Heaven-Sent Banana Pancakes..and many other blessings

This is my first time ever posting on our blog and I am so excited for this new opportunity! I cannot even pretend to be as cool as my sisters, but I'll do my best!
I guess I'll start with introducing my "story." In February of 2013, when I was fifteen years old, I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. I was completely devastated at the news and I was out of school for weeks. I was forced to be humble and put my faith in the Lord. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had during that challenging time to come much much closer to my Father in Heaven and my Savior Jesus Christ. My family was a tremendous support to me. I can speak from experience that whatever you are going through, however worthless and weak you may feel, God is always aware of you and He has a plan you. Sometimes it's like climbing a mountain, you know deep down that the summit is up there, but you can't see it. You feel exhausted and you want to give up, but God knows your potential better than you do. Don't stop! You can do anything with God.
Anyway, after a year I had things well under control and I was finally feeling a little more comfortable with my new condition. I felt like I knew what I was doing and I had quite a few ideas of how the rest of the school year was going to go. But God had a better plan for me. In February, I started feeling constantly and extremely fatigued. I couldn't drag myself out of bed in the morning and then, if I found the strength to go to school, I would come home and crash. It got worse and worse until it got to the point where some mornings I felt that I couldn't move my legs at all. As a dedicated runner, this was a very frightening thing. Once again, I was forced to rely on the Lord. After months of searching for answers, I was diagnosed with celiac disease, which basically means I am extremely gluten intolerant. Unfortunately, the diagnosis didn't really solve any problems immediately. I went on a strict gluten free diet but my energy didn't return and I was then trying to juggle two life changing diseases. That was the hardest time of my young life. After a few weeks I also found that I was lactose intolerant and unable to eat rice, beans, and potatoes. But once again I found tremendous support from my wonderful friends and my amazing mother and family. I have been blessed every day with renewed energy and strength and now, I am closer to God than I ever could have been had I not been given the chance to endure what I did. Sorry, I know the whole story is kindof a downer.
But now, despite the fact that I have 2 life-long diseases, I live a beautiful life full of blessings. I am a (somewhat) normal kid with ambitions and desires and passions. It's still very hard but I know where I'm going and I know who I'm following. I am living proof that Heavenly Father loves his children and strengthens them through trials designed just for them. These trials have blessed me with testimony and experience.

 This picture was taken this summer when my Dad and I climbed Mt. McLaughlin. I am so blessed to be able to climb! Especially with someone as amazing as my father!

I took this from the summit. The hike is hard but oh so worth every moment!

Sooooo, one of the many blessings in my life has been...banana pancakes! I know it sounds crazy but I truly appreciate this recipe (tweaked by my mom about 50 times now). It's the best recipe for gluten free, dairy free, sugar free pancakes you'll ever find! If you are going gluten free, or looking for a dang good healthy pancake, or you don't know how you got here but you just happen to be reading this random blog, please give them a try!

Heaven-Sent Banana Pancakes!

2 mashed overripe bananas
4 eggs
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4-1/2 tsp. baking powder
6 Tbs. almond flour (or tapioca starch-tapioca makes them a little more dense but more banana-ee)

Whisk together, cook on griddle as a normal pancake. Cooks slowly at 300-325 degrees.

Try them with any combination of butter, maple syrup, agave syrup(my personal favorite), mashed berries, whipped cream etc.

Makes 12-14 four inch pancakes. (6-7 carbs per pancake)