Merry Christmas from the BAP Family!!
December 12, 2012
Greetings!!
Well, we know that
we make this observation every year, but, truly, 2012 was our most eventful
year yet—many, many blessings and opportunities amid some moments of profound
sadness. Even though we would not wish to be quite so busy in 2013, we are very
grateful to God for everything that He did for us this past year. Without
further ado, here’s our year in review:
Brittany
Nicole--26
Brittany had a very
big year in 2012! She began the year by completing her master’s thesis on the
history of 4-H and earning her master’s degree in History from Ohio University.
That degree enabled her to apply for and nab a coveted job as the 4-H extension
educator for Athens County. She has accomplished so much thus far, establishing
a Pet Pals program, improving 4-H communication, and initiating after-school
programs. Britti is very excited about her quest to include as many young
people as possible in 4-H, and she has found creative ways of publicizing
opportunities, even participating in the annual Athens Chili Cook-off! She just
presented her first poster at a state conference, focusing on the first year
experience of an extension educator, and she has been invited to submit a
poster for the national 4-H conference. As 4-H educator, she planned and
conducted 4-H camp for Athens County in July. Unfortunately, her boyfriend,
Ramon, didn’t know just how grueling and, well, dirty that 4-H camp can be, and
he planned a special surprise for Britti. She came home after four days without
a good shower or Starbucks to find her apartment filled with candles and
flowers. In spite of Britti’s appearance, Ramon still proposed, and Britti
enthusiastically accepted, quickly showered and got Starbucks, and then went
out to celebrate the good news. Britti and Ramon are planning a May, 2014
wedding at St. Mary’s Church in Marietta to be followed by a reception at the
historic Lafayette Hotel and then, hopefully, a Disney cruise.
Chelsea
Meagan--18
Chelsea also had a HUGE
year, literally going from one commitment to another from the very beginning of
the year until her return from college for Christmas break! In January, she
performed in One Acts at Athens High School, and she went right into the title
role of “Alice” in Alice: The New Family
Musical, based on Alice in Wonderland.
She was literally on stage for the entire play, and she sang beautifully during
all of her musical numbers. What a cool opportunity for a senior in her last major
production on the AHS stage! Right after “Alice,” she performed in her senior
dance recital at Factory Street (dancing in the ballet, tap, jazz, senior and junior-senior
pieces, and senior duet with Britti) and “Senior Follies,” an AHS senior
variety show. Chelsea was recognized for her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest
award in Girl Scouting, at the council’s centennial celebration at The
Greenbrier in West Virginia. On May 26 (yes, Roger’s birthday!), Chelsea
graduated from Athens High School. During the summer, Chelsea continued her
reign as Athens County Fair Queen, representing the Athens County Fair at
nearly 50 events, festivals, and fairs before giving up her crown in early
August. Along the way, she placed in the top 16 (out of 67) in the Ohio Fairs
Queen contest at the Ohio Fair Managers Association conference, and she was
named “Queen of Queens” at the Chauncey-Dover Festival and “Best Queen” at the
First Town Days Festival. Over 100 other royalty attended her royalty tea,
attesting to the many friends that Chelsea made during her travels. Chelsea had
a blast at her last fair as a Junior Fair Board member, working most of the
shows and hanging out with her friends. She was also thrilled to win Pro
Showmanship with her rabbit so she qualified to compete in Ultimate
Showmanship, getting to show a steer, a hog, and a horse. Just a few days
later, Chelsea began her freshman year at Baylor University. Chelsea had a great
first semester as a Baylor Bear, making national tv during a few of the
football games as a member of the Baylor Line, winning her first tennis match
on the Baylor Club tennis team, enjoying classes in the Baylor
Interdisciplinary Core (part of the Honors College), and earning a 3.62 GPA.
She’s very excited about returning to Baylor in early January for the second
semester and sorority rush!
Emmy
Grace--11
Well, let’s just
say that our middle children kept us hopping this year because Emmy also had a
banner year. As a sixth grader, Emmy served as President of the Morrison-Gordon
Student Council, and she was the only student to be selected as a yearbook
staff member and a member of student council. She really enjoyed science fair,
and she earned Superior ratings at the school, district, and state levels. We
were so proud of how well that Emmy presented her scientific results to judges.
