last post of 2010

Well, here it is. The last post I'll make before 2011 rolls in!  Just wanting to highlight some times that have happened during 2010 that were blessings, miracles, tough times, good times, and all things in between. So here goes!
January didn't hold a lot of interesting things. I think the biggest thing I remember is how I finally felt well enough to cook on my own for the first time in a very long time. I didn't get to cook all the time, and rarely without assistance but I was back at the stove again and it felt great! I also started working on the church blog in January. It was a lot of fun, and a great change of pace for me since I had spent so much time trapped in a recliner in the previous months just playing online games. It challenged my mind and that is what I enjoyed the most.
February was the one month last year that held the scariest part of my year. My then 2 yo daughter found my med box and unlike most children who would spit a pill out at the first bitter taste, she ate them!  And she didn't eat just a few. Here is the breakdown of what she ate. 10- Adult gummi multi-vitamins, 4-50mg Metoprolol (that's a beta blocker), 3-25mg of Zoloft, 3- 50mg of Trazodone, and 3- .25mg of Klonopin.  I know that she ate this many because even after we tore the couch apart, tore the living room where she was hiding apart, this many were still missing. I remember calling my mother in law frantic saying you have to get here NOW aleah has eaten my medicine. I remember standing in the foyer of my apartment keeping my baby girl awake until Anita got there and we made it to the hospital. I remember my oldest daughter (not quite 6 yet) standing with her little hand on her sister praying that God keep those medicines from working and praying that they didn't hurt her. I remember Aleah looking drowsy so I let her stand beside me and I began to cry and she wrapped her tiny arms around my right thigh and praying God please help my mommy feel better, In Jesus name Amen. I remember her sweet face looking up at me and saying There mommy, you'll feel better now! I remember that all I could think to pray was God please don't take my baby. Looking back I know that it was the prayers of my oldest child that God heard. The medicines did no damage, and Aleah was only sleepy from them. I remember having to hold my youngest child while they forced what looked like an eternity of charcoal into her little body. I remember how lifeless she looked when she finally fell asleep and they placed her in the ambulance to transport her to Children's Hospital. She slept for a long time, but it truly should have been much longer considering what she took. Most of all I remember how I was blessed to wrap my baby in my arms and after 36 hours I was able to take her home and not plan a funeral. God truly blessed my family during the month of February and every day I see my sassy, bossy, whiny, and extremely smart little girl without any problems from her overdose, I thank God because I have her still with me and she's perfect!
March was a month that held more activity than many of the previous months had. I got a new camera and the weather was perfect for getting outdoors and just walking around some taking photos! It gave me a great start on familiarizing myself with my camera as well as time to get out of the house! That's what I remember the most, just the freedom of getting outdoors, smelling the sweet scent of spring coming in, feeling the still cool breezes hanging around from the chill of winter... yeah that's what I'll remember from March of 2010!
April was my last birthday celebration of my 20's! I thought it was going to be horrible! I was struggling to make it with the horrible POTS/DYS symptoms I was experiencing. That month I'd blacked out in the shower for I think the very first time... that part was completely humiliating but hilarious now that we look back on it! If you have POTS then you know that lifting your legs up to get blood back to your heart is sometimes the first thing to be done during a blackout... well it's not great coming to from a really bad blackout, naked as the day you were born except for a clumsily placed blanket, and then realizing that yes, someone had held your legs up in the air!  Yeah, that part wasn't so great, but turning 29 didn't kill me except my pride when I blacked out in the shower on my birthday no less... talk about wearing your birthday suit huh...haha
May was hard. I lost a dear friend of mine to MS. Donna was my greatest inspiration when I first got sick. She helped me to see what life could be like if I just simply embraced the life I'd been given and live it to my fullest for Christ. Donna was always smiling, always so sweet and encouraging, and she was an awesome chef! I miss those hugs and smiles each and every time I go to church. Her daughter Amelia has so much of Donna's personality, looks, and great attitude that we are all still so blessed to catch glimpses of such a dear friend who's gone on Home to be with Jesus.
June was just another month mostly. I did start the first steps to getting Photography By Miranda started and that has been a lot of fun even though I've only done two shoots since then. I'm proud of them though because with my health up and down like it is I was actually surprised I managed that!
July was exciting for me. I got my first prints back! I did a shoot with my sister, her fiance', and their kids. That was a lot of fun, so I ordered some prints of those and some photos I had taken of my kids. It was exciting getting that package in the mail and seeing my work in print!  I've gotten much better since then not only with photography but editing. It's often been said of me (by my husband) that I'm a collector of hobbies! And I'll admit I've picked up a LOT of hobbies since we've been together and lain most of them down, but photography has been the constant for me. I love it!
Ok, August was REALLY exciting! We began the process of buying our very own place! No more renting an apartment and the news just kept getting better. Through a friend of Eric's we will soon be buying our own land at such a great price that it can only be called a blessing or even a miracle in today's economy! Oh and we bought our first family dog! She's a beautiful Australian Cattle Dog (Blue Heeler). We named her Kiah!
September was cram packed with doing some minor repairs on our place before we could move in completely, so there isn't much to say about that month other than it was EXHAUSTING!!!
October was financially a difficult month and out of necessity I picked up the whole game of couponing. I found VERY quickly that I love sale shopping and couponing! Saving more than 50% on a grocery bill was exhilarating for me and it gave me a sense of accomplishing and having something to give to my family. One of the hardest things of not being able to work is not being able to financially help and there is never a more difficult time than when money is tight. So coupons have become my way to financially help and I'm proud of it! My goal in 2011 is to save even more and to build a nice stockpile of food and household items so that just on the off chance of hard times again we'll have a nice 3-6 month supply to help pull us through.
November held a big event for me. I had my disability hearing. I still don't know anything back yet. It was very stressful which if you know about POTS then you know stress can debilitate you seriously! I did fine until the last half of the hearing and then the heat in the small room we were in (it was a video hearing) started really getting to me. Add to it that I had no way to pull both legs up cross-legged in the chair that I was in (this is a life saver for me due to pooling when they hang down). So the stress, heat, and blood draining into my legs away from my heart and brain, oh and no gatorade with me (what was I thinking???) led to my blacking out as I left the room after the hearing. So yeah, I've now added a federal building to my blackout locations...lol
December has been amazing. My health was SO much better than last December and I immensely enjoyed Christmas! My oldest daughter had her first ever memorized part in the children's Christmas program. Watching her saying her part and looking so proud and standing so tall, almost made me burst at the seams! Watching all the children sing and say their parts was good too, but you know how it is... she's my baby!  Our church's brass and woodwind ensemble performed again this year and this time I was a part of it. Maybe not the best part of it, but I was there...lol  I also sang O Come All Ye Faithful and the most exciting part for me was when I took a chance and instead of singing the note we'd prepared that was lower I jumped up there and hit a HIGH A FLAT!!! I was soooo excited and not only once but like 3 or 4 times! I think someone recorded it and is supposed to be getting me a copy, so I can't wait to actually see myself perform. It's not often that I get this excited about something but a high A flat? and it was ME!?! Yeah I still can hardly believe it myself!  Oh and we had Christmas at DiDi's and even got to skype with our cousin Shannon. He's over in Afghanistan serving our country and we are so proud of him! After Didi's we went to my mother in laws and had Christmas there. Christmas morning was a blast with the kids, they were really into it. I also really noticed how my oldest has matured since last year. She's a great big sister. And we got SNOW!!! The day after Christmas we had a blanket of white and lots of snow falling the day of Christmas and the day after. A beautiful end to a great 2010! Now lets get busy making the most of 2011! Happy New Years Everyone!!!