Dr. Irene says...

1 - Increase his nighttime dose of Cortef.
2 - Incorporate a higher fat, high protein snack before bed.
3 - Possibly increase his growth hormone dose as well.

We'll probably be doing more sugar-checks for a while. She says they recommend diabetics go to bed with a blood sugar of 100 to make sure there's room for a drop over night without being dangerous. Not sure if Athan needs to be exactly that, but we'll get a better idea of how his body does over night while we monitor his sugar more closely for a bit.

So, more sticks. Yuk.

Athan, aside from disliking the sugar checks, is fine. No worse for wear, it seems, from the episode last week.

And Mom and Dad are better. Fear still barks at me occasionally, but I'm asking again for the Lord to teach me to live a life of Love, not Fear.

another scary blood sugar dive

Yesterday morning Athan woke up a little whimpery. That's it. But I knew something wasn't ok. I checked his sugar - 28. Then 30. I checked mine to make sure the meter wasn't broken - mine was 95. (normal is 70-120). Ryan gave his emergency shot, and we poured peach nectar down him. And we waited. 10 min later, 38. 10 more minutes - 172. Whew....

And since then, he's been fine. Not sick, eating well... He's fine. We talked to Dr. Irene's office,a and have followed instructions on stepping down his dosage back to normal Cortef dose today. Checking his sugars regularly, etc... (95 at last stick this afternoon).

He's fine. I'm not. I'm afraid. His blood sugar can get really, REALLY low with no warning signs and almost no indicators. May it was even just stress that caused him to tank. I don't know. We don't know.

It's been a while since I've felt fear like this about my Athan.

Anyway, we see Endo on Monday, and maybe we'll know more then.

By a better photographer:

Here are a few glimpses Wilmore in winter time. I'm gonna miss it here.

travel

We made it to Chicago and back last weekend. Oddly enough we drove far enough north to miss all the snow that hit Kentucky and south while we were gone. It was COLD though. I think it got all the way up to 20 degrees about the time we were leaving town....

We got to visit our friends Josh and Candace McCallister, and their wonderful kiddos Jedidiah and Lilia. We got to stay in the guest apartment at Reba Place - so nice. Morgan and Jedi played together really well (until that inevitable point in preschool-dom when sharing becomes unthinkable). Poor Lilia got a little sickly while we were there, but Athan Bear held out and made it home with no sniffles or fever or cough. I was a bit nervous about getting the Bear out that much in winter. He's been so healthy this season, and looks like the trip didn't change that at all. Yeah! :) Ryan and I got to spend not-nearly-enough-but-good time with our dear friends. It may be the last time for a while, as it is slightly more difficult to pop up to Chicago for a weekend when you live in Texas. Sigh...

Then, on the way home, we stopped at the Children's Museum in Cincinnati. Wow. So fun. All interactive learning activities for the kids to play with. We really had fun. Morgan, of course, met new friends around every corner, then proceeded to enjoy whichever attraction with said new friend. Athan was a real champ. He drug his little walker all over that museum. He stood for almost an hour and played in the water. He crawled and climbed and smiled until, of course, the last 10 minutes, when he melted down into the most literal kicking-and-screaming fit either of my children have ever managed. But before you judge, just look how tired he was:

Yes, that's lunch lingering in his hand. Morgan was zonked, too:

yes, really...

Tonight, I learned to knit! After I did this much I just took it apart and gave the supplies back to my gracious teacher, Sarah. But it was out on a limb for me to even try. :) Who knows - maybe there are home-made scarves from me in your future... :)

I don't do this much

But in echo of my friend Sarah's blog post, check out this thoughtful post on differently-abled persons. Then watch the video.

fun family randomness

Ryan is taking a Mentored Ministry class this semester. As the title indicates, it is a class for being mentored by those already in ministry. Ryan gets to work with Sean at Communality in Lexington, and the kids and I will be attending several of the events there with him. It will be fun to learn from them and worship with them this spring.

Amberly now uses this site for printing a weekly organizer. It's free, recyclable, and pocket-size. Plus, each week I get to pick a new cover (using the "image" option). This week: luggage, since we're traveling this weekend. :)

Morgan's response to Athan's first steps (forgot to post this with the other video):

Athan has transformed the act of cuddling into an athletic event. Almost nightly, he crawls in bed with us, and proceeds to try to be in constant contact with both Mom and Dad at all times. The closer the better, especially if we can be cheek-to-cheek. It's much cuter now, as a fun kid story in the daylight, than it is at 4 a.m.

another Morgan moment

"Mom, Athan and I are a band! We're called the Significant Singers!"

Yes, really, she said "significant."

among the favorite activities of late: letters

The story about the above pic goes like this: When I came into the bathroom, Morgan spoke with great urgency. "Mom, don't worry. I know "cat" is wrong, but we don't have a letter C any more because Athan bit it and it broke, so I used a K because it makes the same sound and we don't have a C any more and I put it backwards because it is the wrong one anyway. Ok, Mom? Don't worry."
"Ok, Morgan. No problem. Not worried. Good spelling."
"Thanks."

The bottom one started out to be "Mom" and ended up being "Mooooo." Not sure what I think about that.

frozen!

