College Search

Hi there,

I knew once school started it would be hard to find time to blog. I'm pushing myself to make the time to write today.

In less than 1 year, my daughter (one of my closest friends) will be off on her own to college. I have to start making myself do things for me instead of filling all of my time taking care of the kids none stop. Yes, even Dawson is so busy that it seems like my only time with him is literally being his "Soccer Mom"! I drive him and some of his team mates to the away games and sometimes his friends need a ride home. I must say, Dawson and I have had some pretty neat conversations while we are driving. I actually look forward to our time in the car together! Do you think he feels the same way?! I'm probably fooling myself by saying yes, huh?

I do have some new goals for myself that I'm excited about. Like finally starting to scrapbook my kids, baby/childhood pictures! I have been wanting to work on a project that I have planned for a long time to help military families in need. I will tell you more about my project after I begin. I also have a new "anonymous" blog idea! Are you all curious? ;o Plus now that it is nice outside and hopefully no longer over 100 degrees record breaking summer, I am back outside taking care of my poor flowers. Many died this summer because of the heat. My knock-out roses were the hardiest. They are about 4x larger than last year when I planted them. OK enough about me, now back to the kids.

Where did I leave off on my last blog from the last time I wrote?

This summer was the year to travel to different colleges to help Keegan find one that would be best for her. She is hoping not to attend anywhere in Kansas. They have good Universities here, but she has it in her mind to attend an out of state college. I think she is still rebelling against our move to this state. She knows we can not afford much, but we have also told her if she can find a college that will give her a nice scholarship than she can go wherever she wants. Most of you already know about our summer adventures, so I won't go into a whole lot of detail. We traveled to Colorado, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Minnesota. She did fall in love with a few colleges. The trip was also good for Dawson, he was able to decide on a few he was interested in and a few not to bother checking out again. I had no idea what a big deal the college search would be. I do hope Keegan will be at least within 1 days driving distance from us.

During our travels we were able to visit my family in Wisconsin and Illinois. As usual we spent a restful vacation on my brothers farm. The hospitality, food and weather were perfect. It was so nice visiting with everyone. I wish our stay was longer, but I was thankful for what little time we had together. It had been a long time since David was able to go to Wisconsin with us. I know he enjoyed himself, especially eating the yummy curd!

Besides traveling we didn't do a whole lot this summer. The kids hung out with their friends. Dawson had soccer practice in the mornings, preparing for the high school team. Keegan enjoyed reading and writing. Oh, I almost forgot, they both got their "learners" driving permits the same day. It was a happy day for the 2 of them!

Dawson is now a Freshman and really enjoying high school. So far he likes his classes. He said none of them are very hard, but it is still early in the year. In high school they are required to have an "art/music" class for 1 year. For the heck of it he selected Stagecraft. Where they build sets for the Theatre Dept. (Keegan was so proud of him.) He is actually having fun with it. He is also happy his school has a winning football team. Last year they won the state championship, so he's hoping this year will be the same. I think he loves watching sports as much as playing. Everyday after school he practices with the soccer team. He is their Goalie. I am a nervous wreck watching him. I wish he would play in-field, so he wouldn't have to be responsible when the other team makes a goal! The parents are brutal on the bench when he misses the block. I think I will sit on the other side, at least THEY will be cheering for him!! (LOL) So far they have won 1 game (against Keegan's high school) and lost 1 game. Don't get me wrong, Dawson is good and I love being able to attend his games. On Sunday's he's back to playing Lacrosse, his favorite sport of all. I will have to work most of the time, so David will get the pleasure of driving him across town. That's okay, they don't get much time together. Dawson has recently become our "health nut". He is always reading labels and only eating what is good for him, plus he exercises regularly. I only wish I had a portion of his motivation. He is my inspiration. What a smart kid to already have figured out how to treat his body. Don't think for a second he doesn't eat much. He burns so many calories, he is constantly eating! Now I just have to get him to fix his own meals.

