prepare your heart for... Christmas!!

"The story of Christ's birth is a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love...."
{from}
This Christmas I have promised myself to keep the reason for CHRISTmas the main focus in my heart. Its easy to get lost in all the hustle and bustle, feel overwhelmed and stressed and ultimately spend way too much money and go even further into debt. This year I'm turning my focus on something else... something that makes me extremely excited to start preparing for Christmas!!




Visit http://www.adventconspiracy.org to learn how to
[Worship Fully]
[Spend Less]
[Give More]
[Love All]

Surprise!!

I've tried several times to write about the feelings that this video gives me, but nothing I write sounds worthy of the emotions that I feel.  Since yesterday was Veteran's Day, I thought that this was a great day to share this with you all.  I would have posted this yesterday, but I spent the entire day babysitting the most adorable little girl in the whole world. 

I am forever grateful for the men and women who serve our country, and the families that support them.  They sacrifice so much to ensure my freedom, and for that I am humbled and give thanks!

fill in the blank friday

YIPEE!!!  It's time for Fill in the Blank Friday!!! It has been an incredibly long week -- full of physical therapy, getting our rental house ready {our old renters moved out on Sunday and we have new renters moving in tomorrow}, bible babes study with my girlfriends, After I Do bible study with Dustin and a few other couples, lots of work and doing my best not to get sick!!  I am so ready for this weekend!!

Today's Fill in the Blank Friday is all about hair!!!  If you want to join in the fun, jump on over to The Little Things We Do!!!

1.  My last haircut was   in the beginning of September.  I tried out a new way of coloring hair called color melting, and I absolutely love the results!!  If you are looking for someone fabulous to take care of your beautiful locks... call Chris at Mane Attraction 602.956.2996    

2.  My most daring hair moment was   probably when I added bangs to my hair style.  It was {and is} so popular that I had to try it.  But in the end it just made me look younger than I am -- which if you know me, is not something I want.   

3.  A hairstyle I'd never be brave enough to try is   any really short haircut.  I love it on so many people -- but my face is so round {and I have big cheeks} that I think it would look like a disaster on me.      

4.  I've always dreamt of being a (blonde, brunette or red-head)   brunette.  i LOVE when my hair is dark... but Dustin doesn't.  The things we do for men  ;o)    

5.  My go-to hair do is   straight and down.  I pretty much just get out of the shower and let it air dry.  

6.  My biggest hair disaster was   when I went to a new hairstylist to get my hair cut and colored before being in two weddings.  I asked her to color it and just trim the bottoms.  The color was horrible... I looked like I had more roots than I did before I went in, she chopped of over six inches and gave me layers.  I cried for days over that!!       

7.  A hairsyle I am dying to try is   and am trying with great success is curling my hair.  My hair has never held curl until recently, and I love it!!  If only it would magically look this way when I wake up.  I hate spending extra time on my hair in the morning!!  

8.  My best hair day was   probably my bachelorette party!!  One of my girlfriends who is a hair stylist did my hair, and I absolutely adored it.  If I could have my hair look like that all the time, I probably would!!  

9.  The worst hairstyle I ever had was   probably the perm I had all throughout the 80's and early 90's.  I loved it at the time, but looking back it was so wrong.  I can still smell the chemicals.
10.  My hair is   very fine and very straight!!  I wish I had hair that I could go a few days without washing before I became one big grease ball.  

**If you want to see an update of all my hair styles -- check out my 30th birthday post with a picture of me at every year!!

too busy to sit

{via}

It feels so cliche to ask this... but where does the time go?  Dustin and I are so busy lately that we hardly have time to spend with each other.  It's a good thing that we live in the same house or I swear we wouldn't talk.  Dustin is busy with school, trying to get his real estate license and working at Intel.  For me, it is our busiest time of year at ASU since course registration for next semester opened two days ago.  To top it off it is wedding season in Arizona and I am now working with two photographers.  That always makes my "free time" not so free... but I don't mind the extra money and I love the work!! 

Style Me Saturday's

I definitely don't claim to be a fashionista... in fact I feel like I really don't have much of a fashion sense at all.  If I had to label myself anything, I am much more of a plain jane kind of girl and I completely attribute this to three things {1} I don't LOVE to shop {2} clothes cost too much money {3} having fabulous clothes means I have to do my hair and makeup, which means that I have to wake up much earlier for work  ;o)

But... I dream about being fashionable, and having a wardrobe that my friends drool over.  I look through the fashion magazines and day dream about having a closet filled with the latest trends.  Do you have any celebrities that every time you see a picture of them you just adore their style?  My two favorites are Lauren Conrad and Lo Bosworth.  Those girls are just adorable, always looking so put together and extremely classy!!

Yesterday, I found a great new website to play on that let me pretend to shop for some expensive and amazing clothes, and put them all together in a collage.  I'm calling this Style Me Saturday.  I am going to pretend that I am walking around LA with one of my closest friends who I haven't seen in months, a Pumpkin Spice Latte in hand shooting the sh*t and looking fashionable while doing it {instead of working the ASU block party wearing old worn jeans and an ASU shirt which is what I am doing today}.

click here to see all of the elements

Fill In The Blank Friday

Do you know what day it is???  And do you know what that means.... Fill in the Blank Friday!!! This week is homecoming at ASU, so its been a lot of fun to see all the activities on campus.  But that also means that this isn't really a "Friday" for me since I will be working at the homecoming block party tomorrow.  Oh well... anything for my Sun Devils

1.  My Halloween plans this year will include   passing out candy at my parents house. It's always fun to see all the trick-or-treaters.  Also, our church is having a festival on Halloween night so we may try to check that out too!!    

2.  My most memorable Halloween costume was   being able to be a genie one year.  I don't think it's because the costume was particularly special, but more because it was the first year I was excited for Halloween.  Thats me to the left  :o)   

3.  For Halloween this year I'm going to be  nothing  :o(     

4.  I've always wanted to dress up as   Scarlett from Gone With The Wind.   Even though it would obnoxious to walk around in that costume, I think it would be so much fun to feel so pretty!!    

5.  Halloween free association!   pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin seeds, candy corn {especially the hersheys kiss kind}!!    

6.  The wors thing about Halloween is   that it has become an excuse for girls of any age to get slutty.  Seriously, I didn't want to see you in your bra and underwear yesterday, and I definitely don't want to see it today!!  Go home and put on some clothes!!      

7.  The best thing about Halloween is   watching the kids trick or treat. I love seeing how excited and nervous some of the kids are... and always how proud they are with their costume.    

Praise & Thanksgiving 2

{via}

Its a miracle... literally!!!  We have rented Dustin's house!!  YIPEE!!!

