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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A Stormy Father's Day Weekend

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This Father's Day weekend here in North Dakota started off a little rough with a major storm that swept across the state on Friday night. Faith and I were home alone when it reached Bismarck around 9:00 p.m. Rob was still at the office working and I was on the computer finishing up a few articles.

I decided to check Facebook and the first thing I saw was a picture my aunt in Arnegard (8 miles west of Watford City) had posted. Her garage had just gotten demolished in a storm that had passed through. The storm was quickly heading east towards Bismarck. One weather warning I saw stated a possibility of wind gusts up to 80 mph.

This tree went down a block from our office in downtown Bismarck

It's hard to see but this is a traffic light that also went down

I figured Rob wasn't paying attention to the weather, so I called him at the office to warn him. I'm thankful he didn't try to come home because the storm hit very quickly. One minute it was still light outside, and then the next it had gone completely black with torrential rains pouring down from the sky. 

The trees around our apartment building were bent over like I had never seen before. I could even feel our apartment shaking from the intensity of the wind. Faith was completely oblivious until our power started blinking on and off and the show she had been watching was interrupted by a black television screen.

Rob didn't get home until close to midnight because he wanted to wait for the water on the streets to recede before setting out. (We had gotten a couple of inches of rain in a matter of minutes causing flash flooding.) He said the drive home was a bit scary because all the streetlights were out, none of the traffic lights worked, and trees were down everywhere blocking both lanes of some streets. There was a firetruck on one street which was completely blocked off due to downed power lines.

The next day was beautiful and peaceful, so Faith and I went to the library, and then to the park where tree branches were scattered everywhere. The park we went to no longer had its wheelchair swing, so I decided to try something different. I took Faith out of her chair and set her next to me on one of the bench swings in the park. She loved it! She laughed and giggled and kept saying, "Faster mommy!"

Faith having fun swinging with me

Faith swinging with daddy!

Today, on Father's Day, the three of us went to church. After a brunch of French toast and bacon, Faith wanted to take her dad to the park to show him the swing. We made a pit stop on the way at Tutti Frutti where dads received a free treat! After gobbling up our frozen yogurt topped with fruit and candy, we headed to the park so Faith could swing with her daddy.

We had a wonderful Father's Day! I just hope the weather forecast for tonight is wrong and that we won't be getting another severe storm!

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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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