Keegan is already going bonkers with her schedule. I have mixed emotions on what I am about to say. On one hand I will be so glad when this IB Program is over, but at the same time I can't wish time to go faster because then she will be leaving us soon. Already this month she has way too much going on. Last week she had to write a rough draft on an Extended Essay for the IB Program (4000 words). She has to turn in her college folder this week and a National Merit Scholarship folder next week, both requiring a lot of work. Plus she is in a play the last weekend of Sept, so she still has to memorize her script. The first week of Oct her Extended Essay/final draft is due. I know you are probably thinking that she doesn't have time to be adding extracurricular activities. Seriously, without her Theatre she would go crazy. She has so much fun with the cast and tech crew. It really is her outlet/release of all the chaos in her life right now. Senior year is supposed to be fun. I hope Keegan will look back one day and remember it being a great year. I have to make myself back off and leave her alone. I can hardly peak at her calendar, I go crazy looking at her schedule. Although I have a feeling Keegan's life may always be like this, huh? During the next few months she will be applying to several colleges. She will be so busy writing essay's to each place. She won't hear back from any of them until next Spring whether she has been excepted or not. I understand the waiting period can be the toughest part, but honestly I am looking forward to the application process being over with. A lull would be welcome right now :) Luckily her classes are not too difficult yet and she does have her New York City trip to look forward to next year during Spring break with her Theatre group. Which just reminded me, that Dawson informed me that his Spanish class is going to Spain next year!! ("Phew") David should have been a Lawyer, so we can afford everything. You didn't really think I was going to say "I should have married a Lawyer did you?" tee hee :b

David and I are still thankful for our jobs. We both are doing well. At The Depot my hours are up and down. Mostly up, so I'm happy about that. I have finally come to realize unless I were to get laid off, I'm probably a Home Depot life'er! There is not many opportunities around here that pay well enough to start over again with another company. I like the people I work with, they have become good friends.

I still like it here in Wichita after 2 years! I guess it feels like home, but at the same time I don't think any of us feel an attachment here. As hot as it got this summer and breaking all heat records, I don't miss Phoenix. :Q Ask me this winter how I feel!

I have new pictures along the side, so check them out.

I think I have told you everything up to date. We miss all of you. We are busy, but never too busy for guest. We just might make you drive the kids around while David and I relax!!

Huh! This second Keegan just called me and wanted me to pick her and her friends up at 5:30. I told her I had to pick up Dawson between 5:30 and 6:00, so they would have to hang out until I could get to her school around 6:30! (Normal everyday stuff!)

I will continue to pray for you and please keep us in your prayers.

God loves you all so much.

I love you too,

Marjie

Happy 4th of July

Hello everyone,


Oh my goodness, I had no idea it had been so long since I last blogged. You have probably given up on me by now. So much has happened since the new year. I'm afraid it will take too long to catch you up, so I will break it up into several blogs.


Before I go any further. Most of you know my dog Luna died a couple of weeks ago. She was getting old and I think her heart just couldn't take another storm. For almost a week after she died we continued to have storms every night. I will miss her like crazy. She was my little furry blessing from God. Luckily we still have our cat "Nike".


The kids had a great school year, but both are so happy for their summer break. Before I go into what we have been doing this summer, I need to brag a bit about their accomplishments during the school year.


Dawson was in 3 sports at 1 time!! (I know I was glutton for punishment.) He started with a new Lacrosse team this year, it was a high school team. They traveled as far as Oklahoma. He and David would make the trips in 1 day. I think they always had good quality time together. I was only able to watch 1 game. That's ok, I have a hard time watching Lacrosse. I think it is too rough :# It's very similar to ice hockey without the ice & skates and the ball is in the air. Dawson did very good and had a great time. Plus he made a lot of friends. At the same time he was able to fit in soccer (he is still the goalie) and track & field for the 1st time. I was able to make all of his track meets and loved it. He told me he was the fastest white kid on the team!! I was shocked at how fast he could run. Dawson has grown so much and has become quite the athlete. He was able to maintain excellent grades along with all of his sports. We are very proud of him.


Keegan really flourished in theatre. She got some exciting parts in the school plays and musicals. Towards the end of the school year they had an award banquet. She was nominated for 7 categories. She won 4 awards. Wow, we were so happy for her. I know I'm her mom and all, but really, she is so good. You would not believe how well she acts unless you saw it for yourself. I wish the profession wasn't so hard to get into. She could definitely have a career at it. Besides theatre she didn't have much of a social life. Maybe once a week she would get together with her friends on a weekend night. Otherwise the poor thing really was bogged down with homework and test, test and more test. BUT, she made it through her Jr year with outstanding grades. In the IB program it is known as the hardest year. Next year will be more crazy, but hopefully her classes will be a little easier. On top of taking her IB test this year she also had to take her SAT & ACT test. At one point she became very sick. She refused to miss any school. We were so worried about her. I guess her body was exhausted. Now she is back to normal and having a fun, yet busy summer.