Over the last year we have been saving money for this exact time.  We knew there would come a time when our current renters would move out and when we would wait for new ones to move in.  We assumed that with the economy, as well as our asking price, we probably would have a few months while the house sat unrented.  So we followed Dave Ramsey's advice... and prepared!!  We saved enough to cover a little over two months of all the expenses of having that house sit empty.

A few weeks ago my old roommate, Alyssa, randomly asked me when Dustin's house would be up for rent.  She knew some people looking for a place to rent.  At that point we had only listed it on Craigslist once {with just a few inquiries}, and asked a ridiculous amount in rent (about $300 more than what we currently rent at), just to see if we had anyone bite.  Fast forward to last Friday when Alyssa's friends came over to look at the place. They asked all the right questions, but neither Dustin or I could really tell if they were interested.  We walked away thinking that most likely nothing would come from this situation, and Dustin posted another ad on Craigslist.  Within the next hour we got a text message from the guy who came to look saying that they were interested and would like to sign a lease.  They would be able to move in as soon as we would have it available!!  And the best part is, we were able to rent it at what we currently rent it at so we aren't losing any money.

Our current renters will move out at the end of the month, and we will have the new renters in the house only a week later!!  PRAISE GOD!!!   This has been a huge answer to prayers for us!!  Dustin is going to most likely kill me for writing this, but he actually got a little teary eyed when he got the text and he told me how good God has been to us!!  AMEN!!  One of our biggest fears has been the thought of what would happen if we couldn't rent his house, and if we possibly had to walk the path to foreclosure.  We have been working so hard to get out of debt entirely {all except house}and really maximize our savings, and we are making such HUGE strides! And as it turns out, we will be able to continue to put money towards our an emergency rental fund and continue to save!!

God is good!!

My first 30 years

Last week I turned 30!!  Amazing -- where did the time go {and how come I can't get My Next Thirty Years by Tim McGraw out of my head?!?!}  I know this sounds a little cheesy, but I've spent a lot of time reflecting on these last thirty years, probably since this is the first time that I actually feel like an adult.   I think I will keep these fun thoughts for another post -- but I really did have something I wanted to share with you!!  At least once a month {if not more often} I am told that I look like I am anywhere from 15-21 years old.  It got me to thinking, do I really look any different?  So I found a picture for every age!!  Personally, I think I look a lot different than I did at 15.  Regardless, I have been blessed with a very youthful appearance  ;o)  Enjoy!!

Fill in the Blank Friday

It's time for Fill in the Blank Friday!!! This has been an interesting week {for lack of better words}.  Not great, not bad, just interesting.  I am so happy that this week is over!!

{via}

1.  I am   30 years old...YIKES!   

2.  I wish   that there were more hours in the day.  There is so much that I want to do, so many things that I want to accomplish, but there doesn't seem to be enough time to get it all done   

3.  I like   that the weather is starting to cool off, and that I will probably be able to wear my UGGS this weekend.     

4.  I can   do anything I put my heart to  :o)  At least that is what my parents always told me, and I thank God that they always lifted me up and believed in me.    

5.  I hope   that we are able to rent out my husbands house very soon!!  We have someone coming to look at it today, so please say a little prayer!!  

6.  I think   that America needs to slow down a little, and spend more time enjoying life.      

7.  I was   so cold in bed last night that I almost needed to get another blanket!!!  I love AZ in October!!!  

Fill In the Blank Friday

It's time for Fill in the Blank Friday!!! This week has gone by exceptionally slow - so it's nice to have something to look forward too. If you want join in the fun, jump on over to the little things we do :o) HAPPY FRIDAY!!

{via}

1.  Blogging is   an escape for me to write about whatever I want… important or not.It’s also a way to keep our family in Oregon updated on all that is happening with my husbands recent Type 1 diagnosis –including our journey with food therapy.   

2.  A current fashion trend I wish I was brave enough to wear is   the harem pants. I love them – and I think they look great on long and lean models. But someone who is 5’1… I’m not sure the style is made for those of us with little legs. Not sure what I’m talking about click here .   

3.  My greatest accomplishment in life thus far is    earning my Masters while working full time.   

4.  If I had to choose between a mountain or a beach vacation I'd choose   any beach, any time, anywhere!!!  

5.  A talent I wish I had is   surfing!! I’m not sure if that is a talent or if it’s a skill. Either way I wish I wasn’t deathly afraid of sharks and could get my butt on a surfboard. That seems like sheer bliss to me.   

6.  A talent I do have is   is being the best shower singer in the entire world… just trust me ;)   

7.  This week   is almost over and I am counting down the last 48 hours of being in my twenties.  

praise and thanksgiving 1

On my drive to work today, I was listening to klove and they were having listeners call in for a day of praise.  It got me thinking... what is a praise in my life, and what am I thankful for.  If I started living every moment thinking of all that was going well, I would probably be a lot happier and much more content.  Of course, there are always the obvious... I am thankful for my husband, my family, my career, my house, etc.  But honestly, those are the standard responses anyone would say.  I want to really think about the small things that make my life better each day.  I thought this would be a great place to document and share... the little things that God has given me.

Today I am very thankful for Elana's Pantry Chocolate Chip Cookies!!  My mom makes us a batch almost every week {another thing I am thankful for} and we ADORE them!!  Honestly, they are better than any other cookie out there!!!  Now this may not seem like much of anything to be thankful for, especially for those of you who don't have food allergies.  But for us... this is BIG {and yummy}!!!

2 ½ cups blanched almond flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup agave nectar
1 cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao

1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
2. Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry
4. Form ½ inch balls and press onto a parchment lined baking sheet
5. Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes
6. Cool and serve
 

Fill in the blank... Monday

For a while I have been blog stalking the musings of Lauren at The Little Things We Do. It's always a nice retreat from the day to day happening that we call life {and maybe, just sometimes... work}.  I decided that instead of continuing to be the cyber-stalker that I am, I may just take up one of her fun little activities called Fill in the Blank Friday.  As you probably know, its not Friday.  But lets face it, Friday was busy!  So I will start this just a little fashionable late.  And seeing that I am absolutely exhausted from a very busy and fun weekend, the coffee in this picture puts a nice little smile on my face.

1.  The first thing I do in the morning to start my day is    get in the shower and stand in the warm water until I have convinced myself that there is no way I can go back to bed.  Then I brush my teeth, make the bed, put on some clothes and rush out the door to go to work.  Writing this makes me realize that I need a more relaxed morning, because it really sets a tone for the rest of my busy day.    

