Faith's Mom's Blog

February started out as it typically does: very cold! This year, my parents and sister braved the weather to have a small get together for my birthday. Faith thought I needed another party like I had last year, but I told her 51 just wasn't as exciting! She also asked if her Auntie Tesa was going to fly up again.  Faith really does love a good party!  Accurate!  Dawn, Faith, and Me Dad practicing holding his arm for after shoulder surgery The next day, my parents took me to IHOP , which had recently opened here in Bismarck, but I hadn't had a chance to go yet. It did not disappoint. My pancakes, eggs, hashbrowns and coffee were all perfect!  I was glad to have gotten this meal in with my parents as two days later, my dad would be going through shoulder replacement surgery. We were all expecting him to be in and out on the same day, which is exactly what happened a couple of years ago when he had knee replacement surgery.  I, along with my siblings, was shocked t...

When my dad told me he'd like to see Pembina Gorge sometime, I told him I had never heard of it. (I don't feel bad as I know many other North Dakotans who hadn't heard of it either!) In order to help make his dream a reality, I tried to schedule a weekend that my caregivers could come here to look after Faith.  We settled on the first weekend in October. My mom decided to come as well. She said it would be the only nonmedical trip the three of us had taken together! We all hoped the fall foliage would be out in full force that weekend!  In preparing to go, I had typed up 3 pages of instructions for Faith's caregivers, one of whom was a loyal respite care provider who has been with us for over 3 years and also my sister.  Both of them are very experienced and resourceful, but I printed out the instructions, nonetheless. Faith has been trying a new kind of food so that was a bit of an adjustment for them.  After dropping Faith off at her day program in the middle of a ...

This past weekend, Faith and I both got to experience the Medora Musical   together - for the first time ever! We went with my dad and sister. The singing and dancing definitely met our expectations. After the National Anthem, some of the first songs they sang included, "Let's Hear it for the Boy" and "Dancing on the Ceiling." Both songs were a great and energetic way to start the show.  Faith was super excited, nearly dancing out of her chair! One reason she could hardly contain her excitement was that a few of the performers (Adam and Taylor) go to our church! The storytelling in between the musical numbers described how the little "cow town" of Medora came to be, as well as the influence that Theodore Roosevelt had in North Dakota.  View from our seats!  Close up of the performers.  Auntie Dawn and Grandpa During the song, "Paint Your Dreams Across the Sky" by Dolly Parton, the cast invited the children to join them onstage. I wasn't e...

Faith and I had the best 4th of July ever! We started the day bright and early to go to the parade in Mandan. We haven't been there for many years, so I was surprised that she wanted to go. I think maybe it was because she heard everyone at her day program talking about it and making their own plans.  Faith's grandpa went along with us, as well as her auntie Dawn (my youngest sister). Thanks to Dawn's connections with people who live in Mandan, we were able to park the van at her friend's house and then he drove us down to Main Street. Then, thanks to another friend of hers, we were able to enjoy the parade underneath a canopy right in the front row. I could not be more grateful to her friends for making it such so convenient for us! One reason I was glad not to go to the parade in the past, was all the planning, parking, and walking it takes, not to mention sitting in the sun for almost 3 hours! Someone might wonder why it takes all that just to go to a parade.  Mandan...

A snowy Century Avenue Last Tuesday at this time, most of North Dakota was getting blasted with a historic blizzard that lasted 3 days. We have experienced blizzards before, but this was probably the worst most people in the state had ever gone through. For me, it brought back memories of the catastrophic blizzard that occurred at the beginning of April in 1997. At that time, I lived in Fargo.  What made that storm so bad is that many parts of the state had already received 100 inches of snow throughout the winter. That wasn't the case this year, as the central and western parts of the state have had severe drought conditions. While most people were thankful for the moisture this blizzard brought, it didn't come without its challenges (especially for the ranchers who were in the midst of calving). The good news is the storm was not unexpected. As a result, people could make preparations in advance. The most I needed to do to prepare was make sure we had plenty of groceries and...