Watched Over and Protected

Last night, as Matt and I were headed home from the Food Allergy Seminar at Rocky Mountain Allergy we experienced a tire blow out on the freeway...as we were going 70 miles per hour. Luckily we were able to maintain control and pull over to the side of the road. As Matt prepared to jack up the minivan and change the tire, we noticed that our spare tire kit did not included all of the necessary pieces...GREAT!

Matt and I sat in the van for a while and discussed our options.

• We could call one of our family members and ask them to bring us some tools. OR
• We could drive on our flat tire and risk ruining our rim. 

As we sat on the side of the road, in the dark, with cars and trucks passing close to our van at 70+ miles per hour, we decided to risk ruining our rim. We drove at 5 miles per hour, with our hazzard lights on, until we got to the next exit. We pulled into the nearest 7-11 and got out of the van. As we looked up, 2 police vehicles entered the parking lot and parked right next to us. What a blessing! The police officers had tools that we could use and helped us get the tire changed out. 

This situation could have been so bad...but we received so many tender mercies last night. We could have lost control of the vehicle, we could have been hit as we were parked on the side of the road, we could have sat for hours as our family members took time to gather the needed tools and get them to us, we could have ruined our rim (which we found out today is fine!). Plus having 3 police officers available to help us made things go so much more quickly and smoothly.

Even though this was a stinky situation, so many things could have gone so much worse. I know that Matt and I were watched over and protected last night. I know that Heavenly Father sent those police officers to help us...and I am so grateful that He did. I know that Heavenly Father is aware of us. I know that we are children of a loving Heavenly Father and that He loves us.

Rocky Mountain Allergy Seminar

For the past year or so, we have been hearing about a new treatment option for food allergies. I have been a little hesitant to try it since it is so new and only one allergist, Dr. Douglas Jones, in Utah is currently offering this treatment option. At the end of January, this allergist opened a new location in Murray, Utah which is about 20 minutes from our home. When I discovered his new location, and found out that Dr. Jones was just recently added to our insurance plan, I decided to check it out.

Matt and I attended a seminar with Dr. Jones tonight. He discussed his revolutionary treatment and how it works. There were also a few "graduates" and their families there to discuss their experience and how their lives have been changed.

Dr. Jones began his career as an Allergist and always hated the times he would have to face a family and diagnose a food allergy. The standard protocol was to give the family a list of ingredients to avoid and a prescription for an Epi-Pen. He would then send them into the world with a "hope" that nothing bad would happen. During the seminar he discussed how he hated these conversations and felt so bad that there were no other options. As he began researching more, he took the idea of vaccines and of environmental allergy shots and began experimenting to see if there was something more that he could do. For 8 long years he researched and studied. Then in 2011 he launched the Oral Immunotherapy treatment plan with his patients. It has had unprecedented success!

Oral Immunotherapy Treatment (OIT) is a treatment in which the allergic patient is fed the allergen in a very diluted amount in a control environment. For example, the first dose amount for a person allergic to peanuts is 1/250,000 of a peanut. As each dose is tolerated, the dosage amount is increased until the patient is able to eat 24 peanuts a day. This may take anywhere from a few months to a couple of year to desensitize to the allergen. Once you reach what Dr. Jones calls your maintenance dose, the patient will need to consume the maintenance dose of the allergen every day for the rest of their lives. If they do so, they are able to eat unlimited amounts of the allergen as often as they would like. Sounds to good to be true, right!

Well it is not. After Dr. Jones presentation was over, we heard from many patients and their families. As we heard story after story of success and gratitude, my eyes were filled with tears. We heard the story of a 10-year old boy who was allergic to 24 foods. His story was so similar to Zachary's and his little personality reminded me of Zachary too. He now can eat all of the foods he once had to completely avoid. His eyes lit up as he talked about all of the food that he can now eat and how he doesn't need to fear food anymore. I cannot image what a weight has been lifted off of his little shoulders. It made me long for the day that we could share all of our favorite foods with Zachary. Next we heard from a 18-year old boy that was allergic to peanuts. He graduated from the OIT program in December and feels so much better about being out with friends and dating. Then we heard from a young girl who recently attended a friends birthday party for first time. In the past her friends would tell her, "My mom won't let me invite you to my party because she doesn't want to worry about what to feed you." We heard so many stories of how OIT has changed peoples lives.

