I Can Do All Things...

The last 48 hours have been quite a trial for me.

Before school even got out on Friday at 1:25 PM I was feeling so sick to my stomach. I couldn't even finish the day with my class and had someone come in to finish the last few things of the day with my class. 

By 1:40 PM I was on my way home, praying that I would make it home safely without starting to feel extremely sick again. I made it home and immediately got into bed, but could not get comfortable in any position at all. The pain continued to get worse and worse, so Scott came home from work to help out and get me through what I thought would hopefully go away. 

Nothing was helping at this point. I called my OB to see if this was a reaction from taking my third cycle of Clomid. The doctor did not seem too concerned and he said it was a just a reaction and that the pain would eventually subside. I couldn't believe that's all he said with the extreme pain that I was in. So we waited and waited. I tried to fall asleep and by 3 AM I  couldn't handle the pain any more.  We grabbed our things and headed to the Emergency Room...the last place I wanted to be. However, I was so ready for the pain to go away. 

We got checked in and had tests started immediately. After blood tests and ultrasounds, the OB on call came in and said that my left ovary was about 8 cm, about the size of a tennis ball, and was torsed. Well, that explained the pain! 

They prepped me for surgery and off I went. The next thing I knew I was out of surgery and not feeling the pain anymore. 

Turns out that my ovary had completely died. It had become so enlarged and twisted that there was no blood flow for about 12 hours causing the ovary to die. They OB that did my surgery removed my left ovary, which ended up being 10 cm. 

So, after all of this, I can say that I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without Christ. He is my strength. I know that he has suffered more than I have and I can lean on him no matter what. 

I can do all things through Christ, and as you put your trust and faith in him, you can also do all things through Christ. 

Inspiration Sunday

Sundays are special days.  Sundays are the day of worship.  They are the day of rest.  A day to reflect on your relationship with your Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  A day to strengthen your testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  A day to share your testimony with others.

Scott and I had the opportunity to speak in church today.  We are loving those that attend our ward, the group of members that attend church with us, and have felt so welcomed already.  While preparing my talk the past few days, I have felt that I should share inspirational thoughts more often.  As I studied and searched what I would be speaking about, I found so many wonderful quotes and messages to share.  Finding all of those quotes and messages gave me so much joy and made each day even better for me.  I have given myself the challenge to fine a new quote or message to share with you.  So, from here on out, I hope to bring joy to your life and make your day better with the messages that I share.

I hope that you all had an uplifting Sunday and are ready for a new week.

Have a great week!

Family Shenanigans

The past few weeks have been full of adventure with Mom, Dad, and Olivia coming out basically every other week.  Olivia had the opportunity to attend two volleyball camps here in Utah, so that brought us all together a few times.

Their first trip out, we were able to take Mom up through the American Fork Canyon and go on a little hike up past Silver Lake.  It was so beautiful and fun to get to spend time together with the girls...we sure missed Olivia, but she was working hard and having fun playing volleyball every day.

Since Mom and Olivia were driving home, I decided to catch a ride and make a quick trip out to Cali. It was fun seeing family and friends out there.  

I got to meet the newest addition to the Gowdy family too! Eli was born a few weeks before I went out, and I was lucky enough to go and spend time with him and his family.  It's fun to see all of his older sisters taking care of him and helping out there Mom and Dad, Ryan & Aly.  

Soon after that trip, the whole family got together for a trip up to Park City.  We had so much fun spending time together...and of course there were lots of laughs and memories made.  

My family means the WORLD to me.  I am so grateful for them and the special bond we have with one another.  We have been through good times and bad times, but all of those times are what bring us closer and make us a stronger family.  I long for the day when Scott and I can begin a family of our own, but as of now, Heavenly Father has a different plan for us.  We may have hopes and dreams of what we plan on achieving in our lives, the don't happen when we would like.  

Always remember that Heavenly Father has a plan for each and everyone of us.  His plan is far greater than our plan.  There is purpose to our lives.  We are here to live, learn, and gain experience.  Be grateful for the struggles in your life, they make you stronger.  Be even more grateful for the joys in your life.    Love your life and live it to the fullest each and every day!

Home again, home again...

I was lucky enough to catch a ride back to Sacramento with my mom and sisters last week to spend time with the family.  We made the trek out on Friday as some of us slept, listened to audiobooks, or did a little karaoke singing. It was a bit long, but I shouldn't complain. Every time we drive to or from Utah to Sacramento I think of the pioneers and what they did. And I'm grateful I didn't have to travel the way they did...our 10 hours of driving would've been 10+ days of walking through desert and mountains.

So just to do a little catch up of what happened with the time I spent with the family before and after the trip to Cali, here are a few snaps of what went on...

While Mom was in town we took a little time to go to the beautiful Mt. Timpanogos Temple.  

I spy with my little eye...Olivia!

Through the Salt Flats, there is some beauty to find too.

Dad prepared this fancy fruit platter for when we got home.  He was so proud.  

If you want a good read or listen, this is it!

Happy 7/11 Day! Couldn't pass up a free Slurpee!

Practicing how to make temples out of sugar cubes for the youth Amazing Race activity.  

Well, for now that's it.  

I'll be back soon with sneak peaks of my classroom.  Yes, I moved again, but it'll all be fine once everything is put together.  I'm hoping to get most of it finished tomorrow...we'll see if that really happens.  

Ali Tells All

I think we all find a time in our lives when we think and try to do much more than we can handle.  

That has been my life in a nut shell the past several months.  

So, what do I do?

I take a step back and give myself a break.  

This has been one of the best things for me.  My mind is clear, I have more ideas coming, I feel refreshed, and I finally feel like I can get a hold on my life now. 