2.  Today I wish I was   still in bed after getting home so late from last nights Jack Johnson concert. It was an incredible concert, and absolutely blew away all my expectations {especially since Zee Avi opened - and in case you didn't know I ♥ Zee Avi}.  

3.  If I had an extra $100 in my bank account today I'd   run to the mall to find something fabulous to wear at my Dirty 30 bash this Saturday.   

4.  Tomorrow   I have bible study with my Bible Babes.  I can't wait to spend some time in the Word and with my dear friends.    

 5.  Two things that don't go together are   grilled cheese and tomato soup.  I don't care who you are... that is just not right!! 

6.  Something I can never pass up at the grocery store is   US Weekly and People Magazine.  Thankfully Dustin has finally come to terms {after six years} that this is a mild, yet sick, obsession.  And he knows that if I am ever in a down mood and he brings me one of these, I will instantly be better.   

7.  The last time I tried something new was   last week when I started eating salads with only EVOO as a dressing.  This may not seem that adventurous, but I was really sad about it {since D and I have eliminated vinegar from our diet for a few weeks} until I realized that EVOO is really all you need.    

2 new loves

During our trip to Maui I came across two things that I now love dearly... Sanuks and Donovan Frankenreiter.

We spent almost every night at Donovan Frankenreiters bar right down the street from our hotel.  I'm not gonna lie... we spent almost every night there and I had never ever heard of Donovan Frankenreiter.  Come to learn he is good friends with Jack Johnson (my second husband) and he is a singer/songwriter/pro-surfer who lives in Hawaii.  Who would have known?!?!

The last day of the trip we headed to the Sanuk store in Old Lahaina Town.  A few of our friends, guys and girls, had purchased some when they were in Oahu before meeting us in Maui.  They were really cute, and looked super comfy.  One quick stop at the Sanuk store on our way to the airport and my life is forever changed.  Okay... that may be a bit of an exaggeration, but these are honestly the most comfortable shoes ever.  Maybe that is because the bottom is made of a yoga mat?!  Both Dustin and I bought a pair, and haven't taken them off since.  On the left is a link to they style that I purchased (and am wearing right at this moment).  Your feet will thank you... I promise!! 

Just to make it all a little sweeter, I learned that Donovan Frankenreiter is an official Sanuk spokesman.  Who would have known that two great things would join forces and become a shoe industry superhero  ;o)

Green Smoothie for Diabetics

Check out the Type 1 page for more information....

New Type 1 Post

Check out the Type 1 page for an update in our Type 1 world!!

Blessings!!

the POINTS paid off!!

For years Dustin has been accumulating points while he travels for his job.... hotel points, airline points, rental car points.  Anything that has points associated with it - he has been earning it!!  It seems like we have been waiting forever to reap the benefits of his travel (selfishly I have been waiting for the day when I would benefit from it).  And just recently it seems like we are using them... ALL!!!

This last month has been crazy!!  First, I had the opportunity to join Dustin in Europe for a week.  I was able to fly for free on his United points.  That trip was incredible - far greater than anything we could have imagined.  I know... I know... I still need to blog about it, share some of our favorite stories and pictures.  Believe it or not though, I/we have been so busy since returning from Europe that I haven't even looked at the pictures.  That post will come soon though, I promise!!

Last weekend we traveled to San Diego with some of my family.  Dustin and I stayed in the gaslamp district of SD with my cousin Maile and her husband Jeremy.  The boys combined their Marriott points and we were able to have all of our hotel charges covered!!  The reason for our trip was because my cousin, Zak, proposed to his amazing girlfriend Krystal on the beach in Coronado.  Dustin was the paparazzi that caught the whole thing on our camera, and we were able to celebrate with them the rest of the weekend!!  I had a fun part in the proposal and was able to help Zak make some of his creative ideas come to reality.  It was a really special day.  Zak has always meant so much to me - more than I think he even knows!!  He has been like a brother in every sense that there is!!  He has made fun of me, punched me in the face (literally when I was about 5 and he was 3), stood up for me, included me and loved me!!  I would do anything to see him happy - and I am so happy that I could be a small part of this special day for the two of them.  He found an incredible girl who loves him so much and has the sweetest heart in the entire world.  They are such a fun couple to be around, and I seriously couldn't feel more blessed that she is joining our family!! Here are just a few pictures

In two weeks we leave for Maui with 15 friends!!  Again, we are using Dustin's United points so that both of us can fly for free (which is a good thing since we are broke), and we are staying with friends/family to reduce the hotel costs. We haven't even had time to think about what we are going to do once we are there.  But as long as I can sit on the beach and ride on a catamaran I will be happy!!

It has been an incredible, and extremely tiring, month of travel!!  I am pretty sure we are going to be living off of salads and omelettes for the rest of the year just to save money - but we know it will be worth it!!

Outside of travel we have both been very busy.  Dustin is taking two classes towards his Masters in Material Science Engineering at ASU while finishing up his classes in real estate.  Don't worry, he won't be quitting his day job - this is just something that he has always wanted to pursue.  I have been busy as wedding season starts to gear up again.  I have a few post-processing jobs that I am working on.  I am also teaching a Freshman Seminar class at ASU this semester every Wednesday.  My Bible Babes group is meeting again every Tuesday, and every other Wednesday evening Dustin and I go to a small group bible study for newly married couples.  Some days I'm not even sure how we fit it all in... but we do, and thankfully our relationship isn't suffering because of it.

Hopefully my next post won't be too far from now  :o)

Lead Me

Its no secret that the dating and courtship part of our relationship was one of ups and downs and lots of heartache.  There were more times than I care to admit that I wondered if we would make it.  For years I did what I thought was best, and held on as tight as I could to a relationship that at the time was moving no where.  And I will never forget one day after bible study standing in the parking lot with my aunt Joni and bible study leader Becki, and crying tears of relief - knowing that I couldn't hold on any longer.  I had to let go, and give it all to God.  By holding on so tightly I was acting like I had control over something that only God had control of.  That was one of the scariest moments of my life, because sometimes when you surrender control to God, the outcome is much different than what you were hoping for... always better - but often different.  That day I surrenedered it all and just began to pray that God would bring a man into my life that would walk in faith with me (desperately hoping that the man God had in mind was Dustin).  I never knew where Dustin would end in his life of faith, and I never wanted to be one that pushed him towards Christ. I knew that it was a personal decision for him, and only him.  It had to be something he would seek on his own.  It was nothing I could ever make him do.  Almost two years later I married Dustin, a completely different person than the man I dated... he had grown into an amazing man of faith!!  The transformation in his life and in our relationship has been incredible to say the very least.  God gave me so much more than I could have ever hoped for.  Strangely enough - the reason that Dustin became so strong in his walk of faith had nothing to do with me and had everything to do with another person in Dustins life completely seperate of me or my family.  It is an incredible testimony that only Dustin can share.

