First Day of School

As a home school family we enjoy flexibility that those in traditional school systems don't and we LOVE it:)  We tend to school year round to some degree or another but this year took most of the summer off other than keeping up on reading skills.  Since we were in Rochester, MN last week for Gracie to be seen at Mayo Clinic, we didn't start back to our new school year until this week.  Monday was our first day and it was much anticipated around here.  I've changed up our normal lesson schedule a bit and so far it's working out pretty well:)  This is also a year with some transitions... Tess is no longer home schooling; she's enrolled at SCC to get her GED this quarter, then she wants to begin classes in criminal justice.  Her desire is to train law enforcement dogs.  Living with Max and helping with his training has really sparked this interest and desire in her:)  Sarah is now officially middle school age, so the expectations and lessons have stepped up as well.  I've always believed in more of an unschooling philosophy for our kids while they are younger and don't typically do much formal "schooling" until they are showing signs that they are ready for more.  It's always worked really well for us; please don't mistake "unschooling" for "no schooling":)  Well, this year we've transitioned the two little girls into formal lessons.  I knew Gracie would fly with it but wasn't so certain about Hannah, but my desire to have them on the same level for the most part out weighed my concerns about whether or not Hannah was ready.  I figured if it proves to be too much for her, I can always pull back.  Well, so far, so good:)  Gracie is very much my left brained child and learning in a traditional style comes very easy to her.  Hannah is VERY right brained, so I tweak the way I teach her, but she is doing great and has proven to me that her unschooling foundation was effective.  For those of you who know Hannah, you're smiling right now:)  They are different levels for math, spelling and reading, but for all our other subjects, teaching them together is going great!

Max, of course is part of our school days as well.  He is with us, under or next to our work table, and is doing really well.  He knows he's working and stays there without any fussing or correction needed for the most part and the only time we know he's around (other than when we have no place to put our feet:) is when he's alerting to Gracie's changing blood sugar.

Home schooling isn't just an academic choice for our family, it really is a lifestyle that allows us to fully live out our deeply held convictions that God has called us to raise our children for His Kingdom, and that includes their education as well.  I love teaching my daughters and getting to watch them grow and learn everyday.  Even on those days that they are struggling to grasp a concept and there may be melt downs and tears, I get to help them through it, understand it and celebrate with them when they finally succeed at "getting it".  I wouldn't trade these times for anything:)

Max's Problem Solving Skills:)

Max LOVES his giant bones we get from the farmer's market.  These things weigh about 10 lbs and are a good 14-16 inches long and they last forever, which is amazing for Mr. Max.  He likes to take his bone with him everywhere he goes.  Here he is trying to figure out just how to get that bone of his back into the house when the doorway isn't as wide as his bone:)

Weight Loss Update...Day 13

I can't believe how easy this is!  Seriously, over the years I've tried just about everything short of liposuction, without lasting success.  In 2009, I lost 40 lbs... gained it all back by late 2010.  Last year I lost weight here and there, but it would always come back.  With the demands of my family and life, I just can't take on a strict diet plan and major workout schedule and maintain them for any length of time.  Like most other women, my family and their needs come before my own; therefore, setting aside time for all of that is nearly impossible.  Over the past year, even when I would focus on diet and exercise, the pounds just wouldn't budge and I'd get discouraged and quit.  Then BOOM!  God just dropped this in our laps out of nowhere.

Skeptical doesn't even begin to describe my feelings and thoughts at first; but there was a seed of hope that started to sprout as we placed our order and waited 3 days for it to arrive.  I mean really... could I really lose weight ~ and not just weight but actually lose body fat, by just drinking Plexus Slim and taking the Accelerator each morning?  Day 1: Pleasantly surprised at just how good it tastes and as the day passes I realize that I'm just not hungry like normal.  No need or desire to snack and I want water, not my normal dose of soda 3-6 times a day.  Day 2: I step on the scale and it's down!  I notice the same lack of desire to snack, the same feeling of "full" at meal times after fairly small portions, and the same lack of desire for soda.  I also notice that I no longer want sugar throughout the day to give me some quick energy.  Every day since, I step on the scale and it goes down.  Some days more and some days less, but it's going down every single day:)

