It was a long... very long, but good... very good weekend.

Some of us girls have always talked about a quote wall. Who knows if the idea will every actually turn into something materialistic, but if it does... I added to the quotes this weekend. I'm not going to give context.. you'll just have to yell at me later. Instead, I end with my quote.

"Not tonight, but thanks for trying."



Things to smile about:
:) fun parties
:) good conversations
:) church
:) new friendships

Only the Ropp family...

... can walk into a wedding reception, look at the cake, put cards in the gift box, be asked to start the food line in order to get everyone else moving, only to realize within the first few min. of being there that we are at the wrong wedding reception!!! I kid you not, it happened to us today. The reception we should have been at was next door. I had to go in and ask them to open the box to get the card out... and then dad was missing. A few min. later, he came out with a rice krispy. He had been in the bathroom and was the one who was asked to get the food line moving. Keep in mind this wasn't just me, my dad and his family. This was also two sets of aunts and uncles, their children and another aunt with her two girls. Totaling... 15 of us. Yes, 15 extra guests at a wedding reception. No wonder we got some looks when we first walked in the door. Needless to say, the bride and groom had not entered the party yet. Otherwise, I'm sure our mistake would have been discovered earlier.


Things to smile about today:
:) Seeing Gpa in good health, tired, but good health
:) spending time with family... as short as it was
:) time alone in the car

Grandpa is home. Back to most activities... just tired. They are trying to slowly take him off of the steroids and he is feeling the withdraw from that, but things are looking much better. He should even be able to attend the wedding this coming weekend. :)


Things to smile about today:
:) being missed
:) spending the day with Bean
:) Grandpa's health

Grandpa is at OSU in the specialized heart clinic.

Since my last blog:
* G had a third heart attack that destroyed the lower left portion of his heart. However, the amount of pressure that is still getting pump out is high enough that the doctor's are not concerned about it at this point in time.
* They have limited the amount of steriods and his blood sugar has returned to normal.
* He had a cath this morning and the put a stint in one of his valves. Another valve needs a stint but he is to weak to handle that at this time. The doctor's think they can correct it with meds, anyway.
* The blood specialist has two or three meds that he thinks will work with the low blood platelettes and not mess up his sugar.
* It is unknown how much longer he needs to stay at the hospital.



First time ever's: (change of subject)
* Going out with Sterba's and other softball players
* Going out in flip flops
* Painted toe nails (yes, girls... don't fall off your chairs)
* New hair color (just done today!) I LOVE IT!
* Feeling really really good about myself and actually thinking "I'm cute!"


Things to smile about today:
:) Grandpa's improved health
:) List of first ever's
:) Lot's of free time
:) possible photography experience that would be priceless

I guess when it rains, it pours.

Exactly one week after a call about my great grandmother, I received another call about my grandfather. This is on my dad's side of the family, however. He is currently in ICU. He is a diabetic and has been taking insulin shots for years. A few years ago he had colon cancer and went through one round of treatment. He refused to go through a second round. He has been on steroids and many other things since then. The steroids have recently begun causing problems with his sugar. When he takes them, it is way to high. When he doesn't take them, his blood platlette count drops to low. He just had the bone morrow testing done this past Tuesday. This evening when he went to the hospital, his blood sugar was over 600 (the meter quit reading) and his arms were hurting. After further tests, they concluded that he had a least one major heart attack and had at least two within a few hours after that. It has been two hours since I have heard anything.

It's been a long time since I have had to deal with this amount of loss (I know he hasn't died but it doesn't look good.)... since the divorce actually.

Lord hold me close. I don't want to react to this pain the way I reacted to the pain when I was younger. Keep me from traveling that road.

Things to smile about today:
:) a sympathy card from one of my students family
:) getting to see friends that I haven't seen for a few weeks (sorry I complained the whole time m.a.b.)
:) snowcones
:) David Crowder... sometimes you just can't get enough

The last several days took more out of me than I thought. I was the emotional stabble one at home this week. I tend to keep emotions inside anyway, but I'm glad that I was able to help my grandmother get through the toughest part. Now that T is out of school I know that she will not be alone. We tried to keep her busy. We went shopping two different days, put together a 1000 piece puzzle and visited a lot of family. The funeral was beautiful. The flower arrangment on top of the casket was amazing. Great grandma would not have been happy about the cost, but she would have been in awe of the beauty. Perfect for her.

I learned that she was 1 of 10 children. Her mother died at a young age and the youngest sibling at that time was 10. Gg became the mom to some of her siblings. I also learned that she supervised 4H sewing for many years and was even known for making her girls cloths out of feed sack. She didn't hesitate to get dirty working on the farm with great grandpa. She also had a way of making everyone feel important.

The things I remember from her are obviously in her later years. I remember that she had a black marker beside her when she was reading. She loved those romance novels, but didn't like the language or some of the scenes. When she came to one of those parts, she would simply black it out and continue reading as if it wasn't there. I also will remember that her mind was sharp. She was doing a crossword puzzle the day she died!

She did go in her sleep. Her heart finally gave out. The main cause was pnuemonia (sp?).

I am now the only one in the family who knows the dressing receipe for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not that it is some huge secret, but it was her receipe. I've been making it for the last few years as she hasn't wanted to stand in the kitchen for long amounts of time. The last time she said it tasted just like hers. I only hope that it tastes like that every time I make it.



Things to smile about today:
:) Strong healthy family
:) Strong support system here in BG
:) The biggest blessing ever from my roomie! (coming home to a clean house, even my room!) THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:) hanging out at the ballfield tonight
:) rescue is coming (reference from DCB and Captivating)