Lately, this song has been playing on Air1, the radio station I listen to.  I love it because I know the story of why it was written (the video below explains), and I remember at one time praying for the same thing.  And today I am married to a man who is leading me to Christ in everything I do.  He is an incredible support and partner!!  When I surrendered it all to God almost two years ago, I never would have imagined that this would be my life today.  It is so much better than anything I hoped for or thought was possible.


The Story Behind "Lead Me" - Sanctus Real from BrightBulb Entertainment on Vimeo.

How I almost didn't make it to Europe

Here is an email I sent to Dustin while in DC waiting to get to Europe...

To say that this morning was stressful is the biggest understatement I've made in years!! I only slept for a few hours last night. I was up the majority of the night worrying about the flight from DC to Geneva. Praying that God would give my heart peace and not be worried. I was frazzled this morning, my heart in constant prayer. But I got up and checked things off my list. Passport - check. Marriage license - check. Camera - check. All the chargers - check. I even made a list for Joni of all our credit important numbers and contact phone numbers, and I gave her all the info on my passport. We even made a copy for me to take and her to have. Get in the car, say a prayer together and head to the airport. We get there with lots of time to share. Joni said I should get my passport and license out. Passport... Passport... Passport! Where the heck is my passport. Minor panic, but its gotta be somewhere. Joni goes to look in the car and I start going through everything. NOTHING!! We change roles... I go to look in the car and Joni calls Robin to have him check the copy machine, the bedroom, the garage, the kitchen counter. NOTHING!! Major Panic!! I can't find it, Joni can't find it, Robin can't find it. The agent can't check me in without my passport and says they only have about 25 more minutes to check me in, in order to get my bags on the flight. Now I am starting to wonder if God doesn't want me to go - maybe its a sign. But how will I get a hold of you?!?! Almost tears, but I'm fighting them. Then.. Robin calls, he found it. He looked in the wrong copier. But now we are racing the clock, he has to get to the airport. Now I am crying. The agent is asking where he is coming from wondering if he will make it. They say he won't, but I know he will. Robin shows up with about 5 minutes to spare to get my bags checked. He said he broke almost every traffic law to get there - and he almost ran out of the house naked. Drove in the carpool lane when he couldn't and went 70-75mph. But he got there. Huge relief and even more tears of relief. Now my emotions are running really high, and saying goodbye to Joni is even more hard! But... I made it. I'm on the plane as I speak. I will hopefully be able to get a hold of you when I am in DC. I love you so much and I can't wait to see you!!
Praying your travel experience has been less eventful than mine.
Leah
 
This was just the beginning of my eventful day!!  So much more happened.  Thankfully I made it to Geneva so now it is all just a funny memory!!

Switzerland/Germany Day 1

Hi family!!! Just a quick hello from Switzerland.  Thought I would post on the blog since it is a good way of keeping a journal of our travels!!  After quite the day of traveling mishaps and adventures (I will post an email I sent to Dustin about my morning adventure - because it is really funny in retrospect!!)  we have had quite the incredible day here. Once we got in we went straight to the hotel and checked in and took about a 4 hour nap. Thanks to the xanax, half ambien, and wine I had in DC (not to mention the time change) I was really tired.


After the nap we did lots of exploring since we had absolutely no idea of what to do. We are staying at the cutest hotel just a block from the beach - huge thanks to my mom who found the place for us!! We have learned that Geneva is known to be one of the most expensive cities in Europe. Dustin's salad at a little bistro was $21. In the evening we went to the beautiful St Pierre cathedral. We couldn't go in since it closed early, but maybe tomorrow. Apparently it was John Calvins home church during the time of the protestant reformation. Tonight we had an incredible dinner of the lake where we could watch the fireworks for the Geneva Festival. Another little jewel we just stumbled upon.

Tomorrow we are going to do a walking tour of Geneva and go to the United Nations building, then head to Zermatt. Zermatt is a small little town that is home to the Matterhorn! Being that I love Disneyland more than anything else, we figured that we couldn't miss this! As you probably figured, the Disneyland Matterhorn is a small scale replica of the actual mountain. In Zermatt they don't allow cars, so we have to leave our car in a structure about 30 miles away in Tasch and take a train in. I can't wait!!
 
I am posting pics on facebook as our day goes by, so if you have an account you can see pictures there!!  Love you all!!!

New Type 1 post

Click on the Type 1 button above to see the latest updates in our Type 1 Diabetes world  :o)

Type 1 Update

Click on the Type 1 link above for the most recent post from Dustin

Interior Design

I felt like it was time to organize our blog a little, and make it a little easier to navigate.  So... here you have it, the new and improved blog!!

Whats that??  You don't see anything different??  Okay - let me explain the small changes we did make.  First, we have added a few new pages to the blog.  So you can see by looking above that there are three links "Home"  "Type 1" and "Blogs I Like to Read".  If you click on any of these, it will take you to the respective page.  On the Type 1 page is where we are going to post all things diabetes related.  Go ahead, click on it and see the most recent (and only) post. 

When I make changes to the Type 1 page, you will not be updated through your feedburner or email Iif you subscribe to our blog.)  So, in the future I will just post a small note on this page letting you know to check out our Type 1 page.

Hope everyone is doing well!!  We are thoroughly enjoying the AZ sun, spending time in any pool we can  :o)

xoxo

gross

What happens when you don't plan ahead and you make excuses to make your life easier???  You feel like poo at the end of the day... thats what!!

I was supposed to have a lunch date with a girlfriend of mine, but at the last minute she had to reschedule.  I didn't have anything in the fridge at work that could hold me over until I got home, so I set my sights on the Memorial Union (MU).  This was my first mistake... I know deep down in my heart of hearts that there is nothing slightly healthy in the MU during the normal school year, let alone during summer session.  But I told myself that it was too hot, which it really is, to walk further for a more healthy lunch alternative.  So off to the MU I went.  My options were: Burger King, Taco Bell, Papa Johns, and Einsteins Bagels.  I quickly eliminated Einsteins because the line was long and it smelled like burnt bagels.  So... I sat for a good five minutes at the stairs trying to decide which direction to go.  And I reasoned to myself that if I was going to eat bad, I might as well eat really bad and enjoy something I haven't had in a while.  "Whopper Jr with a side of fries, please?  No drink, I have water back at my office."  Why I didn't get a soda is beyond me.  As if having water is any better after having a freaking Whopper Jr.  Oh yeah - did I tell you that I held the mayo because apparently it reduces the calories by 20% and the fat by 40%.  I am such a sucker!!

