CrAzY Working Mom

Scars

2013-04-17T13:51:00.003-05:00

As Spring like weather approaches, so does the need for flip flops and short pants. I love to wear capris, but this year it seems like I can't bring myself to put them on. Ya see I have massive scars from the surgery I had in December to put a metal plate in my leg. One side is a long, perfect medical scar. The other side is a nasty scar from the damage that the bone did to pressing against the skin. I am very self conscious about it. I am worried about wearing flip flops and capris this year not only because of the ugly scars, but also because of the fact that my leg is still very thin and frail compared to the other leg. For over 4 weeks, I was not allowed to put any weight on it. So, my leg grew very thin and the muscle was almost non-existent in it. Although it is no longer as bad as it once was, and heals a little more each day, I know this summer I will get a lot of stares and odd looks. Do you have scars that you are self conscious of? Are there reasons that you won't wear certain attire? Do tell.

Update - Call Me Bionic Woman!

2013-04-16T10:34:00.000-05:00

Since I haven't posted here since December,

I thought I would post a generalized update on the CrAzy Working Mom Family.

We had a wonderful Christmas filled with lots of love and family time. On Christmas night, we had an enormous ice storm that filled the state with lots of beautiful snow and treacherous ice! The kids enjoyed it. We played in it all day the next day. Unfortunately, we lost a few tree limbs and were without power for an entire day. Thankfully we have a fire place and had just enough wood stored up that we were able to keep warm by the fireside until power was restored.

My best friend celebrated her birthday eve with a SURPRISE party! We had a wonderful time in her presence with a taco bar fiesta and fun fellowship. It was so good to get to spend some quality time with her! Although I am not entirely sure she was "surprised", there was lots of planning and preparation that went into her celebration and I know that she was very thankful and enjoyed every minute of it!

Tisha & Becca 2012

On Saturday, December 29, 2012 I was preparing to go visit my best friend, Becca for lunch and my husband was going to unstop her plumbing while we were there I headed outside and unbeknownst to be, there was still ice on my front porch steps. I took a very terrible fall down my steps and ended up with a dislocated ankle and two broken bones. Instead of enjoying lunch with my bestie on her birthday, I ended up in the E.R!!!

I yelled for my husband to come outside and he rushed to my side...literally!! He fell down the stairs on top of me. Thankfully he was not hurt, but quickly agreed with me that I was when he saw that the bone that my foot should be sitting on was not about to pop out of my skin! It was a very traumatic experience for me, and my very first bone break. When I do something, I go all out.

He and my father-in-law loaded me up and took me to the Emergency Room where a very friendly staff of doctors and nurses treated me for the fracture. I was given Propofol, which may sound familiar to you as a reader because it's what killed Michael Jackson! I was told that I would still be awake, but I would be "under" for 7 minutes. I had to sign a release form "just in case" I didn't wake up. My family was very concerned and scared. I just wanted my foot to be put back on my leg and to be able to go home!

My New and Improved Ankle

So, the procedure was completed and I was awake the entire time watching a total of 9 doctors, nurses, and staff treat the fracture and watch my vitals. It was a very humbling experience. Upon completion of this procedure, my doctor informed me that they were waiting to hear back from the surgeon!! Yes, I said surgeon.

Since I had eaten breakfast, I had to wait a few hours until they could safely do the surgery. Once they had the green light, I was taken back and given anesthesia yet again to complete the surgery. This time I became the (not so proud) owner of a steel plate and 8 screws which have taken up permanent residence in my right ankle.

I was informed that I was not allowed to bear ANY weight on this ankle for at least 4 weeks. Yes, this busy mother of three was going to be "benched" for 4 weeks! Being as it was my right foot, I was unable to drive for even longer than that! Fortunately, my sister and her husband stepped in and they allowed us to stay with them and were a tremendous help to Brien by picking up and dropping off the kids at school and helping with my immediate needs. It was a very difficult time for me. As a mother of three and small business owner, I have never had much reason to depend on others. Brien and I have tried very hard to be able to support our family and to take care of each other without the help of others. So, it was a very humbling experience to say the least. I am so grateful for the many people who helped out. We had dinners cooked for us for an entire two weeks solid! There were so many text messages, facebook messages, prayers, visits, and the likes that I could never thank everyone. But, for those of you who visited, called, and texted...THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. I could have never made it without you all.

