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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Joh to the Rescue - A Birthday Story
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One of Faith's favorite things to do is call her Auntie Johanna (Joh for short) and listen to her cat, Ruby purr over the phone. (Faith also likes to hear stories about Joh's dog, Rosie). Sometimes getting Ruby to purr is more challenging than at other times but Joh usually succeeds in getting Ruby to purr at least once during our weekly phone call.
Faith and Auntie Joh during our last visit to Ontario in October 2014
You might not be too impressed by a purring cat but this cat purrs like none other (and I've had a lot of cats growing up!) Even over the phone her purring sounds like a small engine. Sometimes Joh will get Ruby to purr several times, and the next day Faith will tell everyone, "Ruby purred a million times over the phone last night!"
We are convinced we need to get her a cat of her own, or at least one of those stuffed cats that looks and sounds real!
Ruby the Purring Kitty Cat
Something else Faith loves to do is make up stories. We do something similar to Mad Libs where I write the outline and let Faith fill in the blanks. Faith wanted to make a special story for Joh's birthday (which is today!) So here it is...
JOH TO THE RESCUE!
Once upon a time there was a (adjective) nice lady in Peterborough named Johanna. (Her niece Faith calls her Auntie Joh). She loved her (adjective) quick dog, Rosie and her (adjective) silly cat Ruby. One day at (time) 6:00, Rosie the Greyhound went up to Joh and started (noise) squeaking.
Rosie started going crazy, but Joh couldn't figure out what was wrong. Suddenly, Rosie grabbed Ruby's (noun) garbage with her (body part) legs. Joh realized Rosie was trying to tell her something about Ruby.
Joh called, "Ruby! Ruby!"
She looked all around the house for her. She looked under the (piece of furniture) TV and even by the (furniture) pantry. Joh was trying hard not to get (emotion) mad. Finally, Joh took Rosie outside. The sky was (color) blue and it was (weather) cloudy.
"Where could Ruby be?" She asked Rosie.
Joh looked up and noticed one of her upstairs windows was open. She had opened it to get some fresh air inside while she was (verb) playing golf.
"Ruby must have gotten out the window," she told Rosie.
Rosie the Greyhound
Rosie barked and then (verb) kicked Joh. Together they walked all around calling for Ruby. Finally, they heard a (type of noise) big loud siren. Joh looked over and there was Ruby in the neighbor's (noun) grass.
Rosie started barking again and Joh saw that Ruby was in danger. A great big (color) brown and white (animal) frog with (number) 0 legs was going to snatch Ruby in its mouth.
Joh acted like (superhero) Super Woman and in a flash (verb) turned on the lights in front of the animal and scared it away. She scooped Ruby up with her (body part) head and went back home.
Just as they reached the front door, Grandmother and Grandfather arrived to celebrate Joh's birthday. Everyone went inside and when Joh told them about Ruby, Grandmother exclaimed, "Wow! It was Joh to the rescue!'
It had been the most (adjective) crazy birthday ever for Joh. They all celebrated with (flavor) chocolate cake with (color) brown frosting. There were lots of (drink) apple juice too. Rosie got (number) 3 extra treats and Ruby got to have (number) 18 scoops of food. That evening, Ruby was so happy Joh had rescued her, she purred (number) 19 times into the phone when Faith called.
They all lived happily ever after.
THE END
We really do hope you have a wonderful birthday, Auntie Joh. We love you! Here is Faith singing Happy Birthday - although she was being more of a goofball than anything!
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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