Then... some very malicious and not at all kind students brought a big box of Krispy Kreme donuts into our office to say thank you for all of our hard work.  I had to have a donut, after all I didn't want to be rude to the students who were thinking of me and thanking me for all I do.  That wouldn't be nice at all!

Then for dinner I did have something healthy, the Pesto Turkey Lavosh Wrap from Pita Jungle.  I picked it up and headed home since Dustin was working late and going to happy hour with friends.  The problem... I ate the whole thing, and half is more than enough to fill me up on a normal day!

My tummy was so mad at me last night.  I could hardly even move it hurt so bad.  And I feel so bad for Dustin - because man was I gassy.  Thank the Lord for Gas-X Extra Strength!!  I'm hoping that I have learned my lesson and won't do that again!  Its amazing how when you clean out your system, your body really has severe reactions to the "normal" food our society eats.  

Publish Post

Our Ellen inspired wedding moment

Hi friends… just thought I would share this fun little video from our wedding!! My cousin, Maile and I got very inspired by an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres show when Ellen danced with the SYTYCD dancers. So we rallied up a few of the girls in the wedding, Dustin – my all to wonderful hubby, my cousin Zak and my uncle Robin to learn the dance!! I give the guys huge props – they were not so excited about the entire thing to begin with (except for my uncle). Dustin taught Zak the entire dance in one evening a week before we left for Hawaii. All in all.. this is pretty much AWESOME!!

Don’t forget to check out Dustin’s dancing feet at 0:48 seconds – he is such a good dancer!!

Fancy Camera Workshop 2010

The Sunday of Memorial Day weekend I took part in a photography workshop hosted by **drumroll please** the amazingly talented and all too-beautiful Cristi Owen!!  We spent the first half of the day learning all of the technical aspects of photography... shutter speeds, F-stops, ISO, lighting, composure, how the camera works, what lens' do what, etc.  Then, during the second half of the day we had the opportunity to go out and practice what we had just learned.   Hope you enjoy my pictures!!

Pray for Kate

This beautiful little girl, Kate McRae, is the daughter of one of the pastors at our church.  In June 2009, she and her family learned that she was diagnosed with a malignant, aggressive brain tumor called a supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor or sPNET. She underwent surgery, which removed 50 percent of the tumor, and underwent chemotherapy.  After her treatments in Phoenix were complete, and showed that some of the brain tumor still remained, she flew to Houston.  In Houston she underwent a very localized proton beam radiation therapy.  After weeks in Houston, the treatment is complete, and now they just have to wait.  I can only imagine that waiting is one of the most difficult things when it has to do with the livelihood of one you love.  My only glimpse of this hard reality is the pain in my heart for my dear hubby as we continue to wait to see if our treatment plan of food therapy hopefully helps his pancreas to start working again.  Each day I hurt for him, and I pray for God's will.  So when I think of all that this family is going through, my heart aches and I just want to cry and drop to my knees so I can lean on the understanding that only God can give me.  Sometimes it all seems so unfair.  I continue to cling to this families blog and updates on beautiful Kate, and I am continually inspired by their faith and ability to stand firm knowing that they are being comforted by Him.

I ask that you pray for this little girl.  I can only guess that these next few weeks and months are going to be so difficult as they try to find some normalcy in their life as they wait.  Below is Kate's moms most recent blog post, with all of their petitions!!

"Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord." Psalms 27:14

Yesterday we were back in the oncology clinic seeing all of the new and old faces. We quickly updated them on our 2 months in Houston and then discussed what the upcoming days could look like, as well as we can determine. Lab work only periodically, a 100 day transplant appointment to discuss long term side effects and do lab work, and a one month scan. After that we can't determine but only hope what the days will look like. We have to wait to see what the MRI shows. It's chilling how we only plan for a month. If things are stable we will have another MRI in 2-3 months and so on. I can tell they are hopeful, but realistic. Each time we are there I want to beg for statistics. Something tangible for my hurting heart to hang onto. A reminder that some do survive. I won't let myself ask anymore though. We know roughly and that's enough. Enough to know it is possible to survive, and yet enough to drive us to our knees for Kate. Enough to treasure every day and plead for more. Enough to know the upcoming years will be very difficult and that God will have to be our sustaining grace. 

After discussing scans and the upcoming days, it was decided Kate's PICC line could be removed. A day we have all anticipated. No more TPN, no more heparin flushes, and no more sterile dressing changes. Finally bubble baths and swimming. She cannot wait! I cried as I watched her just stand in the shower tonight and soak it in. A simple but well appreciated pleasure.

When we left the clinic with no appointment scheduled I wanted to beg for one. Surely we needed to be seen next week. I wanted weekly labs. I wanted the security net of treatments and the slight knowledge of what was going on in her little body.  But it's time to wait. Please God, strengthen our hearts.

As much as we are nervous for the upcoming days, we also relish in looking over the past year and clearly seeing God's hand. We have seen answers to the many prayers. And so we ask for your very specific prayers in the future.
-Please be praying for for no evidence of cancer on Kate's scans ever, and that there be no cancer in her body, even that which is undetectable.

-be praying for protection for Kate's hearing from the chemotherapy and the radiation.
-be praying for protection for Kate's vision from the radiation
-be praying for healing for Kate's kidneys from the large amounts of chemotherapy
-be praying for protection for her liver
-be praying for protection for the healthy parts of her brain from the radiation, for no long term brain damage or learning difficulties
-be praying for protection of her hypothalmus from the radiation and all of the many functions that it effects
-be praying for protection from any secondary cancers that could result from the chemotherapy and the radiation
-be praying for protection of her heart
-be praying for improvements in her right sided weakness
-be praying for God's protection of Kate's reproductive system from the high dose chemotherapy
-be praying for protection for the artery that is encased in the tumor that it would not be weakened from the radiation

So we wait. But we knock as we wait. Pleading for God to be gracious to Kate. Thank you for persistently knocking on the door of heaven with us for Kate. 

