Not a good promotional picture for Jdrf, but....

Only my children would think bacon is an ice cream topping

Max keeps Gracie safe at the pool

The girls grandparents stopped in town today to visit and invited the girls to come swimming at their hotel. Now, anyone how knows my girls, knows they jumped on that:). I realized this would also be a great training time for Max too, since he will be spending a lot of time poolside this summer. I thought it best to check Gracie's BG before I let her jump in; I asked Max if we needed to check and he just looked at me (his way of saying "no"). He was dead on - a perfect 137. Fifteen minutes later he alerts so we check; she's down to 99. Good check Max. Then about 20 minutes later he sits straight up, looks at Gracie in the pool and let's out a single bark. I look over at Gracie and call her in to test. She suddenly gets a funny look on her face as she's heading for the steps to get out of the water and says "Mommy, I feel low". We test. 49! Max helped us avert a potentially very dangerous situation. Had he not alerted us, Gracie would've probably kept swimming and not have stopped long enough to realize she didn't feel right. I can't even begin to express how thankful I am for this adorable, furry little guardian angel who spends his life looking out for my Gracie and keeping her safe.

Max at the pool

My handsome boy

All dressed up and nowhere to go. Poor little guy...this is what happens when you live in a house full of girls.

Max is hitting Puberty

I know, we all have an idea of what service dogs are like...well trained, good manners, super dog:). Well, they are all of that but they also start out, just like every other dog, as a puppy. Puppies hit their teenage phase somewhere between 6-9 months old. Just like your two legged teenagers, sometimes you just want to lock em up and throw away the key. Max William is heading into his teenager phase. Thankfully, due to his fabulous trainer getting me in gear, he's easily handled but that doesn't mean he's going to stay out of trouble all the time. He is after all, a pubescent boy looking for fun. For some reason, Max feels he has to drag all his blankets out of his kennel every morning and scatter them around the family room (aka Max's room). He is also as bad as my girls at leaving his toys scattered about as well. This morning, somehow, he managed to get a roll of paper towels off the kitchen counter and then proceeded to TP his room. Yep, he's definitely all boy. Now he owes me $1.86 for that new roll of paper towels...he'd better be finding a way to earn a little money to pay Mom back;)

Max goes to school

As most of you know, we are a home school family. Of course Max is in school each day with us and patiently waits for recess time so he can play with his girl. Today, Gracie thought he was cold, so she covered him up with her favorite blanket. Here's a few pictures of Max and Gracie during reading time.

Out and about with Max William

Max has grown up so much recently; it never ceases to amaze me. He is not only continuing to do an amazing job alerting to Gracie's blood sugar, but his obedience and public access training is coming along beautifully too. Today we took him to Omaha for some new places and experiences to practice in. He was golden! He stayed right at my side at all times, stayed as invisible as possible everywhere we went, didn't get distracted by children wanting to pet him, didn't flinch when a football landed near him, slept under the table at lunch, potties on command before going into the stores, never once whimpered or whined, I can go on but will leave it at "he's my good boy":).

Snow Day

It's the first real blizzard of the winter here an Max is loving it. His first time out the door this morning, he wasn't so certain about it. But, as the day has progressed, so has his love of snow:). He especially loves having some cute little snow bunnies to romp with.

Lost In Fun

I decided that Max was ready for the big time today so off we head to Lost In Fun, an indoor play center. So far so good:)

Max's blankets

Max absolutely loves his fleece blankets. I keep covering the sofa with his blankets and he always has one in his kennel. Well, he has become quite the character with his blankies. He doesn't like them to be neatly folded or neatly covering the sofa. He drags them around with him and now has taken to covering himself up. This not so little pup keeps me in stitches all day long with his antics and now his blanket escapades are making me giggle too:)

Spring Cleaning

For those of you who know me, you won't be surprised by this; those who don't know me well, you may think I'm a bit crazy;)  Yep, it's a month past Christmas; the days are cold and grey, the wind is howling, snow awaits somewhere in the future... What's this all mean to me?  It's time to tear up the house and clean out.  I start to feel a bit claustrophobic this time every year.  Maybe it's cabin fever.  Maybe it's a hint of OCD.  Maybe it's genetic.  Who knows; but every year it's the same thing.  I literally tear up every nook and crany of our home.  No cupboard, closet, or corner is safe.  The City Mission looks forward to my insanity as they are the beneficiaries of much of the stuff I decide we no longer need.  This year, since Mom is in the middle of her downsizing too, we'll be trying to get together a giant tag sale first, but what doesn't sale will immediately be carted off to the mission.

