Caregiving, Challenges, Living Life Daily, Love, Special Needs Parenting
Cindi Ferrini
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.

Counting the Cost
Caregiving, Challenges, Down Syndrome, Special Needs Parenting
Evana Sandusky
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.

For When You Don’t Feel Thankful
Challenges, Hope, Scripture, Special Needs Parenting
Kara Dedert
When Thankfulness Seems Impossible

Are you scrounging for thankfulness this holiday season? Holidays can be a challenge for those walking through hard days. Perhaps you feel like you've been handed the short-end of the stick; your child is struggling, you’re exhausted and it seems like everybody else has life with a bit more gravy. It’s easy to focus on our circumstances, take stock of what we have and where we are and end up feeling completely void of thankfulness. Is there a cure for this? 

When Thankfulness Seems Impossible
Autism, Caregiving, Challenges, Hope, Special Needs Parenting, Spiritual Growth
Sunita Theiss
Discovering What God Already Knew About Me, ...

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.

Discovering What God Already Knew About Me, Through My Children’s Diagnosis
Caregiving, Challenges, Living Life Daily
Jolene Philo
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?

Enjoying the Holidays with a Food Allergy

Challenges

, , , , , , , ,

When the Grief of Disability Caregiving Threatens to Break You

, , , , , , , ,
When the Grief of Disability Caregiving Threatens to Break You

When the grief of caregiving pushes you to your breaking point, what can you do? Jolene Philo shares how she is learning to focus on today.

, , , , , , ,

4 Irritating Things I am Thankful for this Year

, , , , , , ,
4 Irritating Things I am Thankful for this Year

Thanksgiving reminds me to be grateful in all seasons of life. Over the years, there have been seasons when I have been overwhelmed and frustrated with the daily medical interventions. God gently reminded me that the very things that sometimes feel irritating are the things I should be grateful to have for my girl.

, ,

The Challenge of Caregiving for Those with Hidden Disabilities

, ,
The Challenge of Caregiving for Those with Hidden Disabilities

“I don’t see anything wrong with that child.” Give it 10 minutes; give it an hour. Take time to be with “that child” or “that adult,” and then you will be able to discern what makes them different, where they excel, and where they need additional help.

, , , ,

What Being Lost in a Corn Maze Taught Me about My Relationship with God

, , , ,
What Being Lost in a Corn Maze Taught Me about My Relationship with God

I stood in the middle of a cornfield with my daughter, surrounded by brown cornstalks towering over our heads and the dry, dusty earth beneath us. I panicked for a moment. I was alone in a corn maze with my daughter, armed with my poor sense of direction to lead us out.

, , , , , , , ,

The Beauty of Disability

, , , , , , , ,
The Beauty of Disability

My pastor was introducing a new sermon series about beauty when four words took up residence in my mind: the beauty of disability. If we believe that all people are created in the image of God, that includes those with disabilities. Therefore, I believe in the beauty of disability.