Now, as a mom of 4 young fire cracker daughters, home schooling them, running them to their afternoon activities, taking care of Gracie's diabetes with all that it demands, running through my days with an 80 lb labador attatched to me as well, along with the routine household chores and cooking 3 meals and a couple of snacks a day... let me tell you just how amazed I am that Plexus Slim and Accelerator have given me more energy and I'm now actually getting really good sleep at night and waking consistently around 5:30 each morning feeling rested and ready to take on the day.  THIS IS HUGE:)  For the past 7 years, I've been sleep deprived because I wake every 2 hours to do a finger poke on Gracie.  Plexus is giving me back that feeling of being well rested that I never thought I'd feel again... at least not until I moved into the rest home at 90;)

Well, here I am on day number 13... I'm down 15.4 lbs, and I'm feeling great:)  My jeans actually fit the way they are suppose too.  I didn't have to do the wiggle and jump up and down dance to get them on or lay across the bed to zip them up.  More importantly, I can actually breathe and I can bend over to pick something up without feeling like I'm going to faint because they are cutting off all circulation:)  Am I thrilled and beyond excited about my little weight loss secret?  YOU BETCHA:)  Would you like to have the same fun I am every morning when you step on your scale?  www.getslimLiveWell.com

My personal little miracle...

Hhmmmm.... where to begin?  I've shared nearly every part of our family's life with you, but there's a part that I've always kept to myself... my own weight issue.  I was one of "those" girls in my younger years.  You know the ones; they are actually slim and maybe even, like in my case, have a few curves, but they still focus in on their perceived flaws.  In my case, I spent my life wearing long shirts to cover up my backside, which I now look back on and wonder why.  I was thin; beyond thin actually and I did nothing to work at it.  I ate what I wanted to eat and was active but never worried about working out.  Other than a few fleeting attempts at dieting that lasted all of a day or two, I never really gave it much thought.  I remember when I was engaged and planning our wedding; I just knew I needed to lose weight because I thought I should be 102 lbs as I walked down that aisle, so I lost the 3 1/2 lbs needed to meet that goal:)  Those were the days!

Well, as for all of us, life takes over.  We get older, have children, realize that we enjoy food, our time is spent on our family and leaves very little time left over for working out, etc. etc. etc.  Sound familiar? For me personally, add into that scenario my own health problems which make working out difficult, sleep deprivation since Gracie's diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes and getting up every couple of hours to check her blood sugar every single night since, and the resulting craving, need even, for sugar and soda to give me the fast energy kick I need to get through my days and nights.  Over the past few years it's all caught up with me and nothing seemed to work; not strict calorie control, not zero fat, not working out daily, not even giving up my beloved soda every day.  Honestly, I had totally given up on losing weight, getting into shape, and ever having any energy at all.  I mean, yes I have about 50 lbs that I want/need to lose, but I'm comfortable in my own skin and can accept my added curves; what I can't accept however, is risking my health and the possibility of not being around to raise my children and enjoy my future grand children.

As a Type 1 Mom, I am at a higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, even certain cancers because of what my life demands of me.  Add into that mixture my existing problem with severe asthma and the fact that in the past 18 months I've been flattened by pnuemonia and bronchitis twice, weakening my lungs all that much more.  What's a girl to do?  Yes, I was ready to just give up.  I gave it over to God and asked Him, begged Him actually, to please just allow me to be healthy enough to finish raising my girls so that they didn't have to navigate through their young lives without their mommy.  Does God hear our prayers, our pleas, our deepest desires?  YES!  A couple of weeks ago, we ran across Plexus Slim.  It was totally accidental since we were looking for something not even related to weight loss.  This product was originally being developed as an aide in the treatment of Type 2 diabetes, showing success in both type 2 and type 1 diabetics, by allowing more even blood sugar control and even allowing insulin use to be significantly reduced in type 2 diabetics.  They noticed in all the studies however that EVERYONE was losing weight.  Not just a pound or two, but significant amounts of weight without trying to.

