A busy day! (04/30/2010)

Okay... I meant to have a meaningful blog both yesterday and today, but boy, was I busy! So instead you get this post! lol!

So much is going on, but I wanted to make sure that I made a post on the last day of April! The year is already going by so fast!

I make this a reminder as well, if you don't keep up with me on facebook or twitter, be sure to do that! I promise I'll bring a smile to your face at least once a week, or just annoy you to death with my puns! :)

The links are located on my website: http://mattpaasch.com

~Matt

Spring Allergies (04/28/2010)

Oh yes... the season is upon us. But actually, for me, it seems to be leaving! Hooray.

Growing up, I didn't have allergies. I didn't even have them when in college. I'd boast (to myself) that I was immune to it.

Well, that changed two years ago....

I got hit with 'em! Ohhh...! My eyes didn't know what to do. My nose ran constantly. My ears stopped up, and to top it off, I had a horrible voice! I was miserable. I quickly learned to be more compassionate to those who deal with allergies all the time! Ugh!

Well, this year, the allergies hit again. Yuck. Definitely not my favorite part of spring. I gave up contacts for my glasses, and went through tons of tissue! I was sneezing, snorting, coughing, and choking. Mucus is not fun! :) I was poppin' pills every morning hoping that it would all go away soon.

Right now, it appears to have gone. The worst is over. I still have a little bit of congestion.. but a good, forced cough clears it up quite nicely. Of course, I don't think mowing the lawn isn't the best idea either, but I don't think that excuse will work too much!

~Matt

Week Rundown! (04/18/10 - 04/24/10)

Sunday:

It was a busy day as usual. We had birthday and anniversary fellowship following the evening service. Yum!


Monday:

We dropped of the kids and headed to the gym. Afterwards, took me to work and dropped the car off at the shop. She was excited... she picked up the nice rental vehicle! She loves it!

Granny(my mom) picked up kids from daycare so she could take them to her house and spend some time with them. Lydia picked me up from work and we when home to eat.

I then headed over to quartet practice, and seen the kids as they were leaving to be dropped of at home. After singing, I headed home. I didn't stay up too late, but Lydia didn't go to bed at all!


Tuesday:

I woke up to find Lydia still doing her homework. She had spent the entire night working! Poor girl!

We did our routine. Daycare for the kids, work for me, college for Lydia.

When we got home that evening, I grilled hamburgers and mowed a couple of strips in the backyard. I was hoping to finish mowing the yard, but Lydia had to leave do give plasma. By the time she got home, the kids were in bed and it was too dark to mow.


Wednesday:

Mysia had her Daisy Scout meeting, and we went to church!

On the way home, Malachi hollered, "cold Daddy... Cold!" So we turned off the vents. But that wasn't the problem. He was drinking from his styrofoam cup (we had Sonic for supper) and accidentally poked a hole in the bottom with his straw. It was still ice cold. It had started leaking on his lap. So we pulled over and dumped the rest. The poor guy had to ride home soaked. It sure was funny watching him walk to the door when we got home. He can do a pretty funny bowlegged walk!!!


Thursday:

Rain and storms! That was the theme for the day. It poured from the sky in bucket loads! Shortly after I arrived at work, the electricity out! What fun! We sat around for almost two hours waiting for it to get fixed.

After picking me up from work, we rushed home and ate. My mom picked Malachi and I up to go to the Tae Kwon Do open house. Sam, Moses, and Abigail were demonstrating... it was neat! We tried to get Malachi to participate, but he just wanted to run around!

Lydia had been invited to a ladies jewelery party, so she took Mysia with her. Mysia got to play with the other girls there.

I had already showered Malachi and put him to bed before the girls arrived back at home.


Friday:

The work day was long.... that usually is the case on Fridays.

Before picking me up from work, Lydia dropped M&M off with their Aunt Lycia. They got to spend the night with her! And that gave Lydia and I the night free.

