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Showing posts from April, 2010

Faith's Adaptive Skiing Adventure

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I am usually all for Faith trying something new. Years ago, though, I drew the line at adaptive skiing. I knew that Dreams in Motion does an annual event at Huff Hills (North Dakota's largest ski area), but I was too afraid to let Faith try it. I just didn't know how she would do being strapped down so tightly, especially with her high tone and issues with her left hip.  At her day program, some of her friends had been going for years and Faith thought it sounded like so much fun. So, this year, I decided we should give it a try. Since there are only 20 spots available for this event, I got her registered the morning it opened up.  Lots of fresh powder at Huff Hills  As the event drew near, I knew I needed to get snow pants for her (since she had none) and make sure I had all the right winter apparel to keep her warm. That was also one of my biggest concerns is her getting too cold, which can cause her tone to increase even more.  As the day approached, she was...

Faith's Super Rough Week

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I don't usually use the old cliche, Thank God Its Friday or TGIF but today I really am thanking the Lord it is Friday. This week has been a super rough week for Faith and her parents. Monday - Faith had the day off from school for an unused snow day or something and thank goodness she did because she woke up at 6:30 a.m. throwing up. After getting her changed, me changed and her bed cleaned up, she did a repeat about 30 minutes later. She continued to do so until mid-afternoon until there was absolutely nothing left in her poor little tummy. Later that afternoon, she seemed to be feeling better so a gave her a mixture of Pediasure and water and she kept it down. Tuesday - Faith and I woke up to find her dad at home on the couch. Now he was throwing up and had called in sick. I kept Faith home from school to make sure her feedings were okay. Although tired, she did make it to occupational and speech therapy in the afternoon but ended up having a diarrhea-like diaper that her p...

The Great American Bike Race - Just Plain Awesome!

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There are so many words I can think of that describes the Great American Bike Race event that took place this past Saturday: loud, fun, exciting, crazy, inspiring, encouraging, exhausting but most of all it was just plain awesome! As team captain, I was required to be there all day, which I didn't mind but my feet certainly did as I did not sit down once! I arrived before 9:00 a.m. to greet my first rider of the day, my cousin Beth. She really knew how to set the pace by biking 17 miles in 25 minutes! After Beth, my former co-workers from Laducer showed up. I am so thankful to keep in touch with many of my friends from Laducer. Jane and Brooke did awesome as well - Jane did especially great with fundraising as she raised over $600! Lindsey and her boyfriend Matt arrived sporting their very cool 'Faith's Fantastic Ten' t-shirts which were paid for by my brother Todd and his oilwell consulting business. They were designed by another rider, Liza Kessel.  While Matt was...

Flying Kites on Easter

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Two days ago, we celebrated the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday. Many Easter traditions include Easter egg hunts, getting together with friends and family for dinner and going to church. Another family, we discovered, has the tradition of flying kites on Easter Sunday. And this year we had the opportunity to join them. After a wonderful dinner with our friends, it was time to get out the kites. Not just a few kites, more like 15-20 of them. These were some serious kite flyers! And it was so sweet when little one if the little girls in the kite-flying group gave Faith a purple kite with princesses. That was to be her kite for the day. Unfortunately, though, Faith was more in the mood to stay home. She hadn't slept well the night before and was very tired. But we talked her into going and once at the location, we coaxed her out of the car and into her chair. It didn't take long for her to cheer up once she saw all the kites in the air, she got especially excited when ...