Out With The Old And In With The New

[I wrote this forever ago and I guess it also didnt get posted..
I should really get back into the full swing of blogging again,
but anyways here it is!]

Hi guys!
What do ya think?
Looks pretty great right?
I've been tossing the idea of changing up the look of the blog
for a while now and I finally decided that so many things are changing in life
everyday, and I thought that I am always posting exciting new things
on my blog, but how come I've never changed it?
Finally I said, "Why not?"
So it was out with the old and in with the new!
A new name, new features and all together a brand new look!
There are so many new additions and I will continue to add things,
to only make things better.
I am so excited about the new look,
and hope that more and more people will like it too.
There are so many new things to explore.
So get to it!
I hope you enjoy it just as much as I do!

Hope your having a great week!

Worthy

Many who know me know that right after going gluten free,

I struggled going to church because I hated knowing that everybody could have the

bread during the sacrament and I could not.

I hated feeling different.

I felt like everyone saw me as different.

I absolutely hated bringing a cracker,

it was so stressful to me.

Eventually though we got the hang of it,

we, actually being my dad, he always brought a cracker for me to have for the sacrament

and took it up for them to bless along with the bread.

When I moved to Rexburg,

I didnt have my dad to take my cracker up to those blessing the

sacrament for me anymore.

I was so nervous to take my cracker up because once again,

I didnt want to be seen as different.

But after a few sundays, I got the hang of it and

planned my time right that I would get to the church early enough to give them

cracker and to take a seat.

I gave myself enough time, which made it less stressful for me.

But this past sunday,

I pulled into the parking lot and there were only two trucks in the parking lot

and they were pulling out.

One of them was my Bishop!

Little did I know that my ward was meeting somewhere else because

our building is being renovated or something.

Anyways, I called Carissa and told her I was just gonna come home,

but just as I hung up I got a text from Scotty

(who happens to meet in the same building as me, just the ward before me)

so I decided to call him and see if his ward met somewhere else,

I explained the situation and he told me,

"Hang tight for a minute,let me make a few calls."

When he got back to me,

church had already begun,

so I told him I was just going to go home becuase I wouldnt be able to

take the sacrament anyways because it was too late to give them my cracker.

His response really got me thinking.

He told me that I should find a ward to go to because

even though I couldnt take the sacrament,

I could sit through it knowing that I was worthy to take it,

and would if I could.

So I decided to go look for a ward to attend,

even though I was going to be late.

I asked if he would come with me, and he did.

He met me at a building down the street,

and we walked in and the ward had just ended.

Long story short,

he was determined to get me to sacrament meeting.

So determined that we went to

SIX different buildings to find a sacrament meeting to attend.

[I went to seven if you count the building I usually go to which I went to first.]

After the fifth building, we even help a guy jump his car!

We got to the sixth building at 12:34,

luckily that ward met at 12:30!

So I attended sacrament meeting.

It was hard for me to not take the bread,

nervous that everyone would totally notice that I didnt.

But I was overcome with peace, from what Scotty told me earlier.

I knew that I was worthy to take it,

and I knew that Heavenly Father knew the intention of my heart.

I am so grateful that Scotty was so determined to get me to sacrament meeting.

I am grateful that he went with me,

it was comforting to have someone I knew right next to me

that I knew supported me.

He may not know that by coming with me so I wouldnt be alone,

and telling me

I could sit through the meeting knowing that I was worthy

really helped me to overcome a fear that I have had for over a year.

 I am beyond grateful for him helping me get passed that,

as it might not seem like a very hard thing

but for some reason I really struggled with it for a really long time.

I am grateful for my friendship with Scotty

and his example to me.

I know that if we do all we can,

even if its attending sacrament meeting even though you cant take the sacrament,

Heavenly Father will notice our efforts and bless us for

making the right decisions.

I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father

who knows me and loves me with a perfect love.

I am grateful for the sacrament and the role that it plays in my life.

The Greatest Blessing

I know that I have shared this video in previous posts,

but I love it and know that its message is true.

Three weeks ago,

I hit my one year mark of being gluten free.

