A Walk to Remember.

Saturday.

We walked.  We met friends.  We smiled and laughed.  We ate.  We listened.  We celebrated.  We also sweated a whole lot!!  (Southern California had immense humidity last week!)

We walked in the Ontario, California JDRF walk to cure diabetes for the 5th year with team Kids That Care.  Our faithful teachers came out to support the team once again.  The team is headed up by our friend, K, who does so much for the cause.  She was also recently appointed junior board member for the Inland Empire chapter.  We're proud of her and proud to walk on her team!

K's mom, K and C

Kids That Care

We met friends...some, for the first time.  You couldn't miss them!  They were the largest team out there...all in black...ready to battle diabetes...Team Ninjabetic!

George had put the word out to the DOC (diabetes online community) to join the team, raise money, and celebrate...20 years to the day of his type 1 diagnosis.  He put the invite out there.  And, they came.  Boy, did they ever!  I'm not certain of the final count, but probably 12-15 of George's fellow PWDs either drove or flew cross country to walk on his team.  His team totaled over 60 people in all.

Look who we found! The Ninjabetic & Mr. Scott Johnson

Cheering Team Ninjabetic!

After the walk, we headed over to George's celebration.  I don't think I'm going to do this thing justice in writing about it.  I was quite overwhelmed.  What support and love was in that room!  We ate and talked and made real life connections with people.  

Near the end of the party, George had prepared a presentation of sorts.  Really it was his story...with diabetes.  It was a glimpse deeper into his life.  A new D mom friend and I talked as we both observed all that was going on around us.  "These people are inspirational to me," she said.  Yes.  Do these people even realize how they inspire us parents of type 1s?  They welcome us into their circle and let us see that our kids can have wonderful, full lives.  And as Sara told me:  "and that we grow up and do just fine and have fun!"  

What a celebration!

So of course, George, being the ninja that he is, included all PWDs there that day.  He invited them to stand and introduce themselves along with the number of years each has lived with diabetes...little C included. He sang his song, Not By Choice.  I had intended on taking more pictures.  But I was quite lost in the moment.  I sat there with husband and new D mom-friend and C next to me.  Thankfully, it was recorded.  You can click here to watch and listen, courtesy of Sara.

George sang his song, Not By Choice.

D Mom Emily, me & Mr. Scott Johnson

Thanks George, for including us in your celebration!

Honored to Be a Guest...

I am beyond thrilled to be guest posting over @sixuntilme!  Kerri is enjoying the first few weeks of motherhood.  She has been so gracious in allowing others to fill up her blog while she gets to know her new precious baby girl.  And, I was so happy to be her guest!

So, go on over and take a peek...I share about meeting another D mom...this time, in person!  Can you tell I'm excited?!!!

8-10 Ladybugs a Day

I just can't wait.  I'm impatient.  I wrote up a post a couple days ago about meeting another D mom, Melinda (aka @notsostilllifes) last Friday!  I'm trying to sit on my hands so I don't write about it yet...because...well, it's already written, but it won't show for a couple weeks.  Aaaacckkk!  I'm impatient.

But I want to at least share a picture of C's new little ladybugs that were gifts from Michael (18), Melinda's type 1 son.  When he was younger, they would call the drops of blood for glucose checks, ladybugs.  She said he had a ton of them, from stuffed ones to pictures to maybe something like these cute little glass ones.  They're adorable, don't you think?  I guess it's kind of like making lemonade out of lemons!

C says "thank you, Michael!"  And thank you, Melinda, for some new perspective.

This one is "Frankie."  And, yes, all the others have names too!