November

How is the year almost over already??!!??

We are getting ready for Christmas and the end of the semester.

KC is taking exams (at this very moment) marking the end of the first trimester of his senior year. He is getting closer and closer to finishing school and on to college. I will be having such a rough time next year without him here. But he needs to go on his own and become the man he will be. I am so proud of him.

Jack is cute as ever and just had his 5th birthday. We took him and some of his friends (and his 'girlfriend') to a bounce house (with huge inflatables) to celebrate.

I am sloooooooooowly working on my dissertation, but met with my adviser last week, so hopefully I will push myself over break to get the momentum started.

We have celebrated a few holidays lately.
Halloween -- Jack was convinced he wanted to be a policeman for Halloween, so I went online bought him a costume. I also found a badge and tool belt with the flashlight, gun, and other tools for a policeman. Then about a week before Halloween we saw a police car that had pulled over someone right near his school. We parked in the school parking lot and got out of the car just as the police officer was pulling away from the other car. We waved to him and he also pulled into the lot and came over and talked to Jack. Jack told him he wanted to be a 'police' for Halloween, so the officer gave Jack a badge. It was very exciting for him. So we were all on track and excited for Halloween. Then on the night before Halloween, Jack said he didn't want to be a cop anymore. He wanted to be a robot. WHAT!! I couldn't make a robot costume the night before. So we talked it through and finally came to the agreement that we could make an iPad costume -- see the picture below! He had a great time and it was such a hit!

We also just celebrated Thanksgiving. I am thankful for my boys and the time to spend with them. We made a turkey dinner for the three of us and spent the day being lazy together :) We had turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn, carrots, rolls, pumpkin pie and a pudding trifle that Jack made. There was so much food, we ate on Thursday (Thanksgiving) as well as a whole meal of leftovers on Saturday.

I am thankful for my family, my job, my teaching, my students, and my education. Thank you for being part of that :)

Take care,
Stacey

October

Dear all,
The year is just flying by. It seems as if you were all here just the other day. It makes me sad that I didn't get to see you all in a class, but it was nice to see you at some of the events and in the dorms. I hope school is going well for you.
This semester is going great for me. I really like working with the Faculty here at Wayne State. I have been adding to my technology skills and convincing others to do the same. I hope you are all doing that too -- with all the skills and knowledge you have, please be the leader in your school!!!

I am working on my dissertation. I plan to finish it next year (If I tell enough people then maybe I will stick to that deadline). My plan is to finish December of 2012!! Commencements are right before my birthday so that is a great milestone to try to reach.
I am also continuing to teach online and love it!! Hopefully this summer we can work something out so that I can teach one of your courses or at the very least we can have a meal together at my house (since it didn't work this year) :(


KC is doing well. He is in his last year of High School. He is looking at colleges and send in his application to attend Northern Michigan University (that is where I went for my Bachelor's). He was accepted and awarded a $2000/year scholarship for 4 years!! yeah KC!!!
He is also pretty busy right now with this job cutting lawns and shoveling snow (well no snow yet, but soon).
He is also having fun playing soccer. His high school team has done very well and we are in the middle of playoffs right now. The team won districts, now we are into regionals, next week (when we keep winning) it is on to States!!


Jack is as cute as ever. Growing so fast, learning so much. He is doing very well at pre-school and will start Kindergarten next year. He is quite the social butterfly and tells me he already has a girlfriend ;)
He was also playing soccer this season -- like his brother (see picture below).
He is looking forward to Halloween and wants to dress up as a "policeman." Halloween is next week, so I will have to send you a picture in next month's Blog.

All in all, everything is good. I hope it is good with all of you.
Miss you,
Stacey

September

Well it is back to school. KC has started his final year of highschool, he is a senior. He is jumping right in with Advanced Placement courses which can be counted for college credit. He is playing soccer. He is getting ready for Homecoming next week. Homecoming is our Fall celebration, which includes inviting alumni back to their school to see what is new, what your other alumni have been up to, enjoy the start of fall, and view the football game.

