Thursday, February 21, 2013
2013 AWANA Grand Prix at Albany Baptist Church-- February
Last AMS game of the season... February 18, 2013
Happy times...
Happy Valentine's Day-- 2013
Valentine's Day was so eventful this year!! I enjoyed the Valentine's Day luncheon at First Friends with Ellie-Kate and her friends, and I then had a wonderful parent-teacher conference with Miss Tammy. Ellie-Kate is doing GREAT!! She's very social, smart, and athletic, and it's always so nice to get a good report.
After lunch, I headed over to the office. Nancy had asked me to keep the news about the election quiet until NCA issued the official response, and I wanted to honor that request, but, wow, I wanted to tell the world!! I checked my e-mail. Nothing. Checked it again. Nothing. A few friends asked about the election on fb, and I responded with private messages, asking them to keep it confidential as well until the news broke. They agreed. After an hour, I had to leave and pick up Emmy to take her to a meeting for Girl Scouts at East Elementary and then drop her off at basketball practice. I was waiting for the coach to unlock the gym at AMS when Britti called with the news that people were posting on fb, and Roger sent a text, letting me know that the official release had appeared. I drove up to the office, checked e-mail, got a thrill of reading the news, and then checked fb. WOW!! The response online was truly overwhelming, and I was beyond touched. I couldn't even respond to all of the messages then because I had to leave for a quick walk and to pick up Ellie-Kate from school. I have been scrambling to catch up ever since, but, again wow, in such a good way!!
I dropped Ellie-Kate at home, picked up Emmy, and went to the AMS dance as a chaperone. Bless them-- I had forgotten how awkward that poor middle schoolers can be. I watched as boys awkwardly shoved roses in their girl friends' faces and as friends giggled while taking pictures when others slow danced (about as far apart as they could get while still dancing together). Two awkward hours later, Emmy and I headed home, and I got back online and finally had time to craft a thank you post to the many wonderful people who had commented online.
No, Roger and I didn't get a lunch or dinner out, but we did watch an episode of Modern Family before I got back on the computer. What a special day with the girls at their schools and with friends online! I will treasure these wonderful memories!!
Hope that you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!!
Christie
Big news!! February 13, 2013
Hi everyone--
What an eventful day! We drove up to Columbus for a visit with Izzy and meeting with his neurologist. During the meeting, we learned that Izzy definitely had a stroke and that he could be helped through physical therapy!! What amazing news!! We got to hold him, and he was holding up his head and looking much more alert. He had completely charmed the staff, and he definitely had the doctors and technicians on his side :) The neurologist turned his case over to a rehabilitation therapist, and she explained the exercises and treatment regiment. We decided to leave him in Columbus until Saturday for extensive treatment and therapy.
We were just leaving the consult room and entering the hallway when my phone rang. It was Nancy Kidd, the executive director of the National Communication Association. She told me that she was calling with what she hoped would be good news and that I had been elected as Second Vice President Elect of NCA!! WOW!!!!!!! Truly, I had genuinely considered the nomination to be a gift, and I was beyond thrilled with this news. I am so excited about the opportunity to serve members of the association and to help others to have positive, meaningful, valuable experiences with NCA!!
My term as 2nd VP-Elect starts now, and I will become Second Vice President as of January 1, 2014. I will be First Vice President as of January 1, 2015, and I will plan our national conference in Las Vegas, to be held in November, 2015. I will then be President during our national conference in Philadelphia in 2016.
In the course of 15 minutes, we received amazing news about an important member of our family (Izzy) and incredible news about a wonderful journey that will last for the next four years. Roger and the girls are being very supportive about all of the travel that will be involved. I am so eager to talk with our members and to serve in any way that I can!
Well, Roger and I left Medvet, enjoyed lunch at Olive Garden, and got home in time to pick up Ellie-Kate and dive right into a typical evening of homework, playtime, and bedtime (as well as the new season of Survivor!). It's always so interesting how the incredible gets juxtaposed with the ordinary in our lives... Our girls ground us, and I'm so grateful to them for likely caring more about Izzy's good prognosis than about any professional accomplishment that either of us might have. Absolutely-- as it should be!!
Hope all is well with you!
Christie
What an eventful day! We drove up to Columbus for a visit with Izzy and meeting with his neurologist. During the meeting, we learned that Izzy definitely had a stroke and that he could be helped through physical therapy!! What amazing news!! We got to hold him, and he was holding up his head and looking much more alert. He had completely charmed the staff, and he definitely had the doctors and technicians on his side :) The neurologist turned his case over to a rehabilitation therapist, and she explained the exercises and treatment regiment. We decided to leave him in Columbus until Saturday for extensive treatment and therapy.
