Monday, 12/28/09

Back to work for me! However, Lydia is enjoying her time off from college. She dropped the kids off at daycare, then me at work, and headed over to the gym! After that, she went grocery shopping before picking up the kids.

I gt off work at 5, and we went straight home. There was several things to do around the house, so Lydia put in Snow White to keep the kids occupied. Well, it worked for a while, but it was a bit dark for Malachi. He wanted to sit and watch, but in someones lap. He was constantly coming up to me and grabbing around my legs as I was unloading/loading the dishwasher.

I also took some time to edit and upload some videos I had taken of Ronnie Warren. YouTube was not cooperating with me though... and I was getting frustrated!

When the movie was over, we started on the new bedtime scheduler for the kids that Lydia wants to have in place for the new year. So we got them showered, did Bible devotions, scripture memory, prayers, and put them in bed!

It was nice to have some quiet for a while, but we also headed for bed after watching some tv! The past week had definitely made us tired. 

~Matt

Last Sunday of the year! (12/27/09)

Sunday was a rush, so here's a list of what happened:

• Men's prayer breakfast, arrived at church early.

• Drove church van

• Attended Church services

• Drove church van

• ate lunch at church, and we played games with a friends while kids napped

• attended evening services

• went home....

It was a very enjoyable day. I was saddened over the fact that my Christmas vacation from was about to end!

~Matt

All over, but still celebrating! (Saturday, 12/26/09)

Got up late. We were supposed to be going over to exchange gifts with Lydia's dad at 10.... whoops! We got around and we arrived after 11. We talked, opened up the gifts, watched some bit of King Kong that was on TV. The kids played. M&M started getting tired and we knew nap time wasn't too far away!

We arrived back home, made lunch, and put the kids down for nap. Lydia sat on the couch and fell asleep as well!

Around 3, we left for Silver Dollar City. It was cold... but I wanted to get up there for their Christmas season. We headed up there with BJ & Ana. The first thing we did was head to the live nativity. After that, we split up and we roamed around the park looking at lights and saw the lighting of the huge Christmas tree. Then we decided to ride the train. We ended up in the very front, and it was the place to prove how cold it was!

We then decided we had spent enough time out in the cold, and went to the car. We headed to McDonalds, and spent some Christmas money on dinner.

~Matt

Christmas!!! (Friday, 12/25/09)

We didn't wake up early like usual for Christmas day. And for those who know me... you know how odd that is! I guess I was really tired!

When we finally got up and going, and sharing the excitement of the beautiful snow outside, we sat down in the living room and opened up gifts. It took about an hour. Malachi and Mysia got some neat stuff. And I spent most of the time working on one of Malachi's gifts.... a hot wheels racecar track!

After opening up the gifts, we got ready to head over to my parents' house to spend Christmas with them. We gathered everything together and I loaded up the car. As I did so, I started it so it would warm up. Now the night before, I had went outside and left my doors to the car ajar because I have trouble with them freezing whenever the rain freezes. Sure enough, the back doors were frozen tight and I was only able to get in on the passenger side. After I started the car, I gently closed the door so that it would be ajar. But it locked! Come to find out, the lock on the door latched, and was stuck! I couldn't get into my running car!

I waited over 15 minutes, got Lydia's keys and was able to get in one of the other doors. Whew!

Arriving at my parent's house, the kid's played in the snow before heading indoors. As we got in we decided to open gifts. Then it was suppertime! Yum!

We then played "dirty santa". That's where we all bought a gift and we take turns picking and stealing them. It's a fun game, and makes the gift-giving interesting! Games, chatting, and watching the kids is what we did for the rest of the evening. Before heading home we watched the movie "UP".
Dirty Santa

~Matt

Christmas Eve (Thursday, 12/24/09)

After getting four hours of sleep... and I woke up to the sound of feet running up and down the hallway accompanied with giggles. I knew something was up. Sure enough, Malachi had unwrapped the gift for their cousin Elijah! Then later, he unwrapped one of the grandparent's gifts!

Well, we got up and started to try and get things finished around the house! There was still much to do! I ended up having to re-vacuum all the floors due to finding out that the main hose was clogged and it wasn't picking up anything!!! I also had to run to the store once again to grab a few more things we didn't grab the night before.

Lydia's family started showing up after noon. And we started getting supper ready while talking and chatting. We started eating around 3:30, andooooohhh was the food great! I would post what we had, but it makes my mouth water just thinking of it all.....

As 5pm hit, we started getting ready to head for church. I wanted to be there a little before 6 since the quartet was going to sing. We arrived in time, and the auditorium and a neat feel to it. The lights were dimmed and candles were near the pulpit. Our quartet opened up the services with "Christmas With A Capital 'C'". We got to sing "It's About The Cross" during the offering. I'm so glad that we worked on it so hard, and although we didn't really get to hear it ourselves, we were told it sounded pretty good... whew... what a relief!