We are now gearing up for another season of baseball. It's been practice 2 - 3 times a week and pretty soon we'll switch from practice to games. But, we love it. Tyler loves it and we enjoy cheering him on. I am looking forward to spending the summer with my kiddos. I am still recovering. I am no longer confined to the walking boot. I do wear it on occasion when the pain is unbearable. I still suffer from discoloration and tenderness where the scars are located, but all in all, I am healing and it's all part of the process.

I am still an Independent Scentsy Consultant if you're interested in purchasing online or if you live local and want to place an order give me a shout. My website: https://tishblack.scentsy.us. I also sell Grace Adele Fashion and Velata Chocolate Fondue (all three Scentsy Family brands).

Rudolph???

2012-12-10T08:40:00.000-06:00

Uh- oh! Looks like Simon-Peter and Noelle are up to no good! They have turned Brien's buck into Rudolph! The kids are going to love this idea, but I'm not so sure Dad is going to like it so much! I hope that red nose is not permanent!

I love this time of year. Elf on a Shelf is a wonderful tradition in our house. The kids love to jump up out of bed each morning to search for the elves. It's good to know that in December they get out of bed very easily, no matter how late they stay up!

Toodles!

The Adventures of Shelly the Tortoise

2012-12-09T22:18:00.001-06:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, we've been tortoise sitting for my sister while they were away on vacation. It's been a great time and we really have enjoyed Shelly. Let me give you a little information about Shelly's species. She is an African Spurred Tortoise. She is native to the Sahara desert. Her species is the 3rd largest tortoise in the world. They can grow to be one to two HUNDRED pounds! Right now, Shelly weighs in at a whopping 22 lbs. They can live anywhere from 50 to 150 years. Shelly eats lots of green, leafy veggies and some fruit, but it is not recommended to feed her lots of fruit.

Emily had so much fun with Shelly. Ya see, our little Emily is a lot like Elmyra from the Tiny Toon Adventures. You remember Elmyra, right? She loved animals...they might not have thought the same of her, but she sure loved to hug them and squeeze them, and kiss them all over. Emily loves to carry around my sister's dogs and they are so patient with her. Although she was not able to carry around all 22 bulky pounds of Shelly, she followed her around and managed to lay beside her and crawl all around the floor with her. She really did have a fun time with her. I know she's going to miss her.

Emily watching Shelly have breakfast.

Shelly enjoying some time in the sun, tranquility, peace and quiet while Emily was away. ;)

Adventures in Tortoise Sitting

2012-12-06T10:46:00.001-06:00

My sister and her family own a 22lb tortoise. They have bestowed an honor upon us.

We get to tortoise sit Ms Shelly while they are away on vacation.

What fun it's going to be! The kids were super excited when we arrived for pick up and instructions on how to care for a tortoise.

Emily and Tyler were excited about tortoise sitting.

We were sure to buckle her in before leaving.

Shelly eating her breakfast on the first morning here.

Stay tuned for more adventures in Tortoise Sitting as the week continues on.

Happy Birthday, Shelby!

2012-11-29T07:27:00.002-06:00

Happy Birthday to this beautiful 10 year old girl!!

Today is Shelby's birthday. She chose instead of having a big birthday party to instead do a small, intimate bon-fire at home with only family and a few very close friends and use the money we'd spend on a big party to have a Kindle Fire. She is very happy with her decision and she is IN LOVE with this thing. Fortunately she's been very nice to her brother and sister in allowing them to play with it as well. I am very proud of her. To read the story of Shelby's birth, you can click back to THIS POST. She was born on "Black Friday".

It's that time of year again! The Elves Are Back.

