A Photo Challenge & App: PhotoQuest

For a while I've been wanting to find something that would a fun challenge for me on either my blog or facebook. I'm sure you've seen other bloggers finding a weekly or daily challenge that has them write posts on certain, but random, topics.

Well, it appears that I've found something! PhotoQuest is an app for my iPhone that challenges me to take a picture of something specific everyday. The thing is, I don't know ahead of time. I'm gonna try it out, and I'm also thinking about posting the picture on my facebook and twitter accounts each day.

I know, I know... it's not like I need another useless thing to do! But hey! It'll be fun!

What to join me in the fun? Check out the app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photoquest/id429844326?mt=8

~Matt

Week Rundown (08/21/2011-08/27/2011)

Sunday

The kids went to church with Aunt Abigail. Lydia and were still in Branson, and didn't pick up the kids until this afternoon. Mysia and Malachi didn't get much of a nap, so evening services were interesting to say the least!


Monday

Lydia started her new schedule today since college classes started back up! She was up and outta the house before the kids got up. I took Malachi to daycare, Mysia to Granny's, and then I headed to work.

After meeting back at home, we headed out the the Mitchell's house to visit and talk about children's services for Wednesday nights. The kids played in their pool. By the time we got home, the kids were exhausted!


Tuesday

After work I picked up Mysia and met Lydia and Malachi at Mysia's school. Today was 'Meet the Teacher'. Mysia was excited to get to see where she'll be having 1st grade classes, and was very pleased to find out that two of her dear friends from Kindergarten will be in her class this year.

I let the kids play on the playground for a few minutes before we headed home. We ate, got some chores done, gave the kids showers and put them to bed.


Wednesday

I dropped off Mysia at Granny's for day. It's her the last time since school starts tomorrow!

The day went by fast, and church services were good.


Thursday

Today was Mysia's first day at school. She was excited! Of course, I took pictures!

This evening, I took the chance and was able to mow the entire lawn! It sure needed it! Lydia had homework to do, so she worked on that for most of the evening.

Before going to bed, we packed our stuff for the weekend since we are going back to Branson! We're looking forward to it!


Friday

After dropping off the kids to daycare and school, I headed to work. I got a few things done, and then headed to Silver Dollar City with Kyle. KWFC was handing out our fans to everyone in the theme park since they're having the Southern Gospel Picnic (festival). My duty was to stand out in the sun in front of the Boatworks Theatre and try to make sure everyone got one. I had a blast! I got to heckle people who walked by.

Later in the afternoon, I got to see the Chuck Wagon Gang. Lydia picked up the kids and headed toward the park. I met up with my folks and got hear Albert E. Brumley, Jr. sing and then met up with Lydia. Lydia had ran into the Mitchells, so we saved them a seat.

The evening concert was the Booth Brothers. They put on a great concert! We left shortly after intermission and went to our hotel. We swam and played in the indoor waterpark for a few hours before going to our room to bed.


Saturday

We got up, watched some Disney channel, and then headed out for some breakfast. The pools didn't open until 10, so we figured we'd eat first! We again spent several hours at the pool area before heading back to Silver Dollar City around 2:30. Since they didn't get the chance yesterday, we let the kids ride several rides.

Around 4, Greg and I headed to the Crane Broiler Festival, leaving our wives and kids at Silver Dollar City. We stopped at a gas station in Crane to change into our singing clothes (vest & tie). We met up with Abigail and Sam, and our quartet did our set at 5:15. There were several friends (and family) that had came to hear us. Like usual, the sun was beating down and it was hot.

After singing, Greg and I headed back to SDC to see the last show of the evening.... GOLD CITY! As we were walking in the parking lot, we could hear Tim Riley going for those low notes on "Under Control"! It was awesome!

We met up with our families, and got to hear the last part of Gold City's concert. Those guys are GOOD!

The kids fell asleep on the way back to the hotel, so we went straight to bed.


~Matt

Texting/Chatting, Oh the FUN!

Thanks to my iPhone, I’m always ‘online’. That means if you’re either my facebook friend, on yahoo messenger, on skype, or know my texting number (we don’t have texting through our cell numbers)... I’m available for chat!