There had been forecasts of snow, but all we had was rain on the way home. But when we arrived, we all had pie and sweets. We opened up gifts with Lydia's family, talked some more, and then settled down for a bit to watch "White Christmas". I ended up dozing a bit. Hey... I was tired!

Towards the end of the movie, someone mentioned snow... go figure! "White Christmas" and all of that. Sure enough, it was really coming down! Excitement filled the air! Pretty soon everyone started packing up, both due to the excitement and the fear of getting stuck at our house I guess! :)

We watched them all leave, and then we put our kids to bed. Lydia and I finished the movie, and then we also went to bed!

~Matt

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Matt & Lydia Paasch

Our Date and Christmas Preparation (Wednesday, 12/23/09)

I got up and got the kids ready while Lydia slept in a bit. We dropped the kids off at daycare and headed out on our 'Date'. Since I had won tickets to a few local tourist places a couple of weeks ago, I decided that there was one that I specifically wanted to go to. So for our date, I took Lydia on a cave tour! Sound romantic? Well, it was Fantastic Caverns, the only drive-thru cave in America, right here in town! So we got to sit close to each other the entire time!

When we arrived back home, I installed faucet in main bathroom. I had been putting off doing it for some time, and well... it was about time to do it! It sure makes the bathroom nicer, and now the kids can wash their hands without our help. The only problem is that they can now get into the water!

Lydia made cookies.... a lot of 'em. We gave some to the kids' teachers at daycare when we picked them up. Then it was back home to finish working on the food!

My parents stopped by for a bit to see our house decorated for Christmas. They gave the kids a book, candy, and pictures in a frame. Malachi made sure to make a mess on the floor with his candy! Not long after they left, I headed over their house for quick quartet practice. It was to be the last time for us to run over that new song before singing in on Christmas Eve.

When I got back home, Lydia was still working on the food. So I started helping and working on the house, getting it a little more presentable! But the food was the biggest thing! Lydia had even finished making the turkey! It smelled soooooo good! I got to eat a bit of it since I was the one who took it all off the bone for it to be made into the casserole.

Lydia and I ended up staying up until 4am! Whew! Talk about being tired!!!!!

~Matt

Wedding Cleanup (Tuesday, 12/22/09)

As we were getting Malachi dressed I noticed red bumps on his legs. Sure enough, the poor guy had hives! Lydia called the doctor and she told her to take him off the prescription drugs for his sinus infection. Boy, were we glad it wasn't something serious! Whew!

We dropped the kids off at daycare and headed straight to the church. We were there to help cleanup from the wedding. And oh, there was a lot to do! We ended up leaving around 2:30. We then picked up the kids and headed home.

Lydia and I uploaded pictures from the wedding onto facebook and crashed for the rest of the evening!

~Matt

The Wedding (Monday, 12/21/09)

I took off the entire week from work.... I figured that it would be worth it since the wedding of Lydia's brother, Silas, was today!

We woke up, made bacon and eggs for breakfast and dropped kids off at daycare. Lydia and I decided to do some shopping. The idea was to try and find a tie for me. Now, I have tons of them, but I didn't have one with pink in it. Now before you judge me for wearing pink, it was the theme for the wedding. And I wasn't going for a pink shirt!

We went to the mall..... bad idea! It was crowded! I found a nice pink one at Dillards, but it was $130! Wow!!! So we looked other places. We finally found one at Sears that had grey in it, and it matched what we had gotten the kids. Oh, it was only $15!

By the time we were finished shopping, it was time to pick up the kids, then home to get ready for the wedding. We arrived at the church around 4pm. Lydia was in charge of the guest book, and I took pictures as guests arrived.

The wedding was beautiful! And I now have 4 sister-in-laws!

~Matt

Children's Christmas Programs (Sunday, 12/20/09)

This will be a quick rundown of Sunday!

- Did vans, made every stop, no one to pick up!

- Sunday school was our special Christmas snack party. The food was great!

- Mysia and Malachi performed as part of the program in the morning services! (videos to be uploaded to facebook soon!)

- Stayed at the church during the afternoon, Lydia helped in decorating for the wedding reception

- Older kids did a big Christmas program in the evening services

- Enjoyed the rest of the evening at home!

~Matt

Children's Christmas Party & Program Practice (Saturday, 12/19/09)

Well, today was a bit more hectic than other Saturdays. I went into work at 6am for some overtime. I got off around 9:30 and headed straight home. We were supposed to be at the church at ten. Well, Lydia and the kids weren't quite ready when I arrived. So we hurried up as fast as we could. We were getting ready to leave, and Lydia was doingMysia's hair before heading out the door. She sprayed her hair, and it turned blue! The more she sprayed, the more it turned! We didn't know what was happening!

