The other day Faith and I were standing in line at the pharmacy, and someone asked her, "How was your 4th of July?" She responded quite honestly, "Terrible!" Yes, it was definitely not a very fun 4th. In fact, this whole week has been one challenge after another. The only thing we really did for the 4th was go to Art in the Park in Mandan, which was last Friday. Faith found a new tie-dye t-shirt, and I enjoyed a yummy root beer float. Art in the Park in Mandan on the 3rd I had actually gone with the goal of getting an Indian taco, but it was so humid, I didn't feel like eating anything hot. Because it was so warm, we only stayed for an hour before heading back to Bismarck. That night, I noticed that Faith seemed uncomfortable in her chair, almost like she was having pain. She told me she needed to get out and lie down. I thought maybe being out in the high humidity had been too much for her or that she was having muscle spasms. After she lay down for a bit...
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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.
Last Wednesday I had my yearly doctor exam and when she said I should get my tetanus shot updated, I didn't think twice about it. The nurse said my arm would be sore for a couple of days, gave me a handout and stuck the needle in my arm. The next day my arm was sore and although I found it a little harder to pick up and carry Faith, I was glad the pain wasn't going to last long. Boy was I wrong! But not only was my arm sore, my whole body was. I felt achy and extremely tired. According to a medical site on the Internet, these were mild side effects of the Tetanus shot. If these were only mild side effects, I would really hate to have them at a moderate or severe level. My arm is still red and sore on day 2 after my tetanus shot. On Friday, two days after getting the shot I felt so tired that I took a four-hour nap after getting Faith off to school. Then on Saturday I took a three-hour nap up until 7 o'clock, but still felt tired and was able to go back to sleep around 10. ...
The other day Faith and I were standing in line at the pharmacy, and someone asked her, "How was your 4th of July?" She responded quite honestly, "Terrible!" Yes, it was definitely not a very fun 4th. In fact, this whole week has been one challenge after another. The only thing we really did for the 4th was go to Art in the Park in Mandan, which was last Friday. Faith found a new tie-dye t-shirt, and I enjoyed a yummy root beer float. Art in the Park in Mandan on the 3rd I had actually gone with the goal of getting an Indian taco, but it was so humid, I didn't feel like eating anything hot. Because it was so warm, we only stayed for an hour before heading back to Bismarck. That night, I noticed that Faith seemed uncomfortable in her chair, almost like she was having pain. She told me she needed to get out and lie down. I thought maybe being out in the high humidity had been too much for her or that she was having muscle spasms. After she lay down for a bit...
I must say, after the long weekend, I am feeling a bit guilty. We didn't have too much going on, so we mainly stayed indoors, and I let Faith watch way too many videos. When Sunday finally rolled around, she was bored and a bit cranky. Before having kids, I always told myself I would not be one of those moms who lets the TV babysit their kids. Things sure turn out differently when you actually have kids! When Faith comes home from school, that is all she feels like doing. She is so tired from her long day, which not only includes classroom time but also working hard with her special education teacher, driving her power chair and any other therapies she might have for the day. By the time she gets home, she is spent. I don' feel as guilty letting her watch so many videos after school but over the Thanksgiving long weekend, I am going to try hard to limit her video-watching time and find other things for us to do. I don't mind Faith playing on her iPad but it's too eas...
If I were to ask people who know Faith what one of her favorite activities is, I am pretty sure they would all say the same thing: socializing. Faith absolutely loves people. She has been a social butterfly ever since she was little. She has always enjoyed going to therapy because she loves meeting new people, even those in the waiting room. Doctor appointments are also great because she gets to meet new nurses. She pretty much makes friends wherever she goes! Faith and friends blowing out birthday candles when she turned 7 During her first years in school, she easily made friends with her classmates. Sadly, though, as the kids got older and since she was limited in her mobility, these friendships faded. When we pulled her out of school altogether in order to homeschool her, the hardest part was not having any friends. Thankfully, we lived in a building that had a community room. Faith and I would often hang out there for a change of scenery. She would sit and wa...
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