Hi,
The holiday seasons have come and gone. I'm not sure about our winter. It has been so mild. Not as much snow as we had expected and certainly not as cold. The people here say the temperature (30-40 degrees) is normal since we live in a desert. The Utahans are very disappointed with how little snow we have received. The ski resorts depends on the snow to bring in travelers from all over the world and of course the more snow the longer their season will last. Hey it's only February!
Keegan came home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was so different for her, because the last time she was in SLC we were still sleeping on air mattresses. My goal was to have everything unpacked and in place by the time she came back to visit.
The 4 of us had a nice relaxing Thanksgiving. It was fun just hanging out with Keegan and catching up on what was new in her life. A few days later she flew back to St. Louis. I guess knowing she was coming back in 3 weeks for Christmas made it a little easier to say goodbye.
Besides Keegan we had another visitor during winter break. Dawson's best friend from Wichita stayed with us for 2 1/2 weeks. The boys did so many different things. We drove to Antelope Island, they took lessons and skied for the 1st time, attended 2 pro basketball games (they watched Utah Jazz beat the Lakers). They played paint ball, went to a trampoline joint, Dawson drove him all around the city showing off his new school and surroundings. They even worked out at the gym every day. It was sad when the boys said their goodbyes. Who knows...this may become an annual get together for them. Our house was so quiet when both Keegan and Mastan left.
Keegan and her boyfriend had a great time in Florida during their last week of winter break. In just 3 days they went to Disney World, Harry Potter's World, saw a movie and went out to eat a few times. She really liked Dan's family. They were very welcoming and kind to her. I'm afraid she had more fun in Florida for 3 days than the prior 2 1/2 weeks with us! That's OK, such is life.
The 1st semester at Wash U Keegan loved all of her classes and professors. She said it was hard to see them end, but now she is equally happy with her 2nd semester. This week she is required to claim her majors. Same as before, English and PNP (Psychology, Neuroscience and Philosophy). I'm not sure when she has to claim her minor, but I don't think she has made a decision yet between creative writing or Irish Literature. I'm hoping for creative writing, but I don't want to influence her.
Dawson is my bud. We hang out together after he comes home from school/gym. Unfortunately David has to work every evening, so Dawson and I have dinner together. In the meantime we watch a few repeats of "Cheers" or "Everyone Loves Raymond", then off to his room he goes to do his homework until midnight or later. I usually go to bed before him or I fall asleep on the sofa until David comes home.
After Fall Ball, Dawson joined an indoor lacrosse league. They just played their last game yesterday. His team came in 1st, so I think he plays one more week for the championship. I love watching him play lacrosse in SLC. It's entirely different than the league Wichita was in. You've heard me complain about how rough the sport is, well not here. It's like watching a college or pro team play.
He is now meeting with his high school team twice a week for "conditioning". They are getting ready for the spring league to start in a couple of weeks. He comes home exhausted and complaining about every muscle in his body hurting. I really don't feel sorry for him. (Ha ha!) He is in a weight lifting class in school, he goes to the gym 4-5 days a week, now a conditioning program. I think he likes the pain!!
I am very happy to report that David's blood test this week was very good. We have been praying that after his 44 days of radiation, the cancer would be in remission. I'm not sure if it's in remission, but his numbers were extremely low, so they don't need to do another test until June. Thank you for all of your prayers. It was very hard watching him get sick at the end of every week during his radiation.
Work for both of us is the same as usual. My hours are down this time of year and David gets an occasional day where they want him to work overtime. It all works out.
Keegan will be coming home the second week of March for Spring break. Then the 1st week of April, the boys and I are going university shopping. Dawson wants to check out a few colleges in California. I've got to start praying for scholarships again, otherwise it won't happen. He said if he doesn't get accepted at one of the big Universities in CA, he will be happy going to the University of Utah, which also has a great medical school.
As usual I got carried away writing. I hope you enjoy the pictures that I have attached. Sorry for any misspelled words, poor grammar and wrong punctuations. Writing is not my strength even though I enjoy it. :(
God has blessed our family in so many ways this past year. I am eternally grateful. I hope you too have had a blessed year. Stay strong in your faith.
Love and miss you as always,
Marjie
Salt Lake City, Utah
Picture taken on Thanksgiving weekend 2013.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Sunday, November 3, 2013
A Change in the Season
Hello,
The weather has been quickly changing these past few weeks. Today huge snowflakes are falling from the sky. They say that Utah has The Greatest Snow on Earth. Surprisingly I'm excited to see if it's true. I will probably regret saying that! I have a few pictures attached. Unfortunately you can never see the snow falling very well when it's photographed.
