Faith's Mom's Blog

I know this is a bit belated, but I thought I would at least post a few thoughts along with some pictures of our Easter Weekend. It began on Good Friday when I took Faith to the library where Easter Seals had some fun activities planned for the morning. Faith called it an Easter Party. She saw some of her friends and had fun dying eggs.  She also played BINGO for the first time ever! She kept saying "BINGO" even when she didn't have a BINGO. I think she just liked everyone's reaction when she said it! Faith with the Easter eggs she dyed Faith liked putting the grass in her bucket It was a very good thing we got out when we did because as Faith and I headed back home it began to rain which later turned into snow. We had been planning on going to church that evening but decided not to go out in the cruddy weather. Saturday was bright and sunny, so we celebrated by going to the China Star! On Easter Sunday, we actually made it to church by 9:30 a.m. I thin...

It's been a while since I've done "Tuesday Tidbits" so today with our wonderful winter weather, I thought it would be the perfect time to put together a brief update.  I mentioned in a previous post that Faith had gone to the dentist. Well in his words "she has a lot going on in there."  Her two top teeth are trying to come in along with her upper molars. She also has four other teeth that are slightly loose. No wonder she's been a bit cranky lately. According to Dr. Bryce, she will experience fevers along with a stuffed-up nose, extra mucous, and drooling. He said to give her ibuprofen to help keep the swelling down and ease the discomfort. I find this especially interesting because when I ask the same questions about the effects of Faith's teeth to her pediatrician, he always says her teeth have nothing to do with these symptoms. I have yet to hear of a pediatrician who says teeth coming in can cause a fever. Why is that? Faith hanging out at...

In early March, I received an e-mail from a representative from the company BuildASign.com . They were willing to send me a free banner, created by myself, and in return I would place their link on my blog and I would write up a review of the banner. So, here is that review. I thought it would be great to have a banner for our team at the Great American Bike Race (GABR). I went to BuildASign.com and very easily used their tools to design my banner. From the time I placed my order to when I received the banner was only five days and I was thrilled with the final product! The only problem became how we were going to hang it. Thankfully, our team's bike was near a wall so me and a few other girls hung up using some pink duct tape I had grabbed before leaving home. I did get some nice comments about it - that is was a really nice banner, one that could be used again and again. It is very professional-looking and durable. I am very happy to have it and we will definitely use it at...

As the Great American Bike Race is now in the past, I look back on it with many fond memories. Faith being a GABR star was a blast! We had so much fun during the many new experiences this opportunity afforded us - from doing a radio commercial to being on TV - and the people we worked with were all awesome as well. I just hope Faith isn't too disappointed that she won't get to be the GABR star again next year! Besides Faith being one of the stars, there are 12 more fantastic things I will always remember about this year's GABR: Faith having the energy to endure the noise and excitement of the all-day event! Our awesome team - Faith's Fantastic 12 who all showed up to ride and who did a great job of raising money! Our cool t-shirts that turned out great! Having so much fun seeing all of the friends we have made these last 6 1/2 years! Having the team, Badlands Bikers, join in on the event all the way from Watford City! Finding out that Jacey Enget rode not onc...

Today at school there was a very special reception held for Faith. All of the first graders came along with their teachers, and even the kindergarten teachers were there to join the festivities. There were also other staff at the school who came to eat ice cream and Oreo cookies - a few of Faith's favorites. It was a celebration of sorts to honor Faith the GABR Star. We all got to watch the newscasts in which Faith was interviewed. The highlight of the afternoon was when they announced how much money the school had raised that day for GABR. To raise funds, Centennial Elementary had "Hat Day." If you donated money, you got to wear a hat to school. Some kids dug out their "tooth money" while others grabbed some coins from their piggy banks. And in the end, the students, staff and parents raised a grand total of $1,300 - the most ever raised by Centennial Elementary for GABR. The money was evenly distributed to the four students at Centennia...

I will never forget one of Faith's first programs ever. It was during her preschool days, and she was tense and nervous the whole time, startling every time someone clapped. She really didn't look like she was having much fun.  Then she began to gag, and I knew if I didn't do something, she would throw up all over the place. I bolted towards her, grabbed her out of the chair and hurried into the bathroom with her. I didn't have her venting tube with me but her aide brought me her feeding tube so I could at least try to get air out of her tummy so that she wouldn't throw up. Thankfully, it worked. In kindergarten, Faith didn't have any near throw-ups during a program, but she still continued to be stiff and nervous and startled when everyone clapped. It was a little hard to watch and I wondered if sticking her in front of a large audience just to be in a school program was the right thing to do. There were times both me and her dad wanted to run up and rescue h...

I was taken by surprise when I pushed Faith into the dentist office the other afternoon. The waiting room was packed with nowhere to sit. As I looked around the room, I saw that those waiting to be seen had some sort of disability and were all accompanied by a caretaker. I noticed the familiar face of an older girl with cerebral palsy whom I had seen at the clinic once or twice. An attractive lady in business attire sat next to a man who waited in silence holding a little tiny beach ball in his hands. There was another older man with Down Syndrome. The only way he could talk was by pressing buttons on a little machine that hung around his neck. A chair happened to open up so I took it and pulled Faith as close to me as I could. I took off her coat and readjusted the straps on her harness. She told me she wanted to go home. I explained to her that we had to see the dentist first.  A loud, abrupt noise from one of the people in the waiting room startled her. It seemed w...

Yesterday was a big day for Faith - there were a little bit of lights, a few cameras, and a lot of ACTION! At the beginning of the day about four people met with Faith so that she could FINALLY get the right part installed on her chair. These parts enable her to use the same buttons that she uses to drive her chair to work with her computer. Technology is wonderful but it can require lots of patience! Faith working on her computer with help from Ms. Hall That afternoon, the KFYR TV crew came in to record Faith doing some of her daily activities at school. They recorded her doing some work on her computer with her buttons and also driving her power chair. I haven't seen her drive her chair for a long time and I was very impressed by how well she's driving! She is even able to drive herself into the elevator and turn around because she doesn't like her back to the door. The cameraman got in there with her, and I think he was a little nervous she was going to run him ...