Zzzzzzz....

Today Carson and Callie had choir practice after school so George was riding home alone on the bus. George has had a habit of falling asleep on the bus but Callie was always there to wake him up. This morning Callie told George to sit next to someone he knows so they can wake him up if he falls asleep. George told her he wasn't going to fall asleep.

Later this afternoon I was hurrying the girls to the car to go pick up George. The bus stop is over a mile away. George is so sensitive I was afraid I wouldn't make it when he first gets off the bus. So I get there and I see no bus and no George. The bus has been late before. So I park and wait. I got there at 3:35. I was still there waiting at 3:55. I told myself at 4pm I would call David to have him call the bus center. At 3:58 the bus pulls up from the opposite direction that it usually comes. George gets off the bus and then the bus driver. She tells me that George had fallen asleep and was down on the seat. She had gone back to the bus center and found him in a ball on the seat. She then left a message at our home then drove him back to the bus stop where I had been waiting.

Poor George! We all survived.

Madame President!

Every month in Callie's class at school they elect a class president. She was very exited to write a speech and give it in front of the class. She didn't know what to say though. I told her of one of the YW in our ward who is the junior class president. I suggested that Callie call her and ask Emma, the YW, for some advice. They talked for just a minute, Emma suggested Callie give some reasons that would make her a good class president. Then with a little help from David and I she wrote this speech. It sounds better with her reading it.

She was very excited to come home and tell us she and another girl were both elected. Callie is over half the class while Emily, the other girl, is over the other half. The other girl is also LDS. I guess giving talks pays off.

Happy Birthday Carson!

Easlyn and McKindry Gagon

This is Callie and Easlyn cruisin' the parking lot in front of our apartments. Rachel, does the van in the background look familiar.
Some good friends of ours have had a hard few years. The lived right next door to us in Ogden, UT. Their oldest, Easlyn, is the same age as Callie. While we lived there George was born. Their second girl, McKindry, was born a few months before George. When George was 4 months old we moved to Oregon. They ended up moving to Denver, CO after Chad (the husband) had graduated. It was Christmas time of 2004 that McKindry was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes or “Juvenile Diabetes.”. That summer(05) the kids and I visited them while David had buisness mettings in Denver. I got to see a very, very small fraction of what Jeri (the wife) had to do to take care of her. I could not imagine. At the time of us visiting, Chad was in Pennsylvania working while Jeri was trying to sell the house in Denver with the three girls.(they had another girl while in Denver) They finally sold the house and moved on out there. We were excited to hear a little while later that they were expecting a boy. Not long after he was born their oldest daughter Easlyn was diagnosed with the same thing. My heart just ached for them. After that point I hadn't heard from them much. I'm sure they are very busy. Well, today I got an email about a Run for a cure. It was a form letter but they explained a little about Type 1 Diabetes and what some of the things the girls go through. Here is part of their email.

____________________________________________

Easlyn(8) and McKindry(6) have been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes or “Juvenile Diabetes.”This means their bodies have stopped the production of insulin; therefore, we must constantly monitor and treat their blood sugar levels. To ensure Easlyn and McKindry’s bodies stay healthy we must check their blood sugar levels at least four times a day. They are both using insulin pumps to administer their insulin. The pump sends a constant drip of insulin into their bodies 24 hours a day. They must input their blood sugar levels and the amount of carbohydrates they eat to get the extra insulin that is required any time they eat. The pump has been a much easier way for us to administer their insulin and has taken the place of the four shots a day that they were receiving in the past. Now they only have to get stuck once every 2-3 days when we must change the pump site to avoid infection.More than one million Americans have Juvenile Diabetes. This is 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. Last summer we experienced the seriousness of diabetes when McKindry went into diabetic shock and had a seizure, due to extremely low blood sugars. Both Easlyn and McKindry have been on the opposite end of the spectrum and experienced especially high blood sugars that caused them to develop Ketones. These Ketones can build up in their bodies and can be lethal if not flushed out quickly. A visit to the emergency room is the only way to get rid of the Ketones and both girls have had at least 2 visits to the ER. Managing diabetes is definitely a balancing act.

