Friday, July 10, 2015

Goodbye Gluten

It's crazy to think that a year ago I found out I had mono. I never would have imagined that a year later I would still be having health struggles. It has definitely been a trying year! The doctor visit in late May/early June yielded some interesting results. My vitamin D is normal again, so I'm grateful that was an easy fix! One of my tonsils is normal, and the other was only slightly swollen. More progress! My available iron shot up, but my iron stores went down. Only by 1 point, but it doesn't make sense when I have been on iron supplements. The doctor admitted that is a little paradoxical, but she said blood tests aren't always black and white. So, there isn't much to do but keep taking iron, and retest in a few months. The iron had caused a lot of stomach and colon issues, so I basically had to do a colon cleanse. It was quite painful and made for a rough week, but I'm grateful school was out by that point so at least I could be at home :) Mono can cause a lot of digestive problems, so we are onto trying elimination diets to see if that helps. The first adventure is going gluten free. It has been two weeks, and I think it might actually be helping. Which could really be an answer to prayers, but it also makes me sad. Mostly because I love goldfish crackers. ha. I think the real test will be when I start to add gluten back in my diet though. So, we shall see! If you have any favorite gluten free tips or recipes or ideas, send 'em my way!  In other news, my brother Jared and his wife Whitney came to visit, and she took some fabulous pictures of Braden and I. Whitney Owen Photography is the best :)

Top of the SLC Library. Such a great view!


Jared was boss at flying Braden's RC plane!




Love these crazy kids. Thanks for a fun weekend!

Saturday, May 9, 2015

Hope Ya Know, We Had A Hard Time

When I say 'we', I mostly mean 'me'. Braden has definitely been my rock these past few months. It's taken me a while to want to update the blog, probably because I didn't want to remember a lot of what has been going on. But, I think I need to write some of it down so I can look back later and see how far we have come.

Starting off the new year, I was really hoping that my health would begin to improve - I had been on iron supplements for over a month. But it seemed like things were almost getting worse, and I couldn't figure out why. I went to the doctor again in February, hoping for some answers. She looked at my tonsils, and said they were extremely swollen (which they had been back in November as well). We discussed the possibility that my tonsils are so swollen that I can't get enough oxygen when I breathe, which could be causing some of the dizziness. She recommended I go see an ENT (ear nose and throat doctor), and they would probably want to take my tonsils out. They ran several more blood tests as well. The tests came back the following week, and my iron had gone up from a 5 to a 12. They want me at 30 bare minimum, but up towards 60 preferably. So, I've got a long way to go, but at least we are making progress! The results also showed that I am Vitamin D deficient. I started feeling hopeful that things would get better soon once I started taking Vitamin D.

The day after I received the test results, I got in a car accident. Our car was totaled, and I was a mess (more emotionally than anything). Thankfully, I wasn't severely hurt. My arm was burned and cut from the air bag, I had a bloody nose and fat lip, along with mild whiplash, but that was it. I missed a few days of work after the accident, and during that time, I got another call from the doctors office. They had run a mono panel blood test to see if I had really had mono recently (just because I didn't entirely trust the original doctor I had seen), and the results came back that not only did I have mono recently, but it was still active in my blood. So that was really the icing on the cake to the whole month. ha. No wonder I had been feeling so sick recently. They told me my tonsils could be swollen because of the mono, so to hold off on seeing the ENT for now. Vitamin D deficiency, anemia, and mono all cause insomnia. So, sleep has been hard to come by, which of course, makes everything seem worse. Through trial and error, and my dear mother's help, I found a pill that works to help me sleep most nights. It has all natural ingredients - including melatonin and chamomile, so hopefully now that I can sleep it will help my body recover faster!

