First Week of School Adventures with my Biggest Fan!

In case you are wondering how my first week of school is going, I can tell you in one word- humbling and enlightening. Okay, that was two words, but let me elaborate. Every day, I wake up at 5 AM (quite honestly more like 5 thirty...), shower, choose an outfit (which can take a while!), do my hair and makeup, go downstairs and eat a rushed breakfast, grab my pathetic little gluten free lunch and I'm out the door (hopefully) by 6:15 to be at Seminary on time by 6:30. Many people may ask, why would any teenage kid get up to go to a church class at 6:30 AM!? Sometimes I wonder myself, but then I remember why I go to seminary. Seminary is by far the best part of my day. It is one hour where I can feel the Spirit and discuss the scriptures with my peers. What better way to start the day off than with the Spirit? If you know any youth that are struggling with getting to seminary, please encourage them! Seminary changes lives and once they feel the beauty of the gospel they'll want to be there!

In my short experience as a junior in high school, I have learned so much about the gospel. Every day, my one mission is to follow the Spirit. I've found that when I have the Spirit with me everywhere I go, I get excited about learning and I want to be there. I can see the worth in others that I could never see before, and I can see ways in which I can help them. Each day I try to live with no regrets. Every time I refuse to follow a prompting, I regret it. I always wonder, "you may have changed their life if you had the courage to say hi to them. But now you'll never know because you were too afraid." It is the worst feeling in the world knowing that you have "feared man more than God." If you are ever blessed with a prompting of the Spirit, take the opportunity! Don't let those blessings pass you by as I have done on far too many occasions. No regrets!

I have also learned that life truly is an adventure! I had the wonderful opportunity to go white water rafting with some of the other youth in my ward last weekend. I had never been before, and so I was understandably nervous about the prospect of flying down a white frothing rapid with absolutely no control, being led by the will of merciless water. Images of the headlines the next day flashed through my mind: "16 YEAR OLD GIRL KILLED IN RAPIDS LABELED 'EASIEST RAPIDS IN OREGON'." I just knew I was going to die! But I said a prayer that everything was going to be okay and as we shoved our raft off the shore my fear washed away and faith took over. With faith, life is fun! I stood on the front of the raft going down incredible rapids and flipped of a makeshift slip 'n slide and did every crazy thing I could. I'm not saying that if you jump off a cliff and just have a lot of faith everything is going to be okay. (Please don't try it!) But I am saying that with God on your side, you don't have to be afraid of everything. You can have fun and be calm knowing that everything is going to work out. I am a rafter! I am also a treasure hunter! Talking with one of my friends today, we discovered that life is a treasure hunt. God had created this beautiful plan in which everything works out and He leaves little nuggets of spiritual gold all over the place. He guides us to find it and celebrates with us when we take pride in our accomplishment. He put the gold there, and he brought us to it, but we still celebrate our victory! He wants to find all the pieces and see the beauty in every day life. We just need to follow the path he has put us on and we will find the goodness in everything.

Beautiful view of the river rafting last weekend!

So, as a super adventurer, of course I must have fans. There is one fan in particular that with every passing day I see more and more how much she is not only a fan, but my biggest supporter. Let me tell you what her morning schedule looks like...
Wake up at 4:45, go into Chara's room and try to make her stir a little bit, 15 minutes later do it again, get ready for a rushed shower, go back into Chara's room and use a little more force in my voice. Take a shower, choose an outfit, and check on Chara to make sure she didn't fall asleep in the shower, expertly do hair and makeup, try to wake up my 13 year old son, James. Repeat as many times as needed. Run downstairs and make a beautiful breakfast for the children, run Chara's lunch out to her car before she drives away without it again. Stuff a few bites in my mouth and then off to work.
If you haven't already guessed, this is my mother. She does so much for our family, I don't even know how she does it. My mom isn't perfect, but she loves us so much. As we get back into our morning routines, please take an extra second to remember the many long hours spent by your mother. The world may say that taking "the mommy track" is a cop-out or something that only uneducated, weak women choose. I can say right now that I know two mothers very personally who work harder than a lot of women out there and they are anything but dumb or weak! This week I have realized that someday when I become a mother, I can only hope to be as amazing as my mother and my older sister. The examples of righteous mothers are all around us. God has emphasized the importance of mothers in our world today. Take a moment to appreciate all that your mother has done for you. I don't mean to sound preachy, but they truly are our biggest fans. Thanks for everything Mom!

One thing my Mom does that makes her the very best mom EVER is she makes this stuff called Polenta. It's basically corn meal, but polenta just sounds fancier. It is one of the best gluten free, dairy free, soy free etc, breakfast recipes out there!

Adventurer Approved Polenta
4 cups water
1/2 tsp. sea salt
3 Tbls. butter
1 cup polenta

Boil water, butter, and salt. Add Polenta on medium heat. Whisk together until it starts getting thick. Cover, reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. While cooking, add a couple of tablespoons of agave or honey. A double batch makes a loaf. Put the mixture into a loaf pan and refrigerate. When it has fully cooled and the loaf has a kind of jello-y texture, take it out of the pan and slice it up.

From there, it's your choice!
I like to fry it in a little bacon grease and serve with agave on top like syrup. When frying it, be patient, it takes a little while to get it crispy on both sides. You can also top it with honey or maple syrup.

James likes to mash it up, add a little water on low heat and put some coconut milk and agave in it after it's heated so it's like gluten free cream of wheat! You can also heat it up in the microwave. Both ways it's delicious! It's great for school mornings because you can make the loaf ahead of time and just store it in the fridge and use a few slices every morning. If you have any questions, just make a comment below.

Kid approved and fantastic!

Thanks Mom for a great polenta breakfast every morning!

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)