Deb and Bob Battey

113 Old Bridge Road

Danville, KY    40422

[email protected] (Deb)

[email protected] (Bob)

 

Deb and Bob-August 3

Deb-May 17

Bob-May 13

 

 

Spring/Summer 2007

 

Hello, Everyone!

 

Things in Kentucky have been hot and dry.  We’re in the part of the country having a moderate drought.  So, the “bluegrass” area isn’t so green these days. 

 

We’ve been enjoying the few weeks we have off from school this summer.  I made a trip out to Iowa to see Mom, Cyndi and family.  It’s always fun to get together and catch up.  Of course, Cyndi put me to work, too, but there was always as much chatting going on as work – so I’m not sure how much help it was but we enjoyed ourselves.

 

A week later, we flew to Louisiana to visit Bob’s uncle who turned 100 this June!  He still lives by himself and, except for a problem hearing, he’s extremely healthy.  We also saw Bob’s son, Jim, and his family.   We were there when Jim’s son, Presley, was born.  That makes Bob a first time grandfather.  I guess that makes me the ‘step-grandmother’ – but I’m WAY too young for that title – right??!  Anyway, Presley is adorable and is showing that he has a very easy-going personality - so far.

 

In a few weeks, we’re planning on making a trip to the Boston area to visit Kyle and Kristin.  We’re really looking forward to seeing them again.  I’ve never been to this area – and love history, so the sightseeing should be fun too.

 

School starts back August 2^nd – Yikes!  Since the school is only 5 minutes from the house, I’ve already started to go in for an hour or so every once in a while to get the room set up.  It’s less painful that way.

 

 

We’re looking forward to a visit from Steve and Becky in August.  I’ll be back at work, but Bob is an excellent tour guide.  I’m sure that I’ll feel the need to take a “personal day” while they’re here, too. 

 

Bob’s been feeling good.  No further health scares.  He’s been keeping very busy with our yard.  You know how these “low maintenance” yards never really are what they claim.  But, he is realizing that a job doesn’t have to be done all in one day – that’s a big improvement for him.

 

Hope this finds everyone doing well.  We’re looking forward to hearing all the news.

 

Love, Deb and Bob

 

 

 

Fall/Winter 2006

 

 

Greetings everyone from Kentucky!

 

It has been a beautiful fall here.  It has also been a summer and fall of record breaking rain.  This has been great for the foliage - not so great when we're waiting for the backyard to dry out enough to finish off work that needed to be done.  Oh well.  We finally have some grass instead of a mud pit.  Yeah!!

 

Things have been very busy since our last edition.  We did make the trip to Louisiana to visit Bob's uncle this summer.  The weather actually cooperated and was hot but not unbearable.  On the way back, we drove along the gulf coast and saw the remnants for Katrina.  It was unbelievable - especially in Biloxi, Mississippi. 

 

Steve and Becky were able to come down for a visit in July.  It was great to be able to spend some time with them and to do some sightseeing around Kentucky. 

 

School started again the first week of August.  As usual, things have been hectic.  We have two new special education teachers at our school this year added to the other two already there.  Since I'm the person in the "special ed department" that has been there the longest - (amazing!) - my boss made me the "liaison".  In simple terms - the person who is ultimately responsible for getting all the paperwork done on time and completely.  Lucky me.  I've barely been able to keep my paperwork in order let alone following four other people's work.  Record review this year could be rather painful.

 

Over fall break we went up to Michigan for Stacey and Rich's wedding.  We went up a couple of days early and were able to spend some time with the family before the big event.  We also finally got a chance to meet Rich. It was a beautiful wedding.  We also got to spend a little time with Sharon and Paul!  Later, Stacey and Rich stopped by our house overnight on their way to Atlanta.  I had to go to work - but Bob got the chance to show them around a little bit before they had to leave.

 

Last weekend we had a bit of a scare.  Bob suffered a mild heart attack.  The doctors said that there was no damage to the heart and no permanent blockage so God really took care of him.  But it was a frightening couple of days. 

 

We’re looking forward to Thanksgiving.  Steve, Becky, Kyle, and Kristin are planning to come down for a few days.  Cooking has never been my strong talent (just ask Cyndi about our attempts to make a roast!) - so luckily there will be lots of others to help out!   Christmas plans are already in the works for our annual Chicago get-together.  That's always fun.

