the front opening wasn't big enough.

I hate to tell you I don't have a final picture, but I'll get one tomorrow!  We decoupaged them all with scrapbook papers.  Clay's is blue with a US Mail eagle, Ethan's is green with Toy Story stickers, and Mary Claire's is the round beef jerky tube that's covered in baking scrapbook paper, pom pom fringe, and ribbon.  So cute. (not fancy, very homemade.) (maybe that's why I wasn't so motivated to run get a picture?)

I also fit in time to make a little burp cloth for a sweet friend.  I have had the cloth diaper on my embroidery machine for almost two weeks..I have been debating on colors.  It's for a precious new baby girl, so of course pink, but I wanted another color too.  That's the hard part.  I decided on a preppy green gingham-very spring.  I am tired of winter, and ready to welcome bright colors (and flip-flops!).

During and after dinner, we played our (now routine) games of cards.  It's just become what we do with dinner, and the kids talk, think, and dinner goes slower.  It's so nice!  We count our points, but no one keeps a tally.  We just want them to know that when you hold on to an Ace, it can backfire when you have to subtract it off your final points!  We want them thinking.  Especially when a couple of us are down to one card. : )  It used to be Apples to Apples, but now we've moved on.  I like that we have routine, but it changes.

After cards, we worked on Clay's Paravuli Dei (it's a whole book, BTW!).  He had made us all paper treasure chests, and we passed them clockwise slowly around our circle (table).  As we had each person's chest, we wrote on the back what skills or talents God had blessed that person with.  Ethan was on my lap, and I wrote his for him.  It was one of the best things we've ever done.  We learned about ourselves, and Clay had to write in his book which talents were a surprise to him, and how often he tells others of the gifts he can see in them.  A great exercise, and we have these little treasure chests of our gifts. : )

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.  Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.

To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.  All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. 

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.

1 Corinthians 12: 4-12