The temp stayed below freezing for almost 2 solid weeks around here. It's nothing compared to the ice storm of last year, but still SUPER cold. It's funny that "sunny and in the lower 40s" feels balmy after 2 weeks of teens and 20s. The kids and Blue enjoyed the winter-y weather just fine, I think:

Morgan's 5th

Morgan turned five back in December. Ryan and I took cupcakes up to school for a little party with her class, and Ryan took her in to Lex to see the Nutcracker ballet. She got to go backstage afterward and meet all the ballerinas, then eat dinner with Dad on the way home. She really understood the story, Ryan said, and recounted most of it to me when she got home. I can hardly believe my beautiful girl is 5! :) Just wanted to post a couple pics for you all...

my temp job, etc.

Prepare to laugh - I'm working some shifts at the Phone-a-thon for the seminary. I know, I know - not my life's calling! But it has been surprisingly good. We call alumni, spouses, and friends to first pray, then update them on seminary news, and give them a chance to pledge to the general scholarship fund if they want to. I don't have to beg anyone for money (which I'm terrible at doing), and I do get to pray with folks (which I really like). So... ok, go ahead and laugh at me now. :) It'll be nice to get a pay check for a change, even if it's only for 30 hours or so.

Morgan's back in school and still liking it, it seems. Our girl is ever-more creative lately, and it's fun to watch her learn to read. Her big new addition this semester is ballet lessons - a Christmas gift from Grammy. She LOVES it. Her first session was too funny! She had been placed in the wrong class, and she was the only beginner in there. Oh my. She looked like the Rogue Ballerina. 3 other little girls following instructions and standing in "first position" as Morgan spins and then falls down over and over. She has now been moved to the appropriate class so she can spin and fall with 5 or 6 other newbies. Way fun. She says "I'm a ballerina, Mom. A REAL one."

Athan's still being our Athan. A little volatile these days, as 2 year olds will be, but still pretty pleasant kiddo most of the time. He has taken a few more steps here and there, but he's not too interested in trying for more than that. As with the rest of his skills, it'll have to be on his terms when he decides to go ahead and walk more. He IS showing much more initiative in using his walker these days, so his legs are getting more and more strength and coordination. He can identify most of the alphabet on sight, and is learning the sounds, too. He talks alot, and more and more clearly, too.

Ryan is with the kids alot while I work my phone-a-thon shifts, and is using the break to read the books he wants to read! He's also finishing up lots of work for the ordination process, and working on the ever-present to-do list of around-the-house projects (the bathroom is almost finished!).

per request... :)

Modes of Transportation 1/7/10 from Ryan Strebeck on Vimeo.

one five ten

On January 5, 2010, with both parents and dear friends looking on, Athan took his first totally unassisted steps. 4 of them.

Details and hopefully video to follow.

He walked!!

un-busy

Whew. This is nice. :)

Morgan and Ryan are finished with school for the semester. All the programs and parties are over. Now we just rest and wait.

And one of the things I'm looking forward to doing is updating you all via this too-long-latent blog. :) I'll get some fun posts and Athan updates going soon.

busy

Truly, we try to structure our lives so we use the word "busy" very,very little. However, this weekend, we were busy! I'm worn out, but at least this only happens a couple of times a year. :0) The past few days went something like this:

Thursday - early PT appointment in the afternoon and Morgan's school program that evening.
Friday - spent all day getting ready for the Canadian Missions committee to come see the house, then dinner with Canadian visitors and the people they help support at seminary.
Saturday - cooked all morning for a party Sat. evening, took Morgan to a birthday party for Maddie in Lex, then hosted a Send-Off Party for 3 families who will move in the next few weeks.
Sunday - Morgan's birthday! :) We had pancakes for breakfast, then church, then lunch, then Dad took Morgan to see The Nutcracker (pics to follow), meanwhile I went to a girl's farewell dinner for a friend moving this week. This evening Morgan opened gifts, ate cake, and watched a movie.

I suppose that list is unimpressive to some, but for us, that is extraordinarily hectic. :) Maybe I'm a wimp. It was all very fun stuff, and I'm glad we can resume a reasonable pace now, too. :)

This week Ryan will finish up the semester, we will load a moving truck and cry, and we'll begin life without Rob and Kat next door, with a 5-year-old in the house, and with one last semester of seminary ahead of us.

beginning of the transition

Well, we don't actually move for over 6 months, but the process has started. At least as far as Athan's doctors are concerned....

This week we saw 3 of Athan's doctors. Dr. Irene checked his endo stuff, and all is well. No change. Dr. Coburn did a 6-month check-up, and again - all is well.

And we saw Dr. Bay. She is the Geneticist we see only once a year. Yes, again, all is well. It was our last visit with Dr. Bay. She is sending us copies of Athan's file with genetics in preparation for the move, as well as sending us contact info for geneticists nearer to west Texas. It's our very first "last" anything before we move. You may get tired of "lasts" posts over the next few months, but I suppose there may be a few anyway. We're thankful to Dr. Bay and her staff for helping us smooth the transition out of the Bluegrass back to the High Plains.

the haircut

Some of you will be disappointed by this, others unspeakably relieved. Either way, here it is. Before and after of Athan's first haircut:

Thursday 4p:

Friday 8a:

Thanksgiving in Wilmore '09

breakfast with visiting friends

Just a few fun pics of breakfast this morning with some friends.