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...

Earlier this year I decided it would be fun to do something extra special for Faith\'s 21st birthday. Ever since I went to Bon Jovi a couple of years ago with my sisters, Faith has been telling me she wants to attend a concert, too. When she was...

Last year, when I heard the news that Pat Sajak was retiring from Wheel of Fortune, I knew I better prepare Faith. When season 41 began, I told her, "This is Pat\'s last season. Next year, there will be a new host." Faith\'s favorite show...

One of the reasons I look forward to summer is to finally feel the warmth of the sun. Oftentimes spring in North Dakota is a little on the chilly side, and we still have to don our jackets, and sometimes even our boots, depending on how much snow is...

I\'m tired today. And a bit stressed. I\'ve been dealing with trying to get approved to go to Mayo to get my pacemaker replaced and it hasn\'t been fun. But today I\'m also thinking about how it was 50 years ago today that I had my first...

Previously, I wrote about how we have had some challenges this year with Faith\'s health. Those challenges persisted as she came down with influenza B, which turned into RSV. As a result, she missed two wheelchair dance practices and the...

This year has certainly been a mix of blessings and challenges. Faith kicked off the New Year by getting another UTI. Along with that, she somehow managed to break a bone in her wrist and had increased anxiety due to some staff changes at her day...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Faith loves going to plays, musicals, ballet performances, and other events in which her friends perform. When she was younger, I thought attending these things would be too overwhelming for her as she has a strong startle reflex. Usually, it\'s...

It\'s hard to believe that Faith is 19 years old and has never had a major illness or extended hospital stay since she was in the NICU. The only other time she had to stay in the hospital was when she had her g-tube placed when she was two years...

Yes, it\'s true that Faith has been celebrating her birthday ever since last week! I mean, a girl only turns 19 once, right" And this is the last official year of her being a teenager! Last Tuesday when she woke up she said, "I can\'t believe...

Here it is the first day of August and one thing is certain: last month was a busy one! Both Faith and I had some important appointments, plus she had her 6-month evaluation for her day program. It\'s so hard to believe she\'s been there for...

Today I thought it was quite fitting that on my one year anniversary of my new pacemaker, I was wearing a 24-hour Holter monitor! It\'s not because I\'m having any issues with my pacemaker. Instead, I\'m just preparing for my upcoming...

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...

A snowy Century Ave. 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...

Just recently I was able to go away for the weekend - for fun! For the first time in 18 years, I was able to travel to another city, stay overnight, and not have any doctors appointments or procedures. And what made it even better was going with my...

Every year in May, Faith and I run into the same problem. It\'s hard to focus on school this time of the year! I know most families are probably in the same boat. What makes it extra hard for us is that Faith\'s homeschooling group, Inspire...

Finally, on November 4th, the day the elevator in our building was fixed, I was able to take Faith downstairs so she could check out her new van! It happened to be a beautiful day, close to 80 degrees, which is rare for North Dakota in November. We...

Oh. My. Goodness. What a month! It\'s certainly been challenging, but thankfully there were a few bright spots to help us through. At the very end of September, both Faith and I came down with colds. They would not go away! Faith was really...

Faith in her "new" van in 2011It was back in August of 2011 that we got our first accessible van. Before that, we had a purple special needs car seat called the "Special Tomato." Eventually she got too big for her special tomato and we needed to...

As I\'m writing this blog post, it is currently 25 degrees outside. With the windchill, it feels more like 12 degrees. That\'s cold for October. Even in North Dakota! Winter definitely seems like it\'s here. Earlier this month we had a...