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 Epic 22nd Birthday Weekend
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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
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 21st birthday was on Friday the 25th and it ended up being an all-day celebration! She didn't sleep well the night before, so I was a little concerned she would run out of steam, but she just kept going! It ended up being a beautiful fall day, so I didn't even need to put a jacket on her, which is rare for the end of October. Faith in her new birthday shirt! This year, she was able to bring cupcakes to HIT. Last year, due to the dietary restrictions of her peers, she didn't bring any treats. This year, however, she is a new room, where they truly love their snacks! After I dropped her off, I raced around like a maniac getting her ballons, presents, and everything else ready for the surprise party we would be having at the end of the day. Faith with some of her staff making a cupcake delivery. When I picked her up from her day program, I informed her that some friends of mine that I worked with wanted to give her a special birthday treat. So, we made our w...
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Beautiful and lovely pictures that tell a real story.
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