 

Hope that all of you have a great Holiday season.  Thanks to Autumn and Kyle for linking us all up again.

 

Love, Deb and Bob

 

 

Spring/Summer 2006

 

Hello to Everyone from Kentucky,

 

Well, we wrapped up another school year.  The kids were finished by May 18th, but the teachers had the joy of attending a week and a half of training sessions before we were finished.  Too bad the training didn't have anything to do with what I teach, but then what else is new???

 

I just returned from a visit with Mom and the Lister clan out in Iowa. It was fun getting caught up with them and we had a great time.  The kids are growing up too fast. 

 

We leave tomorrow for a trip to Louisiana.  We'll be visiting with Bob's family in Shreveport and then down in LaFayette.  I've been hoping that Louisiana will experience an unusual cold snap in their weather pattern while we're there, . . . hey, miracles CAN happen. Right?

 

So, the first part of this summer is a busy one.  School starts again the 3rd of August - time is going quickly. 

 

Hope everyone has a great summer and we're looking forward to hearing from you all.  Thanks to Kyle and Autumn for doing the publishing again.

 

Love, Deb and Bob

 

 

Fall/Winter 2005

 

 

Happy Holidays Everyone!!

 

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  It's hard to believe how fast this last year has gone!

 

Summer break went by too fast as usual.  Of course with school starting on August 2nd, it leaves only a few weeks for the summer break.  I did get out to Iowa to spend some time with Mom and Cyndi's family.  Bob and I also had a chance to get down to Shreveport, LA to visit with his uncle for several days.  I had never been down to that part of the country - it's beautiful, but HOT! 

 

We also traveled up to Michigan for Kyle and Kristin’s wedding.  It was beautiful.  They had some of the best music we've heard at a wedding.  It was fun to have the whole family together for the event.  Later, Kyle and Kristin stopped by for several days on their way home from their honeymoon in the Smokies. 

 

School has gotten into its usual hectic pace.  I have 76 kids on my caseload this year, so I'm keeping pretty busy.  Part of this caseload is comprised of 6 autistic kids ranging from preschool to 4th grade.  (All but one moved into the district from other states.)  These kids are a lot of work, but fascinating.  We just need to find out why Garrard County has suddenly become so popular!

 

Bob has been working hard on our yard.  We didn't get a front yard in until May - and we're still waiting to be able to put in a back yard - that's a long complicated story.  But, the front of the house looks great.

 

We just got back from Indianapolis.  We met friends from Wisconsin there and spent the Thanksgiving weekend together there.  This has gotten to be a yearly tradition and is a fun way to stay in touch with good friends. 

 

We're looking forward to going to Chicago for Christmas for our Shipp family get-together in a couple of weeks.  It's always fun to get everyone together even for a couple of days.

 

 

 

Thanks again to Autumn and Kyle for putting all the time into this newsletter.  We're looking forward to hearing everyone's news.  Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas season!!

 

Love, Deb and Bob

 

 

Spring/Summer 2005

 

Greetings from Danville, Kentucky!

 

Well – we were finally able to move into the new house just a few days before Christmas.  There were things that needed to be completed – and are still waiting to be completed, but the builder was finally able to get a certificate of occupancy so we could move in.  Right now we’re waiting for the state, the county and the septic system installer to get their acts together and agree on how we can finish that installation.  Until that question gets settled, we’re left looking at a dirt yard.  I think we’re going to give up soon and have just the front yard put in and hope that it doesn’t get torn up too much when they finish “fixing” the back yard.

 

We’re enjoying the new neighborhood.  It’s beautiful and quiet.  We have a lake behind us – it looks like a river, but they call it a lake – and the boats on the lake make it seem like summer at the cabin.  I’m really enjoying the quick drive to work.  We now live only 5 minutes from school – a wonderful change from the 45-60 minute drive I had from Richmond. 

 

Bob has been keeping really busy trying to get things done around here.  Sometimes it is an uphill battle trying to find people to do the needed work AND to actually show up to do the work after they agree to do it.  It can be a little frustrating – (read that as “very frustrating”.)  - so it’s better that he handle this area.  I’d be in custody by now.

 

We had a visit last month from Bob’s uncle from Louisiana.  He’s 93 years old, but it was hard to keep up with him.  He’d never been to Kentucky, so he and Bob did a lot of sight seeing during the day.  They kept pretty busy.  We’re hoping to get down to Louisiana sometime this summer.  I’ve never been to that part of the country, and hear that it is beautiful.

