Week Rundown! (04/17/11 - 04/23/11)

Sunday:

Lydia still had her migraine, so I didn't do the church vans for pick up. The kids and I got ready, and made it to Sunday School in time. After morning services were over, the kids and I dropped the church kids off and then headed home. Lydia was well rested and feeling better. We ate and the kids took naps.

We headed to church for evening services. We visited afterwards and then headed home. We had frozen yogurt before going to bed.


Monday:

We woke up tired, but we dragged ourselves out of bed. Other than being a bit tired, it was a good day. This evening I went to quartet practice and we ran over 19 songs. We're very excited to be singing next week. While I was gone, Lydia had the kids clean up their rooms before they got ready for bed.

Tuesday:

Lydia woke up and went to the gym, I got up and got ready. When she arrived back home, I headed to the gym before coming into work. Lydia dropped the kids off at daycare and school, and then headed to college.

After picking up the kids, they came to visit me at the radio station. I got to show them my office. The kids fought over who gets the little school-desk/chair. It was neat having them stop by. This evening we let the kids play some games, including teaching them checkers.


Wednesday:

The day went by well. Toward the end of the work day, we were informed that Lydia's grandma was in ICU, so we dropped the kids off at my folks' and headed to the hospital. We spent several hours there, getting to see her and visiting with relatives. The kids went to church with my parents, and we picked them up before heading home.


Thursday:

Today went by fast. the evening was restful and after supper the kids played Wii. They did a great job at bowling, and I'm afraid that they'd beat me if I had joined in! The good part was that it wore them out pretty good, which is what I had hoped for.


Friday:

A rainy/stormy day. Mysia got to stay at school longer, her being a PRIDE Panther. They had extra activities planned.

For the evening, I attended choir practice at church. We are gearing up for the Easter Cantata planned for Sunday. It's gonna be good! By the time I got back home, Lydia already had the kids in bed. We watched a bit of tv before going to bed ourselves.


Saturday:

I had planned for today to be a relaxing one. Lydia and I got to sleep in until 8, and the kids behaved pretty good when they had woken up. The kids and I watched cartoons as Lydia left for a seminar at college. We ate breakfast, and I enjoyed the morning. I even got a change to play a game on my laptop!

While sitting at the table with my laptop, a huge "bang" went off behind me. The dryer had popped it's belt! Scared me half to death. So I pulled out the laundry and hung it up to dry. Not too long afterwards, Lydia called. Her grandma was doing too well in ICU.

My mom let us drop the kids off with Uncle Sam and Aunt Abigail while Lydia and I went to the hospital for about 5 hours. We got to visit with Grandma, and was relieved to learn that she was more stabilized as we left that evening.

The kids were tired, and we got their showers done and them put to bed. I did a grocery run, and we prepared food for tomorrow before going to bed.


~Matt

The Origins of "Easter"

I found this the other day, and thought I'd share... can you find our last name?

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Etymology

The English word "Easter" and the German word, "Ostern", come from the same root for "Eastre". The ancient word for spring was "eastre" and this was the name given to Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring. A festival was held in her honor every year at the vernal equinox.

Christianity merged this 'rite of spring' with the Jewish Passover, which is why in other languages the word for Passover derives from it's Hebrew name "Pesach". In Latin and Greek the word is "Pascha" which in turn becomes in French "Paques", in Italian "Pasqua", in Spanish "Pascua", in Danish "Paaske", in Dutch "Paasch", and Welsh "Pasg". Passover literally means "he passed over" and refers the destroying angel who "Passed Over" the children of Israel and smote Egyptian firstborn children and firstborn animals instead.

In time Easter is a time for people to renew their faith in Jesus Christ and God.

Who was Jesus?

For this Easter weekend, I leave you with a great quote from one of my all-time favorite authors!!!