We headed to Walmart, grabbed sandwich fixings and snacks, and headed to MSU. They were holding a Relay For Life event, and Lydia's group had a booth. The original plan was for the even to last all night until early in the morning. But since it rained, and there was more in the forecast, the event was held indoors and scheduled to end at midnight. So Lydia and I were able to go home and go to bed earlier than planned. However, technically, we went to bed on Saturday morning!


Saturday:

Yup, we got to sleep around 2am... I think. I can't remember! lol

I do know we woke up after noon! Ahhh, it was so nice to sleep in! It was raining heavily as we left the house to go pick up the kids. We stopped by a jewelry store to get Lydia's engagement ring repaired and re-sized. We won't get it back until Wednesday.

Malachi was happy to see us... Mysia was upset that she had to leave. She wanted to stay.

We then headed over to my parents' house. My grandparents were in town for a visit, and we wanted to be sure to spend time with them for a bit. Which we did! We ended up saying over there until 9! We talked, ate, and talked some more. The kids played.

I'll have to share this with everyone.. I'm not the only geek in my family, that is a fact! lol Everyone in the family is a 'tech geek'. We all had our ipods and laptops out while we're in conversation. That's just how we are. And get this... we're even emailing each other while we're in the same room! Crazy eh? That's family.....! lol!

We picked up the church van, got home, and put the kids to bed. Lydia had some homework she was trying to finish, and I had a couple of projects to work on.

We got to bed late... again!



~Matt

The Trip To McDonald's.... (Sunday, 02/24/10)

Grandma Taylor had given the kids money for happy meals, so we stopped by McDonald's after church. Lydia was driving and made the purchase at the first window. From the back seat Mysia had started saying that it was a girl that was preparing their happy meals.

But as Lydia drove forward to the second window, Mysia immediately noticed that it was a guy. She then pipes up and says, "Oooh, he's handsome!"

Both Lydia and I look at each other in surprise, but it didn't end there.

Malachi quickly replied in a dry voice, "Yeah... like me..."




Boy... you just gotta love kids!!!!

~Matt

Take the Case Off! (Friday, 04/23/10)

I like my iPhone... it's so cool! However, when I first bought it, I made sure I got a case for it as well. I didn't want to risk dropping it, and the screen break or something. It's too expensive of a gadget to have to replace or repair! Sure enough, it's slipped out of my hands a few times. Talk about heart stopping moments! But, the case has helped... or so I believe.

Like with any other phone, the reception/signal fluctuates. That's a given. I can be in one place a get full bars, then move over 5 inches, and get one bar! It is definitely annoying!

Come to find out.. even having a thin plastic case on your phone can hinder receiving signal! I wouldn't have believed it, but that's what was happening with a coworker. Sure enough, it's the same for me!

So... if you have a case on your cell, and getting low reception... take the case off!

~Matt

Odd Facts: Automatic Flush Valve for Toilets (Thursday, 04/22/10)

I love odd facts, and will do research on things that just pop into my mind. For those who know me, that's not to unusual, but I guess you could say that is a odd fact in itself! lol

Well, today we lost electricity at work. During the storm, lighting had taken out a transformer, which left us powerless. And on "Earth Day" too! It's kinda hard to do your work on a computer that doesn't turn on! So while my coworkers and I sat around waiting for city utilities to come and fix it, we talked about a wide range of things.

One of the subjects that came up was automatic flush valve on the toilets, since someone pointed out that how they still work with us being out of power. Of course, they work on batteries. But that thought got me thinking... what kind of batteries do they use, and how long do they last?

Curiosity got a hold of me, and I pulled out my iPhone. I had to google it! It wasn't going to kill me, but I just needed to know!

I came across several sites, and found one that had a similar (if not exact) model of what is installed here at work. Come to find out, they use 4 "C" size batteries and can last up to 3+ years on a single charge with normal usage! Hey... not bad for $139.99!

Now I don't know if this "knowledge" will ever be useful, but at least my curiosity was satisfied!

