We would like to thank our family and friends for a wonderful walk day for Noelle! God provided beautiful weather and it was such a fun morning celebrating the life that Noelle has. She endures so much every day but rarely complains about any of it. We love to have this special day to “throw her a party” along with her other friends that have Type 1 Diabetes. It was so emotional to see the sea of colorful family team tshirts walking around the track en mass. No one can tackle this disease alone. It is always humbling to see how many people are affected by T1D.

Thank you to those that bought tshirts, potholders, wristbands, donated directly to JDRF in honor of Noelle (or any other child or adult living with this disease), walked with us and more importantly, prayed with us and for us!!!! We are in awe of the support that God has gathered around our family. He is so Faithful and we want to give Him all glory and praise!

Our team was able to exceed our goal and pray that this money will provide what is needed to find a cure for our baby girl! We will continue to pray and not give up HOPE!

If you are still interested in donating in honor of Noelle, we can keep collecting funds to go toward the 2011 JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes…for 6 more weeks. Just click on the “Join/Donate” tab above.

We love you all!
Thank you!!!

This is a letter we just received from our local JDRF with all the info you need about the 2011 JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes. We hope you will be able to join us!! Thank you for all you do to help us get closer to finding a cure for Type 1 (Juvenile) Diabetes!
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Walk Day is here and you need to know the details! We can’t wait to celebrate everyone’s hard work together!

Birmingham Walk to Cure Diabetes Walk Day Details:

Date: September 24, 2011

Walk Start Time: 9:00 AM

Location: Veteran’s Park in Hoover

Check-In Information

When you arrive, head to the Registration (opens at 8 a.m.) area located in the middle of Veteran’s Park to check in. ALL participants must come to registration to sign the City of Hoover waiver and pick up a meal ticket for lunch. If you have donations to turn in, please secure all funds in a JDRF Walker envelope. Each walker should have an envelope. While additional envelopes will be available at check-in, having the following information completed on the Walker Collection Envelope speeds up the check-in process:

Your name
Your Team Name and Team Captain’s name
Address
Email and/or phone number
Amount in envelope

§ Please remember, each walker should turn in their own envelope. Walkers are asked NOT to combine funds into one envelope

If you have not registered online, your contact information is needed. Keep in mind, home address is preferred in order to expedite the delivery of JDRF post-Walk information and prizes.

Also, don’t forget:

Checks should be made out to JDRF. Please note that if you have pre-entered any checks/cash as gifts in advance of the walk it is highly recommended that you bring a separate sheet with the Donors Name, Check Number and Amount so that JDRF can confirm your entered gifts.
If you have a large amount of coins to turn in on Walk Day, we ask you convert to cash or check
If you raise $100, you will receive a JDRF Walk T-shirt

Walk Day Schedule

8:00 Registration Opens
8:30 Walk Ceremony Begins
8:45 Warm-up by Crunk Fitness
9:00 Walk Starts

Immediately following the Walk: Lunch provided by Moe’s Southwest Grill

Walk Route Map & Parking
The Birmingham Walk takes place at Veteran’s Park located in front of Spain Park High School off of Valleydale Road (4700 Jaguar Drive, Hoover, AL 35242). Parking is available on-site but it is limited and is first come, first serve. Additional parking will be available at Jeff State Community College and in front of Spain Park High School. All Walk Day activities and refreshments are complimentary! Parking is complimentary. There is no fee to participate in the walk, but JDRF challenges each walk to ask ten friends for $10. If you choose not to fundraise, we suggest a minimum $25 donation per person to help cover the cost of your attendance.

Entertainment

We’ll have music, kids’ activities, special guests and plenty of family fun including:

super slide
face painting and temporary tattoos
coloring
bead making
on-site jungle gym
Music by Music.tom
Bike display by the Birmingham HOG (Harley Owner’s Group)
Team T-shirt contest
Diabetes Outreach/Support Booths
JDRF Research info booth
Community Health Exhibits including diabetes pharmaceutical and device representatives.

Refreshments will be available from local vendors at the Walk. These will include: Coffee and Iced drinks by Starbucks, soda drinks such as Coke, Diet Coke, Diet Sprite and water by Coca-Cola. Jason’s Deli and Advanced Auto Parts have generously donated bottled water as well. Snacks by Lance Snacks and Bud’s Best Cookies. There are also water stations throughout the Walk route. Orange juice and glucose tabs are available upon request.

Lunch provided by Moe’s Southwest Grill following the walk.

Note: While we do our best to provide vendors with accurate attendance numbers, we highly suggest that you bring beverages, snacks and any other diabetic supplies needed for your child.

Family Team Reminder

Family Teams are invited to gather in JDRF’s Family Team Tent located in the middle of Veteran’s Park near the giant inflatable slide. Feel free to bring balloons, signage and/or any other decorations to help other members find your team!

