Faith's Rockin' 23rd Birthday

-
Image
Faith began planning her 23rd birthday party about 3 months ago! Everyone sort of laughed at that time and tried to tell her she had a ways to go before her birthday. Now, just like that, it's over!  Faith's cake and some of the decorations  She really enjoyed the surprise birthday party we threw for a friend of ours last year at Pizza Ranch, so she decided that's where she wanted her party. When I asked her what she wanted for a theme, she totally surprised me by saying, "Bon Jovi!" (We listen to a lot of Bon Jovi in the van!)  I was all onboard with her Pizza Ranch plan, because that would make things pretty easy for me. I wouldn't have to worry about feeding everyone. The only drawback was that we could only get a room that accommodated about 25 people, so this year, we weren't able to invite the whole church and many others. (Faith has a lot of friends!)  The birthday girl!  On the other hand, it worked well to have somewhat of a smaller party as she h...
Post a Comment

Twelve Fantastic GABR Memories

-
As the Great American Bike Race is now in the past, I look back on it with many fond memories. Faith being a GABR star was a blast! We had so much fun during the many new experiences this opportunity afforded us - from doing a radio commercial to being on TV - and the people we worked with were all awesome as well. I just hope Faith isn't too disappointed that she won't get to be the GABR star again next year!

Besides Faith being one of the stars, there are 12 more fantastic things I will always remember about this year's GABR:
  • Faith having the energy to endure the noise and excitement of the all-day event!

  • Our awesome team - Faith's Fantastic 12 who all showed up to ride and who did a great job of raising money!

  • Our cool t-shirts that turned out great!
  • Having so much fun seeing all of the friends we have made these last 6 1/2 years!
  • Having the team, Badlands Bikers, join in on the event all the way from Watford City!
  • Finding out that Jacey Enget rode not once, twice but three times for her team! She's our hero!
  • Seeing Faith and Tanner (the GABR stars) having so much fun together!

  • Having a 1/2 team with team captain Lynette and her daughter Ashley - Ashley and Faith's Tie-Dye Team!
  • Being right next to Ashley's team, Paige's team and Tanner's team - all in a row!
  • The support Faith received from her school, her classmates, her friends and family!
  • Rob riding for the 5th year in a row - He's rode for Target, MedEquip and both of Faith's teams
  •  Riders coming back year after year to "Do It for the Kids!"

All in all, it was a great GABR and I have already started recruiting for next year!
See you in 2012!


Comments

  1. UnknownApril 22, 2011 at 3:12 PM

    Hi Cari! I was one of the UMary Physical Therapy students who got the chance to work with Faith last fall as part of my pediatrics class. I was so excited for her when I heard that she was going to be one of the GABR stars this year, but at the same time I was very sad that I wasn't going to be able to participate this year because I'm gone on my final internship. I love the pictures you got and it looked like Faith had a wonderful time! GABR is such an incredible event and I loved being a part of it in the past and look forward to returning in the future...maybe I'll make it back next time Faith is a GABR star! I'm so glad you have this blog so I could see the pictures, so thank you!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

Getting Used to Our New School Schedule

-
Image
Today marks Faith's 8th day of school and we are all adjusting to a new schedule. Faith has made huge strides this past summer in sleeping better and having more energy, so we decided to have her go to school from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. 5 days a week. This is a change as last year she did not go Tuesday and Thursday afternoons due to how tired and worn out she would get. Faith's first day of 4th grade School starts at 8:30 a.m. but we asked if it would be okay for us to get her there at 9:00 instead. This allows us to more time to get her first feeding into her before she even gets to school. Her aides noticed last year that when we brought her to school without any food in her tummy, she was pretty sluggish and tired upon arrival.  Sometimes, after getting her to school she wouldn't start getting her feeding until after 9:00 a.m. which meant, that because she gets a feeding every 3 hours, her last feeding of the day didn't end until 10:00 p.m. Another advantage ...
Read more

Some Magical Moments at the Park

-
Image
All week long, the clinic that Faith goes to has been holding pediatric therapy sessions in a handicapped-accessible park called Magical Moments. Of course, when this was being planned, the weather was going to be a key factor. It turned out to be a beautiful week - perfect for playing in the park.  Yesterday, Faith got in her gait trainer like any normal physical therapy session but this time instead of walking down a hallway, she got to walk up some ramps that eventually led to some slides. It was harder than normal because these ramps were at a slight incline, and she has never walked uphill before. She worked so hard, and as a reward, she got to go down the green slide with her physical therapist. She was all smiles! Faith giving it all she's got Keep going Faith! Faith made it to the slide! Going down the slide! When we lived on 7th street, we used to take Faith to this park quite a bit because of the special wheelchair swing it had. The swing is now new an...
Read more

Faith's Rockin' 23rd Birthday

-
Image
Faith began planning her 23rd birthday party about 3 months ago! Everyone sort of laughed at that time and tried to tell her she had a ways to go before her birthday. Now, just like that, it's over!  Faith's cake and some of the decorations  She really enjoyed the surprise birthday party we threw for a friend of ours last year at Pizza Ranch, so she decided that's where she wanted her party. When I asked her what she wanted for a theme, she totally surprised me by saying, "Bon Jovi!" (We listen to a lot of Bon Jovi in the van!)  I was all onboard with her Pizza Ranch plan, because that would make things pretty easy for me. I wouldn't have to worry about feeding everyone. The only drawback was that we could only get a room that accommodated about 25 people, so this year, we weren't able to invite the whole church and many others. (Faith has a lot of friends!)  The birthday girl!  On the other hand, it worked well to have somewhat of a smaller party as she h...
Read more

Tuesday Tidbits - Oh No Not Again!

-
Image
It seems Faith was just getting over her last three-week cold when she started coming down with another one. "Oh no, not again," was all I could think.  Yesterday I sent her to school even though I knew she was tired because she hadn't slept well all weekend. One of her aides said it had been hard for her to stay on task and stay focused. Last night she was up at 3 a.m. so I knew she wasn't going to do well in school and kept her home.  She has been sneezing and sounds a little stuffed-up, but I PRAY she has a good sleep tonight and she can kick this cold much faster than her last one. Last week I took her in to see her pediatrician just to touch base with him since he was available. And of course she was perfectly fine then! He said she may have had RSV which can last three-four weeks.  Hopefully that is not the case again this time. I told him I was concerned about her throat because she seems to get a sore throat a lot and was wondering if something was going on...
Read more