Good Bye Dr. Gupta

Thursday morning we found out that Friday would be Dr. Gupta's last day! :( We were shocked to here that all of a sudden he was not going to be coming back to Goshen. He is one of our Neurologists from Fort Wayne and he comes to our office on Fridays. He is a great doctor and all of his patients say so! He was really fun to work with and really a jokster!

We planned a last-minute lunch for him. I made meatballs, Randa brought in the hoagie buns, Cheryl made a fruit salad and Laura made her famous Apple Pie! :) I think Dr. Gupta enjoyed it. Dr. Poovendran let us use his office to have the party in so he ate with us too! It was fun to hear Dr. P and Dr. Gupta share stories. Dr. VanCuren also came and ate lunch with us too! It was a lot of fun, but bittersweet as we will really miss Dr. Gupta!

You think we were missed?

Do you think that McGraw missed us when we were gone? My friend Jacinda came over and took care of him for us, but I think he still missed us! He also found his voice while we were gone. Before he would sometimes cry a little cry, but now he really meows! Since we've been home, he follows us EVERYWHERE! Like he's scared we are gonna leave him again, maybe next time he will go with us. ;) Brian says No!

On the road again...

When you spend 32 hours in the car in 4 1/2 days with a 3-year-old and 16-month-old, you have to come up with some creative ways to keep them happy! It just so happened, the cheapest way to entertain them was to roll all the windows down and just let the wind blow in their face. They were so happy! I love these pics of them! As you can see by looking at Ty's face, another way we kept him happy was Oreo's. At home, he would never be allowed to consume and many Oreo's as he did in the car....but it worked and kept him happy! :)

Time to go home...

Leaving Connecticut, Jake and Karen and the boys sent us off! Waving in the drive-way...we wished our trip was a little longer, a weekend is just so quick!

Brothers and Sisters

L to R:
Jake, Anitra, Me and Ben (Billy hiding by Jake)
Krista, Me and Karen
Ben holding Sadie while she is giving kisses to her Uncle Jake

1...2...3...CHEESE!

Really, it's next to impossible to get so many kids looking at one time and smiling. Honestly, it's hard to get 5 adults to take a really good picture, so the kids did pretty good! Aren't they all so cute? I think so!

Big Brother Billy!

Billy is growing up so fast...and he's getting tall! Anitra and I got the chance to take him to lunch and after Anitra showed him how to get the ketchup out, he said, "Auntie Anitra, you're a good teacher". How sweet! He had us laughing in the car. Senica had such a good time with him. It's neat to get to watch them play together. Billy has a huge backyard with a big sandbox and a big swingset. Senica loved being outside and playing with him! Billy also showed us how to grow a dinosaur! Doesn't that smile of his just make you smile?? :)

Miss Sadie

Don't you just want to kiss those cheeks?? Sadie is just a little sweetie! We only got to see her on Sunday afternoon, but I got plenty of picture taking done! She is such a photogenic child. She was loving the swing set area so she could try and sneak rocks in her mouth...but Krista was on top of it and Sadie couldn't get a thing past her! :)

Isn't he adorable??

Ok, so I went a little overboard with the pictures. But in defense of my photography addiction...I don't get to see my niece and nephews from Connecticut all that often. So, when I do, I have to go overboard with the pictures...but look at Bobby! He is SO CUTE! I couldn't help but take hundreds of pics! I love how he stayed in the swing until he was asleep. I think it's so cute in the one where his little fine hair is blowing in the wind!

Baby Bobby's dedication

The reason for our trip to Connecticut...our youngest nephew was being dedicated. Isn't he so cute?? He did really well at the church. He looked so handsome in his little outfit! The bottom right picture is Papa Billy holding Billy and Papa Bobby holding Bobby!

No Memory!

Ok, I am out of memory! I have deleted everything that I can to get more memory and now I just need to go to the store to get some more discs to burn pictures to, so that I can delete some pics and get some more memory! AGGGHHH!! I have all these pics from CT. and it is KILLING me to know that they are sitting there on my camera and I can't download them to my computer. Grrrr!!! We are home safe though...keep checking for updates. I will try to do it tomorrow! :)(Tuesday)

Days 1 & 2 of CT. trip

Today we left after work to head to Connecticut to see our family out East! Brian's parents let us borrow their Sequoia and we loaded Anitra and the kids in the car. We were on the road at 6:15pm. Senica was asleep by 7:15! We stopped in Ohio and stayed the night where Seth was staying b/c his team was playing in the NCCAA Nationals. We got to the hotel around 11:30pm. Friday, we got up and left at 10:01am. We stopped in Clearfield, PA and had a wonderful lunch at the Dutch Pantry Family Restaurant. We were into NY at 5:36 and CT at 7:33pm. We got to Jake and Karen's around 9:30pm. It was a long day, but the kids did really great considering how long we had spent in the car. Ty only had 2 break downs and Senica just one! 16 hours in the car - we were thankful how well the kids did!

My tanks

Mom called last night and said that the gas pricing were going up today (she has an inside source) so I got a full tank of gas in the Jeep! BTW, gas went DOWN today. Oh well, it was just 3 cents...not 30!