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"A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

- C.S. Lewis

Week Rundown! (04/10/11 - 04/16/11)

Sunday:

This morning I did the vans, we attended morning services, and had a pretty good afternoon. Evening services went well. Afterwards, we had family over for a birthday party for me. We had root-beer floats and cake. It was short, but we had a good visit with everyone.


Monday:

Well, today was the day I had been waiting for. Full of excitement... it was my first day at KWFC! This is my dream job. Working in a Christian environment, doing designs, promoting the station, and enjoying Southern Gospel Music!!! My tasks for today was to get settled in and work on an event poster for the fair. My job is awesome! I even have my own office with a window.... GOD IS GOOD! ;P

After a quick supper, I headed out to go shooting with my dad and Sam. I got to try out my new .22 rifle I had purchased several weeks ago. It's nice...!
While I was gone, Lydia worked with Mysia on her homework and then got the kids ready for bed. Lydia then spent the rest of the evening working on her homework.


Tuesday:

Lydia started her work study at the college today, it was an answer to prayer. They'll work around her class schedule. We're looking forward to the extra income! :)
On this, my second day of work, I got to put together the graphics for the concert book to be handed out this Friday night. After work, I came home and had supper with Lydia and the kids. I then left them to go to quartet practice. While I was gone, Lydia got the kids ready for bed before heading into her homework.

Quartet practice was great! We worked on over 15 songs, and only had to go over a few a couple of times to be satisfied with how they're sounding. We're gearing up for a singing at the end of this month. We can't wait!


Wednesday:

Besides trying to adjust to my new responsibilities and things at my new job, the day was fairly typical. After arriving at home for the evening, we ate and headed off to church. The children at church were a bit wired, so by the time services had ended, we were wore out. When we got home, we got the kids to bed!


Thursday:

The day went by fast, and the evening went by pretty quick too. Not too long after I got home from work, Lydia left for her meeting with her Honors Program. The kids and I did some things around the house together, watched tv, and got showers before I put them to bed. I played around with videos from youtube until Lydia came home.


Friday:

Today was a big and busy day for me... KWFC's 42nd Anniversary Concert was tonight. Boy, did I have a lot to do! I was in change of the media to be displayed during the entire event. I knew from the get-go that I was gonna be active throughout the day, but I was definitely too excited! Since the concert was put on by the radio station, I was there when the artist arrived. Watching them set up was neat. I helped move the grand piano for Kim Collingsworth! talk about a neat experience. The sound-checks were interesting as well, iPads and iPhones were used to check sound frequency and quality... yes, there is an app for that!

Lydia took off from her last class a little early to pick up Mysia from school. She then picked up Malachi and dropped them off at her sister's before heading to BBC to meet up with me. She sat with me in the back for the entire concert. From where I was sitting, I had a bird's eye view of the entire gym. Since I was in charge of the slides and videos, the only 'breaks' I got was when the artists sang. So when Mark Bishop had his turn, I snuck into the back room to grab me some supper. I got to sit next to Mark Trammell and across from his son, Nick. I LOVE MY JOB!

The concert went very well, and I'm happy to say that no technical issue came about. That was my greatest fear. Especially since it was all on me! I was able to go home with the satisfaction of a work-week well done! Whew....


Saturday:

We all slept in this morning. We were tired. Once up, Lydia left for her appointment at BioLife. The kids and I ate breakfast and got a few things done around the house. They watched some cartoons too. We decided to head out to Silver Dollar City after noon. The weather was a bit cooler than expected, but it was still nice enough to enjoy the outdoors.

While there, visited the new section and allowed the kids to enjoy the new kid swings ride and play area. We all rode the carousel, which has been brought back this year! We rode the "Shoot Out" and the kids did a great job on their scores. (I'll post pics on my facebook page) We also enjoyed the Russian Circus show.

On the way home, we stopped by to see Lydia's grandma and visited with her for a bit. We also gave her Malachi's 'school' picture. She played the game, button-button with the kids. They loved it. Once we arrived at home, we ate supper and got ready for bed. Lydia got a migraine and ended up going to bed before the kids. After I got the kids to bed, I did a quick grocery run before going to bed as well.

