Faith began planning her 23rd birthday party about 3 months ago! Everyone sort of laughed at that time and tried to tell her she had a ways to go before her birthday. Now, just like that, it's over! Faith's cake and some of the decorations She really enjoyed the surprise birthday party we threw for a friend of ours last year at Pizza Ranch, so she decided that's where she wanted her party. When I asked her what she wanted for a theme, she totally surprised me by saying, "Bon Jovi!" (We listen to a lot of Bon Jovi in the van!) I was all onboard with her Pizza Ranch plan, because that would make things pretty easy for me. I wouldn't have to worry about feeding everyone. The only drawback was that we could only get a room that accommodated about 25 people, so this year, we weren't able to invite the whole church and many others. (Faith has a lot of friends!) The birthday girl! On the other hand, it worked well to have somewhat of a smaller party as she h...
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
Faith's Epic 22nd Birthday Weekend
Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps
-
A while back I had asked Faith what she wanted to do for her birthday. A concert? NDSU Bison game? A mini trip somewhere? Nope, nope, and nope. All she wanted for her birthday was to have a party at the church. She then started naming names of people she wanted to invite. And then she just kept inviting people. (And even recruiting people to help decorate). It was going to be a big party!
Birthday cookies!
Her birthday celebration actually began on Friday. Instead of sharing cupcakes this year with her day program peers and staff, she wanted her Auntie Dawn to make monster cookies for everyone. Faith was so excited to stop by Dawn's office on Friday morning to pick up the cookies.
That evening, I took her to adaptive dance at Northern Plains Dance and was surprised to learn she had a different helper for the evening - her good friend, Maddie! They had fun, but I think Faith just wanted to visit with her instead of dance! After getting home, Faith relaxed to watch Wheel of Fortune.
The next morning, she woke up so excited for her birthday party. Dawn came over to look after her while I went to the church to help decorate and set up. Our friend Jody had made the cake, cupcakes, and had all the decorations. Her daughter and another friend from church were also there and we had fun visiting, laughing, and decorating. When we realized it was 1:30, we made a mad dash to get the food all ready.
Everything's ready just in time!
Faith checking out her cake and cupcakes
Faith got there just in time and when Dawn rolled her in, we yelled, "Surprise!" (She had wanted a surprise party, even though she already knew about it!) Also, Faith requested Mr. Roger's Neighborhood for the theme, so I had asked that people wear their favorite sweater or the color red.
There was even a Mr. Rogers trivia game I had come up with. (The winner was our friend and respite care provider, Chris, who got 11 out of 16 questions right!)
The cupcakes had sayings by Mr. Rogers!
Faith with her beautiful cake!
Faith had so much fun conversing with all of the guests and getting lots of hugs. We tried to get pictures of Faith with each guest, but we didn't end up getting them all. It was really nice to see some people we haven't seen in a long time, which included friends from her homeschooling group and a friend of mine from college.
She also opened gifts and had not one but two rounds of birthday cake candle lightings and the "Happy Birthday" song. (During the 2nd round, Faith blew out her own candles, which is a skill she learned in occupational therapy!)
Faith's cake lighting (first round)
Faith and Rachel
She also opened gifts and was so happy to have her good friend Rachel helping her. (I was also happy that she had a helper, which meant I could just watch and visit!) The open house party lasted 3 hours and by the end of it, Faith was pretty tired and ready to go home and get out of her chair.
In retrospect, I should have only had the party for 2 hours instead of 3 as she got pretty tired. Plus, she had been so excited before the party, that she had already burned up a lot of her energy by the time she got there. Still, it was a very fun afternoon. Faith received so many nice cards, gifts, and some cash.
Family
Grandpa making friends with our neighbors
Some of our church family
Faith and her great aunt, Lisa
Faith with Nate and Shanna
Faith and her friend Maddie
So fun to see my friend Kristi!
Me and Jody with Faith
Faith with Pastor Jon
Opening more gifts!
Even though Faith was exhausted, she unfortunately did not sleep well that night. This kind of goes along with the territory of being out of her usual routine. I think part of it was that there was so much to process, and also in her excitement, her tone was pretty high, which meant it was harder for her to relax. We still made it to church the next day, where she continued to get a lot of birthday greetings.