I don't know if I'd ever want or need one in my house. Although it sure would take care of the problem of remembering to flush! That now leads to another question that sparks my curiosity, was it a male or female that came up with the idea? I guess the research continues.......

~Matt

Week Rundown! (04/11/10 - 04/17/10)

Whoops! I meant to post this earlier!!!!


Sunday:

I got up and headed to church for van ministry as usual. I was sore! Working on the garage the day before made my body ache!

On the way to church, I realized I had forgotten to work on a flyer for our upcoming game night for our Sunday school class, So when I arrived at church, I pulled out my laptop and quickly put one together. It took some time to get them printed, copied, and cut... which ended up making me several minutes behind on my route. Well, while on my route, Lydia called to tell me that poor Malachi was still sick and throwing up! So, my house was the last stop before heading back to church, as I picked up Mysia. She really liked that. I guess it makes it very special to ride in "Daddy's van".

I made it to church a few minutes late. But all was well. It was a little odd not having Lydia to sit with. After services were over, I dropped all my van riders off and headed home for lunch. We had to hurry... Lydia and I made quickly made desert for the "youth desert auction" to be held after evening services. Even though Malachi was feeling better, Lydia deemed it best that they remain home once again, so not to pass whatever he has to anyone else.

So off to church went Mysia and I. We got there, dropped the deserts off in the church kitchen, and I talked to our missionary, Daniel Elliot, while Mysia played with his kids. We then headed inside and waited for services to start. The services were done by the youth, so we got to hear a program by their drama team. Moses (Lydia's brother) preached on baseball. Yup, that's right! The sermon was done very well, and talked about the three bases: Salvation, Separation, and Service.

After services, our church held the yearly youth desert auction. There was a lot of deserts! Some going for more than $150! It was great!

Monday:

Lydia took the car in to the shop to get an estimate done and find out what parts needed ordered. They have to replace the bumper, so we're scheduled to take the car in next Monday and get a rental!

For me, overtime is still in effect at work! So Lydia and the kids picked me up at 6.

When I got home, I dressed and went outside to mow. Lydia made supper, and the kids watched tv. As I was mowing, I'd catch Malachi watching me from the window. It was the first time I had to mow this year... and I enjoyed it. However, it did trigger my allergies!

After showers, and putting the kids to bed, I worked on a few things on the laptop. As always, Lydia worked on her homework. She had found out that she had received several A's recently, so it's good to know all the effort paid of. As I nodded off a few times on the couch, I ended up retiring to bed. Lydia worked on her homework until 4 the next morning!!!!


Tuesday:

It was a pretty simple evening... after work, we went home and ate. Lydia went to biolife, and I played with the kids. I got Malachi in bed right as Lydia got home, and she helped get Mysia ready for bed.

I worked on some projects on the computer while Lydia did her homework. We actually got to bed at a decent hour (compared to how late we've been going lately). Plus, after Monday, Lydia was very tired!


Wednesday:

I had work, Lydia had class, and the kids had daycare. Mysia got to go to daisy scouts again today, she loves it! Lydia and the kids picked me up after work, and we ate on the way to church.

As teachers in the children's worship service at church, called Master's Club, Lydia and I keep busy. It's enjoyable, but can get hectic on some nights... this week included. I think the nice weather makes the kids more active!


Thursday:

Thursday was basically a repeat of Tuesday. We didn't get to bed as early as I was hoping though! :P


Friday:

Lydia and I put together a game night game night for our Sunday School class from church. We had been wanting to get our class together for a evening, so we can have some fun, fellowship, and food! We're hoping that this will get things going, and others would be encouraged to put on activities so that our class can get together more often.

Anyway, we all met at the church, bringing finger-foods and snacks. We ate and talked, and then pulled out games. We also used the projector and played the Wii!

By the time we got home, M&M were exhausted! So, to bed they went! Lydia and I stayed up getting things ready for the "Ultimate Rockin' Garage Sale" that Lydia had volunteered to participate tomorrow morning.!