David and my jobs are still going well. We are both thankful to be employed. Mostly we have been driving our teenagers around. Trying to enjoy them before they are off on their own.


My Brother Dick and Cindy came out to visit us in April. One day it rained and was so cold, the next day was sunny and beautiful. We gave them the grand tour of Wichita. Their time here was short, but we really enjoyed them.


I will continue later with what we've been doing this summer. Be sure to check out all 18 new pictures down the side bar.


Love to all of you. Miss you a bunch. Please come visit us. We are never too busy for company.


God bless you every day,


Marjie


P.S. Give your furry friends a big hug. Their love for you is so unconditional. We need to all take lessons from them.

Happy New Year 2011

Hello,

Can it possibly be a new year around the corner? This past year flew by so fast. It's hard to believe we have lived here in Kansas for 18 months. I would say we are pretty well adjusted and all 4 of us agree it finally feels like home.

I'm not going to reflect much on this past year. Go ahead and scan my past blogs If you would like to check out what took place throughout the year.

God has blessed our family in so many ways. Thank goodness each day is a new day, and it is comforting to know that God is walking with us or carrying us every single day.

The kids are loving their Christmas break from school. I have caught Keegan in her PJ's, in the middle of the day playing video games. What can I say, it's just nice to see her once in awhile enjoying life and not stressing out with schoolwork. They both have gotten together with their friends and just hanging out. All we need is a little snow and they will be really happy!

No plans for New Year's Eve. David is working that evening and I will be home chaperoning my teenagers and their friends. Whoopee!! On New Year's day, I work and David has off!

I'm sure once school starts back, I will have more to write about. Before school was out, Keegan found out she has another part in the high school musical coming up. I've heard Dawson say he is going to start working out and getting back into shape for track, soccer and Lacrosse. Can he do all 3 sports?? Oh brother!! We'll see about that...

Hope you all have a blessed year and many more to follow. Hug your loved ones as much as possible. Life is a gift and it is so precious.

God Bless all of you.

Love,

Marjie

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Hi Everyone,

It's that time of the year. I have to admit, I have had to work very hard to stay focused and pray to my Lord Father in heaven to keep me reminded of what Christmas is really all about. Of course I love it when I occasionally feel the true meaning of Christmas around me, but most of the time I am thinking about everything I should do before the holiday. This week I have 3 days off in a row. I have spent a lot of time praying and I am loving my time getting prepared spiritually.

It's been pretty quiet here with our family since David and Dawson returned from Arizona. Keegan's theatre and Dawson's sports are on a break until the new year. David and I are both putting in extra hours at work. Although Home Depot will slow down soon.

We don't have any extra plans for Christmas, except our traditional seafood/steak dinner the four of us enjoy! Keegan's favorite food is steak, Dawson's favorite is lobster and crab meat. David and I love both!! :)

The kids can't wait for their Christmas break. Believe it or not, especially Keegan. She is really hoping for NO homework assigned during the break. David and I didn't take off any time this year so with the exception of Christmas day we will be working.

Nothing else to write about for now.

Please continue to keep praying for comfort for our family and our loved ones in Arizona. Every day we think about how much we miss our beloved Ben.

Merry Christmas and Have a Happy New Year.

May God bless you all and help each of us to stay focused on the true meaning of Christmas.

Love,

Marjie

Hi Everyone,

Thanksgiving morning our beloved son, Ben joined our Lord Father in heaven. I can't help but picture in my mind how beautiful it was for him to be greeted by the Lord and his loved ones who passed on before him and angels galore. Ben is probably already making them laugh by telling so many funny stories.

I woke up this morning feeling very sad and lonely. With David and Dawson in Arizona and thinking about how much I'm going to miss my very special stepson, Ben.

I saw I had a message on facebook from an old friend, so I checked it out. It had been a while since I had read anything on it. Then I noticed how many people had gone on Ben's facebook and had sent there loving words and memories to him and his family. It was medicine to my soul to read so much love and concern for a wonderful man that God had placed on this earth to bless each of us who knew him.