Come to find out, Mysia had gotten a packet of kool-aid and tried to eat the powder in her room. By doing so, she got it in her hair! And you all know what happens when that powder gets wet!

Needless to say, Mysia got a quick shower before we headed to church! When we got there, the little kids had already finished their practice. They got gifts, ate pizza, and watched a video! After a bit, Lydia took the kids home, while I waited for the older kids to finish their party. I then took several of them home on the van!

We then did grocery shopping and came home and spent the night at home. We were planning on going to Silver Dollar City, but decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to have Malachi outside in the cold!

~Matt

O Holy Night!!!

Okay folks... that infamous version of "O Holy Night" that I've shared faithfully for 8 years or more has now been re-done by the original artist!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiAuyM3gB5U&feature=player_embedded

Enjoy!


~Matt

Last week (quick rundown!)

So much has been going on, that this post is a run-down of what happened last week!!!


Quartet Practice (Tuesday, 12/15/09)

Quartet practice was here again. We spent most of the time practicing "About The Cross". I'm still hoping we get it down for Christmas eve!

~Matt


Enjoying Service (Wednesday, 12/16/09)


Last week was the end of Master Clubs for the year, so we got to sit in services! Being away from evening services makes you enjoy them so much more when you get the chance to attend once again!

As we headed home, I decided that we should go look at Christmas lights since we had a little time. I knew where the favorites were, and made sure to drive by. Some has added more! M&M really enjoyed it, and that makes it worth it all!

~Matt


B-Ball Game (Thursday, 12/17/09)

Lydia has been working on her finals. She is excited to get them done, and be finished with this semester. Today was her last two finals! Hooray!

After work, we rushed home, made PB&J sandwiches real quick, and rushed off to Moses' last basketball game of the season. With Lydia having a lot of homework, and our tight schedules, we hadn't the chance to go this year. We got there and got to see SILAS!!! He had made it back to town after graduating boot camp. Of course, wedding talk was in the air! Moses' team won!

We decided to look at some more Christmas lights. The ones we found were awesome!

~Matt



A Poor Sick Boy (Friday, 12/0-/09)

Malachi woke up in the middle of the night, and was warm and fussy. Instantly, I knew that today was going to be very interesting. Sure enough, he had a fever, so Lydia stayed home from her work to take care of him. I dropped Mysia off to daycare and headed into work. Lydia decided to call the doctor's office, and they wanted him to come in to make sure it wasn't pneumonia. So I ended up taking an early lunch to get Lydia the car.

Come to find out, Malachi had a sinus infection. It wasn't too bad as we thought, but it was enough to keep us home, and we missed the church's Christmas banquet. However, we were able to get a few things done at home, so it wasn't too bad.

~Matt

The Weekly Menu (Monday, 12/14/09)

Lydia and I have a menu for supper each week. It was actually her idea, but I think I had pressed the issue, because I like to know what's planned for supper! It's also helpful so we know what to get when grocery shopping. Kinda helps on the budget you know!

We try and work out the menu so that I have leftovers to take to work on the following day. And that really helps.

Well, since Lydia has been busy with an overload of homework, making the menu had been left of for me for the past few weeks. Last week turned out pretty good, so I was pretty confident with this week, and looking forward to it! You see.... tonight was home-made, chicken pot-pie! Yum!

Nothing beats the cold weather, than something warm and filling! And chicken pot-pie hits the spot!!!


~Matt


"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once."

The Christmas Cantata and more (Sunday, 12/13/09)

Vans was a rush.... I made all my stops, and ended up only picking up one person! I wished some of them had called and let us know they weren't coming, choir was practicing one last time for the cantata while I was doing the vans!

Although I missed practice, I was able to meet with Joyce (our piano player) and run over my solo a few times. Then I was off to Sunday School.

The Christmas Cantata went well, and I didn't mess up! (Thank you Lord!) There were several parts in the program that I had 'jumped the gun' while in practice, so I was afraid I'd still do it. But all was well.

In-between services, after running the van for that one stop, Lydia studied for her finals that are this week and I worked on a flyer announcing our church's candlelight services on the 24th. I hurried up and then we had quartet practice to run over that a cappella song. I sure hope that we get it down!

After evening services, our church held it's monthly birthday and anniversary fellowship. That's where I took the pictures of M&M with my cell! Makes me wonder though... why is it that they like sticking out their tongues?????

~Matt


"You're never too old to learn something stupid."

Parade and Visiting Grandma (Saturday, 12/12/09)

Another Saturday was upon us. I tried sleeping in, but was wide awake at 7... go figure. The kids were awake so I went and played kept an eye on them while Lydia slept. Since we weren't to happy on how the tree looked, being more in the center of the living room, I took away the train and set the tree closer to the wall. Mysia and Malachi played with cars and trunks around the train track for at least an hour.

