Saturday, December 30, 2023

A Blessed Christmas Season

Some people start their Christmas season the day after Thanksgiving. Not us! We actually wait until about the second week of December, when we go to the Nutcracker, put on by Northern Plains Dance. (Plus, this year, both of us were still recovering from covid in November!) Every year, Faith loves to see her friends perform onstage and visit with them afterward. We have been going to this performance since 2017, and it never ceases to amaze us! It's been so fun to watch the growth of her ballet friends as they take on more challenging parts each year. 

Enjoying the Nutcracker for the 6th year in a row! 

One new thing that I was able to do this year was go to the Lorie Line Christmas Concert. She has been coming to Bismarck for 30 years and I have always wanted to go, but it has never worked out. This year I was going to try to go with my parents, but then decided not to, as by the time I was going to get tickets, it looked nearly sold out. But then a friend of mine asked if I could help transport her grandma (who uses a wheelchair) in our van to the concert. In exchange for helping, she bought me a ticket to the concert! 

I was just expecting to sit there and listen to Lorie Line play the piano, but it was so much more! She and her husband both interacted with the audience quite a bit and at one point, she even took requests. As people shouted out their favorite songs, she wrote them down and then came up with a medley that included several of the songs! The featured vocalist (Jimmy Finch) was a professional opera singer. He even sang my favorite Christmas carol, "O Holy Night". I just might have to make this event a tradition as well! 

Lorie Line Christmas concert - such a wonderful experience! 

On Saturday, the 23rd, Faith's dad came for a visit. She had a nice time hanging out with him and got to open a few gifts. On Christmas Eve, Faith and I went to church in the morning and then the candlelight service in the evening. My sisters met us there, which I was very surprised and happy about! It was a nice service and afterward, Faith and I drove around and looked at Christmas lights. 


Opening some gifts. 

At church for the Christmas Eve service. Photo credit: Tesa Graff 
Checking out some of the Christmas lights! 

The next day, Faith did a video chat with her Auntie Joh in Canada and got to see her two kitties. Finally, it was time for the big event at Grandma and Grandpa's. There was lots of food, fun, and laughter. 

Along with all the people, there was also a dog named Josie (who came with her family from Nebraska) and the Grinch. My brother and his family from South Dakota had also traveled to Bismarck. After a lively gift exchange game, Faith was tuckered out, so we ventured home. 

Gift exchange game. 
Faith's aunties, Tesa and Dawn helping her during the gift exchange game. 
Faith with Grandma, Grandpa, her cousins, and Josie the dog. 

No one will ever know what it took to get that Christmas tree placed there for family photos! 

Dawn and Faith taking a break from all the chaos and then the Grinch shows up. 

Another thing we have been blessed with this Christmas season is the nice weather. It hasn't been near as cold or snowy like last year. In fact, we have hardly gotten any snow at all and the temps in December have been well above freezing. That all changed overnight when half of the state got hit with a major ice storm! We began getting freezing rain overnight and by the time Tuesday morning rolled around, the streets and sidewalks had become a skating rink. Needless to say, Faith did not make it to therapy or her day program! 

That evening, I received a text from my mom asking for prayer for my brother-in-law who had slipped on the ice at their place and cracked his head open. I started praying right away. Thankfully, despite the ice-covered streets, my brother and his wife were able to get him to the ER in record time (good thing they have a brand-new truck with 4WD). My brother-in-law ended up needing stitches and got a concussion, but we are all so thankful that it wasn't worse. 

Look how shiny the ice made our street! 

The next day, the sun came out in full force and the temperatures reached above freezing, which helped to begin the thawing process. By the time I took Faith to her day program, the no travel advisory had been lifted and things had improved immensely. Another thing to be thankful for was that our power didn't go out, which happened to many people in the southeast part of the state. 

On Friday after taking Faith to her day program, I met my sister, her husband, and one of their sons, along with my parents, for lunch at the Pizza Ranch. That evening, my sister and her boys came over for one final visit, during which we played a fun game of, "Do You Really Know Your Family?" Faith had a blast hanging out with her cousins. 

Faith with her auntie and cousins. 

While it's fun to partake in so many events, do the decorating, eat the goodies, exchange gifts, and be with family, let us not forget the true reason for the season. God came to us in such a humble way, through a baby named Jesus born in a stable, and then died on a cross 33 years later so that our sins could be forgiven. 