Then I saw a shirt today on the computer that said - Living with Diabetes is like the gas tank in your car...You don't move if you overfill and you're in trouble when your empty!

Today was a challenging day for me. Usually my blood sugars are good and if they are high/low I can get them fixed pretty fast. But for some reason, my fasting BS was 147 which is high...especially when I didn't have supper the night before. I wasn't feeling well last night so I thought maybe that was why. So, I took some insulin, had some coffee and my BS went up to 275. Throughout the day, I had ranged from low 60's to 275. Not good.

It's hard to explain to a non-diabetic how it makes you feel. When it's getting low, I can feel it dropping. When it's getting high, I usually get a really bad headache and just want to close my eyes. It really wears me out. All the changing of the levels makes me tired!

Sometimes it is so frustrating!! I hate it. I don't usually have that many days like this and I try to be thankful that at least I have a treatable disease.

A special thanks to ALL of my co-workers. They are really good with me and know that I am a little irritable when my sugar is out of whack. Cheryl was so nice to let me go home a little early today! Randa made sure that my sugar was back up before I drove home and Dr. wouldn't take my word that I had juice in my purse....he made me show it to him as I walked out the door!

An even more special thanks to my mama who brought me lunch. I called her to tell her about my sugars and she asked if she could bring me lunch. All I asked was for a PB sandwich, some carrots and a banana. She showed up with a thing of strawberries, 3 bananas, a loaf of bread, a jar of PB, string cheese and little juice jars! Isn't she the best mom ever!! Thanks mom!

Church League Softball

Tonight was Brian's first game of church league softball. I guess he was trying to break up a double-play so he slid into second base. The cat was really curious when Brian got home and was rubbing up against his leg...Brian was whining that it hurt! I don't think he'll be sliding into anymore bases anytime soon. He doesn't realize how old he is getting! ha

Boat for Sale

Anyone interested in buying a boat?? PLEASE let me know if you are!

Guess what we're having??

So I got this post all ready to publish, then I looked at my sister's blog. I had the exact same title as her. SCARY!

So, here's the update on our newest addition....She's a GIRL!! 4 Girls for April and Brian. April was talking tonight about how someday Janae will be 19, Brenna - 17, Adria - 14 and the newest addition - 13! 4 weddings...and how many proms??

We are so excited that April is doing well (no blood sugar issues with this one) and the baby is too!! We are excited!

A night in the life of Graw...

So Ty was wanting so bad to play with McGraw. McGraw usually wants nothing to do with Ty...or Brenna. They both chase him unmercifully! Well, Graw finally thought he was ok when he hid in the corner by the planting soil, but Ty had better ideas. That little stinker, crawled right back there to get the cat! Well, Graw ran away and as you can see, Ty finally gave up...he was tuckered out!

Ty loved the balloons!

Ty was upset...so I gave him my balloons! D0esn't this one picture remind you of "Where's Waldo?"

The BEST Birthday Ever!

Well, today was my 28th birthday! It was my best birthday yet. I had such a wonderful day! At midnight, Brian gave me my next to last gift, a travel Cubs mug for my morning coffee! :) When I was on my way to work, I found a sweet card from my husband in my purse. At work, I had a card waiting for me from my boss' and co-worker. Then, my whole department went together and had a carry-in lunch for me! It was amazing!!! I mean, a full meal people! A goulash main dish, salad, garlic bread, Diet Coke and CAKE!! There was a vase of fresh Gerbera Daisies and a planter of them as well! The table was decorated with a tablecloth with Gerbera Daisies and plates to match! It's was so neat...and to top it all off, balloons! Don't I have the best people to work with??

When I got home, Brian was ready to take me to dinner and I was thinking that I couldn't eat another bite! But, you know me, I managed to do so! We went to Texas Roadhouse and it was delicous! When we got home, Anitra, Senica and Ty brought down a birthday cake that they made for me! :) That was really yummy too!

Throughout the day I had a bunch of phone calls, my favorite being my calls from my nieces, singing to me! I also had a bunch of emails and cards from friends and family...my favorite email being from my nephews, Billy and Bobby in Connecticut! :)

Happy Birthday Jacinda!

 

Happy Birthday Friend!! Today is Jacinda's birthday...and in all of the Mother's Day excitement, I didn't want her day to go un-noticed! Jacinda and I have been friends for over 20 years! AGGHHH That makes us sound old! These pictures of from our 2 trips to Florida. Jacinda hates flying and hates bridges...so I am so proud of her for flying twice to Florida, surviving the bus trip home with the baseball team, driving over bridges in Florida and on the way to Chicago with me! She's my travel buddy! :) She is a great friend and an awesome inspiration to me! I am sure that we will be old ladies, playing cards together in a nursing home someday...still celebrating our birthdays together!

The boys...

 

So this is really the last of my Mother's Day pictures. With so much going on, I kinda missed taking pictures!

Brian and I ended up having a full house today. We had Brian's mom, Grandma Pottenger, April, Janae, Brenna, Adria, Papa Bobby and Mom, Anitra and Seth, Senica, Ty, Marty and Joyce (Seth's parents), Ethan and Maddie and my friend Jonathan!

