No More Geology. YAY!!!

Today was flat out hard. Both the girls had a wonderful day. Kevin and I finished up our Geology lab class and I finished my SR. Seminar class. YAY. Face book is starting to remind me of Jacksboro A LOT oh well worst case I will break the FB habit and stick with blogging. Tomorrow will also be filled plum full so I better get some sleep.

Scary Morning

Kenzie's tubing for her pump came loose at some point in the night. messed blood sugar up. First time she has had keytones in 3 years. Been on the phone nonstop with Kenzie's Awesome Team since 6am. This could have quickly led to the ER but with lots of water a few extra old fashion injections and a brand new site Miss McKenzie is keytone free and ready to head to school. We have to check blood one more time but it is on its way down and she is back up running like a maniac. Thank the Lord and our Team
Just checked again YAY!!! 177 and a ticked off kid cause she missed PE ha ha I love it she is worried about the important stuff that keds should be worried about. That makes me very happy. headed to take her to PE have a great day everyone.

Lubbock students earn Teens of the Month honors

Lubbock students earn Teens of the Month honors
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

CC Tanner, an eighth-grader at Atkins, is the daughter of Brandy Tanner and Kevin Smith. She is involved in the recycling program, American Diabetes Association and Special Olympics Program.


We are so lucky to have such a awesome teenager.. CC rocks. We are soooo Proud of you CC. That is a wonderful honor and you earned it. You are always the first to step up and help someone when they need it. You have a truly sweet heart and are strong enough to be able to help your friends. You make me so proud.


Love you Sweet Girl. I have to go buy more newspapers now ha ha.

Just another Sunday LOL!!!!!!!

Yes, as a matter of fact sometimes I do wonder if it is me who is the crazy one in all this. I usually get some signal that reminds me of why this thought is not reality. It normally comes in the form of a text message. I have to say though the pictures I receive are by far the most fun. It breaks my heart that things have drug out the way they have.



While at home depot a few minutes ago. CC insisted she saw the lawyer who has made it his personal mission in life to be a bully. As you all already know CC does not deal with bullies very well. I could not see the man that she was pointing out to me so I just told her he was no where around here and even if he was everything was fine. She immediately went to Kevin. By the time Kevin understood what she was saying and turned to look the man had made it out of the store leaving the stuff he was about to buy on the checkout counter. Weather it was him or not I have no clue. I am glad that my girls are keeping a good eye out for crazy looking people but sure wish they didn’t have to.


On a happy note Kevin and his brother got the expensive treadmill taken back to sears. I waited and bought the one that I thought would hold up the best. It only worked for two weeks. It took a month to have the tech come try to fix it after they made Kevin take it apart over the phone. Kevin finally said I paid way too much for this thing come fix it. The tech was here Friday and it broke again yesterday. Kenzie ran a mile in 8:42. She was hauling some booty. They are having a bunch of problems with the Nordic Track right now I think the belts they are using are too small or something. Sears was great. They gave us the full refund. I think they knew Kevin was pretty bitter about the entire situation. They didn’t even try to charge us their stalking fee.


I am going to get back to writing my paper I might put it up here when I am finished it is pretty interesting. It is about the benefits of the Omni Pod insulin pump and why doctors should push for the insurance companies to pay for it. Wireless and Water proof need I say more?

One last tid bit, for any of my loving family who might read this. I went ahead and sent my thoughts on the most recent drama by fax so that my words can only be twisted after you read them exactly from me. I truly hope and pray that none of you ever have to make some of the choices that I have been forced to over the past couple of years. I will say this if those choices should ever sneak up and slap you in the face and turn your very own world upside down, I will be here and I will never judge you for protecting yourself, your kids, or any of the rest of your family. Good luck with that, have fun.