Given her success at the state level, Emmy was honored to be invited to join
the Ohio Academy of Science. Emmy continues to play cello and French horn and
to tap dance at Factory Street. On the first Saturday of May, Emmy literally went
from competing in the state science fair in Columbus in the morning to tapping
in her dance recital at 1 p.m. and then playing her French horn in a concert
that evening (while Chelsea went to a fair queen event in McArthur). Emmy
finished up eight years in AWANA by earning the prestigious Timothy Award,
indicating that she completed every book at every level and memorized hundreds
of Bible verses. In the summer, Emmy balanced 4-H and sports. Emmy had an
awesome time at 4-H camp as well as the Notre Dame Basketball camp. She won
first with her food project at county as well as an Outstanding of the Day at
the Ohio State Fair. She participated in Pet Pals, a service group that takes
animals to nursing homes, and she won first place in showmanship, second place
in rally, and third place in obedience and in Pro showmanship with her dog,
Coco. With her market rabbits, Emmy made Final Drive with one pen, and she won
Junior Novice showmanship and placed fifth in Pro showmanship. We were thrilled
that Emmy was named Outstanding Junior Exhibitor for both dog and rabbit at the
fair. Emmy started middle school this fall, and she earned all As in the first
grading period while starting at center midfielder for the Lady Bulldog soccer
team. She literally went from soccer on a Friday to basketball on the next
Monday, and she is now point guard for the seventh grade basketball team. She’s
excited to turn 12 on Wednesday with a bowling party on Saturday J
Ellie-Kate—4
Ellie-Kate is just
a smart bundle of spirit, spunk, and sensitivity. She is in the begindergarten
class at First Friends Preschool with Miss Tammy, and she loves her classmates,
especially Jack, Macie, Corbin, and Carter. She likes to run and play, and she
really enjoys the gym area where she can fly around on a scooter or shoot
baskets. Ellie-Kate started dance last year, but she wasn’t the biggest fan of
the modern “movement fun” class; however, she really appreciates her tap class
this year—just like her big sisters! Ellie-Kate did soccer in the fall, and her
friends Jack and Nate were both on her team. She really got the hang of things
by the end, and she was routinely scoring one or two goals per game. We didn’t
know if we should start Ellie-Kate in basketball or not because the youngest
league is really for kindergarten through second graders, but we took her for
evaluation at Upward Basketball. We were very impressed when the coach told
Roger later that Ellie-Kate earned the highest evaluation score of all of the
kids (boys and girls) in that league. She can dribble very effectively, and she
has a terrific shot. We think that basketball is going to be her sport J Other than school and sports, Ellie-Kate has an
amazing sense of humor and genuine compassion for others and animals. Ellie-Kate
adores her big sisters, parents, Jasmine, Ariel, Dora, and “Good Luck Charlie.”
Always eager to share a hug or an “I love you,” she had the best time at the
county fair, wearing her cowgirl boots and getting to show a hog, a rabbit, and
a chicken in “peewee showmanship.” We love her quick wit, affectionate hugs,
and passion for playing with both dolls and cars.
Roger
Roger has been busy
with work on his book about the President’s House in Philadelphia. He teaches a
senior seminar that celebrates memories and remembering, and it fits
beautifully with his recent research. Roger coached Emmy’s traveling basketball
team in the winter, and he coached Ellie-Kate’s soccer team this fall. Both
teams posed unique challenges. Unfortunately, most of our basketball opponents
included players who had been together for years, and most of our girls were
newcomers to the game and/or each other. Thus, we didn’t quite enjoy the
success that we would have liked. With Ellie-Kate’s soccer team, well, coaching
preschoolers and kindergarteners can rather be like herding cats, but most of
the players started to develop an understanding of the game by the end of the
season. Even though it proved to be a bit trying at times, from a coaching
perspective, Ellie-Kate had a great time, and she really loved having her daddy
as a coach! When he’s not writing, teaching, or coaching, Roger spent much of
the year holding down the fort while Christie was off with one child or another
at various endeavors or at a meeting or rehearsal at church.
Christie
Christie continued
as a Girl Scout leader for Chelsea and Emmy’s troops, 4-H advisor for the Lucky
Fours 4-H club, and Junior Fair Committee member, but, for much of the year,
Christie was “Chelsea’s mom,” with fair queen travels, “Alice,” and college
move-in. They spent countless hours on the road and at luncheons, parades,
rehearsals, and Baylor—much fun, many memories, lots of pictures! At church, Christie
enjoyed acting in the skits at VBS, participating as a pastor search assistant,
teaching Sunday School, and working with the church Christmas production, “A
Christmas Melody,” as a co-writer and actor. The cast and crew just finished
the show, and they were very blessed that over 500 people attended the performances
this past week-end. Christie was grateful for such an awesome time of
fellowship while collaborating on this original musical over the past few
months. On a professional note, Christie is very excited that her sabbatical
proposal was approved for this coming spring semester so that she can concentrate
on her book about soap opera fans. She is also incredibly honored by her
nomination for Second Vice President of the National Communication Association.
If elected, she will eventually move into the office of President of NCA. (If
you’re one of our NCA friends, check out her blog: http://votechristinabeck.blogspot.com and please remember to vote in January!)
Overall…
Overall, we had an
awesome year, with many, many blessings. As a family, we were able to travel to
Orlando for the annual NCA conference, and we took all of the girls with us.
Chelsea was even able to join us from Baylor! Although Christie spent much of
her time at the conference in the Swan and Dolphin hotels, she got to eat with
the family at least once every day, and, to her delight, also with characters!