I had planned to go to the Christmas parade, so I put them down for an early nap around 11, and made sure Lydia got up. Yes... she was still sleeping. Staying up the entire night on Thursday really drained her.

We headed downtown for the Christmas parade around 1. It was cold, but it was also how I remembered most of the parades I went to when growing up. The parade wasn't much different than years past, but M&M got a bunch of candy! I never remember getting that much when I was a kid! It filled an entirewal-mart shopping bag!

As we left the parade and headed to church for me to pick up the van, we hit a downpour of rain. Boy, was I glad that it didn't hit when we were watching the parade!

After picking up the van, we headed to my Grandma's house for what was supposed to be a short visit. We ended up staying there until 6pm! But all was great... we talked and visited and let the kids play. Malachi made a mess with Dallas' popcorn he had in one of those tin cans, but both kids enjoyed eating it anyways!

When we arrived home, Mysia was asleep. So we put her to bed. She slept from then on!

I got a facebook status update on my cell from one of my friends saying that "It's A Wonderful Life" was on TV. So, we turned ours on and watched it!Ahh... it's one of my favorite holiday movies! Malachi watched a bit of it as well, but he was more into playing with his toys.

~Matt


"The trouble with doing something right the first time is that nobody appreciates how difficult it was."

"White Christmas" (Friday, 12/11/09)

After work we were planning on going to Silver Dollar City, but those plans were changed due some financial conflicts we were dealing with. So as we tried to sort thing out, we stayed home and watched "White Christmas". The end of the movie mad me really want snow!

And another thought... how come after watching that movie, the only song that gets stuck in your head is "Sisters"?

I finally pulled out the Christmas Train and set up the Christmas village underneath the tree. M&M couldn't keep their hands off the train! The train track circle was so big, that I practically had to pull the tree out into the center of the room for it to go around it! To say the least... it was a bit frustrating. Oh, and of course, there was one bulb out for the Christmas village, but at least it's not all of them!

~Matt


"Eighty percent of all people consider themselves to be above average."

Cantata Practice (Thursday, 12/10/09)

Since Christmas is so near, our choir at church has been gearing up for our Cantata. We had been working on it for several weeks, working on a song or two each time. But today was the big practice!

Lydia picked me up from work and we got some food and ate quikcly. I then helped get the kids ready for bed. Lydia had decided to stay home and continue working on her 15 page paper that was due Friday morning. As I left, Malachi was all ready for bed and Mysia had just finished her shower. The plan was for them to watch a quick Christmas show on dvd before going to bed.

I arrived at choir practice a few minutes late. We practiced for about an hour and a half. We got some parts down, but I was still unsure on my solo. So end up staying a bit to practice my piece some more before heading home.

Lydia ended up staying up all night working on her paper. Me..... I went to bed!

~Matt


"A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory."

Snow! (Wednesday, 12/09/09)

We woke up to beautiful snow falling outside... of course, the wind was horrible! It was so cold that it wouldn't stick to the ground, it just blew around, giving it an eerie feel when going down the road. We didn't get much snow at all! It was too cold....

The cold was also a problem for Lydia. I went out to start the car and get it warmed up, and had a hard time getting in. The doors were frozen shut. Once I finally got in, I discovered that the drivers door wouldn't latch. This is a usual occurrence when it freezes! ... and a pain as well! So Lydia drove the car with one hand on the wheel, and the other clutching the door handle so the door wouldn't swing open.

That evening, we hurried up and ate supper and got ready for church. Lydia stayed home to work on her 15 page paper that is due on Friday. It's killing her! It was the last day in the year for Master Club's at church. But it was still a busy one! Book-time, lesson-time, snack-time, and then Christmas program practice! Whew!

Before leaving, I had the quartet run over the Christmas songs for our associate pastor. Everything was okay with him! It was then off to Walmart to get milk and a couple of necessities (like Lydia's hair gel spray). Try taking two tired, but lively, young ones into a store when the weather is freezing cold! Brrrr! I was nuts!

~Matt


"Keep the dream alive: Hit the snooze button."

Quartet Practice - Christmas!! (Tuesday, 12/08/09)

I was put down on the schedule to sing solo for our church's Christmas eve, candle-light service. I asked if I could have the quartet sing in my place, and was actually given the okay for us to do two songs!

So we decided to we'd better practice. One song was pretty much decided upon immediately... "Christmas With A Capital 'C'" (Legacy Five). However, we were stumped on what the other should be. Since the other one was so 'peppy', we wanted to so something with more of a traditional quartet sound that would please those who like something a bit more soothing. But, we also wanted something a bit different than just a traditional carol.