Dawson and I drove across the mountains to Park City yesterday where there are a lot of ski resorts. Many of the Winter Olympic games were held there. We went to a museum that displayed the 2002 Winter Olympics in SLC. It was a nice view on the mountain, but it will be much prettier when they have more snow.
Most of you have already seen Dawson on Facebook all dressed up in his Halloween costume. He was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. It was the last game for Fall Ball league. The team scrimmaged against themselves. It was hilarious to watch the boys running around the field all dressed up. Dawson made the 1st goal. Everyone shouted "Good job Dorothy"! He made 3 goals total and won 1st place for best costume. The team told him he wasn't in Kansas anymore! Next up..Dawson will start playing on an indoor lacrosse team for the winter months.
It won't be long and Keegan will be here to visit us for Thanksgiving. I absolutely can not wait. I miss her so much. She said she loves her 3 suite mates. (They don't share bedrooms, but they share a common living room.) The girls have all become very close friends. She is still enjoying hanging out with her boyfriend, and she said her 1st semester is hard. She mostly loves her Creative Writing class. (Anybody not surprised?) She sent me one of her short stories to read. It was so sad, but so good.
David is in the middle of his treatments. He is holding up well. Only a few times he has come home from work feeling sick. He spends his free time checking out our new location. He has jumped on the train, hiked some trails and driving around the area. He is the explorer of the family. When he finds something he really likes, he will show Dawson and I.
I'm still working at the big orange store! I would like to find another part time job to take up the extra time that I have. I used to drive my kiddos everywhere with that extra time. (Did that make any sense?) Lately I have had a lot of creative ideas of things I would like to try. Always thinking...we'll see.
There are 24 new pictures attached on the side. I'm sorry if I am boring you with more pictures of our house. They are mostly for Mom and Dad, since they won't get a chance to come out and visit. I'm hoping the rest of you will come out one day to beautiful Salt Lake City.
Hope all is well in your home. The holidays are nearby, so please be safe.
I will continue to pray that God is with you everyday.
Love and miss you,
Marjie
Monday, October 7, 2013
Our New Home
Hi Everyone,
I'm finally back!
It's been so long since I logged into my Blog account. I couldn't remember my password to sign in. (Old age memory syndrome?) I have just spent an hour on the computer trying to convince the program that I was really me!! I thought for sure I was never going to get into my account again.
So much has taken place with our family this year, I have no clue where to start. Don't stop reading, I promise I won't recap everything from the last time I wrote!!
Salt Lake City (SLC) has been a nice place to live so far. It is beautiful here. The weather has been surprisingly wet/rainy. Not the same thunder storms we had in Wichita. Just nice rain that falls straight down with NO wind mixed in. The rain will last maybe 15 min, stop, then rain some more. It will continue like that all day. Now the cooler weather is starting to set in and the leaves are changing color. The past few weeks it has been snowing in the mountains. Gorgeous scenery.
Dawson is doing fabulous. I believe he absolutely loves it here. He has a lot of friends and he loves his new lacrosse team. (Why did I spend one moment worrying about him?) His junior year in school is extremely hard. He is taking very difficult classes and having to stay up late every night doing homework. I think this school is so much better for him compared to the high school he attended in Wichita. It will definitely prepare him better for college.
He is blending in so well with his new lacrosse teammates. Thank goodness the entire team was so welcoming. I can't say enough good things about them. His team is so close. They hang out together before and after their games. They have gone hiking, they go out for breakfast and lunch together. During lunchtime at school they meet at a boys home that lives close to the school. I am a happy mom.
Dawson is still working out at the gym on the days he doesn't have practice. One of his lacrosse teammates "Lane" has become his workout buddy. They are very compatible. They both love to work out, play lacrosse and eat healthy!! He has found his match. Now Lane wants Dawson to learn how to ski. Oh boy, here we go.
Keegan calls me often, but for me never often enough. I miss her terribly. I remember last year at this time I was lonesome for her. Needless to say I can't wait to see her during Thanksgiving vacation. Once again she is having a great time in college. Very hard classes this semester, so she is spending a ton of time studying. At the end of her sophomore year she will have to declare her major. So far I think she is planning a double major in English and PNP (Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology) Don't ask me!! She is uncertain what her minor will be. She is considering Creative Writing or Irish Literature. I think she inherited all of the Irish genes our family had to give. The Gaelic language and Irish culture comes so natural for her. She loves that she can keep her own name in her class, because it is already an Irish name (means "fire/small flame"). I think it's so neat.
She is still dating "Dan" just over a year now. He too is very devoted to his studies. Keegan says they spend weekends hanging out, but not much time during the week. We think he is a great kid. He seems to be very considerate and kind to Keegan.
David is doing well at work. He actually knows more people here than he did in Wichita after four years. Many of the people he worked with in Arizona transferred to SLC instead of Wichita. So he immediately knew his past AZ co-workers.