~Matt

Week Rundown! (4/3/11 - 4/9/11)

I'm sorry this post was late! So much going on!!!!! (most of it was typed on my iPhone)

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Sunday:

  I got up, got ready, and headed into church for van route. It was such a nice day, but a bit windy. Morning services were good and even though I was tired, I made it through without nodding off! lol!
  Mysia spent the afternoon with her friend Elizabeth and had had a great time. Malachi was with us, and 'helped' as we finished creating our desserts. He and I had fun with the icing for the two cookies I made.
  After evening services, our church held it's annual Youth Dessert Auction to send our kids to youth camp. Like every year, we were struck by awe in how much these desserts went for! Lydia's creations reached over $180 total! It was an awesome night!


Monday:

  Last night wore us out, so it was a bit of slow going for us all. It was a busy day for me at work, and promised to be that way for the rest of the week. Lydia had a bake sale at college that went well.
  Lately, we noticed that the kids were starting to be picky with their food. So as way to make them eat, we had a "salad party". Basically, we let them put together their own salad. Sure enough, they ended up making creations that we would have, but since they did it, they ate it! It worked!
  After supper, Paulette and Moses came by and spent several hours visiting with us.


Tuesday:

  Again, we woke up later than what we'd like. But we all made it to our destinations... daycare, school, college, and work. Lydia finished her required volunteering for the downtown kitchen today. It had been an interesting experience. After picking Mysia up from school, she headed to the polls to cast her vote, then picked up Malachi and headed home. She let the kids play outside, hoping to wear them out... it didn't work!
  Today was a bit stressful for me at work, so much to get done and finished. I went to vote before going home. Both kids were hyper as I walked in the door, and they didn't settle down much the entire evening! We did supper, homework, and showers. Lydia and I both worked on projects we had to accomplish, and got to bed before midnight!  


Wednesday:

   Tonight was fun night for the children's services at church. We started with a lesson, then games, and then snacks! It was busy, nut fun.
After services, we headed to Grandma Taylor's house to visit her and Dallas. We talked, let the kids play, and visited until 10pm! The kids were falling asleep on the way home


Thursday:

   Today was pretty typical. The evening was spent at home. We watched tv, did homework, and went to bed. I need more days like this!


Friday:

   Today was my last day at Bass Pro. I had found another job that is a dream job for me, it is tailored around my talents and passion, so I couldn't pass it up. It was hard leaving a company I had worked 10 years for, but it was time. Several of my coworkers gave me gifts, wished me the best, and even put together a nice lunch for me.
Abigail picked up Mysia from school and met Lydia at the house when she got done with college. Abigail then took the kids hone with her for the night. I packed my belongings, clocked out, and said my fair-wells. When I arrived at home, Lydia had the van packed up and ready to go. I grabbed my stuff, and we headed out to MSU's football field for the Relay For Life event.
   The rest of the night was interesting! We helped set up the tent/booth for Lydia's honor society, and hung out there for the night. There was live music, games, contests... And even some free pizza!
   After midnight, I got tired! It had been a long work-week, and busy day. So I took a nap on the AstroTurf! It wasn't too bad. About 3ish, the wind picked up and almost toppled our tent. It did, however, turn over the tables! Then there was lightning, which is not good to be around on an open football field. So we quickly packed up everything during a sudden downpour, and headed home to bed!


Saturday:

   Today is my birthday, and boy... It was a busy one! Lydia and I got to sleep in since the kids were away. Once we got up, she left for her appointment at BioLife. My parents groped off the kids before noon. I was going to put them down for naps since they got to bed super late, but let them watch cartoon videos instead. (I'm an awesome daddy!)
when Lydia arrived, we packed up the kids and headed to Walmart to grab some things. Then it was off to Ozark Mountain Gymnastics for a birthday party for one of the boys at our church. What a place! The kids had a blast. Of course, us parents did as well... the guy and I bounced around a bit on the floors. Trying to say out of trouble, we did pretty good.
   Once we arrived back at home, the kids and Lydia took a nap. They were wore out. I spent the time getting files put together and gearing up for Monday. The rest of the evening was restfull. We watched "Tangled" and got ready for bed.