Jack is almost 5 - he could have started Kindergarten this year, but I decided I don't want my baby to grow up too fast. So he is in the Pre-K group at his daycare. I have found there is no reason to push students into learning -- he will be a student for a long time in his near future. Let him just be kid right now!! He is playing soccer (there is a picture of him in his uniform below). He is also continuing to have fun with taking pictures (check out the self portrait below too).

I am just as busy as ever. I still meet with my study group each week and they are encouraging me to stay on track to finish my PhD -- maybe someday I will be Dr. Stacey :) I am really loving my job at Wayne State in the Office for Teaching and Learning. Working with the faculty is a new question every day. But I like that challenge.

I really missed having you all to dinner at my home this year. Next year we need to make sure we plan it early and are able to enjoy that time together.

I will talk to you next month. Please let me know if you have any questions or want me to talk about anything in particular.

Stacey

June

The boys and I just got back from vacation -- see pictures attached. We went to Disneyland for 3 days then up to San Francisco for 4 days. We had a great time!!

K.C. just finished his Junior year and is looking for work to do this summer. Jack is 4 -- four and half if you ask him :) He is doing good.
I have been busy with classes, work, and everything that normally goes on!!

Can't wait to see you in a few weeks!!
Stacey

May 2011

I can't believe how fast the semester flew by!! It seems like we just started in January and now we are in May. I bet you can identify with that feeling. It won't be long until you are back in the good old U. S. of A.!! I can't wait to see you all SOON!


I have been busy with taking my last few classes to end my PhD coursework. I don't have any more classes to take. I have a few more projects to complete and of course the dissertation to write (those of you who have done the Master's Thesis know what I am looking forward to). I have recently passed the qualifying exams which puts me as a Doctoral Candidate. I passed three days of written exams and one day oral exams. That is one of the last hoops to jump thru before getting to the dissertation phase. So I am very excited!!


Jack is four (and let's everyone he sees know it). He wants four carrots for dinner, his bread cut into four pieces, he wants the fourth spot in line -- everything has to be about 4 -- because (as he says) "I am 4." He is loving preschool and has told me about his 'girlfriend.' You won't believe how smart he is and the sense of humor he has!!

KC is finishing his Junior year! Next year he graduates and we have started looking at colleges for him. He is busy with sports -- he finished swimming and is back into soccer. He has started his own side business mowing lawns for the neighbors and is looking for a summer job. He recently bought a little pick up truck and is pretty independent. He is a great son!! Believe it or not, he has grown even more since last summer.

We are looking forward to a scheduled vacation in California next month. We will be going to DisneyLand for three days and then to San Francisco for 3-4 days. If anyone has traveled to San Fran and has any suggestions as to what we should make sure to see, please let us know.

I hope your semester is going smoothly and plans to return are going well.
See you soon,
Stacey

Winter 2010-2011

Wow -- this has been a crazy busy winter!!
KC has been swimming and doing very well. He has also been looking at colleges and recently took the ACT. This is a nationwide test that is sort of like a college entrance exam. The scale ranges to 1-36 with most schools requiring a 22 to be admitted. He received a 27 and this qualifies him for scholarship to his current school of choice!! We went to visit Northern Michigan University and got a campus tour and visited with the majors he is interested in. It went really well. I can't believe he will be going away to school next year.

Jack is doing so well. He is getting so verbal and has a great sense of humor. He is just like me with his smart-ass sense of humor!! He is so independent and loves to spend time with his 'favorite brother' (as he constantly refers to KC).

I have been busy with classes and working at Wayne State. I have also been taking tests. For the PhD program I have to take qualifying exams. These are three days of writing pages and pages to answer questions that cover the whole program. From 9am - 4pm (with an hour lunch break)I was given question after question to answer. I have finished that part, now my advisors - a panel of four - read the answers and then we schedule oral exams for an hour to clarify anything I missed. That is next month. So I have been busy downloading my brain.
Larry and I are legally divorced now, so I have one less headache to deal with there. Things are going very well and I am glad my boys and I are moving forward.

I just received the summer information and am only able to teach one course this year. I will be teaching the intro course again, so unfortunately I won't be teaching any of your courses :( But we will still have to have you come over and have dinner.

Can't wait to see you soon!!
Stacey