THE STORY OF ONE FAMILY'S JOURNEY WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES AND CELIAC DISEASE.
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Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Spice


At first glance, you may not notice anything out of the ordinary in that picture.

But, if you look closely, you'll see 10 extra toes.

Meet Spice.


She's 14.

I met her when she was 2.

The first time she came to visit, we had no idea how to get her stroller down the escalator.  (In case you're wondering, you DON'T.  You take the elevator instead.)

Over the past 12 years, we've planned every family vacation with her in mind...from camping on Chincoteague Island to Williamsburg to Disneyland to Montana, and, most recently, Seattle .


Jason helped her build her first snowman, took her fishing, and taught her how to ride a bike. She was visiting on the day I gave birth to Sugar 4 weeks early (surprise!), and then 2 years later, on the day Sugar was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.

She has spent several Christmases with us...I love those visits.

There are details that don't really matter, but basically her parents never married.  In fact, Spice and Jason haven't ever lived in the same state.  She was born before I met her father, and he never tried to hide her from me.  I knew about Spice from the first night her dad and I met at Murphy's Grand Irish Pub on King Street in Old Town Alexadria, VA.

I love her...and I'm honored to be her step-mother.

She's amazing.

She was my navigational-partnah when we needed to drive 40 minutes from my father-in-law's house to my sister-in-law's house during our vacation.  For the record, we got lost once...but figured it out - ehum - after stopping to refill the gas tank.  I loved having her there with me.  We climbed Tiger Mountain together.  (Okay, maybe she made it to the top faster than I did, but I got there eventually.)  I've watched her grow from a monkey-bar swinging kid to a make-up wearing teenager.  Every second has been a blessing.




Spice completes us.


This picture always sticks in my head when I think about Spice as a little girl.




PS -- You can read a little more about Spice HERE.
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16 comments:

  1. She looks so much like your hubby in that last pic! 4 girls...I wouldn't know where to begin!

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  2. LOVE IT!!!! Spice is beautiful :)

    Leighanna is dippin into the make up and I want her to go back to the monkey bars.

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  3. Even though I only met her briefly, I can attest that Spice is a very special gal indeed. I was really impressed by her kindness. I love all the photos!!

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  4. Love your fam Wendy...your love and support is evident through each member.

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  5. "Spice" as her AKA seems to really fit nicely. What goes better with sugar then spice and of course you can't forget everything nice...and that includes your whole wonderful family.

    Beautiful family!!

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  6. Spice is so pretty! I *love* the picture of your feet in the sand! We'll have to do that when we got to the beach! : )
    You have a beautiful family, Wendy. Family comes to us in all different ways, but we absolutely love them the same. : )

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  7. Spice is so pretty! I *love* the picture of your feet in the sand! We'll have to do that when we go to the beach : )
    You have a beautiful family, Wendy. We love family the same no matter how they come to us. : )

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  8. Beautiful family ---- so sweet and spicy!!
    Thank you for sharing your beautiful Spice with us. :)

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  9. love this! As a step mom too I can so appreciate this post. What a beauty!

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  10. Aw - so sweet. I remember your posts about your trip last year too. You're right - I didn't notice the extra toes at first!

    So fun to read about your meeting with Meri too1 What a hoot that your husband is in her yearbook!

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While I'm happy to share our experiences with what works, and what doesn't work, for the management of Type 1 Diabetes and Celiac Disease in our house, please do not mistake anything you read here for medical advice. Decisions regarding your/your child's health care should be made only with the assistance of your medical care team. Use any information from this blog at your own risk.