Bliss

Six months ago, almost down to the exact hour, I was standing on a beautiful Hawaiian beach marrying the most incredible man in the whole wide world!!  And that's not me being biased... it is the complete and honest truth  :o)

I keep thinking of all those people who told us "the first year is the hardest."  I sure hope that is the truth, because if so we are in for a lifetime of pure BLISS!!! These six months have been an incredible journey with a few bumps in the road, a lot of laughter and an immense amount of love!  Here is a fun list of all that we have experienced in such a short amount of time, in no particular order:

• I really start my post-processing  business, working for Cristi Owen Photography
• Dustin is officially diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes
• We meet Kim Brown and Dr. Baker
• Dustin starts school at ASU working towards his Masters in Engineering
• Visit Oregon
• We find a new church - Cornerstone Chandler
• My home loan modification is approved
• Dustin gets a promotion at Intel
• We become involved in the After I Do small Church at church
• Visit Little Rock
• For the first time ever, Dustin and I have no roommates
• We begin to pray together

Now this last bullet may not seem like a big deal to anyone else -- but it has been a HUGE blessing in our marriage!!  In the last six months I have witnessed my husband become an amazing man of faith!  I think that it is safe to say, and without offending Dustin, that in the past I was the one who was "religious", at least that was the term Dustin used to use.  But now we are both walking together in faith, and most of the time he is the one leading me and reminding me what Christ has planned for us.  The comfort and peace this has brought our marriage is absolutely indescribable.

Dustin's Numbers Update

Posted by Dustin...

Since you all don't pay attention to Facebook, you may not know that today I received my Hemaglobin A1C and I have gotten back down to 5.5, from 8.9 this January. Although that sounds amazing, it was the level I was right before the wedding, so I have seen this number before. What makes me happy was the C-Peptide value of 1.3 (within the normal range of 1.1-4.4). C-Peptide is produced during insulin production from the pancreas, and thus can be a good metric on insulin production for those that artificially inject insulin (C-Peptide isn't present in synthetic insulin). What does this mean? I'm back! Well, my pancreas is. Although it's on the lower side of the scale, its still in the "normal" range, and given that I eat very few Carbs, it makes sense that I would be on the low side. Unfortunately, the Endocrinologist stomped on my hopes when I showed him the results from a recent study.... This is typical of them, who for some reason counter all engineering logic, where if even a glimpse of a solution exists, you pursue it until you prove it doesn't. Modern medicine seems to only test if someone is funding it, and believe it only if it exists in a medical journal. I've been holding out posting the results of thes study until I met with him (to update on the A1C at the same time)....

Leah, the engineer by heart, thought of the idea to monitor my glucose levels every hour to see what's really going on with my numbers, as I have had vastly variable results by only taking numbers 2 hours after eating. I also thought it would be cool to see it every half hour, and to see what would happen if I tested if for a few days while taking insulin once each morning, and not taking it at all. The results area amazing! Take a look:

click on Image for larger view

This graph essentially shows that after a meal, I will shoot up to as high as 170, then come down to ~100 by 3 hours after the meal. This is still not good, and after today I will begin taking meal time insulin to control these spikes. (Side Note:  The doctor didn't necessarily recommend meal time insulin, but we more or less asked for it.  I believe that if I can give my pancreas even more rest my insulin production will go up even more!!) The cool thing is what happened when I stopped taking insulin:

Click on Image for larger view

The results are almost identical for with and without insulin (with in blue, without in Red). What this means is that unlike this January, where I would eat carbs and wouldn't ever come down from ~300, now I spike up but my insulin is able to produce enough to keep me within control. Again, this doesn't mean all is well, we still need to figure out why I spike, which part of me wonders if I'm insulin resistant, but that's what we need to figure out in the next few months.

Let me know if you have questions. Love you all

Dustin

Little Rock

Dustin and I have been so busy these last few weeks - so I am going to backdate a lot of these posts, so that they will fall in place where they truly deserve. And I will start with our trip to Little Rock.

In the middle of May, Dustin and I went to Little Rock to celebrate my cousin Josh's graduation. He graduated with degrees in Spanish and International Studies. He has one more class to go this summer that he will complete in Taiwan - taking a class in Mandarin. After that the world is his oyster... or something like that?!?!?! We know that he will be going on for his Masters degree - the complicated issue of where he will get his Masters is the question. Complicated because we all think he should come back home to AZ - and he thinks differently. He is throwing around the idea of going to school in Colorado, which would be absolutely fine by me. So much closer than Arkansas!!

We enjoyed our time in Little Rock much more than we ever expected. It is a beautiful city with a lot to do - and a lot of history!! Our weekend started out by visiting the state capital.






As you can see Dustin was not so thrilled that I made him take a picture next to President Bill Clinton's portrait. He was positive that I would post it on Facebook and make it his profile picture!! I am sticking to my promise that it would not go on Facebook and utterly embarrass him in front of all his conservative friends ;o)






The next day was Josh's graduation ceremony. I love the picture directly above.  This picture is of my dad, his brother bill, and Josh and KC (my dad's sisters boys).  This picture just makes me smile so much  :o)

I didn't get any pictures from the bbq that happened that evening at Josh's house - but the memory will never leave me. After all of Josh's friends had left, it was just the "McFarland family". My parents, my dads brother and his wife, KC and Shannon, Josh, Dustin and I. We sat around telling stories of my Poppy and Nonny (my dad's parents) and my aunt Judy. We laughed so hard at times I was sure that I was going to pee my pants, and there were moments when I really wanted to cry because I missed all of them so much! But having such a wonderful family to share stories with made their memory even brighter. As the night grew on and we were all exchanging hugs and getting ready to go, the song El Paso by Marty Robbins came on. This was my Nonny's favorite song, and all of us knew every single word. We sat on the porch and sang together. It was as if they were sending us a sign from heaven that they had been watching us all evening long and were laughing and crying along with the stories too. Such a perfect ending to a wonderful day!!

The next day before we left back to AZ we did some sight seeing. Our first stop was to Little Rock Central High School. This is where the story of the Little Rock Nine unfolded during the civil rights movement. Stepping foot directly into such an amazing piece of history was almost surreal. We thought it was incredible that the high school is still an operating high school that is attended by more than 2,000 students.








We went to downtown Little Rock and attempted to see the "little rock". But apparently it had been moved as they were re-doing the area for tourists. I'm not completely sure I got that one right - but regardless downtown Little Rock was pretty cool. After that it was back to AZ!!

Kaelin Danae

Last Thursday, before we left for Little Rock (post and pictures of that coming soon) I spent the morning with Maile and Kaelin.  We ran a few errands and then went to Chandler Mall and let Kaelin play in the play area outside of Barnes & Nobles.  This little girl is FEARLESS!!!  Watch out mom and dad, because she is going to be a climber and all about adventure!!  She didn't care at all that she was half the size of most of the kids - she just wanted to play!!

Here she is trying to get up the slide (instead of going down it!!)



This next video is from early April.  As you may remember from this post, Dustin and I took Kaelin to the farmers market.  After we were done shopping we got some food and listened to their little country band play.  Every time the music started, Kaelin started dancing!!  Maybe she will be an incredible dancer like her mommy!!

