Pictures I took of Anthem

This is Where our House is going to be!!

Update on new developments

Hello Fam!! I realize it has been a very long time since I have posted here but I have many good reasons. Here they are (insert great reasons here ) . Some of you know what has been going on but I figure I will give you all the thorough information, at least until I get too tired to keep typing.

Right now Amy and I are living with her parents in Maricopa and both of us are working at the University of Phoenix. Amy is taking advantage of this by taking the Masters of counseling program there for free. She just received the acceptance into the program a few days ago. We are attending a church, Mosiac Church a.c.o.t.n., in Florence AZ (about 50 minutes from Phoenix) where I am the children's Pastor. This is a new church that has just been started since this February. As of right now I am unpaid but as the church grows this will change. The church is located in the new Anthem community in Florence. This is a master planned community with a great deal of amenities. Located in the community is a community center with 4-5 basketball courts, top of the line fitness equipment (including treadmills in which each of them has its own TV) Several pools with laps and diving and high dive boards, mini water park, tennis courts, sand volley ball courts, a climbing wall, a cafe, and several other great opportunities. The community is building a community park with a price tag of $40 million. The neighborhood also has its own golf course. Basically..plush plush. This is also where Amy and I just signed a contract for our new house.

Our house will be about a block or two from the community center and its current price tag is 142K. It has 1480 sq feet, three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. The incentives that the builder is offering us are $10K to go anywhere we want from upgrades to the cost of the house itself to closing costs, the choice is ours. And we will receive all of the appliances. So when the house is built and ready for us to move in we will not need to purchase any of those necessary items.

Since our new house is such a commute from the city I have been looking for other jobs in the area to help us before my position at the church becomes a paid one. I just recently went back to get finger printed and am now waiting for the final paperwork to come for a security guard position from Akal security at the Florence department of Homeland Security detention center. The pay starts out at $21.86 an hour and the benefits are amazing. They are only hiring for full time positions. After talking to the lady there I believe that more than likely I will be asked to join, but I will not for sure until my background information comes in and after the three weeks of training.

Needless to say a lot of stuff is happening down here and we are looking forward to seeing what else God has in store for us. Since we are much closer now I would also like to make a trip up to Seattle to visit y'all for a while.

Anyway, I love you all very much.

I hope that everything goes well for everyone. I am sorry to hear about Eric's situation. But, it appears that some doctors know what they are talking about, so I don't think they would suggest such an operation if it wasn't necessary.

I wanted to let you all know that due to the 911 system, mom has a new address. Nothing major has changed, just the number.

It is now
Linda Keddrell
114 Third St.
Pittsfield, ME 04967

Figure this one out, there are only 3 houses on the street, yet, they numbered all of them in the hundreds.

The next week will be hard for me to keep up to date, as I will be doing the packing and cleaning thing as well, but will do my best to see what's going on.

Talk soon
Tarja

9 1/2 Months Later...

Flabby Freddy Update!

Well you all may remember that last July 1st I gave my vision to lose 40 lbs by Thanksgiving. That would be 40 lbs in 20 weeks. Well, I only lost 25 lbs by the time Thanksgiving arrived.

I also completely quit exercising, so all my subsequent weight loss was a result of two things; Eating better/less, and getting a new job where I wasn't sitting on my butt all day. I do plan to start exercising again, I've just been lazy. Which is why it took me 9 1/2 months to finally reach my goal. YEAH!



200 LBS
July 1 2006



192 LBS
July 9 2006



185 LBS
August 20 2006



178 LBS
September 24 2006



169 LBS
January 23 2007



158 LBS
April 19 2007



200 LBS
July 1 2006



192 LBS
July 9 2006



185 LBS
August 20 2006




178 LBS
September 24 2006




169 LBS
January 23 2007



158 LBS
April 19 2007

As you can see I still have about 10 lbs of fat around my belly. Hopefully I will get that off soon too.

These pics really are amazing. Look at how fat my face was!

Life Changes

Sometimes, right in the middle of a long anticipated happy event, life throws you a curve ball and you don't know whether to swing, bunt, or wait for the next pitch. Sometimes that ball hits you right in the solar plexus and leaves you lying breathless on the ground. It's at times like this that it takes every bit of might and will to breathe again, get up, and hobble off the field in order to tell just how much damage has been done and find ways to deal with it, get over it, and go on with your life.

Just such an event took place in Peggy's life recently and we don't know yet just how this ordeal will end or how events will play out. All we do know is that life changing decisions and events are unfolding and changing daily.

So much has gone on in emails over the last month that no one took the time to tell the whole story here on our family blog. Because of that, some family members have been omitted from the stream of thought and decisions being made in our inboxes. I have been asked to try to write a synopsis of what's been going on so that everyone can keep track of it on the blog. Here goes... (And forgive me if I don't have all the exact dates and facts... Like I said, this is only a brief "Reader's Digest" version.)

Back towards the middle of March Peggy and Eric travelled to a town about an hour and a half away so that Peggy could go into training for two weeks with her long awaited assistance dog Apollo. See her blog here.



The day after they arrived Eric had to be hospitalized with another bad toe and foot infection. Doug came up to help drive Peggy around and offer whatever other assistance he could during their two weeks training session. She was still able to continue and finish her training during Eric's hospitalization. The hospital arranged in-home care for her at the hotel where they were staying since Eric could no longer care for her personal needs.