Not only that, but those who believe in Him are sealed by the Holy Spirit, have full assurance of salvation, and will live with Him for eternity, which is much more than we could ever deserve! This is why we celebrate Christmas - He truly is the Reason for the Season! 


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our family to yours! (Photo credit: Amber Lawlar) 




Sunday, October 29, 2023

No Longer a Teenager

Last week on the 25th, Faith celebrated her 20th birthday, which means she is no longer a teenager! That morning as we drove to her day program, she asked, "Mom how did I get to be 20 so fast?" In some ways, the time has crawled by, but in other ways, it has gone so incredibly fast. 

Faith turns 20! 
When it came to planning something for her birthday, she told me she didn't want a party. I knew though, that as soon as I didn't plan one, she would change her mind. And that's exactly what happened! A few days before her birthday she was asking me who is coming to her party. I was like, "What party?" 

I had decided to just have a small gathering at our apartment. I'm glad I didn't opt for a bigger one at a larger venue, mainly because of the weather. Up until last Wednesday, we had been having the most beautiful fall ever. The colorful leaves were still on the trees and the grass was still green. We had gone to the pumpkin patch on October 19th and it was 70 degrees!

Having fun at the pumpkin patch the week before! 

Faith makes a new friend.

Her dad came to visit her on the 21st and he had remarked what a beautiful drive it had been. But on Wednesday, fall had come to a sudden halt. The temperature dropped into the 40s and it began to rain. The next day, that rain turned to snow. We had squeaked in her birthday party just in time! 

Along with the party, she celebrated by taking her birthday balloons with her to her day program. Due to some of the dietary restrictions of some of her peers, she couldn't take cupcakes. Instead, she handed out glo-stick bracelets to some of her friends. She saved the cupcakes for her friends at therapy the next day. Some of her friends sent birthday greetings in the form of video messages and voicemails, which she loved! She also had a lovely visit over the phone from her grandparents in Canada.

Ready to party! 
Birthday cake! 

Thankful for the helpers! 

Fun with family! 

I'm so glad she had such a great day! 

She had a great time at her party, eating cake, singing songs, and having lots of laughs. One of my favorite parts was just sitting back and relaxing while one guest read her birthday cards, another helped her open presents, and another folded all the tissue paper and neatly put her presents in a pile. Faith had also designated a cake cutter, so I didn't have to do that either! 

I continue to be so grateful for those who blessed her with wonderful gifts like clothes, money, wall hangings, flowers, games, a squishmallow, and other fun things. I'm so glad her 20th birthday was such a success, not to mention safe from the winter weather! 

Getting ready for bed after a fun but exhausting day! 
We ended up getting 8.5 inches of snow and sadly it will stick around as it's supposed to stay cold for a while. I swear we just had winter! 


Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Quick Trip with the Parents to Pembina Gorge

When my dad told me he'd like to see Pembina Gorge sometime, I told him I had never heard of it. (I don't feel bad as I know many other North Dakotans who hadn't heard of it either!) In order to help make his dream a reality, I tried to schedule a weekend that my caregivers could come here to look after Faith. We settled on the first weekend in October. My mom decided to come as well. She said it would be the only nonmedical trip the three of us had taken together! We all hoped the fall foliage would be out in full force that weekend! 

In preparing to go, I had typed up 3 pages of instructions for Faith's caregivers, one of whom was a loyal respite care provider who has been with us for over 3 years and also my sister. Both of them are very experienced and resourceful, but I printed out the instructions, nonetheless. Faith has been trying a new kind of food so that was a bit of an adjustment for them. 

After dropping Faith off at her day program in the middle of a wind advisory, I met my parents in the parking lot, and we set off for our little trip. 

The first stop was Jamestown, where we felt like we had entered the Twighlight Zone. Mom and Dad's phones were acting up, plus I had never experienced placing my order on the big screen inside a McD's before, so that was new. We noticed a lot of the elderly people needed help with the digital menu, but it was a breeze for the youngsters. 

My Dad and I at McD's in Jamestown aka the Twilight Zone!
None of us had really ever been to the little towns in the Northeast part of the state before, so it was fun to see some of the towns, realizing that the Watford City Wolves had played many of their teams in football and basketball. I got a kick out of Hoople - Tater Town, USA! 

