Faith's Mom's Blog

Today is Memorial Day. A day of remembrance. A day to think about all of those who died fighting for our freedoms. And while I do remember our fallen heroes, I also remember a Memorial Day weekend eleven years ago that was especially tough and painful for me. In writing about my personal experience, I do not wish to take anything away from our brave soldiers, for I know I could never make the sacrifices they have made. Eleven years ago during the last week of May, I had my fourth open heart surgery. I was twenty-five years old. I had been born with a condition called double outlet right ventricle (DORV) in which both the main arteries of my heart were attached to my right ventricle. My left ventricle was unable to function. Prior to my surgery in 1999, the last surgery I had was in 1984. At 25, I was really quite stunned to be going through another heart surgery. I knew I was sick and getting sicker but I was disillusioned to think that some different meds would do the trick and fi

Even though Faith is still suffering with her cold and was up at 5:00 this morning, we were still bound and determined to get her to her last day of school.  And...   WE DID IT!!  There are so many special and wonderful that were brought into our lives during her kindergarten year. Her teacher, her instructional aide, the therapists who worked with her and her special needs coordinator/teacher. Not to mention the principal of the school, the receptionists, her music teacher and her classmates. They, along with the rest of the staff at her school have played an important role not only in her education but her progression and maturity as well. We are so very thankful for these wonderful people who have helped Faith throughout the year. It was the perfect ending to a great school year when her classmates yelled after her, "Bye Faith! Love you!"

I've been wanting to get this post up since Friday night when Faith reached an exciting milestone. Unfortunately, however, Faith ended up getting sick. Besides being busy taking care of her, I have also been sleep deprived as neither of us has slept well all weekend. This morning I kept Faith home from school and we are both exhausted. I decided to try and post this anyway. So if it doesn't make sense, you'll know why! Friday was a busy day for us. I went with Faith to school so that we could meet her new instructional aide who will be working with her during summer school. We showed her Faith's feeding pump and how she would be connecting and disconnecting Faith's feeding tube to her Mic-Key button. We also showed her how to lift Faith and get her in and out of her chair properly. After being at the school for a couple of hours, I went home for lunch then went back to get her so that she could go bowling with all of the other kindergartners. Faith's teammat

Starbucks vs. McCafe - Whose Coffee Drinks are Better? We women love our specialty coffee drinks. That's why I thought it would be interesting to get the scoop on those delicious coffee drinks served at our local Starbucks and McDonald's McCafe (which I think are just in the U.S. for now). I hope this helps you make a more informed decision about where to get your favorite coffee drink and which ones you might want to reconsider making a habit of drinking because of the calorie content.

This morning, I had the privilege of going to school with Faith and reading a few stories to her class. One book I chose to read is called, "I Love You Stinky Face ." (written by Lisa McCourt) This book is really a story about a mother's unconditional love for her child. The title of the book comes from the child asking the mother that if he was a smelly skunk and his name was Stinky Face would his mother still love him. She tells him she would put him in the bathtub but if he still smelled she would tell him, "I love you Stinky Face." It's a cute story, but there is a story behind the story that I wanted to share with Faith's classroom. After reading the book to them, I explained that a few years ago, one of Faith's friends and caretakers (Kimberly) took her to a place where they could make things out of clay. Faith decided she wanted to make a cup or a mug of some sort. She wanted it to be really big because she knew how much her mom and dad (

I honestly don't think people believe me when I tell them, yes Faith does get mad and yes, she does throw tantrums. They look at Faith and see a sweet, well-behaved little girl who can do no wrong. HA! Yesterday, though, Faith herself told everyone in the therapy waiting room that she had to have a timeout. Of course they had to believe her, because Faith is too good of a girl to lie about something. (Or so they think!) It all began when I told Faith we had to get ready to go to therapy. She was really into her DVD she was watching and didn't want to leave. "I'm not going to go, I'm not going to go," she yelled at the top of her lungs. I struggled to get her out of her chair because she needed to be changed before we left. She cried the whole time I was changing her. Then I attempted to get her back into her chair. She recently learned this new little trick that if she kicks her tone in as hard as she can, she becomes stronger than her mom. It is impossible

Family Retreats - A Ministry for Families Affected by Disability

Yesterday, I received one of the greatest Mother's Day gifts in all the six years I have been a mother. I enjoyed an afternoon at the spa! Now, this wasn't just an ordinary spa - it was a very special one in which my daughter was the one who was doing the pampering. You see, the spa was held in Faith's classroom and all the mommies (and a few grandmas) were able to enjoy their spa treatments all at the same time. When I first received my spa appointment, via Faith's folder, I had no idea what to expect. I just knew I couldn't miss it! But then as spa day approached, I received another appointment card informing me to have all polish removed from my toenails and to wear sandals. Now I was really curious - and a bit afraid as I did not want anyone touching my feet! On the morning of my spa appointment, I was sure to wash them really well and put lotion on them. I also shaved my legs for good measure. When I went to pick up Faith from school that morning, she was s

Over the weekend, we decided to go to one of our favorite pizza places. No, it's not Pizza Hut, A&B Pizza or even the pizza buffet place, Pizza Ranch. It's a place called Bruno's Pizza and it is the best pizza in town. I know, this is sounding like a commercial for Bruno's pizza but those who love it want to see their business pick up because we're afraid they're going to leave town. And that would be a near-tragedy. So late Saturday afternoon, Rob, Faith and I braved the elements and made our way to Bruno's. Faith can't really eat pizza - she can take little tiny bite-sized pieces but she told us she wanted ice cream instead. And wouldn't you know it, their one and only dessert consisted of two warm chocolate chip cookies topped with two scoops of vanilla ice cream complete with whip cream and a cherry on top. Faith loves ice cream and cookies so she was able to have the best of both worlds! Rob and I tried their Pesto Garlic Chicken pizza,