Sam suggested we sing "It's About The Cross" by Go Fish. It's a great pick! The lyrics are fantastic, and we're hoping to sing it A Capella in our own arrangement that fits us as quartet. That's what we spent most of our time working on during our practice Tuesday evening! It's definitely something we need to continue working on, but its exciting!

~Matt


"If you can't convince them, confuse them."

Movie Night (Monday, 12/07/09)

I made tuna-helper for supper... it was good! While we ate, we watched the movie "Big" starring Tom Hanks. Lydia had never watched it before, and it had been a long time since I had. Made me wish I had an apartment with a soda machine, pinball machine, huge trampoline, and cool toys.... Man, looked like so much fun. I can do without the bunk-bed though!

Just like all the other nights of the previous week, we put the kids to bed, and Lydia focused on her homework. These classes have really been stressing her out! I try to stay up, but I end up falling asleep and snoring on the couch! She then sends me to bed so she can focus! lol!

~Matt


"Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film."

Quick Sunday Post (Sunday, 12/06/09)

Yup, this is going to be a short post!!

- Did vans for Church

- Attended Sunday morning services

- Got treated to lunch at McDonald's with family by our associate Pastor and his wife. Their daughter Kristi will be marrying Lydia's brother Silas on the 21st!!!! I worked on a special graphic that will be put on business cards for the wedding!

- Went back to the church, kids took naps, the we had choir practice.

- Attended evening services, it was our turn to watch the toddlers.

- Went home, put the kids down, Lydia did home work, I tried to stay up (didn't happen)

~Matt


"Time is the best teacher; unfortunately it kills all of its students."

Sleeping In, Groceries, Game Night (Saturday, 12/05/09)

It was supposed to be a restful day. Like usual, when the kids woke up, I turned on the tv and went to bed. Well, when I finally got up, we discovered that they got peaches out of the refrigerator and ate an early breakfast. But the biggest discovery was that Malachi had gotten into the Styrofoam from the box to our the village church. He tore it up into little pieces. It was like snow covering the living and dinning room floors! I couldn't sweep it up... the movement from the broom just swooshed the particles away. So, I brought out the vacuum! That worked really well, until the hose got clogged! Ugh!

Lydia tried to catch up on homework while I worked on the grocery list. After lunch and the kids went down for nap, I headed off to the store for groceries. It wasn't too long of a list, so it was a pretty quick trip.

While I was gone, Lydia had the tv on (for background noise, she says), and the Celtic Women were on PBS. They braked for a bit to talk about the program, encouraging viewers to call in to support their local station. During that time, Malachi woke up from his nap and came into living room to greet Lydia. As he walked away, headed towards his room, the program continued and one of the women was singing solo. Lydia said that he froze in his tracks! Needless to say, when I got home and the program was finishing, Malachi was sitting on the couch, glued to the tv. He hadn't moved the entire time! He was in awe. In fact, he said that the girls were "pretty"! Amazing what can come from a two year-old! 

I unloaded the groceries, we got into the car, and rushed to the church. Time was running out, we were having our friends Doug & Mary over for a 'game night', and I had to get the church van for Sunday morning!

We made it home in time, and were still trying to get everything ready when Doug and Mary arrived. We talked, ate, and played Cranium. The kids played some of their games and watched a movie.

What a day!

~Matt


"Age is a very high price to pay for maturity."

Ladies Banquet (Friday, 12/04/09)

Lydia picked me up from work and we headed home (an every day occurrence it seems). I made supper for myself and the kids while Lydia got ready to head to our church's ladies banquet! Uncle Dallas and Sam stopped by for a bit and gave the kids huge pencils, you know... the perfect things to whack each other with. They stayed for a while to visit.

After they left, I fed the kids and allowed them to play for a bit before I gave them showers and put them to bed. I ended up working on a few things on the computer until Lydia came home. She had really enjoyed the banquet.

~Matt


"For as long as I can remember, I've had amnesia."

Christmas Decorating... Part 2 (Thursday, 12/03/09)

After I got off work, we stopped by Wal-Mart to pick up some garland. Ended up buying LED ribbon instead... go figure!

I pulled out the rest of the ornaments and Lydia straightened up the tree. When she was finished, we had the kids get ready for bed. Then I sat down and did the hooking, letting the kids and Lydia hang them up.It didn't take too long for them to get all the ornaments up. Malachi had to have a little help, especially making sure that he didn't hang them all up on one branch! Mysia was, again, very specific on where certain ornaments were placed.

It was a bit latter than usual when they got put into bed, but at least the tree was up!

~Matt


"Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains?

Tech Post: Yahoo Picture Problems!!!