We were just leaving the consult room and entering the hallway when my phone rang. It was Nancy Kidd, the executive director of the National Communication Association. She told me that she was calling with what she hoped would be good news and that I had been elected as Second Vice President Elect of NCA!! WOW!!!!!!! Truly, I had genuinely considered the nomination to be a gift, and I was beyond thrilled with this news. I am so excited about the opportunity to serve members of the association and to help others to have positive, meaningful, valuable experiences with NCA!!
My term as 2nd VP-Elect starts now, and I will become Second Vice President as of January 1, 2014. I will be First Vice President as of January 1, 2015, and I will plan our national conference in Las Vegas, to be held in November, 2015. I will then be President during our national conference in Philadelphia in 2016.
In the course of 15 minutes, we received amazing news about an important member of our family (Izzy) and incredible news about a wonderful journey that will last for the next four years. Roger and the girls are being very supportive about all of the travel that will be involved. I am so eager to talk with our members and to serve in any way that I can!
Well, Roger and I left Medvet, enjoyed lunch at Olive Garden, and got home in time to pick up Ellie-Kate and dive right into a typical evening of homework, playtime, and bedtime (as well as the new season of Survivor!). It's always so interesting how the incredible gets juxtaposed with the ordinary in our lives... Our girls ground us, and I'm so grateful to them for likely caring more about Izzy's good prognosis than about any professional accomplishment that either of us might have. Absolutely-- as it should be!!
Hope all is well with you!
Christie
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
February 10-11, 2013
During the next day, Izzy stayed in our main level bathroom and grew increasingly lethargic. We really got concerned about 9 p.m., and we decided to take him to the animal hospital in Parkersburg, WV. When we arrived, they did an x-ray and discovered that he did not have any broken bones. By this time, it's evident that Izzy can't move at all. We were really stressed, trying to decide what to do. We asked the vet how we should proceed... She said that she would take him to Columbus.
We drove back to Athens and then up to Columbus, arriving at Medvet around 1:30 a.m. From there, the ER and medical staff were amazing!! The ER doc was wonderfully reassuring, comforting, and confident. We slept for a few hours in the conference room while Izzy stayed in the ICU, getting fluids and undergoing testing. We met with the neurologist around 10 a.m., and he was amazing too! He was so knowledgeable and comforting, and we were pretty sure that Izzy had either experienced a stroke, suffered from an infection, or had an inoperable tumor on his spine-- not fun choices! We agreed to let Izzy stay in the ICU and get a MRI. (Interestingly, he had to have the MRI over at Children's Hospital!)
Blessedly, the MRI results came back positively, indicating that Izzy had a stroke-- the easiest thing to deal with for a recovery! After a spinal tap on Wednesday (2/13), we were very hopeful about the prognosis, and we allowed Izzy to stay for a few days of rehab. Again, the rehab therapist was also awesome! We were blessed that so many of the staff members truly seem to love cats! We brought him home on Saturday, February 16.
As of right now, we continue to give Izzy home therapy, and he is getting better all of the time. It's been time-consuming, but we are so grateful that Izzy is going to be okay!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Welcome to February!
Hi everyone--
Just a quick note to catch up on life with the BAP family... I guess that the big story here involves SNOW! We haven't really had so much (perhaps four inches over the past five days), but, on our winding roads with unforgiving curves, life tends to come to a bit of a stand-still. The snow started to fall after Emmy's game at Vinton County last Thursday, and she was out of school on Friday. We got more snow on Saturday so her game at Logan was cancelled. (Fortunately, Roger and I were able to go out to Casa for dinner to celebrate our engagement anniversary between snowfalls...) The Girl Scouts came over to work on their Silver Award project and to sled on Sunday, and we got more snow on Sunday evening and on Monday, resulting in no school on either Monday or Tuesday. Emmy has enjoyed catching up on her sleep, but it's been a challenge to navigate working at home for my sabbatical with entertaining Emmy on her snow days. Let's just say that I haven't accomplished as much as planned and that Emmy possibly hasn't had as much entertaining as usual either. I think that working at home actually motivates me to guard all possible work time at home, but, on the other hand, I can't just stick her in front of the tv while I hang out with my computer. As Hannah Montana would say, I'm doing my best to get the "best of both worlds!" On the plus side, Emmy got her traditional cinnamon rolls on each snow day, and I took her to the rec center on two out of the three days so I get some "cool mom" points...
