5 Years Old (Thursday, 01/28/10)

It's hard to believe, but Mysia turned 5 today! Wow....!  

I feel old! Lol!

~Matt

Website Designs! (Wednesday 01/27/10)

As some of you may have noticed, I've mentioned that I've been working on Ronnie Warren's website. I'm happy to say that it's near completion. There are some tweaks here and there that needs attention, but for the most part, I'm happy on the overall design and function of the site.

Upon taking the challenge of redesigning Ronnie's site, I noticed (and Lydia pointed out) that mine also needed a major face-lift. So I've been working on it a bit as well. So last night, I launched the redesign of my website. Where Ronnie's is almost completed, mine has a lot more to get finished.

With everything being so hectic for the rest of the week (Mysia's birthday, and birthday party), we'll see what the weekend holds!

~Matt

Two-Day Report (Monday & Tuesday, 01/25/10 - 01/26/10)

Not much out of the ordinary happened over the past two days. On Monday, I had quartet practice and Lydia caught up on her homework, and didn't really have much.

On Tuesday, we accidentally slept in and woke up when we should have been leaving the house. Besides being in a rush all morning, nothing much happened.

~Matt

Roy Tremble (Sunday, 01/24/10)

Wow! What a surprise I got when I arrived at church for vans! I picked up the church bulletin and read that Roy Tremble was going to be singing in the morning services! I was super-excited. I immediately called Lydia and asked her to bring the digital camera and video camera.

Several months ago, Pastor had a cd on his desk and asked if I had ever heard of Roy, saying that he had been suggested by another Pastor. Had I heard of Roy...? Oh yes! Since he sang with the Cathedrals for almost a decade, I had several albums with him singing tenor! What a voice!

So you can see why I was excited?

I had the joy and privilege to talk to him for a quite a while before Sunday School. He told me of how he wished the "A Cathedrals - Reunion" VHS was still available. He said he'd have to buy a ton, and they would sell faster than anything.

During the morning services he sang several songs, and you could tell that others were enjoying it! And his voice? He's still got it! He didn't go in any super high range, but kept it high and smooth. His voice really conveyed the messages in the songs. It was wonderful! Of course, I got it on video, so I'll have to upload a few to youtube when I get a chance.

~Matt

Saturday (01/23/10)

We got up, got ready, and headed to the gym for our Saturday morning swim. Malachi was excited. Mysia wanted to stay home. Malachi wore the water wings and swam fantastically! He could turn around and everything. There was no fear! Mysia, on the the other hand , was not happy and sat out for most of the swim. Finally, Lydia brought her into the pool and made her swim. After that, all was well, and they didn't want to leave when the swim time ended!

We ate lunch at home and then took naps before heading out to my parents' house to drop off the kids while Lydia and I went on a 'date'. It wasn't anything big, but we just got several hours together without the kids. We went shopping for Mysia's birthday gift, and then to the mall to walk around. We shared a sub sandwich before heading back to pick up the kids.

We visited for a while with my family, and then headed out to pick up the church van before heading home. It was then showers and bed for the kids. Malachi was worn out... that's the best part of swimming!

Lydia gave me a haircut before we too headed for bed.

~Matt

Game Night (Friday, 01/21/10)

We had our bi-weekly game night with our friends Doug and Mary. We ate spaghetti and cake for supper. They brought over their wii, so the M&M played the airplane dog fight while I tried to get their laptop hard drive to read on my external hard drive. No matter what, it didn't work. Their hard drive wasn't working at all.

After putting the kids to bed, Doug and I played against each other on the many wii sports games. The girls talked and played on their laptops. We had an enjoyable evening and great time visiting.

~Matt

Movie Night and a Haircut (Thursday, 01/21/10)

We rented the movie "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs" for the evening. It was an interesting film. M&M didn't care much for some of the scenes, both saying it's a bit 'scary'.

After the movie, Lydia gave Malachi a haircut before I put him in the shower. He does pretty good, and doens't complain. During Mysia's shower, I noticed Malachi was being good and playing inhis room by himself, which is a bit unusual. I decided I'd better check on him. I look in, and I find him holding his "Booby" and usiing his toy drill on the doll's hair!

