Happy Anniversary!

One year ago today, Jaden and & I were just leaving the pediatrician's office after being told that he has type 1 diabetes. After 2 hrs at the pediatrician's office we were sent home to pack our bags and then head back to Ft. Worth to be admitted into the hospital for the next 48 hrs. Jeremy was in Cuba and received his email around 8pm that night with the not so good news. We were only able to "google chat" for a little while so I could fill him in on everything. He got on the 1st flight home the next morning and was at the hospital with us by 3pm that day. I will never forget how God orchestrated everything that day and all of our friends and family who stepped in to help.

It was only by an act of God that we even went to the Dr. that morning. Jaden hadn't been himself for a couple weeks and so I emailed a friend, Becky, at 5am that morning asking some "nurse" questions about his "symptoms." She said she never checks her email in the morning before work, but for some reason (God) that morning she did. She quickly wrote me back and said that his "symptoms" were classic signs for diabetes. Had she not told me, I probably wouldn't have taken him in that morning. You see, I had no idea what diabetes was or what all it entailed so it was all very new to me. I thought the Dr. would just give him some medicine and it would be better. Oh, silly me.

All the phone calls and emails that I made that day. Robyn stepping in to hold down the fort and take care of Jenna in order to keep her little life calm. Kim, for also stepping in to help with Jenna and just stuff with home. Robyn, Matt and Heidi for coming to the hospital late that night for moral support. Melissa for being my 2nd ear in training/education classes while at the hospital until Jer got home and could join me. My in-laws for getting on the next plane out to come be here for the weekend in case Jer couldn't come home. My sisters who were so supportive and willing to come if/when I needed them to. And then most important of all......All the people across the globe who were so faithful in prayer for our family!! I say most important of all, because well....Prayer is our most valuable tool from God! He is the Great Physician and I know He has Jaden in His arms 24/7!

Praise the Lord for Dr's who are gifted with the knowledge needed to help take care of my little man! It's just a year later and we are no longer doing "shots" of insulin, but now on a pump that does it all for us. God is so good to take care of HIS children!

Honestly, I don't know how anyone could live without knowing the Lord and having the hope that He gives through the salvation of His son Jesus! I thank God everyday for my many, many blessings. I pray that I never take Him or those blessings for granted. I know He will use diabetes for good in Jaden's life. Yes, it sucks to have a disease, but oh how wonderful it is to know that that disease may be used to lead someone to Jesus some day!

My little man is strong and knows the Lord who takes care of him. Thank you, Lord, for taking care of us each day!

Our world has been rocked!

As some of you may have heard, we found out this last week that Jaden, our 5 yr. old son, has Type 1 juvenile diabetes. This was very unexpected since there is no one in our immediate family with diabetes. About 3 weeks ago, Jaden seemed to be "fighting" something and we just thought it was allergies/asthma. He just wasn't acting like himself - he was grumpy, tired, up a couple times each night. All of those things are normal for him when he's getting sick or about to have an asthma attack so I was prepared for it since it's allergy season. Then not only were those symptoms there, but he then started eating all the time like a pubescent boy, complaining of his stomach hurting, drinking and peeing a lot. Now for some, those would be classic signs of diabetes, but not for someone who has never been around anyone with it. I then wondered if maybe he had a bladder infection so I emailed a very dear friend to ask her opinion and she suggested we head to the pediatrician's office asap just in case it was diabetes. Long story short, we went to his Dr. first thing in the morning, did a physical exam and when everything was ok, they tested his urine and blood sugars. Sure enough his blood sugars were 548 and they told me the norm was around 127. His Dr. was shocked because Jaden hasn't lost weight, but was gaining; and he is a strong healthy boy besides his asthma. My initial thoughts were: okay, what do we do? How do I get ahold of Jeremy since he's in Cuba? what is diabetes? where do we go from here? who do I call so that I'm not bombarded with phone calls/texts/emails, etc? How do I stay strong and not let him see me cry (which he did and we just cried together). Our Dr. immediately called Cook Children's in FW and got us set up with an endocrinologist there and told us to go home, pack our bags and that we would get a call from the hospital when they had a bed ready for us. We did just that and set up a plan for Jenna's care while we were there. I am so blessed to have family near and such awesome friends so close who were willing to do anything and even just to be "on call" until I needed them. One friend was even able to come to the hospital to go through training with me until Jeremy could get home so that I would have another ear to hear everything. We ended up staying in the hospital from Tuesday - Thursday, Jeremy came home on Wednesday. Our endocrinologist said that we must have caught this very early since Jaden wasn't any sicker than he is. He was the only new patient admitted that evening who didn't have to have the IV and fluids. He was so brave when they drew the blood for all the lab work and he never even flinched. The nurses were prepared to have to hold him down and when he just gave them his arms to poke and prod, they were shocked! He's definitely a warrior! We made it through training and Jaden's levels finally got evened out thanks to a great nursing staff and Dr and were able to go home 48 hrs later. So many have been and still are praying for us - all around the world. Thank you! We can't thank you enough. We've also had several friends offer their support due to their own diagnosis of diabetes. We are so blessed! We are also blessed to have him in the school he's in. They were so proactive and supportive once they heard the "news" and have already trained his teachers and staff who will be working with him so they are ready for him when he comes back to school on Tuesday! This is going to be an adjustment for our whole family, but once again we are up to the task knowing that we have an Awesome God whom we serve faithfully and He is there to walk us through this. I don't know what we would do without our Lord and Savior who gives us hope each and every day! I have lived the last 22 yrs of my life with this verse as my guide: "All things work for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 I know that our family loves the Lord and that we are called by Him and I believe that there IS good to come from this new challenge. Please continue to pray for our family as we learn to take care of Jaden. We praise the Lord for his watchful eye and keeping over us at all times!