I was having problems with my pictures I sent to Wal-Mart, they were pixelated! We'd pick them up, after ordering them on the internet, and they'd be low quality. It was making me upset. These pictures were to be used for the grow-with-me calendar we give out to the grandparents for Christmas!

I couldn't figure it out. For the past three months the pictures had turned out poorly, and I was starting to wonder if Wal-Mart was getting cheap on their services. I knew I had set up the pictures correctly, but why were they coming out so bad.

One of the reasons it bothered me was the fact that I'm a professional graphic designer, and my photos are turning out poorly! Photography is a part of my field, touching up those photos... even more so!

Well this last time, I called my brother BJ, and asked if his turned out as bad as ours. (We order a copy for them to pick up at their Wal-Mart) He said it turned out bad too. So I decided to send him the email of the picture, and when I did, I noticed that it was smaller than I had originally saved it.

That didn't make sense! You see, I make the file, shoot over email to Lydia, she uploads it and orders it! Come to find out, when sending it from yahoo, the picture shrunk!

When attaching pictures to yahoo, it gives you an option on the image size: Small, Medium, and Original. I didn't know that! Go figure!

So if you are a yahoo user, and didn't know this fact..... now you do! 

~Matt


"Everyone has a photographic memory. Some don't have film."

Fun Night at Master Clubs (Wednesday, 12/02/09)

Wednesday evening we had fun night at Master Clubs at church. This time was a bit different. Us teachers brought games from home, and the kids got to play them for the first half of the evening. Then it was devotion time and then snacks before heading upstairs to go over the Christmas music for the program.

Then it was back home, and Lydia did more homework after the kids went to bed. Do you sense a theme here?

~Matt


"Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines."

Christmas Decorating... Part 1 (Tuesday, 12/01/09)

I'll start of this blog post with an update on Malachi. I'm happy to report that he put on his shoes himself, and on the correct feet! He's a smart little guy!

It was Tuesday, and we knew we needed to get that tree decorated! But first things first... our house was a disaster! We had came back from our trp, and pretty much neglected the house as we unpacked. But most of all, toys were everywhere! We spent a good amount of the evening picking up and straightening the kids' rooms!

Since it was getting late, Lydia suggested we put up their individual Christmas trees, and then see about the main tree. It was a good idea. Malachi's tree was first, and he did a wonderful job for a two year-old. His tree is covered in blue ornaments, in which he tried hanging several up on the same branch! Mysia's tree was next. She fawned over every pink ornament, and each had a very special place.

Unfortunately, by the time we were done with their trees, it was decided that it was time for them to go to bed. Lydia and I stayed up, she had homework to do, and I worked on some more graphic design stuff!

~Matt


"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."

Still Tired (Monday, 11/30/09)

Well, it was back to a normal schedule once again! Mondays are always that way.

The plan was to decorate our pre-lit tree that evening... But that didn't happen. Lydia had homework to do and I tried to tend to the our pre-lit tree.

Oh, and I'm starting to not like pre-lit anything! When we set up our tree a few weeks ago, we found out that the very top portion didn't work!

So I spent a good hour going through the entire strand, to no avail! I tested every bulb! I replaced the bad ones with good ones, still nothing. I even changed the fuses! So after the kids went to bed, I ran to the store and bought two 20 bulb strands at $1.50 each to put up there. It looks good now, but I'll tell you what.... I'm starting to hate Christmas lights!

Anyway, fact is.... we didn't get the tree decorated. Perhaps the following evening..?

~Matt


"Consciousness: That annoying time between naps."

Sunday Singin' (11/29/09)

I was the one scheduled to bring the devotion for our church's monthly Men's Prayer Breakfast. That meant that I had to be up and at 'em once again early in the morning. The thing is, I was so tired from the trip the night before! I had already gotten out of doing the vans for that morning, I knew I was going to be tired, and didn't want to drive a bunch of kids around town in that state of being. I was picked up by my friend Doug that morning, and we went to church.

The breakfast was great, and the devotion went well. I just hung around the church until Sunday School started.

After church, we went home for lunch. We got Papa Murphy's. It was great. Lydia was wore out, and so were the kids. I went back to the church to practice with the quartet. After practice, we headed out to Monett, MO. We were invited to sing at Temple Baptist for their fifth Sunday sing. It turned out very good. We even ended our part with "Christmas With A Capital 'C'". Unfortunately, I had left my video camera at home, so I missed getting it on tape!

By the time I got home I was tired!!!

~Matt


"Don't take life too seriously, you won't get out alive."

The Return Home (Saturday, 11/28/09)

The alarm went off at 7:30... time to get up and at 'em! We got the kids dressed and got everything else together. The plan was to meet at McDonald's at 8. So we did! The cool part was that it had an indoor play-place for the kids. That meant they were able to wear out a bit before we hit the road. Lydia and I also gave the theirDramamine medicine too, and knew it would kick in about the time we packed in the car. Sure enough, after our goodbyes and farewells, we loaded up and the kids went to sleep!Ahhhh... quiet!