In Larimore, we saw some huge, very bizarre buildings with no signs or windows, just one large overhead door and an American flag out front. Dad figured they were storage shops for potato equipment. (If anyone knows, please let us know!)  

Then as we attempted to find a gas station in Finley, I realized I had missed a call from my sister. I quickly called her back and she said the key fob I had given her for the van was not working. It seemed the batteries had died. She needed to go to Mandan to pick Faith up from her day program. She almost panicked but then realized the fob had to have a key in it somewhere, which she managed to find, and all was well. She just wouldn't be able to use the fob to open the doors or let down the ramp. Thankfully, she could still use the buttons inside the van for all that. 

After finding a gas station, we headed to Cavalier where we would be staying the night. On our way to the hotel, I spotted what looked like Jason from Halloween and ET riding a bicycle in front of a haybale. Rather odd, I thought. But as we found our way to the only open restaurant in town, we saw many more decorated hay bales. Maybe it was some sort of fall contest or something for homecoming? 

Strange sighting near our motel in Cavalier. 
After a great meal in a wonderful small-town restaurant called Thompson's Cafe, we headed back to our motel. I did a video chat with Faith, who was doing great with Auntie Dawn. They even went to the library together (which is something Faith and I normally do every Friday). I was super proud of her for being willing to change up her routine and having Dawn take her to the library instead of me. Now all Dawn had to do was get through the entire page of Faith's good night routine! As for me, I was super excited to be able to go to bed at 10:30! 

The next morning, Dad and I had the continental breakfast of cereal, toast, and coffee. When we went to get Mom (who doesn't eat breakfast) she informed us of the heartbreaking news that Israel was under attack. It was unbelievable, however the first words out of my mouth were, "The Rapture is going to happen soon!" As awful as the situation is, God's plan will come to fruition for Israel and all of humanity! 

It didn't talk long to reach the small but beautiful town of Walhalla, which happens to be the "Moose Capital of North Dakota." Without even knowing that, Dad was so sure we were going to see a moose! After not being really sure of where to go, we finally headed in the right direction toward Pembina Gorge. For miles, all we had seen was flat farmland, so it was a bit awe-inspiring to suddenly come upon the stark contrast of the Pembina Gorge. It was a beautiful sight, but we were a little disappointed to miss the peak fall foliage. A lot of the leaves had blown off as it had been very windy in the days leading up to our trip. We did notice, however, that North Dakota was unusually green for this time of year! 

Horseback riders on the flat land behind us. 

Hills and trees for miles in front of us.
Dad and I convinced Mom to take a road and drive down into the gorge. We found out there were several trails that people could walk on, as well as explore by horse or ATV. We also found out that it was much too cold for that. I think it was just over 40 degrees, cloudy, and windy when we were there. Thank goodness I had brought my winter coat! 

After exploring for a bit, we went on a little dirt road alongside some tall-standing corn where a white-tail deer came briefly out of hiding. It was the only wildlife we had seen up to that point. We eventually found our way to an incredible view called Tetrault Overlook. It was even more spectacular than the gorge, as we could also see the Pembina River. 

Heading down into Pembina Gorge. 

Dad looking for moose! 

Tetrault Overlook and the Pembina River
We then decided to backtrack a bit and head to Icelandic State Park. We didn't have a lot of time, so we didn't drive through the park, but we did check out the Pioneer Heritage Center, where we learned about the homesteading history of that part of the state. 

None of us had known that Pembina was home to the state's first General Land Office, which was established in 1870. We had also never heard of the Timber Culture Act, which encouraged homesteaders to plant trees. As you can imagine, it was hard to do in North Dakota! Despite their best efforts, North Dakota remains the state with the least number of tees! 

Icelandic State Park - we were very close to Canada!

Homesteaders Poem 
Finally, we ventured to Langdon, where we stopped at the Dairy Queen for lunch. As we headed south on Highway 1 toward the Interstate, our adventures included almost hitting a big deer that decided to sprint across the road to join his friends and sighting a strange pyramid-shaped building near Nekoma. Turns out the Great Pyramid was built in the 1960s to follow missiles from Russia and then shot down over Canada! Crazy, right? North Dakota certainly is full of history, mystery, and beauty! 

We ended up making it home just as the sun was starting to set. When we pulled into the parking lot, I saw Faith sitting in front of the window. When she saw me get out of the vehicle, she got so excited that I heard her from outside! It was a fun-filled tip and lots of memories were made but it was good to be home. Oh, and Dad never did see his moose! 

