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Showing posts from June, 2012

Faith's Rockin' 23rd Birthday

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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...

Is Faith Turning into a Homebody?

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Faith and daddy happy at home Lately it seems that Faith is becoming more and more of a homebody, meaning she likes to stay home more than she likes to go out.  I'm not really sure if it is a good thing she is turning into such a homebody - I think her dad is having an influence on her because I know she doesn't get it from me! Take this weekend for instance. My sister Tesa and her boys were coming back through Bismarck from Watford City on their way home to Nebraska (lots of geography in that sentence, I know) and planned on staying over in Bismarck.  At first, Rob, Faith and I were planning on meeting them along with my mom and aunt for supper. But then, Rob laid down to take a nap so I thought just me and Faith would go. At the last minute, Faith decided she didn't want to go and told me to just go by myself. This was partly understandable considering she hadn't slept well for two nights in a row plus Michelle had come over yesterday morning and they did the...

A 40th Wedding Anniversary Celebration

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On June 3rd of this year, my parents celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. It wasn't until this past weekend, however, that they were able to celebrate the momentous occasion with their five kids, eight grandchildren, and a few of their siblings as well. The festivities began on Friday when my family arrived from Nebraska, Montana, parts of North Dakota and from across town right here in Bismarck. My youngest sister and younger brother fed the large group at a picnic at Sertoma Park with grilled burgers, hotdogs, homemade potato salad and lots of other goodies. On Saturday, we all reunited where the celebration continued on the Lewis and Clark Riverboat on the Missouri River. Unfortunately, due to the high winds, the boat was unable to go anywhere but it was nice, nonetheless. It did not escape anyone's mind that last year around the same time the very parking lot on which we all parked our vehicles had been well under water. Faith loved her first time on a boat, eve...

Goodbye to Our Special Tomato Adaptive Car Seat

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Today we said goodbye to our Special Tomato adaptive car seat. And special it was. It helped Faith stay safe and secure in our Hyundai driving her back and forth to therapy appointments, shopping excursions, and many other activities. It also helped us through our time of not being able to afford an accessible van. Like all adaptive equipment , the special car seat was expensive and although it is the law that a child is secured in a car seat while traveling in a vehicle, neither health insurance nor Medicaid would pay for it.  Thankfully, we were able to receive funds from the fundraiser, the Great American Bike Race ( GABR ) which helps families pay for services and equipment that insurance doesn't cover for kids with cerebral palsy and related disabilities.  After doing research on the Internet and talking to Faith's physical and occupational therapists, we decided to go for the Special Tomato adaptive car seat. You would think something with that name would b...