Faith's Mom's Blog

One of the reasons I look forward to summer is to finally feel the warmth of the sun. Oftentimes spring in North Dakota is a little on the chilly side, and we still have to don our jackets, and sometimes even our boots, depending on how much snow is on the ground. We were blessed this year with a beautiful summer that began in May. We ended up getting lots of rain, so it remained nice and green the entire season.  This summer kicked off with a visit to auntie Dawn's. She had just bought a new house, and Faith couldn't wait to go visit her. Dawn has a really nice back yard, and it ended up being a nice day to just hang out on her back porch!  Faith and Dawn hanging out!  As June rolled around, we made a trip to the zoo, which we hadn't been to in a couple of years. It was nice to walk around in the sunshine, but we noticed the animals weren't really that active. All Faith really wanted to do anyway is take a train ride.  Instead of looking at the animals, though, she ...

As I'm writing this blog post, it is currently 25 degrees outside. With the windchill, it feels more like 12 degrees. That's cold for October. Even in North Dakota! Winter definitely seems like it's here.  Earlier this month we had a historic blizzard that dumped 13 inches of snow on Bismarck and over 2 feet of the white stuff in other parts of the state. As a result, the public schools had their first official snow day. I was ready to give Faith the day off from her lessons at home, but she still wanted to do them! First major snowfall of the year - in October! (Thanks Mom for the pic!) It could have been a snow day for Faith, but she still wanted to do school! It did warm up soon after and all the snow melted but the October blizzard created quite a mess for farmers and ranchers who still had crops in the field and cows in the pasture. I was very grateful that we didn't have to go anywhere - for school or for work. I am still freelance writing from home. R...

To me, the cooler months of fall seem more like a season of newness than do the cold winter months of January. Maybe it's because that's when school, Bible studies, and small groups all start up again and we transition from lax summer schedules to busier days filled with a flurry of activities. (I also realize that part of the busyness is that we have so much to get in before the snow flies). Another reason fall is a great time to get a fresh start is because according to God's calendar, the New Year actually takes place in either September or October during the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah . Whether it's on purpose or not, it seems as though our family always experiences major transitions in the fall, and this year is no exception. Spending a perfect fall day at the park Burning documents - it's much faster than shredding plus this way we get S'mores! Hanging out in our crowded apartment/office We kicked off September by moving our office...

Upon reflecting about the month of July, I have come to the conclusion that Faith has never had more appointments in one month than she did last month. She had over a dozen chiropractic appointments, eight ABM lessons, two visits from the Easter Seals coordinator, one occupational therapy consult, one optometrist appointment (and a partridge in a pear tree!). The Easter Seals visits were merely a formality as Faith has a new case worker and we needed to update some paperwork. Her disability case manager came along on one of the visits. Her optometrist appointment was her annual routine eye exam, and we are glad to report that Faith's eyes continue to remain the same and she still isn't needing glasses. We are thrilled about this as Faith had glasses at one time and we also had to do patching on her eyes, but her vision and her eye muscles continue to function normally! (Praise the Lord!) Faith getting a chance to relax! In June, Rob took Faith to see a chiropractor for ...

This year in review is a little belated - I had wanted to do it before the New Year actually began but both Faith and I fell ill with the flu and I had zero energy. It's hard to be creative with no energy! While I became sick shortly after Christmas, Faith got sick on New Year's Eve. On Friday, she finally felt well enough to go to school. Thank goodness for the miracle drug, Tamiflu, which helped decrease our symptoms and the flu did not last as long as it might have without it. I am also thankful that although Rob had mild symptoms for a few days, he is already back to being well. So, while we did not end 2012 very well, the New Year started off great as on January 5th the NDSU Bison won their 2nd straight football championship! Here is how 2012 went for us: JANUARY   Although last winter was pretty mild for us here in North Dakota, January still got pretty cold which kept us indoors a lot. One of Faith's favorite things to do is SKYPE with our friend Kimberly in...

Last month, we had a sad surprise - that Brittnee, a respite care worker who has been with us for a year and a half, was leaving. Once again, it was time to say goodbye to someone who had become like a part of the family.  It's hard when these respite care girls leave, although it is completely understandable. More often than not, they are college-aged and in serious relationships which lead to engagement and then marriage. There have been three wonderful girls we have gotten the privilege of knowing through respite care services. And I am continually impressed with their maturity, professionalism and most of all, their great care-taking skills with Faith. While it is hard for us to see them go, it is great that there is e-mail, Facebook and even Skype so we can keep in touch. With all of today's technology it makes the goodbye seem not so final. So, to our amazing young ladies who we are blessed to know through respite care - we wish you the best in al...

For the past month or so, Rob and I have been trying to go through every closet, every drawer, every box, basically everything in our apartment. This Friday all of our un-needed treasure will be up for grabs at a rummage sale we're going in on with a friend of ours.  This morning, Rob realized he had forgotten to go through his clothes, so he hurried into the closet and grabbed all of the hangers with dust on them. A lot of his clothes he has shrunk out of since losing weight. Wish I had that same problem! Another reason for our reorganizing frenzy is because we had to make room for Faith's new bed. While shopping for a better mattress for her, we were at TW Warehouse when we discovered the Dr. Breus Bed . Dr. Breus developed six different mattresses for different kinds of sleepers. The mattress we found for Faith is made especially for people with fibromyalgia or arthritis. Though she doesn't have either of these conditions, we figured it was worth a shot to see if it ...

Faith loves to bake. And as she informed her respite care provider the other day, "I'm really good at mixing!" She likes to watch all of the ingredients go into the bowl, and then I help her stir it all together. She watches intently as I put the baked goods - usually muffins or cookies - into the oven. I turn on the timer and she knows our creation is ready when the bell goes, "DING!" I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not that I don't really bake all that much. Probably better for weight control but those baked goods sure are yummy with a cup of coffee. Faith still gets her baking time in though as all of her respite care providers have baked with her at one time or another. One of her providers even bought her the cutest little apron. Yesterday, while Kimberly was watching Faith, she informed Kimberly that she wanted to make something in the kitchen. So, she and Kimberly searched in the pantry for something they could make. Aha! A little b...

Every day this week been a great day. Each day has either brought new adventures, fun with friends, good news, and even a little reunion of sorts. And on top of all that, Faith has been sleeping well, which is always a huge blessing to our family. Since last Monday, Faith has been attending a summer school program called Camp Edventure at her school. She goes from 8 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday. The program is six weeks long so she'll get a nice break in August before starting first grade. Her mornings have been busy and this week our afternoons have been busy yet fun-filled as well. Monday - Faith and I took the long, scenic route, mostly uphill, walking to her friends' house for a playdate. We spent the whole afternoon at their house playing outside in a tub of water filled with toys and her friends showing her worms they had dug up. It was such a beautiful day to be outside and I was so thankful to our friends for sharing their backyard with us! After nearly four...