Considering a Pump...

We met with the Diabetes educator earlier this week to talk about putting Ben on an insulin pump. It's an exciting possibility for us because:

1. It would mean NO MORE SHOTS!! (We would do a site change every three days, which is equivalent to a shot, but once every three days as opposed to three times every day sounds great to us.)

2. It will allow us to be more flexible as far as when he eats. Right now, we make sure he eats breakfast at 8 a.m every day in order to give him his background insulin at the same time which is active for 24 hours. This means waking him up in the morning most days, so letting him sleep in would be a nice change.

3. It would (hopefully) mean better control of his blood sugar. The pump lets out small amounts of fast acting insulin every hour, mimicking a healthy pancreas. The amount of insulin can be adjusted at certain times of the day according to his specific needs. For example, he tends to run "high" in the afternoon. With a pump, we would be able to increase the amount of insulin during that particular time of the day to avoid a high. Also, on sick days blood sugars can be abnormal, so we would be able to temporarily adjust the basal rate of insulin. (The amount given every hour.)

And an added bonus to the particular pump we are considering is that it communicates wirelessly with a blood glucose meter. So the meter would test Ben's blood sugar, but also have the ability to control pump functions. It could calculate how much insulin would be needed for a meal, and then tell the pump to deliver it. The meter can also store carbohydrate information for 500 foods which we could customize.

Those are the major advantages to pumping. I'm hoping that once he is on the pump, we will discover many more. The plan is to have him start pumping this fall. The ball is rolling with insurance, and we need to coordinate appointments with the Diabetes educator and Ben's endocrinologist as we will be in frequent contact with them for awhile as he adjusts to the pump.

Walking with Benny's Believers

As many as 3 million Americans have type 1 diabetes, a disease most often diagnosed in childhood that strikes suddenly, lasts a lifetime, and carries the constant threat of deadly complications, including heart disease, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, and amputation. JDRF's mission is constant: to find a cure for diabetes and its complications through the support of research. Thanks to dramatic research progress, a cure is now within our reach.

On Sunday, September 28th, we will be walking with family and friends in JDRF's Walk to Cure Diabetes. It has been almost two years since Ben was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, and we are still just as hopeful as we were two years ago that a cure will be found in his lifetime.

Clear Lake

We went camping last weekend. Well, Hannah and Ben and I went. Trevor had plans with a friend and Larry had to work. We camped at Clear Lake with family. It was such a beautiful lake. The kids played, the weather was nice, and the hiking was great. We were able to stop and enjoy an amazing waterfall on the way home. I would love to spend more weekends like this.

Clear Lake
Row, row, row your boat...

This is where Clear Lake turns into the McKenzie River
A sweet little creek we passed by on our hike
The cutest little boy at camp!
Sahalie Falls

Independence Day

Happy Independence Day!

It's hard to believe it's already the 4th of July! And almost a month into summer break... I decided it would be fun to let Hannah have a couple friends over for a few hours today to play outside and celebrate the holiday. They played on the slip and slide, jumped on the trampoline, listened to her new Camp Rock CD, and had lots of treats. Good times for these girls...

Feeling nostalgic

I was going through my pictures today, looking for a particular one that was taken of a garden trellis at our previous home. I started at the beginning of my collection, knowing it was taken shortly after I got a digital camera, back in 2003. I had forgotten how much I enjoy looking at pictures from the past, especially pictures of the kids when they were so much younger.

I came across this picture of Hannah on her 4th birthday. She was really into dressing up and singing, and here she was giving me a private performance of "Me and My Teddy Bear," as sung by Baby Bop. :) The only reason I remember the song is because I took a video along with the picture. She was such a little princess, and still is. Just in a big girl kind of way...

Looking at pictures from this time period reminds me how life seemed less busy back then, and we seemed to have more time to soak up sweet little moments like these. I guess it's just the natural evolution of a family. And I'm glad I have lots of pictures like these to remind me to make time and to not get so busy that we forget to make more special memories.

Over 12 years ago

This is Trevor, on December 24, 1995. It certainly doesn't seem like it has been over 12 years since that day. Today he finishes the 6th grade.

His feet are bigger than mine, we discovered last night. He is almost taller than me, in fact I'm sure he will pass me up this summer.

He has such a big heart, cares about people and his family, and most importantly, he loves God.

He makes me laugh, and amazes me with his success in school. (So far, a 4.0 GPA this year.)

And although it wasn't my plan to become a mother at age 20, I cannot imagine life now without Trevor. He is definitely one of God's greatest gifts to me.

These Two...

...have a love/hate relationship. (Or maybe it's more like sibling rivalry.) But I think the hate part is just for show.

Getting a picture of them together can be very difficult most of the time. For example, today we stopped to take some pictures at this really beautiful field of lupine. (Ben was asleep in the car.) I asked them to stand together for a picture and to hurry because the battery in my camera was low. I just started snapping, figuring I would have to settle for a picture of them in a lupine field wrestling around being silly, but after a few shots I ended up with a pretty nice picture with the pretty purple blooms behind them.

I know they love eachother. And hopefully as they grow up they'll be able to show it more easily.