Sock Saga 2010

Saturday’s are always fun. Today was still rainy and the kids had to stay inside. As much fun as this sounds it got even better. We managed to put the sock saga of 2010 to rest finally. McKenzie is extremely picky about her socks. They have to be Hanes and they must be a specific style as far as the tops not too long or too short. With that being said the nice folks at the Hanes Company make it simple and easy. The word Hanes on the style and size that McKenzie approves of is printed in blue. Well things were going fantastic, till one day someone at the Hanes Company decided McKenzie’s socks needed to have the word Hanes printed in Purple. I thought nothing of it. I washed them and stuck them in her sock drawer. For about a month now I have not been able to figure out why she kept putting her socks in my drawer. I would go to put my socks on and they would be too small. Frustration built. I decided today to get to the bottom of it. I pulled all of our socks out of both drawers and had her help me match them all. Again she kept tossing her socks in my pile. I told her they where hers and she said no they are not. I had her put them on. She had a shocked look on her face when they fit perfect. I asked her if it was ok for them to go in her drawer now and she said yes as long as the blue ones are matched with the blue ones and the purple with the purple. I had been matching that part already, just because I know my kid. I agreed and we put all the socks away. She cracks me up. CC walked by at one point and said Kenzie just, don’t put the socks you don’t like in Mom’s drawer. That way you won’t have to re match all the socks. Ha ha I am glad we figured out what the problem was. All the socks she has are identical same size and style. It must be that way. She has to line them up in her drawer a special way also. Got to Love Her.

Numb

Yes it is cold but this numbness is more emotional. Doing the right thing paid off. I was able to clear up a situation up that most of my family won’t even listen to me about to understand that there is anything to be concerned about. The ones who do listen blow me off and continue believing they own something they don’t. Not too terribly long ago I cared about what people “back home “thought. Those days are long gone. I feel lighter already.

The plan at this point is to clear all the legal stuff up and step away. I will always love my family however I don’t have to allow them to hurt me to show my love. I am frustrated and well just annoyed as I sit here reading over a few new e mails from back home. I spent the day chasing down information because it was well demanded of me. That was not the smart thing to do. I will never get this day back it is gone. The reason this frustrates me so much is because it was an issue that really had nothing to do with me or the things I am trying to accomplish. On top of that fact, I realized once I got to the bottom of the inflated ordeal the brow beater who had sent me on this wild goose chase had the information the entire time. I did not have time for the mind games or the emotional terrorism today.

I sure wish the rain would ease up. After I floated the car across an intersection on my way home from school yesterday it has started making a weird noise. We are hoping a belt is just wet or something like that and it will fix its self. Would have taken the truck but we only have the parking pass sticker on the cars so I would have had to walk from off campus or I would have had to go round and round in the parking garage. I don’t like that place at all its creepy and people drive way to fast in there.

Oh CC saw the orthodontist the other day. We are looking at braces in the next couple of months. Have to have a tooth pulled first she is not going to like that at all. She is a bit excited about getting to pick out the colors that will go on the braces once they are on.

Oh great news. The repair guy came to the house today and fixed my kick butt treadmill since it has been messed up for a few weeks. It seems that the Nordic track folks have made bunch treadmills that the belt is a bit too small. I will get busy testing it out shortly.

I really wish I could get that Nation wide jingle out of my head.
Nationwide is on your side.ha ha  now its in your head.
Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Brain Blunder.

I had a bit of a blunder a few weeks ago and am still kicking my own butt. Have you ever said something out loud and that very second, realized it sounded extremely inappropriate? At that point you attempt to explain what you meant; this inevitably only makes things worse. Well the Sweet lady that I made this thoughtless remark while sitting next to is one of those people in my life that has truly earned my respect. She is a true lady and her sheer presence has a way of invoking proper manners and even a slightly improved posture. We went to visit with her tonight for the first time since my brain slip. I felt like a little kid all over again. When the “incident” happened as CC will tell you, this sweet lady simply laughed, in udder shock I am sure. Regardless I have held on to it for a couple of weeks now and worried that it would come up in conversation as a joke. I would have proceeded to crawl under the table the way I started to when it happened. I am once again amazed with her grace and class. Not a word was mentioned about it. She carries herself in just such a way that not only did she not say anything to bring it up but she holds an appropriateness standard for those around her that no one said a word. We had a wonderful visit and everything was the way it always has been. Looking back now I realize the reason it bothered me so much to start with was the very reason that I had no reason to worry that she would bring it back up. I think the bright red color of my face told her I really did not mean the innocent remark the way it sounded.