~Matt

Posting Delays.... (04/12/11)

For those who follow me on here, please be patient! :)

I've taken a few days off on this blog since so much has been happening in my life recently! I hope to get back in the normal postings by next week. My birthday was this past weekend, and other events have kept me busy. Plus, I started a new job this week! If you haven't heard, I'm now employed at KWFC Radio 89.1FM! I give a report at a later date as well!

If your wondering where my "week run-through" post is... don't worry, I hope to be posting that tonight!

~Matt

Design: 2011 Prom Alternative - Letterhead (04/06/11)

The last product for the Prom Alternative project was the letterhead. Like I mentioned in my last post, it was easy. The design is based on the poster, just smaller and with room for whatever text/letter needs to be placed in the center.

I really enjoyed working on this project, and am already looking forward to whatever John has for me next year!!!

~Matt

Week Rundown! (03/27/11 - 04/02/11)

Sunday:

  Today was "Spring Alive" at our church. We have a morning service, dinner, and than an extended afternoon service, with no evening service. Since it was an all day event and difficult to keep the young kids corralled at times, the vans ran for teens and adults only. We encouraged the parents to come and bring them though! This gave me a relief on driving the vans today, and got to come to church with my family!
  The dinner in the afternoon was good. Afterwards, I partook in a quick practice with the quartet since we were scheduled to sing twice. The afternoon service consisted of the college boys preaching 15 minute sermons with singing specials in-between. Mysia sat with us, while Malachi was in the toddler room. Steppin' Out sang a new arrangement of "Ain't God Good", utilizing Sam on the banjo. It was a perfect choice for "Spring Alive", and is definitely one that we're keeping in our line-up!
  After services, we headed home with nothing specific planned. Lydia had some homework to do, and the kids played. Paulette came over and I helped with some photos and things from the previous weddings. We also watched an episode of Inspector Gadget before putting the kids to bed. I then watched some MythBusters before we too retired to sleep!


Monday:

  Lydia got up early and made her trip to the gym. When she got back, it was my turn, and then I headed into work. Lydia got the kids ready and dropped them off at daycare and school before heading into college. It was Mysia's first day back at school since having a whole week off for spring break.
  Back at home for the evening, the kids worked on cleaning their rooms when I arrived from work. Lydia was already working on supper. We ate quickly since Lydia had a Pampered Chef party to attend to that was being held by her sister. Quartet practice was post-pined this week, so I watched the kids and eventually got them ready for bed. I was able to get some things done around the house while watching some tv as well. When Lydia came back home, we didn't stay up too long, and headed to bed.


Tuesday:

  A pretty normal day. Gym, work, school....
  The evening was pretty restful in the fact that there was nothing out of the ordinary. We ate supper and did homework. The kids played the Wii before bedtime. I enjoyed a few episode of MythBusters and worked on some projects while Lydia did her homework.


Wednesday:

  Lydia woke up and went in to BioLife to give plasma. I slowly got up and got the kids ready. I left for work when Lydia arrived back home. She then dropped the kids off at daycare and school before heading into classes herself.
  Malachi went home with Granny & Grandad after church. We visited Walmart to grab a few things we needed. We treated Mysia to an ice cream cone. Back at home, we worked on homework before going to bed.


Thursday:

  We got up, got ready and left the house. I headed to work, Lydia dropped Mysia off at school and then headed into college. She had a meeting and then classes. Lydia also had an interview later in the afternoon.
  Tonight we had potato soup for supper, it was good!


