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Showing posts from April, 2014

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...

Book Review: In Sickness and In Health by Mandy B. Anderson

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This page contains affiliate links and Faith's Mom may earn a commission if you use them. As an Amazon Associate, Faith's Mom earns from qualifying purchases.  Learn more.   The book, In Sickness and in Health: Lessons   Learned on the Journey from Cystic Fibrosis to Total Health  by Mandy B. Anderson is the author's personal story of what life is like living with what doctors call an incurable disease.  In reading her story, I felt like I could completely relate to her. Although my diagnosis of a congenital heart defect is much different than hers, all the ways in which being a sick kid can take an emotional toll, is very much alike. For instance, most kids don't ever have to think about dying an early death or having doctors put an expiration date on your life. This cannot only be emotionally devastating but spiritually devastating as well as "words of death" are constantly being spoken over you.  As a kid, you can feel the fear and anxiety in those ar...

Faith's Integrative Music Sessions

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This past Sunday at church I noticed Faith singing along to the chorus with a little more gusto than she has in the past. She seemed a little more confident and really projected her voice once she caught on to the words that were being sung. I must admit, listening to her sweet voice singing the words, "He is faithful, He is glorious, He is Jesus, all my hope is in Him. He is freedom, He is healing right now" was enough to cause tears to stream down my face. Later after thinking about it, I realized that part of her new-found confidence in singing probably has something to do with the integrative music sessions she has been doing with a music therapist. Faith playing the xylophone fun with shakers Every couple of weeks, Jonnica comes into our home and spends about 30 minutes with Faith singing songs and playing instruments. I know how much Faith likes music so I was pretty sure she would enjoy doing this, but an added bonus is that the music therapist also does wo...