I would share it however I don’t think I will ever say anything close to it again as long as I live.

"The Right Thing"

There are days when I feel like I am being tested. I don’t mean at school but in life. I made an extremely hard decision today and feel good about it. With all the legal stuff that has been going on it has been my own ethical and moral values and convictions that seem to deliberately be challenged. I am in a unique position that I never anticipated or desired. I have certain responsibilities that I intend to fulfill completely. Above all else I have a conscience. There are many people I am expected to answer to at this point Judges, family, the list goes on and on. The most important however is to answer to myself and the Lord above. The Lord has gotten me this far not the judges or my family. No the Lord has given me guidance when I have prayed about these things. He has also placed people in my life who I believe are his own helping hand.




Doing the “right thing” is usually not the popular rout however it is what God expects of us. Even if others might turn their head or take advantage, I believe with all my heart that doing the right thing will always pay off in the end. I have heard people say that doing the right thing blew up in their face. I cannot remember the right thing ever back firing on me. That’s not to say I have not had explosions because I have but they were not due to doing what was right. In most cases I think the explosion is at least minimized compared to what it might have been if I had followed what was easier. I want to teach my daughters to make decisions in life that they can be proud of the only way I can do that is to set that example myself.



I made several phone calls today and I pray that everything turns out the way it should be. I am sure that there will be a few people who are not happy with me but I have decided that I am ok with that. I will be able to look my daughters in the eye and know that if they understood everything that was going on they would be proud of me. Everything happens for a reason. All I have to do is, whatever I feel is right and this will all turn out the way God has planned.

McKenzie's A1C

                                      .

                        McKenzie and Dr. Varma

                             A1C  6.8  YAY!!!!!

We just got home from taking McKenzie to see Dr. Varma, her endocrinologist. He has been our hero in the diabetes fight from day one. As many times as he has told me “everything is going to be OK” none of us have ever seen him smile. Today he smiled ear to ear and gave McKenzie a huge hug. This was McKenzie’s three month visit. Her A1C blood test, the average of her blood sugar levels came back at a perfect 6.8. It has gone down an entire point since she got the pump. The Doctor warned us that most kids and even adults get complacent when they get a pump and their A1C jumps at least a point the first three months. We are very excited and super proud. Dr. Varma, Dr. B, Nurse Dreama, Nurse Alley, Mrs. Margie, Nurse Christy, Mrs. Ladd, Mrs. Lopez, CC, Kevin, Nanny, Paw Paw Bruce, Jenny, Taylor, Amanda, Tracey, Stacy, PK, Alex, Mrs. Carter, Mrs. Peirce, Mr. Jones, Sue Anne wow lots of thank you hugs to give out. We have had a few rough days here and there and that will continue I am sure. Overall McKenzie is setting herself up to have a wonderful and healthy future. I do not want her to have to deal with complications from this later in life. She is proud and when asked if she is on a special diet she always says “no not really just have to count everything and tell Spencer what I eat”. Her body fat index is a little low because she is all muscle. She thought that was a bad thing, she is happy now that she understands it though. She is also going to be taller than me like her sister already is. McKenzie I love you and am so proud of you.