____________________________________________

I generally knew about diabetes but that explained it a little more for me. I didn't mean for this to be sad. It just made me count my blessings and to think of others. And how I could probably do more to help others or serve more diligently in my calling at church.

Oh Ginger!

This is Ginger one minute...
...and this is what she did 5 minutes later.

Knock on wood

Today I was at the grocery store and met a sister from my ward. One of her daughters is the same age as Ginger so the girls were playing in the aisles together. We were talking and she asked me if any of my kids had put something in the cart and had made it past the cashier. I told her no. She told me that hers had gotten little things by. Well we talked a little more and then parted ways to continue our own shopping. Going through the check out Ginger asked for candy as usual and I gave the usual answer of "no". I paid for everything and then went to the car. Putting the bags in the car Ginger gets a smile on her face and reaches in a bag and pulls out a package of that pink Bubble Tape. (She loves pink) First thing I did is make sure I paid for it, which I had. Then I confiscated it. After getting everything in the car I realize that I forgot to pay for the case of water on the bottom of the cart. I unbuckled the girls and returned to pay for it. Where was my brain?

Way to go Ginger, for getting something past your mother. I've got my eyes on you. :D

Not quite the Osmonds

Not quite the Osmonds.

She's a little bit country,

He's a little bit rock n' roll.

Callie went to my last hair appointment with me and shopped around the salon while waiting. She showed me this package of clip in highlights. When I saw the $25 I said, "that's nice dear, but its $25." The girl doing my hair said, "$25! that can't be. I must be $2.50. Oh I bet its .25." In my mind, I thought, you are crazy, that is $25. It was made with real human hair. I said , "you really think that is .25?" She said, "Yes, I don't know why she(the owner) would put $25." After I told Callie we could get it for .25, the girl doing my hair told Callie she could open it and play with it while she was waiting. Upon getting home, I looked it up on the internet and found that it was $18 .

Doesn't that look like $25 to you?

Well, the kids have had fun playing with them.

The highlights are a perfect length for Callie's hair.

Meridian, Idaho

A week and a half before school started the kids and I went to Meridian, ID to visit my brother and his family. My kids were so excited to see their cousins. We traveled across eastern Oregon to get there. David likes to compare eastern OR to the surface of the moon but with some bodies of water. There is not much out there. We traveled 8 hours and made it in time for dinner. All I can say is portable DVD players are heaven sent. George got to the point of saying, "not another movie".

Our first day 3/4 of us went to the Boise Zoo and the other quarter went to the Discovery Zone right next to the zoo. While there I started to get a headache and could feel it getting worse. By the time we got home I was so nauseated. I slept most of the afternoon and evening while Uncle Craig and Aunt Janell took the kids to see a movie. The girls went to see Nancy Drew and the boys went to see Fantastic Four. Thanks Craig and Janell!

George and Nathan

Cassie, Lucy, Sarah, Callie, and Ginger

Lucy and Callie going down the giraffe slide. Lucy loves to slide!!!

Here is Callie and George in the Butterfly Exhibit. They really liked that.

Here is a traditional picture taking spot for my brothers family. The eagle's nest.

While traveling I held onto some of Carson's money, so it wasn't lost. He had $10 that he was dying to spend. When he went to the Discovery Zone I gave it to him knowing he wouldn't have it when he got back. After meeting up with Uncle Craig, Kendall, Carson, and Ann Marie after the zoo, Carson was happy to tell me that he rented a paddle boat for all of them. I think that was well spent!

The next day Carson went with Kendall(12) and Nathan(10) to their Grandma's house to do some yard work. It wasn't the highlight of his trip but he had fun. Ginger, George, Ann Marie, and Cassie went to play and Janell's sisters house. While Callie, Lucy, Janell, and myself did some last minute school shopping. We had fun walking the mall and sampling some caramel apples.

We all had so much fun visiting. The kids took turns sleeping out on the trampoline each night. The last night Ginger had an upset stomach and threw up a couple of times. So the next day we got a bit of a late start but we made it home about a half an hour after the sun set.

The morning we left Aunt Janell made up Aunt Gina's famous waffles and buttermilk syrup. Yum!

11 Happy Years!