OK.  So apparently my at being on the most wild roller coaster ride...never knowing what the next bend might bring.  Since my original posts, life has taken an abundance of twists and turns.  I can never say my life is boring!


In February, Kelsie moved to live with her Grandparents in Perth-Andover and attend the school there.  As hard as it was to have to see her go, though, seeing the success and positive changes she has made have been well-worth it.  She is involved in a variety of activities, including youth groups, drum lessons, guitar lessons and every Saturday she goes to Woodstock to volunteer at the pool there for the day, assisting with swimming lessons and shadow-guarding.  She comes home for a night once in a while, which is always a treat.  I am so proud of how she is doing, but miss her terribly.


Kendra has now finished her year of dance with Dance Fredericton, having completed her Grade 4 requirements for her exam.  She participated in the the Nutcracker performance again this past December, and has been promised a role as a girl next year.  Her teacher also has started her on Pointe, a huge step for her.  I was totally wowed at the year-end recital last weekend, watching her dance in her Jazz and performance groups.  She really is good at the contemporary styles of dance and had a great time doing them.  She is always dancing around the house.


Kelsie started on a new insulin pump and Continuous Glucose Monitor, in attempts to gain better control of her sugar levels.  It really helped, but she has had reactions to the sensor and is back to just using the pump now.


Kendra is doing well with her Celiac Disease and her hypothyroidism, but we have to very closely monitor both.  Her thyroid levels really play havoc with her growth, tooth development and her moods.  The levels change so quickly, too, so I am constantly looking for signs of her levels being out.  They went out quite a bit again in February/March, but this time her medication dose had to be cut back because it made her too hyperthyroid.


Chloe, our Black Lab, is now 19 months old and doing really well.  She has passed her Level 3 Obedience and is being tested for Good Neighbour on Thursday evening.  I am really hoping to get her started into Therapy Dog work soon as she sure has the personality to do it!  I have loved having her around and training her.  She is a great companion and smart as can be.  She is very affectionate, too :)


We are now going into summer, but the weather here has been so crazy.  We had a warm spring, but all of June has been so cold and in the single digits (Celsius).  They keep telling us that it is supposed to be a hot, dry summer.  They just haven't said when it is supposed to start.  Hopefully soon.


Wishing you all a fantastic day~


Lori

I have got to get better at this!

So here it is, a few weeks later, and I realize I have neglected this blog.  No decent excuse, just keeping busy.  So where has the month of November gone? Well, let's see.  We had Kendra home sick with a flu bug (cough, high fever) for over a week.  She actually ended up with pneumonia, but thankfully is much better.  She is back full force into her ballet and dance classes, preparing for her upcoming performance of "The Nutcracker" with Dance Fredericton on December 7. 


Kelsie's really busy part of her year is drawing to an end tomorrow.  She has been busy at school preparing for the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat".  Kendra and I went tonight.  What an amazing job they did!


Chloe has been busy being her sweet, adorable, puppy-girl self.  She had her first birthday on November 5th (where has this first year gone?).  She is busy playing ball and frisbee, learning lots of new tricks with them.  I am having a "ball" working with her and teaching her lots of new things.  She now even knows her left paw from her right paw and can sit and stay when the ball is thrown until she makes eye contact with me.


Another big event this month has been celebrating Diabetes Awareness Month.  Each Friday, we all wear BLUE to bring awareness of this disease, especially Type 1 Diabetes, since Kelsie has lived with Type 1 for over 9 years now.  She began the month by starting on a new, updated pump that has a Continuous Glucose Monitor, or a CGM, that is a small device that attaches to her skin with a little cannula that goes just below the skin.  It monitors the amount of glucose in the fluid below the surface of the skin and sends the reading to her pump every five minutes.   It helps us to get better control of all the highs she has been having and also alerts her to when she is going high or low.  We are seeing a difference already in her BG's!


My big accomplishment is that I finally reached my goal of losing 40lbs!  I hit the magic number last week!  Now I am working hard to keep it off and rewarded myself with a new L.L. Bean Jacket in a smaller size. It always feels great to reach a goal that we have strived for!


Hope everyone is having a great month.

Well, here I am, starting a family blog.  Where should I begin?  Well, let me see...

We are a family of five:  My wonderful husband Carl, myself, Lori, our two daughters Kelsie (15) and Kendra (11) and our almost one-year-old black lab, Chloe.   We aren't like any normal family, if there really is such a thing.  We have many challenges that we face daily just to get through our day.  Nine years ago, Kelsie was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes two weeks before her 6th birthday.  It totally changed our lives.  She has to take multiple fingerpricks to test her blood glucose levels (aka "her sugars") and be hooked up to an insulin pump 24/7 just to stay alive.  Add in the regular childhood challenges, and now the challenges of being a teen.  Then add in the fact that she has ADD that is managed with medication, and Dyslexia that challenges her in her learning and that gives you a kid with a lot of determination to succeed in life.  It doesn't stop there, though.  Add in an 11 year-old with the pre-teen moodies.  Oh, and did you realize that the moodies are the least of our worries with her?  Two years ago we realized she had stopped growing.  So following blood work, she was diagnosed with severe hypothyroidism (which explained why she was so pudgy and short) and Celiac Disease. Oh, that is the one where you don't eat wheat, you say?  If only it was that easy.  It is totally eliminating any hint or crumb of anything that could possibly contaminate your food so that you don't get sick.  Woah!  Mix it all together, and what have you got?  Our life.  

Oh, wait.  Of course there are the regular things in life, like the fact that Kelsie is in high school, Kendra started middle school, and between the two of them there is a myriad of activities, appointments, homework and fun times, too.  But despite all the struggles we face every day, we are a family.  NOTHING can take that away from us.  Nothing.