Today David starts his first radiation treatment. All together he will have 44 treatments. Every day Monday through Friday for 15 minutes. Please keep him in your prayers. He is doing well, but I'm sure these next few months for him will be very strenuous.
I'm doing okay. I like the Home Depot that I'm at. Everyone is very welcoming and nice to me. I'm just missing my friends and family like crazy. Sort of homesick maybe? I have been looking for another part time job since I have more time now that I'm not driving my kids around. Our townhouse is keeping me busy. Believe it or not... I'm still unpacking. I quit when I get bored, then I get another wind and start up again. I'm telling myself there is no rush. Just take my time and enjoy it!! ha ha This week I think the garage will be done, so we can pull 2 cars in before the snow starts. We have 3 cars now, so one of us will be unlucky and have to park outside. (It won't be me!!) I figure if I have spent so much time unpacking boxes in the garage, I should get some kind of reward, right?
That's all the news for now. I hope and pray all is well with you. I'll try to do better keeping in touch.
Remember God loves you and wants to be with you every day.
Love and miss you so much,
Marjie {{{{hugs}}}
I'm finally back!
It's been so long since I logged into my Blog account. I couldn't remember my password to sign in. (Old age memory syndrome?) I have just spent an hour on the computer trying to convince the program that I was really me!! I thought for sure I was never going to get into my account again.
So much has taken place with our family this year, I have no clue where to start. Don't stop reading, I promise I won't recap everything from the last time I wrote!!
Salt Lake City (SLC) has been a nice place to live so far. It is beautiful here. The weather has been surprisingly wet/rainy. Not the same thunder storms we had in Wichita. Just nice rain that falls straight down with NO wind mixed in. The rain will last maybe 15 min, stop, then rain some more. It will continue like that all day. Now the cooler weather is starting to set in and the leaves are changing color. The past few weeks it has been snowing in the mountains. Gorgeous scenery.
Dawson is doing fabulous. I believe he absolutely loves it here. He has a lot of friends and he loves his new lacrosse team. (Why did I spend one moment worrying about him?) His junior year in school is extremely hard. He is taking very difficult classes and having to stay up late every night doing homework. I think this school is so much better for him compared to the high school he attended in Wichita. It will definitely prepare him better for college.
He is blending in so well with his new lacrosse teammates. Thank goodness the entire team was so welcoming. I can't say enough good things about them. His team is so close. They hang out together before and after their games. They have gone hiking, they go out for breakfast and lunch together. During lunchtime at school they meet at a boys home that lives close to the school. I am a happy mom.
Dawson is still working out at the gym on the days he doesn't have practice. One of his lacrosse teammates "Lane" has become his workout buddy. They are very compatible. They both love to work out, play lacrosse and eat healthy!! He has found his match. Now Lane wants Dawson to learn how to ski. Oh boy, here we go.
Keegan calls me often, but for me never often enough. I miss her terribly. I remember last year at this time I was lonesome for her. Needless to say I can't wait to see her during Thanksgiving vacation. Once again she is having a great time in college. Very hard classes this semester, so she is spending a ton of time studying. At the end of her sophomore year she will have to declare her major. So far I think she is planning a double major in English and PNP (Philosophy-Neuroscience-Psychology) Don't ask me!! She is uncertain what her minor will be. She is considering Creative Writing or Irish Literature. I think she inherited all of the Irish genes our family had to give. The Gaelic language and Irish culture comes so natural for her. She loves that she can keep her own name in her class, because it is already an Irish name (means "fire/small flame"). I think it's so neat.
She is still dating "Dan" just over a year now. He too is very devoted to his studies. Keegan says they spend weekends hanging out, but not much time during the week. We think he is a great kid. He seems to be very considerate and kind to Keegan.
David is doing well at work. He actually knows more people here than he did in Wichita after four years. Many of the people he worked with in Arizona transferred to SLC instead of Wichita. So he immediately knew his past AZ co-workers.
Today David starts his first radiation treatment. All together he will have 44 treatments. Every day Monday through Friday for 15 minutes. Please keep him in your prayers. He is doing well, but I'm sure these next few months for him will be very strenuous.
I'm doing okay. I like the Home Depot that I'm at. Everyone is very welcoming and nice to me. I'm just missing my friends and family like crazy. Sort of homesick maybe? I have been looking for another part time job since I have more time now that I'm not driving my kids around. Our townhouse is keeping me busy. Believe it or not... I'm still unpacking. I quit when I get bored, then I get another wind and start up again. I'm telling myself there is no rush. Just take my time and enjoy it!! ha ha This week I think the garage will be done, so we can pull 2 cars in before the snow starts. We have 3 cars now, so one of us will be unlucky and have to park outside. (It won't be me!!) I figure if I have spent so much time unpacking boxes in the garage, I should get some kind of reward, right?