I promise you that the past year has been by far

the hardest year of my life

physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

It might sound crazy that a small change in diet

would have the ripple effect

to effect every part of my life,

but it completely flipped my world upside down.

Everyday seemed to take a lifetime,

and I would never think that 365 days later

I would tell everyone that going gluten free was one of

the greatest blessings

God has ever given me.

I cant remember the last time I have felt this good.

Although it was difficult,

I know that without a doubt

my Heavenly Father was by my side every step of the way.

He has shown me that with Him,

I really can do anything.

Going gluten free has blessed me in ways that I would

have never imagined.

I have been blessed with confidence. 

Confidence to be different,

confidence to be me 100% of everyday.

I have been blessed with strength.

Strength to go day to day feeling better

than I have felt in my life.

I have been blessed with happiness.

Happy to be healthy,

although it may not be a cure,

happy to know a way of treatment.

I have been blessed with a support system.

I could not ask for better friends and family

as they have made sacrifices for me,

and encouraged me to keep going.

I have been blessed with a greater testimony.

A greater testimony of the atonement,

and that Christ has already gone through this for me,

and wont leave my side as I go through it and

that one day I will be perfected and will no longer

have this trial.

A greater testimony of God's love for me.

All in all, I have been blessed.

The Greatest Blessing

has been my support system.

Whether they realize it or not,

there are quite a few people who have

really touched my life and I will be forever grateful to them

because of their efforts to help and support me in anyway they can.

First, my mama, she made so many adjustments to her schedule,

and her cooking. She always tries gluten free things with me

so I dont feel so left out. She is still sending me awesome recipies to try.

my daddy, just like my mama he adjusted his cooking,

to find a yummy gluten free gravy, bread, rolls, all his famous sunday dinners.

Sarah Nelson, for going gluten free for an entire week.

I dont know many others who would do that.. it was by far one of the

nicest things anyone has ever done for me,

and still brings tears to my eyes.

I still dont know how I got so lucky to have a best friend

who would make that kind of a sacrifice,

to understand even a fraction of what I have to go through each day.

Jake Goodsell, for always checkin up on me and always asking me what he can do to help me.

Becky Bailey, for being the first one to encourage me to go gluten free,

at Daughters of Virtue, and for always checkin up on me to see

how im doing and if she can do anything for me.

Mrs. Tina Lattanzi, for making me so many gluten free meals during rehearsals.

She is a pretty incredible woman if you ask me,

so generously helping someone she hardly knew.

Kyle and Carissa, for putting up with me and my totes GF food while I live with them.

Scotty Renner, for buying way more gluten free food than he needed to just to make

sunday dinner, which he made a whole pan gluten free.

The rest of my Family and Friends,

for all the love, support, and prayers

throughout the last year.

I know that there are many more people who have been a great

help throughout the last year,

but those are just a few instances that have really stuck out

to me and touched my life.

The past year has been the hardest year of my life,

but I can promise you that it has also been one of the most rewarding.

Going gluten free is without a doubt,

and Beautiful Heartbreak

and has been the greatest blessing

in my life, and I am grateful for that.

Hold Tight and Carry On

Sometimes when things slow down after being crazy for a while,

you are given way too much time to think.

So I apologize for this post in advance,

as it will probably sound like one giant pity party.

During the 7 week break,

Rexburg is pretty much a ghost town.

With it being my first summer here,

I haven't had an opportunity to meet new friends.

All I have right now is work.

I know it probably sounds like I am ungrateful for my job,

which don't get me wrong,

I could not be more grateful for my job at Kiwi Loco and Skeeters!

 But sometimes, especially this week it has been a little rough.

Last week was the Allred Family Reunion

and it was awesome to see my family,

and it felt good to come back to Rexburg because

I know that it's where I am supposed to be,

but that doesn't necessarily make it any easier..

By seeing my family I felt like I was supposed to see my friends too..

The people who know everything there is to know about me,

the ones who know just what to say at all times,

the people who I've laughed with,

cried with, and grown with over the past 7 years.

It's been hard to come back to a place where

I don't have someone who just randomly calls you to go on a walk,

a drive, play at the park, to watch a movie,

to go get frozen yogurt at lulu's.