It’s awesome. I like to text and chat. I don’t call friends much, and it’s a lot easier to text a conversation when you have two kids wrestling with your attention! On those few times I do use my iPhone as a phone, my kids seem to get louder and interrupt. Go figure.

It’s nice to be able to continue a conversation through-out the day. It’s become a fantastic way to chat with my parents, siblings, relatives, friends, and most of all... my wife! Things like ‘going to lunch’ and ‘on my way home’ are nice! Plus, it’s a great way to keep up with people without calling and leaving a message.

However, there are a few times that I will ignore chats. I’m not trying to be rude, but there are times when my attention needs to be with my family. I rarely respond to chats that are sent to me after mid-night! I’m usually asleep. There is no way you want me to respond if you’ve woke me from a decent slumber... I may not be so courteous in my response!
For those friends and relatives that have my cell number and have tried to text but haven’t gotten a reply, I’m sorry. We don’t have texting on or cell numbers, so if you send one to me, I won’t get it! We had texting removed to help with the cost of the data plans on our iPhones. We ended up downloading a free app that gives us a free number for texting. So if you want to text, email me and I’ll send you that number!!!

Facebook: A Change I Will ‘LIKE’

I'm so happy to hear the news that Facebook is changing some of it's functions and policies. If you haven't heard, they are going to make it where you have to approve if you've been tagged in a photo or video. That's a relief. I have several facebook friends that have gotten tagged in an offensive photo. The photo is then shared on their wall, and it's not until later that they realize what has happened!

Hopefully, this new change will be an effective one. We shall see!

I. Must. Continue. Blogging....

Okay! Again, I've failed when it comes to blogging!

Sure, I've been able to make posts on what we've been up to with my 'Week Run-down" posts. Even that has been a challenge, thus the late postings from time to time. Whoops!

One of my biggest weaknesses is after I get the kids to bed, I just don't feel like pulling out my laptop to type. I try to write these posts in the evenings or during my lunch break. So they're actually posted a day later. I will have it ready and it will post at a designated time.

When it comes to blogging, it's not like I don't have plenty of things to write about. Believe me... I have plenty of opinions! Some are semi-important, but mostly off-the-wall! I actually have a document of blog post ideas. There are several things that come to mind and I 'jot' down with the help of my iPhone.

Of course, there are a lot of things going on. Our schedule is constantly changing and there is always something going on. However, I'm going to really try to be more active! Even if it is just to write a blog about failing to blog!

~Matt

Week Rundown (08/14/2011-08/20/2011)

Sunday

Today was Anniversary Sunday at church. Hillside has been around for 40 years. We had regular morning services. For the afternoon, it was a church-wide dinner! Very good food!

We then had afternoon services that included special music and testimonies. We came home and had the kids take naps while we got the house ready for company.

Since Lydia's birthday is on Thursday, we decided to have family over in celebration. We ate pizza, played Wii, and had ice cream as well.


Monday

Lydia did grocery shopping and school shopping after getting off work. I picked up Malachi and let him play the Wii while I started supper.

Lydia and the kids ate supper while I headed out for quartet practice.


Tuesday

We woke up to rain, and Mysia and I got a little soaked in our rush to the car. By the time I got on the road... it stopped! Go figure.

When I arrived home from work, Mysia was in her room playing and Malachi had his army men on the dinning room floor, a huge battle was taking place! lol. Lydia was preparing supper. Lydia made a salmon dish with brussel sprouts on the side. We ate it all up while watching some Andy Giffith!  


Wednesday

The day was pretty good. Mysia is enjoying her days at Granny's with Aunt Abigail.

Supper was pretty fast, as we rushed to church services.


Thursday

Today Lydia turned 30! ;)

I left work early, picked up Mysia and met Lydia and Malachi at home. We then headed out for RibCrib to celebrate. The food was fantastic, and we even took some food home.

Lydia had a nice day, but was tired, so she stayed home and put the kids to bed while I met up with the quartet at Doling Park. We had been asked to sing as part of a new event they are wanting to have every month. More people showed up than what they expected, and we had a good time.


Friday

Lydia and I had been looking forward to this day for a while. After work, we dropped the kids of with Aunt Lycia and we headed off to Branson. This was the start of our Anniversary Get-A-Way! We had a date night at the SIX show and spent the night at a hotel!