Chelsea is still doing well at college, even though she's stressed about balancing school, her new job, and sorority life (especially without me there as her head scheduler and life manager). She had a great time at her first dance last Friday night, and she's excited about initiation this coming week-end...
Britti is doing GREAT! We are praising God that she made it home safely on Monday in all of the snow. At her meeting in Columbus, she did a presentation, and she got appointed as chair of a state-wide committee. She also learned that her grant for $2200 was funded, and she's thrilled to bring those resources to Athens County!
Ellie-Kate is amazing, as always. She loves having all of us at home, though, and Tuesdays are hard on her because Roger teaches a night class. She just got a new truck (Mack from the Cars movie), and she's playing with it whenever she's not throwing or catching some sort of ball in our breakfast nook area. She LOVES basketball, and everyone is still so surprised when they find out how young she is, in light of her natural talent and ability for scoring and dribbling.
As for me, I've been working on a few writing projects at home as part of my sabbatical. I just finished a book proposal for a project about celebrity health narratives (like Michael J. Fox and his public battle with Parkinson's disease). However, the primary focus of my leave is on my soap opera fan book. I have so much data, and I am enjoying the chance to spend serious time with it, particularly given all of the recent developments in the industry! I am also counting down the days until I learn about the election outcome. I have put the election in God's hands, and I pray that it turns out according to His will. Even so, I am still eager to learn the outcome on February 13. I'll keep you all posted!
Well, that's the news here! Thanks for checking in with our family. We appreciate all of the positive thoughts and prayers that others lift up on behalf of our family!
Happy February!
Christie
Just a quick note to catch up on life with the BAP family... I guess that the big story here involves SNOW! We haven't really had so much (perhaps four inches over the past five days), but, on our winding roads with unforgiving curves, life tends to come to a bit of a stand-still. The snow started to fall after Emmy's game at Vinton County last Thursday, and she was out of school on Friday. We got more snow on Saturday so her game at Logan was cancelled. (Fortunately, Roger and I were able to go out to Casa for dinner to celebrate our engagement anniversary between snowfalls...) The Girl Scouts came over to work on their Silver Award project and to sled on Sunday, and we got more snow on Sunday evening and on Monday, resulting in no school on either Monday or Tuesday. Emmy has enjoyed catching up on her sleep, but it's been a challenge to navigate working at home for my sabbatical with entertaining Emmy on her snow days. Let's just say that I haven't accomplished as much as planned and that Emmy possibly hasn't had as much entertaining as usual either. I think that working at home actually motivates me to guard all possible work time at home, but, on the other hand, I can't just stick her in front of the tv while I hang out with my computer. As Hannah Montana would say, I'm doing my best to get the "best of both worlds!" On the plus side, Emmy got her traditional cinnamon rolls on each snow day, and I took her to the rec center on two out of the three days so I get some "cool mom" points...
Chelsea is still doing well at college, even though she's stressed about balancing school, her new job, and sorority life (especially without me there as her head scheduler and life manager). She had a great time at her first dance last Friday night, and she's excited about initiation this coming week-end...
Britti is doing GREAT! We are praising God that she made it home safely on Monday in all of the snow. At her meeting in Columbus, she did a presentation, and she got appointed as chair of a state-wide committee. She also learned that her grant for $2200 was funded, and she's thrilled to bring those resources to Athens County!
Ellie-Kate is amazing, as always. She loves having all of us at home, though, and Tuesdays are hard on her because Roger teaches a night class. She just got a new truck (Mack from the Cars movie), and she's playing with it whenever she's not throwing or catching some sort of ball in our breakfast nook area. She LOVES basketball, and everyone is still so surprised when they find out how young she is, in light of her natural talent and ability for scoring and dribbling.
As for me, I've been working on a few writing projects at home as part of my sabbatical. I just finished a book proposal for a project about celebrity health narratives (like Michael J. Fox and his public battle with Parkinson's disease). However, the primary focus of my leave is on my soap opera fan book. I have so much data, and I am enjoying the chance to spend serious time with it, particularly given all of the recent developments in the industry! I am also counting down the days until I learn about the election outcome. I have put the election in God's hands, and I pray that it turns out according to His will. Even so, I am still eager to learn the outcome on February 13. I'll keep you all posted!
Well, that's the news here! Thanks for checking in with our family. We appreciate all of the positive thoughts and prayers that others lift up on behalf of our family!
Happy February!
Christie
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Snow Much Fun-- February 3, 2013
Britti and Ramon-- February 2, 2013
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