That's all the news for now. I hope and pray all is well with you. I'll try to do better keeping in touch.
Remember God loves you and wants to be with you every day.
Love and miss you so much,
Marjie {{{{hugs}}}
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Happy New Year!
Hello everyone,
Not ready to blog. More to come after Keegan goes back to Wash U on the 14th.
May God bless your new year.
Love,
Marjie
Not ready to blog. More to come after Keegan goes back to Wash U on the 14th.
May God bless your new year.
Love,
Marjie
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Merry Christmas
Good Morning,
Nine days before Christmas. How is that possible? So much has taken place this year, yet it seems like it flew by.
Thursday morning we head for Kansas City to pick up Keegan at the bus station. Poor thing has to get on the bus in St. Louis at 5 AM. We will be picking her up around 10 AM. She will be traveling with a friend from Wash U that lives in Kansas City. I don't imagine they will be talking much, probably sleeping on their bus trip. She will be home for 3 1/2 weeks this time.
It will be nice to have Keegan home for Christmas and the New Year. This week she has her final exams, so I know she will be glad when that is finished. Although I'm sure she will be missing her new friends and ready to get back to college and her TempurPedic bed by the time her winter break is over!
Dawson is so ready for his winter break and counting the days down. He also has his final exams this week. His school used to not make them take finals if they got mostly A's. Now they have changed the rules and all kids need to take final exams. Naturally he didn't think that was too cool!
We really don't have anything special planned for the holidays. Both David and I will be working. David has been getting a nice amount of overtime. A few days last week he worked 12 hr shifts. Home Depot has also been giving me plenty of hours. I'm afraid that will change in January.
Hopefully today Uncle Orville and Aunt Gretchen will be arriving in Wichita before they continue on their way to Arizona. They were supposed to be here yesterday, but they have come across some rain and fog. I hope the weather will be better for them today.
No more news for now. I will blog again after the holidays. Please be safe and stay healthy.
I know you are all praying for the families in Connecticut. I can't even comprehend what they are going through. I remember so clearly Keegan and Dawson at that young age. My heart is so filled with sadness.
I pray you will all invite God to be with you and your loved ones during this Christmas season. He wants to be in the very center of your life.
May God bless you and have a very Merry Christmas.
Love,
Marjie
Nine days before Christmas. How is that possible? So much has taken place this year, yet it seems like it flew by.
Thursday morning we head for Kansas City to pick up Keegan at the bus station. Poor thing has to get on the bus in St. Louis at 5 AM. We will be picking her up around 10 AM. She will be traveling with a friend from Wash U that lives in Kansas City. I don't imagine they will be talking much, probably sleeping on their bus trip. She will be home for 3 1/2 weeks this time.
It will be nice to have Keegan home for Christmas and the New Year. This week she has her final exams, so I know she will be glad when that is finished. Although I'm sure she will be missing her new friends and ready to get back to college and her TempurPedic bed by the time her winter break is over!
Dawson is so ready for his winter break and counting the days down. He also has his final exams this week. His school used to not make them take finals if they got mostly A's. Now they have changed the rules and all kids need to take final exams. Naturally he didn't think that was too cool!
We really don't have anything special planned for the holidays. Both David and I will be working. David has been getting a nice amount of overtime. A few days last week he worked 12 hr shifts. Home Depot has also been giving me plenty of hours. I'm afraid that will change in January.
Hopefully today Uncle Orville and Aunt Gretchen will be arriving in Wichita before they continue on their way to Arizona. They were supposed to be here yesterday, but they have come across some rain and fog. I hope the weather will be better for them today.
No more news for now. I will blog again after the holidays. Please be safe and stay healthy.
I know you are all praying for the families in Connecticut. I can't even comprehend what they are going through. I remember so clearly Keegan and Dawson at that young age. My heart is so filled with sadness.
I pray you will all invite God to be with you and your loved ones during this Christmas season. He wants to be in the very center of your life.
May God bless you and have a very Merry Christmas.
Love,
Marjie
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Happy Thanksgiving
Hello Everyone,
Today is a beautiful fall day. It's in the 50's, the sky is clear and we have a nice cool breeze. The leaves are falling off of our trees faster than you can count them. Plus I have the day off, so that makes it especially nice. And....KEEGAN IS HOME FOR THE HOLIDAY :D
She arrived last night (Tuesday) around 7 PM. I had dinner ready. Homemade macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs and pumpkin pie, her 3 favorite foods. We enjoyed the evening talking and catching up on a silly TV series we were watching during the summer.
