Team EM was AMAZING! We feel so blessed by your support! With your love & support, we raised $4107, had over 50 walkers & had a BLAST! We are so excited about the results! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your willingness to help & for loving our Em like we do!

We met with the most AWESOME girl yesterday--Dr. Domek's nutritionist/registered dietitian/diabetes educator--her name is Heather & the best part of the whole deal is that she, too, is type 1!!! The cool part about that is, SHE GETS IT! She not only explains things to us, she can give real time examples! Emily's numbers have been fabulous, thus the declaration that she is still "honeymooning"--her pancreas is still working (for now). The greatest thing about our appointment is that the ball is now rolling to get Emily on pump therapy--in fact, we should expect to be sporting our fabulous pink pump before school starts--wahoo! That means one shot every 3 days instead of 5 per day! Emily cannot wait~!

One of the most glaring blessings of yesterday was realizing that Emily has the opportunity to share her diabetes with others & help them as Heather is doing. It really gave her a focus on what her future could look like--this girl was PRECIOUS! And not only was she a BARBIE, she was funny, sympathetic & cool. She knew exactly how Emily felt about everything that I can't understand, told her the best way to eat, but encouraged her to eat well & still enjoy a piece of cookie cake for lunch every now & then! So different than I ever anticipated, but blessings EVERYWHERE! God is SO COOL!

Thanks for checking on us! We love you for loving Em!

julie

hi friends...enjoying a wet week in oklahoma! we will be praying for this in the summer!

emily is visiting the middle school today--i cannot believe it! it seems like yesterday that we put pink bows in her hair with karo syrup! she had her "camo" bag with her insulin & needles to take with her. apparently once you hit middle school you have the option of the "ala carte" line at lunch. i was quietly praying that she would take her lunch as she does every day with the calculated carbs on a post it note, but she wanted to do the "big girl" thing. please pray that it isn't frustrating for her! i know it sounds silly, but it really is somewhat labor intensive to know what she is eating & what the carbs are--those are the times that she gets frustrated. when everyone else is eating & she is still calculating...

we have raised $1000 for our walk already! i am so excited! we don't have too many actual walkers yet, but we still have a month. it is so cool to see so many supporting em! her shirt will be super cute....of course. our little fashionista :-)

em has her last volleyball games this weekend. she is a great server! she is bummed that it is already over, but is planning to jump back in when it starts up in the fall with a few friends who play club volleyball. we are moving on to tennis lessons next....probably after school is out. so proud of her for keeping up the activities!

have a great weekend :-)
julie
p.s. emily's sweet friend & classmate, claire leffingwell is a cancer survivor. she had cancer in her leg when she was little. she fell down some stairs yesterday & broke that leg & is at children's in okc awaiting surgery. will you include her in your prayers today?

well, we have now had a few "lows"--and candy (much to emily's delight). it is amazing how quickly your blood sugar raises when you drink juice or eat smarties!

she also asked me why i think God chose her to have diabetes...one of the toughies. so i told her that i believe that God doesn't need a plan "b" (thank you, jodi muenker) & that He has a plan for everything...and that somehow, her life with diabetes will glorify God & she will be a huge influence on others around her. she seemed satisfied with that, but i still worry over the right way to phrase my thoughts...even though in the recesses of my mind, i wonder, too--a little. i would never CHOOSE for one of my children to have an autoimmune disease that they will deal with every single day of their lives, but i still know without a doubt that God is good & God is in control & that He will be glorified through all of this. i just pray that emily will be able to praise Him through the daily yuck of diabetes. maybe we could all pray this together :-)

thanks for checking on us...
julie

diabetes education--check! brandon & i went to emily's class today to "educate" them on diabetes. her classmates had been asking hundreds of questions (with good reason) & we offered to do a presentation & answer questions (after okaying it with em, of course). we called it her "new normal" & they had some great questions. i am hoping that will help her avoid having to answer anymore!

onto the walk info...
www.walk.jdrf.org
you can donate/register for the walk on the website under "TEAM EM"--of course we want everyone we know to sign up! we are working toward a cure! we realize that everyone cannot physically be there, but all of the proceeds go straight to the jdrf (juvenile diabetes research foundation) for research. please donate & tell your friends! we will be sending out more info, but for now, this is an easy way to get started! our email address is meyermom3@yahoo.com if you have questions, etc. you will likely have to email me to let me know your t-shirt size, etc. thank you, thank you, thank you in advance!

