Faith's Monumental Visit to South Dakota

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When I received my niece, Sydnee's graduation announcement in the mail, I thought it might be the perfect opportunity to visit my brother and his family for the first time at their home in Spearfish. I also thought it would be the perfect opportunity to see Mount Rushmore, which I had never seen before!  My nephew in Nebraska was graduating that same weekend, and my sister Dawn and I tried to put together a plan where we could go to both of their graduation receptions. I knew though, that Faith would feel left out and would want to go, too. I also knew it was going to be difficult to find someone to look after Faith over Memorial Day weekend.  Our finalized plan involved Dawn traveling to South Dakota with me and Faith and then her flying to Nebraska by herself. Faith and I would then drive back to Bismarck by ourselves.  3 adventurous travelers  I must admit, as the trip got closer, I started to get a little anxious about how Faith was going to do with so much drivi...
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Getting Ready for School

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Tomorrow is the big day - Faith officially becomes a 2nd grader. We have been spending the last couple of weeks buying school supplies, shopping for school clothes, and having fun driving the van around. 

Then yesterday to help her get emotionally ready for school we read the list of kids in her class and had a little pretend school session at home - of course she wanted to be the teacher! She does say that when she grows up, she wants to be a teacher. She definitely has the giving instructions part down!

This morning, I agreed to help volunteer at one of the booths for open house so parents could come in and pay lunch money, pay PTO dues, buy spirit wear - things like that. Faith was very patient with me at the booth and it helped when people came over to visit. 

After we were done with that, we ventured downstairs to meet her teacher and see her classroom. I was thankful that there was an instant connection between Faith and her new teacher. Faith ended up telling her, "You're a good teacher!"

Faith at her custom-made desk in her 2nd grade classroom

We also talked to her special education teacher, a few other teachers who know her, one of her aides, some of her friends and their parents, her music teacher and even a new family who just moved here from Massachusetts. It was a nice feeling knowing there are so many people at the school who care for Faith and who are genuinely concerned about how she's doing.

While Faith had fun this morning for the few hours we were at the school, the real test will be how she does tomorrow morning. I'm praying she does well.

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When I received my niece, Sydnee's graduation announcement in the mail, I thought it might be the perfect opportunity to visit my brother and his family for the first time at their home in Spearfish. I also thought it would be the perfect opportunity to see Mount Rushmore, which I had never seen before!  My nephew in Nebraska was graduating that same weekend, and my sister Dawn and I tried to put together a plan where we could go to both of their graduation receptions. I knew though, that Faith would feel left out and would want to go, too. I also knew it was going to be difficult to find someone to look after Faith over Memorial Day weekend.  Our finalized plan involved Dawn traveling to South Dakota with me and Faith and then her flying to Nebraska by herself. Faith and I would then drive back to Bismarck by ourselves.  3 adventurous travelers  I must admit, as the trip got closer, I started to get a little anxious about how Faith was going to do with so much drivi...
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