Even though it felt like all these trials kind of came on at the same time, there have been many tender mercies through it all. Braden's parents were so kind, and let us borrow one of their cars so we would have a vehicle until we bought a new one. One of our friends drove Braden to pick up the car from his parents, since we had no way to get there. We had several meals brought in by friends over the next few days, when I would probably have been too prideful to admit we needed help. They just saw what needed to be done and took care of it. My boss at work was so kind, and she took care of finding subs for me so I didn't have to worry about it. They had flowers delivered to my apt, and I had countless people text, call, or stop by to check on me. This experience has definitely brought me closer to Braden, and to my Savior. There have been a lot of blessings that came from all of this that I don't think could have come any other way.

 In the General Young Women's Meeting, Elder Uchtdorf talked about how joy always comes after sorrow. I know my health still has a ways to go, but I feel like after that trying month, I am starting to finally glimpse that joy. I am learning to rely on the Savior more, and just trust him. In a recent Fast and Testimony meeting, one of the speakers talked about how we need to stop asking 'why', and just trust that the Lord knows best. That has been hard for me, but I know he won't give us more than we can bear.

A 'Box of Sunshine' one of my friends brought me
Cameron got home from his mission! Bet you can't tell
which one is cardboard Cameron, and which one is real.
This was at the Easter Egg Crack Off. You roll hard boiled eggs at
each other, and which ever egg cracks is out. Each person gets
two eggs. Neither Braden or I won.

But my eggs got first and second place in the
decorating contest! :)
 For a date night, Braden and I went eye bombing at the mall. You basically put googly eyes on random items. This was one of our favorites we did :) It was on the side of the photo booth.

These two videos definitely helped me during that difficult month. I watched them a lot!




You can make fun of me for that last one ^, but I love me some boy bands!

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Delicious Food and a little dancing.

Its hard to believe that January is already almost over. I really need to be better at keeping the blog updated - more for myself than anything. I think blogging is a great way to keep a family journal - something our children will be able to look back on in years to come.

The Holiday season wasn't as great as I had hoped it would be. My iron pills were making me pretty sick, and it was my first Christmas away from home. I love my in-laws, but not doing any of the typical Owen family Christmas traditions was weird. Each family celebrates Christmas a little different, and it really made me ponder on what makes the season special.

The morning we were leaving for Rexburg for Christmas, I was feeling really sick. Braden gave me a sweet blessing, in which I was reminded that there will be days where my body is strong, and days where my body is weak. I just need to be patient. I am grateful for the Priesthood, and the hope and comfort it brings. Dealing with anemia has been a little rough. I know I shouldn't complain, because there are people in much worse situations. But, seriously, anemia does the weirdest things to you. Like make you so fatigued and tired, and then give you insomnia. What kind of a mean trick is that?! There was one night over Christmas break where it took me over 5 hours to fall asleep. Needless to say, I was pretty grumpy the next morning. (Braden was really patient with me though :) ) Thankfully the insomnia comes and goes, so I am able to sleep well at least 70% of the time. I can handle that!

We have made some delicious food lately, and people have been asking for the recipes. So, I started a recipe page on our blog. The Zupas Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup and the English Muffin recipes are listed on that page.

And as always, here are a few pictures ;)

These are the English Muffins. They taste just as
good as store bought, and are surprisingly easy to make!

Anybody want to build with legos?



Our ward has a Christmas Masquerade Ball!


We found this beauty geo cashing!


Braden loves his Sriracha shirt and beanie. A little too much. 

These are the Christmas gifts we brought to neighbors.
Can you tell what they are supposed to be? :)



Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Tender Mercies!

