God is BLESSING us

Click photos to blow up and read 💛

💛🌻💛🐝💛🌻💛

I got about 4 hours sleep tonight so far. So glad that God helped me figure out that I was in prednisone withdraw.

My dermatologist is really responsive and respectful of how I am seeing things and about how I am physically feeling. This is a huge deal because lots of medical professionals unfortunately are not that way (yet any way).  I will be following up with my GP and endocrinologist because being on steroids is actually a serious matter and can result in bone density loss. I had that happen in 2010. I got that bone density back. With God's help and will I will get it back again. I am a bit of a special case because I got bone issue so young. Again I got it back. 👍 This is a total life overhaul. I am changing my life, my diet and going to have to walk more and do strength training. 

My Husband needs your prayers. He's got a lot going on with a suddenly sick slightly manic wife. He also has a truly difficult unexpected unbloggable challenge that just hit the fan late last week. Please pray for him. 

God is BLESSING us. 

Pray for my new goddaughter. She + Husband and 4 year old daughter received tomorrow 1 PM local church. 

The Lord have mercy on us and save us 🙏 

🙏💛🌻💛🕯💛🐝💛🙏

The Fog of JOY

This was Christmas Eve. 

I had just come down with Sweets Syndrome again (first had in 2010).

I am managing it well considering. 

Last weekend I was on 100mg of steroids. 

Made me really physically unwell. 

Today I am down to 60.

I am learning to adapt pivot and see how blessed I am. And while on steroids. 

Christmas Tree Spode Teapot from Poshmark 🫖 ✔️

Christmas Tree Spode plates in melamine for dishwasherable ease because ill -- gotten at 50% off after Christmas sales ✔️

Paper Napkins ✔️

Dishwasherable silverware ✔️

Easy meal prep ✔️

Amazing desserts ✔️

Did I sleep at all last night? No. Sugar and prednisone. 

Will I sleep tonight. Should. Can take my every other night sleep med.

Am I resting today? Yes.

Do I need your prayers? 

YES PLEASE. 

10th Day of Christmas I went to NYC

I had my yearly Tea and Sympathy date with my friend who is one of the few who went to my wedding 10 years ago in Ottawa and who I can see in person in my daily life.  And as she listened to me talk about being sick so suddenly and having to learn how to best deal with it, I truly had Tea and Sympathy ❤️

I explained earlier about my situation as it is right now as of last night before I fell asleep:

it is now 1:35 AM. I woke up overheated and itchy again. 

I promised my Husband that I would rest in the middle of the night if I woke up again. 

Last night I got up, reorganized our "junk drawer", the space under the kitchen sink and reorganized my gift bag / tissue paper / ribbons / Christmas bows box. 

🤣🙃😳😉🤔😂

You have no idea how good it feels under the stress of steroids to have things organized. Everything is amplified and my ability to deal with clutter and mess is amplified too. 

Insomnia and steroids. 

Now I have to learn to just be still if I wake up again.  LOL 🙃🤣

I was given a generous gift 🎁 card and bought some beautiful gifts 🎁 😍 🎄 that I can't wait to show you! 

I was really tired after being in NYC so everything is still in bags. 

So God helped me unexpectedly, yesterday, too. I am immune compromised because of being on high doses of steroids so I am being EXTRA careful about masking in public spaces especially in  NYC and public transit. If I got sick with cold or flu on top of my current illness it would be so hard on myself and Husband. So when I wear a mask I also use a headband with buttons as I find the mask too tight on my ears.  Somehow I lost the headband and was not going to be able to mask properly.  I took EVERYTHING out of my purse looking for it. Searched my pink cart, took everything out. Looked through all my bags. Looked where we were sitting before we got a table. It was GONE. So off we went (I even went asking at the place we got "chicken chunks' and asked if they had seen it. No dice).  So we went to the English Grocer (no big surprise I restocked up on 2 favourite teas) 🤣🫖🙃☕️🫖🤩 ... I went to grab my mask for the cab (the store we were in was basically empty). I pulled out my mask from my purse (that I had completed emptied with my friend watching) and there was my mask headband as if I had never lost it. I knew God and St Phanourios 🙏 had helped once again 🙏 when I really needed the help.

So I am seeing how God is with me helping me in this unexpected situation. 

So: prayer request: itching & insomnia but also wisdom about how to medically handle this situation. 

