August Was Moving Month

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It's been a while since I have put up a blog post. I also haven't been very active on Faith's Mom's Facebook page. That's because the month of August was dedicated to moving!  About 4 years ago, Faith and I moved from the apartment she grew up in, to a different one in northeast Bismarck. The primary reason for the move was to have underground parking so that getting her loaded into the van by myself during our cold, snowy winters would be less of a challenge. We also needed to find a place in which the elevator didn't break down on a regular basis!  One of our last sunsets at our old apartment  That place served us well, but the drive to her day program, which is located across the river in Mandan was time consuming, not to mention, expensive. I drove about 45 miles a day and used up a tank of gas a week!  Searching for a New Place  Before our lease ended, I began praying about finding somewhere else to live. A condo would have been nice, but surprisingly not a...
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Faith's Day in the Country

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Faith makes friends with a cute little goat. 

Saturday was an absolutely amazing day. Our friend (and respite care provider) Michelle had told us about a miniature horse ranch that was having a fundraiser for the abused and neglected minis they take in. After having a wonderful time at China Star restaurant where we are friends with a lot of the staff, Michelle, Faith and I headed out into the country. 

The weather was perfect - around 85 degrees with just enough of a breeze to make being outside a little more tolerable. As we drove down the gravel road into the driveway of the ranch we came upon a covered wagon and a team of horses pulling it along. We had to pull over to make way. There were people in the wagon waving to us passersby. It was quite a sight - not one that you see every day!

Faith attempts to rope a pretend steer!
As we made our way into where all of the festivities were taking place, I noticed a corral over in the northwest corner offering pony rides. There was a little pony and a beautiful palomino horse. Would they take me seriously if I got in line with the kids to go on a ride? How I longed to climb up in that saddle.

I lived on my grandpa's farm as a young child and later my family lived out in the country where my grandpa would let us keep a horse of his once in a while. I loved the feeling of being on horseback. As I grew older, the opportunities to ride horse grew less and less and are now almost nonexistent. After taking a bumpy but fun ride on the wagon and getting some pictures with the team, we made our way over to the corral with the two horses. 

Faith is in awe of the beautiful team of horses. 

I was all set to get Faith on the little pony and have me and Michelle hold her upright while the volunteer walked us around in circles. But to my surprise someone asked if I would like to get on the horse with Faith. I climbed up on the horse and Michelle handed Faith up to me. I sat her in front of me in the saddle. I don't know who was more excited - her or me!

While the whole experience filled me with nostalgia, it was a whole new adventure for Faith. Hopefully, somewhere along the way in our journey there will be more opportunities to spend a day in the country, including horseback riding as well.

Faith and I both got to ride a horse! 



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August Was Moving Month

-
Image
It's been a while since I have put up a blog post. I also haven't been very active on Faith's Mom's Facebook page. That's because the month of August was dedicated to moving!  About 4 years ago, Faith and I moved from the apartment she grew up in, to a different one in northeast Bismarck. The primary reason for the move was to have underground parking so that getting her loaded into the van by myself during our cold, snowy winters would be less of a challenge. We also needed to find a place in which the elevator didn't break down on a regular basis!  One of our last sunsets at our old apartment  That place served us well, but the drive to her day program, which is located across the river in Mandan was time consuming, not to mention, expensive. I drove about 45 miles a day and used up a tank of gas a week!  Searching for a New Place  Before our lease ended, I began praying about finding somewhere else to live. A condo would have been nice, but surprisingly not a...
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Cari's Cardiology Update

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Normally, Faith is the one with all of the appointments but this week it has been my turn. On Monday I had my annual echocardiogram. On Tuesday I had my pacemaker device check and appointment with the cardiologist who comes to Bismarck from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.  The doctors who come are pediatric cardiologists who also specialize in adults with congenital heart defects (CHD). This saves anyone in the area who has a CHD from having to travel to Rochester each year. It is very convenient! (I do travel to Rochester to get my pacemaker changed, though!)  The Bible verse that has kept me going all these years! When I saw the doctor, we mainly discussed two things: my Fontan and my pacemaker. But first, a little background. I was born with double outlet right ventricle (DORV). Basically, this means both my aorta and pulmonary artery stem from my right ventricle. Because of this, my left ventricle does not really do anything, which is why this CHD is referred to as a sin...
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Last Wednesday I had my yearly doctor exam and when she said I should get my tetanus shot updated, I didn't think twice about it. The nurse said my arm would be sore for a couple of days, gave me a handout and stuck the needle in my arm.  The next day my arm was sore and although I found it a little harder to pick up and carry Faith, I was glad the pain wasn't going to last long. Boy was I wrong! But not only was my arm sore, my whole body was. I felt achy and extremely tired. According to a medical site on the Internet, these were mild side effects of the Tetanus shot. If these were only mild side effects, I would really hate to have them at a moderate or severe level. My arm is still red and sore on day 2 after my tetanus shot. On Friday, two days after getting the shot I felt so tired that I took a four-hour nap after getting Faith off to school. Then on Saturday I took a three-hour nap up until 7 o'clock, but still felt tired and was able to go back to sleep around 10. ...
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Singing Along at Barney's Birthday Bash

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This page contains affiliate links and Faith's Mom may earn a commission if you use them. As an Amazon Associate, Faith's Mom earns from qualifying purchases.  Learn more.   Had it not been for the one fateful day that I had a craving for Little Caesar's pizza, I might not ever have known that Barney was coming to town. But there I was at the counter waiting for my medium pepperoni pizza when I noticed a flyer with a picture of the big purple dinosaur. He was coming live to Bismarck with his friends, BJ, Baby Bop and Riff - I couldn't wait to tell Faith. Barney and friends appear live at the Bismarck Civic Center I don't know how old Faith was when she saw Barney for the first time. A receptionist at pediatric therapy gave us a Barney VCR tape and Faith loved it. I started letting her watch Barney on PBS and then we started collecting the DVDs .  All the while, I couldn't believe I was letting my daughter watch Barney - me and my friends made so much fun...
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