Poem By Ted

Amazing insight from a kid who had moved around most of his life. Great Job Ted! :)

I was born in South Dakota,
We weren't there for long,
One year later (2 months) my parents packed my sister's and My bags,
And off to Pennsylvania. 

No memories come to mind from Pennsylvania,
Black was all I knew,
Pennsylvania is only trapped in pictures for me,
After a year I was off to Montana. 

Montana was perfect for me,
Running, hiding and playing in the woods,
Made my first memories playing baseball with my dad,
I learned how to imagine and fly free,
After four long years of splendid memories, and two new siblings, 
it was time for us to depart,
Tears were shed for the lost that occurred,
And off to Nevada.

Nevada was a time of learning,
I started school but still was free,
I ran around the neighborhood with my brother,
We learned friendship and commitment with our neighbors down the street,
We could not be pulled apart even when their age separated,
The long hard games of football,
pushing ourselves to keep fighting and cleaning blood off our faces,
Almost two years went by but our family was not meant to stay,
And we where off to Wyoming.

Wyoming was a place I loved,
The open country and clear blue skies,
School was still teaching me, even when I did not want it,
I learnt how to work mowing a yard for hours at a time,
I got my Hunter Safety  and learned about the love I have for hunting,
But three years passed and it was time to go,
And off to Indonesia,

Indonesia, Oh so much to say,
I spent hours in the jungle bonding with my brother,
Spent hours with friends because that is all we had,
In the summer I learnt how to work when going back to the States,
I finished my eight grade year and it was time for me to leave,
I had to go to boarding school with my family staying back,
And off to Malaysia,

Malaysia is still teaching me for I live on its grounds,
I go to school day in and day out,
But it has taught me one of the most important things of all,
How to hang with myself,
My time is not over but I can't wait till it is 
Because I will be out of high school and a big kid,
But I do also dread the graduation day,
Leaving my friends and dorm family behind,
I might spread a tear or my eyes will be desert dry. 






Sent from my iPad

JSB

Also known as Junior/Senior Banquet. 

This is the event that the Dalat juniors work all year towards. They raise money through a few different avenues, mostly concessions, in order to put on this banquet that honors the seniors. Because Mersades is a junior this year, she was heavily involved in the planning of the event. 

I forgot what she told me the theme was, but it had to do with dragons, clans, and medieval weapons. Right up her alley!

Marz and her group were in charge of table decorations. I believe they did a great job and the committee was happy with their work. 

The dragon and the walls of arms. 

Now for the good stuff... The kids, their dress, and their dates. 

Teddy, who wanted to be different and represente his part of the world chose to wear a camo jacket, specially made in Malaysia. 

Mersades, who is great at finding a bargain, but doesn't look like a bargain, found her dress last summer in a clearance rack in the US. 

They both are beautiful!  Yes, I am probably a little bias. ;)

I LOVE this picture of the two of them! 😍

Teddy and his date. 

Beautiful and smart girl!  She was one of the few girls who would go to JSB with Ted. Believe it or not, most girls said no they would not go, with Ted, because of his jacket!!  Their loss... 

Marz decided to not have a date... Most of the boys are too short or not interesting. So she decided to go it alone!     Maybe next year Prince Charming will be there for her... Or maybe it will be a brother... 😉

Happy Easter!

All the kids were home in Tembagapura for Easter this year!  It's so fun to watch how everyone interacts when the kids are all together. 

Even though Marz and Ted only had six days at home, we sure did pack a whole lot of things in. 

Easter morning arriving on the chopper from Timika. 

Walking home from the helipad... The boys have almost become Papuan... ;)

Sunday afternoon we had a big open house for the Underground department and friend of ours who wanted to catch up with Marz and Ted. 

Mr. James, their language arts teacher and now principal of MZS, was even more excited to see the kids than I was. He hadn't seen Marz since she left school almost three years ago. 

Since Gav and Gab still had school, we walked them there every day. We were a little posse walking down the street! :)

Teddy also had to do service hours so he went and volunteered most days at school. :)

Marz baked all the time!  Everything was so delicious!

And then the week was over!  Boom! It went by way too fast! The only good thing about them being back in school is that every day, it brings us one day closer to being back together for summer break!  Special times! :)

National Honors Society

Congratulations Marz!  

A month ago, Mersades was inducted into the National Honors Society at Dalat. Chris and I were not able to attend, so Teddy and Aunt Becky were there to help Marz celebrate. :)

Great Job Marz!! 😘