The entire way home we drove as a caravan, my parents in front, Sam and Abigail in his truck following, and our car bringing up the rear. I drove most of the trip, and Lydia tried to catch up on sleep.. We stopped several times when Malachi said he had to go to potty, which was fine with us! However, there was one time when we passed one of the many cow farms that Lydia asked the kids if they needed to go, thinking it was one of them and forgetting about the cow I had just pointed out. Well, that made Malachi say he had to go, so off to find a gas station we went!

For lunch we stopped at Subway... we were around the halfway point of our trip. While we were waiting in line for the food, I tried to update myfacebook status. Ugh! No bars! That was frustrating. After we ate, we took the kids outside (since it was soooo nice) and let them run around and play for a few minutes in the field behind Subway. As soon as we stepped back there, my phone started receiving texts... full bars! Go figure! We ran and chased each other around until we were wore out. We loaded into the car and off we went.

Not even two miles down the road, I noticed I had lost my bluetooth earpiece for my cell. Great....! I told Sam, and we turned around to quickly find it. My fear was that it was somewhere lost in the field. When we reached the parking spaces at Subway, Sam almost ran over it! It must have fallen  of me when I was loading Malachi in the car. Whew!

On and on we drove. Past cotton fields, cattle farms, and small towns. As it started getting dark, we knew we were drawing close to home. We stopped at the McDonald's inCoffeeville , Kansas for a bathroom break and some shakes. We were two hours away from home! Lydia was willing to drive, but I told her I'd let her take over on the last hour of the trip, Joplin. And that's what we did. That gave me an hour power-nap so that I'd be charged a bit to unload the car when we reached home.

When finally home, Lydia gave the kids showers and I took everything out of our car. It wasn't easy, but I finally got it done. Lydia and I both crashed! What a trip!

~Matt


Why they lock gas station bathrooms? Are they afraid someone will clean them?

Black Friday (11/27/09)

My cell rang... It was Sam. It was also 6:50am! He had called to let me know that they had slept in, missed the opening time, and that Staples had already sold out of the 1 TB external hard drive I had given him money to purchase. I was bummed, but then he told me that it was offered online, and I could possibly still purchase it. So I got up, woke Lydia up, and went to my laptop.

Lydia hurried up and got dressed and went with Ana to Wal-Mart and Target. BJ woke up as well, and we both browsed online on our laptops. I was able to purchase the hard drive, so I was happy. When our wives returned, they had also been able to purchase several of the items they had set out to get. Lydia was able to get some games and movies for the kids for Christmas.

I got a chance to go across the street to the an antique store I had never been in before. It was neat looking around, but everything was very expensive. However, I did find something that perked my interest... aBlackwood Brothers LP cover caught my eye. I dug it out, and sure enough, there was some great songs on it! Unfortunately, the LP was missing!!! They just had the cover. How disappointing!
 
After lunchtime, we put the kids down for a nap, and us married grandkids went to an old-time Diner across the street. The weather was nice, and sitting under the sun (next to the window) was too much. So we moved to another table. After ordering, we had a nice long wait. So we talked and talked. It was so much fun! It had been such a long time since all of us had gotten together. Although the food was a bit expensive, and we had to wait forever, it was worth it.

My grandparents had a game for us to play....Barrel of Monkeys!!! Each of us were given a barrel with 12 monkeys in it. The challenge was to pick up all the monkeys before anyone else! Bot, was it hard.... I didn't win, but I did have fun trying.

Before going to bed, we packed up our vehicles. It was sad to realize that the end of our trip was already near. My uncle Larry had brought his flat screentv , and Sam had just bought Ice Age 3 that morning, so we watched the movie. II was running in and out during the first half of it, but I still got the idea of the plot. After the movie, we put the kids to bed and went to bed ourselves. The following day was to be our return home.

~Matt


"The sole purpose of a child's middle name, is so he can tell when he's really in trouble."

Family Reunion Concert

Here is a photo of us grandkids and great-grandkids singing on Thanksgiving Day!

~Matt

Thanksgiving Day (11/26/09)

I woke up around 8:30... I could hear talking. Others were awake. So I told Lydia to get up, and I went and took a quick shower. It felt soooo good! That ten hour trip was so long.

After dressing, I greeted everyone that was there. Lydia and Mysia then took showers and Malachi woke up. He was a bit shy at first, but once he discovered all the toys, all was well!

We started the day talking and visiting, and getting ready for the Thanksgiving supper. There was a lot to do, and the women-folk were at it! Us guys did the predictable... we pulled out our laptops! lol! Actually, I started working on the list for the concert for that evening.

