Youth Football Night

Last night was the Youth Football night at the Varsity game.  The boys LOVED going out in front of everyone in the stands and especially loved being able to make a tunnel for the Varsity boys to run through.  Payton is #7.

Payton walking with his friend DeShawn...

Can you tell that they are excited?

Waiting for everyone to be announced and make their way onto the center of the track...

It was fun to see all of the teams out there!

Not sure who the guys in the camo gear are... but Payton and Riley got a kick out of them!  Gotta love a High School Football stadium that is surrounded by corn and soy beans!  When the wind blows just right you can smell the cows from a nearby farm... reminds me of my high school days in Putnam County!

The youth teams went down to make a tunnel before the tunnel.  The Varsity boys went through and gave them hi5's before running through the big blow up Huskies tunnel.

Doesn't look like he had any fun, does it???  :)

Kenny Chesney - The Boys of Fall

This is such a good video!  Watch closely and you can see Kenny at Senior night at his high school with his mom and dad!

For those that have played football or been a part of football, this brings back awesome memories.

For those that want to play football, it's inspiring.

For those that just love to cheer on their children, it will bring tears to your eyes!

First day of School!

Well the day that they have been waiting for has come and gone and now they are tucked away in bed getting ready to do it all again tomorrow!   It flew by with only a few glitches, but those are to be expected... right?

I remember the days of getting ready for the first day of school without any medical issues.... let me tell you, those days are missed.  I wouldn't trade what we have now for anything, but I do miss the simplicity of the school "life" back in the kindergarten and second grade years!

We had a meeting with Riley's classroom teacher, school nurse, and administration last week, so we were able to take both Riley's and Payton's supplies to the building then.  Plus we had to take all the needed "equipment" for Riley to have at school for her Diabetes management and for Payton's asthma.... hmmm lots of paperwork!

We got the last minute items ready last night: clothes laid out (check), backpacks loaded up and ready (check), lunch packed (check), lunch money (check), note to the teacher for afternoon bus assignments (check), extra blood glucose meter synced up to Riley's insulin pump so that they can keep that one in the clinic at school (check), water bottles (check)....  off to bed.

It seemed the night went by in a flash, and before I knew it, it was time for breakfast, 1st day of school pictures, loading up the car to get down to the end of the driveway in time for the bus... better leave 5 min early in case he's early on the first day, wait we gotta walk the dog, stand here so I can get a picture of you both getting on the bus, bye have a good day, I love you.... and they were on the bus on their way to their first day of 5th and 3rd grade.

4 minutes goes by and I get a phone call from the bus driver's cell phone (panic strikes), it's Riley's voice on the other end of the phone: "Mom, we forgot to give me insulin for my breakfast!"  Of course we did, the morning seemed to be going to smooth!  Her new insulin pump saved the day (morning) that's for sure. I just talked her through what to do to give herself her bolus (insulin) for what she ate.  I'm sure the pump is some sort of magic because without it, I would have been chasing down the bus to give her an insulin injection!  Whew!  Problem solved.

Riley was thanking me and telling me that she loved me when another thought came through my mind... "Why didn't you call me from your cell phone or your brothers?"  Riley answers, "Because we left them laying on the kitchen counter!"

Happy First Day of School to All, and to All a Good Night (and better day tomorrow)!!!!

Riley climbing the cargo net at DYF camp!

How fun is this??? I just stumbled across this tonight and had to share it! She is the one on the left. She doesn't really seem afraid at all!

Toby Mac and Chris Tomlin... Here We Come!

4 months ago, we gave Payton tickets to go and see Toby Mac and Chris Tomlin in concert at the State Fair and tomorrow is the night!  He's so excited and so are we!  I'm hoping for good weather... not too hot and no rain!

Insulin Pump: Day +8

On August 2, Riley had her pump start appointment.  Everything was running smoothing (or pumping smoothing, I should say).  We even managed to make it through our first infusion set change on Thursday. Then came Sunday, another infusion set change.  We thought everything was going great until lunchtime on Monday when her numbers were on the up and up at almost 500! (For those who don't know what your numbers should be, her Dr. has her target range set for between 100 and 120, so nearly 500 is pretty high!  Panic set in as she tested for ketones and showed positive for moderate to large ketones present.... hmmm.  Thankfully this is all happening before the doctor's office went on their lunch break, so after a quick phone call I had a plan of "action."   Once I was able to give her a quick injection with insulin to correct the high numbers, I then went to change her infusion set.  Ahhh ha!  Found the culprit as to why her BG numbers were sky rocketing... the cannula wasn't in the skin at all, just laying flat against it.  No wonder she said it didn't really hurt when we changed her infusion set!  After a new set was in place, BG numbers were dropping, and ketone levels were coming down she felt horrible.  She said she felt like she didn't have any energy at all.  Poor thing!  Crazy stuff, this roller coaster ride of diabetes... let me just tell you!  Oh, and of course, after all of that wouldn't you know that her numbers were in the 60's at dinner????   She's a trooper though!  We love you, Riley!

Perfect Brownie Pan Update

The Perfect Brownie pan that we got Riley for her birthday was WONDERFUL!  It did everything that it said it would do on the infomercial!!!  Can you believe it?  One product that delivers!  Here are a few pictures of our brownies from when we used it the first time.  I definitely think this is a pan that every Type 1 Diabetic should have in their home!