Saturday:

After getting to bed late, I really didn't want to get up, but we had to have all of our 'stuff' at the sale around 6am! So we were up and at it!

The plan was to get ready and load the stuff in Sam's truck, and head out there, following in our car. Unfortunately, I tried calling Sam to be sure he was awake at 5, and got his voicemail. He didn't hear his cell! Well... that kinda threw us off. So we quickly altered our plans. I loaded the car with as much stuff as I could, and left to drop it off while Lydia and the kids got ready. It took me over 45 minutes until I got back home.

We packed into the car, along with more stuff, and headed out. We hadn't gotten more than a block away from the house when we heard and felt a "THUMP, thump, THUMP, thump..."

We had a flat tire!

I pulled into the gas station, unloaded the trunk, and put on the spare tire. We took a back route to the sale, and got there after the event had already started. After unloading the rest of the stuff, I took the car to Sam's club to get the tire repaired. Unfortunately, the tire was shot, and I had to purchase a new one!

Back at the sale, we sat and hoped our junk would sale! The kids ran everywhere, and we tried to keep the corralled as much as we could. By the time we got home, later that afternoon, they were super-tired. We had no problem getting them down for naps!

Lydia ended up working on more homework, and we picked up the church van after supper. I went grocery shopping later that night, and we got to bed late!

~Matt

Design Post: Hillside Prom Alternative Poster (4) "The Poster"

A continuation of my progress on a design I did for our church!


Well, here is the completed project! It took a while, but after John provided me with all of the information, I was able to get it all in. You will notice that I was able to get the "logo" and "book" in with hardly any trouble.

I did make a few minor changes from what I originally sketched. But I didn't stray far from the concept!

John liked it, and they are now printed and hanging on a few walls at church!

~Matt

Design Post: Hillside Prom Alternative Poster (3) "The Book"

A continuation of my progress on a design I did for our church!


Now that the logo and sketch of the poster I was to design for the Prom-Alternative was approved, it was now time to get things into motion! I needed to get this project developed... and quickly!

I set up a document to the size John needed, and placed the "sketch" over it so I could keep up with my idea for placement. The first thing I needed to focus on was the book!

I did a search on old books, and found several images and ideas that would help. I wanted something old, but have that 'fairy-tale" look to it. I also wanted an image of "heaven" that would fit the theme. Since this book is about living happily ever after in heaven.

Once I got all the pieces, the book came together!

(to be continued...)

~Matt

Design Post: Hillside Prom Alternative Poster (2) "The Logo"

A continuation of my progress on a design I did for our church!


John, our church's youth pastor, liked my sketch of the poster I was to design for the Prom-Alternative! That was encouraging...

When it came to the wording for "Prom Alternative" on the poster, I wanted something that would 'pop' and appeal to the teenagers. Something that was 'cool', but also something that would fit elegantly with the heavenly theme. I wanted it to be more modern, yet bled in with the older look that I had came up with for the poster.

After some 'research' on the internet, I came across an idea that might work. So I did a quick sketch, and submitted this "logo" to John. It was a unique take on the the word PROM, with the year combined. He liked it as well, and asked if I could put a cross in place of one of the "t"s in the word "Alternative". Great idea! But I went even farther... I modified the church logo and put it in!

(to be continued...)

~Matt

Design Post: Hillside Prom-Alternative Poster (1) "The Sketch"

For the next several days I'm going to share my progress on a design I did for our church! Hope you all enjoy!


A couple of weeks ago our church's youth pastor, John, approached me about designing this year's Prom-Alternative poster. I had designed last year's, and it was a challenge... but I enjoyed it.

For those wondering, our church puts on a event for the teens, a Christian alternative for the high-school prom. It gives the teens something to look forward to! It's fun, clean, and uplifting!

John told me that he was running behind this year in getting the event organized. He also needed the poster soon, around the first week of April!!! Well, that made it a greater challenge!