The girls never know which way to turn.  They don't know if it's better to help or just stay out of the way.  Personally, I'd suggest the latter since they risk getting packed into the donate box;)  Having a puppy in the house is a huge inspiration to get things simplified, let me tell you.  Max is still teething and nothing is safe from his chewing.  I look around and think "we didn't need that anyway, I guess";).  So, off I go, earbuds properly in place so I can tune out all the little voices.  First stop, the kitchen... I mean, really, do I NEED 4 sets of mixing bowls anyway?  I think not:)  Wish me well and if you happen to find a cute, freckle faced child or an adorable puppy with lopsided ears that seems to be misplaced, you might ask what their mom is doing.  If the answer is "spring cleaning" just deliver them back at my doorstep.  I probably just got carried away:)

Max the mountain lion...hhhhmmmmm

Sweet, dear little Max William. Honestly, have you ever seen anything as cute as him? Well, he does seem to have an issue with coffee tables and it shows no sign of ending anytime soon. I don't even want to think what this will look like when he's full grown and still thinking he can be king of the mountain...hhmmhhmm I mean king of the coffee table:)

My sweet girl is back to normal

Just a quick update. Miss Gracie is heading home today. In true form, she's bounced back to her normal little chatterbox self and can't wait to get home to see Max:)

Gracie is feeling better...

It's been a couple of days since we've been battling Gracie's diabetes. Getting the flu is tough enough on kids, but when they are also a type 1 diabetic, it can take a really nasty turn at a moments notice. But, in true T1 form, Gracie is bouncing back remarkably quickly considering just how sick she was.

We've been on the fence all afternoon as to whether or not she would be able to go home tonight but as its turned out she's just not quite stable enough yet. After getting really large doses of insulin via IV for the past couple of days and not eating anything until this evening, it was hard to tell how her body would respond to going back on her pump at her normal basal insulin rates. It was pretty bumpy at first with her blood sugar rising back into the mid 300's and her ketone levels raising back into the high range. But by spending several hours giving her extra bolus doses of insulin she's come back down into a normal range again, thankfully. The goal is to keep her in a healthy range with no ketones all night so she can go home tomorrow.

Gracie's daddy and two of her sisters (Sarah has been visiting her grandparents for a little one on one time during all of this) came for a visit this afternoon. That totally brightened her day. My girls may bicker A LOT but honestly, they are super close and do actually miss each other at times like this. It was reported to Gracie that Max is at a loss without her but they've been kicking in and doing some training with him while we've been at the hospital. Eventually, Max will be with Gracie at all times, even when she's in the ER or admitted into the hospital, but given his very young age and the fact that he was working so hard for the 36 hours before getting her to the ER I thought it best to leave him at home. He's missing his girl and Gracie is missing her dog.

The prayers that were said on Gracie's behalf were amazing. The fact that so many people around the world care so much about my baby girl is humbling and so very appreciated. Saying thank you is not enough but please know my gratitude runs very deep.

I've taken pictures of Gracie at all phases of her hospitalization. I feel it's important for others to know just how serious type 1 diabetes is. T1 kiddos look like healthy kids most days, even though they and their parents fight each day to keep them alive. Even doing everything right, this disease can turn horribly bad in a heartbeat. But I also want people to see just how resilient kids like Gracie are as they fight to bounce back from everything their diabetes throws at them. Thank you again for praying for Gracie and following her daily journey.