I asked him what he was doing, and he said he was giving Bobby a haircut! So I took out my cell phone and got it on video. Malachi then preceded to comb the doll's hair.... with a screwdriver and then pat the hair down nicely by hammering it's head! I'll try to remember to post the videos on facebook.

Note: He didn't learn this from me!

~Matt

A Little Different Schedule for the Day (Wednesday, 01/20/10)

Lydia wanted to go to a class/meeting after school. So to do that, I ended up doing the dropping off and picking up, which made our Wednesday a little different. We dropped off the kids, went to the gym, I dropped her off at OTC, and then went to work.

It was such a beautiful warm day, I almost wished I was at home. But then I remembered of all the stuff I'd end up having to do, and being at work didn't sound too bad! lol

When I got off work, I picked up the kids from daycare and we headed to OTC. Lydia wasn't quite done, so we sat in the car with the windows down listening to music and talking about their day. Mysia commented that she is one of the very few that can count "real high". I reminded her that she is also one of the oldest, that she'll be turning 5 in almost a week, and that she'll be starting school in the fall. "Oh..." was her response, causing me to turn around when she added no more. Usually, she starts off on another topic in rapid conversation, but I guess the thought gave her pause, something that doesn't happen too often!

At home, we had little time to eat before heading to church. But we made grilled cheese sandwiches, and the kids ate very well. Services were the church's annual business meeting, which was different from the norm. I was reminded that it would be the last service for Lydia and I on Wednesday until summer, since next week we'll be back downstairs working with the kids in Master Clubs.

We arrived back home a little before 9, and quickly got the kids to bed. I started working on the website for Ronnie Warren, and Lydia folded the laundry while we watched some TV. We ended up staying up late, due to me coming across some troubles getting the website working the way I wanted it to before I could upload it. But after some frustrating moments, I'm happy to say there are only a few more things to address, and the website is functioning pretty well.

It was then off to bed!

~Matt

Soup, Kid Talk, and a Game (Tuesday, 01/19/10)

After eating potato soup for supper, I waited for the kids to finish their's. They ate quite a bit, but didn't finish all of it. I figured they ate enough and let them down, but told them to put their bowls in the sink as I cleaned off the rest of the table. Malachi got to the kitchen sink first, and in a hurry, threw his bowl in. As it went in, it spattered up and over the counter and got him in the face! The poor boy was first stunned, and then grossed out. He came running to me screaming, "ewwwwwww!" So, I wiped his face off with a napkin! lol!

Oh, and speaking of Malachi.... one the phrases he likes to use when something doesn't work, or we say no, is, "Awwww, man...!" Its so funny! Well, the other day I caught him saying a new phrase. He did it several times today as well. When something cool happens or he figures out something neat, his new response is, "Oh my goodness!" What a guy!

Mysia, on the other hand, is in a continuously, non-stop conversation. Err... make that a one-way, continuously, forever-going, non-stop conversation! She doesn't like to be interrupted, but yet has no problem interrupting us! However, she is very observant on many things, just not what we want her to be observant on!

Before sending them to bed, we promised them a game. We pulled out chutes and ladders. Thinking it would be a pretty quick game, we took our time at first. I was doing pretty good there for a while, but boy, those chutes sure can bring you down very quickly. As time went by, I folded the board in half and the goal was to now reach the half way point. I think Candy Land would have been quicker!

~Matt

A holiday? (Monday, 01/18/10)

No disrespect to MLK, but having some of these 'holidays' are ridiculous if we all can't get them off! The schools, post office, and government offices are all closed! I still had to drag myself to work! Blech!

I may have not gotten the day off, but Lydia did! Since she is working at the college, she also didn't have to work! Since I'm the one writing this blog, I get to tell on her.... she came home after dropping me off at work and napped!

But I guess I shouldn't complain too much. She went grocery shopping before picking the kids up from daycare and me from work.

We had tuna sandwiches for supper. Surprisingly, both Mysia and Malachi wanted it over PB&J! And they each ate a whole sandwich! After eating, I got Malachi ready for bed and then headed out for quartet practice. Lydia finished up Mysia, put them both down for bed, and then worked on her homework.

