Caregiving, Living Life Daily, Marriage, Special Needs Parenting
Cindi Ferrini
Ability to Bounce Back

A parent or caregiver of someone with special needs, needs the ability to bounce back. There was a time we asked each other, “What would it take (not that we want to experience it) for us to hit a breaking point?” We don’t have a list of times we thought we were close, but we do have a few stories that stick with us to help us remember not to quit when things are rough. Here are a few ways we kept mindful of the ability to bounce back.

Ability to Bounce Back
Joe and Cindi Ferrini
Learning To Love Listening

“Learning to listen isn’t a gift; it’s a skill.” “Anytime is a good time to learn to listen.”

These statements are great places to start in the month of “love” as we share cards, gifts, and time with others. It’s a skill that can be learned and we will be all the better for it. In our family, we are still learning and growing in this area both in our marriage as well as with our grown children, their spouses, the grandchildren, and our son with special needs.

Learning To Love Listening
Caregiving, Challenges, Special Needs Parenting
Jenn Soehnlin
God’s Invitation to Share Your Heart with Him

The playground was bustling with laughter and movement, but my boys, then just two and four years old, played in their own quiet way. After a speech therapy session, we stopped at a nearby park, a familiar part of our speech therapy routine when the weather was nice. My older son wandered the perimeter of the playground and discovered sweet gum balls—a spiky green fruit on the gumtree but which dries out and turns brown and drops to the ground.

God’s Invitation to Share Your Heart with Him
Caregiving, Challenges, Special Needs Parenting, Spiritual Growth
Jolene Philo
The Lessons I Learned while Raising a Child ...

The lessons I learned while raising a child with EA/TEF have been many and varied. That’s to be expected since our son was born in 1982 with esophageal atresia (EA) and a tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF), two conditions that left him unable to swallow and required immediate surgery. Many of the lessons came about as a result of the surgeries and invasive procedures he endured between birth and age 5. Other lessons came later as he became more independent in adolescence and adulthood. I encourage you to use these ten lessons as a springboard for considering what you’ve learned as well.

The Lessons I Learned while Raising a Child with EA/TEF
Caregiving, Challenges, Marriage, Medically Fragile, Special Needs Parenting
Joe and Cindi Ferrini
5 Ways to Keep Your Marriage Strong into the ...

Kingdom Focus is what first comes to mind. Those of us who are married and have someone in our life with special needs for whom we have responsibility (often 24/7 and 365!) know that without focus, we are doomed. AND for those of us who are believers in Jesus, we add to that His Kingdom focus and our part in it.

For us, we have 5 top ways to work on our marriage and keep it strong. There are more, of course, but let’s not get overloaded!

5 Ways to Keep Your Marriage Strong into the New Year!

Caregiving

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Finding Thankfulness in Disability

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Finding Thankfulness in Disability

There were young kids, teens, young adults, even his best friend, all playing together, learning and laughing. But, there was no sign of my child. I searching the parking lot where everyone was talking and hanging out with their families; not there either. Here is where most people panic. But, deep down I knew; look with the younger kids. It was there I found him, rolling down the hill, filled with that bold childhood laughter, having the time of his life. No pressure here. No one asking him to make quick decisions he had to worry about in that football game. There was only freedom and joy. I want him to be something he isn’t sometimes, but I’m learning to start finding the thankful in disability.

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Counting the Cost

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Counting the Cost

How many of us counted the cost (both emotionally and financially) of what it would take to raise a child and/or care for an aging parent? Many are doing both…Because we love our child, we don’t often consider the cost because we simply do what is needed and want the best for them.

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For When You Don’t Feel Thankful

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For When You Don’t Feel Thankful

My daughter arrived in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the middle of the night on the eve of Thanksgiving. A tough respiratory virus attacked her lungs, and she needed a substantial amount of oxygen support. And now, this unexpected illness meant Thanksgiving was going to be completely different than we had all planned.

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Discovering What God Already Knew About Me, Through My Children’s Diagnosis

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Discovering What God Already Knew About Me, Through My Children’s Diagnosis

I first suspected I had ADHD as a teenager, but finding the right professional to take me seriously was much harder than I expected. Previous attempts only ended in frustration and tears.

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Enjoying the Holidays with a Food Allergy

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Enjoying the Holidays with a Food Allergy

Enjoying the holidays with a food allergy sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it? After all, eating together is an integral component of the holiday season. I looked forward to making our traditional holiday foods until I was diagnosed with a dairy allergy in 2012. What was to enjoy about the holidays when the foods associated with it were off limits to me?