Gracie is sick

Sarah and Hannah had a flu bug hit them last week and we had hoped Gracie would squeak by without catching it too. Unfortunately, she didn't. We knew something was up because her blood sugars were all over the place the last couple of days and finally started staying rather high last night. By midnight she was closing in on 300, so of course that meant more insulin. An hour later she started throwing up. When a diabetic gets sick, their system isn't equipped to handle it well and they begin running ketones. Ketones tell us that the body is using muscle, tissue, and organs for fuel rather than the glucose it should be using. Well, after all night her endocrinologist and I made the hard decision to get her to the ER. I knew that I could keep battling her diabetes at home a little longer, but the outcome wouldn't change...she needed IV fluids and medicine. So, here we are; she's a little trooper enduring it all...the poking, the blood tests, the IV. This isn't new; she's stayed pretty healthy the past couple of years, but prior to that she was in the ER 4 times a year and admitted twice a year typically. Type 1 diabetes is very much an invisible disability. On a normal day you wouldn't know Gracie dealt with all she does because we manage her disease pretty well. But times like this it's front and center and it's hard to see what it does to such a little girl. I know so many people are praying for Gracie to recover quickly and for that I'm so thankful. I'll keep updating as we know more.

Max

Ok - I admit it...I think this little guy is the cutest thing around. Here he is resting up for the long trip back home. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not;)

Max is teething...

What happens when you have a young service pup with 4 or 5 teeth coming in at the same time? Much like with a teething infant, u go a little crazy. Last night as we were out celebrating Tess' birthday, all I could think was, "Max is doing awesome! He's being nice and quiet and laying so patiently.". Hhhhmmmm....mom instinct should've kicked in. Low and behold, I soon realize that he'd been teething on his service vest and had proceeded to chew all the way through the strap. Well, being the inventive mom that I am, I quickly came up with a solution to hold us over until his new vest arrives:)

Sweet 16

My crazy girl is 16 today!  I honestly don't know where the time has gone.  She's always been a spitfire... came out voicing her opinion to all the nurses in the hospital, racing through life and still trying to find that "indoor" voice:)  She's beautiful, smart, talented, creative, capable of anything she puts her mind to, funny, full of love and life.  I have no idea what I'd do without her.  I see her beautiful smile and the image of a little redheaded 3 year old racing through the house flashes through my mind.  My life hasn't been the same since the day she was born, and without her it would be empty.  I wouldn't trade a day, not a single one of them, with my girl.  I love you Tessie Bugg!

Max practicing his manners

Max needs to be consistent in all that he does, be it his alerting to Gracie's blood sugar changes or his manners in public. We practice all of these things A LOT. He's always been pretty good about staying under the table quietly while we eat, however I've noticed the past couple of weeks that he's been complaining a bit (whining and heavy sighs). Well, this mama took that as a sign that we just need to practice even more so now, instead of just at meal times, he's got to lay quietly at my feet anytime I'm at my desk. He's doing much, much better:)

Wonder Dog... and yes, he flies;)

I've been away from home all day long helping my mom move today.  By the time I returned home, Max William was waiting for me and I got the best little, tail wagging greeting ever.  It feels so good to know that you've been missed:)  After lots of loving, scratching, petting and even a few wet doggy kisses, I went into the kitchen to load the dishwasher and clean up a bit.  Out of the corner of my eye I catch some movement.  I turn to look into the family room and was stunned to see Max William flying, his ears floating out from his head.  All I could think of was the Disney movie, Dumbo:)  That little pup took a running leap onto the coffee table and from there jumped into the air and flew, ears straight out from the side of his head... straight into the back of the sofa, nose first.  After I got over that moment of stunned amazement from seeing my dog "fly" into the sofa, hoping he didn't see me laughing, I scolded him because that simply isn't appropriate service dog behavior.

On the training front, I'm pleased to say that we've been working on "stay" and Max is doing pretty darn good.  He's a real chow hound, so when he sits and waits for his dinner until he's given permission to go ahead and eat, that's a big deal:)  Of course, as he sits and stares at his bowl full of kibble mixed with his favorite strawberry banana yogurt, he whines... but he does stay:)