Fast forward to today... I have lost 7.2 lbs since trying Plexus Slim and Plexus Accelorator for the first time on August 30th.  That's over 7 lbs in 8 days people!  Have I worked out, changed what I eat or even tried to not eat at all to achieve this?  Nope.  I was skeptical.  I've tried everything over the years, miracle pills, specific diets, weight loss programs, extreme working out; you name it, I tried it.  I went into this determined to not consciously make any changes so that I could see for real if all the testimonies I was hearing really were true.  IT REALLY WORKS:)

Plexus Slim is a powder that you add to a bottle of water once a day.  ONCE A DAY:)  It's NOT a meal replacement.  OOOHHH... and it tastes yummy; no joke, I actually look forward to it every morning.  Since I'm a, (ahem) "middle aged woman" I also chose to use the Plexus Accelorator to speed things up.  Yes, I have the patience of a flea and want to see results FAST:)  I noticed right away that it surpressed my appetite.  I just really wasn't hungry all the time and when I would eat, I'd feel satisfied much sooner, therefore I automatically eat less.  Please listen though, I am not making a choice to not eat, I'm simply feeling full on less food.  I also noticed right away that I no longer have cravings for sweets and sodas.  My sugar cravings had gotten out of control over the past few years and I was "needing" several sodas a day just to make it through my day.  From day one on Plexus Slim, my cravings have totally disappeared:)  A surprise benefit that I hadn't anticipated, was that there is an ingredient in Plexus Accelorator that is helping my asthma as well, by opening my airways and keeping them from tightening up during my normal daily activities.  WOW!  I've spent my life using my rescue inhaler several times every day just to get thru normal activities.  When I actually work out, I need my inhaler several times during my exercise time.  As a matter of fact, the big reason I have gained weight and have such a hard time losing it is that I've spent most of my life on Prednisone, a steroid that is used to keep my lungs functioning.  Since using Plexus Accelorator, I've noticed that I actually have gone days without requiring my rescue inhaler at all:)

I'm so excited about this new product.  I can't believe the success I've had already.  I really think that I can be close to my weight goal in time for the holidays this year:)   Did I mention that my husband is using it as well and has lost 9 lbs in the past 8 days too?.  Seriously, I asked God for a blessing and He sent me a miracle.  If you would like to give Plexus Slim a try, you can order a 3 day trial pack.  It has 3  packettes of Plexus Slim and 3 Plexus Accelorator capsules along with an informational DVD and is only $11.95 with FREE shipping.  If you live locally and want to give it a try this weekend, let me know because I have a limited amount of these trial packettes here at home and can get it to you today:)              

The past year... A beautiful mess

Our boy turned a year old on August 9th.  Honestly, it's no different than with the kids...... I look at him and wonder where the time has gone.  

So much has happened over the past year and Max has been right in the middle of it all.  As I think back over it all, I'm in awe of him and Gracie.  Watching them grow together has been amazing.  That said, yes, it's had its rough times too.  Like when Max was attacked by Cooper because Coops felt his position in the family had changed and it left Max with only half an ear.  Or when we were going through not only the teething phase but also learning when Max was alerting and he ended up eating the sofa in the family room.  Learning what it's like to travel with a dog EVERYWHERE you go and finding that you're late and forgot to let him go potty ahead of time and then get the privilege of cleaning up in a very public place with people laughing and taking pictures to make it their FB joke of the day.  Or nearly having the airline not allow you to fly home because there's a female service dog in the airport as well and she's in heat, causing Max to bark nonstop and act like a hormonal teenage idiotic boy (incidentally, he did awesome once we were on that plane and even saved Gracie's life because she had dropped low and was going unconscious and I thought she was just sleeping).  Trying very hard to incorporate a puppy in all that you do and knowing that you look totally inept and it's not a good image for service dogs because you not only are you still struggling to learn how to handle all this but you're a frazzled mom dealing with 4 young daughters along the way too. 