2012-11-28T22:57:00.003-06:00

Our Scout Elves Have Arrived! Two years ago, we received Simon-Peter and Noelle. You can read about their arrival HERE and HERE. The kids have been anxiously awaiting their arrival since we put the Christmas tree up last Friday. Since today is Shelby's 10th birthday, Santa thought today was the best day to send them along. Of course they came bearing gifts since it is the season of giving...and a letter telling the kids how proud Santa is of them for all they've accomplished since last year and reminding them how they see ALL that the kiddos do, not just in December. So, let the fun begin!!!

This is a great tradition and if you're looking for a new tradition with your little ones, you can read up on the Elf On The Shelf story at their website. I am not affiliated with this company in any way nor being compensated to write this post. Just speaking as a mom with some kids who love this concept!

My 4 Year Old Co-Sleeps With An Elephant!

2012-08-22T06:10:00.001-05:00

As I made my nightly "last peek" of my children before I headed to bed, I found quite a sight when I looked in on my youngest, Emily who will soon turn 4. I got a chuckle and I thought maybe you would too, so I am sharing here.

If you'll notice, Emily is fast asleep in the floor and one of her stuffed elephants has gladly taken her place in the bed! This is my idea of co-sleeping! When we'd try to let our kids sleep with us, even our king sized bed, I always ended up out of the bed, usually not on the floor, however on the couch.

Oh my little Emily! In ten years she may be using this trick to sneak out of the window!!!

Scentsy Family Company, The Opportunities Are Endless!!

2012-08-10T07:21:00.001-05:00

Scentsy has done what no other direct sales company has ever done by creating a mother company, with 3 brands (each with it's own unique opportunity) with ONE DOWNLINE & Commission Check! We still strive to keep things SIMPLE though. One, two or three ways to make your dreams come true! You can choose one, two or all three brands to sell! I signed up to sell Scentsy in May thinking that it would be a way for me to buy it for myself since I LOVE the product so much, but little did I know that I had many friends and family who also felt the same way. Since then I have never regretted the decision to sign up for Scentsy and I have met many great people along the way from all over the country!

I made a jump into the Grace Adele fashion line when I started seeing the products. I cannot wait to start carrying around my Grace Adele bag and when folks compliment me I can tell them exactly what the product is and how they can get in on the ground floor of an exciting up and coming fashion line by purchasing a bag for themselves, hosting a party (and getting one for free or 1/2 price), or signing up to sell them! To learn more about Grace Adele and what we have to offer, you can click here to go to my Grace Adele website. Click a color on the Pick My Bag Color section to begin the selection process. Take a look at all of the many different options available with each style. You can customize the color of your bag, and then add a clutch to the front of the bag making it a whole new bag. You can keep the same bag and change out clutches! How awesome is that?!? I can't even tell you how excited I am about this new line! If you're interested in purchasing, shopping, selling, etc. Please feel free to contact me and I will help you in any way possible.

You can also follow my adventure on Facebook and keep up with all of the latest sales, monthly specials, and stay in the know by clicking the graphic below.

Happy 7th Birthday Tyler

2012-08-09T08:20:00.000-05:00


Tyler Matthew Black Born August 9, 2005 @ 10:58am 8lbs 2oz 20 3/4" long

7 years ago on this very day, my husband and I were on our way to the hospital "discussing" what we were going to name our first (and only) little boy. I liked the name Tyler Matthew. He preferred Matthew Tyler. I have a long and difficult to spell and pronounce (THANKS MOM!!) name, Latichia. So, I didn't want my son to have the same difficulty I did in school. After laboring 5 hours and having the baby before the epidural could kick in, when the little guy was born everyone looked at us as to what they were to call him. My wonderful husband proclaimed, Tyler Matthew. Upon this proclamation, I asked why he changed his mind? He insisted that since I went through all of that work to get him here, the least he could do was let me choose the name. I sure do love that man. I love both of my men.

Happy 7th birthday, Tyler Matthew.

Mommy and daddy love you!!!

