Faith's Mom's Blog

Yes, it's true that Faith has been celebrating her birthday ever since last week! I mean, a girl only turns 19 once, right? And this is the last official year of her being a teenager! Last Tuesday when she woke up she said, "I can't believe I'm 19 already!" She was super excited because not only was it her birthday but it was Tie-Dye Tuesday at her day program and she was bringing cupcakes to all her friends there!  During the drive to Mandan, she asked if she was going to get any flowers for her birthday. I kept telling her I really didn't know. (She is still upset with me for throwing out the flowers that her cousins had gotten her in May for her graduation.)  I wasn't planning on getting her flowers, but I was pretty sure she would get at least one bouquet. She had a blast at her day program and on the way home she said she couldn't wait to see the apartment (she knew I was going to put up decorations for her.)  She was so excited to come through th...

Here it is the first day of August and one thing is certain: last month was a busy one! Both Faith and I had some important appointments, plus she had her 6-month evaluation for her day program. It's so hard to believe she's been there for half a year already. Faith at the Sock Hop at her day program   The Day Program is one of her favorite things in the world. She loves going and I'm so glad they love having her there. She is a bright light and full of joy wherever she goes. She is also full of encouragement, which I believe is one of her God-given gifts! But besides going to her day program and therapy, Faith had some other major events - all of which take place the last week in July! Big Event #1: Our First Baseball Game The first was attending our first-ever Bismarck Larks baseball game. We didn't just attend, though. We both got to go on the field where she placed the ball on the mound and then announced into a microphone, "Play Ball!" This opportunity ...

When I had asked Faith a while back what she wanted to do for a graduation party, she told me, "a day at the park."  I knew it was a little risky planning an outdoor event in North Dakota (even in May). It wasn't all that long ago we still had snow on the ground. Also, it had snowed a tiny bit and the temperatures hovered around freezing just the weekend before.  I planned for the park anyway and prayed for perfect weather. I figured if it was cold or rainy we could move the event indoors somewhere. I am so glad we didn't have to do that, though, because the park was a great place to have Faith's graduation open house. I wasn't anticipating, however, just how perfect it was going to be.  The weather was absolutely perfect without any humidity or more importantly, without any wind. Even when it did rain for a brief spell, it came straight down and we stayed dry underneath the shelter. The cake was the perfect size and was all eaten up (along with the extra doze...

Just recently I was able to go away for the weekend - for fun! For the first time in 18 years, I was able to travel to another city, stay overnight, and not have any doctors appointments or procedures. And what made it even better was going with my sisters!  Faith was well-looked after by respite care. She even had a friend come over to visit and her grandparents, too! Of course getting away did not come without a challenge or two.  The day before leaving, as I was cleaning the entire apartment and getting ready to pack, a staff member at Faith's day program told me her feeding pump was not working. I only had an hour before I had to pick her up so I cruised down to our DME provider and asked if I could get a loaner pump since hers was not working.  Unfortunately, they no longer carry the type of feeding pump she uses, so I needed to get a whole new system. This required me to learn how to use it and then make sure Faith's respite staff and her day program staff was going...