Thankfully, he already had the basic info ready. He wanted a heavenly theme for the design. The scripture for the prom was "I go to prepare a place for you" and the theme is "happily ever after". The info for speaker and activities he'd provide later.

I rolled over several ideas in my head, and since the theme sounded like a Disney princess storybook, so that's the direction I decided to go. In my mind, I kept thinking of "Enchanted", "Snow White", "Sleeping Beauty", and "Cinderella". I pictured a story book, with a picture of heaven on it. Perhaps the "Book of Life", and the title could be "Happily Ever After". Hmmmm. That's a concept!

I could actually imagine hearing a sermon on our name entry to the Book of Life being the promise of living happily ever after with the Lord... and I got excited! I figured that it would add a nice little touch to the design/theme!

I was at church, eating lunch, when I started working on a sketch. I showed it a few of the teen girls that were present, and they liked it. Well, that was good enough for me! So I submitted it to John...

(to be continued...)

~Matt

Week Rundown! (04/04/10 - 04/10/10)

Sunday:

Happy Easter!

It was an early morning for us! We got up and rushed to church for the 8am services. Lydia had nursery, and I still had vans, so I left during the invitation. While I was doing the van route, the church had a 'continental breakfast' before Sunday school services.

In the morning service, our choir presented the cantata "Then Came Sunday". it was well received, but very emotional. I'm sure everyone in the choir didn't have a dry eye during the middle section! It was great!

That afternoon we went over to my parents' house for Easter dinner. Actually, since I had the van route, by the time I got there, everyone else had already started eating! We ate and visited. BJ and his family were there. Grandma Taylor was there. So it was a pretty good crowd around the dinner table!

BJ and I got early birthday gifts from the family (I mentioned mine in an early blog post). BJ needed to get back on the road to head back home, so they left shortly thereafter. M&M were getting tired, so we put them in Abigail's bed for a nap. Lydia pulled out her laptop and worked on her homework, while the rest of us visited.

As time was soon drawing near to get ready for evening services, we went outside and had the kids hunt the colored eggs. Grand-dad (my dad) had put coins in the eggs, so that got the kids excited! In the end, the both found the same amount of eggs! Hooray!

We hurried off to church services, where Lydia and I were in charge of toddlers. We kept them entertained with Bible songs, some activities, and a lesson. I brought my vent-puppet Ace, and that really got their attention.

After we arrived back at home for the night, we put the kids to bed and finished up making the grocery list. I then went shopping. I spent some of my birthday money on a few shirts like instructed, and also purchased a usb car charger, so I can charge up my iPod and iPhone in the church van on Sundays. I came home, unloaded the groceries, and went to bed!


Monday:

Lydia and the kids picked me up from work (I'm still working some overtime). I ate supper in the car, Ham and eggs from Easter lunch, as we headed home real quick. I dropped Lydia and Malachi at the house.

Mysia and I then went to her kindergarten screening. She did very well. She talked the teacher's ear off once she got comfortable. In fact, there was a part of the screening that was interesting... when asked a few questions, Mysia was expected to go into detail, describing how she would take care of the situation presented to her. Well, one of the situations was what would she do if she broke something (like a toy) at a friends house. Well, Mysia did as asked and went into detail. However, she proceeded to tell the teacher how shed hide whatever she broke, and how she'd try and keep the friend from finding out, etc! Oh boy.....!

After the screening, I left Mysia at my parent's house while I went with Sam to church. Our quartet was auditioning a high tenor. We sang for about two hours, running over familiar material and hymns. It was a good audition, and we actually have neat song ideas as well. We have another audition planned later on, and Abigail is still our "high tenor" for now. If it is the Lord's will, we may keep her, but we'll see how these auditions go.

While auditioning, Mysia lost her loose tooth at Granny's! When my mom called me, I could hear Mysia crying in the background... she's such a drama queen! My dad ended up giving her $3 as a reward for loosing her tooth!

During the time we were gone, Malachi played and Lydia did her homework. When Mysia and I got back home, it was past her bedtime, and Malachi was already in bed asleep. We put her tooth in a sandwich bag under her pillow.