The kids were so funny to listen to. They are truly best of friends. I absolutely love their relationship. Every now and then they would give each other a loving smack on the shoulder or a quick hug. It was so awesome to watch. I wish I had a hidden video of them.
Today Keegan is going to go apply for a passport. It won't be long and she will be traveling to Ireland with her Irish Lit class during Spring break. Plus we have to shop for some warmer cloths for this winter. She also wants to go to the grocery store and stock up on some more food for her dorm.
I will write again soon. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. May God be with you and your loved ones. Enjoy all the yummy food this week and football games!
I am very thankful and love that God has blessed me with you in my life.
Love and miss you all,
Marjie
Today is a beautiful fall day. It's in the 50's, the sky is clear and we have a nice cool breeze. The leaves are falling off of our trees faster than you can count them. Plus I have the day off, so that makes it especially nice. And....KEEGAN IS HOME FOR THE HOLIDAY :D
She arrived last night (Tuesday) around 7 PM. I had dinner ready. Homemade macaroni and cheese, deviled eggs and pumpkin pie, her 3 favorite foods. We enjoyed the evening talking and catching up on a silly TV series we were watching during the summer.
The kids were so funny to listen to. They are truly best of friends. I absolutely love their relationship. Every now and then they would give each other a loving smack on the shoulder or a quick hug. It was so awesome to watch. I wish I had a hidden video of them.
Today Keegan is going to go apply for a passport. It won't be long and she will be traveling to Ireland with her Irish Lit class during Spring break. Plus we have to shop for some warmer cloths for this winter. She also wants to go to the grocery store and stock up on some more food for her dorm.
I will write again soon. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for. May God be with you and your loved ones. Enjoy all the yummy food this week and football games!
I am very thankful and love that God has blessed me with you in my life.
Love and miss you all,
Marjie
Monday, August 27, 2012
A Special Birthday
Hello,
This was a very challenging week. I'm not sure I could possibly cover all of the details. Plus I'm sure you would rather me not try. Sorry I need to write all of this down, so one day I can look back and laugh! If you don't have time to read this blog I will understand.
Last Saturday night, late in the evening we took off for St. Louis. Our van was so packed full with Keegan's belongings, we could not see out the rear window. Poor Keegan hardly had room to sit. We took all of the seats out except hers. We arrived at Wash U early Sunday morning. We realized that the handle on the hatch door had broken. Probably happened when we put the bike rack on the van. Needless to say...we had to unload everything from the side door!! (not cool) BUT it gets better...Keegan and I went to check out her dorm before we started hauling everything in and found out she is on the 4th floor and NO elevator. "WHAT?? You mean it doesn't work today, No... there is no elevator in her building!!" Luckily a few very nice students helped us carry her stuff up to her room.
One thing good, Keegan won't need to join an exercise program, she will be keeping in shape by running up and down all those stairs umpteen times a day and riding her bike all over the campus.
Her room is an ok size. Not big, but not too small. Wash U furnished the room with a temprapedic bed, a very comfortable office chair with arms, the closet has a built in dresser, a large desk and a couple of book shelves. We raised her bed up about 4 feet from the floor, so we were able to put those plastic drawers and cubicles under her bed for extra storage. We also bought a stand to put her printer on so she can wheel out the printer when she needs it. It was amazing how much she could store under her bed. She shares her room with 1 other girl (Valeta from Cincinnati, Ohio). She has a very soft voice, sweet, tiny and beautiful. She is also a Christian. There are 4 other girls that are her suite mates. All 6 girls will share a good size, double sink bathroom and a very large furnished living room. On 1 side of the living room it is all window with a sliding glass door. They can go outside and sit on their deck if they want. A cleaning lady will clean their living room and bathroom, also keep their toilet paper supplied. The girls have to clean their own bedrooms. How nice is that?
I had ordered a refrigerator while I was in Wichita from Walmart to be delivered to the Walmart in St. Louis. I was so proud of how smart that seemed at the time. The only thing is it wouldn't be delivered until Fri that week. We were crossing our fingers it would come in before we had to leave the city.
Keegan went to Camp Wyman about an hour from SL with 21 other Wash U scholars. They had a fun time. They went rock climbing, and Canoed down the river. In the evening they had several events planned. One night they were put into groups, they had 1 flashlight and had to follow a map to find many hidden locations in the dark. It was a race to see what group could finish 1st. She said it was very creepy in the woods and they got lost several times. But it was still fun!
