Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Recital time
It's that crazy time of the year...dance recital. The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy busy. Great training opportunities galore for Max William:).
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
School time...
School time for our girls is unique to our family. As most everyone knows, we home school. It's a blessing because we have different health issues to work around and a traditional school setting would be nearly impossible. Of course our reasons for home schooling go much deeper than that.
I chuckled today when I noticed that we adapt easily around here and sometimes use the oddest items for a task just because it's within reach. I also giggled when I took this picture because the girls were slow to get moving today and I sat them down to begin working thinking they can just get dressed and brush their hair later. I mean, they've had a great breakfast and brushed their teeth...that's good enough for the moment;). I would never let them out the door like that:).
Notice in the picture the alcohol swab? Gracie grabbed that to use as a place maker because she kept losing her place on her math assignment. Only a type 1 diabetic child would have that handy and not give it a second thought:). Also, notice the picture of Max William? Yep, he attends school every day with us as well and stays quietly under our school table, keeping watch over his girl Gracie. This morning already he's alerted to a low blood sugar of 65 during her math lesson. Such a good boy:)
I chuckled today when I noticed that we adapt easily around here and sometimes use the oddest items for a task just because it's within reach. I also giggled when I took this picture because the girls were slow to get moving today and I sat them down to begin working thinking they can just get dressed and brush their hair later. I mean, they've had a great breakfast and brushed their teeth...that's good enough for the moment;). I would never let them out the door like that:).
Notice in the picture the alcohol swab? Gracie grabbed that to use as a place maker because she kept losing her place on her math assignment. Only a type 1 diabetic child would have that handy and not give it a second thought:). Also, notice the picture of Max William? Yep, he attends school every day with us as well and stays quietly under our school table, keeping watch over his girl Gracie. This morning already he's alerted to a low blood sugar of 65 during her math lesson. Such a good boy:)
Max and James... part 2
Well, our time with James is over. We are all tired but renewed in the excitement of our training efforts with Max William. Max proved himself to far surpass what I thought he was capable of. He is obedient, compliant, eager to learn and please, and he's excited as well that he gets to learn new things and put them into practice.
We spent time in different environments and let Max train his off lead skills. This is something I've been hesitant to try so waited till James came back to do. Max was amazing! He heeled along side us as we walked through stores, zig zagging through aisles, stopping to shop and he would automatically sit and wait. We practiced leaving him in a down position and walking off, out of his sight. He never budged! We went to the cemetary and practiced there as well. Outside with lots of things to distract him... lawn mower, squirrels, birds, tall grass, golfers across the fence, he never missed a beat. I had one tired puppy on my hands by late afternoon. He took a very looooooooong nap when we got home:)
Over the next three months we'll continue training him in skills like this as well as teaching him to begin to differentiate to us the difference of Gracie's blood sugar being high or low. He already knows the difference, we are just teaching him ways to tell us what's going on. As far as I'm concerned, I think he's just an amazing little guy (OK, not so little;) and we are so very happy that he's part of our family. He's the perfect addition:)
We spent time in different environments and let Max train his off lead skills. This is something I've been hesitant to try so waited till James came back to do. Max was amazing! He heeled along side us as we walked through stores, zig zagging through aisles, stopping to shop and he would automatically sit and wait. We practiced leaving him in a down position and walking off, out of his sight. He never budged! We went to the cemetary and practiced there as well. Outside with lots of things to distract him... lawn mower, squirrels, birds, tall grass, golfers across the fence, he never missed a beat. I had one tired puppy on my hands by late afternoon. He took a very looooooooong nap when we got home:)
Over the next three months we'll continue training him in skills like this as well as teaching him to begin to differentiate to us the difference of Gracie's blood sugar being high or low. He already knows the difference, we are just teaching him ways to tell us what's going on. As far as I'm concerned, I think he's just an amazing little guy (OK, not so little;) and we are so very happy that he's part of our family. He's the perfect addition:)
Monday, May 7, 2012
James and Max
Well, another 3 months has passed (don't even get me going on how fast this time goes by) which means that we are blessed to have Max's trainer, James, join us for a couple of days to see how Max is doing and help us further his training. Our entire family looks forward to these visits. Max loves James as well, even if I do warn him ahead of time that he'd better get his act together because "James is coming":)
Our training days with James aren't just educational, they're busy too. We all work hard at getting in as much as possible during the time he's here. And... we all drop at the end of the day. There's not much that's sweeter than an exhausted puppy curled up asleep for the night.
Every time James comes, I think we've surprised him with how well Max is doing. This is a testament to Max William, not myself. He's a great dog... laid back, compliant, smart, calm, desiring to work and do his best; and he does an amazing job as Gracie's guardian angel, keeping her within her healthy blood sugar range to the best of his ability. I, on the other hand, am usually the one who needs the tweaking and training. I get distracted by all that goes on around me; Max doesn't. I forget a proper command; Max allows for this error and does what I want him to do inspite of my inability to communicate at times. I get a little crazy with the chaos that can at times be called my life; Max stays focused on his mission in life and doesn't let Gracie down. Yes, he's an 8 month old labador retriever, but he's not a normal lab pup. He's Gracie's DAD and he knows that it's his mission in life to take care of his girl. Does he still have extra puppy energy that needs to be expended at times? Yep. Does he still have a desire to chew on anything that doesn't chew on him first? Yep. Does he still want to go outside and dig in the flower beds, especially if they're muddy? Absolutely. But does he also keep watch over his Gracie girl 24 hours a day, whether he's asleep or awake? You better believe he does. And, thanks to James' gentle yet firm manner of training both Max and I, Max is a pretty well behaved service dog whom I can take anywhere and know that he's going to behave obediently.
