Bahrman Bulletin

We were so fortunate that Grandma (or Gra, as Chiara has nick-named her) and Papa came to stay with Chiara while we headed to Washington, DC for spring break. We had a great time in the District (another post on that later) and Chiara had oodles of fun with her grandparents.

Our first morning home, she was quick to point out the “woodpecker” at the feeder in back, showing off a new word she learned from her Papa. Apparently, adding to her lexicon wasn’t the only thing Papa taught her. As Chiara was helping me make dinner tonight, she began putting her spoons down her shirt. Upon inquiry, she responded that Papa taught her to stuff spoons in her shirt. So, the question is, what else did Papa teach her??

This past weekend concluded Becca’s college campus tour. She has now visited half a dozen universities in the state, including Southern Oregon in Ashland. On Monday, she toured the school, sitting in on a calculus class to get a feel for class-size, instruction style, and the student population. Despite rain, snow, and hail showers on the day of the visit, it was a positive experience. But was it good enough to turn her away from UP? Becca hasn’t cast her final vote yet.

Sunny skies on Sunday allowed us to tour historic Jacksonville. I ignored the protests and took everyone to the cemetery, retracing Kate’s and my steps on our Southern Oregon road trip a few years back. We enjoyed delicious sandwiches and tasty gelato before heading back to Ashland for a quick visit with Grandma and Grandpa Bahrman on their journey back to Southern California.

Once again, a fun weekend away! And who knows, perhaps Becca will provide us with more opportunities to explore Ashland…

Eleonor’s family has enjoyed skiing vacations to Verbier, Switzerland. (Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it?!) Those vacations have paid off this winter for Eleonor. After finishing a winning season on the Bend High soccer team (first place in state!), Eleonor decided to join the ski team. She had never raced before, but enjoyed her time in the Alps.

Eleonor’s first meet was a success–and she just kept getting better. By the end of the season, she was coming in tenth place in giant slalom and eleventh place in slalom (missing top ten by mere seconds). This amazing racing won her a trip to state. She spent three days last week with the top members of Bend High’s ski team at Mt. Hood Meadows. The Lava Bears came in fourth overall during the two days of less-than-ideal skiing conditions.

Her next endeavor? Tennis. Although she says she doesn’t want to compete, I would be leery of challenging her to a match. Her athletic prowess is becoming quite well-respected in Bend!

It’s always good to have a Plan B, and we sure needed them this weekend!

We enjoyed a weekend of spring weather in Portland. Eleonor took us through IKEA, being patient as first-time visitors Tom, Becca, and Chiara enjoyed all the fun stuff. The older girls had time to visit three malls and see a movie, and Chiara got to visit with both Grandma and Grandpa Bahrman and Grandma and Papa Buck. Not everything went according to plan, though.

Our plans to join Megan, Curtis, Mary and Lucy at the Zoo on Sunday were changed due to Megan’s pneumonia. Plan B: stop by and take the girls to the Zoo while Megan and Curtis went to urgent care. We had a great time, visiting the animals and wandering in the warm spring weather. (And Mary’s favorite part of the trip: indulging in an elephant ear!)

Then, our plans to have dinner with our friends Matt and Sarah were also changed due to Matt’s pneumonia diagnosis. Tom and I were still able to take advantage of Grandma and Grandpa watching Chiara and we enjoyed a leisurely, delicious meal (although missing the company of our friends) and then a browse through Powell’s.

On Monday, we visited with Tom’s doctor. He was optimistic about Tom’s progress, stating that even though more leukemic cells were found in the last round of testing (Tom’s PCR value went up slightly), he did not think it was a concern. It isn’t atypical, he said, for the disease to fall, then plateau for a while, then fall. He thought Tom’s counts were pretty much a plateau. However, we discovered last week that Tom’s liver isn’t very happy (the medical term is hepatotoxicity), and Gleevec may be the cause. So on to Plan B. Once Tom’s liver recovers, he’ll be starting a second-generation CML drug, Tasigna.

It made me so thankful, once again, for everyone who supported the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and my marathon. Apparently, one miracle drug is not enough…and fortunately we had no shortage of Plan Bs this weekend: most importantly, a drug that will hopefully be as effective as Gleevec, and a little kinder to Tom’s liver.