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Showing posts with the label north dakota

It's Been a Weird Week

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Last weekend, Faith seemed to be struggling with a cold. On Sunday morning, I thought she had slept it off, but unfortunately, it hit full force that evening. Because she was so stuffed up, and had a lot of drainage, she did not sleep well that night. I tried to put her adjustable bed up as much as I could, but it still wasn't enough. Around 3 in the morning I put her in her chair where she slept for a few hours. After I put her back into bed, her sleep was still pretty disruptive. Finally, around 8:30 she had had enough and just wanted to get up for the day.  On Monday, we called to cancel her Tuesday therapy sessions. She was bummed about having to miss aquatic therapy and occupational therapy but took it well. I was trying my best to help her feel better by giving her nose spray (which she was actually asking for), keeping her humidifier going, and also doing this face mask thing that makes steam so that she can breathe it in. She calls it her inhaler.  On Wednesday, she ...
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Faith's 4th

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Every year, the one thing Faith wants to do for the 4th of July is go to the parade in Mandan. It surprises me how much she loves parades, considering the noise and crowds of people. About 20,000 people attend the annual 4th of July parade, and it's filled with very loud firetrucks, big machinery, trucks, and other kinds of loud noises. This year, there was also the concern that it would be more crowded than usual. This was due to the fact that part of the normal parade route was under construction.  Besides all that, the Parade starts at 10:00, which means Faith needs to wake up pretty early so that we can arrive in time. Neither of us had slept well the night before, so I was already concerned that she didn't get enough sleep to get through the long, busy day. I let her sleep as late as possible and prayed for us both to have enough energy to make it through the day. It helped that we could do her morning feeding enroute and also during the parade. She normally doesn'...
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Faith's Monumental Visit to South Dakota

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When I received my niece, Sydnee's graduation announcement in the mail, I thought it might be the perfect opportunity to visit my brother and his family for the first time at their home in Spearfish. I also thought it would be the perfect opportunity to see Mount Rushmore, which I had never seen before!  My nephew in Nebraska was graduating that same weekend, and my sister Dawn and I tried to put together a plan where we could go to both of their graduation receptions. I knew though, that Faith would feel left out and would want to go, too. I also knew it was going to be difficult to find someone to look after Faith over Memorial Day weekend.  Our finalized plan involved Dawn traveling to South Dakota with me and Faith and then her flying to Nebraska by herself. Faith and I would then drive back to Bismarck by ourselves.  3 adventurous travelers  I must admit, as the trip got closer, I started to get a little anxious about how Faith was going to do with so much drivi...
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A Blessed Christmas Season

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Some people start their Christmas season the day after Thanksgiving. Not us! We actually wait until about the second week of December, when we go to the Nutcracker, put on by Northern Plains Dance . (Plus, this year, both of us were still recovering from covid in November!)  Every year, Faith loves to see her friends perform onstage and visit with them afterward. We have been going to this performance since 2017, and it never ceases to amaze us! It's been so fun to watch the growth of her ballet friends as they take on more challenging roles each year.  Enjoying the Nutcracker for the 6th year in a row!  One new thing that I was able to do this year was go to the Lorie Line Christmas Concert. She has been coming to Bismarck for 30 years and I have always wanted to go, but it has never worked out. But then a friend of mine asked if I could help transport her grandma (who uses a wheelchair) in our van to the concert. In exchange for helping, she bought me a ticket to the co...
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Faith Is No Longer a Teenager

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Last week on the 25th, Faith celebrated her 20th birthday, which means she is no longer a teenager! That morning as we drove to her day program, she asked, "Mom how did I get to be 20 so fast?" In some ways, the time has crawled by, but in other ways, it has gone so incredibly fast.  Faith turns 20!  When it came to planning something for her birthday, she told me she didn't want a party. I knew though, that as soon as I didn't plan one, she would change her mind. And that's exactly what happened! A few days before her birthday she was asking me who is coming to her party. I was like, "What party?"  I had decided to just have a small gathering at our apartment. I'm glad I didn't opt for a bigger one at a larger venue, mainly because of the weather. Up until last Wednesday, we had been having the most beautiful fall ever. The colorful leaves were still on the trees and the grass was still green. We had gone to the pumpkin patch on October 19th and...
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