Quartet practice went well, kinda.... we were a bit rusty. My voice gave out by the end! I guess I need to keep it warmed up! lol!

~Matt

Wayback Week (Facebook)

On facebook, it was stated that it "Wayback Week", and users were encouraged to post a pic to their profile of themselves when they were younger. I decided to join in the fun. I pulled out a book of old photos my grandparent's had given me, and grabbed a photo of myself when I was ten. I then scanned in the photo, and posted it onto my profile. Other friends had done this as well, and it was neat seeing everyone younger on facebook.

The coolest part was what happened during the week! I was able get into contact with friends I haven't heard from in years! It happened three days in a row! It was exciting!

Needless to say, "wayback week" was a success for me! 

~Matt

Swimming, Visiting, and more! (Saturday, 01/16/10)

Saturday was an eventful one! We woke up and and took the kids swimming at gym. Malachi enjoyed more than I thought he would and even wanted to stay longer! It was a unique experience for me taking him into the lockers and us both showering and getting ready to leave. Even though I've been a dad for almost 5 years now, there are moments when I 'm still in shock that I'm a father. It's weird... but neat at the same time.

Mysia's birthday is quickly approaching, and she got a card in the mail from CPO for a free gift. So we headed out to that part of town. She ended up getting to pick out a book from a rack in the children's section.

We then went and visited with Lydia's grandma. It had been a while, and definitely past due in our visits. We had an enjoy able time, and the kids played nicely, but they were getting tired. When we got home, we put them down to bed.

While they napped, I started working on some of the stuff that I hadn't had time to sit at the computer and do. That also included finances! Yuck! Lydia got ready to leave. She had volunteered (along with her group from college) to work concessions at MSU for the last half of the day.

While she was gone, I continued to work on other things on my laptop. I wish I could say that I got to play some games, but I'm happy to report that I actually got some things done that needed to be addressed. So the time was well used.

When the kids woke up from their nap, I put on a VHS recording from years past of America's Funniest Home Videos. They enjoyed that. However, that's when I found out that the our surround sound system died! Ugh!!! So I went to the garage and brought out the sound system we had first used for the quartet, and plugged it up. It works, but I miss the "surround" sound we had!

We played for a while, and I fed them PB&J sandwiches. After a while, I came up with an idea! I told them that if they picked up the rooms, mainly Mysia's, I'd put in Alvin & The Chipmunks movie. It worked!

After the movie, I got them ready for bed. I stayed up, working more on the laptop until Lydia got home around 11ish. She was wore out!

~Matt

Movie Night! (Friday, 01/15/10)

Overtime was over, and I got to go home at 5! So, in celebration, we picked up some movies from RedBox to watch.

We were hoping to get "Cloudy with a Change of Meatballs", but they were out. So we chose "Night At The Museum 2". We had been wanting to see it for a while, so it wasn't a bad thing to end up getting. And oh, it was a good movie! In fact, Lydia and I enjoyed it more than the kids! General Custer was a good character to add to the movie, and we laughed quite a bit during the film!

After the kids went to bed, Lydia and I watched "Julie and Julia". Which is based off a true story. It was a good movie as well! However, for a guy like me...... it sure did make me hungry! Oh, it also made me want to blog more!

Another thing: It was not intentional, but both movies stared Amy Adams. We didn't notice it until we started into the second movie!

~Matt

Week Rundown.... (Friday, 01/15/10)

Well, as you may have noticed, besides the rants, I haven't been posting much this week. Yes, I've been busy.

I put in quite a bit of overtime over the past 5 days. Lydia has been busy at OTC. Because if it.. life has been a basic routine. Kids to daycare, gym, work/college, pick up kids, supper, then bed!

Hopefully I'll do better this following week!

~Matt

RANT! spam emails (Thursday, 01/14/10)

Yes... another "RANT" post! I can't help it!


I hate spam! Yes.. I'm talking about the junk you get on email, not the food SPAM.