Meanwhile we were still in SL buying necessities for Keegan that I hadn't bought in Wichita. Plus returning items that I did buy, but couldn't use in her dorm. Poor David, I don't think he will ever want to go shopping again. We drove so many miles. It will probably get easier each time we are there and know our way around. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, for some stupid reason both back side doors on the van quit working. They are power doors, so they were extremely hard to open and close by hand. By the end of the trip we could only open one door with very hard force. Ugh :/
After Keegan and her group came back, Wash U had invited the 22 students and their parents to a very nice restaurant for dinner. We met her Dean and many other people. They definitely accomplished their goal sending these kids to a camp to get to know each other better. It was so neat to see all of these new friends that Keegan had made. I was so proud of her I thought I was going to burst. I just sat back and thoroughly enjoyed watching Keegan. I knew then, for sure she was going to be ok.
Once they were back on the campus, their schedules were filled with activities. So filled that Keegan didn't have much time to be with her boring parents anymore!! Do I sound pathetic? Should I call the Whaaambulence? I think so. We felt like chopped liver :( It was pretty hard just waiting around for our daughter to want to hang out with us. We would have left SL, but that stupid refrigerator hadn't arrived yet. David and I did have a good time together when we finally decided to pay attention to each other instead of our little Matilda!
We decided to cut our trip short. But only by one day because Keegan said she wanted to hang out with us on her birthday (Saturday). Okay, Okay we will...
Finally Friday we went to pick up the refrigerator at Walmart. Before leaving the store we lifted the box up to make sure there was no damage. David held the box up while I walked around it looking for dents or any kind of damage. No way did we want to haul that thing up 4 flights of stairs and have a problem. We got back to the dorm, got a hand truck, David pulled the hand truck up each step, while Keegan lifted it from the bottom. (David said there were a total of 55 steps!!) We went into her living room lifted the box completely off....GUESS WHAT? The last few inches at the top of the fridge was crushed. AARRRRRHH.... I thought David and I were going to loose it. When we checked it out at the store, we didn't lift the box all the way off so we didn't see the damaged area. Maybe it would have worked, but we didn't want to take a chance since Keegan would have no vehicle to take it back. So you guessed it, back down the 55 steps, back to the store to return it. Of course because I ordered it Online, they couldn't give us our money back, it will be processed back to our bank acct in 3-5 days. So we decided to go to Home Depot instead. I befriended someone there and he promised me if Keegan had any problem at all he would help her get a new refrigerator. I was trying to save $50 by going to Walmart instead of Home Depot. What a valuable lesson. Whatever... now Keegan and her roommate have a new fridge. Her roomie bought the microwave!
Keegan called us on her 18th birthday and said she could have lunch with us. She wanted to be back to her dorm by 4 pm because her new friends wanted to throw her a party. We asked her where she wanted to have lunch. She said "The Cheesecake Factory". That's what we did and that's all she had. I have attached a picture. These are the only pictures I took on this trip. Whaaaaa.... I hate myself. Keegan would not let me take any pictures of her room. She claims she will send me some pics after her room is organized, yaw right!
After her birthday lunch we went back to the university. It was raining, so we walked together under my umbrella to the outside of her building where we hugged and said our goodbyes. I didn't drop a tear. I bit my lip as hard as I could, smiled, said I love you, and have a great time.
The drive home was very quiet. It rained most of the way. We picked up Dawson at his friends house around 11 pm. I missed Dawson soooo much and I think he missed us too. We went home and was greeted by Nike (our cat) who was VERY happy to see me.
I am missing our baby girl like crazy, but I am so happy for her. She has waited for this moment in her life for so long. She has dreamed about college I swear since she was in Jr high school when she made the decision to be apart of the International Baccalaureate Program. This was the reason why she worked so hard all these years. She is finally living her dream. I couldn't be more thrilled for her. I don't want to feel sorry for myself, nor have a pity party. I just want to enjoy her happiness. When your kids are happy so are you, right? I do have my moments, but then I think about the opposite, We did not raise our kids to sit on their butts and live at home with their mom and dad. We want them to explore, find out what's important to them, have adventures, make great memories, and who knows... maybe make a difference in other peoples lives and make changes in our country/world that it could be a better place to live.
Too much? Sorry, just had to vent/boast! Lots of emotions right now. I'm sure I will get used to this emptiness. Keegan has text me everyday to ask me what top to wear with the shorts she has picked out for the day! LOL, Oh and during this blog, she text me and said she cut herself and what should she do! (FYI-it didn't sound too serious) Funny huh? She will always need her mommy. I still call my mom with crazy questions. Wisdom is a gift!!
Keegan just called. She is between events and is walking back to her dorm. I'm so thankful for cell phones and that she thought of me to call. Although in the middle of our conversation she said "Oh I see someone I want to talk to, I'll call you back". Oh well, it was nice to hear from her for a little bit :D She said she is having nothing but fun so far. She even said she was hanging out with her friends last night until 3:15 am. Also said that she is not looking forward to school starting. She is perfectly content with waking up, going to breakfast and hanging out with her friends all day. Now the school has to go and ruin everything by making her go to class and start a rigorous routine. Oh-Oh, hope she gets that out of her system! I know I just sounded like a mom, huh? Can't help it, I am. She also said she just got an e-mail and has homework in her Irish Lit class that is due tomorrow. (1st day of school) Here we go again...