As I think back over this past year with Max, would I change a thing?  Of course I would.  I'd have forseen the problem with Cooper, and Max would still have both his silky ears.  I'd had known that the water in Florida was very different than the water at home and we wouldn't have had to clean up messes in all the stores at Disney or all along Mainstreet after the parade.  I'd been paying more attention to the fact that he might have been trying to tell me to check on Gracie and not just being an energetic puppy, and I'd still have my sofa intact.  I can go on about all the "I would if's" but why?  

Our journey with Max is a beautiful mess, just like life itself is.  There's many things in life that we'd love to change, but then EVERYTHING would be changed and would we really want that?  God promises to use everything for His good.  Read that carefully... it doesn't say that He will turn everything into good and make it perfect according to our desires.  It says He will use if for HIS GOOD.  Let's look at Max loosing half his ear.  That was horrific and heartbreaking.  I still sob when I think about it (even now the tears are stinging my eyes and the screen is a blur).  However, I will never forget listening to Gracie a few days later, comforting this little pup who had his whole head wrapped like a mummy and was still hurting and on pain meds and antibiotics.  Here's what I heard this precious 7 year old child say to her furry little guardian angel... "I'm sorry Maxi.  I know it hurts.  I'll help you feel better Max.  You know what Max?  It's going to be ok, I promise.  I know what it's like to be different and now you're different just like me.  We can take care of each other now."  It was in those quiet moments that Gracie completely bonded with her dog... her service dog, the dog who's mission in life is to take care of her and keep her alive and healthy.  She was finally able to totally relate to him on a level that only she can feel.  God used Max's half an ear to help Gracie not feel so alone and different anymore as she goes through life.  Would I take her diabetes away if I could?  Absolutely!!!!  Would I give Max back his ear?  You betcha!!!!  But God, in His grace and mercy used this for HIS GOOD.  

So, as we come to another change of season and head into the glorious colors of Autumn, I hope we all take a moment and think back over the past year and see all the blessings, even the ones that were wrapped in hardships.  It was one year ago that we began the journey to getting Max William.  It's been a long year in some ways; it's gone incredibly fast, and I look back and am in awe of all that my family has faced, conquered, and enjoyed.  And I look at Max William and can't help but smile at that goofy boy who loves to talk back at me and cocks his head sideways with his eyes shining as I talk to him as if he's just one of the kids:)  Our life really is just a beautiful mess that God just continues to perfect with each stroke of His brush.  I praise Him for it all:)

Gracie...Dog Whisperer, Jr

Well, maybe not quite a dog whisperer, but she is starting to really become more of Max's handler these days.  It's fun to watch them develop and grow together.  In the very beginning, it was a little girl and her puppy.  After awhile it grew into a couple of kids.  Now, I've noticed that Gracie really is beginning to show interest in Max's handling and training.  When we are out and about, she wants to have control of him instead of being content with Mom doing it.  I'm not sure if it's because she's grown a bit and he's pretty well behaved so now she feels that she is capable of keeping him under control when we are out in public or if it's just that she is starting to fully grasp that they are a team.  Either way, it's fun to watch her take ownership of this part of her life and start to become Max's handler.  I'm very proud of both of them:)

Max is still in his teenage phase, so we get a little "tude" going every once in awhile.  But, all in all he's a really good boy.  I can count on him to keep his girl safe, and for the most part be obedient at home and in public.  He's still very opinionated and likes to voice his opinion at every opportunity; but let's face it, in this house I'm surrounded by opinionated individuals;)

We took a little family vacation to Kansas City last week.  3 days to just enjoy being together with no work, school, chores or responsibilities.  Max was AMAZING!  It was extremely hot the entire time we were there but he did great.  We had to get him some shoes because the pavement was too hot for his feet.  It was so comical the first few steps ~ like watching a duck;)  However, he got use to them almost right away and seemed to almost like sporting his yellow and black shoes.  Of course, seeing a dog in an amusement park tends to draw attention anyway... seeing a dog wearing shoes in an amusement park tends to draw crowds, giggles, stares, and even a few belly laughs.  Max took it all in stride.