I know what your thinking, it's exactly what everybody else is thinking,

"school will start before you know it and you are going to make so many friends! You'll see, just wait."

And for a long time I believed that it would start

before I could say "here we go"

and I'm sure I will make plenty of new friends when I start school,

but what about right now?

It's hard.

It's hard to wake up knowing your hundreds of miles away

from your best friends as they are having a great summer together.

It's hard to see people come into kiwi to get yogurt with their best friends.

Its hard to sit alone at church.

It got to a point where I was just frustrated

that God would send me to Rexburg early when I was just going to struggle.

But you know, it's been an eye opener for me.

It has allowed me to grow so much closer to my Heavenly Father,

and he has already taught me wonderful things here.

He has reminded me that I am never alone,

although I may not have a friends who wants to go on a random adventure,

I have a loving Heavenly Father who calls me everyday,

and he asks me everyday to do everything I can to become closer to him, to

carry on.

He has reminded me that it's okay to just fall down and cry,

he will pick you up and brush off your, as Parker would say, "ouchies".

I'm sure this post seemed like I was just complaining,
but I hope you can see the lesson I have once again been reminded of,
you may at times feel all alone,
even when you are surrounded by wonderful people,
but you aren't alone.
If you turn yourself over to The Lord 100% he will bless your life.
Yes it would be nice to have a friend in Rexburg who plans a random adventure,
but isn't that what Heavenly Father is doing?
He has a crazy adventure planned for each of us
and I am so grateful I get to go throughout my adventure with him by side the entire time!
I know that I will find another best friend,
as I have so many back home.
My Heavenly Father is looking out for me,
He knows me,
He knows what I struggle with everyday,
He is in the details of my life.
He is my best friend.
I am so grateful for all he gives to me everyday. 

My mom shared this quote with me and I absolutely love it,
I think it is very applicable to me right now,
and its a pretty good perspective to have
during school.
I hope you love it too.

"Learn new things.
If they're hard, great.
If you have no aptitude, keep working on it.
The struggle may offer the greatest benefit."
- Alvaro Fernandez

To all my friends far away, know that I miss you more than words can say!
I hope you are all doing well and may God bless you until our adventures cross again.
May we always remember to hold tight and to CARRY ON.

All New Things

If you were to ask my family if I am an outgoing person,
they would tell you that I have never met a stranger.
And that would be the truth.
Growing up in the military forced me to make new friends
pretty quickly after moving to a new place.
But my dad retired from the Air Force and
I havent moved anywhere for almost 7 years!
Crazy right?
Anyways you would think that I would still be quick to make
friends here in Rexburg
but for some reason I am so shy!
For example, I went to the singles ward I am supposed to go to on
Sunday and I didnt introduce myself to anybody unless they talked to me first,
luckily though Jentrie was in town and I made her come with me.
I think I also got freaked out when the opening speaker
got up and said "my name is 'so-and-so' and I teach at the highschool
here in town."
I leaned over to Jentrie and was like
"We just graduated from high school... she's old enough to be one of our teaches.."
Anyways, at the end of sacrament meeting
the Bishop got up and was like "if anyone is new to the ward
we would love for you to stop by my office and we can take your picture and get your
information, etc."
Needless to say, I didnt stop by his office..
I got way to scared. Haha
In Relief Society, they asked for anyone new or visiting to stand up
and introduce herself,
and I didnt even stand up!
Seriously, I was so nervous to talk to anyone!
I just keep thinking about how this is not me.
I am not a shy person,
I love making friends, and making sure everyone is included.
But it was so weird that I couldnt even include myself, let alone anyone else.
So this week, I think I am going to go to Scotty's ward
until I move into my apartment in the fall and get into that ward with my roommates,
but I just think it would be nice to have a familiar face at church, ya know?
There is a girl that I work with that is from Rexburg and she just graduated high school too,
but she doesnt wanna go to the singles ward either, so
I am trying to convince her to go with me,
that way we would have each other,
and wouldnt be alone.
Granted, she still has her family here and their ward..
So I completely understand if she doesnt come with me,
but I hope she does!
I love the qupte from "We Bought A Zoo"
that says,
"All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage,
and I promise you something great will come of it."
That is my motto for making friends here,
although, it hasnt gotten me very far.. Haha
I love the idea of it, I guess I just need to put it into action,
because the friends I have here, are leaving because the semester is ending this week!