Duck Tape T-Shirts

2012-08-08T14:32:00.002-05:00

Today the kids and I decided to get crafty. It doesn't happen very often, but it does happen. ;)

We got this idea from some very creative church friends who made these shirts for church camp and then again during VBS. We loved the idea and the kids loved them. You start out with a dark solid color tee shirt, roll of duck tape, a few paper towels, a piece of cardboard, and a spray bottle filled with bleach.

You duck tape an emblem or design on the shirt. We chose crosses. But, if you're creative and crafty, you can do almost anything! You tape the design on the shirt and place a piece of cardboard on the inside of the shirt to keep it from soaking through to the back. Take the spray bottle of bleach and lightly cover the shirt. Make sure to dab the duck tape with a paper towel so that when you hang it to dry you don't get a drip down from the tape.

Hang the shirt to dry and once it's dry you can remove the tape from the shirt and you've got an awesome design from the bleach.

This is our finished product.

We decided to take it a step further and add names to the back of the shirts. We waited until they had mostly dried on the front which didn't take too long in 100+ degree heat. I found some project board letters that we'd used during the school year last year for Shelby and used those to make names on the back.

Emily's shirt before getting bleached.

It was a quick, easy mid-morning project and the kids enjoyed it and their shirts are just as different as they are! Here is the finished project.

The finished project.

E-Z Cheesy Garlic Bread Pizza

2012-08-03T22:57:00.002-05:00

Need a quick fix for dinner but don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen? I have a great solution for you. My kids absolutely LOVE these Cheesy Garlic Bread Pizzas. You simply take a package of those frozen garlic breads you get in the freezer section of your favorite grocery store. I use the generic version most especially since we're piling it full of goodies anyhow. You top it with pizza sauce, followed by any sort of pizza topping you so desire. My family loves mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. I found some little mini-salad pepperoni last time I shopped that were perfect for these. They don't slide off or pull half of your topping off like the big ones do when you bite into them. You bake according to the directions on the box of garlic bread. Mine was 425degrees for 10 - 15 minutes. They are SO GOOD!!!

You can also freeze and microwave them in a pinch but they are best right out of the oven, hot and bubbly just like this:

Oooey Gooey Goodness!

There were none left from this batch to freeze...in fact now that I mention it, there never has been. Ah well, it really is a good thought! LOL Enjoy!

Scentsy Hostess Gift

2012-08-02T22:26:00.002-05:00

A big shout out to Katie Hartis for graciously inviting me and all of my Scentsy glory into her home to host an "open house" style Scentsy party. It was a great honor to be in such a wonderful, loving home and I appreciate her extending the kindness to me. I had a wonderful time and met some new friends along the way. Thanks to Meghin for doing a basket party for me. I just know that it will be a huge success for her because she is just awesome like that!

Here's a couple of photos because you can't have a blog post without photos!!

Katie's Hostess gift. The tulips are scentsy wax!

A Party In A Basket!
Very easily transported. Show it to your
friends, get some orders and voila, you're a
hostess (who earns free and 1/2 priced
items!!!). Who's in?

If you're interested in learning more about Scentsy, check out my Scentsy website: https://tishblack.scentsy.us. I'm also on Facebook: Tisha Black - Independent Scentsy Consultant. Happy Scentsying!!!

Momma Loves Scentsy

2012-08-02T22:15:00.001-05:00

So, in June my best friend talked me into signing up to be a Scentsy Independent Consultant. I was a bit skeptical at first because there seem to be a consultant on every corner where I live. I have 4 as Facebook Friends. But, when you start realizing how many folks there are that have never even heard of Scentsy, I think WOW, REALLY!?! So, if you don't know what Scentsy is,this photo is a basic run down. It's a wickless candle. You warm wax in a beautifully designed warmer and not only do you have an awesome show piece in your home, but your home also smells beautiful!