Because Keegan is always so busy, I have never asked her to read my blog, but one day she might. So this note is for her in the future. Happy Birthday Honey, I know you will always remember your 18th birthday as a very special day. I am so excited to see what you do with the rest of your life. This adventure is as much for your dad and I as it is for you.
Yes, I'm teared up :') That's my happy tears picture.
There I'm finished. I think this is my longest blog ever.
Love to all of you. Thank you for your prayers. Please, plz, plz continue to pray for Keegan. I especially pray that she invites God to be with her every single moment during her exciting journey.
God bless you.
Love and miss you,
Marjie
This was a very challenging week. I'm not sure I could possibly cover all of the details. Plus I'm sure you would rather me not try. Sorry I need to write all of this down, so one day I can look back and laugh! If you don't have time to read this blog I will understand.
Last Saturday night, late in the evening we took off for St. Louis. Our van was so packed full with Keegan's belongings, we could not see out the rear window. Poor Keegan hardly had room to sit. We took all of the seats out except hers. We arrived at Wash U early Sunday morning. We realized that the handle on the hatch door had broken. Probably happened when we put the bike rack on the van. Needless to say...we had to unload everything from the side door!! (not cool) BUT it gets better...Keegan and I went to check out her dorm before we started hauling everything in and found out she is on the 4th floor and NO elevator. "WHAT?? You mean it doesn't work today, No... there is no elevator in her building!!" Luckily a few very nice students helped us carry her stuff up to her room.
One thing good, Keegan won't need to join an exercise program, she will be keeping in shape by running up and down all those stairs umpteen times a day and riding her bike all over the campus.
Her room is an ok size. Not big, but not too small. Wash U furnished the room with a temprapedic bed, a very comfortable office chair with arms, the closet has a built in dresser, a large desk and a couple of book shelves. We raised her bed up about 4 feet from the floor, so we were able to put those plastic drawers and cubicles under her bed for extra storage. We also bought a stand to put her printer on so she can wheel out the printer when she needs it. It was amazing how much she could store under her bed. She shares her room with 1 other girl (Valeta from Cincinnati, Ohio). She has a very soft voice, sweet, tiny and beautiful. She is also a Christian. There are 4 other girls that are her suite mates. All 6 girls will share a good size, double sink bathroom and a very large furnished living room. On 1 side of the living room it is all window with a sliding glass door. They can go outside and sit on their deck if they want. A cleaning lady will clean their living room and bathroom, also keep their toilet paper supplied. The girls have to clean their own bedrooms. How nice is that?
I had ordered a refrigerator while I was in Wichita from Walmart to be delivered to the Walmart in St. Louis. I was so proud of how smart that seemed at the time. The only thing is it wouldn't be delivered until Fri that week. We were crossing our fingers it would come in before we had to leave the city.
Keegan went to Camp Wyman about an hour from SL with 21 other Wash U scholars. They had a fun time. They went rock climbing, and Canoed down the river. In the evening they had several events planned. One night they were put into groups, they had 1 flashlight and had to follow a map to find many hidden locations in the dark. It was a race to see what group could finish 1st. She said it was very creepy in the woods and they got lost several times. But it was still fun!
Meanwhile we were still in SL buying necessities for Keegan that I hadn't bought in Wichita. Plus returning items that I did buy, but couldn't use in her dorm. Poor David, I don't think he will ever want to go shopping again. We drove so many miles. It will probably get easier each time we are there and know our way around. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, for some stupid reason both back side doors on the van quit working. They are power doors, so they were extremely hard to open and close by hand. By the end of the trip we could only open one door with very hard force. Ugh :/
After Keegan and her group came back, Wash U had invited the 22 students and their parents to a very nice restaurant for dinner. We met her Dean and many other people. They definitely accomplished their goal sending these kids to a camp to get to know each other better. It was so neat to see all of these new friends that Keegan had made. I was so proud of her I thought I was going to burst. I just sat back and thoroughly enjoyed watching Keegan. I knew then, for sure she was going to be ok.
Once they were back on the campus, their schedules were filled with activities. So filled that Keegan didn't have much time to be with her boring parents anymore!! Do I sound pathetic? Should I call the Whaaambulence? I think so. We felt like chopped liver :( It was pretty hard just waiting around for our daughter to want to hang out with us. We would have left SL, but that stupid refrigerator hadn't arrived yet. David and I did have a good time together when we finally decided to pay attention to each other instead of our little Matilda!