We dined with the princesses in Cinderella’s castle, Donald and friends at Tusker
House in Animal Kingdom (twice!), Mickey, Minnie, and friends at the Backyard
BBQ, and the princesses at the castle in Norway in EPCOT, thanks to the FREE
Disney Dining Plan promotion through the Art of Animation Resort! Roger and the
girls also got to participate in a “sneak peak” dinner at the new Belle’s
Castle in Fantasyland at Magic Kingdom while Christie gave a speech at the
Religious Communication Association dinner at the conference. (Yes, Christie
was bummed about missing this event, but she stuck her head in the door later in
the evening to get a glimpse of this new facility…) Highlights of our time in
the parks included the safari ride at Animal Kingdom, Mickey’s Very Merry
Christmas party, and the Osborne Family Festival of Lights at Disney’s
Hollywood studio. We love Disney, and it
was great to visit one of our favorite places! It won’t happen often while
Chelsea’s spending our money at Baylor, but we’re glad that we got to go in
2012!
However, the year
also turned out to be one of our most challenging to date as well. Christie
spent the bulk of the year trying to figure out how to clone herself, and,
really for the first time, Roger and Christie had to divide and conquer in
terms of going to conflicting activities. We’re very grateful that our girls’
ages have enabled us to focus on one child during a particular season, but 2012
didn’t quite work that way, and both parents dislike missing anything.
This year was also
our saddest and, to be honest, stressful to date, especially during the summer…
No good time ever exists for difficult life situations, but juxtaposing the
stress and sorrow of illness and three deaths in the family with the stress of
a jam-packed calendar of fair queen, 4-H, and sports commitments made for a
pretty tense three months.
In May, Great
Grandma Groscost fell, and Christie drove over to see her in the hospital.
Unfortunately, the fall and likely stroke eliminated Great-Grandma’s remaining
sight and hearing, and we were unable to communicate with her. Great-Grandma
did respond to touch, and Christie hoped that she knew that she was there… Great-Grandma
went back to Grace Village for a few weeks, but, after Grandma B. returned from
Chelsea’s graduation, the staff indicated that she could no longer stay in the
rehab unit because she wasn’t making progress. We got a home health care aide
to stay with Great-Grandma, but, sadly, she passed away after just over a week
at home. Great-Grandma lived to be 95 years old, and she was the sole surviving
member of her high school class. We will treasure all of our memories with her,
and we are very, very grateful that we decided to go special needs in our
adoption of Ellie-Kate. If we had insisted on a “well” child, we would still be
waiting on our little girl. Great-Grandma would never have had the chance to
meet her precious “China doll.” Ellie-Kate and Great-Grandma had an especially neat
bond.
Just a few weeks
later, we got hit by a massive storm that knocked out our power for several
days. Fortunately, we had to travel to Indiana and pick up Emmy from Notre Dame
Basketball Camp anyway so we had an excuse to be in a hotel. While we were
staying at the Inn at Saint Mary’s, we learned that Aunt Marilyn had passed
away in New York City. She had attended Saint Mary’s for a year, and we took
some time to reflect on her in this place that had been so special to her. Aunt
Marilyn was Christie’s aunt, her dad’s sister. Aunt Marilyn performed in off
Broadway productions, occasionally taking roles in movies or soap operas to
“earn extra money,” as she once told Christie. She truly seemed to live the
life as an actor and New Yorker! Although we didn’t get to see her as often as
we would have liked, we will never forget that she never forgot a birthday or
holiday, and she fondly referred to Ellie-Kate as “Katie.”
Just two weeks
later, we learned that Wade (Britti and Chelsea’s dad and Emmy and Ellie-Kate’s
“uncle”) was ill, and we traveled to visit him in the hospital in Roanoke.
Unfortunately, he was suffering from severe liver and kidney trouble that were
also impacting his brain. Even though he was in ICU, we were assured that he
would likely be transferred out of ICU in a few days and then released in
around a week. Chelsea said good-bye to her dad on her 18th
birthday, and, sadly, it turned out to be the last time. Based on the
encouraging words of the doctor, we proceeded with plans for Chelsea to fly out
to Baylor for Line Camp, an orientation program, and Wade passed away at age 50
while Chelsea was in Texas. The girls handled the news as well as could be
expected, but it has been horrible for Grandma P. With Wade’s death, she had
lost her fourth and final child. We traveled to the funeral in Virginia and
then had to head right into a big week of commitments at the county fair and
Chelsea’s departure for Baylor.
Fortunately, the
year ended with a much calmer fall. We have been able to catch our breath a
bit, and we truly do count our many blessings for 2012 while still looking
forward to more time to recover from it in 2013. We pray that your family has
had a joyous 2012, and we wish you a very merry Christmas and an awesome new
year!
Christie,
Roger, Brittany, Chelsea, Emmy, and Ellie-Kate
