Priceless!

2 suits

10 shirts

2 pair of slacks

8 pair socks

3 pair wool socks

1 tie

1 shoe shine kit

1 drained bank account

1 well-equiped missionary...priceless

Twin

One of the things I am grateful for is how my parents provided good experiences for us when we were kids. Tom and I have tried to do the same with our kids. This trip to the Twin Falls temple is one of the experiences we wanted to provide for the kids.

Hannah, James, Tom, Tim, Ann, Linda

We spent a wonderful day at the Twin Falls temple. Our friend, Carol Strayer came up from Salt Lake to meet us. She has now been in 16 of the temples. So we started counting. I've been in 21 of the temples. Linda has been in the one furthest from home...Sao Paulo Brazil. Tim will be able to attend the Halifax Canada temple while on his mission.

We started the day with everyone doing baptisms. Tim was able to serve as a baptizer, which was really neat to watch. Then James and Hannah stayed in the waiting room while the rest of us did sealings. That was a neat experience for Tim, too. He got to be a witness, a son and a man/father. When Tim was the man and Carol was the woman, the officiator stopped and said, "You know, I've never had a primary teacher and a primary student being sealed before." LOL Carol told me later that as she was preparing the names for our trip she kept getting the impression that this experience was what Tim needed and that it will come in handy while on his mission. It will be interesting to see what happens. We did the work for 96 of Carol's family. Doing family file names makes it so much more personal.

After the temple we went to lunch at Cafe Rio, and then we went exploring the Snake River gorge. On the way home Sunday we visited some friends who lived in our Salt Lake ward and now live in Jerome.

Here's one happy boy and dog!

Temples I have attended:

Portland

Oakland

San Diego

Boise

Twin Falls

Idaho Falls

Logan

Ogden

Bountiful

Salt Lake City

Jordan River

Mount Timpanogus

Provo

Manti

St. George

Mesa

Winter Quarters

Nauvoo

Palmyra

Washington DC

Altanta, Georgia

(Tom is 2 behind. He hasn't been in the Portland or Palmyra temples.)

Fantastic day!

Today Tim went to the temple for the first time. The worker took us into the session room before everyone else and as soon as we sat down the water works started. I quickly learned that I wouldn't cry as long as I didn't think about things like:

This was Tim's first time at the temple

Both my sons were there

Tim's mission starts April 28

and how much Tim has looked forward to this. Back in 2004 we went to California and while there we took the kids to walk around the grounds of the San Diego temple. Tim told me then, "I can't wait until I can come to the temple any time I want."

John, Ann, Tom and Tim

John, Grandpa Bright, Tim, Grandma Bright

Second mom (aka...Aunt Linda), John and Tim

We have been so greatly blessed!

Cute! and feeling encouraged

Hey Tim,
Gordon was at the neighbors today and was telling the Mom all about Tim..."Tim has this game...Tim knows how to play this game." When she asked him who Tim was he said, "My big brother." Cute huh. He just asked us the other day if we could go to Tim's house. You better make sure we get to see you before you leave!

I'm getting a handle on the gluten-free thing, and I had a good visit with the naturopath today. I don't think he expects me to be totally gluten-free...just as much as I can reasonably be. That allows me a little freedom on the food I eat outside the home which will really be nice. He also said that if I feel like I can handle eating without filling out a form and giving it to him at the next visit I don't have to do that. If I see a problem arising in my eating I'll at least start tracking it on sparkpeople again. And I don't have to go in every two weeks anymore. He said three weeks for the next one and then it may be longer if I do well. So I'm not feeling as discouraged as I was. Another thing we talked about was the ache in my leg which is back slightly. He said that as my body detoxes heavy metals it can affect how much calcuim I need so I'll be taking a little more of that and we'll see how it goes from there.

Today I was down to 188 pounds. That is a total of 36 pounds now! Another 7 pounds and I'll take pictures again.

Friends

Saturday, Tom went to the temple without me and happened to run into our good friends Dave and Shauna McNeil who used to live in our ward. They were there because their second son, Skylar was going through the temple for the first time. He is going to the England Birmingham mission on April 15. He will be in the England MTC!

Skylar gave his farewell talk on Sunday and we were able to attend. He did a great job and it was fun to spend some time with the McNeil family. We miss having them closer and don't get to see them nearly enough.

Always nice to hear

Last Saturday Tom and I went to the temple and as we were walking in I saw Laney's aunt coming out. This is the aunt I had worked with in the school lunch program. If you remember my post about secrets...that aunt...LOL.

Remi kept looking at me like she didn't recognize me and finally when we were closer I waved and said hi. Then she figured out who I was and said hi back. Tom was wondering who it was, so I told him, "That's Laney's aunt." So then Tom turns around, waves and shouts, "Hi, Laney's aunt!"

Yesterday I was walking with my friend Lynda at the mall and she told me that Remi had told her about us meeting at the temple. Remi told Lynda, "Ann has lost A LOT of weight. I didn't even recognize her."

That is always so nice to hear, especially when I've been so discouraged lately. I hadn't seen Remi since early December and I've probably lost 15 pounds since then.

It always happens

Today the Sunday School teacher asked why we were glad we went to church instead of staying home. I told him that I was glad I came because someone shared their testimony and I gained some understanding and it was an answer to my prayer.

A friend bore her testimony and told of a time when they chose to take a certain job, just to have that job disappear three months later. She told of the struggles they had for several years and finally he is now working at a job he loves and they are in a home in a ward they love. She said it was all coming together finally and she was starting to understand that those hard times were necessary to get them at the point they are at today. She said that although things got twisted and convoluted for a while it was part of the answer to their prayers.