When it comes to the food, I have mixed emotions. I love potted meat! Yum! So I'm sure SPAM would probably taste good to me. I know I've had it before, but I can't really remember. I do know there is bacon SPAM, and Iloooooove bacon!

Anyway, back to topic.... email spam.... makes me mad! For one thing, it's annoying! Lydia and I share a gmail account, and every other day, I have to clean out the spam. If gone untouched, the spam folder would fill up past 50 emails within a few days! We get everything from natural medicine offers to personal enhancement junk! Some are horrible and some are useless, and I wish they would stop!

I guess what really gets on nerves, is the fact that on most of them, there is no way to 'unsubscribe'! If only we could get off the list!

However, with those few that do offer an unsubscribe option, there seems to always be a box to leave a reason. As if it isn't already obvious! But you wanna know what I say? "This is a FAMILY email! Please do not send your junk here!!!" I hope they get the message! lol!

~Matt

Overtime, The Kids' Rooms, & Visit with Grandma (Saturday, 01/09/10)

I woke up, got dressed, and headed into work at 7am. I had been asked to work overtime on Saturday since we had some projects that needed done as the due date was quickly approaching. I definitely kept busy! There was a lot do do.

Lydia was stuck at home with the kids. She decided to have Mysia clean her room. Well, Mysia, being an ornery 4 year-old, didn't do much but play. This frustrated Lydia, and she was happy when I arrived at home after 2. We worked on both Mysia and Malachi's rooms. There was some organization and removal of toys. Not all, but several due to the fact they were growing out of them, they were broken, and those that they didn't care for or play with.

Malachi was a big help. I sure do like his attitude toward cleaning, but I'm afraid it won't last too long!

We left the house around 8, picked up the church van, and stopped by Grandma Taylor's for a visit. We sat and talked for the next several hours. M&M ate fruit, and attacked me while I sat on the floor!

When we got home, Malachi was already asleep, and didn't wake up. I got him dressed and put him to bed. Lydia helped Mysia, and soon we were all in bed asleep. I didn't even get on my laptop that night! (big surprise, eh?)

~Matt

RANT: Public Restroom Etiquette (Friday, 01/08/10)

As several friends and family members know, I have a thing with public restrooms. Or to put it more plainly, people who use public restrooms (or design them). Specifically the men's room. I never, or hardly (thanks to those few embarrassing moments), use women's restrooms. From my observations, other men are disgusting!

My biggest issue with public restrooms is the washing of hands! I have found that men hardly wash, or even attempt to. They just do their business and walk out the door! Knowing that their hands aren't clean is really disturbing... and then to realize that their then touching the door handle so that they can leave! YUCK! I have to touch that same door handle with my clean hands.

And then there are the designers of these restrooms! Why do they make it where the door swings in, allowing those to come in without touching the door, but you have to touch it to get out! Don't forget the hand air dryer versus the paper towel dispenser! I know it's 'greener', but come on! I need those paper towels to use to open the door!

I guess I can rant on and on. But let me tell you of what happened Friday! While washing my hands in the restroom at work, I watched the guy before me. He had just finished washing hands and was drying them before heading out the door. He gets that funny 'I'm going to sneeze look" on his face, throws the paper towel into trash, sneezes three times in his hand, rubs his hands together to rub the snot in (I guess), slightly wipes his hands on his shirt, grabs the door handle, opens the door, and walk out! Ewwwwww!

How hard would it have been for him sneeze into the paper towel? Or how about wash his hands after sneezing! Surely he could have at least sneezed into his arm!

I just wish some folks would learn a some 'Public Restroom Etiquette'!

~Matt

Quick Report (Thursday, 01/07/10)

The past few days have been pretty normal.... nothing too new to announce or report. We did stay home from church Wednesday night, in fear of the weather conditions affecting the roads. However, I guess they weren't too bad, but there were several accidents reported on the news.

In other news, we've disabled our unlimited texting on our cell phones. This will save us $30 a month, a help as we try to figure out some financial issues. We're hoping that in a few months, we'll be able to do something about it! We'll see.  Sooooo.... if you want to text us, please don't. Call instead! :)

~Matt

No Electricity! Yikes! (Tuesday, 01/05/10)

We tiredly woke up. But it was day 2 of our gym/workout resolution, so we got ready to go. When I went out to start the car, it didn't want to turn on at first. I think the car was telling me that it was tired too. I could imagine it saying, "hey... leave me alone, I want to sleep!" But it turned on with the second try.

