Posts

Faith's Monumental Visit to South Dakota

Image
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...

First Day of Third Grade

Image
Faith is ready to start 3rd grade!  I am so happy that Faith is all smiles and excited to go back to school! Daddy is very proud of his big girl! So cool and ready for school! The bell was ringing and Faith said, "I don't want to be late!"

Missing My Stay-at-Home Mom Days

Image
Last year at this time, I was a stay-at-home mom. And part of my stay-at-home mom duties were getting Faith ready for school in the mornings and getting her there on time. I was also the one who was in constant contact with her teacher, her instructional aides, and her therapists. Part of the fun of taking Faith to school was getting a chance to visit with those who looked after her throughout the day.   After coming home from dropping Faith off, I would have breakfast and enjoy some quiet time. At least once or twice a week, I would call my friend Tina, or she would call me, and we would talk for at least an hour. Being home gave me a chance to work on my writing, to join a morning women's bible study, to take a nap if we had a rough night or cook and clean at my leisure.  It was nice being a stay-at-home mom. But I did find that if I didn't get out of the house, I would go a little stir-crazy. Another great stay-at-home-mom duty was to join Faith on her fun field trips!...

Fun Times with Friends

Image
These past couple of weeks, we have had lots of fun seeing some wonderful friends we have not seen for a while. Our flurry of visits started off when our friend, Brittnee was in town for the Sidewalk Prophets concert. The next day she came over to say hi to Faith and to hand-deliver the gift she bought for Faith when she was in Disney World. Faith was so happy to see her and of course continues to ask when Brittnee is coming over again. Britnee and Faith  Another friend who came up to visit drove all the way from Kansas with her husband and her sister. She and her husband got to share with Faith that there is a baby in Kimberly's tummy!  We are so happy for them, and we know that Kimberly is going to be a great mom! She took such good care of Faith for us when she lived here, and it was with Kimberly that Faith started playing with her doll and together they named her Baby Allie. Faith, Kimberly and Melanie getting baby Allie dressed Two of my college roomies were a...

Guest Post: Grandparents at a Distance

Image
Guest Post by David Bousfield Cari, our daughter-in-law, has asked me to write up an article for her blog. Not being a blog-writer myself, this has been something of a new experience for me. I do trust that your reading of this will be worth your while. How our son Robert found himself living and working in Watford City, North Dakota , is a complex story.  Robert had lived and worked for a time in Regina, Saskatchewan, thus we had some preparation for his wanting to move back to the west, although we thought that his move would be a move back to Regina.   That Robert met up with Cari in Watford City did not entirely surprise Jean and me. With other family members plus friends from Green Bay, Wisconsin, we were able to get to the wedding and meet up with Cari’s family and friends. We have lived in a number of smaller Ontario towns, but for the most part we are big-city people, the greater part of our lives being spent in Toronto.   Actually, we now liv...

The Baclofen Pump Decision

Image
Even though Faith's x-rays have shown that her hips are stable and have not come any further out of her sockets (especially her left hip), we decided to move forward with the baclofen pump . We felt this was the right decision and that Faith would benefit if the pump helped to decrease her tone. After making the decision, Rob sat down with Faith and explained to her that she was going to be getting something called a baclofen pump and that she was going to have to be in the hospital.  She of course, was not too happy about this news and every now and then she would let us know it by yelling, "I'm not going to get a baclofen pump and I'm not going to the hospital." Rob called the clinic to get the ball rolling and ended up leaving a message. We were surprised when no one returned our phone call right away.  When we finally did hear from them, they gave us the surprising news. They had made a managerial decision at the clinic to stop putting baclofen pumps in ch...