We can never thank James enough for all he does with Max and our entire family. We are so thankful that God not only brought Max to us, but that he also brought James along with him. He truly is the perfect trainer as far as we are all concerned:) And, I have to say, some of what he's taught me for Max works just as well with children. My very favorite universal command for Max and the kids... LEAVE IT;) Works every time:))
Our training days with James aren't just educational, they're busy too. We all work hard at getting in as much as possible during the time he's here. And... we all drop at the end of the day. There's not much that's sweeter than an exhausted puppy curled up asleep for the night.
Every time James comes, I think we've surprised him with how well Max is doing. This is a testament to Max William, not myself. He's a great dog... laid back, compliant, smart, calm, desiring to work and do his best; and he does an amazing job as Gracie's guardian angel, keeping her within her healthy blood sugar range to the best of his ability. I, on the other hand, am usually the one who needs the tweaking and training. I get distracted by all that goes on around me; Max doesn't. I forget a proper command; Max allows for this error and does what I want him to do inspite of my inability to communicate at times. I get a little crazy with the chaos that can at times be called my life; Max stays focused on his mission in life and doesn't let Gracie down. Yes, he's an 8 month old labador retriever, but he's not a normal lab pup. He's Gracie's DAD and he knows that it's his mission in life to take care of his girl. Does he still have extra puppy energy that needs to be expended at times? Yep. Does he still have a desire to chew on anything that doesn't chew on him first? Yep. Does he still want to go outside and dig in the flower beds, especially if they're muddy? Absolutely. But does he also keep watch over his Gracie girl 24 hours a day, whether he's asleep or awake? You better believe he does. And, thanks to James' gentle yet firm manner of training both Max and I, Max is a pretty well behaved service dog whom I can take anywhere and know that he's going to behave obediently.
We can never thank James enough for all he does with Max and our entire family. We are so thankful that God not only brought Max to us, but that he also brought James along with him. He truly is the perfect trainer as far as we are all concerned:) And, I have to say, some of what he's taught me for Max works just as well with children. My very favorite universal command for Max and the kids... LEAVE IT;) Works every time:))
Friday, May 4, 2012
Wonder Dog does it again...
We were blessed to be able to host another movie night at our dance studio tonight. What fun it is to camp out, slumber party style, on the dance floor, eating popcorn and enjoying the Muppets:) The Hart family and the Hart Dance family have been so supportive of our fundraising for Max and we are so thankful for all they've done for us.
Tonight we opted to leave Max at home. As awesome as he is when we are out and about, taking him along and expecting 20-30 little dancers to ignore him so he can work and they can enjoy a movie seemed an impossibility. Sarah graciously stayed home to keep him company; or so she said... I think Miss Sarah wanted to enjoy a little quiet time without her sisters around;) Just as we were calling it a night and cleaning up the party remains, Sarah called to say that Max was alerting. I had Gracie test... sure enough she was high ~ 272. Max is absolutely amazing and being able to alert when Gracie is over 2 miles away always leaves me speechless.
If you or someone in your life has diabetes and you think that having a dog like Max William would be as much of a help as he is to Gracie, please contact Guardian Angel Service Dogs at (540) 543-2307 or www.GuardianAngelServiceDogs.org
Tonight we opted to leave Max at home. As awesome as he is when we are out and about, taking him along and expecting 20-30 little dancers to ignore him so he can work and they can enjoy a movie seemed an impossibility. Sarah graciously stayed home to keep him company; or so she said... I think Miss Sarah wanted to enjoy a little quiet time without her sisters around;) Just as we were calling it a night and cleaning up the party remains, Sarah called to say that Max was alerting. I had Gracie test... sure enough she was high ~ 272. Max is absolutely amazing and being able to alert when Gracie is over 2 miles away always leaves me speechless.
If you or someone in your life has diabetes and you think that having a dog like Max William would be as much of a help as he is to Gracie, please contact Guardian Angel Service Dogs at (540) 543-2307 or www.GuardianAngelServiceDogs.org
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
As I've posted a few weeks ago, I became a Close To My Heart consultant to help earn some money to pay the remaining balance we owe for Max. All the profits from this business will go to our fundraising for him, then once he's paid in full, we want to continue on to help others pay for their Diabetic Alert Dogs as well. The peace of mind Max has given us is priceless and the improvement in Gracie's blood sugar numbers is beyond our expectations and what we'd hoped for.
Will you help us pay for Max William as you capture your family memories and create beautiful scrapbooks that will be enjoyed for generations to come? It's quite simple actually... Just click on the link at the top left of my blog. It will take you to my online store for Close To My Heart, where you can order high quality supplies, beautiful clear stamp sets, and amazing paper collections. 100% of the profit/commission will go straight into Max's fund automatically. There is a ton of inspiration there as well to help you pull together some of those ideas floating around in your mind for the beautiful pages you want to design. And it's not just scrapbooks; maybe you want to make cards (my favorite thing to paper craft:), or you're planning a party, baby shower, or wedding shower and need to make all the decorations, invitations and party favors. How about those of you redecorating a room in your home? Trust me, there's ideas to help you with that as well. Your imagination is your only boundery:)
I look forward to serving you in your paper crafting endeavors and can't wait to see what you create during National Scrapbooking Month. Please share your projects with me so that I can get inspired too:) Feel free to contact me with any questions or if you'd like to schedule a workshop for yourself and a couple of friends. Happy Scrapping!
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