Dinner was fantastic! We had tons of turkey and pumpkin pie! –That's what counts to me! It was all good!

We all got dressed and tried to hurry off to the church for pictures. Unfortunately, Lydia had forgotten to pack her makeup, so we had to make a run to Wal-Mart first! Can you believe it? Even on vacation we can't keep from that place!

When we made it to the church, Sam was already setting up the sound equipment for the concert. He was trying to make sure it was all up and ready. For the next hour we did pictures. Big family, individual families, siblings, cousins, grandkids, great-grandkids... etc. Things ran pretty smoothly considering how many shots were taken and how many of us where there.

After the pictures were completed, it was time for the concert. My grandparents had invited friends and guests to watch, as us grandkids put on a show. We started out a little rough. We didn't have time for a sound check, and my siblings and I started it out. Not saying we did horribly, but the blend wasn't there. But as time went on, and different ones came up to do their song or skit, we were able to do some tweaking to get things to work out. The birthday boys, my dad and his twin brother, did ventriloquist acts... which was enjoyable for all the kids. My two cousins who are in the military did a patriotic poem and sang. There were two highlights of the concert... one was when my aunt Joy came up and embarrassed the birthday boys by singing them a song. And the second was at the end when all of us grandkids got on stage and sang "Amazing Grace" as a mini-choir.

When we got back to my grandparent's place they pulled out photo albums they've been putting together for us. We spent the rest of the evening going through them! Talk about memories...

Most everyone went to bed except for us older grandkids. We stayed up and browsed online to see what Black Friday specials were worth looking at. Lydia had a list of things she was thinking about getting. We had fun talking and browsing. But as it got later and later, Lydia and I decided to go to bed. She was planning on getting up and going to Wal-Mart (once again) around 7 in the morning.

Whew! What a day!

~Matt


"Birthdays are good for you - the more you have the longer you live."

The Start of Our Trip (11/25/09)

This was it. One month before Christmas! That means that I have a short time to listen to all my Christmas music! Wow.



Well, Wednesday was also the day of my vacation and the start of our our Thanksgiving trip. It was finally here. So much to do!

We woke up, sleepy from the night before. We got the kids ready for daycare and left the house. We dropped them off, and then I dropped Lydia off at college. My day had just started. I ran over to Sam's Club and bought some snacks for us to eat on our trip. It turned out to be a little bit more expensive then I had expected.

My next stop was to the $3 car wash. While there, I clean and vacuumed the car. Boy, did it need the cleaning. I won't go into detail on what I found around the kids' car-seats, but I'll say that it was a good thing I decided to clean up the car!

I stopped by one of the gas stations and aired up all the tires, including the spare. I wanted to be ready.

I then returned home. Time to load up. I had a checklist of things I needed to take. Once I gathered everything together, I started packing it into the trunk. At first I thought I had enough room, but as things started to crowd, I found that I'd have to really pack it in! I was almost finished and ready to leave to pick up the kids when Lydia called. She had gotten out of class early! Great....

So I rushed over and picked up the kids and packed them into the car, then off to OTC to pick Lydia up. From there we headed over to my parent's house. They had already left earlier that day,  but Sam was going to caravan with us. He was loading his truck when we arrived. I made everyone take bathroom breaks, and helped Sam so we could leave.

We hit the road before 3pm. As we headed out of town, listening to the local radio station that plays Christmas music 24/7, they mentioned that snow was in the forecast for Monday! Yippee!

Two hours into the trip, Malachi got sick. A sucker and soda don't mix well I guess. So we pulled over and cleaned him up. It wasn't much, but we knew that we'd better get some Dramamine for motion sickness. Five minutes later, while driving down the road, I notice white things hitting Sam's truck behind me. Sam calls me on my cell as I again pull over. The trunk hadn't closed properly and I lost our cups and plastic utensils! Go figure!

The trip was long. We let the kids watch a movie after supper and darkness was upon us. We made it into Medicine Lodge around 9pm, and took a quick bathroom break at my Larry & Betty's house. M&M were asleep in the car, and Sam was wearing out, so we didn't stay long to visit. We wanted to make it in as soon as possible so we could sleep. Sam finally caved in and let me drive his truck so he could get a little rest. So I drove for about an hour and a half before we switched, and I gave Lydia relief. She was tiring too. I guess classes had really taken toll on both of them!

Well, we finally arrived in Garden City, Kansas sometime before 2am. Sam and I unloaded or vehicles and then crashed in our assigned beds and fell fast asleep.

~Matt

Tech note: The GPS units that I got worked well during our trip! It was neat that it kept right with us.... even telling how fast we were going!


"The only knowledge that can hurt you is the knowledge you don't have."