At home, she also had a few fun video chats with her dad, and her auntie and grandparents in Canada. She wanted to show them all some of her gifts and we even opened a few gifts and cards that I had left at home. While on video, she opened the fun gift she got from Auntie Joh.
Thankfully, Faith slept a bit better last night, but she was still pretty tired today from her birthday weekend. That, along with the fact it was cold and raining outside, I just let her stay home to rest. Hopefully tomorrow, she will get back to her normal routine.
It was a pretty epic birthday weekend for my 22-year-old, and I am already thinking I might have to talk her into a smaller party next year. This one was fun but took a lot of time and energy. I am not much of a party planner, so I was very thankful for everyone who used their gifts to help Faith have a great party! It truly was "a beautiful day in the neighborhood!"
"I hope you're proud of yourself for the times you've said 'yes,' when all it meant was extra work for you and was seemingly helpful only to someone else." Mr. Rogers
Faith began planning her 23rd birthday party about 3 months ago! Everyone sort of laughed at that time and tried to tell her she had a ways to go before her birthday. Now, just like that, it's over! Faith's cake and some of the decorations She really enjoyed the surprise birthday party we threw for a friend of ours last year at Pizza Ranch, so she decided that's where she wanted her party. When I asked her what she wanted for a theme, she totally surprised me by saying, "Bon Jovi!" (We listen to a lot of Bon Jovi in the van!) I was all onboard with her Pizza Ranch plan, because that would make things pretty easy for me. I wouldn't have to worry about feeding everyone. The only drawback was that we could only get a room that accommodated about 25 people, so this year, we weren't able to invite the whole church and many others. (Faith has a lot of friends!) The birthday girl! On the other hand, it worked well to have somewhat of a smaller party as she h...
This gift given to me Seven years ago... Not given swaddled in pink and laid close by my side. Instead placed in a see-through box helping to breathe breaths of life. A single touch lasting only seconds not to be seen for several hours. Seven days later, finally in my arms to hold. This gift given to me so undeservedly... Did God really know what He was doing Giving me this treasure for which to care? Thankful. Blessed. These words do not even begin to express what I feel, what I know, what I have. Tough times, yes Challenges, of course. But still joy And love...so much love. Seven years ago This gift, given to me... My heart, my soul forever changed. Happy Birthday, Faith! You are loved!
Normally, Faith is the one with all of the appointments but this week it has been my turn. On Monday I had my annual echocardiogram. On Tuesday I had my pacemaker device check and appointment with the cardiologist who comes to Bismarck from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. The doctors who come are pediatric cardiologists who also specialize in adults with congenital heart defects (CHD). This saves anyone in the area who has a CHD from having to travel to Rochester each year. It is very convenient! (I do travel to Rochester to get my pacemaker changed, though!) The Bible verse that has kept me going all these years! When I saw the doctor, we mainly discussed two things: my Fontan and my pacemaker. But first, a little background. I was born with double outlet right ventricle (DORV). Basically, this means both my aorta and pulmonary artery stem from my right ventricle. Because of this, my left ventricle does not really do anything, which is why this CHD is referred to as a sin...
Lately I've been inundated with paperwork so that Faith can continue to receive SSI and Medicaid. Just recently I had to fill out forms to prove to the good people at Social Security that Faith still has a disability and is still eligible to receive funds. It was a lot of paperwork considering I had to verify all of her doctor's appointments within the last 12 months and also to prove she had been seeing a physical therapist, occupational therapist and speech therapist. Faith went to the SSI office with me on Monday since she didn't have school. The little waiting room was packed but we thankfully didn't have to wait long. When we left Faith yelled out, "Bye guys!" She was pretty happy to get out of there. Most people who know Faith knows she has a slight obsession with cupcakes. She always wants cupcakes for her birthday and for Christmas we make and give out Happy Birthday Jesus Cupcakes . She has had a pair of pink cupcake pajamas and now has green on...
Beautiful and lovely pictures that tell a real story.
ReplyDelete