On the way to the daycare, we heard two things on the radio that got our interest.... some folks on our side of town had lost electricity early that morning, and the temperature at the moment was -3°!!!!! No wonder the car didn't want to start! Brrrrrr....!

Going to the gym was nice, but I was still tired. I'm hoping that my body will get used to the schedule. Towards the end of my workout on the stepping machine, I felt like I could sleep while doing it!

Lydia dropped me off at work, and the day went by pretty fast for me. I had a lot of stuff to do! Lydia had lunch with a friend, and got to spend some time visiting. Then she took a church friend to a dentist appointment later in the afternoon. Since I had several more things to accomplish at work, I had Lydia pick me up at 5:30.

When we arrived at home, Lydia started supper and I set up the laptop and my mother-in-law's video camera to record the wedding of Silas and Kristi to my hard-drive. My camera was focused on the Groom and Groomsmen, Paulette's camera was focused on the Bride and Bridesmaids, and the church got the center view of it all. I going to be putting the two side views on a DVD for the wedding couple (hopefully by Sunday).

While I was setting the laptop up, Lydia started playing Hide-n-seek with the kids. They really enjoyed that. Malachi would hide, but at the end of the counting, would pop out and "find you"! He's such a card! Mysia, however, was pretty good at the hiding! After the video had started, I got in the act too. It was a great game! There was one time when we hid and Mysia was the seeker.... it took her forever to find us because she noticed the video playing and spent 5+ minutes watching it instead of looking for us!!!!!

Our game ended when our associate Pastor, Tim Banks, rang our doorbell. He had come to retrieve the church van that had been sitting in our driveway since Saturday night (due to the snow). He wanted to get it before the next snowstorm, that's due to hit in the morning of Wednesday!!!

We ate supper, and let the kids play for a bit while we cleaned up. They didn't really want to start their showers, but I convinced Mysia that she could take hers first. That won her over.

A little before 7:30, after Mysia had gotten shower and was getting dressed, the lights flickered and we lost electricity! At first I thought it was the breaker, but a quick look outside proved to me that it was our entire street. Lydia called City Utilities and got their computer system, but it got her phone number and the incident was reported.

We brought out our battery-operated (electric) lanterns and used them to keep the living-room lit. I also gave Malachi a a quick shower with what warm water was left. He was finished and dressed when the two trucks arrived in front of our house. They looked at the transformer, brought out a pole, and reset it. We had power! Er... sort of...

Come to find out, it gave our house electricity... and only our house. Actually, half of our house. The front half. The back bedrooms and heater did not get any. They ended up turning it back off and telling everyone on our street that the transformer had gone bad, and that we'd have to wait for them to install a new one. So I asked the guy his estimate on how long. He replied that it used to be thirty minutes, but now that everything (like the calls) is done by the new computer system, it could take an hour or more. Great....

Oh, as the the bucket came down, Mysia remarked in a semi-sarcastic tone, "What did he do? Just go up there and feed the birds?"

They sat around for a while, and then one truck left. The next one left about 15 minutes later. As he drove off, Mysia began to cry... "Why are they leaving....?" I had to assure her not to worry, and that they'll be back.

He gathered together on the couch and did devotions and memory verses before sending the kids to their beds. The plan was that if they didn't show up by 10, we were going to pack up and head to my parents' house! But a little after 10, they showed up (to my relief). Lydia went ahead and went to bed, putting the kids with her since it had gotten very cold in the house.

I stayed up, watching the guys install the new transformer. Finally, they switched the power on at 11pm. I rushed to the thermostat to see how cold it was in the house! 55°F! Brrr!

I scooted into our queen size bed, and fell out. Too many bodies! I eventually made it in, but was on the edge.... Several hours later, when the the house had heated up, I put the kids in their own beds and was able to sleep.

