How Will One be Remembered?

Have you ever asked yourself, how will you be remembered by others?



I have contemplated this question many times throughout my life; but often find this question looming in my mind when someone passes from this earthly existence.

While subbing for Weber School District, I fell in love with a particular school (Roy Junior High School). Most of my days subbing took place at this school. I have had the privilege of meeting, working with, and being taught by some of the most incredible people (most of them being students)! While I didn't know every student, I made it a point to get to know as many as I could. On Facebook the other day a teacher from Roy Junior posted about a girl who attended RJHS. This young girl was not one that I had often in class, but she was one that caught your attention in the halls. She was a student who's standards were so high that you wished every student was just like her. Her spirit glowed from the outside. There was not a time that I didn't see this girl smiling, saying hi, or helping someone in need. Her family moved after junior high school, so I never saw her again until this teacher posted about her.... www.hopeforallisa.com

Allisa was diagnosed with a brain tumor three years ago. She had surgery, went through chemo and radiation, and things were starting to look up for her. In November she started to feel sick again. She went to the doctor and test were run...her tumor has returned but stronger than ever. This tumor is inoperable and her family is now cherishing the time they have left with Allisa.

While I hardly know Allisa, her story has taught me that there is more to life than having the best car, the most money, or the largest group of friends. Life should be centered around our Lord and Saviour. It is through them that we are here on this earth. It is their will and we should guide our life as such. When my time comes to leave this earthy journey; I hope to be remembered as someone who thought of others first, someone who worked hard at life's challenges, someone who smiles through tribulation, and someone who mirrored Jesus Christ.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Berry family. I thank them for raising such an exemplary daughter!

Thanksgiving 2011...

Thanksgiving was spent at our house again this year (my mom had to work); we usually go to my Grandpa & Grandma Helm's house. It was nice to stay home again this year, it seems more relaxed at home; not so much tension.

This year I was able to cook dinner again (minus the turkey, dad still makes the best so I don't want to mess with perfection!). Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday; I don't know what it is about it, but I really love it. I think it has to do with it being Autumn, the entire holiday is centered around food, and it really is a laid-back holiday. Anyways, I had been thinking for quite some time what I wanted to cook for dinner. Yesterday finally arrived and I was able to make: mashed potatoes with gravy, rolls, green bean casserole, an orange jello salad (which I don't eat), stuffing, and two pies. It turned out so yummy! I tried a new stuffing recipe and this was my first time baking pies.

I am a dork and decided to take pictures of the food...I wasn't able to take pictures of everything.



The turkey--we don't know why the top didn't brown in our roaster


The best stuffing (wasn't cooked yet)...I will post the recipe below!


Coconut Cream Pie--Kari doesn't like pumpkin so we had to have an alternative!


Yummy--Pumpkin Pie



Okay here is the stuffing recipe, I hope I can remember it all!

* 1 package of Johnsonville Sausage (either ground or links; if using links make sure to remove casings)
* 12 slices of New York Garlic Texas Toast (found in the frozen food section)
* 2 cups celery (chopped)
* 1 cup onion (chopped)
* 1-2 cups mushrooms (sliced)
* 2-4 tbsp butter
* 1 tsp sage
* 1-2 cups chicken stock
* 2 eggs (beaten)
* salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven 425 degrees. Bake Texas toast for 10 minutes, remove, let cool completely, and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees. While bread is cooling, brown sausage until no pink then drain well. In same pan you cooked sausage, melt butter and saute celery, onions, and mushrooms. Cube bread into 1 inch cubes (I did about 1/2 inch). In large bowl combined bread, cooked sausage, and sauteed vegetables. Making sure to mix evenly. Then add eggs, sage, salt, and pepper. Finally add chicken stock to moisten bread (first time I made this I used the full 2 cups, but second time I only used 1 cup). Bake covered in a lightly sprayed 9X13 pan for 50 minutes, then uncovered for an additional 10 minutes! Enjoy!!

*Side note: the original recipe had 1 cup green peppers instead of mushrooms, but since my family doesn't like green peppers I omitted them and used mushrooms!

Simple Quilts...

I am so grateful for my Grandma Helm and her willingness to share her talents with me. When I was in Young Womens one of my projects was to learn how to quilt. My grandma was willing to take time out of her day and teach me how. She and I tied a queen size quilt, learned more about each other, and just shared some time together.

Now that several years have passed; I still keep that time with my grandma very close to my heart. Every time I sit to tie a quilt I remember stories or comments she made to me. I was reminded of some stories as I tied another quilt this week for a friend's Christmas gift.

Even though my grandma is still here, she won't be forever, but those memories and the ability to quilt will be!



The quilt I started this week, it is finished now, but this is it half way done.



Close up of the fabric; back is a solid dark purple

I am thankful for...

Fall semester brought several classes my way, but one in particular has been a wonderful experience, Methods for Health Education. I have learned more from this one class, then I have through all of my schooling!

The class prepares those that are going into health education, whether they will be teaching in a school, in the hospital, or out in the community it provides them with the tools they will need.

In this class we, the students, have done all of the teaching. Each student has done a 55 minute presentation, a 20 minute presentation, and then will conclude with a 10 minute presentation. I believe I enjoy this class so much because it is hands on. Most of the presentations have activites to get us out of our seats and interactive with what is being taught. I have learned so many new teaching strategies and things I know I will use in the future.

I am grateful for this class, Dr. Patti Cost (Dr. C.), and for the students who have inspired me to want to learn more.

Whirlwind of events coming to an end...

