Youth Retreat Pictures

The gang

We have a movie director-to-be in our youth group. He baited this 7th grader into playing a dead body, complete with ketchup and hotdog leftovers as intestines.

Special effects this amazing were due to a huge group effort, as you can see.

Do you recognize our flower girl, all grown up?

Some girls chilling out.

I'm Good Today

To quote a dear friend and elder from Christ Church, Ken Culpepper, "I'm good today."

Today has been the best start to my day in two weeks! Thank you for your prayers. Thursday-Sunday was ROUGH, ROUGH, ROUGH. My blood sugar levels were unpredictably swinging this way and that, and I felt exhausted, hungry, grouchy, and emotional. I was pretty worthless as a leader on the youth trip this weekend, but the kids had fun, and Nathan's talks were encouraging. There are some great pictures of the retreat, and I brought the camera to school today, but I forgot the cords that plug into the computer. Geez.

Sunday afternoon, on a walk around our neighborhood, I had a complete meltdown on my poor husband. It was one of those rare out of body experiences. It felt like I was watching myself being hysterical and making absolutely no sense, but there was nothing I could do to stop it! Nathan was trying to reason with me at first (I usually respond very well to reason), but he finally just gave up, wrapped me in his arms, sat me down on the side of the road, and cried with me.

Today is actually the first day I've worn mascara since this whole diabetes diagnosis (I figure, why wear it when it'll be cried off later?), but I just ruined it again remembering that little story and writing it out. Thank you Jesus for my husband!

Please continue to pray for us as we, along with my doctors, seek the best path to balancing my body. I've been getting lots of advice from friends, and we're just trying to sort it all out and seek God's will as to which direction to go. How should I eat? What should I eat? When should I eat? How much should I eat? How much insulin? When? The questions go on and on. Yesterday's excerpt from Jesus Calling says this:

"As you become increasingly aware of My Presence, you find it easier to discern the way you should go. This is one of the practical benefits of living close to Me. Instead of wondering about what is on the road ahead or worrying about what you should do if... or when..., you can concentrate on staying in communication with Me. When you actually arrive at a choice-point, I will show you which direction to go."

After reading passages like that one, my faith is increased that God sees me and cares about what is happening in my life.

Youth Retreat This Weekend

Pray for Nathan and me as we go on a youth retreat this weekend up at Lake Lanier. I am still struggling with my health (my blood sugar swings up and down hundreds of points during the day leaving me feeling really loopy) and I feel behind with... life. Here's a bit more from Jesus Calling.

"I have called you to walk with Me down paths of Peace. I want you to blaze a trail for others who desire to live in My peaceful Presence. I have chosen you less for your strengths than for your weaknesses, which amplify your need for Me. Depend on Me more and more, and I will shower Peace on all your paths."

It's October 22nd, and Sommer is Still Hot!

Three years ago today, Nathan and I fell in love! We spent a bulk of October 22nd, 2005 in Irvine, supporting my sister at her Concordia University volleyball match. The announcer was a kick, and he would make clever remarks between plays. After one kill by Lindsay Sommer, he said, "It's October 22nd, and Sommer is still hot!" We laughed a lot about that one, and it became a joke and a reminder of that special day.

After the match, we went out for dinner with my parents and some of my sister's friends. My friend, Amy, drove my sister, Nathan, and I to P.F. Chang's at the Spectrum. He and I were secretly holding hands in the back seat, but we got caught by the girls! So embarrassing... After we returned to Bakersfield, Nathan and I had the most amazing talk of our lives. We went from, "I like you and I think you're cool" to "Let's get married and have babies together" in the course of just a few hours.

Thanks to Amy, who reminded us of today's anniversary.

"It's October 22nd, and Sommer is still hot!"

The Rest of Al Pal's Visit

So, you readers should be more than satisfied with the number of posts I've put up today. I think I added four or five. I guess it's feast or famine with this blog.

Happy birthday Phillip (in the very back)! These are the in-laws, minus Hannah, who is taking the picture.



Here's Allison and I at the Coke museum. We had just gotten out of a really intense 4-D movie, hence the glasses.

Hey! Cherry Coke Zero has no carbs! Sweet!

Here's Allison swiping her free Coke, which she left behind in our refrigerator. :)

I miss you already Allison. Thanks for coming to visit me. It couldn't have been more perfectly timed. See you in Tempe, baby!

Diabetic Brunch

I have the coolest family/friends! Hannah, my sister-in-law organized a breakfast party with some friends and came over on Saturday morning. She brought bacon and eggs (carb free!) and they all came over dressed as famous diabetics. Hannah is supposed to be Billie Jean King, and Liz is Mick Fleetwood. The skewers are drumsticks. :) Liz printed out pictures of all of them, and I was amazed at how many famous people are diabetic! Halle Berry, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Thomas Edison, Ella Fitzgerald, et al. Wow!

Here's Allison and me in our sweet necklaces!

A self portrait by Liz.

I took all of my diabetes paraphenalia out of the "diaper bag," and it took up the whole table! I don't carry around everything, but now that I look at it, it's just a LOT of stuff. I had to stand on the couch just to get it all in the view finder!

Thanks girls for the encouragment!

The First Shot

This is my fake "I don't wanna do this!" face. It's pretty much how I felt inside though.

First, I washed my hands to prepare to check my blood glucose level.

I pricked my finger and touched it to the end of the little black strip.

This was my reading, 314. A normal reading is between 70-110. Yikes.

I stalled for time and changed into my PJs. Then I took my time reading the instructions.

I got the needle on the insulin pen, and I flicked the pen just like they do in the movies.

This is me and the pen having a staring contest. My heart was pounding by this point.

After an hour of avoiding the inevitable, Nathan did the injection.

This is my real face... pretty pitiful, huh?

Thanks to Allison for documenting everything. She said she felt like a voyer for snapping pictures at such an intense event, but I'm glad I got it on camera. She lightened the mood. :)