~Matt

Playing in the snow! (Monday, 01/04/10)

The main resolution for the new year was to go to the gym and workout daily. And since we paid the membership a couple of months ago due to the doctor saying I needed to work out more, I had no argument.

So... we got up early. Mysia was fine with getting up, Malachi was no, but we were able to get them dressed and out the door. It was cold outside!

We dropped them off at daycare, and then headed to the gym. I was tired, but we did a pretty good workout. It was then off to work for me! Lydia went to the college bookstore to pick up her books. She had an arm-full!

Lydia picked the kids up and then me at 5. When we got home, I bundled up Mysia and Malachi into their snow-suits and we headed outside. They played in the backyard for at least 25 minutes. Even though it was pretty dark, the snow illuminated the area enough that they were able to play with no problem. They spent most of the time climbing up the fort and sliding down the slide. Their snow-suits made the sliding a fast experience! (I posted a video and photos on facebook)

When we came in, Mysia looked at herself in the mirror and asked how come we had red cheeks! She's adorable at times!

Lydia had made chili for supper. It was the perfect thing to eat when coming in from the cold! Yum!

~Matt

My 2010 New Year Resolutions

Okay... as many of you know, I like posting funny stuff as my status on facebook and twitter. So for those who missed what I posted on New Years, here are my "resolutions" for the new year:



MattPaasch resolves to work with neglected children this year... my own.

MattPaasch resolves to stop checking my e-mail at 4:00 in the morning... 5:30 is much more practical.

MattPaasch resolves to start communicating with his wife more this year.... email, instant messaging, and texting does not count. (unfortunately)

MattPaasch resolves to do less laundry and use more deodorant this year...

MattPaasch resolves to spend an at least one hour less on the Internet every day.... preferably when I'm asleep in bed!

MattPaasch resolves not to sit in my living room all day on my days off in my PJs. Instead, I will move my laptop into the bedroom.

MattPaasch resolves not to post serious status updates all the time like he did last year.................... ;)

Sledding!!!! (Sunday, 01/03/10)

We woke up to around 4 inches of snow on the ground! It was awesome!

The church vans were grounded. It was deemed to slick to attempted picking up riders. So the van sat in our driveway, and we headed to church. On the way, we picked up Mysia from my parent's house since my mom had decided not to brave the snow-covered roads.

After services we ate and then dressed the kids in their play-clothes and snowsuits! I took them outside to play and sled! That's the cool part of our church... it's built on the side of a hill (thus the name Hillside Baptist) and the other side is perfect for sledding. I wish we knew about it when I was a kid, because this hill is great!

I didn't have much breath left after dragging both kids up the hill several times... it gave me a workout! I didn't have the camera with me, so I took video with my cell phone. It's posted on my facebook page! The above picture is a screenshot!

~Matt

Sugar & Snow! (Saturday, 01/2/10)

Today was more of a "rush day" of sorts. But foolishly, we had again tried to sleep in. Oh, was that was a bad idea!

I had heard the kids playing, and just ignored it. Then Mysia cried... Malachi had bitten her on the arm. I got up and she was at our door holding her arm. I let her in to see Lydia and hollered for Malachi. Here he comes toddling to me in Mysia's slip-on shoes... the thing was, he was only in Mysia's slip-on shoes.... and nothing else!!!

I grabbed him, took him to his room, and quickly we put some clothes on! I questioned him on why he was naked, but didn't get a good response. We went back into the bedroom where Lydia was looking at Mysia's arm. Come to find out, his bite had drawn blood. He got punished. That's when Lydia noticed something on his face around his mouth. White crystals......

I got up and went into the kitchen. Sure enough, sugar everywhere! He had gotten into the big sugar container! I was not happy! Come to find out, that's why he had shed his PJs and was naked, they were covered in sugar!

I'll tell you what... what a morning!!!!!!

Lydia ran to the bank before noon, and I fed the kids. Then it was nap-time! Hooray... it was nice to have it a bit quiet around the house for a while.

When they got up, we got them ready and dropped them off at my parent's house for a few hours while Lydia and I headed to the library. It was time for us to do our "State of the Family" meeting, where we sit down and go over finances, planning, ideas, and parenting. Not always fun, but good for us to get a grasp on what we need to do.

