Faith's Mom's Blog

Today I find myself struggling. I have been on the verge of tears all day. No, it's nothing to do with Faith. I'm going through a little 'blip' with my own health. Strange, even though I know I have a heart condition, I don't really think about it much. I take my daily meds and that's about the extent of it. I'm more concerned about Faith and how she's doing in school, at therapy, with her digestion, with her stretches, with her learning, the list goes on and on. There is little room to think about me. As is the norm, I think, not just for moms of special needs children but all moms. It all started last week when I went in for a routine pacemaker check to see how much life was left on my battery. It was good news - still about 16 months left to go, which means no trip to Rochester anytime soon for a battery replacement. Then early this week, my cardiologist from Mayo calls and asks how I've been feeling lately. Apparently there was an arrhythmia ca

It was a little cool this morning, with the temp barely above the 50 degree mark and the sky was threatening rain, but that did not deter these Centennial first-graders from having fun at the Pumpkin Patch! Mrs. Reim's first grade class  Sittin' on some big square bales  The horses were so beautiful and gentle  Who is that peekin' through the window? Going on a bear hunt... Hay Girls!

Faith loves chocolate cake! What a crazy week this has been. We have had many appointments and meetings this week but I'm only going to mention a few of the more important ones. We had Faith's IEP Meeting (Individual Education Plan) which is a huge meeting involving all who work with Faith at school to ensure we are setting up proper goals for her and working with her to attain those goals. If I count correctly, there were a dozen people seated around the conference table - all who thankfully have Faith's best interests in mind. Rob could only be there on his lunch break so I was a little nervous at first when he wasn't there because I was worried I was going to say the wrong thing or answer a question wrong or something. But thankfully when Rob showed up, my nerves settled. They all talked about standardized testing and how that really wouldn't be fair to Faith considering her physical limitations. In the end we as a team decided to for-go any type of testi

Move over Denise Austin! About three years ago, on New Year's Day I decided 2007 was the year I was going to start exercising on a regular basis. So, like many others who had made the same resolution, I ran to Wal-Mart and bought the latest exercise DVD. It was a dance/exercise video with Denise Austin. I later purchased her Boot Camp one as well. I had no idea at the time I began the exercises that Faith would want to watch the DVDs for entertainment. And really, if you think about, it makes sense. Lot of repetition with lots of counting - just right for kids! Because Faith has watched them so many times, she pretty much has them memorized. This can be sort of comical like the time she went to preschool and told her speech therapist to squeeze her buttocks. Or like when I took Faith to physical therapy and she told Jackie she was ready to do her active isolated stretches. Jackie was pretty impressed! When Faith isn't in the mood to do her stretches at home, she gets mot

Soon Faith will be going along with her first-grade class on a field trip to Papa's Pumpkin Patch. I'm sure there will be a few more trips to the Patch as a family. Isn't Fall a great time of the year?  

Faith in her favorite pajamas  I can definitely tell that Faith is back in school. Last night we were putting a puzzle together and she began telling me a story. I glanced away for just a second and she said, "Mommy, are you being an active listener?" She seems to be taking in a lot at school and everyday she comes homes with lots of stories including learning to play "Simon Says" and the new friends she is making. She really seems to like her teacher. She has had trouble with some of her feedings at school for which we are making adjustments. The only really tough part about her and school is getting her there. Every morning we have a major battle getting her out of her pajamas and getting her dressed. She loves to wear her jammies! And she must like me to wear mine as well because as soon as she notices I've changed from my pajamas to my clothes, the battle begins. She knows it's soon time for her to get out of her pajamas and into her clothes. She

Faith and I started the school week on Monday by attending a meeting with her special education teacher, both of her instructional aides, her teacher and a nurse. The objective of the meeting was to set up a feeding plan for Faith. Since she will be in school full days, she will need to receive two feedings at school plus I want her to take part in snack time and be with the other kids in the lunch room. Considering Faith's hefty schedule, it took a lot of thinking to include all of this in her day. We came up with a plan and if needed, we'll make adjustments as time goes on. I love that everyone who works with Faith puts her needs first above all else. Wednesday, Faith and I went down to the school for their open house. Faith brought all of her supplies to school and got to see her teacher and her classroom for the second time. She was excited to see her custom-made desk again. We even went to visit her Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Steckler and her summer school teacher, Mrs.