Welcome to my blog!

So the truth is that trying to survive in our world as a woman is hard enough at times but toss in some Christianity and you got yourself quite a challenge. My name is Miranda and welcome to my blog. I recently married the love of my life and went from the single life to the newly married adventure. I'm sure my upcoming writings will dive into this new and exciting stage of my life. Sometimes life is quite funny, sometimes it's downright entertaining, and sometimes it can get a little bit more serious. I love God and want to live a life that pleases him but that sometimes is easier said than done. :) So join me as I walk through the trials, struggles and joys of life when the only thing that works is a little chocolate and a lot of faith.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

The Demise of Frank

A few short weeks ago, I had some serious surgery done from which I am almost fully recovered. The good news is that it has given me time to reconnect with my writing, to rediscover some dreams I had and to get caught up on my...sitting. Woohoo!

About a month into our beautiful married adventure, we made the discovery of Frank. It was a most unwelcome discovery. You see, I had developed a rather large fibroid tumor that was growing exponentially. Needless to say I was quite scared and there was confusion, hurt and many tears shed. We went to prayer seeking and believing for comfort and healing. Thankfully these tumors are not cancerous. Praise God for that. However, these giant unwelcome masses still wreak havoc on one's body and life.

After an ultrasound, it was determined that Frank must go. So we were sent to the surgeon who took a picture of it that floored us. He was the size of a baby (not exactly what we wanted our first 'child' to look like). Then it happened. A lupron shot was given to me to shrink Frank before he was evicted. I call it the drug from you know where. I am pretty sure I experienced almost every side effect of this drug. It not only puts your body in a menopausal state, which induces hot flashes, night sweats and emotional roller coasters but it also causes muscle and bone weakness, memory loss, mental fuzziness and the list goes on. I now have way more empathy for women going through the 'change'.

I now also know that in addition to Joe being the most amazing husband in the world, he is also a saint lol! :) He has put up with a lot and taken care of me through it all. Shortly after the shot I ended up being hospitalized for severe anemia thanks to Frank and the excessive stress and pain which manifested into a bleeding ulcer. Oh when it rains... I apparently was walking around with a blood count of 6. Umm....you really shouldn't be able to walk at that point. Oh the grace of God, so amazing.

The good news is that Frankie boy and his cronies (all 4 of them) were removed. Woohoo! I cannot begin to tell you how much I am looking forward to a healthy new year. 2012 however taught me some valuable lessons in faith, hope, prayer and trust. God is able. In our darkest moments He is there. When I was in the hospital and looked over and saw my husband sleeping in the empty bed next to me, or when I couldn't even use the bathroom without help, or get out of bed, or shower, or when people who loved me would cook and clean and the many times I just broke down because I was so tired of being sick or in pain , I knew God was there. In my honey, in my family and in my friends.

To all of them I want to say I say I love you and thank you for helping me through this difficult season...which is coming to an end :) yay!!!! For those who are having a tough time, I would be honored to pray for you and agree with you. Feel free to share your requests. Talk to you soon.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

12 Days of Christmas

Christmas is full of special times, great memories and heart warming traditions. This year is a little different as Joe and I have begun our own family. It means in addition to treasured time with family and friends, we have the opportunity to begin new traditions and build our own family memories. It's exciting!

I love hearing about how Joseph celebrated Christmas and then combining the things that we both love about the holidays. This year he told me how their family put out their nativity set but kept baby Jesus hidden until Christmas morning. My family never did that but I thought it was pretty cool so it is now part of our new Christmas Traditions. My family always decorated for Christmas with balloons and I think my darling husband thought it was a little weird but when we put the balloons up this year I think he really liked them. I love the blending of not only 2 lives but 2 cultures. I feel so blessed.

Well, since we both love Christmas we decided to make every moment count so we came up with a plan to celebrate our countdown to Christmas beginning today and here it is, our own 12 day countdown.

12 Days of Christmas

Day 1. Go light hunting
Day 2. Watch fave christmas movies
Day 3. Visit friends
Day 4. Play board games
Day 5. Ministry night. Make something for the neighbors and friends
Day 6. Christmas date night
Day 7. Make each other a card or gift
Day 8. Christmas shopping
Day 9. Make and decorate cookies
Day 10. Go on an out of town Christmas adventure
Day 11. Christmas Tree Party
Day 12. Church and family

Not sure if we will switch things up depending on how we feel, the weather (if we get snow I want to build my first snowman) or other opportunities that may arise. Either way, we are gonna make this season fun and enjoy each other and the people we love. Above all that we are gonna give God the glory for it is a season to remember the great gift of our Savior, who makes this all possible. :)


Thursday, December 6, 2012

The Marriage Adventure

I can't lie, it feels like my honey and I are still on our honeymoon high from Disney World. Can you blame us? That place was magical. Funny how that was the place I wanted to honeymoon at when I was a little girl. I mean dinner at Cinderella's castle, front row seats for the wishes fireworks show, soaring over the world, boat rides, dinner in Paris, space exploration, a safari adventure...if you haven't been to Disney...what are you waiting for? Anyways, truth be told it was an amazing time and even though the vacation is over, the honeymoon is just beginning :)

The first few months of married life is an adventure. Call it a season of surprise and glorious disbelief. For instance I was surprised when I discovered boxers in my laundry for the first time and realized they belonged to my husband. Lol! They made me giggle like a school girl with a secret crush. Well to be completely honest it was still surprising that I had added trips to the laundry mat to my weekly itinerary. Gone were the glorious days of laundry fairies...I'm still mourning that loss by the way. :(

Getting married is big. You spend a major portion of your adult life dreaming about it then one day you wake up with a gorgeous, snoring man next to you and a ring on your finger and you think "I'm married!" There are a lot of changes. The life that was mine (to a degree) no longer belongs to me (Pastor Dave warned me about this). Well actually God's Word is pretty clear about stripping away selfishness and becoming one. That sentiment is wonderfully epic and newlyweds can't wait to embrace the ideal but the reality is that human nature is pretty selfish. In addition to that comes the bonus of the self absorbed and self focused society that we live in. To sum it up, a successful marriage takes going against the flow, hard work, lots of love and a continuous flood of forgiveness.

Believe me I am just starting on this journey and I have far to go but I already recognize how important these things are if our marriage is going to be extraordinary. Joe and I have already encountered many challenges in our short time together but by the grace of God we get through them and grow more in love every day. There is something that takes place when you love someone so much and desire to see them happy, it should drive you to sacrifice your own needs so theirs could be met. Oh but hold on now, here's the wonder in that: when both people try to bring joy to the other and take care of them, both wind up with their needs met, their joy overflowing and a marriage that's full of passion.

If the flames of your marriage are burning bright, praise God! If not...what can you do today to stoke the fire?

Austin

Austin
Miranda Tom