Faith's Mom's Blog

I can't believe I am the mother of a graduate! It seems I have waited a long time for this. At the same time, however, it has come very quickly.  I still very vividly remember the days of walking her to school from our apartment building to Centennial Elementary. She had some wonderful teachers, but when she was in 4th grade, we decided to homeschool her.  There were definitely a lot of positive things about homeschooling. One was that she didn't tire so easily so she could focus more. The other is that she didn't catch everyone's germs, which meant she was sick less often.  Another benefit of homeschooling was that I could give her one-on-one attention. Faith's biggest goal was to learn how to read. It took a long time, and although she can only read simple words and very simple sentences, she exceeded expectations  One major drawback of homeschooling is that she missed being around other kids. It didn't help that she is an only child. When I found out about I...

Every year in May, Faith and I run into the same problem. It's hard to focus on school this time of the year! I know most families are probably in the same boat. What makes it extra hard for us is that Faith's homeschooling group, Inspire Collective, ends the last week in April.  In her mind, Faith is already done with school! This beautiful weather does not make doing school any easier. However, it is great for doing some fun activities, like the things we have done this weekend. On Fridays, Faith and I usually take a trip to the library. It was during this past Friday that I realized that the Band Day Parade would pass close by the library later in the evening. We have gone in the past and Faith loved the marching bands! This might sound strange considering she gets startled by loud noises, but for some reason, she just loves them! She also really likes parades. It was the perfect evening for one.  Faith and I enjoyed "dog watching" and seeing all the different ki...

Finally, on November 4th, the day the elevator in our building was fixed, I was able to take Faith downstairs so she could check out her new van! It happened to be a beautiful day, close to 80 degrees, which is rare for North Dakota in November. We had respite care that day, so I had her record me getting Faith loaded up for the first time.   Faith is all smiles about her new van! Faith is ready to roll! After loading her up, the three of us went for a fun drive including a trip through McDonald's so Faith could get a chocolate chip cookie. Faith was having so much fun as we drove around.  She kept randomly shouting out things like, "Happy Birthday!" and "Merry Christmas!" (I am looking forward to driving around and looking at Christmas lights with her this year!) I guess she really does think her van is the best gift ever!  Faith inside the van. Earlier this week, we used the van to take her to an appointment with the general surgeon. She wanted to check Faith...

Oh. My. Goodness. What a month! It's certainly been challenging, but thankfully there were a few bright spots to help us through. At the very end of September, both Faith and I came down with colds. They would not go away!  Faith was really stuffed up and seemed pretty miserable. I thought she might have a sinus infection, so I took her to the walk-in clinic. Although I didn't think we had COVID, I asked to be tested just to give me a peace of mind.  They only had the nose swab available. I was nervous about it being traumatizing for Faith. As we waited for the nurse to come back in the examination room with the test, I prayed for Faith that she wouldn't have a tough time. I should have remembered to pray for myself!  I told Faith I would go first so she would know what to expect. When they stuck the swab way up my nose, I nearly started crying. It gave me flashbacks to when the breathing tubes got pulled out of my nose following open heart surgery. It was sort of the sam...

Back in August of 2011, we got our first accessible van. Before that, we had a purple adaptive car seat called the "Special Tomato." Eventually she got too big for her that, and we needed to upgrade to an accessible van. We were thankful to have found one in Bismarck for a decent price. While it suited our needs, there were still some concerns. For one, the electrical system was really wonky, which affected the ramp.  Even with the weird electrical system, it got us to where we needed to go. We even had some fun family adventures like driving all the way to Toronto and back, and also to Winnipeg. The van also got us to some of Faith's medical appointments in Minneapolis and Fargo. Despite its quirks, the 2006 Dodge Caravan was a good van. Except for when it rained. It seemed the electrical system went super berserk during rainy weather. One day we were on our way home from a physical therapy appointment in the pouring rain.  We were driving down Century Avenue (one of t...