We have a warmer in every room in our home. We pretty much did before I signed up to sell Scentsy. I've been in love with the product since the first time I made a purchase. Scentsy has a wide variety of beautiful warmers to fit almost any decor and over 80 different scents to choose from. I am very excited to be selling this product. If you're interested in hosting a party, buying some product, or even signing up to sell Scentsy yourself, let me know! My website is https://tishblack.scentsy.us. There you can browse the product, buy, or sign up to sell. I also have a Facebook Fan Page that I post to at least daily! Check it out: Tisha Black - Independent Scentsy Consultant. I'd be happy to fill you in on all the details. I look forward to sharing more of my Scentsy venture with you as the days go by.

Rhea Lana Fall Sale in Searcy, Arkansas

2012-07-11T11:50:00.000-05:00

It's that time again ladies!! The Rhea Lana Back To School Sale! This is my favorite sale because I get such awesome deals on clothes for my kids to wear to school. If you're not familiar with Rhea Lana, let me give you the run down. You go through your kids' closets, pull out the clothes they can no longer wear. If the clothes are gently worn with no tears, stains, missing buttons, etc. they are perfect for this sale.

Here's a run down of things you'll need to get your merchandise in order:
- Plastic Clothes Hangers
- Sharpie Marker
- Safety Pins - String Tags
- Masking Tape
- Rubber Bands

Back to that stack of gently worn clothes you piled in the middle of your kids' bedroom floor...well you can't just leave them there! Put them on plastic hangers, attach a string tag to it, go to www.rhealana.com, sign up to get a consignor number and start entering your items. It's THAT easy. YOU set the price on your items! When you're finished, you'll bring your items to the fair grounds on drop off day, and once they are inspected you'll put on the bar-codes and put out the merchandise! Be sure to put back the flip-flops, swim suits, & tank tops back and save them for the spring sale when people are looking for those sort of things. Bring your best Back To School clothes for the fall sale. For a list of what is accepted at the fall sale, you can click here. Don't forget to mark if you want your clothes to be in the half price sale on the last day. Yes, that's right on the last day, all remaining items without a red dot are HALF PRICE!! This is a great way to shop and get even deeper discounts.

When the sale begins, you can check your sales from your mobile phone and watch the money grow and grow. You can choose to donate the left over items at the end of the sale. If you do this, they will go to the Searcy Foster Care Boutique in which case you can just have your check mailed to you. If you choose to retrieve your items, you'll do it after the sale and you can pick up your check that day. When you consign, you also get to shop early, before the general public. That's always a great incentive, to snatch up those great deals before they are gone. If you want to shop even earlier than the consignors, you can sign up to work a shift, bring food, or have your husband work security! There are lots of options available. For more information on volunteering for this event for that early shopping pass, you can click here. If you are a local area reader and you need more information or have questions on how to consign, please feel free to contact me via the contact tab on my blog and I will gladly help you.

If you Give A Mom A Muffin

2012-06-18T09:31:00.000-05:00

- An original poem by Beth Brubaker.

Let's Play Ball!!!

2012-05-18T08:30:00.000-05:00

It's that time of the year again...baseball season! Our only son eats, sleeps, and breathes baseball. This is his second year in the sport. Last year, they played T-ball. This year he's moved up to the pitching machine and he loves it. He's a great ball player and really enjoys the sport. We spend at least two nights a week at the baseball fields watching him and my nephew play. They both share the same jersey number: lucky number 7!

Here are a few highlights from the season thus far:

He's outta there!

Lucky Sevens: Tyler and Dakota

Here batter batter, SWING!

Before the first game! Ready for ball.

Garden Update

2012-05-17T08:56:00.000-05:00

It's been over a month since I've posted here! WOW! There was a time when I would post two to three times a day and now I have trouble finding time to post more than once a month. Life in the fast lane...

I took a couple of pictures of the garden yesterday. The squash plants are doing awesome and so are the tomato plants! The kids eagerly get out of bed in the mornings to get ready for school in order to water the garden. Since tomorrow is their last day and then they are out for summer, I guess I will take on the watering chore myself when I get Brien off to work each morning.

