You're never too old to learn.

I'm here. I'm really here. I was just doing....life.

Today was Diabetic Education Session #1. It went MUCH better than Jim or I either imagined. This last week wasn't that much fun for Jim. I actually made him eat fish for dinner one night and made him taste a fresh peach. (For those of you who don't know - he doesn't like fish, and the only fruit he eats is apples and bananas.) You should have seen the look on his face today when the diabetic educator told me I didn't have to make him eat fish OR fruit. It was like a weight was lifted off of him, and he realized this new way of eating wasn't going to be horrible after all.

The session today focused on getting the patients to realize what carbs do and where they come from. By the time we left the session, we had a meal plan outlining how many servings of carbs he gets at each meal and snack and also how many calories he gets per day. In two weeks we go back (actually Jim will...I'll be at the Joyce Meyer conference) they will teach about fats.

The two ladies who worked with us today were great. Jim and I both expected an old lady with a ruler she would use to smack our nuckles, but we got just the opposite. What a pleasant surprise! They were real and personable and interested in us and our life. What an encouragement for Jim! We learned that no food is off limits really...you just have to plan your meals...if you want that one scoop of ice cream for dessert or a piece of cake, then you must make sure you have an allotment of carbs left in your daily plan. These dishes of ice cream and pieces of cake can't be the norm, but an occasional treat.

My plan is that by Monday I'll have a meal list made up to get us through the next two weeks. Then I can just repeat the meals for the next two weeks, or make adjustments if needed after his next education session.

I've said it before, and believe it even more now...this diagnosis of diabetes is not a good thing, but I think that we can make a good thing from it. We're making these changes as a family, and Jim will have our support. We should both begin to lose weight, especially when we get more activity into our schedule. Up until now we've been really good about talking about making a change, now we HAVE to. I want Jim with me for MANY more years, and he wants to be with us for many more also. These are steps we must take for that to happen.

Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray for us. If you have any great low-fat recipes, please send them to me. Any questions or suggestions...send them too.

Until next time...

Change is coming

Change has been officially announced in our household as of today. My husband has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Thankfully his numbers are still relatively low, but they're still high enough to qualify for the diagnosis.

I went to the bookstore today and purchased two different cookbooks and a book solely about type 2. Since I'm the chef of the house, I'm going to have to learn a different way of choosing and cooking foods. The doctor did not set him up with a diabetic educator yet, so I'll be investigating that. I know one of the hospitals we have access to has an educator, so it's just a matter of coordinating the details with the doctor's office.

To be honest, I'm concerned. I won't say that I'm afraid because I know I can change. But...it's changing the way I was raised to cook. Maybe we'll get into all of this and I'll find out it won't be that big of a change...maybe just switching out a few ingredients. Truthfully, we don't fry our food. Most things are baked and not breaded. I'm thinking a lot more chicken and turkey and a lot less beef.

I know it will be a slow process to learn all of the ins and outs. Please pray for us. Pray that the learning process will be smooth and that Jim will make right choices in what and how much he eats. We will all three eat what he eats, so that will help. If I have to, I'll clear every food item out of our house and only restock what's allowed. Diabetes is not a good thing, but this will be a good change for our family. We CAN do this!