Even  though I have few friends here right now,
I am so grateful to know that I am not ever alone.
I am grateful to know that I always have Christ with me,
where ever I am, no matter what I am doing.

I am also so grateful for the technology that we have
at our fingertips.
We have access to so many great things to always stay
in touch with friends and family even from hundreds of miles away.

Leap of Faith

Well as most of you know...

I MOVED!

And the craziest thing about it,

is that I moved out of my parents house!

Looking back on it,

it all started on Graduation Day.

I woke up that morning,

having the impression that my summer wouldnt 

turn out like I had planned it.

I had planned on finding a job quickly,

doing so much with my friends,

we even planned a road trip.

And I planned on being the last of my friends to

go off to college,

because they all start in August and I dont

start until September.
 But I quickly found out that it really wouldnt
turn out the way I planned!
I could not find a job anywhere in the Springs!
I applied to so many places, and nothing ever came of it.
So Carissa and I began joking around with
the idea of me moving up to Rexburg early,
and within a few days
the idea became real!
We decided that I would move up early and live
with Kyle and Carissa until I started school in
the fall.
It worked out that Granpa Lundstrom was
turning 90 and we were having a big celebration
on the the June 27th,
and because Kyle and Carissa were coming down to Utah,
and mom and I were driving over from Colorado
we decided that I would drive over with mom,
spend the weekend there,
and leave with Kyle and Carissa to head up to Idaho.
So that only gave mom and I just under three weeks to get all our
shopping and packing done for me to leave,
and some how we managed to do it!
Although, not everything that we were able to fit into moms car,
made it into Kyle and Carissas - haha..

It made for a tight ride up to Rexburg but luckily its
only about 3 hours so it wasnt too bad!
So we had to leave some at Gramma Allreds for mom to bring up when she comes for Carissa's
graduation in a few weeks.

But we made it!
Say hello to my to my home for the next four years!

I hit the ground running
and had a crazy, but fantastic first week here!
We got here on Sunday afternoon
and I unpacked and began to get settled into my new room
and was finally reunited with Emily that night!
On Monday, Carissa and I did a huge grocery shopping trip and
finished up getting me all settled in.
Tuesday is when the craziness began!
Carissa has really long days on tuesdays between school and her internship
and Kyle had a long day ahead of him working on Kiwi Loco's float
for the fourth of July, so I was the babysitter for the day!
When Kyler boy woke up from his nap
we headed over to Kiwi,
and we ended up being there all day!!!
The owner of Kiwi was coming down to Rexburg for the week
for the holiday and they needed to hire a few people,
luckily I was able to get an interview not long after he got into town.
Kyle asked when he could start me and how many hours he
could schedule me for and
he said that I tecnically already started because of that float,
and he said that Kyle could schedule me for as many hours as I want.
SO I have been working like crazy ever since I got here!
The fourth of July parade was so much fun
and our float looked awesome!

It was so much fun that Emily was able to do it
with us, although it was a little bit crazier than
the parade we were in last summer. Haha
It has been an absolute blast to live so close to Emily
again, she has been one of my best friends for a long time!
Im sad to see her leave in a few weeks,
but she is going to be an incredible missionary
and I cant wait to hear all about the great things she does in Russia.
Good Luck Em!

 
THis is the after math of the parade,
we were SO hot and sticky from the unfrozen otterpops
popping all over us.

Of course it wouldnt be the fourth of July without Family!
It has been a huge blessing in my life to be living with Carissa,
its definitely been a learning experience to not have my mama
around but I do love it up here!
its been 4 years since Carissa and I have lived together,
and I am so grateful that her and Kyle will still be here in the fall!

It so much fun to be so close to Janae and Reggie,
and see them so much!

My favorie Kyler boy,
He is so stinkin cute!
I love being the favorite aunt. He is in such a fun stage,
and is getting such a fun personality,
its been so fun watching him grow.
I love him, I love him, I love him!

And we love Kiwi Loco!

