Visit to Missouri Western

My closest friend Kathy and I went to visit Missouri Western University - about 40 minutes from home and wemare joining the ranks of the Non-traditional students there.

www.missouriwestern.edu/

Missouri Western State University is a public four-year college in Saint Joseph, Missouri. The school enrolls 5100 undergraduate students and has a new Master's degree in Applied Science with emphasis areas in Information Technology, Chemistry, and Human Factors and Usability Testing. The university was founded in 1915 as a two-year institution called St. Joseph Junior College. It was transformed into a four-year college in 1969 and became a member of the State of Missouri higher education system in 1977 with the name Missouri Western State College. On August 28, 2005, the name changed to "Missouri Western State University" due to a state law changing the institution's name. That will take some getting used to since I went there last in 2005. Then I started feeling terrible and could not think at all - so I took a break. I think that was the diabetes.

Kathy got a 29 on the reading ACT and will be great at being a student. We spend a lot of time talking about ideas. She is a pastor with the Mid-American Indian fellowship, along with her husband Randy. They have helped so many people, including myself and my family, that I have often told her that she needed the documentation from a college - then she could make a living from her gift. She is joining me as a student there and getting her degree in social work.

I now have to overcome two obstacles - What degree do I want to get? (or what do I want to be when I grow up) and since I took "Sick Leave"; can I extend the GI Bill for the 2 years I need to get my bachelors degree? I paid in the money, so I hope the bureaucracy will have some give.

Well, I reviewed the majors and I would like to take journalism and French. The GI bill extension is in work. I wrote a letter and I had my Primary care doc to write one about my illness. Man, when you put my diagnosis in medical terms it sounds sort of serious.....Which it was but I am doing well now - so it doesn't seem real to any of us.

Visit to University of Missouri

After our return Ryan and I attended Summer Session on the 12 & 13th of June in Columbia, Missouri at the University. This is the briefing for incoming students and their parents - and the opportunity to chose your classes.
Ryan got every class he wanted and not ONE starts before 10 am. I am so impressed by the beauty of the campus, the briefing process and the enthusiasm of the students that conduct the tours. I was saddened by ow many parents wanted to control the choices of their kids....Maybe it is because this is my 4th student but it is time to let them make their choices! Advice, sure = but time to let go of control. Will they make mistakes? Sure, but that's learning about life and consequences.
And DH and I are so envious! What a great school and opportunity.
But I am returning to Missouri Western with my best friend Kathy. I plan to take my associates degrees (3) and actually acquire a bachelors in Journalism. This is good for us both and I am proud of us. Will it be easy? Nope; but it will be good.
I also got to see my lovely daughter at work. She is a grownup. Wow - They all are....How did that happen?

Neiderhaslach

We visited the Loire Valley and saw lots of castles - the weather was rainy the day we went to Amboise and we went early. There was no one there! We were in the council chamber room and Ryan said "at last a "real" ballroom" and we danced down the middle in a sort of waltz.

We went to Vouvray and there was a wine fest at the Bonne Dame Cave - We tasted wines and bought 8 bottles and some pate to take home. I had to spit, since I was driving. Sacrilegiously - the wines in this region are WONDERFUL!

But the best event was going to a tiny village in Alsace called Neiderhaslach. This is the village my grandfather Lucien Abelhauser came from. The Abelhauser family still owns a hotel/restaurant there -- The Pomme d'Or. I had been told that they had sold it; so I went to the bakery and found the post lady there - I told them my maiden name and they told me to go to the hotel.

After a quick stop at the City Hall - I found Lucien's birth record there, I went to the hotel and in the Restaurant found my cousin Pierre and his wonderful wife.

They gave me copies of family documents - including a great photo of the hotel being added on to in 1936 - with my great grandfather Theodore and the work crew.

They also fed Ryan and I a wonderful lunch. And although my French is rusty, they told me some family stories. Lucien was apparently an expansive personality. When he was young he climbed up the outside of the Eglise to the parapet and then took bows to the applause of the villagers.

Later in life he ecame fond of wine, women, and song and he was indulged by his father Theodore - until his older brother put a stop to it. Apparently, he helped himself to some of the hotel money and was then in disgrace. Later he decided to emigrate to the US and his brother, worried that the money (substantial, for those days) might not make it to the ticket office, escorted him to the boat and saw him aboard. According to the documents from the boat, he also had $140 on him - a rather princely sum for those days.

They also told me that someone from the village went to the US for work and found Lucien and brought back the news that he had a new son (my father) which made them happy.

The most surprising thing was that they had pictures of my younger sister, Barb - from her meeting with our cousin Charles in Canada. She is famous!

We really had a wonderful time and the food in the restaurant was great!!

France trip went as planned

So Ryan loved Paris! I saw the view from the top of the Arc D'Triomph, the Rodin museum, and the Gallerie LaFayette - the view from the terrace cafe is great! All new for me. So it was pretty amazing for us both.

We also did a Rhine river tour when we arrived in Frankfurt - That was fun, too! Lots of castles and some wine tasting.

We went to Mont St Michel and had the most amazing experience - We were told that an English tour would leave from the courtyard at 10 - so we joined a group with a guide speaking English and followed along - Turned out to be a Rick Steves tour - oops - but we got to the dining area where the monks would eat in silence while one brother would read the Bible. the tour guide Magdalena pointed out the acoustics and suggested we sing. The group sang Amazing Grace and they sounded like a choir of angels. It was truly awe inspiring. Later another tour guide met up with ours and when we got to the scriptorium our guide said they had heard us and they wanted us to sing again and they ( a japanese group) would sing for us.

I got tears in my eyes when our group sang but when the other group sang - you could tell it was a holy song --- I swear you could feel the Holy spirit and angels there. Tears just poured down my face. I really have no words for the moment.

We followed advice from Rick Steves Guide book and went up to the Mont early - Stayed at La Jacoterie nearby - very nice! and went to the Mont at 08:45 and it was nearly deserted - later the crowds were outrageous but early on it was just us and some shopkeepers. It is quite a hike - 200 steps to the top of the mont but it was so totally worth the effort. What an amazing building. And we saw the Mont very differently from your average tourist visit. Ryan said it looked like a scene from Harry Potter:

Back home again and almost caught up

The parties went really well! We had fun at the casino - and the picnic was fun - They all swam and had fun. And our Mugs and Muffin Brunch was a blast. It was fun and making all the food ahead of time made it relaxing and fun. And a good time was had by all.

And we got up early the next day and left for France.