This Thanksgiving was hard, but I know every Thanksgiving from now on, Ben will be heavy in our hearts and minds. He will remind us to be thankful for our loved ones and our many blessings.

That's all for now.

May God bless all of you. Be sure to tell your children how much you love them and hug them as much as possible. They are truly gifts from God, to show us how much He loves us.

I love you and I miss you,

Marjie

My fall flowers are so beautiful

Hello,

It's early Sunday morning and I'm having a hard time getting back to sleep. Seems like I woke up with a lot on my mind. We have had a very busy weekend so far. I have to go to work today, but David gets the fun job of running the kids around. Dawson has soccer practice, Keegan is helping her theatre group tear apart their set today for the school play they put on over the past 3 days. Then Dawson is getting together with a friend and Keegan probably has a ton of homework that has been piling up over the weekend.

Dawson is on a soccer league with one of his close friends. They have practice 3 times a week, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. He plays as their goalie. I guess he did good yesterday at the game. I had to work, so I didn't get to watch him. They won, so he was very happy.

We went to Keegan's performance Friday and Saturday evening. The play was called "Moon Over Buffalo" It was a comedy, and extremely funny. Keegan played the most normal person of the cast this time, which was a switch! She usually has been cast as crazy/nuts or wicked. She was very happy to act as a romantic lady in this play. She even had to kiss 2 guys!! (She's going to be a kissing pro before she has her 1st real kiss.) I can hear her now, "Ah Mom". I wish so much all of you could watch her act. She is so good. She is a natural on stage.

It's 2 weeks later. (October 16th)

I was able to watch Dawson's game this past week. Wow, he did great. He was a superstar. He said it was his best game ever. Maybe because his mom was there? No, probably because the girl he likes was there! The team they played was undefeated. They beat them 4-0. Dawson blocked a ton of potential goals from the opposite team and was able to shut them out. David and I were so proud of him. David heard a few people sitting behind us complaining about how big Dawson was and wondering if he was older than the required age. The kids can't be older than 13 in this league.

This week the kids had school only Mon through Wed. They have a 4 day weekend, since it's the end of the 1st quarter. I decided to take the 4 days off too. I knew I wouldn't be so lucky to hang out with them, but I at least wanted to be available to drive them around to whatever they had planned during their school break.

Keegan is off on a trip for a couple of days with a film studies group from her school. They are up north near Kansas City. The event is a competition to create, produce and direct a film. They are given a subject when they arrive. All the teams have equal amount of time to make their films.

Keegan just text me this second. She said they just finished filming and that it was a very long day, but their film is beautiful. They drove all over the city filming at different locations. I can't wait to hear all about it when she gets home.

The weather has been so nice here. The leaves are just starting to turn colors. The nights and mornings have been very cool, but it still gets up into the 70/80's during the day.

I have really enjoyed planting and taking care of my flowers this year. I will attach a few pictures of my favorite flowers along with pictures of the kids.

David is doing good. Regularly he receives messages from Nancy, updating us on how Ben is doing day to day. Right now he is doing ok and is out of the hospital.

Thank you for all of your prayers. Please continue to pray for Ben. He has been through so much.

Keegan has text me a few more times. She said after editing, they got their film in 12 seconds before the deadline. She said she thought she was going to have a heart attack! Now they have to wait for 1 hour. At that time they will watch every one's videos, then be judged. I just hope she has a great time and gets home safely.

It's about 1:30am right now. Keegan is home and telling us all about her trip. They did not win the competition, but her group was very happy with their film. She said it was so much fun and was able to get to know the other kids a lot much better.

Dawson and a bunch of his friends went to a haunted house tonight and also had a good time. Meanwhile David and I hung out at a book store, then a hamburger joint waiting to hear from our kids, so we could pick them up.

Be sure to scroll done the side bar quite a ways. I have a lot of pictures of my flowers, Keegan's theatre group and Dawson's new soccer pics.

We have one day left of our 4 day weekend. I think everyone is pooped, so I imagine we will be sleeping in tomorrow!

I'm so lucky, after my 4 days off, I go back to work 1 day then I have 2 more days off! Home Depot is back to cutting hours. On the other hand they are hiring a few more employees. I will never understand their logic. I just keep telling myself I am thankful to have my job.