Where to store it all...

So after Type 1, we have bought a lot of strange things from Whole Foods and Sprouts. Things that were never in our house before. We have more nuts than you can possibly imagine: cashews, almonds, peanuts and macadamia nuts! Then we have all the seeds: sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, and hemp seeds. And if that isn't strange enough we have green and red lentils, quinoa, red quinoa and almond flower. So here's the question I kept asking myself... where do we put it all? I saw these glass storage canisters that had a chalkboard front on it, in some home decorating blog. I thought it looked simple enough, and here you have it!! I am super impressed with the way they look and how nice everything fits. We still need a few more canisters, but for now this will do!!

Supplies Needed:
Glass Canisters
Painters Tape
Chalkboard Paint
Chalk

Mans Camp 2010

Just a little look into Dustin's weekend at Man's Camp with our church!!  Lets see if you can spot him, Robin or Zak, Matt Bialy or Matt Kline in any of the video!!! ** They are easier to see if you click the button that makes this video full-screen ** Here are some hints... they played 7 games of paint ball. And in the scene where there are people in boxes running around, Dustin and Zak are in the box that has spray painted yellow stuff on it! And look for Matt Kline in the scene where he is catching stuff in the middle of a field (just him and another guy). Dustin said last night that he was thinking of writing a post about his weekend... so keep your eyes open for that just in case he gets inspired!!


Man Camp 2010 from NoBoxFilms & NoBox Productions on Vimeo.

20 in 2010??

What started out as a very noble goal, to read 20 books in 2010, has fallen by the wayside. In the wake of Dustin's diagnosis and our search for a natural and God-patented cure, there seems to be very little time for reading. Unless of course you the countless articles on Type 1 in relationship to wheat and dairy allergies. Or maybe you would be so kind as to count the number of hours I spend searching the internet for a DF recipe (DF is my new term for Dustin Friendly, or maybe it could count for Diabetic Friendly or Dustin Friedman). Regardless, the idea of reading for pleasure hardly seems to exist anymore. Outside of the Type 1 whirlwind that is our lives, Dustin is busy in his first semester at school and I am using every free moment not at work post-processing images for the fabulous Cristi Owen. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day ;o)

BUT... I have managed to read three books so far in 2010. And they all have been SO good!!

Most recently I read The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
I had to check out this book since the movie is out. I don't really have any desire to see the movie, but really wanted to check out the book. I love Nicholas Sparks' books, even though they seem to all be written in a very similar formula. This book was a heartwarming story of teenage romance, and the struggles between a daughter and father. It was heartwarming and made me cry. But by no means do I think that this was one of his best books. Overall, I would categorize this more as a young-adult book









Prior to that, I read Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand.
I must confess that I originally bought this book to take on our honeymoon.  I saw the cover with three women and their feet in the sand and it looked like a good beach book.  And I wasn't wrong... unfortunately I read it from the comfort of my own home long after our fabulous honeymoon to Kauai.  This book is about three women who are trying to escape from different areas of their lives by taking a summer trip to Nantucket - with two small kids in tow.  One of the characters was recently diagnosed with cancer, and chooses to undergo treatment in Nantucket instead of in NYC where her husband is.  She takes their two kids with her and her friends, because she is coming to the reality that this may be her last summer.  The next character is a English Lit professor and is fleeing from a tarnished reputation at the university she teaches at.  And the last character is taking time to get her life in focus after she learned that her husband has been having an affair.  This book does a phenomenal job of intertwining all the characters into an incredible story of love and friendship.



The other book I read in 2010 was Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne.
Words can't even begin to describe how much I loved this book.  If you do read this book, be ready to have the way you look at life and faith absolutely transformed.  Shane Claiborne does a phenomenal job of showing what it means to live as an ordinary radical while walking in faith.  After all, Jesus was quite the radical and challenged almost everyone's way of thinking.  This book made me realize that sometimes we get so caught up in the political and legalistic views of what it means to be a Christian, that we forget Christs first commandment to us... to love!!  I can only imagine how the world would be today if we as Christ followers loved the world in the way that God intended us to!!  Talk about transformational!!   And for anyone who thinks that the idea of social justice can not go hand in hand with Christianity, please read this book!!  Maybe I will send Glenn Beck a copy  ;o)






And there you have it.  3 down.... 17 more to go!!

Farmers Market

A few weekends ago Dustin and I went to the Gila Rivers Farmers Market with a dear friend of ours, Kim Brown, who is walking us through this Type 1 Diabetes journey. She has shared sooo much great information with us and has really been the main reason that we haven't starved to death. She has been more than willing to share with us how to shop, what new veggies we should try and has even shared with us some incredible recipes. Kim asked us if we wanted to go to the Farmers Market with her and her daughter and one of their friends, Melissa, who happened to be a photographer. Kim is in the process of documenting thier type 1 journey through pictures so that she can share her experience with others. And on this day, we were lucky enough to be with her and have our experience documented as well. We snagged up my cute little neice, Kaelin, from her parents so they could have a peaceful morning and headed to the farmers market.

Dustin and I got so much fabulous produce - and it was really the first time that we did the majority of our shopping at a farmers market. I wish I could share with you a picture of our fridge because it was STUFFED with veggies. All the processed and sugary garbage was gone - and the color green was exploding from every inch of our fridge!! Hope you enjoy these few pictures from our day. If you want to see more, just click here.







Oh yeah... just in case you can't see in the picture below, Kaelin is holding a piece of Spinach. She absolutely loved it and didn't let it go the entire day :o)

Greece

Dustin and I just booked our 2010 trip to Greece!! He has about a bazillion frequent flyer miles, so we were able to get our tickets for almost nothing. Finding the dates we wanted was a little more challenging, but it all worked out!! We are headed to Greece on Wednesday, Sept 29th and return late Tuesday, October 12th. Our goal is to spend some time in Athens but spend A LOT of time on the Greek Islands!! I am so excited I keep giggling!!! YAYYYY!!!

