Faith's Mom's Blog

When I had asked Faith a while back what she wanted to do for a graduation party, she told me, "a day at the park."  I knew it was a little risky planning an outdoor event in North Dakota (even in May). It wasn't all that long ago we still had snow on the ground. Also, it had snowed a tiny bit, and the temperatures hovered around freezing just the weekend before.  I planned for the park anyway and prayed for perfect weather. I figured if it was cold or rainy we could move the event indoors somewhere. I am so glad we didn't have to do that, though, because the park was a great place to have Faith's graduation open house. I wasn't anticipating, however, just how perfect it was going to be.  The weather was amazing without any humidity or more importantly, without any wind. Even when it did rain for a brief spell, it came straight down, and we stayed dry underneath the shelter. The cake was the perfect size and was all eaten up (along with the extra dozen cupcake...

I can't believe I am the mother of a graduate! It seems I have waited a long time for this. At the same time, however, it has come very quickly.  I still very vividly remember the days of walking her to school from our apartment building to Centennial Elementary. She had some wonderful teachers, but when she was in 4th grade, we decided to homeschool her.  There were definitely a lot of positive things about homeschooling. One was that she didn't tire so easily so she could focus more. The other is that she didn't catch everyone's germs, which meant she was sick less often.  Another benefit of homeschooling was that I could give her one-on-one attention. Faith's biggest goal was to learn how to read. It took a long time, and although she can only read simple words and very simple sentences, she exceeded expectations  One major drawback of homeschooling is that she missed being around other kids. It didn't help that she is an only child. When I found out about I...

This December has definitely been a fun and festive one for our family! Normally we don't get too crazy over the holidays, but this year we did a few things that we normally don't do.  I have probably mentioned that Faith is in a homeschooling group called Inspire Collective. She has been having so much fun hanging out with other kids and becoming friends with some of the girls in her class. Four of these girls are involved in Northern Plains Dance and this year we were invited by one of the moms to come and check out their performance of the Nutcracker. We had never actually seen the Nutcracker before and the three of us absolutely loved it! The music, the dancing, the acting, and the costumes all made it a really good production. I'm so thankful we were able to experience it. Who knows, it just might be a new tradition! Faith waiting for the Nutcracker to begin Having a fun time at the ballet! The next weekend we had to get ready for the Inspire Christmas pro...

To me, the cooler months of fall seem more like a season of newness than do the cold winter months of January. Maybe it's because that's when school, Bible studies, and small groups all start up again and we transition from lax summer schedules to busier days filled with a flurry of activities. (I also realize that part of the busyness is that we have so much to get in before the snow flies). Another reason fall is a great time to get a fresh start is because according to God's calendar, the New Year actually takes place in either September or October during the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah . Whether it's on purpose or not, it seems as though our family always experiences major transitions in the fall, and this year is no exception. Spending a perfect fall day at the park Burning documents - it's much faster than shredding plus this way we get S'mores! Hanging out in our crowded apartment/office We kicked off September by moving our office...