We arrived back at my folks sometime after 5:30. M&M were finishing supper and eating sherbet. Lydia and I stayed and visited for a while. Then we left with Malachi to pick up the church van. Mysia was spending the night with her Aunt Abigail. As I went out to put Mysia'scar-seat into my parents' car, was surprised to see that it was snowing! Not only that, but there was a dusting of snow on everything. I guess I hadn't been paying close attention to the weather forecast (like they ever get it right here in Springfield anyway).

The last thing we did for the day was our weekly grocery shopping. Not much fun, but it had to be done.

Before I headed to bed, I looked outside..... it was still snowing! Yippee!!!

~Matt

A New Year! (Friday, 01/01/2010)

We tried to sleep in. Ha! What was I thinking?!?!?

When we got up, we found that Malachi had dumped the entire salt-shaker o the counter and floor! What a way to bring in the new year!

We really weren't planning on going anywhere, we had things to do at the house. So it was sort of a lazy day, but our focus was getting things done that we wouldn't have time for in the first place.

The main accomplishment for the day was taking the Christmas decorations down! Hooray! It's amazing how much space that stuff takes up in your living room!

~Matt

New Years Eve (Thursday, 12/31/09)

It was a slow day at work! Half the people were there, and the rest of us were looking forward to the end of the day since tomorrow was a holiday!

After work, we headed to church for our watch-night services. There were four sermons and food in-between! Mysia and Malachi sat with us the entire time during the service. They were pretty much well-behaved until the end when they got sleepy. They drew on note book paper for the most part. Towards the end, Lydia ended up taking Malachi to the quiet room (cry room), and he fell asleep in her arms. Mysia stayed with me and fell asleep in the pew!

We had planned to stay at church until midnight with the others, but since M&M crashed, we figured it would be best just to head home and not have to deal with fussy kids though the rest of the year!

We got home, put the kids to bed, a we even went to bed before 11:30!!!! Go figure!

~Matt

Wednesday (12/30/09)

Beside a normal work day for me, we found out that today was Lydia's last day of babysitting. The hours got changed for the mother, and she didn't need a babysitter. We can't blame her, we'd do the same. So now Lydia has a little more free time in the afternoons for homework when college starts again.

During supper, we watched Home Alone. It's a great lesson learner.... besides all of the things not to do with micro-machines, paint-cans, iron, blow-torch, and a tarantula. At the beginning it shows how a kid shouldn't act toward his parents, and how parents shouldn't act toward their kid(s).

During the movie I worked on Ronnie Warren's website a bit. Which I'm hoping to have completely updated here soon. It's a work in progress.

After the kids went to bed, I played a little Team Fortress 2. I'm not to good of a gamer right now, I need practice. But I don't see that happening soon! There's quite a bit of other things I have to do!

~Matt

Sick! (Tuesday, 12/29/09)

I remember my stomach not feeling good as I slept, but it didn't really effect me much. That is... until my alarm went off! I sat up, and my stomach started cramping. Ooooh, talk about pain. I ended up with a stomach virus of sorts. Whatever it was, left me in bed or on the toilet!

Needless to say, I stayed home from work... and not by choice. There was no way I could have worked at my desk in the pain I was suffering. I called in sick, and tried to sleep it off.

Lydia went ahead and took the kids to the daycare and headed to the gym. I woke up when she got back home around 11. I still wasn't feeling too good, but was able to get something to drink and move around. Around noon I was well enough to quickly check my email before crashing again. (yep, I'm a geek!)

I ended up waking up to a wonderful smell. My stomach was weak, but feeling a bit hungry. Lydia had made herself an egg omelet. Like I said, it smelled good, but I knew that there was no way my stomach would want to handle something like that. Lydia made me some scrambled eggs instead. It worked! I felt a whole lot better.

I ended up laying around some more, and Lydia went and got the kids. When she came back, she encouraged me to get up and around more. I had gotten on the computer, so I had no real excuse!

The rest of the day went by smoothly. And I wasn't feeling too bad to watch tv with the kids! lol

~Matt