After my last post I have gone through a whirlwind of testing to figure out what is going on with my body. On October 27th I had my MRI (something I will never do again). After they put the IV in (my MRI was done with a contrast) I was moved into the tunnel. I thought I would do just fine, but then they started to ask me to hold my breath; which is what made me panic a bit. After the MRI I had a couple of weeks before meeting with the doctor to review my results. I also at this time had some blood drawn to check my liver and pancreas.
The day finally arrived to meet with the doctor and review my test results. The MRI came back showing absolutely nothing, so it was back to square-one. However, the blood work they did showed that my liver enzymes were elevated (normal is 40, mine were 246); this means, you got it, more tests! I believe the final count of tests being ran was 15. Again, I had to wait another two weeks before finding out the results.
Yesterday, I met with the doctor to go over the new findings. I am happy to report it is nothing serious! It is simply a viral infection….Mononucleosis…often referred to as Mono. This explains why I have been feeling so run down lately, why my body aches all of the time, and why it never seems like I get enough sleep.
As for the chest pain I was experiencing the doctor believes it is residual pain from my gallbladder. I guess it is more common than one would think. Instead of getting pain from the gallbladder the bile duct will contract and mimic the same type of pain. He is starting my on some medication that will prevent the pain!
I am excited to get back to normal life and to be away from the hospital for a long long while!!!!

On a more positive note, Fall Semester 2011 is almost over!!!

This, that, and the other.....

Where does one begin? It has been far too long since I posted anything on this blog, so much has been going on I haven't had the time.

For starters on September 17, 2011 I took dad to the ER. He was experiencing some pain in his stomach area. At first we just went to Insta-care, but they sent us to the ER--they thought that he had kidney stones (boy were they wrong!). When we got to the ER, they did some test and found out that he had an infection. They were unsure where the infection was coming from, but the numbers were so high they had to admit him. On top of it all his WBC and Platelets were extremely low again.

He was in the hospital for five or six days (I can't remember). However, during his stay the infection moved to his blood which cause for more concern. While in the hospital they ran several test to monitor his organs and make sure the infection didn't do any damage. Since being released from the hospital he has been on an antibiotic for almost six weeks now (they put a Picc-line in), he has had surgery to remove scar tissue and allow him to urinate--during this surgery the urologist stated that he feels the infection is coming from his bladder, and his WBC and Platelets have remained low.




We are kind of back at the beginning of everything, but on the plus side dad is finally feeling a little better!


So, after dad was released I started to get my mind back into school. I finished the entire application process for the Education Program at Weber State University. The interview they administer was difficult and made me really think on my feet! My school work has been steady and strong (only 6 more Mondays in this semester!) I have been trying to stay focused and dedicated to what I need to accomplish. However, it has been a bit difficult to do. If it isn't one thing, it is something else in our family. Two weeks ago I started to have chest pain. It started on a Saturday, I kept ignoring it and hoping it would go away. On the following Tuesday it was extreme pain--I have a high pain tolerance and this brought tears to my eyes. So, on Wednesday I stopped into Insta-care on my way home from school. The doctor I saw was concerned that I might have a Pulmonary Embolism (blood-clot in my lung). He decided it was best if we did an EKG and a Chest-X-ray. My x-ray came back normal, but my EKG had a few indicators of blood-clot, this meant more tests. I was sent to the hospital where I had a CT scan. Luckily this scan came back negative for blood-clots and I was sent home. Dr. Winn (Insta-care) said that if I was still having pain to keep him informed. The following Tuesday I was still having pain, so I went in for another appointment with Dr. Winn. We discussed a few possibilities for chest pain in someone my age (anxiety, heartburn, etc...). Suddenly, Dr. Winn asked if he had me drink something the time before. I stated, no and he quickly had the nurse bring in this white mixture. The white mixture coated my esophagus and numbed it which took away my pain. Dr. Winn now was beginning to think my chest pain was due to heartburn--so he scheduled a EGD Scope.




On Thursday, October 20th I had a scope down my esophagus and to my stomach. Dr. Porter performed this, but before he did the procedure he asked me a few questions. One was, why are you here? I explained my chest pain and the proceeding tests. He asked if they ever checked my gallbladder, I laughed and told him I had that removed in February. He then asked if I had stones in my gallbladder--the answer, yes. He explained that even though the gallbladder is removed the bile duct can still form stones. He said he would still do the scope and check things out (everything was great), but he wanted to run some more test (of course!). Dr. Porter is having some blood work done on my pancreas and my liver. I am also going in for an MRI of my abdomen on Thursday, October 27th to check for stones. We will hope for the best and see what the outcomes are!!



On a more positive note....I was ACCEPTED into Weber State University's Education Program for Spring 2012!!!! All of the worry and stress is over, I am beyond excited to finish up school and begin my career as a teacher!!!

Life Adventures continued....

My schedule has not permitted me to blog as often as I would like, but I am posting things as they happen in my life. Fall semester has officially started, we are already on week three. I am taking some easy classes, but courses that are needed to finish up my degree. I am taking Earthquakes and Volcano, Advanced Writing; Grammar, Style and Usage, Human Sexuality, and Methods in Health Education. So far I would have to say my favorite class is my methods class. We are the ones teaching the class, in order to learn different teaching methods. We will be creating health lesson plans, bulletin boards, PSA's, and getting tons of feedback on ways to improve our teaching methods!

I officially submitted my application to the Education Program at Weber. My interview is scheduled for September 26, 2011 and I should know if I am accepted by the end of October!

Several months ago I posted about my weight issues . It is something I have struggled with for a large part of my life. I began in February after my gallbladder surgery working on losing some weight. I weighed myself this morning and have lost 24 pounds since February! I don't really know how I am losing the weight, I don't feel like I am doing anything to promote it. I also don't notice any change with my clothes or my body---hopefully the scale I am using is right :-)

Anyways, nothing really exciting is happening in my life and I haven't been writing at all. Maybe one day I will actually get on top of all the things I want to do in life!!!

Thanks for reading!