The cucumber plant and watermelon plants are also doing well, but the okra and cantaloupe just did not take off. They are still alive and green, but not much bigger than when we planted them. They are on the end of the garden farthest away from the sun, so I just wonder if the house blocks out too much of the sun and they aren't getting enough sunlight for growth. Either way, I keep watering them daily hoping they'll start shooting up. We'll see.

The end view of the garden.

A good view of some beautiful yellow blossoms!

Our Garden

2012-04-13T08:39:00.000-05:00

Hubby decided that he wanted to plant a garden in a spot at the end of the house. There were some flowering bushes there when we moved in, but we cut them out and there has just been a void there for many years. We decided that this year we wanted to take advantage of this spot and plant a small vegetable garden.

The workers were plenty as the clearing began in the future garden. The kids were super excited to help cultivate the soil in preparation for the new spot. Tyler was saving some worms in case he talked Dad into going fishing afterward!

Even Shelby was excited to get a little dirt under her fingernails.

Emily was prepared with her rain boots on!

There you have it, the finished product. There are tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, okra, red bell pepper, and cantaloupe. We're excited to see how they all turn out. Brien got this soaker hose that you hook up to your water hose and it lets the water slowly seep out. I've never used one before. Tonight we just watered it normally, but that soaker hose will be nice when the weather gets toasty!

The Easter Egg Hunt

2012-04-12T08:30:00.000-05:00

The Race is on!

Emily is on the look out!

Shelby was piling them in her basket!

Tyler was excited about this find!

After the hunt the girls decided to egg themselves.

Someone pulled the ole switcharoo on Shelby!

The boys played baseball with the eggs...see the green one Tyler missed?
By his boot.

Emily found a prize egg!!!

Easter Recap in Pictures

2012-04-11T08:30:00.000-05:00

The view during sunrise service.

This year we celebrated Easter as we have in the past. We attended a sunrise service. The kiddos were super excited because we allowed them to go in their pajamas since it was outside and a bit cool Sunday morning. They took along their snuggies and wore their fleece pajamas. The service was beautiful and very touching. Afterward we headed to McDonald's for a quick breakfast before heading home to dawn our "Sunday best" Easter outfits. The rest of this post sums up the morning. Come back tomorrow for photos of the big Easter Egg Hunt of twenty twelve!

The loot!!

Even the Easter Bunny knows Emily loves elephants!

Tyler was happy to find a baseball themed basket!

Shelby gave her basket a thumbs up!

She just LOOKS sweet, I promise! ;)

Tyler is holding his "tough guy" pose!!

My three sweeties.

Brien and the kiddos Easter Morning.

My sweetie and I on Easter Morning.

Me and my sweeties.

Domain Name

2012-04-10T13:38:00.002-05:00

I have recently discovered that my domain name did not auto renew. So, "crazyworkingmom.com" was auctioned off. :( I no longer own the rights to publish under that name. I am very saddened by this fact and Go Daddy was no help when I called. They told me to go to who.godaddy.com and search for the new owner and try to buy it back. Well, I searched and had no luck. I have changed my blog back to tishblack.blogspot.com because I can no longer post to the other name. My info is still up at the other website, which I don't know if I can change or not. But, it is a very sad day for me. I'm not sure what I'll do. Since I don't do many reviews anymore, I may just keep the blogspot address for now. I just wanted to let my readers know why you can't find new posts at crazyworkingmom.com.

Coloring Easter Eggs

2012-04-10T08:30:00.000-05:00

The weather in Arkansas has been unseasonably warm, so we took advantage of the warm weather on "Good Friday" and colored our Easter Eggs. It was so nice to be able to do this messy task outdoors! The kids had a great time and there were no worries when spills occurred!

Who needs utensils...we just go knuckle deep!!

Blue Egg...blue fingers!

Thanks to Pintrest we tried dunking the eggs with an egg beater.
Results: EPIC FAIL! Getting it out was quite a task and resulted in messy fingers.

Shelby had fun dunkin'!

Tyler sports his tie dyed egg while Emily looks on.

Just a few of the 5.5 dozen eggs we colored.