It was eventually determined that Eric must have his big toe amputated and they proceded with that operation. After the training session was over, he was not allowed to leave the hospital until Peggy had arranged for in-home care for herself back in Seattle and they had arranged for in-home care for Eric back in Seattle. Peggy's in-home care proved to be an outlandishly expensive proposition which she would not be able to afford at $110 a day for the long term recuperation period Eric would have to undergo, but it was necessary to begin it and then try to work out some other solutions to their problems.

Not long after returning home to Seattle, Doug was going to pick Eric up from a treatment session and had an accident with Peggy's van. More family distress, however, the damage wasn't too severe and I believe the van has now been repaired and back in service.

The best solution seemed to be for David, Peg and Eric to buy a house together which would be big enough to house them all plus (perhaps one day) a live-in assistant for Peggy and Eric. David and Chunnan (who are coming to an amicable parting) will sell their house so that David can find a new residence for himself, Peggy and Eric.

So, the house hunting began. One lovely, seemingly perfect, place was found almost immediately, however, upon actual inspection, that home's handicap rooms were much too small.

About this time yet another stressful situation arose when Peggy's landlord at the apartment insisted that she pay an $800 pet deposit for Apollo. Since this is an illegal action, Peggy contacted an attorney (at the landlord's suggestion) and tried to show him the points of law covering service dogs... and reported him to the Fair Housing Authority. This, of course, was another deciding factor in moving into a home with David since the landlord then suggested that she might want to find another place to live when her leave expires in June.

While the house hunting was going on, Fred and Alice (who had already decided to move to Phoenix next spring to live near John and Amy) decided to move a lot sooner than expected... not to Phoenix, but, for an interim period to Seattle so that Alice could be Peggy's assistant until either Eric could take over again, or until a live-in assistant could be found. They will then move on to Phoenix next spring, or sooner if circumstances allow. Alice has quit her job and is, at this moment, driving from NC to Seattle.

Fred will get their house ready to sell, put it on the market, and hope it sells quickly so that he can quit his job and join Alice in Seattle.

Since they had already scheduled a month's visit with John and Amy during July, the current plan is for me to go out at that time to cover for Alice as Peggy's assistant during their absence.

Meanwhile, back in Seattle, another day of house hunting found quite a few less than desirable homes, and one which just might work. David has made an offer on this one which features 3 bedrooms, 1 full bath, 3/4 bath, and a 1/2 bath plus a separate woodworking shop which David can convert to his space. Only time will tell if this will be their new home. Stay tuned for future updates.

That about covers what's been happening in he ever changing lives of the MacKenzie/Overbey families up until today.

The latest news I've had from David today is that Peggy has decided that she no longer has the strength to continue working and will soon end her long association as an employee of the U.S. government and apply for disability. This is not a decision made lightly, but one which she has seen coming for some time now. I think the whole family will support her in this decision and I know we all are proud of her long service and dedication to her jobs she's held, while knowing that it is time now for a much needed rest. With David, Eric, Doug, Fred, Alice, and Apollo there for support, I know the transition will be easier for her.

So, that's where we all stand at the moment.... still struggling to get back in the game and find just the right pitch to hit that homerun we all need so badly. Batter up!

Hello

Hi everyone. I would just like to say, that I hope that the move for Fred and Alice will be a good one and good luck with the house search. I have been told that buying a house is a better way to go, but I just can't seem to settle in one location.

An update on my mom. She is doing okay. She has one more week of homehealth for her absess, which is healing nicely. And this Thursday, will be her first BIG outting. I am taking her to an appointment in Bangor and then she plans to shop the day away. Well, at least she is going to try. She is quite excited about getting out of the house. Being homebound for so long is starting to tire her out a bit. So, I will give updates on her day out.

As for me. Things are getting settled. I make the big move on April 27th. I am sooooo excited. Here is my new address and home phone as of that date.
Tarja Keddrell
37 Shepard St.
Bath, ME 04530
207-443-9049

All other contact info is staying the same. Email, cell, etc...

Oh, I also got accepted to my degree program, at Southern Maine Community College. I didn't have doubts, really. I am just scared about having to cook fine cuisine. Not my cup of tea. I am more interested in the baking aspect of it.

And here is a question for all of you in the Washington State area.
Dave and I want to take a vacation and we thought Vegas, but we may alter our plans. What is there to do or see in Washington, should we decide to venture to that area? As it would be nice to see all of you again and perhaps have it be a visit that we could all remember. Any thoughts, let me know.

Well, gotta run, more later
Tarja

So Close

We did 9,267 feet last night. We would have got over 10,000 feet had the metal tags required already been sorted out as they should have been.

We have a place

Just wanted to let everyone know that my apartment search was a success. In fact, it's one of the first places I looked at and get this, it's a house!!! I have never had a house. Always been apartments. So I am quite excited. My scheduled move date is April 27th. I will find out my official contact information, this Wednesday. So, when I have access to the blog again, I will post it.


Also, I have placement testing on this Wednesday for school. For some reason I need to take Sentence Structure and Reading, in order to take my culinary arts courses. Hmm, bizarre.

Happy Anniversary!!

Happy Anniversary to Cheryl & Dave from Peggy, Eric, & Dad.