Tuesday:

Mysia woke up to find coins in the sandwich bag. Unfortunately, all she could remember was that there were 5 pennies in there, so she went around telling everyone at daycare that she got 5 pennies from the tooth-fairy! Sure made her "tooth-fairy" look cheap!!!!

Malachi surprised me today... he got up and dressed himself with the clothes Lydia left out for him! He's growing up so fast!

Mysia, now likes to pick out her own clothes, and does a pretty good job. There are a few times that we have to guide her to find something that matches better, but nothing too major.

After we got back home that evening, we ate and then Lydia left to give plasma. While she was gone, I gave the kids their showers and got them ready for bed. When Lydia got back, she headed into her homework.

I spent some of my itunes gift-card money and purchased RDM+ for my iPhone and computer. It allows me to remotely access my laptop with my phone. I can view the screen from my phone, anywhere! It's neat, because I'm now able to access my files at anytime! When connected to wifi, the process is pretty fast, but I've found out that over the 3G network, it can be a little slow. But that's fine with me! I spent most of the evening fiddling around with the program!


Wednesday:

Lydia stopped and got some food, picked me up from work at 6, and headed to church. It was "fun night" at Master Clubs, and I got to teach the lesson. I decided to use both of my Vent-puppets, Ace & Hannah, even though I had told myself previously I'd never do again. Not that I won't do them individually, but together is a pain. Both have "unique" personalities, and getting them straight while teaching a lesson to the kids can be difficult. I try and keep them animated, and the conversation flowing, but boy... it's challenging with one on each arm! Not only that, but I like to let their personalities go at full speed, and I almost never know what they're going to say, even though I'm controlling them. It always leads up to funny things, but having two at the same time... well, you see what I mean....

The lesson went well, regardless how I my mistakes. We kept the kids active, even taking them outside for a short game.

By the time we got home, we were tired! Oh wait... that's every night! lol!


Thursday:

After work, Lydia and the kids picked me up wand went to the visitation of Esther Elliot. Lydia and I ware planning on going to the funeral tomorrow, but aren't taking the kids. We decided the visitation would be the best for the kids to attend.

When we got home, we ate supper, got the kids ready for bed. We then worked on finances and I also worked on a design for our church youth's prom alternative. I'm planning on showing the steps of the design process on the blog next week.


Friday:

A busy day... even though I took the day off from work!

Today was my birthday, and it was going to be a memorable one.....

We slept in a bit... but we still got up in time to get the kids up and ready. I ran and dropped the kids off at daycare while Lydia got ready. We went to the funeral of Esther Elliot. It was a very nice service, the gospel was well presented, and there were quite a bit in attendance.

After the funeral, we stopped by a bookstore that was going out of business. Lydia found several books and got them at a good price. I only found one book that interested me... a comic book of Peanuts (Charlie Brown & gang)!

We were headed toward home, discussing lunch, on whether Lydia was going to treat me to a buffet or just eat something at home, when we were rear-ended while stopping for a light. Lydia was driving and the impact caused us both to jolt forward. We have a giant rear-view mirror that I had installed when we first got the car, and I got to witness it happen, so it wasn't like I didn't brace for it.

We pulled the cars into a nearby parking lot and I used my phone to call the police. I figured I'd just call the police department, since it wasn't an "emergency". I ended up getting put on hold, and the message kept saying, "if you have an emergency or need an officer dispatched to your area, hang up and call 911"... so I did. It rang 5 times before dispatch answered! Kinda surprised me! I thought 911 would surely answer by the 2nd ring!

We waited at least 15 minutes for an officer, and used that time to share insurance information, took pictures, etc. We found out about the lady who hit us, and found out she is looking for a Baptist church! So we seized the opportunity, and invited her to ours! When the officer arrived, we then had to give the information again. I got wished happy birthday when the officer asked my date of birth since our insurance was in my name, and I was present.