 Prayers are not always answered immediately. Today was one of those days where a prayer was finally answered, one I had been praying for since July. And I am SO grateful. Back in July, when I had the Epstine Bar Virus (mono), I was told the recovery from mono can take anywhere from a few months, to a year. So as time went on and I was still dizzy and tired all the time, I didn't worry too much. I just tried to keep chugging along, and stay hydrated. This past week Braden and I went to Boise to be with my family for Thanksgiving. My mom has a doctor there that she absolutely loves, and she suggested I get a check-up, just to see how my body was really recovering from the mono (because the doctor I saw here was not all that great). I got an official weigh in, and my weight has been slowly declining. This is pretty common with mono, but it is crazy to see my weight below what it was in high school. My tonsils are still swollen as well. I got a lot of good advice, and I was put on probiotics for the next 3 months to help boost my immune system.The nurse took a blood test to see if anything else could be causing problems, and we got the results back today. Turns out I am severely anemic! Back in July, the doctor tested me for anemia, but he only tested my current iron levels. At the time, they appeared okay. (Probably because I had taken two iron supplements in the previous 24 hours, suspecting I might be anemic. However, with how tired and sick I was, I completely forgot to mention that to the doctor.) Last week, the nurse tested my iron storage. A normal level is between 30-60, and I am only at a 5. Holy cow! So that explains all my dizziness, fatigue, weakness, and nausea! It is truly a miracle I haven't passed out at school. I have to take iron supplements twice a day now, and I am so excited to get my body back on track and feeling better. What a blessing it is to finally have answers! (and to know that I'm not crazy. There were so many days where I felt like I must be insane, because I was seriously dizzy ALL THE TIME. I'm grateful to know I'm not crazy, and it wasn't all in my head.)

Here are a few pictures from the past little while (including a few from summer I just forgot to post...)
At the Hogle Zoo.
                 
Playing with shaving cream for FHE :)
About to break the record for the World's Largest Scavenger Hunt!
ha, I love this picture! The llama was trying to kiss Braden.
Found $20 on the ground. How often does that
happen? We gave it to the missionary fund though,
because I felt guilty keeping it.
Eating our wedding cake one year later!
A Thanksgiving gift for my siblings at home.
Made this wreath for our front door.



Pac-Man and Ghost. Not the best picture of us, but it shows our costumes.
Putting up the Christmas tree. We have had that tree for 15-16 years, and most
of the branches are being held up by fishing line. So setting it up can be quite
the difficult task. 
My cute little niece, River.
And her twin sister Sage. She loves to dance!

Sage probably got her dance moves from her Grandpa.


This is a screenshot of a snapchat my sister took, but I
just really like this picture of my family :)
And, we got to meet this sweet family again. Oh, how we love them!

Friday, November 21, 2014

A day with small human beings.

Today was one of those days where I felt like I just laughed through each class. Maybe it's because it is Friday, or maybe it is because small human beings are SO funny. Sometimes I wish I could just put them in my pocket and bring them home. Because it is constant entertainment being around them. Here are some quotes I want to remember (from today, and the past few weeks.) Enjoy :)

*Preschool Boy: "Miss Sarah, come here. I have a secret to tell you." (He then grabs my head and pulls it super close to him so he can whisper in my ear.) I want to be bored and take a nap with you."

Now, out of context that sounds super dirty. ha. Obviously he didn't mean it like that! It is kind of a running joke in his class that being bored is fun. But I laughed so hard after he said that, so he starts laughing, thinking what he said is super hilarious. Which made me laugh harder! Oh, it is never ending with that boy.

*Boy: "Miss Sarah, now that we know the primary colors, when will we learn the nursery colors?"

*Girl: (Pointing at a picture of the Mona Lisa) "Miss Sarah, that is a beautiful picture of you." Thanks da Vinci for capturing my beauty so well ;)

*Girl: "Miss Sarah, you have paint all over your apron. Will you please clean it before I see you next time?"

*During pick up one day, the children were playing with these little counting bears.
Boy #1: "How about I be the God over your bears."
Boy #2 does not respond for about 10 seconds.
Boy #1 repeats, a lot louder: "How about I be the God over your bears!"
Boy #2, with a super annoyed look on his face: "Ok, that's fine, but not until after I leave."

*I was explaining the art we were doing that day in class.
Boy: "Oh! I remember this. I did it before when I was a kid." (He is 3.)
Girl gives him a dirty look and says, "You are still a kid."

*Girl: "Miss Sarah! I had pink eye!"
Me: "Oh, I have blue eyes."
Girl: "Wow! That sounds pretty bad."
(hah, I'm so mean messing with them when they totally don't get my jokes. But how else do you stay sane during long days?)

