We have a new electronic device in our house...

It's not a very welcome one,

but it will be helpful in the health of my sweet Chuck.

It's a Glucometer!

Yup, Chuck was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes!

The story... (mind you I know the symptoms of a diabetic)

Chuck and I went shopping on Monday to get some fabulous deals and in each store Chuck had to go to the bathroom. Then when we got home we decided to take the kids to see Narnia, so we went to Taco Bell for dinner (where Chuck used the men's room again) and then to Walmart, and then to the movies where he went to the bathroom again, and then twice during the movie and right after again. After that I texted my mom to see if she was home so we could test his blood sugar. I was kinda worried about him. When we got to my mom's we tested his blood sugar right away. It read "HI." I asked my mom what that meant, she told me it was probably over 300. OK, that's high. We tested mine to make sure it was working. Mine was 113, good to go. Tested Chuck's again, still "HI." So we went home with my moms meter so we could check later. When we got home I looked up the booklet for the meter my mom had let us borrow and the "HI" meant his blood sugar was over 600!!! It should be under 120! Houston we have a problem. I was looking at the symptoms some people show when they diagnosed with diabetes, like polyuria, blurred vision, extreme fatigue (and a few others). Before I would let him sleep I wanted to check his blood again, so we checked it at 10:45pm (2 hours after eating) and it was down to 508. Ok, not over 600 anymore. That's good. So we went to bed and in the morning before eating we tested again. This time it was 307. Ok, we definitely need to get him into the doctor. He told me he would be fine and he could just wait until his annual physical in January. I told him NO WAY!!! Then his level was 405 about 1.5 hours after breakfast and 333 before lunch and 371 two hours after lunch. And then it was off to the doctor.

The doctor told us he knew it was not the type of diabetes that could be treated with meds. He was going to have to use insulin. Chuck is not overweight (well, he has 10-15 lbs to his "ideal weight"), he is active (hello, 1/2 marathon runner) and he has a strong family history of diabetes. The difference between the two diabetes is that...

-Type 1 (Chuck's type) occurs when the body's immune system (which normally fights harmful bacteria and viruses) mistakenly destroys the insulin-producing (islet) cells in the pancreas

-Type 2 occurs when the body becomes resistant to insulin or the pancreas stops producing enough insulin. Weight and inactivity are important factors.

So Chuck got instructions, insulin and his own Glucometer and off we went. It is still very overwhelming for him and I know it will take some time to adjust and learn. He got his sugar levels back to normal earlier today, but they went up a bit this evening again. But with patience and some work it will all even out and he will be back to normal... although through all of this he hasn't felt sick or even any different... but we are hoping for more energy soon.

Disneyland With Grandma!!!

On Sunday, Dec 19th, we loaded the kids up in the suburban and "went for a drive", or so we told them. We gave them the movie "Despicable Me" to keep them occupied, in other words so they wouldn't bug us about where we were going.

When we were getting close to Quartzsite, AZ, Maddy figured out the surprise! She had already said home was "that way" (pointing behind her) and then said that Disneyland is "this way" (pointing the way we were driving). So we told them that yes we were going, but this trip was all about g-ma Nichols, not them (we reminded them we just went the weekend before and that was their opportunity to do what they wanted to do), so they couldn't ask for anything or even suggest the rides they wanted to ride. Little did we know they would be the best we have ever seen them in all our trips to D-land!

When we arrived at the motel where the grandparents were staying we got out and were waiting outside the rooms they were in. All of a sudden I saw my mom come around the corner! I tried to get the kids to hide, but they didn't move fast enough, so my mom saw us! She was so surprised. She wondered why we didn't tell her when she had room reservations we could've used. I said, "Then it wouldn't have been a surprise!" She let us into Grandma Nichols room and she had dozed off, so we woke her up and she was so excited! The reaction she had was worth the whole trip there! I was so happy we could surprise her! So we visited with them for a bit and headed for our own room at a different motel.

The next morning we met up with the grandparents after we got some breakfast and we loaded into the suburban and headed out for a fabulous rainy day at the Magic Kingdom!

On the tram from the parking lot to the theme parks.

Waiting for Soarin' Over California. Grandma Nichols really enjoyed this ride. It's always been my mom's favorite!

Yes, it was rainy, it never stopped all day long. It wasn't rainy first thing, but within a ride or so it had started and never stopped! Notice our plasticware? Thank goodness for ponchos! We were wet enough as it was. Had we not had ponchos... well, let's not go there!

Standing at the base of the Christmas Tree on Main Street in Disneyland.

On Small World! I love the holiday Small World. It's decorated all Christmasy and they play It's a Small World and Jingle Bells throughout the ride!

Waiting for the Monorail... notice the Matterhorn in the background.

Maddy visiting with Grandma before they left that evening! I couldn't pass up the picture... it was so sweet!

Chuck only had the Monday off, so he loaded up the kiddos after we were done for the evening and left me behind to enjoy the rest of the trip with Grandma! That's what I wanted for Christmas and he let my wish come true!

Me and Grandma Nichols!

It's Tough to be a Bug! We are sporting our "bug eyes"!

On Monday they didn't light the castle, but luckily they had the lighting on Tuesday night. Grandma was able to see it and I was happy for that! There were no parades or fireworks, but at least she saw the castle all lit up!

It was a very nice trip. Even though it rained the whole time we were there, we created a lot of memories!

Merry Christmas!!!

Wishing all our family and friends a very Merry Christmas!!!

Our Family

So I decided we needed a picture of our family,

so I had someone take a few snapshots of us,

just to document this year at Thismas...

Chuck's family does Thanksgiving and

Christmas combined together.

So here's our family of 5!
Chuck, 35 KaraLyn 33, Tyler 11, Maddy 9, Macee 5



I'm so glad this man loves me after 13 years of marriage! We were married on Nov 8, 1997!



And this is Chuck's family.
Back row: Darren, Haylie, Levi, Chuck, KaraLyn,
Dad, Katie, Jadyn, Travis, Ron
Middle row: Bryan, Carla, Isaiah, Maddy, Rachel,
Hana, Sarabeth, Mom, Tyler, Traci
Front row: Lucy, Macee, Kelly Ally
Not pictured: Micah (at work) and Wendi's family
(Craig, Wendi, Amanda, Marissa, Teriann, Derek, and Breana)

Silly Maddy

Maddy asked on the way to Thatcher this weekend

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"When's the next village?

I have to go to the bathroom!"

Hummmmm... the next "village"

Maddy, I'm not sure!

So we found the next village for her

Maddy, does Bylas count???

"4 eyes, 4 eyes...

...you need glasses to see-e"

-Cloudy w/ a Chance of Meatballs

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So, another one of my kids has fallen victim to bad eyesight.

Maddy got a note from the nurse saying she needed to get her eyes checked, so we set up an appointment. Well, she definitely needed glasses! Her vision is 20/80*! Worse than Tylers! CRAZY!!! So she picked out her glasses and a week later they came in. I think she looks quite cute in them!

My two blind children!

Tyler and Maddy

*For those who may not understand, 20/80 means what a person with normal eyesight can see at 80 feet away, Maddy can see at 20 feet. Tyler's eyesight is 20/40 in one eye and 20/60 in the other. My eyesight is 20/500...