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...
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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 she saw her daddy trying to fly one!

It was a breezy afternoon and a little chilly, we had after all, just experienced a freak snowstorm just a few days prior. No one seemed to mind the chill in the air, but I was glad to have Faith's soft, fuzzy princess blanket along to keep her warm.

After a while, we got Faith's kite out and got it way up in the air. When the string ran out, we handed the kite to Faith for her to hold onto. And boy did she hold on! She was so excited! She kept telling everyone, "Look at my kite! This is so amazing!" 

Faith did a great job flying her kite!

Faith's princess kite flies high in the sky!

Her kite flew the highest among Spiderman, the kite with tails, and the box kite. Her kite also flew the longest. When one hand got tired, I helped her switch over to the other hand. There were only a few times I had to take it from her when it looked like it was going to nose-dive. I think she would have stayed there all day if we had let her. But when it started to get colder and windier, we decided it was time to go. It was a lot of work getting all that string wound back up!

Flying kites on Easter was a wonderful tradition in which to take part. We were all so blessed to see Faith taking such joy in the simple act of holding onto a kite and watching it high up in the sky. There were no clouds that day but if there had been, Faith would have been on number nine.

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Faith's Adaptive Skiing Adventure

-
Image
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...
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