The deadline for turning in Walk money to JDRF for award and pledge prize eligibility is six weeks post-Walk. Walker Collection Envelopes to send in with post-Walk funds will be available at the Check-In Area.

Corporate Teams

Corporate Teams are invited to gather together in JDRF’s Corporate Team Tent! Feel free to bring balloons, signage and/or any other decorations to help other members find your team!

Donor Receipts

Donors who have written a check to JDRF for $250+ will receive a letter of receipt from JDRF.

T-Shirts for the Team T-Shirt Design Contest can be turned in at Volunteer Check-In (or mailed to JDRF by November 1).

If you choose to receive a JDRF Prize catalog, you should expect to receive it approximately 10 weeks post walk. Catalogs are not automatically sent to eligible walkers. You must indicate your prize choice on your Walker Collection Envelope or in your Participant Center, and redeem your gift catalog. Ordering info will be sent with each gift catalog. Click here to browse the Prize Catalog options. The deadline for selecting your prize level is four weeks post-Walk.

Walk Awards will be handed out at the JDRF Walk Awards Banquet on Thursday, December 1 at McWane Science Center! Invitations to the Awards Banquet will be sent to: all team captains, all walkers raising $500 or more, volunteers and sponsors. Individuals or Teams raising $500-$999 will receive a Certificate of Achievement. Individuals raising over $1,000 will receive a JDRF Golden Sneaker Award. Teams raising over $1,000 will receive a Walk Award. Other fun awards and contests will also be presented!

Continue to fundraise after the Walk! Funds received until six weeks post-Walk Day will be credited to your final individual and team totals.

Remember, if someone can’t make it on Walk day encourage them to sign up as a Virtual Walker! They can walk anywhere, anytime, whatever works for them and still raise money for JDRF AND be eligible for walk prizes!

We look forward to seeing you on Saturday! P.S. Looks like it’s going to be a BEAUTIFUL day with highs in the low 80′s. If you have any further questions, please email us or call us at (205) 421-9966 .

This will be our 3rd year to walk in the Birmingham JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes. This year it will be at Veteran’s Park in Hoover (Valleydale Road) on September 24, 2011 at 9:00am. The walk is so much fun!! Starbucks will be there giving out free coffee and tea, Moe’s Southwest Grill is giving out free lunch, there will be bounce houses for the kiddos and of course Team Noellie Bellies will be there!!!! We would love for you to join us for a fun morning celebrating Noelle and the other kids and adults living with Type 1 Diabetes. Thank you to all of our friends that have joined us the past two years!! We love you all and want you to know that your support means the world to us

My sister’s family and my cousin’s family will be walking in the Tulsa JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes on October 15 if you want to join them for some Okie fun!! I am hoping that we will be able to go, too!!! They walked in Noelle and my cousin, Jennifer’s honor last year and we were tickled pink that they would do that for us!! Love you guys!

And now…here is our new walk video!! Special “thank you” to Laura Story….this song has ministered to our family in a Mighty way!

Yesterday, Noelle, Dw and I attended the JDRF Wild for a Cure kick-off luncheon. Not only did we all get to enjoy a delicious (fancy-as Noelle put it) lunch, but we also got motivated and encouraged about our fight to find a cure for diabetes. Linda Mays, from ABC 33/40, was the emcee of the event and she was delightful. Her mother has Type 2 Diabetes so she knows a bit about the parents of children with T1D and adults that were in attendance face every day with T1D.  One of our local D-moms (mom of a child with diabetes) spoke about their journey with T1D. She told a very disturbing story about an 8 year old child that they knew that died from undiagnosed Type 1 Diabetes. 14 months later, this D-mom was able to recognize the signs and symptoms in her own 2 1/2 year old daughter after hearing about this other family’s sad story and was able to get her daughter to medical care before she went into DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis). She was so thankful that she recognized the symptoms and her daughters life was spared. Once again, it made me realize how important it is that we get the word out to our friends and family about what to watch for…prayerfully, they will never need to recall those symptoms but if they do, a life could be spared.

Now for the inspiring part of the day…the Artificial Pancreas is soooooo close to becoming a reality for my girl and everyone else with T1D!!!  Every time I hear this, I get so excited!  It is NOT a cure by any means but it does mean that my daughter will have much better control of her blood sugar which means that her kidneys, eyes, limbs and heart will be safer. It also means that she won’t have to figure out every single carbohydrate that goes into her mouth!!  She will still have to check her blood sugar but hopefully not as many times per day.  Also, I was so encouraged when I heard, once again, about the people that have tested the Artificial Pancreas and how for once, they consistent blood sugars all night.  WOW!  Does this mean we would all get a full nights sleep?!?!  No more fear of seizures or finding our child passed out from dropping too low in the night.

