College Life: When a Federal Student Grant (Pell) Must Be Repaid

Son recently received a letter from Wheaton College (Illinois). 

He had to repay his Federal Pell Grant!! 

    😮😕😧😯😐😑😮

With all the political-talk about student debt forgiveness, what the heck was this?!!

Pell Grants do not ever need to be repaid by a college student.  However, there are a few exceptions (there may be others):

When You May Have to Repay a Grant

Here are some examples of why you might have to repay all or part of a federal grant:

• You withdrew early from the program for which the grant was given to you.

• Your enrollment status changed in a way that reduced your eligibility for your grant (for instance, if you switch from full-time enrollment to part-time, your grant amount will be reduced).

• You received outside scholarships or grants that reduced your need for federal student aid.

• You received a TEACH Grant, but you did not meet the requirements of your TEACH Grant service obligation.

Yep, my dear son fell in one of the few cracks regarding this federal grant and was obligated to repay it in full.  I am proud to say that he did it within a few days -- with tears in his eyes, certainly,  but with determination to work harder than ever.  His small treasure trove of hard-earned cash got lessened by 2K, but our estimation of his maturity as a man increased tenfold. I am so very proud of you, my beloved boy ❤💙❤💚  (Repost from May 2021)

This phone call from another college student made me angry 😠 😖 

The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.

Proverbs 11

Federal Student Aid

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Candles and a Honeymoon

I had wondered what had happened to a nice gift I had given to Lily on her birthday last year.  A wooden, heart-shaped, hand-poured soy candle with a delicious aroma called Sweet Lemon. 

Was it given away, quickly used up, or forgotten in a corner?? No --- Lily saved it 😊  For several months! 👍

She took it with her for their wedding honeymoon in Tennessee. They had rented a cabin for a week. 

My respect for her self-control and ability to wait to use it for a worthwhile, memorable event went up several notches. 

So happy for our son.  He is blessed of the Lord thru Lily.

**

MacKenzie-Childs: Wedding Rehearsal Dinner

 This was our first and very likely our last Rehearsal Dinner as traditionally, here in the USA, the groom's family hosts the RD; and this was for our youngest son's wedding. Our older son got married in Europe, and his in-laws hosted the Dinner.  (In fact, a total of 3 parties were held to celebrate J & B's wedding in Yr 2016). We were told to expect about 35 people.

We were encouraged to go the informal, stress-free route.  So, pizza, a couple of Filipino dishes (pancit, egg rolls), plus sweets were deemed adequate. I fancied it up with a few of my MacKenzie Childs pieces and voila, we had a blast!

MacKenzie Childs Three Tier Sweet Stand

MC Serving Platter

pc:  MC

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Lovely Lily's Bridal Shower

the ribbons from her gifts

My future daughter-in-law's bridal 👰 shower! Her Mom's friend created a simple, beautiful, memorable event.  My stomach was full and my heart was bursting with joy for my son who will be marrying this lovely girl.  May the love of God keep us together!

souvenir candles (various tiny succulents)

dessert table, yum 😋

guests signed a Jenga block

table setting

my friend signed her Jenga block for the couple

delicious, simple, yummy!

**

MY DADDY SLEEPS NAKED

"Late again!" the third-grade teacher sternly said to little Robbie.

"It ain't my fault this time, Miss Russell. You can blame this 'un on my Daddy. The reason I'm three hours late is my Daddy sleeps naked!"

Miss Russell had taught grammar school for 30-some-odd years. Despite her mounting fears, she asked little Robbie what he meant by that.

Full of grins and mischief, and in the flower of his youth, little Robbie and trouble were old friends but he always told the truth.

"You see, Miss Russell, out at the farm we got this here low down Fox. The last few nights, he done ate six hens. Last night, when Daddy heard a noise out in the chicken pen, he grabbed his double-barreled shotgun and said to my Ma, "That fox is back again... I'm a gonna git him!''

"Stay back," Daddy whispered to all us kids!

"My Daddy was naked as a jaybird -- no boots, no pants, no shirt! To the hen house he crawled. Then, he stuck that double-barrelled 12-gauge shotgun through the window of the coop. As he stared into the darkness, with a fox on his mind, our old hound dog, Rip, had done gone and woke up and comes sneaking up behind Daddy. Then, as we all looked on, plumb helpless, old Rip done went and stuck his cold wet nose in my Daddy's crack!"

"Miss Russell, we all been pluckin' chickens since three o'clock this mornin!"