The kids are back to school. Dawson is in a club after school called NAL. Don't ask me what that means, because I've asked him and he doesn't know. :/ It sounds like the game show "Jeopardy". The students are asked a question about anything, which ever team answers 1st gets the point. I don't know too much yet. They practice 3 days a week after school. Next week they start the competition with other schools. I do know he is having fun with it.

Keegan is in a music/dance group now that will be putting on a performance called "Nights Of Broadway". She is way out of her comfort zone dancing and singing. We were so proud of her for auditioning. A ton of kids tried out and didn't make it. They practice every day after school until 5:30 pm. She is pooped after the dance practice. She too is having a great time.

You can all guess what I like to do everyday. Now you can see why I need my own hobbies. The kids don't have much time for their Dad or I. We are their cheerleaders/spectators. Do I sound like I'm feeling sorry for myself? Actually both David and I are feeling a bit of separation anxiety from our children! :(

I have made a list of all the things I used to love doing before we had kids. I've decided to try and start doing them again. Otherwise I am going to miss those two like crazy when they leave for college. I know I will anyway, but I think I need to start preparing so it won't be so hard on me, huh?

I am in love with the fall season another year in Wichita. I never knew how much I missed the seasons living in Arizona. Dawson said this weekend, he is looking forward to this winter when it snows. I don't know if I would go that far, to wish for snow already.

Well I've done it again, I've made a very long blog to read. I had to make it longer, because of all of my pictures along the side, right? I know my flowers are probably going to bore you to death, but too bad, it's my blog!!

I guess that's it for now. Have a great week. Please keep in touch. Think about a good time to come to Wichita to visit. Come on...it's not that bad here! We may be busy but never too busy to have visitors.

May God be with all of you.

Love and miss you,

Marjie

Keegan's Sweet 16Th Birthday Party

Hello to everyone,

Long time no blog! It's that time of year when I am running the kids here, there and everywhere. Plus I have been fortunate to be scheduled more hours than usual at Home Depot. I have to check the calendar daily for fear I might miss something important. A lot has happened since I last wrote. I'm afraid it may be a long blog or maybe I will decide to split it up into several parts.

Most of you already knew David made a 2nd trip back to Phoenix this summer. His son, Ben was going through radiation, so David wanted to help drive him to the hospital and spend more time with him. He was there for a little over a month. It was very weird here without him, but we managed and knew he needed to be with his family in AZ.

The kids started back to school before David got back from AZ, so I had to make sure I was totally available for the kids. Luckily my work schedule never interfered.

It's hard to believe Keegan is a Junior and Dawson is in 8Th grade. They both have good teachers this year. Naturally Keegan is slammed with homework since day 1, she has been overwhelmed with what's expected of her in the next 2 years. Dawson has more homework than in the past, but still not much.

A week after school had started, Keegan turned 16 and wanted an original kind of birthday party. She wanted it to be wet-n-wild. She had been telling me for a year how she wanted to surprise her friends and soak them the second they arrived at her party with water balloons and water blasters. So, Keegan invited a bunch of her friends over to help celebrate her Sweet 16Th birthday. The theme was BALLOONS! They spent the entire day outside our backyard having water fights. Keegan has also been complaining for years that she was deprived of never having a pinata for her birthday. The trees that border our yard wouldn't work, so I built one coming out from our deck. It was hilarious watching everyone attempting to hit the pinata.

Dawson and I had filled over 1000 water balloons the week before her party. We got so wet and cold and bitten by mosquitoes. Although we had a lot of laughs every time a balloon broke or accidentally squirted each other. We did this until bedtime every night. I think our neighbors thought we were nuts sitting in the middle of the yard, passing the water hose, in the dark. Of course I had to bribe Dawson with double allowance for the week ;/ but, it was well worth it. (Keegan couldn't help because she was so loaded down all week with homework.) The party was a huge success. I've attached a few pictures above and on the side bar.

David drove straight through the night from AZ and surprised us by making it back in time for her party. I put him to work immediately by running to get 15 pizzas for her friends. We were so happy to have him home. We missed him like crazy. I know Keegan was thrilled he was here to watch her have fun on her big day.

I am going to close for now and start on another blog shortly.

We loved seeing most of you this summer and sorry I didn't get a chance to see the rest of you. All of you are welcome to come and visit us in windy Wichita.

May God be with you.

Love,

Marjie