off to count carbs at school--they are finishing up a measurement unit, complete with foods from home. mrs. hatch is so helpful, though, part of their assignment was to list how many carbs were in each serving--way to go mrs. hatch! it takes a village...

hoping, praying, believing we can & will find a cure for diabetes!!!
julie

emily is a rock star! she not only is giving her own injections, she is (with an "approval" nod) calculating her insulin based on her blood sugar & carbs! she calls me to double check BEFORE her injection, but she is pretty much managing with little help! everyone told me that she would amaze me, but i have to admit, i thought it would be MONTHS, not days!!! her blood sugar is starting to come down & we are getting the hang of it...God is good!

we go back to the dr/nutritionist on may 6th & then we can start talking about a pump. from what i understand, the pump can be very liberating. it, too, is an educational experience, but makes the process much more simple. no more needles unless something isn't quite right with the pump--THAT is liberating!

met (via cell phone) another newly diagnosed "friend" from stillwater yesterday. her name is laura & emily was diagnosed about a week before her son landon. isn't it strange how God sends us friends we didn't even know we would have? landon is 7 & her husband is over seas 6 weeks at a time. she is handling it so well! i'm not sure that i could be so big...praying for their sweet family in this adjustment! i know we will become soul sisters through this!

thanks for checking on our precious em...she is a STAR!

hoping, praying & believing,
julie

we had a terrific Easter! we got a rare & wonderful rainy day--all day long! we went to church this morning & then to brunch at the country club...lily didn't even burp!!! long story, but we've been embarrassed in public by lily more than once...she is so cute, we just try not to get upset. she was, after all, born for comic relief :-) we then proceeded to be lazy at home & then em & i went to the new hannah montana movie--super cute.

em is doing well. she has been in the 100s each of the last 3 mornings. her b.s. has been in good range for the most part--until tonight. purely consequential to the diet that she consumed today, i'm sure. there are so many things that we put in our mouths that we just don't think about! it is hard to put a carb count on every single morsel! we are ALL learning...

we are ON for the jdrf walk in okc on may 30th, so be prepared. we will be hitting you all up for a donation &/or to join our "team em"!! we want to make a splash as our first team event! she is going to design a shirt & we have some sweet friends here in stillwater that have offered to donate the shirts for our team. i'll be posting info...be ready!

our kids (& all of oklahoma, i think) have standardized testing this week. we will be praying that em's blood sugar stays within range as it can definitely affect her concentration, etc.

i pray that all of you had a blessed Easter!
julie

good morning friends...

i've heard from several of you that you are trying to be a "follower" of the blog & i so wish i could help! i think you have to create an "account" & when it brings up a mugshot pic & a bunch of random letters & numbers as your account name, just highlight & change the name to whatever you want it to be. if anyone can explain any better (i know that wouldn't be difficult!!!!), please feel free!

we have had our first "can't"--our kids go to kanakuk, which is a christian sports kamp in the lake of the ozarks. emily was going to go with one of her best friends from deer creek this year & they were SO excited to be in the same cabin, etc. so i called kanakuk to talk to the health services people about how we do kamp with diabetes & they have a rule that if you have been diagnosed within 9 months of kamp, you can't go. of course, i started bawling. i was just so not wanting to tell em! we have spent so many breaths on telling her that she can do everything she has ever done, but here we are! there are so many reasons that the kamp people are right--i don't want her in a cabin with 18-20 year old counselors who don't know anything about diabetes, in the middle of the woods, being in charge of em until em knows what her body is trying to tell her. that takes time...

i was so worried about telling her & of course, being em--she was like "that's okay, mom. i can go next year. can katelyn spend a week here with us instead?" blessings, blessings...

if anyone is in the wichita area tonight--be sure to go to the mercyme diabetes benefit concert! it is only $10 a person & all proceeds go to diabetes research!!!

praying you have a blessed Easter weekend! so thankful that we serve a Savior who would die for us & all of our ugly sins & defy death glorifying our Father--God is amazing! and He is leading little ole us through our new normal...

hoping, praying & believing in our RISEN SAVIOR,
julie
"...for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 corinthians 4:18