 

Later that day, we had a BBQ with Janae and Reggie
and Emily invited me to go to Idaho Falls with her
and her friends to watch the fireworks.
It was so much fun getting to know them
and I am so grateful that they have included me so much
ever since! Its nice to have a few new friends.

The firework show started late because
they were searching for a missing person in the Snake River
(the fireworks are shot off right above the river)
that had gone swimming around 8:30 or 9:00 PM Thursday (the 4th)
that evening. There were three swimmers but only one was missing.
Rescue divers found his body around 1:30 AM on Friday (the 5th).
Many thoughts and prayers go out toward his friends
and family at this time.
The firework show was awesome, and it was a
great night with a few new friends!

By the end of the day,
I was completely exhausted.
It was a long, hot holiday
filled with friends, family, food, parades,
music, adventure, and lots of laughter.
So happy late birthday America,
I am so grateful to live in a free country.

I ended the week off with my first official 5K!
The color in Motion gave Kiwi Loco
free entries to run the race.
So we got to run in it for free!
Im bummed that we forgot to get a before picture,
but here are the after pictures! Haha
It was so much fun!
And I think I did pretty good for it being my first 5K.

I am so grateful that things have been falling into place so quickly
here in Rexburg!
If they hadnt I would probably be feeling a lot differently about the
decision to move, but I know that I made the right choice
to move up here early.. Its still bittersweet as I am missing my friends like CrAzY!!
I am so grateful for all the
love and support that I have recieved from everyone
around me through out this transition in my life.
I know that God has a plan for me,
and for everyone. He knows each of us as individuals.
He knows our struggles and our successes.
I know that sometimes we have to take
a leap of faith
to see what he has waiting for us.
I promise that if you keep your faith and your head up high,
he will take care of you.
I know that its hard to trust that he will catch you,
but I promise he will.
Throughout the last month and half or so,
my motto has been
"Keep calm and carry on"
because sometimes thats all you can do.
Just taking life one day at a time,
I know that if we do that,
that God will bless our lives and something that might
not have made sense to us before,
like moving to Rexburg, Idaho three months before school
starts for example, I did not have a job waiting for me, or any
knowledge of why I was coming at all.
But I know that I moved at the exact right time that I was supposed to.
I know I am where I need to be for this time in my life,
and I cant wait to see what else God has planned for me
in this crazy little town.
Stay tuned for more adventures from Rexburg!

COLORADO STRONG

The past few days have been crazy,

with a lot of waiting.

It all started on Tuesday afternoon (June 11th)

as my cousin Robin and I were on our way home

from lunch

and she saw a small thing of smoke and

we thought that we would go and check it out!

We turned onto Shoup and 

we passed a small smoke,

and all I could think was
"That poor house.. or barn.. whatever it is.."
There was two or three fire trucks there,
and we decided we had seen what we came for,
got a few pictures
and decided to head out.
But we were stuck!
Within the five minutes that we were there,
there was more than a dozen firetrucks and police cars.
The small little smoke
grew 3 times the size it was before,
and was now just black!

As we turned around to leave for home,
we got stuck!
They had blocked off Shoup to try to get to the fire.
So we turned around again
and we got stuck again because so many people
were pulling over to take pictures.
And because this whole time,
the words "forest fire" never even crossed my mind,
we decided to do the same thing!
But shortly after taking pictures,
and videos we realized how close it was getting to us.
So close in fact, that we could see the flames,
hear the crackling and roaring of the fire,
and began to feel the heat from it as well,
so we decided that it was way past time of getting out!
So we hopped in our car and waited in so much traffic,
as police were trying to guide cars to leave.
 Here are some pictures from that first day...

Seriously, we were right there!
We are so stupid.
Forest fire never even crossed my mind!
The black forest community always does festivals
and things like that, and I thought that maybe there was
a big BBQ or a bonfire type of thing going on.
Upon arriving to the smoke we quickly realized that it was
a house, or barn that was on fire..
I never even thought of a forest fire!

Anyways, the week has played out to be quite crazy!
The small little smoke we saw,
quickly grew into even more than what we saw that afternoon.

It's truly heartbreaking how devastating the week has been.

[I never finished this post but
for record sake I figured I should still post it.]