After the seminar, we were able to mingle with the families and with Dr. Jones. Matt and I are extremely interested in getting Zachary started with this treatment. We are encouraged by all of the success and hope to be able to share our success story in the future.

We are currently on the wait list for the Oral Immunotherapy Program. We are looking at around 8 to 10 months before we will be able to begin. While we are a little sad to have to wait, we are grateful for the time to do more research and to prepare Zachary for what is to come. While we wait, we plan on starting immunotherapy treatments for Zachary's environmental allergies. Dr. Jones feels that if we can eliminate Zachary's environmental allergies, he will be able to work through the food allergy treatments a lot quicker and with less reactions.

I am so grateful for this new option. I am hopeful that Oral Immunotherapy Treatments will work for my little Zachary. If OIT works for us, it will not only open up so many food choices for Zachary, it will improve his quality of life and make it so we don't have to live in fear every single day.

What a blessing that would be!

Provo City Center Temple Open House

Today, our family was blessed with the opportunity to tour the Provo City Center Temple in Provo, Utah. This temple has quite the history and will soon be dedicated as the 150th temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are so grateful for the opportunity to tour this temple with Elizabeth and Zachary, who are usually not able to enter the temple doors. What a blessing it was to be there as a family.

This temple is absolutely breath-taking. The workmanship and attention to detail was incredible. From the moment you walked in, you could sense the love and dedication that went into creating this beautiful temple.

As we walked the hallways and the stairways and entered each of the rooms, each space was more beautiful that the one before. Just when you thought you had seen the most incredible thing, you would turn a corner and see something else that was even more incredible.

We could not help but notice all of the amazing woodwork throughout the entire temple. From the banisters, and railings to the pulpits, everything was amazing. I could not believe how intricate and delicate each of the carvings were. If I had to pick my favorite thing about this temple, it would be all of the beautiful woodwork.

One of the first areas we were led to on the tour was the Baptismal Font. Zachary was totally enthralled. He exclaimed, "Mom. This is amazing!". When the tour was over and we were on our way out, I asked Zachary what his favorite part of the temple was and he said, "The Baptismal Font."

Another beautiful area we were able to see was the Bridal Rooms. This is the area where brides get dressed for their big day. I loved all of the warm colors and dark woods. They mentioned that the painted border towards the ceiling of the Brides Room was a replica of a design that was painted in the original Provo Tabernacle.

The Celestial Room in the temple is a place for quiet and reverence. Individuals use the Celestial Room as a place to pray, ponder, and meditate. Traditionally, the Celestial Room is the most beautiful room in the temple. As you can see, the Celestial Room in the Provo City Center Temple is flawless. The stained glass windows, beautiful lighting, and elegant furnishings, make this room the perfect place to feel close our Heavenly Father.

Matt's favorite area of the temple was the staircase. I have to agree that it was pretty amazing. The details that are etched into this area are incredible. I cannot even image how much work went into carving all of the designs into this area.  I have never seen anything like it. It is truly captivating.

As we were leaving, we entered an area that once the temple is open will be the main entrance and welcome desk. Behind the desk was this incredible stained glass window depicting Jesus holding a Lamb. One of the missionaries at the exit, heard Elizabeth talking about the beautiful picture and came over to tell us that the stained glass image is over 120 years old. It was discovered in a Presbyterian church in New York. It was damaged and the Church commissioned a local artisan to repair, clean and restore it for the temple. I love the symbolism of the this story. That is what Christ does with us, He heals us and restores us.

It was such a blessing to be able to spend a couple of hours at the temple with my family. I hope that Elizabeth and Zachary will remember the way they felt inside the temple. Even though it has not been dedicated to our Heavenly Father yet, it was still a place where you could feel of His love. It made my heart fill with joy to hear Elizabeth say, "I want to get married here some day!"