Facebook

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Toyota SUV: Our Car Was Wrecked in an Accident!

 Grateful! Son is okay; and so was the driver of the other vehicle.

the other car 😕

Geico estimated $17k to fix it completely, but the Highlander was worth less. Thus, the insurance company gave us a $$ check and declared the Highlander SUV a total loss. What hurt were the repairs of approximately $3k over the past year. Granted, an $800 unit we put in only had a 3-month warranty, but we expected the Toyota to keep going for a couple more years, minimum. Our Toyota Highlander was a good car and we will miss it. Again, we remain very grateful to the Lord for no loss of lives or any permanent injuries.

... in its glory days 😁

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (1 Thessalonians 5)

**

AIRBNB: Darmstadt, Germany

 Throw Back Tuesday Time!   This may have been the occasion that further promoted my love for skylights, large windows, and free-standing bathtubs  😀😁😃

❤💙💚💛❤

Our very first rental though AIRBNB! We arrived safely from Chi-town, and this gem was our destination for our first 2 nights. We rented a whole apartment located on the 3rd floor. 

Frankfurt

The apartment itself had 3 levels of living space. There were enough beds to house 4 guests. Complete with kitchen, full bath, wifi, cable, and plenty of windows to let the sunshine in.  Its real appeal to me was its modern vibe and airiness; along with its reasonable rental cost. The whole building is owned and designed by a friendly architect married to a hairdresser wife (her shop was in the basement). They also happen to live in the same building, one floor down. 

Front of building facing the street.  

That's our bedroom and balcony on the third level.

Metal stairs to the apartment's  upper level and catwalk. 

Entry/Front door on left

Upper level kitchen

Upper level sitting area; same level as the kitchen. 

 Rooms connected by catwalk

Steps to loft area, uppermost level.

 View is facing catwalk to the kitchen from upper-level sitting area.

Bedroom (ours), lower level 

Another view of the bedroom; balcony, mirror, floor-to-ceiling window.  Faces the main street.

Bathroom's bathtub area, lower level

Outdoor view from kitchen, upper level

Looking down at the backyard from the same kitchen. 

We saw a cat "fishing" at the little pond

Flower pot in garden

**

College Life: When a Federal Student Grant (Pell) Must Be Repaid

Son recently received a letter from Wheaton College (Illinois). 

He had to repay his Federal Pell Grant!! 

    😮😕😧😯😐😑😮

With all the political-talk about student debt forgiveness, what the heck was this?!!

Pell Grants do not ever need to be repaid by a college student.  However, there are a few exceptions (there may be others):

When You May Have to Repay a Grant

Here are some examples of why you might have to repay all or part of a federal grant:

• You withdrew early from the program for which the grant was given to you.

• Your enrollment status changed in a way that reduced your eligibility for your grant (for instance, if you switch from full-time enrollment to part-time, your grant amount will be reduced).

• You received outside scholarships or grants that reduced your need for federal student aid.

• You received a TEACH Grant, but you did not meet the requirements of your TEACH Grant service obligation.

Yep, dear son fell in one of the few cracks regarding this federal grant and was obligated to repay it in full.  I am proud to say that he did it within a few days -- with tears in his eyes, certainly,  but with determination to work harder than ever.  His  small treasure-trove of  hard-earned cash got lessened by 2K; but our estimation of his maturity as a man increased tenfold. I am so very proud of you, my beloved boy ❤💙❤💚

This phone call from another college student made me angry 😠 😖 

The integrity of the upright shall guide them: but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them.

Proverbs 11

Federal Student Aid

**

While I Was Driving,13: All in the Family License Plates

Here are cute license plates we saw recently. Son beyond old-enough, but didn't get his driver's license till recently. Happy yet anxious about this situation as a typical Mom sometimes feels.  Covering him and all of our loved ones in much prayer for safety and watchfulness while operating vehicles, in Jesus' name.

Our car's license plate, hahaha (j/k)

Leaving on a Jet Plane soon (as of this writing), yay!

****

Family: Raising Boys to be Men

Author, JM Barrie (9 May 1860 – 19 June 1937) and his infamous quote came to mind recently during the news of a lawsuit brought by parents against their deadbeat son.  Said son had been living, rent-free, for 8 years; and has the GALL to label himself a Conservative (politically), eeek!

JM Barrie quote

the goal

Tomato-head Kids

J M Barrie, author of Peter Pan

Peter Pan Syndrome

Where Are the Men?

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