The cure is on the horizon, too!!  This is so exciting!!  Until that day…we will keep on believing and praying for a cure!

After the luncheon we visited with Linda Mays.  She was so sweet!  Thank you for allowing us to be a bit star struck and get a photo of Noelle with you

I just spent a few minutes sitting on Noelle’s bed, holding her while she cried and said these painful words. “I wonder what life would be like without diabetes. I can’t ever remember not having it. All I can remember is the time in the hospital [October 2, 2008].” It broke my heart. The words of encouragement seem so empty in times like this. I don’t know what it is like to have a device strapped to my body 24 hours a day/7 days a week. I can’t relate to what my 9 year old goes through every day or how she feels. I did remind her that even though she has this disease, it doesn’t stop her from doing anything she wants or being anything she wants to be. I reminded her of our dear friend, Alexandra, who finished her senior year of high school this past May with high honors, was captain of her cheerleading squad, won beauty pageants and seems to do anything she sets her mind to…and do it well…in spite of having Type 1 Diabetes since she was 8 years old! She just started her freshman year of college…with amazing scholarships. Although I know she has to put more thought into everything she does, wears an insulin pump on her body, has to calculate every ounce of food that enters her body…she does it all with grace and dignity and most of all…it doesn’t slow her down! She is an amazing role model for Noelle and we are so thankful that God placed her and her family in our life when Noelle was diagnosed. All this said, I did give Noelle a word of Scripture that carries her (and me) through. “I can do ALL things through CHRIST who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 Thankfully, no matter where we are or what we are going through, our Heavenly Father is cheering us on and walking through it all…good or bad…with us!! That gives us both encouragement!

Hello friends and family!

October 2, 2008, our 6 year old daughter’s life was forever changed…and so was our family.  Noelle was constantly thirsty, going to the bathroom frequently, always hungry but losing weight, lethargic, and nauseated, all classic symptoms of Type 1 Diabetes. She spent 3 days in the hospital where Dwight and I learned how to keep our daughter alive.  It was overwhelming and terrifying.  It is hard to believe that was almost 3 years ago.  Noelle is the bravest child that I know!

 
On September 24th, we will be walking again in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes to support our daughter, Noelle, and the cure for Juvenile (Type 1) diabetes. Last year, we raised about $4300.00 and we would like to thank everyone again for your generous support of JDRF and Noelle.  This year, we hope to raise $5000!!!

Your donation supports not only the research for the cure, but also funds many clinical trials currently exploring innovative technologies for better management of Type 1 diabetes. Your money is providing funding for the development of the artificial pancreas. This will be a device much like an insulin pump but will continually monitor her blood sugar levels and inject insulin without human intervention. In other words, this would mean no more finger pricks and insulin shots and most importantly, it will keep her blood sugar in a healthy range without the complications of blood sugar highs and lows. That is just one of the promising technologies being developed but our hope is for the CURE…we are getting closer!!  Thanks for your help!

We would love for you to come walk with us on Saturday, September 24th at Veterans Park in Hoover, AL. Even if you aren’t able to attend the walk, any donation amount to Noelle’s team is appreciated. Your generous support gets us one step and one dollar closer to the cure. No matter the amount of your donation, your dollar may be THE dollar that funds the CURE!! No donation amount is too small.

So please donate to JDRF this year and consider making JDRF part of your annual charitable contributions. Thank you for your support and hope to see you at the Walk!  You can follow this link to either join our team or give any amount to help us Fund the CURE! http://www2.jdrf.org/site/TR/Walk-AL/Chapter-Alabama4000?team_id=20856&pg=team&fr_id=1390

Continue to lift Noelle up in your prayers.  We know that God is bigger than any disease and that He has a plan for her through all of this.

Thank you for your prayers and support!!!

Much Love,
Dwight & Krista

Please consider joining Team Noellie Bellies for the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes on September 24, 2011.  Just click on the “Join Noellie Bellies” on this site: Team Noellie Bellies.  Let us know if you have any questions (use the “Contact” form or just call us).

Bonus Goodies:  All team walkers that raise at least $100 in JDRF donations will receive a Free 2011 Team Noellie Bellies t-shirt, a Team Noellie Bellies wristband, and a 2011 JDRF Walk shirt (while supplies last).  Be sure to let us know the size(s) you need.

This is our daughter, Noelle’s story about her life with Type 1 (Juvenile) Diabetes. Your tax deductible donations to JDRF can be made in her honor at Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation for their Walk to Cure Diabetes. Our Team name is Noellie Bellies. Thank you so much for your prayers and/or donations. We WILL find a cure for our little girl!!!

I also wanted to add how much encouragement this song has given to our family…”What Faith Can Do.” by Kutless