Easter was a great time for our family. We are so very blessed. I will post more tomorrow on how we celebrated our Easter holiday. Did you enjoy yours?

Achoo!

2012-03-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Spring has spring!!!

This is pollen lined on the sidewalk. That yellow stuff is everywhere. It's a nuisance. It has my family and I battling sore throats, swollen eyes, and snotty noses. I was glad to see rain today to sort of wash things down. We were under the threat of tornadoes last night. Today it's a flooding risk! I guess that pollen will all go somewhere rather than changing the color of my car, porch, and outdoor furniture. Buh-bye, dear pollen...see ya next year!!!

Going through the big D...

2012-03-20T17:30:00.002-05:00

It's been over a week now, I am ready to blog about the life changing event that occurred in our family on Friday, March 9, 2012.

First I should probably give you a little bit of background info. My husband has sleep apnea. He wears a CPAP machine at night when he sleeps due to the fact that he frequently quits breathing for short amounts of time as well as snoring LOUDLY. The "mask" as we call it in our family helps him to sleep, and as an added bonus, I sleep also...most nights. Sometimes he'll spring a leak in the seal between the mask and his face when he rolls around, causing an array of crazy noises that can sound anything like a squealing pig or an exploding geyser! Before he was diagnosed, he was constantly tired and felt like even after a full night's sleep he was still exhausted. Obviously this was due to the fact that his body was not sleeping because when he'd stop breathing, he would wake up, even he didn't remember it.

Once he was diagnosed and got this CPAP machine, he began to be less tired during the day and also got more sleep at night. He was diagnosed with this condition 7 years ago. Up until recently he has had no issues with exhaustion unless there were physical reasons such as being up late, getting up early, or just physical exhaustion from work. Recently, Brien has not only been overly exhausted, but also his vision has been blurry and he's been making frequent trips to the restroom, especially in the middle of the night...which obviously only add to his exhaustion.

It was bad enough that he decided on his own accord that he needed to to the doctor. For those of you reading this that don't know my husband, that's a big deal. I knew when he said that he needed to go to the doctor, it was serious.

Brien's father is a diabetic and he'd borrowed his glucose meter to test his sugar and the first time he tested his numbers were in the high 300s. He tested after eating a late breakfast which consisted of many high carb foods at IHOP. This time the meter just said "HI". This of course means that at this point his sugar was over 600! YOWZA!!! Against advise for him to go to the ER, he decided to just wait for the office visit scheduled for the next day due mostly to the fact that we have no health insurance.

As suspected, Brien was told by his doctor that not only is he type 1 diabetic but his cholesterol is also high, so now in addition to his once a day blood pressure pill, he's added a once a day cholesterol pill as well as a twice a day glucose pill. The doctor gave Brien a few valuable pieces of information as to how to get control of this. He told him to not eat anything white: flour, sugar, potatoes, rice, etc. This will make his life much easier. He also told him to walk three miles a day. With these two things, Brien could quite possibly get rid of the pills and take back control of his health.

At first I was upset with this news. Brien is only 34 years old, but there is a history of diabetes on both sides of his family. I guess, it is inevitable that he eventually has to deal with this health issue. At the age of 34, though I do not want my husband to be having to take 4 pills a day.

The more I have thought about this and prayed about it, I have realized what a blessing this has been for our family. My husband quit smoking two years ago (April 11, 2010). This was the first step toward a healthy lifestyle. I believe that God helped him accomplish this task in preparation for this journey that we are now facing. The day after Brien was diagnosed, he went to a nearby park with a walking trail and put in his first three miles! I can happily say that I did as well. He would have never been able to complete a three mile walk if he was still smoking two packs of cigarettes a day!

Since that day, I have not missed a walk. We've both decided that we want to get healthy and fit. We're changing our eating habits as well. I realized that although we received some very devastating news that day it could have been a lot worse. We are truly a blessed family and each and every day is a gift from God. Our bodies are a temple and we should always treat them as such. This was a wake up call to our family. I pray that our story can in some way do the same for you.