Friday:

  One of my favorite days of the year! APRIL FOOLS!!!
  When it comes to fooling people on this day, I have one specific rule. You can only attempt a 'fool' on person once. After that, it's over. No re-tries, no second 'fool'. So it has to be good, but after that... it's back to be honest. Otherwise, you can't get anything accomplished for the day because no one trusts you. And I like trust...
  Well, I started out the day by waking up and getting Lydia good with the idea that it had snowed. She was tired enough to believe me until she looked outside! I then got the kids with the same 'fool'! Yup, my job for today was accomplished.
  Mysia liked the idea of April Fools, and I explained what the day was. Time had passed, I was almost ready to leave for work, and Mysia came running to me. She then announced that we had forgotten to do her homework. I, of course, started to freak out... forgetting that we did indeed to it yesterday. With a great smile she exclaimed, "APRIL FOOLS!!!"
  Yes folks, she is my daughter.......! Be warned!
  The day turned out exciting, as a job opportunity had come up. Although it was hard to share with family, especially with it being the 1st.
  This evening we had the privilege to go to the Grand Jubilee Show as part of the KWFC's "Branson Night Out." The show was very entertaining, and the kids did pretty well. Malachi was a bit bored, and had a hard time sitting through the second half, but what can you expect from a 3 year-old! After the show, we treated them to some ice-cream and headed home.


Saturday:

   I wanted to sleep in, and so did Lydia. However, today was to be a busy day! Lydia went to a financial seminar that was held at the Library and then went in to her appointment at BioLife. While she was gone, the kids and I took on the house. Clean up time! The kids were in charge of their bedrooms, while I worked on the rest. It took some time, and I had to break up some playing... but I promised them that they'd get to watch a movie afterwards, and it worked.
  After the movie, I decided that since it was so nice, we'd go outside. Boy, I'm glad we did! The weather had warmed up, and was very enjoyable. They played, we ate snacks, and they played some more until Lydia came home. We then put them down for naps.
  We started putting together some of the desserts for the dessert auction to be held at church tomorrow night. I didn't get to far on the ones I was to make, opting to finish them Sunday afternoon instead. I sat on the couch and took a nap!
  The kids got up from their naps with renewed energy. We ate a quick supper, got ready, and headed to the YMCA to swim!!! Unlike last week, we didn't have to worry about thunderstorms and lightning to hinder our fun. We spent over an hour swimming and playing in the water.
  Back at home, we got the kids ready for bed and watched "High School Musical 2" on Netflix. After they went to bed, I did the weekly grocery run. What a day!


~Matt

Design: 2011 Prom Alternative - Poster Final (04/05/11)

I took my sketch of the poster, grabbed the artwork I needed, and put it together. The size of the poster is 11"x17"... So the quality had to be good. Most of the artwork is vector, which allowed it to look nice and crisp. Everything came together nicely. John only had one addition for me to make... adding the church's website with the address.

One of the challenges was to find a generic board to go behind the logo. I found one, and modified it, adding the logo to it as well. When adding to the poster, I made it look 3D, so that the board is seen from an angle. The cards at the bottom of the poster were easy to make, and I believe they really help the bring out the theme.

I am very pleased with the finished product. I think the poster will attract attention and convey the excitement of the activity.

The only thing left for this entire project is the letterhead. It's actually simple, since it's based on the poster!

~Matt

Design: 2011 Prom Alternative - Poster Sketch (04/04/11)

This is the big part of the project... the poster! I looked at the one I designed last year, and then made a sketch of what I wanted it to look like with this year's theme. I decided that the cards that you use in the Monopoly game would make great props for the date and info.

Now to get it all compiled together!

~Matt

Design: 2011 Prom Alternative - Mr. Monopoly (04/01/11)

This image here is altered of course! I wanted a image of him 'following the path' with a Bible under his arm. It looks simple, but this was actually a bit of a challenge. I had to re-draw him in Illustrator, making him entirely vector.

I'll be implementing this image on the postcard and poster designs.

~Matt