            Nurse Dreama

                

                        Nurse Alley

Easter 2010

Easter went well for the most part. I did miss my family. I enjoyed being able to take our time and really get into coloring and decorating the eggs. CC and Kenzie loved hearing the story of the resurrection of Jesus. It is comical how they will pretend to not know the details in order to entice me to sit and tell them the story all over again. I have to admit; I still look forward to it and enjoy every single second. We enjoyed having a few friends over for dinner and a small egg hunt in our backyard. I refuse to accept the fact that I am old enough to have daughters who are too old to hunt eggs. The egg hunts will never end they will have to hide the eggs for me at some point I guess.



I love each and every one of my friends. Some of them are very different from others though. It used to make me nervous to invite a non- believer to dinner especially for Easter dinner. I have prayed about this and was not given the perfect solution right away. On one hand I did not want to be that friend who made you feel uneasy before we even began to eat. We always pray before our meal and out friends are all wonderful and respect the fact that they are encouraged to fold their hands and join us. I was not totally sure that handling the difference this way was the right thing to do. I was not sure so I went with it to see how things progressed.


The friend I am talking about is a young adult and has a mind all her own. She is an extremely smart person and will do great things in life. Based on the fact that two Outspoken, Strong Christian Woman joined us for dinner last night as well, I once again found myself a bit concerned. I must say the evening’s course of events surprised me. The two most opposite seemed to clamp on to each other and spent the better part of six hours discussing life. I am not sure how deep the two of them managed to get. I learned a truly important lesson that I will cherish forever. I realized that when a young person tells you that they do not believe in the Lord, that is when it is time to show them that it’s ok to discuss and possibly look at things in a different way than what they may have had the guidance to, thus far in life. She has a wonderful family and they are Christians. I am pretty confident that she was comfortable and even ok with listening to the message because the two of them talked until nearly two in the morning. I did feel a little bad they both had to be up this morning. I think it did us all a lot of good though. The Lord once again took the situation that I gave to him and found a way to show me how to handle it. We have never skipped a prayer due to what anyone thought or who was sitting at the table however I had not reached out to her the way I should have either. The influence of others is a powerful developmental factor in all of our lives. There are certain people in my life that I make time to stop and tell how much they have helped me grow as a person. I recognize on a daily basis how the choices I make determine how difficult a situation will end up being to handle. Never allow emotions to fight battles for you or even to start them. Always take a little bit of time to think before responding. Words can never be taken back. Examples are in stone the second you let your children see you set them. God Bless.

Fresh Start

Welcome I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I do writing abotu all the different things that happen in my life. Please feel free to comment or share your own thoughts.
I am refreshing some things in my life. I may at some point import my blogs but for now this blog will serve as a fresh start. With that being said, it is 4:30am on Good Friday. I am looking forward to the bit of a break from school for Easter. It would be nice if Lubbock ISD and Texas Tech would chit chat and pick either Friday or Monday to not have classes. We will have a nice time anyway. It just makes it incredibly hard to make a trip out of town to see family this way.
C.C. is doing fantastic. She has her first boyfriend. She is getting really excited about the 8th grade banquet in a couple of weeks. We get to go girl shopping for something pretty this weekend. McKenzie is also doing great. We have had "Spencer" the insulin pump for about three months. Her blood sugar numbers are looking awesome. We will have an A1C done in a week or so when she gets to go see her favorite doctor in the world, her hero Dr. Varma. C.C. is also pretty fond of her Doctor. He has worked with us really well. Together we have figured out the perfect combination or two different types of seizure medication. She is not sleepy all the time. She is able to be more alert and aware of what is going on around her. She is a typical teenage girl. As frustrating as that is at time, we are so incredibly proud. Kevin and I are both doing well in classes. I love the fact that on a daily basis we give each other booth talks. This is where we take a few minutes sporadically and become a cheerleader for the other person. Might sound a bit silly but sometimes when things start piling up and deadlines start rushing at you which is exactly what you need from someone who believes in you. If this for whatever reason does not do the trick a good kick in the pants should always work. I am kidding of course.





















.