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

A Wonderful Weekend Getaway

This past weekend, Faith and I both got to experience the Medora Musical together - for the first time ever! We went with my dad and sister. The singing and dancing definitely met our expectations. After the National Anthem, some of the first songs they sang included, "Let's Hear it for the Boy" and "Dancing on the Ceiling." Both songs were a great and energetic way to start the show. 

Faith was super excited, nearly dancing out of her chair! One reason she could hardly contain her excitement was that a few of the performers (Adam and Taylor) go to our church! The storytelling in between the musical numbers described how the little "cow town" of Medora came to be, as well as the influence that Theodore Roosevelt had in North Dakota. 

View from our seats!

Close up of the performers. 

Auntie Dawn and Grandpa

During the song, "Paint Your Dreams Across the Sky" by Dolly Parton, the cast invited the children to join them onstage. I wasn't expecting one of the cast members to come up and stand by Faith to sing. It was super sweet, but unfortunately, I didn't get a picture. They also sang "His Eye Is on the Sparrow," along with a medley of gospel songs. 

There were country songs and funny songs, too, that got the crowd laughing and clapping along. One that I remember was "40 Cups of Coffee." The entertainment also included a trick roping cowboy and another one yodeling.  

We were thoroughly enjoying the show when I noticed a shift in the weather. It had been bright and sunny upon arrival, but it had changed to cloudy and windy. Just as they were about to get into the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show, one of the ushers came over to us and said they were going to call the show in five minutes if we wanted to get ahead of the crowd to the elevators. I thought it was very kind of him to give us a heads up, but I was also very disappointed. 

Sadly, we didn't get to see much of the lumberjack show.

When we got up to the parking lot, my sister Dawn pushed Faith as fast as she could to the van and just as they got there, it began to rain. Just after the four of us piled inside the van, it began to downpour. 

Since we were just sitting there, I got a feeding going for Faith. After the traffic cleared, we sadly made our way to Dickinson. All was not lost, though, as there were some gorgeous rainbows in the sky. I have never seen so many of them in such a short time span! 

Bad weather heading straight for us.

The rain was coming down hard!

Videos by Michael Lawlar

Beautiful double rainbow heading from Medora to Dickinson (photo by Dawn Lawlar)

After getting to Dickinson, we found a place to eat. It was called "Sanford's" and when we pulled into the parking lot, Dawn and I realized it was the same restaurant we had eaten at when we had traveled to Watford City about 3 years ago. 

After supper, we made our way back to the hotel and started Faith's evening routine. It had been quite a day. I was so proud of Faith for how she was handling the traveling and the disappointment with the musical ending early. 

Waiting patiently for her chocolate milkshake!

Being udderly silly!
The next day after checking out, we set out for our next adventure: a visit to the Dickinson Museum Center where they had the Badlands Dinosaur Museum. Faith loves dinosaurs and she couldn't wait to get a new shirt for T-Rex Thursday at her day program. It was fun to look at the bones and try to imagine what it was like when dinosaurs roamed the earth. There were also numerous displays of minerals from all over the world, some of which were fluorescent. 

We also explored the Joachim Regional History Museum and Dad even asked if they could open up the Pioneer Machinery Hall, which they sometimes don't do on Sundays depending on how busy it is. Faith was a little bored with some of the history stuff, so she and Dawn ventured to the gift shop where she helped her auntie pick out stuffed dinosaur toys for her grandkids. After all that, we hit up the A&W/KFC and made our way back to Bismarck. 

Dinosaurs and fossils galore!

Faith didn't look too scared!

Faith checking out the cool fluorescent fossils. 

Inside the machinery hall. I told Faith this is what Laura from Little House travelled in. 

Grandpa was super impressed with this old tractor. 

Getting Faith to the Medora Musical was something I have been wanting to do for a long time and with the improved accessibility at the venue, along with help from my sister, we were able to make it happen! I was also very thankful that Faith's grandpa could accompany us. I was so happy to be driving to western North Dakota, as that will always be home to me. 

The end of July was a great time to head west as golden round bales dotted the landscape and the corn, sunflower, and wheat crops were flourishing. The Badlands looked so beautiful, and we even passed by a large herd of bison. It truly was a wonderful weekend getaway! 

The beauty of the Badlands