Blessed

I feel so blessed today.

This is the first day in weeks...maybe even months...that I have actually looked at the world around me. I have been so stressed with school and church and trying to find a job that I have completely ignored all the beautiful miracles that surround me every single day.

My eyes were opened today to all the things that I had been missing in my grief.

 Here are my little miracles and tender mercies that The Lord sent just for me today (most of them).

1. Today at school the parking lady gave me a pass without my car registration. NO MORE PARKING TICKETS! WOOHOO!

2. While I was talking to my friend I got to be outside for two hours enjoying the warmth while having my testimony strengthened by our conversation.

3. I got an 89% on my math test. Then my teacher told everyone to add 10 points so I ended up with a 99%

4. Driving home I didn't get mad at any of the driving-challenged drivers on the freeway.

5. I got greeted at the door by my puppy who was legitly excited to see me. 

6. Even though my sweet, sweet husband is sick, he was so selfless and went to work today so that he can provide for us.

7. I took Jax on a walk and discovered a new part of my complex I had never seen before. It was the most peaceful place I have been in so long.

8. While at my new favorite spot, I got to see the first two geese come back! I am so excited for the geese to be back home this winter. I have been waiting for them for 3 months.

9. I got to sit and listen to the fountain and waterfalls while Jax explored.

10. I got to feel the Lord's love around me all day long and thus, I have been happy all day long.

11. In my times of need, I have had the most loving and supporting family and friends anyone could ask for. They all know just what to say to make things better.

12. I got to eat lunch with my husband today...I even got a kiss (he's sick so he doesn't want me sick too)!!!

13. I got to watch a bird dive into the water for food twice. I have never seen that before. It was so incredible.

14. I am blessed with the knowledge that my Savior lives and loves me. I know that He knows our weaknesses, fears, pains, and sadness and that He will send angels and tender mercies when we least expect them so that our burdens may be lighter. I know that I was born in the last days when the church is fully restored, when we have a living prophet to lead and guide us every day. I know that He lead my husband to me to bless me every single day with his unending love.

This is just a short list of all the things I was blessed with, so far, today.

I have been so selfish the past few months and I need to start being selfless so that I can attempt to pay back the Lord for everything he helped me see today.

Today, my heart is full of gratitude to the Lord, my family, my friends, and especially Zach. I am so thankful to those who have put up with me all these years and helped to shape me into the woman I am today.

May we all see the miracles that surround us each day and thank God for trusting us enough to allow us to see them.

"Army Wife: It's not my status, it's my life long promise to him."

Happy Anniversary, Tawna & Erik!! AND Welcome baby Lennox!

Happy Anniversary to my sweet sister, Tawna, and her wonderful husband, Erik!! Thank you for everything you both have done for me over the years! I love you both so much!

Erik and Tawna 

Maddox

Phoenix

Phoenix with two of her favorite cousins: Kaden and Korbyn

This is one of my favorite pictures

Family photo

Erik and Maddox

(I'm sorry I only had pictures from the wedding of you two!)


I found out after I posted this that she had her baby. Lennox "Hot Tub" Byron Bruun. He is adorable!

"Army Wife: It's not my status, it's my life long promise to him."

Welcome, Great Pumpkin!!!

This is the long version but you can't see it very well.

This is the better version but I stopped mid-sentence because I forgot the pebbles...

Last year I was so sad because we didn't have enough money to decorate for any of the holidays so Zach promised that this year we would. As we were waiting for my prescription to be filled, we sauntered over to Michael's to see what kind of crafty things they had. I wanted to buy the whole store! Fortunately, I had Zach with me and he helped me limit myself.

We bought:

A black vase

Black leafs with purple glitter

Black leafs with silver glitter

Black and Orange-glitter twiggy things

Spiders

Spider candles

Little pebble things

A purple plate

Foam to stick everything in

And 

A Skeleton

If it sounds like it cost a lot, you would be absolutely correct. Was it worth it? H-E-double hockey sticks yes. The video is just of the centerpiece I made tonight. It took me two hours. You can't see it very well and it looks a lot better in person but that's the best I could do considering my camera is dead.

Zach bought a skeleton to hang on our door...that's where he is currently "hanging out" (that was funny. laugh.). He thinks it's naked so when I go back to buy the spiderweb table cloth he'll need to get something to jazz it up a bit. 

I know it's only September but I, seriously, cannot wait for Halloween! These next few months are my very favorite time of the year! Are any of you as excited as I am? What are you doing to get in the Halloween spirit?

"Army Wife: It's not just my status, it's my life long promise to him."

It's a Bittersweet Symphony (sorry for the length!!)

I know, I know, I know ANOTHER post today. I'm sorry! I just feel like I need to spread the good news...well, bittersweet news anyways. Here's the update on my visit to the doctor.

First, I will NEVER go to him again. He's rude. However, he DID tell me some important information. In last week's blog I mentioned that I was going to the doctor to see what was up with the lateness and the negative pregnancy tests. I'm still not pregnant but this time instead of telling me, "Keep trying" like all the others he said, "I think I know what's wrong. Let me double check." which was nice. And sure enough, I have something called Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). This means that I have a lot of cysts on my ovaries which are doing some pretty gnarly things to my body.The most important things though are that it's why I haven't been able to lose weight since I got married (I've gained 46 lbs with no success in losing even 1 of them!!) and that it makes it a billion times harder for me to get pregnant.