We were blessed to stay at the Hotel Phillips... What a TREAT that was.  I highly recommend this hotel and if you ever have the chance to stay there, take it.  I admit though to feeling apprehensive when we arrived with 5 kids and a dog at this stately, grand, 4 star hotel.  I thought they'd take one look at our troop and lock the doors.  The staff was so gracious and fun.  Our room was HUGE; certainly large enough for us all to stretch out and not feel cramped.  They provided Max with a fluffy dog bed, china food and water bowls and gourmet treats.  They also offered complimentary aromatherapy for him as well, but since he relies on his sense of smell to keep Gracie safe and sound, I declined that.  Hotel Phillips is a landmark in KC.  Situated in the popular Light and Power district, it's walking distance to everything you could want downtown.  They just finished major renovations in November and took it back to it's 1930's Art Deco splendor with a fun twist on everything.  There's a gorgeous statue of the Goddess Dawn (yep, I had to love that;) that stands 111 feet high in the foyer.  The original owner of the hotel had this sculpted in honor of his own daughter.  It's rumored to have her face and her best friend's body.  All the woodwork, mouldings, furnishings, artwork... absolutely everything about this hotel is gorgeous.  Check out the pictures below:)

Max and Brody

As some of you know, Max isn't the only dog we have.  We also have our family pets that we adore and rescued from a shelter in Kansas about 4 1/2 years ago when they were only 7 weeks old.  They are wonderful dogs and they adore the kids.  Brody James is our big boy ~ there's just something a little extra special about him.  When he was a baby, he always reminded us of a polar bear prince:)  Not that Cooper Todd or Felicity Hope aren't special too; they are of course, but Brody has just always been more engaged and attatched to the girls.

Well, it's always been our desire for Max William to work in with our other dogs but we realized early on that Cooper just would not ever accept him.  And, not wanting to have any problems that would interfere with Max's development or his education and training for his service duties, we just really put this desire on the back burner.  I've always felt confident however, that Brody and Max could be worked in together and end up being good friends.  Several months ago, our trainer helped us introduce them and gave me a little confidence in how to handle the situation.  I've decided that now is the time to really work at fostering the relationship between my two boys and I'm pleasantly surprised at how well they are getting along.

Yesterday, I needed to walk both of them and decided to recruit some help so that they could take a walk together.  Eventually, I think that I'll be able to put them on a double lead and walk them together myself; but, these are two very big boys and there's just no way I felt confident enough to try that yesterday.  If they decided to go in two different directions, I would have had a problem;)  They did AWESOME!!!!!  Max totally loved having a buddy along and Brody showed great patience with his younger buddy's curiosity.  After we finished our walk and returned home, I let them play in the backyard together.  They both showed their manners and did really well.  They even decided to curl up together for a little R&R in the dog house:)  I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship and am thrilled that Max can have the companionship of another dog.

On a side note: Max has always been a vocal dog.  He voices his opion all the time.  I realized yesterday that he really does think he's conversing with us and that he actually "speaks" in full sentences;)  Yes, my boy cracks me up and makes me laugh all the time:)

Vacation Bible School

I'm getting brave... I decided that the benefit of having Max William along during VBS this week, outweighed the inconvenience.  You see, I'm volunteering for snacks which means that Max is part of the snack crew too.  Thankfully, he's pretty darn good about paying attention to me and what I'm doing since I tie his leash to my belt loop on my jeans for the three hours I'm there.  That said, he is a chow hound so a week on snack crew is a big challenge for him to get over.  400 kids dropping bits of food on the floor can be hard to pass up for a 10 month old puppy.  Oh, and it can be positively too tempting when I sweep up at the end of the day and he is tagging along behind the broom.  All in all, I have to say that he did really well today.  He even alerted to Gracie's high blood sugars 3 times during the morning while she was upstairs doing her VBS thing and he was down on snack crew with me:)

Celebrating Gracie and Max

Song: Angel By My Side by Francesca Battistelli

The little mommy

Gracie LOVES her dolls. She is an amazing little mommy and takes care of her babies as tho they are real babies. Here's a few pictures of her boys this morning:)

Drum Roll Please....