Dustin Update

I was just 80 after Mexican food (Beans, Meat and rum and Diet Coke)!!!!!! And here is the latest graph above (click on it to enlarge)




This is the first time I've been under 100 after a meal in I can't remember and I think the first clear evidence that this is working. I did increase my insulin on 3/26 to 15 units from 12, however, I still see improvements every day. Unfortunately I still have days like yesterday where I had a Lara bar (consists of beats, coconuts and nuts) and I jumped to 180, so apparently its a give and take thing. I have started to also feel really low right before lunch and one day this week I just had to stop working and go eat because I knew I was an hour (maybe more what do I know) away from being too low. Days like that make me wonder if I need to start fending off insulin not increasing, until I jump to 180 after taking insulin before breakfast then eating that bar. Oh well

FYI for those that have been reading, Its been almost 2 months now since I started changing my diet, and about 5 weeks since I went in full force to stop all the foods that could be affecting me. Still not yielding, even when I go to dinner or lunch with people that have foods I used to love (the precious sandwich I would give anything for!). It really doesn't even cross my mind to want it, I just look at it, acknowledge that I know that tastes good, stop looking at it and I completely forget it's there. Crazy what a bit of diligence can do.

For those that haven't seen Food Inc. stop thinking about it and go do it. It's not a movie like Super Size Me or a book like Skinny Bitch. It simply focus on a few key foods in our diet and shows how messed up America's food is. It makes me wonder what would happen if I left the Country for a year. I think I would be cured without even trying. the bottom line is that everything we eat now days could be genetically modified without us even knowing, from Soy beans (90% of soybeans in U.S. are genetically modified to resist round up so they can yield more per crop), to tomatoes ( that are picked in South America green and ripened on the trip over in chemicals). Did you know that >70% of all ground beef in the states has a portion of it that was processed through a pressure heater and is cured with a chemical to kill all bacteria (forget which one). By adding this to the beef it kills most the Ebola viruses preventing major recalls, at the expense of our bodies ingesting a certain % of poison. (BTW Yes I know we already posted on this a week ago but I'm reiterating for those that still haven't listened and gone and to watch it).

That's about it from me. All in all I'm please with the results of all this, have a long way to go, and seeing baby steps of improvement towards the ultimate goal of diabetes freedom. I truly don't see how I could possibly not win this battle....

Dustin

Teach Every Child About Food

Thanks to Living Without Type 1 for bringing this video to our attention!! Now its our chance to share it with all of you!!

Excited!!!

Have you ever been to a concert where when you leave that the performance was just soo good that you are so eager to get to your care so that you can play the CD over and over and over again (and probably for the next few weeks). And if you are anything like me, you get so into the moment of the song, that you probably look completely silly when someone drives up next to you and notices you totally rocking out... but in all honesty, you just don't care! Its by far one of the greatest feelings ever!!

That is probably the best way to explain my weekend! This weekend I was completely submerged into the Word, and it was absolutely the greatest weekend ever!! I am not going to put too much in this post about the weekend, saving that for another post when I get pictures from my friend. But the entire weeekend was simply on 1 Corinthians 15. Take out your bible, and read it!! Talk about an incredible passage to prepare your heart for this holy week and an amazing Easter Sunday!!

Dustin is heading off with our church to Man's Camp next month with some friends. In fact, it was a friend of his from Bend that invited him, Matt Kline. And once Dustin got excited for it, he invited my uncle, my cousin and a few of his friends. So there is quite the group of them going. I pray that their weekend together will be even half as impacting, if not more, than the weekend I just had!!

I am praying this week that I can allow the impact of THE RESURECTION into my life, and allow it to transform me in catacalysmic ways!! And what an exciting prayer that is!! One thing I know, is that every time I have prayed for Christ to transform my life (and allowed him the full ability to do so) my life has been changed in ways that I never thought was possible! And I will leave you with this short video... Travis Cottrell was the worship leader this weekend, and when he sang this song I felt the Holy Spirit in such incredible ways!!

Sounds familiar

http://greensmoothiesblog.com/

I guess we may be buying this DVD too... all this knowledge is keeping us on our toes, and rocking our world. Dustin's blood sugar levels have slowly begun to react to his dietary changes, and that is all we need to have the hope that this may actually work. There are moments when we think that taking the medication would be so much easier, but we know that God continues to provide us with this information so that we can make informed decisions about our health. We pray for discernment that we are making the right decisions in regards to our health, and that if we aren't making the best decision that it would be clear to us so we can start researching other options. But as for now, the correlations between health and food is the ONLY thing that is really making sense to either of us.

Food, Inc.

Monday night (which happened to be our 4 month anniversary), Dustin and I rode our bikes to Blockbuster and picked up a copy of Food, Inc. As you most likely know if you are reading this blog, Dustin was recently diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, and also learned that he was allergic to wheat and dairy among other things. Through a lot of research, we have learned that the correlation between Type 1 diabetes and food allergies, specifically wheat and dairy, is not all that rare. So we have been adjusting our diet... a lot!!

We have been told by lots of people since Dustin's diagnosis that we need to see Food, Inc. To be honest, I really didn't want to watch it after reading the book Skinny Bitch. I was afraid that it would show too much animal cruelty. Dustin didn't want to watch it because he was afraid that after watching it he might not want to eat meat any more, and that is one of the very few things he can still eat. But after spending some time with Kim Brown last week, we knew that we needed to get educated. And watching it was one of the BEST things that we have ever done. It connected so many dots between Dustin's diagnosis and the food that we eat. It really solidified for us how important it is to know where our food is coming from and what is in it (chemicals/hormones/pesticides/etc).

Here are some of the most interesting quotes and take aways from watching the movie...

• The average American eats over 200 pounds of meat a year.
• 70% of processed food have genetically modified.
• 1 in 3 Americans born after 2000 will contract early onset diabetes; Amond minorities, the rate will be 1 in 2.
• In 1972, the FDA conducted 50,000 food safety inspections. In 2006, the FDA conducted only 9,164.
• In 1998, the USDA implemented microbial testing for salmonella and E. coli 0157h7 so that if a plant repeatedly failed these tests, the USDA could shut down the plant. After being taken to court by the meat and poultry associations, the USDA no longer has that power.
  *** All facts from http://www.foodincmovie.com/img/downloads/Press_Materials.pdf>

I think that this movie really opened our eyes to how corrupt the FDA really is, and how important it is to take responsibility for our own health by knowing what we are REALLY putting into our bodies. It is absolutely sickening thinking of how many genetically modified (GMO) foods I have consumed in my lifetime, and I can only imagine what harm that has done to my body. I pray that my children will not have to worry about this, and we will live in a world where food companies and our government care more about our health than the bottom line.

I will leave you with this quote from Food, Inc.

“Imagine what it would be if, as a national policy, we said we would be only successful if we had fewer people going to the hospital next year than last year? The idea then would be to have such nutritionally dense, unadulterated food that people who ate it actually felt better, had more energy and weren’t sick as much… now, see, that’s a noble goal.”
-- Joel Salatin, owner/farmer of Polyface Farms in Virginia, which lets his livestock graze on grass, the way nature intended.