We were finally given the go ahead to leave, and we did... with a hole in our bumper.

The whole ordeal left us a hour behind our schedule we were trying to have for the day. And we were hungry. So Lydia took me to my favorite place to eat! Hong Kong Gardens/Mongolian BBQ.... yum! Lydia is so sweet to me!

We got home, Lydia did some homework for a bit before we picked up the kids. Lydia and I got ready for the concert and waited for Me-Maw and Uncle Moses to come to our house and watch the kids. We wanted someone to watch the kids for this concert, since it was my birthday, and I wanted to be able to get to enjoy the entire set of Gold City without interruptions! I know, that may sound a little spoiled, but hey... it's my birthday!!

We got to the concert 20 minutes before it started, and didn't get in the building for less than 30 seconds before I was stopped and got th chat with familiar faces! Before we headed to the seats that our friends saved for us, I headed toward the Gold City table. I just had to report in! lol!

I got to visit with Kyle Strickland, the sound-man and son-in-law to my hero Tim Riley (the bass for Gold City)! Kyle and I keep in contact through facebook and email. I'm a huge fan of Gold City's, so it's nice to keep in contact with someone from the group!

The concert went very well, and I enjoyed every moment of it! The Hoppers did very well, and of course, I was glued to my spot for Gold City's set! The neatest moment of the night, and the highlight of the entire day, was when Daniel Riley wished me a happy birthday from the stage at the end of the concert! What a great birthday!!

I took video of much of the concert, and plan on posting some clips up on youtube sometime next week. I'll try and remember to post about it here on the blog!


Saturday:

I slept in until 7am, got up, and headed into work around 8ish. I had some overtime I needed to make up. Lydia and the kids slept in for a bit, and then got around. The kids watched videos and played while Lydia again worked on homework. When I got home before noon, I ended up rough-housing with them on the floor until lunch. We ate, and then got to talk to Titus over the laptop for a short bit. His internet connection in Iraq wasn't the greatest, so we spent more time trying to connect then getting to chat. But at least M&M got to to say hi to their Uncle!

We then put the kids down for naps, and got ready to work on cleaning out the garage. Ugh! This was something we needed to do a year ago, but had kept putting it off.

It was a mess. But we started at a steady pace. We opened up the garage door and started moving things into piles. The piles were "labeled": future yard sale, baby clothes/stuff, kids toys, outdoor items, my electronics, and stuff to keep. Each pile got bigger as the hours went by and the garage became able to walk through once again! The kids woke up and played in the yards.

We had a bit of drama during the clean-out... Mysia was/is afraid of bumblebees. They could be on the other side of the lawn, and she'd scream like she was she was being seriously hurt! Boy, can she scream! It looks like thi is something that we're going to have to deal with this summer. Oh joy...

There was so much stuff to go through for the garage, that by the time we got everything put back in nice and organized, the sun was starting to set. We finished, and came in to eat supper. I had hoped to mow the lawn today, but that wasn't going to happen. By the time we finished, it was getting to dark. So we gave the kids showers and got their PJs on. We then left to pick up the church van. However, on the way out to the car, Malachi threw up... so we had to clean him up before leaving. Poor guy was getting sick and we didn't realize it!

When we got back, we put the kids to bed and started on the grocery list. I did the grocery run while Lydia worked on homework! After I got back, I unloaded the groceries and got the video from the concert transferred onto my laptop!
grocery shopping


~Matt

Birthday Gifts Already!

On Sunday afternoon, I got gifts from my Grandma, parents, and siblings! Those gifts included an iPod/iPhone case with speakers, iTunes gift card, DVD of three Sherlock Holmes movies, cans of Yoo-hoo chocolate drink, and money! I've already spent the money on shirts, like requested!

However, since I'm taking the day off from work tomorrow to go to the funeral at church, my coworkers decided to bring in goodies and gifts this morning!

One of the gifts I got was from Travis, a USB Missile Launcher! I'm already anxious to get home and try it out! hehehe!