I am seeing so many blessings in my life through this. I hope to be better again of course. 

But I can tell that God is blessing me in this.

Well. Time to see if I can sleep again! 

I had such a great time in NYC.  God is so good to me 🙏❤️🙏

9th Day of Christmas 🎄

We had a really special Christmas lunch 🎄❤️🎄🍽🎄🫖🎄❤️🎄❤️

I was happy and full of joy.... even though I couldn't use my Christmas Tree Spode pottery because I am physically unwell.... I just loved the cute napkins and cookie plates! 

So I still having some break through itching and of course being on high doses of steroids is not easy....

I talk with my dermatologist tomorrow morning and am in regular contact with my GP. So that is really great. 

Well praying that I can sleep! God have mercy on us 🙏 ❤️🙏

7th Day of Christmas ~ Rejoicing admist it all

My Husband was the hero of the hour at a pharmacy to get my medicine took an hour 😳 and he didn't eat dinner toll like 8 PM!

I am on even more meds because the rash was getting worse. 

Yet I am filled with Thanksgiving....

6th Day of Christmas ~ Unexpectedly in NYC

Thanks so much for your prayers! I had a great doctors visit and have a real sleep med now.  I got Aveeno oatmeal lotion and shower gel (for oatmeal bath) to take in warm (but not hot) bath.  My big prayer request is that the itching from the rash does not wake me up like it did last night (plus being wired on steroids). I am so thankful for everyone's prayers and that I have good medical support. 🙏 ❤️

Above written earlier. Tired now. God bless and save us.

5th Day of Christmas ~ {The Holy Innocents} ~ I still need prayer

Summary of how it is going now....

Christ is Born! Glorify Him! 

We had our Christmas on Saturday! [PRAYER REQUEST below]

It's been a bit of a wild ride because I had a cold that turned baterial and then I had antibiotics (which helped) but then I got a rash and had to be on steroids and I started to go less on streoids and broke out in a different type of rash that itches and have to call the dermatolgist in the morning. Thankfully I have access to medical help easily, including by video.  

The first 4 days of steroids I also took what I was told was a "sleep med" because I know that steroids = insomnia but the pharmacy said that the one perscribed was NOT like Benadryl (which instead of making me sleeply wires me) when it is VERY much like Benadryl. So I was double wired and getting about 2 hours/sleep/night. Not that great when trying to recover from a chest cold (it's largely better now but some lingering chest congestion).  

I stopped that one med and calmed down a bit. I managed to get 5 hours of sleep (!!!) in two 2 hour streches and 1 more hour last night. 

The new rash is on my hands/feet mainly and my hands are the worst for being itchy.  

So I have a feeling I may have to up my steriods (will call derm in AM) which may impact my insomnia. So lots to figure out. 

Let me tell you, my pantry has never looked as good, LOL; the other night I organzied our postage stamps in the middle of the night and today I worked on the closet. In otherwords, I am still fairly wired LOL.  

I will work on doing some more resting. Some friends and family have already been praying for me and I really feel the prayers. The joy of Christmas is very strong. When I was going through the worst of it (which was actually Christmas Eve Friday night) two prayers kept returning:

"The Father is my hope; the Son is my refuge; the Holy Spirit is my protection. O Holy Trinity, glory be to you!"

and

"“Lord have mercy. Thee I adore. Into Thy Hands."

which I learned when I was 19 in Elizabeth Goudge's novel the Scent of Water: 

"“My dear,” he said, “love, your God, is a trinity. There are three necessary prayers and they have three words each. They are these, “Lord have mercy. Thee I adore. Into Thy Hands.” Not difficult to remember. If in times of distress you hold to these you will do well.”

I really feel God's mercy in the midst of this and also am so thankful that I am so blessed with good care, a very kind and solicitous Husband and beloved family, church family and friends! 

Welcoming your prayers 🙂 (ESP for SLEEP!!!) ❤

2nd Day of Christmas: Pantry reorg, takeout food and my new beloved teapot 🫖

So. I am not sleeping much yet. Hopefully tonight. Steroids. I have been unable to settle down. I reorganized over half of my pantry. That was great. As in overdue, much needed. But I also need rest so that I can heal and not get sick again or more than I am now (lingering chest congestion).

I am absolutely in LOVE with my new teapot 🫖 😍 

May God have mercy on us 🙏 🕯❤️