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...
Post a Comment

Faith's Ag Day Adventure

-
What an adventure we had last week trying to make it over to Mandan for the annual Morton County Ag Day. The day began by adjusting Faith's feedings so I wouldn't have to do it at the event. Thankfully, she was up early to get her feeding done. It helped that I was also able to bring her to school about 30 minutes late. By the time we were getting ready to leave the school she had her second feeding and was ready to go! Or so we thought.

When I went to pick up Faith she was surrounded by all three Kindergarten classes standing in line trying to contain their excitement about their field trip. While the kids impatiently waited for their bus to arrive, Tina and I got Faith loaded up in her van and away we went. 

As we drove into the parking lot of the Mandan Community Center, Tina received a phone call on her cell phone. Apparently, the paperwork for the bus had not been finalized, so the other kids that were still back in Bismarck could not go on the field trip after all. What huge bummer them! Tina and I decided to go back to the school to pick up her kindergartner who was supposed to travel with the rest of her class by bus. We figured she and Faith should still be able to go.

At the school as Tina ran in to get her daughter, I noticed a flurry of activity with parents running here and there, all with booster seats in tow. As I wondered what was going on, out came Faith's class. Her teacher came over to inform me that they had rounded up 19 booster seats, so that the rest of her class could go on the field trip! 

Meanwhile, in Tina's van, we drove to Mandan for the second time that day. We were so thankful everything worked out. Our daughters had a great time petting all of the animals. Faith laughed when a little Holstein calf sucked on her hand. She also got to pet a bunny, a puppy, baby chicks, and a chicken. 

Faith checking out the goats. 

Faith petting a baby chick. 

The people who worked at the event were so good about holding up the animals so that she could reach out and pet them. She also got to see a horse and her foal, a sheep and her lamb, and a llama with her baby who had just been born that morning. It was such a wonderful experience for her, and I know as she continues to take part in these kinds of events, her confidence will get higher and higher!

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

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...
Read more

My Tetanus Shot Ordeal: A Real Pain in the Arm

-
Image
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. ...
Read more

Cari's Cardiology Update

-
Image
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...
Read more

Faith's iPad

-
Image
There's a blog I read called Caleigh's Corner about a little girl with CP. Her symptoms are similar to Faith's except that Caleigh is nonverbal. One of the posts discussed Caleigh having her own iPad along with a special language app to enable her to "talk." I saw the photos of Caleigh with her iPad and thought how awesome that would be for Faith to have her own. Then, a couple of months ago, during a visit with friends, Faith discovered the Apple iPad for herself. I saw her with an app called Pocket Pond and how she could press the screen to make a splashing noise and the water ripple. She loved it!  She also checked out a piano app where there are the actual keys of the piano. After she was done looking at it, she looked at me and said in the sweetest voice, "mommy, can we please take that little screen home with us?" I discussed the prospect of Faith having her own iPad with her speech and physical therapists and they both agreed it would a gre...
Read more