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. Ever since Faith was born, she has struggled with her digestion. When she was in the NICU, she would spit up after eating even the tiniest amount of formula. Her dad and I were convinced her tummy was too small to handle large volumes of food. Sometimes when she ate, her heart rate would drop really low, which is why she needed to be in the NICU for longer. She just could not get the hang of eating and breathing at the same time! Faith receiving food through an NG tube in the NICU. Grandma giving Faith a bottle when she was 2 months old. After finally bringing her home, eating continued to be an issue as she struggled with severe reflux and constipation. We tried various formulas, but she was never able to drink enough formula to gain a lot of weight. She also had trouble burping, and she...
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Faith's Thankful List 2015
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To continue with our little Thanksgiving tradition, I asked Faith to list all of the things she is especially thankful for this year. Once again, as I looked over her list, I realized it's mostly the people in her life for which she is the most grateful.
Since she is such a homebody, she especially loves it when people come to our place to visit. However, the three of us did venture to Grandma and Grandpa's for Thanksgiving Dinner where she had a blast!
Here are some of the people she is most thankful for, along with a few other activities she enjoys doing. "My Whole Family" - One time when I spoke at New Life's Redefinition Cafe service, her grandma, grandpa, uncle and aunt showed up. Afterwards she commented, "I can't believe the whole family came to church." So, when she says her whole family, she is talking about her extended family. She especially loves having visits with Grandma and calling Grandmother, Grandfather, and Auntie Joh on the telephone.
Faith with many members of her whole family on Thanksgiving Day
Going to Church - Faith continues to be thankful for New Life's Redefinition service and it is one of the highlights of her week. She is especially grateful that Pastor Marc takes time to pray for her before he races off to the Celebration service (which is held in a different facility). She also enjoys hearing the different speakers (especially Andy Hill) and listening to the worship music, which leads me to the next activity on her thankful list.
Worship Music - Faith has become more interested in worship music this year more than any other. I believe part of it has to do with her music integration sessions but also because we have been attending an Immersed Night of Worship at church held once a month. It's led by one of her favorite worship singers of all time - Monica. We've also been listening to more worship music at home as a family, especially right before bedtime. Her absolute favorite singer is Michael W. Smith!
Below is a video I happened to record when New Life's worship team did the music at the Healing Festival held in October. Faith loves watching it over and over again!
Stories with Mom - Not only is Faith thankful that her mom loves reading her stories, but she is thankful she gets to make up her own stories. This is something we just started and I'm realizing it's a great way for her to learn what an adjective, noun, verb, and other parts of speech are.
Basically, I write an outline of a story and have her fill in the blanks - sort of like "Mad Libs" (which I loved doing when I was younger and which Rob has never heard of!) I was inspired to make up our own one night after reading one of her favorite Arthur books, "The Mystery Babysitter." The book contained a fill-in-the-blank story on the back, and she loved it!
Here's an example of a story we made up about her dad:
My dad is very (adjective) happy. He likes to eat (flavor) chocolate cookies. He likes to drink (liquid) water, apple juice, and vinegar. One day my dad took a nap on the (piece of furniture) TV. He didn't wake up until (time) 6:30. He wanted to play his game when he woke up but his (body part) head was still asleep. My dad is (adjective) silly. I love him and he loves me.
Some other things that made this year's thankful list include:
Wheel of Fortune
Daniel Tiger
Apple juice
Cheetos
Prayer at the Healing Rooms
Her doll, Baby Allie (whom she just started calling her baby sister)
Faith certainly has much to be thankful for and I am glad she recognizes her many blessings. I pray that you, too, take time to thank the Lord for all of your blessings. For those who are going through challenging times this holiday season, I pray you will find true peace and joy in the midst of your struggles - the kind that is only possible with Jesus.
Guest Post by Stephen Gallup Last week, a columnist for the local newspaper interviewed me in connection with a memoir I wrote that’s being published this year. It was a comfortable, low-key discussion in which he asked about the basic facts regarding my disabled son Joseph and what I’ve learned that might be of value to other families. It was the sort of dialog that required no special preparation in advance. I just sat down with him and talked about the subject closest to my heart. But looking back on it now, one thing bothers me. In concluding the interview, the reporter expressed heartfelt sympathy for everything I’ve endured. He was being more than polite. I mean, he laid the compassion on with a spatula. Startled, and already thinking ahead to what I had to do next that day, I just thanked him and said goodbye. But now that final note troubles me. I don’t want sympathy! First of all, from the point of view of a new author hoping to promote his book, sympathy...
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. Last year, when I heard the news that Pat Sajak was retiring from Wheel of Fortune , I knew I better prepare Faith. When season 41 began, I told her, "This is Pat's last season. Next year, there will be a new host." Faith likes Vanna but loves Pat! Faith and I have faithfully watched Wheel of Fortune every night since she was about 5 years old. It's how she learned that AEIOU were vowels. The show was also a great way to reinforce the rest of the alphabet. Counting was reinforced, too. When Vanna turned the letters, she counted how many T's, N's, or other letters there were. She also learned some geography skills with the different trips they gave away. Upon winning a trip to Aruba, she would ask, "Where's that?" Sometimes I honestly didn't know and had to loo...
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. Ever since Faith was born, she has struggled with her digestion. When she was in the NICU, she would spit up after eating even the tiniest amount of formula. Her dad and I were convinced her tummy was too small to handle large volumes of food. Sometimes when she ate, her heart rate would drop really low, which is why she needed to be in the NICU for longer. She just could not get the hang of eating and breathing at the same time! Faith receiving food through an NG tube in the NICU. Grandma giving Faith a bottle when she was 2 months old. After finally bringing her home, eating continued to be an issue as she struggled with severe reflux and constipation. We tried various formulas, but she was never able to drink enough formula to gain a lot of weight. She also had trouble burping, and she...
Did you know there are 1 million people in the United States who have cerebral palsy? I guess that means Faith truly is one in a million! Faith was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when she was six months old. Prior to that, she had been given the diagnosis of Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL). During her premature birth, there was a lack of oxygen to her brain, which resulted in damage to the white matter, or inner part of her brain. I will never forget receiving that news. Faith's Dad and I were told that nobody knew what the long-term effects of PVL would look like for her. All I could do was stare at my tiny daughter lying in her isolette, hooked up to all kinds of tubes and lines, and choose to believe she would be okay. Faith in the NICU a few days after she was born. After over 70 days in the NICU, we finally took her home to Watford City. There, she would receive regular visits from an Early Intervention team who would assess her and ensure that she met al...
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