*This one did not happen in my classroom, but it makes me laugh so hard! Warning: this is slightly inappropriate...
Teacher: "Get your hands out of your pants!"
Boy: "But something is just getting big down there!"

*Teacher is walking child out to car during pick up.
Teacher: "I like your coat."
Boy: "Thanks, I just found it at school today."
haha! He just found a coat he liked, and decided to wear it home. This boy is so naive though, he really had no idea that was wrong.

*Me, talking to 3 year old girl: "How are you today?"
Girl: "Good. But not so good. My dad just told me that I didn't sleep good last night. And now I am just tired all day."

*This exchange happened between two girls who are the same age!
Girl #1 hands girl #2 a paper towel  to dry her hands, then pats her on the head and says in a baby voice, "Here you go little fella." I started laughing and said, "Did you just call her little fella?" Girl #1 says, "Yes, she is just the cutest little fella I ever had!"

*One of my coworkers is pregnant. A 3 year old girl that had just come from her class was telling me about how her tummy was getting bigger. She then says to me, "Miss Sarah, I just wish you would grow a baby in your tummy."

*Boy: "Miss Sarah, you have cute cheeks!"

*Girl: "Miss Sarah, you are invited to my birthday party! Here is how you get to my house. You just get on the freeway and drive for a while. Then turn, turn again. Go down the hill, pass the tree, around the corner, turn, and my house will be on the end. Now put that in your brain!"

*Girl: "I am thankful for God, Jesus, and the stuff he telled us to do."

*Boy: "I am thankful for a law, and schools."

*Girl: "The truest thing in the whole wide world is that Jesus loves us and we love him and he died for us and that he cares about us and we care about him and that's the truest thing in the whole wide world that can never ever be broken."

*Boy #1 is at the front of line. Boy #2 goes and cuts in front of him so he can be line leader. (At this point they have no idea I'm watching.) Boy #1 starts to protest. Boy #2 looks at him, shakes one finger in the air and says, "Uh uh. Don't. Say. Anything." Boy #2 was smart enough to know that if a teacher didn't find out, boy #1 wouldn't fight him for the line leader spot. Kids can be so conniving...

Monday, November 3, 2014

When Life's Worth Living, It's Worth Recording.

Right after Braden and I got married, KSL ran an article about a man named ShayCarl who posted daily videos of his family on youtube. They make their living off of these videos. Braden started watching, and he got me hooked. It has become our routine to watch these videos together in the evening. This family goes by the name of "The Shaytards". They first created nicknames for all their kids - Sontard, Princesstard, Babytard, Rocktard, and Brotard - to protect their privacy. So, that's where the name Shaytards comes from. Although everyone knows their real names now, the nicknames have stuck around.

A few weeks ago, Shay announced in their daily vlog that they would be doing a meet and greet in Utah. Braden and I were stoked! After following this family's life for a year, they have started to feel like our family. The meet up was at Shay's Uncle's corn maze in Garland, Utah. So, Braden and I drove two hours to meet this little family. (I know, you are probably thinking we are crazy.) Once we got to the corn maze, there was already a line forming to meet the Shaytards. We ended up waiting in line a little over an hour before it was our turn! It was driving me crazy, because we could hear their voices through the corn, but we had to wait as the line slowly moved up. (We were actually grateful at how slow the line was moving though, because it meant the Shaytards were really taking time to talk to each person who came.)

This was the first good glimpse we got of them through the corn!
While waiting in line, Shay's sister Carlie's son, Cooper, was running through the corn trying to scare people with this mask. When he jumped out at Braden and I, I said, "Hi Cooper!", and he threw his hands up in the air and said, "How did you even know it was me?!" It was cute!