 

We also had a visit from Kyle and his fiancée, Kristin, for a few days in April.  They didn’t get to stay too long, but we were able to take them to see quite a few things around the area.  It was great to get caught up with Kyle again after his return from Kuwait and to get better acquainted with Kristin.  Bob and Kyle even went mountain climbing while they were here.  Actually, they explored the back of our property to see how it connects to the lake, but the grade is pretty steep back there.  They both got their exercise with that little exploration.

 

School is almost over for the year.  YEAH!  The last day for the kids will be May 20^th.  Of course, there are teacher meetings and trainings that go on for the next week, but that’s just boring – not stressful.  One of the last activities with the kids is Field Day.  For the last couple of years I’ve had the “opportunity” to oversee the Egg Toss event – yes, they use real, raw eggs.  It’s been lovely, but I’m really hoping that they graduate me to something a little less messy.

 

Thanks to Autumn and Kyle for putting this all together this time.  Hope everyone is well and looking forward to a great summer.

 

 

Love,

Deb and Bob

113 Old Bridge Road

Danville, KY    40422                                                                                                           

859-699-0248

 

 

Fall/Winter 2004

 

Hello, everyone from Nicholasville, KY,

Yes - we're still in Nicholasville. We were hoping that we'd be in our new house in Danville by now - actually a couple of months ago – but . . . we're now coming up on a complete year. Part of the delay has been the weather. This has been one of the wettest years in Kentucky history - lucky us. But a large part of it has been our builder and his strange way of scheduling - or not scheduling things to get done. Right now Bob's so fed up with the whole process that if someone offered to buy the house - it would be theirs.

These last couple of months have been rather busy for Bob. Besides trying to keep things moving on the house, he's been dealing with a loss in his family. His aunt in Louisiana became ill suddenly. He flew down there for a couple of days and she appeared to rally, but shortly after he got home, she passed away. So, he flew back and spent some days with his uncle. I'm doing my best to keep my head above water at work. The months of September-November are the craziest here. The state takes a "child count" on December 1st to determine funding for the school districts. So, we’re encouraged" to get all the kids tested and placed in special education before 12/1. This year has been a banner year for referrals for new kids. Each referral takes at least 10 hours of time to get the testing, meetings, reports, and paperwork complete. So, when you have 19 referrals - things add up. Of course, somehow we have to try to see the children already enrolled in therapy and do all their paperwork. Anyone want to hire on as a secretary??!!

Anyway - Thanks to Autumn for putting all this together again and for being patient with those of us who didn't get their contribution in on time. We're looking forward to reading about how all of you are doing. Happy Holidays!!

Love, Deb and Bob

 

Spring/Summer 2004

 

Hello Everyone!

Well, things have moved rather quickly since the last edition. In the last letter, we were THINKING about moving closer to my work. We put our Shady Brook house on the market on a Friday and it sold by Monday!! Good news but it meant having to scramble to find a place to live and to get the new house started.

We're currently living in Nicholasville, KY. I now only have a 20 minute drive to work. Nice change from the 60 minute drive. Our new house is being built in Danville, KY and will be a mere 5 minutes from work. We'd originally hoped to get into the new house by July, but they had quite a few weather delays so far. Things have gotten under way, but we probably won't get in until at least September. They hope to get the roof finished this week and the electrician starts next.

For Spring Break, we had a quick visit from Sharon and Paul. It had been a long time since I'd seen them and Bob hadn't met them yet - so it was great to get caught up. Then, we took a trip to Asheville, NC and toured the Biltmore Estate. Now, that's a house!!

School is rapidly winding down. Our last official day is May 21st, but these last few weeks are pretty laid back. We're doing our state-wide testing in the morning, but in the afternoon they have special activities for the kids. So, the routine is pretty messed up.

This summer our plans are pretty much up in the air. We need to stay pretty close by and "babysit" the contractor. (We came home from the trip to North Carolina and discovered that they'd framed the kitchen wrong, forgotten a closet, and framed a window where a door should be.) But, we hope to get out to Iowa and visit with mom for a couple of days.

Our current address is:

400 Ridge View Drive

Nicholasville, KY 40356

859-887-9835

 

Hope everyone has a great summer!!

Love, Deb and Bob