I realized that I'm just in that twisted, convoluted part of my journey. Hopefully, someday I will get where I want to be and I'll look back on it and be able to say that it was all necessary, and that it was all actually part of the answer to my prayers.

I just know that her testimony today was an answer to mine.

Comfort Food

A friend suggested a website for me to check out for gluten-free recipes. I'm looking forward to trying some of them. The dessert section is the largest one I think...lol. Thanks, Juli.

I really wanted comfort food tonight after this past week, so I went out to the pantry and found spaghetti sauce (yay...gluten-free), ground turkey from the freezer and we made Potato Lasagna. It's super hard to make...NOT! A co-worker gave me this recipe a while back and I promptly lost the recipe after making it the first time.

Potato Lasagna

4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced in food processor
1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
26.5 can spaghetti sauce
2-3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Spread a little spaghetti sauce over the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Layer half the potatoes over sauce. Then layer half the meat and then half the cheese. Spread half the sauce over cheese. Then layer the rest of the potatoes, meat, and sauce. Cover with the rest of the cheese. Cover with foil. Bake at 375 degrees for 60 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

My pickiest eater LOVES this recipe!

Nothing beats lasagna as a comfort food!

...except chocolate.

Needs

I have been so upset this week after my visit with the naturopath. I had held on to the hope that the gluten thing would be quickly overcome and I'd be on my way again. But I guess that's not the case. I still have some hope that it will be a temporary thing, but I'm having to accept the fact that I could be watching gluten for another year or more. (I really need to only look at it one day at a time at this point.)

Also, in the last few days I've done some more extensive research. I find if strange that a few months ago I researched and could only find a few things listing symptoms of gluten intolerance and the foods to watch out for. This time I found enough to know that as careful as I've been for the last two months I've still been eating gluten without knowing it. That has upset me even more because now I feel like the last two months was a total waste.

I've been so discouraged about the whole thing that I decided to throw in the towel and quit. So I ate some gluten filled things on purpose. I'm actually glad I did because I'm finally noticing what gluten does to my body. I never realized it before, but now that I've cut back as far as I have I do notice. And now that I notice, I remember times in the last 2 months when I was feeling somewhat the same. So, it will be a chore to identify all the foods that I need to stay away from and then I'll finally be ready to really hit it hard.

I've had two thoughts about the gluten thing. One is that by not eating gluten I am helping my body not be so stressed, which in turn helps my body heal the more critical areas...like my heart.

The other thought is that the gluten issue won't be resolved until the other more critical issues are resolved. My body is handling things on a priority basis, and my heart is the highest priority right now.

The purpose of my fast this month will be to have the right attitude about all this. I need to look at it as just the step to regaining my health, and that in the end it will be worth it. Not that it is a major pain and inconvenience in my life. I need to look at all the foods I can eat instead of all the foods I can't. And I need to be grateful that something can be done. I need to be grateful for the extra help this gives me toward weightloss. It basically removes many of the problem foods I've struggled with in years past.

Also, I'll need to learn a few things like: how to go to a restaurant and ask for foods that meet my needs. I've never been one to make a fuss about how the food was not cooked right or to demand that it be cooked special for me. There are enough people out there with this problem that restaurants are carrying more and more gluten-free products. I also need to learn that it's ok to always take my food to events. I did this at the ward pancake breakfast and the game group. No one even knew that it was gluten-free and ate it anyway.

B & B

No, I don't mean Bed and Breakfast! I'm talking about Bummers and Blessings.

I was SO excited to think that I've now been off gluten for two whole months, and I was looking forward to slowly start eating it again. I've anticipated tasting that first slice of fresh baked white bread with butter and homemade strawberry jam all week. I've looked forward to not having to read every single label while shopping, being able to use a few convenience foods in my cooking, and being able to eat more than a salad at a restaurant. Then I visited the naturopath today, and he said, "NOT YET."

BUMMER.

I've been so discouraged ever since. Typically, I am not a picky eater and I'm getting so tired of always worrying about what is in the food I eat. In some ways this has been the longest four months of my entire life. Sometimes I can't even see the light at the end of the tunnel. Even though I have already seen some great changes in my health and weight loss, it seems like I'm never going to get to the end of the journey.

BLESSING...

My good friend who is traveling this journey with me brought me a gluten-free treat this afternoon. Macadamia nuts! Just knowing she cared was enough to make me cry.

One of my favorite things as RS president is doing food orders. Sometimes it is hard to not judge and to find ways to help people improve from the self-imposed slump they are in. Other times it can be so heart-wrenching to hear about their troubles. But I always feel glad that I can help them in some small way. Tonight was one of the second type of food orders. I felt ashamed while talking to a sister who is facing so many trials, knowing that my biggest trial at the moment is a hiccup in comparison. The experience reminded me that Heavenly Father is in charge and that I need to trust Him.

One last note about RS...I've always cared about people and what is happening in their lives, but I have always assumed that if they want me to know something they will tell me. As RS president I've had to learn that as "mother of the ward" most of it is my business and it's ok to push for a little more information. Most of the time it's just priming the pump, and then they will share. Also, I've always been one who doesn't gossip much. I'm usually the last one to know what's going on. So this has been a very interesting experience learning what needs to be shared with the Bishop. Just part of my learning curve, but I know Heavenly Father hasn't left me alone in this. I always feel that someone is with me, helping me along as I carry out my duties.