When it was finally our turn, everyone in the family hugged Braden and I, asked us our names, and where we were from. Go Idaho! (They are from Pocatello.) I told them that we had started watching them right after we got married, and that it almost felt like they had been a part of our whole marriage. Shay laughed and said, "Well, that's creepy." He told us a story of another couple that had been brought together by the Shaytard vlogs, and we thanked them for their example in our lives. It still amazes me how sincere they were talking to us - especially after they had already been greeting people for an hour! We talked about their little baby, Daxton, (who we unfortunatley didn't get to meet - he was inside with Grandpa). Daxton and I share a birthday, and this all happened the weekend of our birthday. So the Shaytards wished me a happy birthday, which was pretty cool! :) Brock wasn't very happy that night, but you can see him in the back of our pictures. He was scared because some of the haunted corn maze people were starting to come out, and it was getting cold. I asked Brock for a high five, and he just glared at me. Poor little guy! His Uncle took him inside the house a few minutes after these pictures were taken.

Shay's Uncle took this picture for us. 

Colette is so small! I'm 5 '4, and I felt tall next to her! 




After the Shaytards, we went over to talk to Shay's sister, Carlie. She even put us in her vlog! That was pretty cool, because we didn't even ask. I told her we do her 'Carlie walk' all the time, and she said, "Would you do that for the vlog?" Fast forward to about 3:00, and forgive my awkwardness.



After Carlie, we went to talk to Shay's mom, Laurie. This was probably my favorite part of the whole night! First off, she looked at me and said, "How do I know you? You look so familiar!" I'm pretty sure I have never met her before, but that was cool! She talked about how when Shay was younger, they got kicked out of everywhere because he was noisy and always causing trouble. She talked about how nervous she was to fly to New York for the NYC Marathon that Shay and Carlie were running (which actually happened yesterday.) She works at middle school, so we talked about kids and our jobs a little bit. It was just strange to feel like I know everything about this woman's life (because of watching it on the vlogs), and yet this was the first time we met. But in that moment, I just wanted to be her best friend! I know that sounds cheesy, but she was so so easy to talk to, and so funny. Her laugh is just infectious! We spent about 15-20 minutes with her, and we only left because there was other people waiting to talk to her. The whole night just felt totally unreal. Seeing people in person you have been watching on a screen for so long is a wierd thing. I'm grateful we went, because it really was the best birthday present I could have asked for. 


Friday, September 26, 2014

Babies and Children, Children and Babies.

Being around children all the time has it's pros and cons. One of those cons is that small human beings love sharing germs. Sneezing on you, coughing on you, drooling everywhere, snot running down their face - you name it! Just about every single teacher at my school has had a sore throat, froggy voice, or cold this past month, just because our students are so darn good at sharing! Luckily, I got all three. Trying to teach all day when you can't hardly speak above a whisper - now that's a challenge. But we survived, and I'm almost back to normal.
A huge pro of working with children is the funny things they say. They have no filter, Sometimes at lunch, we just sit as teachers and laugh over what the kids said that day. Here are a few highlights as of late:

-A 2 year old who described shaving cream as "soft and lush". What two year old knows the word 'lush'?! I hardly ever use that word myself.

-"I know you are the teacher because you are old and rusty."

-Child #1 had missed several days of school in a row. Child #2 asks me, "Miss Sarah, how come you gave [Child #1] so many days off of school, and not the rest of us?" So, hey! If you are wanting days off of school, apparently I'm giving them out!

-"My brothers just call me a little devil, because I never leave them alone."

-"I can't move right now. I'm about to poop."

-Child #1 passes gas. Several times in a row. I try not to laugh, and remind him to say "excuse me". The area around him starts to stink. Like, really stink! Child #2 looks at him and says, "WHEW! [Child #1], what did you have for breakfast?!"

To sum it up, school is going wonderful :) When I was younger, I used to play school with my younger siblings and neighbor friends. I remember making simple math worksheets, and spelling tests, and how much I loved to pretend to be the teacher. Sometimes as I plan lessons now, it still feels like I'm just 'playing school'. That's how you know you have the right job. When it just feels like play!

While on the subject of small children, please enjoy these pictures of my cute little nephews, Carter and Owen.


I love watching babies suck their thumbs. Carter hasn't figured out how
to roll his fingers up, so he just squashes his whole nose down.
Owen makes the funniest faces in his sleep!


I love me a good baby burrito!