So far, other gifts have included:

• The Soul of the Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe (book)
• Iron Man (100-pc. puzzle)
• Iron Man (kite)
• Iron Man (pop up pencils)
• Computer Button Erasers
• Snacks!!!!

So far, this morning has been great!!!

Week Rundown! (03/28/10 - 04/03/10)

Sunday:

Today was a pretty normal busy, but blessed, day. The weather was nice, and during the afternoon I worked on some projects, while Lydia worked on homework!


Monday:

We started going back to the gym. It was hard getting up and getting ready, but we did it!

Lydia was back at college, classes resuming, etc. Spring break was nice and stress free, but now she's back to the books!

I got off work at 6, we went home and ate supper. After giving the kids showers, we played a matching game. We had fun. Both Mysia and Malachi are pretty good at remembering where a matching card is. Malachi was a hoot! He'd get excited no matter who found the match! Mysia would get anxious if she new where one was!

Lydia and I didn't stay up too late after putting the kids to sleep. In fact, we watched "Castle" on tv and then went to bed!


Tuesday:

We made it to the gym again! It seems like we're back on schedule.

Lydia had classes and then went and gave plasma. When she arrived home with the kids, she got a little light-headed. She rested, and I walked home when I got off at 6. This kinda got the 'schedule' of the day running behind. When I got home at 6:45, I finished up supper that she started and we ate supper. I gave Malachi his shower and put him to bed before heading to quartet practice.

I arrived at qt practice a little late, but it all turned out well. We worked on some new songs (for us as a group), including some more hymns!


Wednesday:

Nothing really happened today besides going to the gym, and then having church tonight. I guess we're just following routine! Tomorrow should be more fun.


Thursday:

Ahhh... one of my favorite days of the year! April Fool's Day! I always have a blast on this day. My main theme this year was to post updates on how I'm not able to post! lol!

The day went well, but busy. Lydia and I went to the gym, and followed the day's routine. We got movies for us to watch that evening. Other than that, today was pretty normal.


Friday:

Another busy day. Church choir met tonight for a run-through of our Easter cantata. It's tough one this year, Very emotional! I have a solo on one of the most hardest songs I've ever sung. It is a song mocking Christ while he's on the cross.

My mom watched the kids while we were at church practicing. She had M&M coloring eggs. They also played games... the report was that they really had a blast!


Saturday:

I went into work to pull some more overtime for the week. Lydia took the kids and visited her Grandma. After work I headed over to the church to help in visitation, inviting those in the area to our Easter services. Lydia stayed home while the kids napped, and she also picked up the house and attempted to work on some homework.

That evening, we had some friends over from church, the Hailes. We let the kids play while we ate pizza, talked, and played a few card games! The kids also watched a few movies.

After they left, we put the kids to bed and Lydia headed back into her homework. I stayed up and watched "Undercover Boss" on my iPhone. I had missed the episode, and it dealt with the CEO of the Herschend Family Entertainment Corp., which owns Silver Dollar City. It looks like a great place to work!

~Matt

They're gonna blind us!!!!

I ran across this when searching the local news today! I read it, and did a double take! I guess we need to move out of state!

Judge awards $30 million to blind Missourians

So... as a Missourian, I'm gonna be blinded? My eyesight is already pretty bad! Oh, and why would they want to blind us? Is this part of the new "health care plan"???? lol!

~Matt

M&M on Canvas

Karen, a coworker of mine, was messing with a Photoshop tutorial, learning more on what the program can do, and used a picture of Mysia and Malachi! The finished effect looked so neat, she sent it to me!

I thought it was awesome as well, so that's why I'm sharing it with you!

~Matt

Sorry Folks....

For some reason, I'm not able to post anything on this blog today.

It's not working for me. I can't log in or anything! It's really annoying!! ....and with all my trouble on facebook and twitter today as well! Go figure.

So until I get it all figured out, you'll have to wait until tomorrow for me to post on this blog! Sorry about that!

Have a great day!

~Matt