Now, Ali tells All.  

Scott and I have enjoyed watching the Bachelorette this season.  All I have to say say is that we are so grateful we didn't have to go through something like that to find each other.  It's entertaining and sad all at the same time.  Entertaining, because then drama those men, or should I say boys, bring to the show is hilarious! The things that they all through emotionally makes me so sad...it has to be so rough to have such strong feelings for someone, then turn around and that someone has those strong feelings for someone else too.  Ugh...what a nightmare!  

About a month ago we moved...YaYY!!!!

We were both getting pretty tired of driving to far to get to and from work.  I had been looking for months for somewhere to move that would be a decent size and for a decent price.  I looked and looked and looked.  Then, we found a town home that we really liked and thought it would be perfect! Sadly, that didn't work out.  So, we looked and looked again.  Luckily, we found another place that was a little bigger and quite a bit cheaper too, BONUS!!!  I went and looked at it and immediately felt that is where we were supposed to be.  It took a little while, but we finally found out we got it and would be moving very soon after.  

I'll show more pictures as the house gets put together.  It has been a lot of work, so we're still working :)

We are now living in Lehi, and absolutely love it.  Scott is only 4 minutes away from work, and I'm only 20 now, and yes, that is is huge improvement...my drive is half of what it used to be. 

For the summer we have Scott's two younger brothers living with us.  It has been quite an adjustment for me, because the only boys that I have lived with are my dad and Scott.  Let's just say Scott quickly learned my habits of cleanliness and he has been so patient and learned to help out with my pet peeve of cleanliness.  Adding two more boys to the house was a bit shocking at first, but now I love having them there.  I don't know what we'll do without them.   We have our routines with each other and it'll be so sad without them.  Almost every day, we all get up and go to work, then we all come home at different time, but when we're all home we head over to the gym and spend time there working out.  Scott LOVES having his brothers to workout with.  They all love exercise and have seen a lot of progress through the program they are all doing together.  I go and get my workout in and have my "alone" time.  It is so fun and I can only imagine what everyone at the gym thinks when they see us all walk in and out together, if only they knew we were the famous "Gowdy Gang" haha. 

Enjoying a night of golfing together.

Work is going great for me and I am so happy to be able to stay in the same grade this next year!  It was sad saying good bye to my students, especially those that I had for the past two years.  They have been such a big part of my life, but now it's time to move on and get attached to a new group of students.  

On the side I have started a school blog that I should get up and running a few weeks after school starts.  I'm hoping to share my teaching ideas and different things that I use to supplement what my school provides for us to teach our students.  I have created things of my own, and found many other teacher bloggers that have helped me a lot of the past years.  

My students have been my kids for years now, through my schooling with the classes I have taken allowing me to gain experience in classrooms to better my teaching skills, to having classes of my own.  I have loved those kids and have so many memories with them, but I long for the day when I can have kids of my very own.  

For the last year Scott and I have dreamed of starting a family of our own, but due to some medical issues, that hasn't quite happened in the timing that we hoped.  I worked with one doctor, who ended up not being very helpful at all through this.  Earlier this year I switched over to another doctor, who is wonderful and has a lot of experience with patients that have the same condition as me.  He has been beyond helpful and we are really hoping that he is the one that will be able to help us live our dream of being parents.  

All I know is that our loving Heavenly Father has a plan for each and every one of us.  It may not be our plan and we may not know or understand why, but He knows us better than we do.  I trust Him and know that everything happens for a reason.  

Well, my friends, I think that's a wrap for "Ali Tells All" this time around.  We love you all and hope you are doing well.  

Just a Little Something

As we all know, summer is just around the corner.  It's like we went straight from fall to spring and completely skipped over winter...and that's not something I will complain about.  

Of course with the change in weather, we all want to look fabulous for the summer in our fashionable clothes and swim suits :)

So, Scott and I are having fun trying new healthier recipes.  

There are so many good ones, but as of now, we are both hooked on this one in particular. 

I've already made batch #2 this week...YiKeS!!! 

They're called Energy Bites and they're absolutely delicious and so easy to make!

Try them out for yourself...

Sunday Scoop

A month later...and I'm back.  

Life is wonderful and exciting, no matter what.  

I am loving the time I get to spend with family, friends, and my students.  

My class is putting on a play in a few months, and it is so fun to see the kids excitement.  They are so into it and can't wait to see the finished product and put on a show for their family and friends too.  

Outside of work, Scott and I are having fun making memories together.  With the time we get to spend just the two of us and then with our families too, we're having the best of times together.  

 We finally got to spend Valentine's Day together.  We met a little while after Valentine's Day in 2013, then last year Scott was in the Bay Area for a Rugby game.  Finally, this year we got to spend it together! We were in Vegas to support Olivia in on of her volleyball tournaments.  We snuck away for a little bit and went to PF Chang's (where we went on our first date) and then walked up and down the strip too.  

Enjoying a beautiful Sunday in Las Vegas with Olivia and my parents.  We we able to go and take a walk around the beautiful Las Vegas Temple as well. 

Shout out to #15...Olivia aka Oats!!!

So many lights and things to see.  

A few weeks ago we were able to get together with family and be a part of a special day for Steve, Brooke, and Gigi.  Gigi was blessed at church, and we were all able to come together to remember such a special day.  

All the girls, starting to out number all the Gowdy boys.  

Speaking of babies, I am lucky enough to have great friends that are bringing in beautiful new babies to their families.  Last week I stopped by a few of their baby showers and had so much fun! It's hard to believe that one is already a mom and another will be a mom in just a few more weeks  

Baby coming soon...I can't wait to meet him :)

This beauty had her baby a month early and is the cutest mom ever...along we the cutest little baby too.