We decided to cut our trip short. But only by one day because Keegan said she wanted to hang out with us on her birthday (Saturday). Okay, Okay we will...
Finally Friday we went to pick up the refrigerator at Walmart. Before leaving the store we lifted the box up to make sure there was no damage. David held the box up while I walked around it looking for dents or any kind of damage. No way did we want to haul that thing up 4 flights of stairs and have a problem. We got back to the dorm, got a hand truck, David pulled the hand truck up each step, while Keegan lifted it from the bottom. (David said there were a total of 55 steps!!) We went into her living room lifted the box completely off....GUESS WHAT? The last few inches at the top of the fridge was crushed. AARRRRRHH.... I thought David and I were going to loose it. When we checked it out at the store, we didn't lift the box all the way off so we didn't see the damaged area. Maybe it would have worked, but we didn't want to take a chance since Keegan would have no vehicle to take it back. So you guessed it, back down the 55 steps, back to the store to return it. Of course because I ordered it Online, they couldn't give us our money back, it will be processed back to our bank acct in 3-5 days. So we decided to go to Home Depot instead. I befriended someone there and he promised me if Keegan had any problem at all he would help her get a new refrigerator. I was trying to save $50 by going to Walmart instead of Home Depot. What a valuable lesson. Whatever... now Keegan and her roommate have a new fridge. Her roomie bought the microwave!
Keegan called us on her 18th birthday and said she could have lunch with us. She wanted to be back to her dorm by 4 pm because her new friends wanted to throw her a party. We asked her where she wanted to have lunch. She said "The Cheesecake Factory". That's what we did and that's all she had. I have attached a picture. These are the only pictures I took on this trip. Whaaaaa.... I hate myself. Keegan would not let me take any pictures of her room. She claims she will send me some pics after her room is organized, yaw right!
After her birthday lunch we went back to the university. It was raining, so we walked together under my umbrella to the outside of her building where we hugged and said our goodbyes. I didn't drop a tear. I bit my lip as hard as I could, smiled, said I love you, and have a great time.
The drive home was very quiet. It rained most of the way. We picked up Dawson at his friends house around 11 pm. I missed Dawson soooo much and I think he missed us too. We went home and was greeted by Nike (our cat) who was VERY happy to see me.
I am missing our baby girl like crazy, but I am so happy for her. She has waited for this moment in her life for so long. She has dreamed about college I swear since she was in Jr high school when she made the decision to be apart of the International Baccalaureate Program. This was the reason why she worked so hard all these years. She is finally living her dream. I couldn't be more thrilled for her. I don't want to feel sorry for myself, nor have a pity party. I just want to enjoy her happiness. When your kids are happy so are you, right? I do have my moments, but then I think about the opposite, We did not raise our kids to sit on their butts and live at home with their mom and dad. We want them to explore, find out what's important to them, have adventures, make great memories, and who knows... maybe make a difference in other peoples lives and make changes in our country/world that it could be a better place to live.
Too much? Sorry, just had to vent/boast! Lots of emotions right now. I'm sure I will get used to this emptiness. Keegan has text me everyday to ask me what top to wear with the shorts she has picked out for the day! LOL, Oh and during this blog, she text me and said she cut herself and what should she do! (FYI-it didn't sound too serious) Funny huh? She will always need her mommy. I still call my mom with crazy questions. Wisdom is a gift!!
Keegan just called. She is between events and is walking back to her dorm. I'm so thankful for cell phones and that she thought of me to call. Although in the middle of our conversation she said "Oh I see someone I want to talk to, I'll call you back". Oh well, it was nice to hear from her for a little bit :D She said she is having nothing but fun so far. She even said she was hanging out with her friends last night until 3:15 am. Also said that she is not looking forward to school starting. She is perfectly content with waking up, going to breakfast and hanging out with her friends all day. Now the school has to go and ruin everything by making her go to class and start a rigorous routine. Oh-Oh, hope she gets that out of her system! I know I just sounded like a mom, huh? Can't help it, I am. She also said she just got an e-mail and has homework in her Irish Lit class that is due tomorrow. (1st day of school) Here we go again...
Because Keegan is always so busy, I have never asked her to read my blog, but one day she might. So this note is for her in the future. Happy Birthday Honey, I know you will always remember your 18th birthday as a very special day. I am so excited to see what you do with the rest of your life. This adventure is as much for your dad and I as it is for you.
Yes, I'm teared up :') That's my happy tears picture.
There I'm finished. I think this is my longest blog ever.
Love to all of you. Thank you for your prayers. Please, plz, plz continue to pray for Keegan. I especially pray that she invites God to be with her every single moment during her exciting journey.
God bless you.
Love and miss you,
Marjie
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