The results are in and once again, thanks to Max William, Gracie's A1c has shown amazing improvements.  She got an 8.3.... unbelievable!  Just think, this child has always been between 10-13.1 since her diagnosis and now, thanks to Max William, she is right where she is suppose to be:)

A1c is the blood test done on diabetics every 3 months to find out how well controlled they are.  It measures the amount of glucose in a diabetic's system for the prior 2-3 months.  For a child Gracie's age, they want to see them in the low 8's like she is right now.  By gaining good control of her blood sugar on a daily basis, we can help to prevent the long term, life threatening side effects of diabetes such as heart disease, blindness, etc.  With Max's help we are giving Gracie a healthy life now and a hope of a long, healthy future as well.

Before Max arrived, we tested Gracie every two hours around the clock, but we knew we were missing a lot that was going on in her body in between these checks.  Now, Max lets us know when something is going on ~ by testing with him rather than a clock, we are more effective at keeping Gracie in her healthy range.  Without Max, Gracie would drop dangerously low with no warning and many times so quickly there'd be no visible symptoms.  She doesn't always feel her lows either.  Max, however, let's us know when she's headed down and we can prevent her from crashing.  He also helps us keep her from skyrocketing too, which is vitally important to warding off those long term effects down the road when she is an adult.

Max is a HERO and he saves his girls life every single day.  Insulin isn't a cure; it's Gracie's life support.  Without insulin, Gracie would die.  Max is her guardian angel, watching over her and making sure that she stays well and healthy while on her life supporting insuli, since we can't always know if she's getting enough or if she's getting too much for any given moment of any given day.  Max is Gracie's miracle:)

If you would like to help us pay for Max William, you can make a donation in Max and Gracie's name to www.GuardianAngelServiceDogs.org or call (804) 883-6931.  We have a way to go before Max is paid in full, and when he is, we'd like to help other families have the blessing of a diabetic alert dog as well.  Thank you all for your continued encouragement, prayers and support:)

Gracie's fingers

As many of you know, Gracie gets her fingers poked 14-17 times a day so we can know what her blood sugar is and treat her appropriately. That's a lot of pokes over the past nearly 7 years. A couple of months ago she began to get random infections in her fingers; not from all the blood tests though so we aren't certain what's causing this. She's been on a few rounds of antibiotics but it never completely clears up. So today, we are at Children's hospital trying to figure out what's going on. The concern is that the infection may have go to her bones. We won't know for a couple weeks exactly what's causing this but hope to have answers soon. Heres a couple pictures of her getting X-rays. And, of course one of Max William as he's listening to what the doctor has to say about his girl:)

Crazy.  Crazy.  Crazy... we are only days away from dance recital.  There's sparkles, tulle, feathers, satin ribbon, dance shoes and glitter galore scattered all over my house.  Max is soooooooo tempted to snatch a tutu, but he's been pretty good  we've managed to keep them away from him and his chompers.  Dress rehearsals begin Friday and go till an hour before recital on Saturday night.  That's a lot of trips across town; delivering our little dancers, making food runs since they always seem to be starving, and me continually saying "don't let anything drop on your costume!"  Yes, I've done this enough to know to bring some old tee shirts to slip over them when they're munching to save their costumes:)  Saturday and Sunday are the performances, then it's truly summer break.  Aaaahhhh... I think this mama needs a little mom only vacation after it's all said and done.  One that involves nothing but movies, spa treatments, sinfully yummy food, lots of R&R surrounded by a body of water and nobody talking to me for a couple of days;)