We had ribs and chicken which my wonderful husband made...and macaroni salad, rice, corn on the cob, peaches, broccoli and cheese and cresent rolls. We also had 2 peanut butter pies and one dutch apple pie (I cheated and bought this).

It was a full house and a busy day, but we loved it! Brian managed to sneak in about a 2 hour nap and I got about 45 mintues!

Anitra and the kids came back down for dinner and to play the Wii and color. It was really a great day and I am so blessed! God has blessed me with a wonderful husband who helped me clean the house for our company and mowed the yard and ran to the store to get me more cool whip and who cooked the meat and did ALL the dishes. All of them people!!! And on top of this, let me run off to Chicago the day before so I could have a girls day!

So yes, I am tired, but I couldn't think of a better day to be tired from!!

By the way, the picture is Seth, his mom, youngest brother Ethan and of course, Ty!

Generations

 

 

So really, can you get this many kids in one picture and have everyone smiling and looking at the camera? I think not! :)

The 3 most important women

 

Have I mentioned how blessed I am? My mom is a wonderful mother who has sacrificed a lot for us kids! The older I get, the more I realize all of what my mom has done for us. When something good, something bad, something funny happens to me, other than my husband, these are my first 3 phone calls! The most important women in my life!!

Thank you mom for everything you have given, taught and sacrificed for me! I love you so much and am so thankful that God made you my mom! Thank you for loving me...unconditionally!

Great Sisters...Great Mother's!!

 

Over the past week, I managed to take Brenna and Janae shopping and then on another day I took Senica shopping. I gave each of the girl's some money and let them pick out what they wanted to get their mom's for Mother's Day. Brenna was sensible and wanted to get her mom a loofah because her's broke. Janae wanted to get her mom a tape because their van doesn't have a CD player. Can you believe we couldn't find tapes anywhere!? Well, Janae and Brenna wanted to get April some scrapbooking supplies, so that is what they decided on. Of course, it was from Adria too! :)

Senica wanted to get her mom some towels. Isn't that so funny? I was cracking up at the things the girl's thought their mom's would want. After 3 stores, Senica decided to get her mom a Willow Tree Angel to add to her collection. I thought the brother and sister one was cute...Senica wanted to get the one that has the angel holding a little house. It says Mi casa es su casa. How fitting is that??

I think both sisters were happy with their gifts. I had so much fun with the girls shopping! I am blessed with such great nieces! Which brings me to the title of this post...Great Mother's!

My sisters are such great mom's! I see them with their kids and what a great job they are doing and it makes me so proud. Janae talks like an adult now, because April has taught her a great vocabulary! I can remember when she was 2 and I gave her a milkshake and she said "This is delicious!" Brenna, is such a cuddler and is so sweet and loving and she is loving like that because April is loving and always cuddling with her. Senica said please and thank to me so many times today that I lost count and I was really trying to keep count of it. I think it must have been at least 40 times! Anitra has always taught Senica how important it is to use her manners. Ty and Adria are already showing their personalities and I know that they will turn out to be wonderful listeners and loving children just like their siblings because of the awesome mom's they have. My only hope is that someday I can be as good of a mom to my children as my sister's are with theirs! I think I will because I have really good mentors! :)

Happy Mother's Day!

 

Today at church, the little kids got up and sang songs for the mother's. Senica did a great job, she did the motions and we could really hear her singing! Anitra was down in front and has been working with the kids for weeks on these songs. She does a great job with the kids. I had to get a picture of her "directing"! :)

It was such a special day because we had my Grandma Pottenger and Brian's mom, Linda, at church with us.

Our first guests for the day arrived at 9:30am. Our last guest left at 9:33pm!! I am ready for bed!! And a trip to the spa! ha!!

Back to Wrigley!

 

One of my very best friends, Jacinda, is one day older than me. We have been friends since elementary school and we are both huge Cubs fans! She loves Ramirez (he's growing on me) and I love D. Lee! :) So, for our birthday we took a trip to Chicago to go to the game! We had a blast and the day went way too fast!

There was a girl sitting right in front of Jacinda and it was her birthday, then Jacinda's birthday is Sunday, mine is Monday, the girl next to Jacinda's birthday was the day before and the guy right in front of her, his birthday is Tuesday! Can you believe that?? We have 5 consecutive days covered in our little "birthday" section!

I came home and baked some pies to get ready for Mother's Day lunch and made the macaroni salad. After that, I was ready for bed! :)

It's my Birthday Month!!!

 

So tonight after work Brian said that he was gonna go do my birthday shopping (my birthday is May 12). Anitra, Seth and the kids came down for supper after Brian got home and right after supper there was a present on the table. Brian said, "Ok your present is on the table. You can open it tonight or Friday or Saturday"...I asked him if I would need it for Saturday (I am going to the Cubs game). He said "open your present!" :) Isn't it awesome??? I am so excited!!! He did great! :) I love it! One of my very best friends is one day older than me and she is a huge Cubs fan too! We are going to have a girl's day at the game! I am really looking forward to it!

Isn't my husband awesome though?? I'm so impressed! ;)