Faith's Mom's Blog

Growing up, I never honestly thought much about what it would be like to be a mom one day. In my preteen years, because of the heart condition I was born with, my cardiologists told me my heart would never be able to handle a pregnancy. I determined that when I grew up, instead of having kids, I would have lots of pets. I loved cats, dogs and horses and envisioned a future with at least one or two of each.      Growing up, being a mom is something I never thought I would be I was fine with the fact I would never be able to have a baby. I really was. Until the day in my early 20s, I visited a friend in the hospital who just had a baby girl. I walked in to see a tiny little bundle wrapped in a pink blanket snuggling in her mother’s arms with daddy beaming with pride alongside the bed. I was not prepared for the emotion that would stir my heart. I put on a smiling face for my friend but left the room in tears. I would never have that opportunity, I thought. I would never know what

It was 35 days ago that our calendars told us it was the first day of spring. In North Dakota, we usually can't depend on the calendar to determine when spring will actually come. We know this, but every year, we still wait expectantly for spring to come - for the weather to turn warmer, for all the snow to finally be gone and for the grass to start turning green again. And for every one's favorite part - putting away all of our winter garb and donning our spring jackets. None of that has happened so far. Thirty five days later, we are still waiting. Faith not looking too thrilled about still having to wear her winter coat and mittens Just last week Bismarck broke their one-day snow fall record when we got over 17 inches of fresh white stuff. Church services were canceled on Sunday and on Monday the whole city shut down. Faith got a snow day from school and I did as well from work. Thanks to a few days that the temperatures climbed to above freezing, most of the snow has m

Our church service (along with many other services throughout the area) was canceled today because of our spring blizzard. So while I didn't get to go to church, I was still thinking about it! The photos from this post were actually taken from last week's church service.  Finding “the perfect” church is not an easy thing to do. Especially when you are trying to find one that works well for each member of the family, one of which has special needs. For me the perfect service consists of charismatic praise and worship, an inspiring, truthful message followed by fellowship with other church attendees. For Rob it is different though. He could give or take the praise and worship and get right down to the sermon – the more intellectual the better. Rob likes to take a message he hears and chew on it for days thinking, pondering and mulling it over. And then there is Faith. She does not like loud and she does not like microphones, sudden clapping or spontaneous "Amens

Have you every felt this way?  I know I need to lift my eyes up But I'm too weak Life just won't let up And I know that You can give me rest So I cry out with all that I have left My prayers are wearing thin And I'm worn  Even before the day begins I'm worn I've lost my will to fight I bet there are a lot of special needs parents or parents with very young children who can relate to these words. I know I can. Whenever I hear the song, Worn which contains the above lyrics, I am transported back in time when Faith was a little baby. I was working full time during the day and trying to look after her at night. She did not sleep well, which meant neither Rob nor I sleep well either. To make things even harder, Rob worked overnights on the weekends. I was in a major state of sleep deprivation. I started drinking caffeine and eating sugar everyday at work to help me stay awake. It didn't help that my thyroid was out of whack. Eventually I

Earlier this week I had my annual appointment with my pacemaker doctor who comes to Bismarck from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. It is a huge blessing that I don't have to travel to Rochester, which is about 600 miles from Bismarck. I really truly thought I would be in and out - a quick ekg, a quick pacemaker check, a quick chat with the doctor and I would be done. I scheduled the appointment at 8:00 a.m. thinking I would make it to work just in time for my 9:00 shift. Boy was I wrong! I got up to the pediatric floor at about 7:50 a.m. Yes, the pediatric floor because the doctors who come from Mayo specialize in pediatric cardiology so they are mainly there to see the kids. But since more and more kids have been surviving heart defects and growing into adults, some of these pediatric cardiologists specialize in adults with congenital heart conditions.  Anyway, so there I was on the same floor with all the kids - the same floor I take Faith to when we see her pediatr

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

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Christmas music has been playing now for about a month or so but honestly, I think it could play all year long as far as I'm concerned. I love the beautiful lyrics about the baby born in a manger; some of them written hundreds of years ago. While the traditional ones about Jesus are my favorite, there are a few Christmas songs that I really have fun listening to - and singing along with! When Faith was very little I used to play The Denver Mile High Orchestra's swing version of Jingle Bells and would have her in my arms and we'd go dancing around the living room together. Maybe that's why that song is one of her favorites! Faith actually doesn't do well listening to the slower, more traditional songs as she gets very emotional and even a little weepy. To learn the history of where these Christmas songs originated check out my Article: My Top Ten Favorite Christmas Songs and from Whence They Came It was hard to narrow it down to just ten - but these Christmas

It's hard to believe that it was nine years ago today I was taken by air-ambulance from the hospital in Williston to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota. Faith was very unexpectedly trying to make her way into the world 14 weeks early. The doctors and staff in Williston knew they did not have the expertise in dealing with a mom with a complex heart condition having a baby born so prematurely. I had been planning on having Faith in Rochester but not this soon! After all, my due date wasn't until January 6th. After getting to Rochester, I was in the hospital for five days hooked up to a baby monitor. Faith seemed to be doing well and I was no longer going into preterm labor. Although I wanted to just go back home, the doctors thought it would be wise for me to stick around Rochester, just in case. The TravelLodge became my temporary home. Faith in the NICU in Rochester, Minnesota where she was born Rob had been going back and forth between Rochester and Watford City. An

Today we celebrated Easter, or as I like to call it, Resurrection Sunday. We started our day by attending church with Faith's auntie Barbara. Faith had never been to this church before - I had gone once before with Barbara. Though the music was a little loud, Faith did great. At one point, Rob was concerned about how she was doing so he took her out into the lobby but she wanted to come back in and sit by Barbara, who held her hand the whole time. The whole service ended up being about two hours long but Faith very patient through the sermon and at one point was repeating the words the pastor was saying. The pastor gave a great message talking about  the Resurrection of Christ being the foundation of Christianity - without Jesus rising from the dead, Christianity would be just like any other religion - completely man-made.We ended the service singing the great song "Because He Lives." After church, we had dinner with our two terrific friends, Bob and Lola. There were

Guest Post by Russel Kelfer You are who you are for a reason. You're part of an intricate plan. You're a precious and perfect unique design, Called "God's special woman or man." You look like you look for a reason.  Our God made no mistake. He knit you together within the womb, You're just what He wanted to make! The parents you had were the ones He chose And no matter how you may feel,  They were custom-designed with God's plan in mind, And they bear the Master's seal. No, that trauma you faced was not easy; And God wept that it hurt you so. But it was allowed to shape your heart So that into His likeness you'd grow.  You are who you are for a reason. You've been formed by the Master's rod.  You are who you are, Beloved, Because there is a GOD.

Throughout the month of November, I have noticed many of my Facebook friends celebrating the month of Thanksgiving by updating their status each day saying what they are thankful for. I haven’t been doing this on Facebook, so here are my 30 days of thankfulness all in one day. During the month of November these are the things I have been particularly thankful for: 1. JESUS 2. My wonderful husband and our amazing daughter 3. Our accessible van 4. Wi-fi 5. Finally being a two-car family 6. Living in Bismarck and in North Dakota 7. Praying friends and family 8. JOY International women’s ministry 9. Health insurance 10. Heaters that emit warmth 11. Wonderful Christian music 12. Our amazing respite care ladies who look after Faith 13. Having a good job 14. Warm coffee drinks w/ whip 15. Faith’s school and everyone who works with her there 16. Great haircuts from our stylist, Julie 17. Good books to read 18. Knowing a trustworthy mechanic who fixe