It's here, just waiting for pump start appointment!

It's here... the much awaited insulin pump!  Riley has been wanting this for awhile, and now it's here.  We are just waiting to schedule the pump start appointment!  Hopefully we will get that set up within the next few weeks and she will be on her way to pump therapy!  She wanted a purple one and is on the hunt for a zebra striped skin to go on it... oh to be 10 again!  We will keep everyone posted when she gets all set up for the pump!

JDRF Family Rally

Last night we (the Tindal's and the Welch's) went to the JDRF Family Rally at the Children's Museum.  It was a fun evening and we had a blast with the Welch family!  We are planning to do a team for Riley and Colton and participate in the JDRF walk in October.  One of the new Indianapolis Colt's players (John Chick) was the speaker and it was nice to hear his story of growing up with Type 1 Diabetes and also being a professional football player.  Here's a picture of Colton, Payton, John Chick, Riley, and Sierra.

Can You Believe She's in the Double Digits???

"One whole decade of delightful.  Double Digits.  Five times Two.  There's no doubting you're a blessing to the ones who care for you!"

Today marks a milestone for our family... Jon and I are now the parents of a 10 (yes, I said 10) year old!  Can you believe it?  Doesn't seem possible if you ask me.  I don't feel like I'm old enough to have a 10 year old.  I don't feel like she's old enough to be 10.  Back to the timeless statement... "Where has the time gone?"

Now that she is 10, she was able to get her ears pierced.  This has been the deal between her and her Daddy for quite some time now.  She was 4 when she first asked to have them pierced and he wanted her to wait.  When he said "10" it seemed so far away and now it's here and we just can't believe it!

Grandma "T" had a friend make this beautiful cake for Riley!

Blowing out her candle!  Don't forget to make a wish!

Riley enjoying the new deck at Grandma and Grandpa "T's" house.

Checking out the earring selection while waiting for her turn at Claire's.

More fun while waiting...

Getting Ready...

Didn't hurt tooooo bad!

Yay!  Congratulations, You Did It!

Waiting tonight for presents...

Just Dance... one of our favorite games for the Wii!  Riley and I love to 

dance against each other on "Cotton Eyed Joe"... so far I am undefeated!

Now, when she puts in "Sing it" I can say that she is undefeated against me. She's got the voice and I've got the moves!  :o)

I "over taped" this one just a little bit.

She was able to catch a peek and see what it is...

The Perfect Brownie...!  We think this is the 

perfect thing to have for dessert preparations

 for a T1 Diabetic!  It will be easier now to 

make sure that everything gets cut equally!!!

Jammin' to "Just Dance"  Ummm... it looks like she's doing the Beyonce' move???

Reading one of her new books in her new 

Zebra Jams.  She loves zebra striped things 

right now, but even more than that she

 LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to read!

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl!

How'd I miss it????

"Octopus or spider legs, big red stop signs too  -- Many good things come in 8, just like eight year you!"

Was logging on to add a few of the needed updates here and couldn't find Payton's 8th birthday pictures.... hmmm.  Where did they go?  Why can't I find them?  Well.... the answer could just be that they are still stored in my file labeled "Payton's 8th Birthday" in iPhoto!  Yep.  Sure enough everything was there.  So, here are a few from his birthday only 3 months late.

Payton had a pretty fun birthday.  Nothing like his Army party last year, but still it was a fun day for all of us.  His friend, Connor, went to Bounce Planet with us then came back and spent the night.  The boys set up a tent in the basement and had a blast!  The only hard part was getting them up early the next morning for church!

One of Payton's favorite presents will not be able to be "used" until August 11th... how rough is that?  Getting something that you really want, but not being able to do it or see it until 4 months after your birthday seems like a tricky thing to do to an 8 year old.  Even with the wait involved he was still happy to open his card and find concert tickets to go see Toby Mac and Chris Tomlin at the Indiana State Fair on August 11th!  The Hello Tonight tour should be an awesome show.  Payton is completely hooked on Toby Mac.  He loves to crank up the song "Jesus Freak" from Toby's DC Talk days and sing and dance along.  When we went on vacation last week, he found a hat just like the ones that he wears and of course, he just had to have it.  He pulls it off pretty well and has received many compliments on it.  I'll post a picture of it later.

Ready to open his presents!

All Smiles!

Toby Mac's newest CD "Tonight"

You can never have too many accessories for your Nerf weapons!

Payton and Connor in the tent.

Celebrating 95 Years!

One week ago today, my Great Grandma (AKA Granny) celebrated 95 glorious years!  Happy Birthday, Granny!  We had a party for her on Saturday and it was a lot of fun having everyone get together in honor of our Granny.

Coming Home from Camp

Above:  The sign for camp!

Below:  Riley's Endocrinologist, Dr. Riggs. 

Riley went to the DYF (Diabetes Youth Foundation) Camp Until A Cure camp for type 1 Diabetics last week.  She had so much fun!  She was amazed at how much she learned while being at camp!  The staff there is fantastic and they made each and every camper feel special.  We are thankful that Riley had this opportunity, just one week where she was the same as everyone else.  

HCSC vs. Alexandria 6/21/10