Faith's Mom's Blog

FUN FACT: Did you know that on any given day of the year, 17.7 million people around the world are celebrating a birthday? In my immediate family, my birthday in early February use to kick off the birthday season which would last through May. That's seven birthdays we celebrated in just a four-month time span! By the time we got to my mom's birthday, she was so tired of eating cake that she often opted not to have one. Now that we have a larger family with in-laws, nieces, nephews, and significant others, there are many more birthdays to celebrate, all throughout the year. For those of us who live here in Bismarck, we have a great time getting together (usually at Mom and Dad's) to celebrate. It's kind of funny because after we get done celebrating a birthday, Faith will ask, "Who's birthday is next, Mom?" Unfortunately, this year on my birthday, I wasn't feeling the best but it was still fun to get together with family. One of the reasons I sti

It's hard to believe but the holidays have come and gone and once again we're saying hello to another new year. Honestly, I'm NOT going to miss 2016! I know I'm not alone when I say the previous year was quite a challenging one. I'm hopeful that this year will be much better! During Thanksgiving, we had a family get together at my mom and dad's. My sister and her family were able to come up from Nebraska for the festivities. Neither of my brothers were able to make it, but for good reason, as they were both able to return work on the oil rigs.  Faith celebrating Thanksgiving with her cousins Me, Tesa, Dawn - sisters!   Thanksgiving is a great reminder that even in the midst of tough times, there is always something to be thankful for. I continue to give thanks my parents and most of my family lives nearby and that I have enjoyed being in good health. I am also thankful we were finally able to hire respite care, and that we found the perfect

Every year I try to get Faith to come up with a thankful list so that we can remember what Thanksgiving Day is all about. But really, though, Faith is pretty good at being mindful of the things she is thankful for throughout the whole year. Here are some of the things that made her list this year: Family - She really does love her family, including all four of her grandparents, her aunts, uncles, and cousins. This year, a new baby joined the family - my great niece, Marla. Faith loves seeing her and likes to say she is her "big cousin." Besides seeing all of her mom's side of the family on a regular basis, she also enjoys talking to her auntie Joh to hear all about her pets - Rosie and Ruby. She even gets to hear Ruby purr over the phone. She also likes talking to Rob's parents whom she calls grandfather and grandmother. Faith at her grandma and grandpa's house with most of her cousins  Prayers -  She still loves having people pray for her, and some

Faith turned 13 on October 25th. We celebrated her milestone birthday a week ago today at my parents house, which has become the official family party place. It still has sunken in quite yet that I am the mother of a teenager. Despite exhibiting some telltale signs, like hormone overload and emotions running rampant, she is still in many ways my little girl. I'm not sure if that will ever change. She has had to endure a lot during these past 13 years and every time we are faced with a new challenge, and wonder how we're going to overcome it, it's always her tenacity and warrior-like attitude that completely amazes us. Though she may be feeling discomfort, she's still able to laugh. Though she might get frustrated by something she can't do, she still has hope. Though she experiences disappointment, she still finds joy. Both Rob and I have learned so much from her, and as we continue to move forward in our journey, I look forward to seeing God's plans for he

Ever since I began this blog (back in 2009), I've always had the faith verse from Hebrews 11:1 on the header. But as of late, I feel the passage from 2 Corinthians 5:7 better reflects our current season of life. This past year has been one of the more challenging ones we've had in light of caring for our daughter. As she has gotten heavier, I found lifting her has presented opportunities for straining my back. Thankfully, I’ve been able to receive healing through both prayer and the hands of a wonderful friend who is also a massage therapist. At the same time, I know I can no longer lift Faith as I once used to. Faith hanging out at the eye doctor. She received a good report and still does not need glasses!  Another huge change is that this past spring, Faith officially became a woman. While this is usually something for girls to celebrate, for us it provided a new set of challenges, including major PMS symptoms. Her sensitivity to loud noises heightens during this t

Twelve years ago in late April, we were given the dreaded news that our daughter had spastic quadriplegia - the most debilitating form of cerebral palsy.  I will never forget looking down at my six-month old baby, fast asleep in my arms, while her doctor talked about the possibility of her being in a wheelchair as she became older.  At the time, it was not like me to show such public displays of emotion but on that day I couldn't hold back the tears. In the days that followed I had so many questions.  Of all the questions though, there was one that I asked more often than others. "Can God heal my daughter?" I came to believe that He could, even though I knew it would take a miracle.  Faith shortly after we brought her home from the NICU where she had a 73-day stay By definition a miracle is, " an unusual or wonderful event that is believed to be caused by the power of God." When a true miracle occurs, there is usually no scientific explanation for