Hold your tongue!

Well after reading today's scripture in my quiet time, God really put some things into perspective for me. You see, like many, I have a hard time holding my tongue. I can remember the days in my life when I didn't care what anyone else thought of me and so I spoke my opinions freely. Not that I don't share my opinions now, but I'm a little more cautious in certain circumstances. My goal is to never lead someone astray, but to direct them toward the Lord.
Ps 39 puts it all into perspective - v1 "I said, ' I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth as long as the wicked are in my presence."
Why is it that we get so opinionated and think we have to always argue when "the wicked" are near. That's when I find myself always shooting myself in the foot because I say too much when confronted by someone who is a non-believer. I've learned through the years, to put that muzzle on and make sure that what I have to say is from the Lord and not my own "opinions."
v6 says: "Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro; He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, no knowing who will get it." Our lives are but a breath here on earth. We get so wrapped up in all that we think we need to do and forget to focus on what's important - Loving God and loving people. Our time here on earth is short compared to eternity in heaven. Why not take as many with us when we go? Maybe it's time we muzzle our mouths, stop all the arguing and start loving people the way Christ did in order to bring more to Him!
vs 14-16 kind of made me realize how lucky I really am to be a citizen of the United States. I don't have anyone trying to kill me (at least not within my knowledge), but I realize the enemy is lurking behind every corner trying to bring a slow death to me whether it's a physical one or spiritual death. What I've realized is that I have to give up focusing on all the bad stuff around us and actually turn my faith to the only ONE who can do anything - God. He is where I place my trust. With all the Presidential stuff going on right now (most of you know that I'm not into politics) people are throwing their opinions around like it's water. God ordained that office and whoever is in that place, we as believers need to support him in prayer not continue to criticize his every move. Yes, I believe the end times are near, but so has every generation before us. Every day brings us closer to the final day here on earth.

Breathe

A friend of mine, Melissa, shared with me not too long ago a word that God had given her: Breathe. It keeps coming up all around me; in scripture I'm reading, sermons, and the fact that I have to breathe in order to be alive. We watched a Rob Bell Nooma video about it last night even. Let me share some thoughts with you:
In Hebrew, God's name is Y,H,V,H (in English we'd pronounce this as "Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh."
Rob Bell - "Some pronounce the name 'Yahweh' or 'Yahveh', although in many traditions the name isn't even pronounced, because it's considered so sacred, so mysterious, so holy. In fact, the ancient rabbis believed that these letters actually functioned kind of as vowels in the Hebrew language. They believed that they were kind of breathing sounds and that ultimately the name is simply unpronounceable because the letters together are essentially the sound of breathing. Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh. Is the name of God the sound of breathing?"
He then talks about how the first and last things you do in life are to take a breath.
The very first and last thing we do in life is speak our creator's name. Isn't He amazing?