Hard Pregnancy:

Apparently, I don't ovulate like the average woman. Sometimes when I'm on my period I still won't ovulate and other times I will miss my period altogether (like I did in August). Since getting pregnant takes everything being perfect and just at the right time anyways, this just screws with the system. Dr. Park prescribed me some medication that I take on days 5-9 and they will supposedly help me ovulate that month.

He explained this VERY poorly and basically told me, "Yeah, good luck getting pregnant" (read that statement with as much sarcasm as you can muster). I was devastated, to put it lightly. I went back to school and told Zach then went home for the day. On my way home I decided to call my sister, Tawna. I explained everything that happened and she told me not to listen to my doctor and that I could get pregnant then explained more about PCOS than my actual doctor did. She even told me stories about some of her friends getting pregnant with PCOS. I love her so much for that. She calmed me down a lot. So, I'm headed to the pharmacy to pick up the pills soon and see what happens with that.

Even if they don't work, I'm doing a lot better with it now and I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for me and it will happen. Just because it's not in my time doesn't mean He doesn't hear me. I'm trying to keep trusting Him during all of this.

Weight Gain:

Dr. Park told me that I can't lose weight like the average person so I have to force myself to lose weight. This came as a HUGE shock to me because before I got married I was dropping weight like it was a hot potato. I didn't have to diet or anything...I just didn't gain. And all he said on this topic was "You have to force yourself". That's it. Not another word was said. I have never had a doctor who didn't explain that before. He's lucky I didn't think he meant, "Go Anorexic". Anyway, that night I went to my parents' house because my brother was surprising his wife by coming home from AIT (military school). We spent the whole weekend there which was great but still didn't solve my weight problem. Now, I'd tried everything. I'd exercised, I'd dieted and nothing worked. That is, until my mom told me about her diet. I knew about it because she did it while I was growing up but I never wanted to do it. This thing works like a charm!

What is it? It's called Amylose Free. So, here it is:

 Part 1: if it has wheat in it you can't eat it.

Go gluten free. 

You can have oats and barley, so all you oatmeal lovers keep on eating. Here's some info about that (click here!)

Part 2: 

if something has sugar in the first 3 ingredients don't eat it!

and Part 3:

No bleached food so that means only brown rice.

Finally Part 4:

Follow the Glycemic Index

This part isn't as hard as it sounds. It's pretty much "No Duh" stuff. Here's where you'll find a great site with all the information on that (click here!). 

OH! I almost forgot. You can occasionally have a baked potato but mashed are OUT OF THE QUESTION!! Boiled potatoes bring out that Amylose starch that you don't want. 

The first 28 days are the hardest, or so my mom says. But after that you will have no problem sticking to it. 

At first, I thought it was going to be really expensive but it's not. There are some things that are a bit more expensive than regular food but it's so worth it. Just buy fresh things and you'll be ok. 

So, does it work? I started it on Monday and last night (Thursday) at 11:45PM I checked my weight and I had lost 4 lbs. I'd say it works. 

I'm taking Zumba twice a week which, I know, helped with the weight loss. Exercise will increase your results a lot. Even just going for a 30 minute walk every day. 

There's my bittersweet news. Hopefully, some of you can use this diet. When it gets hard just stick to your guns just remember that I'm doing it too so you're not alone! No sugar is the worst part. I never ate candy before and I'm craving it so bad. Stick to it! It works! Good Luck!

"Army Wife: It's not just my status, it's my life long promise to him."

An Old Obsession

I've been dreaming again. Dreaming of post-deployment, of post-Army. Dreaming of raising our little family in a house of our own.

When Zach and I finally buy our house there are a lot of things that I want to do to make it ours. What, you may ask? Well, to start things off I'm going to finally do the one thing I've wanted to do for years.

Chalkboard Refrigerators

This one is the one I was

originally thinking about. 

I think this patterned

one is really fun. 

This isn't a fridge but it's a really cute kitchen.

This is cute but not "it".

This one is neat because it still

has the ice and water thing.

I think that I want a fridge that takes panels so that if I get sick of one color I can just take the panels out and put different ones in. There are so many different colors of chalkboard paint out there but black speaks to me the most.

This is my obsession for today. One day I'll get to do it. Until then, I'll just keep the smile on my face and I'll keep dreaming.

"Army Wife: It's not just my status, it's my life long promise to him."

When You Wish Upon a Star......you end up at the doctor??

In the immortal words of Jiminy Cricket,

When you wish upon a Star

Makes no difference who you are

Anything your heart desires

Will come to you

If your heart is in your Dream

No request is too extreme

When you wish upon a star

As Dreamers do

Fate is kind

She brings to those who love

The sweet fulfillment of

Their secret longing

Like a bolt out of the blue

Fate steps in and sees you through

When you wish upon a star

Your dreams come true

Well, for the past year I've wished on every star and, Darn it, Jiminy Cricket, I never got my wish.

In 30 minutes I'm headed to the doctor. Not how I wanted to spend my morning, but that's where I'm going, regardless. Today marks day 43 and 3 negative pregnancy tests. Now, I get to spend all morning getting poked and prodded for who knows what tests. To make matters worse, Zach can't come. He gets to be a good little boy and go to class since it's his first day for two of them. So, I'm on my own.

When you wish upon a star, Fate supposedly steps in and gives you what you wished for. This time, Fate stepped in and gave me a doctor's visit. Where in that song does it say that Fate has a sense of humor? Here's to hoping his sense of humor doesn't last too much longer, eh?

"Army Wife: It's not my status, it's my life long promise to him."--Anonymous