Saturday

During our stay in Branson, the kids stayed with Lycia and then got to go to Granny and Granddad's during the afternoon. They had fun hanging out with Uncle Sam and Aunt Abigail as well.

Lydia and I enjoyed visiting SDC without the kids, and being able to shop around as well.



~Matt

Miss the Concert?

My quartet, Steppin' Out, did a concert in town at Doling Park last Thursday. I've uploaded a few of the videos on YouTube!


Just A Little Talk With Jesus (Steppin' Out Qt)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUWxVR2Cp64

Ain't God Good (Steppin' Out Quartet)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vberXxaB3A

Alone In The Garden (Steppin' Out Quartet)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3j2o98XN0R0

I Wanna Know How It Feels (Steppin' Out Quartet)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkTcjGpM7fc



http://steppinoutqt.com

Lydia's Birthday!

I just wanted to make a post and announce to everyone that today is Lydia's birthday!

I promised not to be to hard on her for this special milestone of her life, since it's now taken her three decades to reach it... so I won't mention her age. ;)

We've already had a party for her last Sunday night (the picture is of her playing bowling on the Wii with the family). However, the kids and I are taking her to RibCrib for supper this evening!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYDIA!


~Matt

Week Rundown (08/07/2011-08/13/2011)

Sunday

Vans and morning service was good. It was promotion Sunday, so the kids got to move up to a new class. They were excited.

We got a little rest during the afternoon, then it was back off to church. It was our Vacation Bible School program. We had a good time sharing the lessons we learned and everything! I was so happy that most of the boys in the class I taught showed up.


Monday

Lydia was working more hours this week at her job since she didn't have college classes. I dropped Mysia of at my mom's, and Aunt Abigail watched her. Lydia did shopping after picking up Mysia later in the afternoon. I picked up Malachi after I got off work and I worked on going through his toys in his room. I had quartet practice, and we're gearing up to singing at Doling park next week on the 18th.


Tuesday

Today was a pretty good day. After supper we had Noah and Courtney over. The kids kept trying to interrupt our conversations, but we all had a great visit.


Wednesday

Tonight was church. This was the first Wednesday for Malachi to set with us since he was promoted out of his class. He did well.


Thursday

After getting off work, we met at home and then headed out to Ryan's Steakhouse for dinner in celebration of Me-ma's (Paulette) birthday. The food was good, and for the most part, Mysia and Malachi behaved! They did seem to have to visit the restrooms several times though!


Friday

My last 'half-day' Friday at work for the summer...  a bummer! I really enjoyed not working a full day at the end of the week! I got off work, picked up Mysia and met Lydia and Malachi at home. We did house chores and spent a nice evening at home.


Saturday

Woke up early, got ready, picked up Abigail, and went to the movie theaters. They were showing the new VegieTales movie for free. We all enjoyed it.

For the afternoon, we ate a small lunch and took naps! Yipee! We had a good supper, and then Lydia and I left the kids under Abigail's watch while we on a date! Lydia had got some Cardinal Baseball tickets through a class-mate of hers. It was a great game... 12 innings! What a date!


~Matt

Lydia's Book Blog - "Jamie's Bride"

For the past four years Lydia has been working on this 'book' plot that has been on her mind. It's a romantic fiction, based around some historical settings. She's always wanted to write a book, and now that she has the ability with a laptop, she's taken up the challenge. Of course, college life and being a mommy has taken away from her free time.

To make herself more disciplined on working on the book, she had decided to start publishing her progress in a blog. So far, she has had a pretty good start. Each post is a chapter. Her aim is to make a post each week if time allows.

For those who may be interested, her blog is http://jamiesbride.blogspot.com/

If you like it, don't forget to make a comment occasionally. She would like some feedback!

~Matt

Week Rundown (07/31/2011-08/06/2011)

Sunday

I got up and got ready for Men's prayer breakfast at church. I tried to bring Malachi, but he wouldn't wake up. After the breakfast I ran my vans route and then attended morning services.

The afternoon was restful and I was able to take a good nap before heading out again to do van. Tonight was the kickoff for Vacation Bible School, so getting the kids to church was a big priority.


Monday

Today was one of the biggest days for my place of employment. If you listen to KWFC, you know why. The station was the media sponsor for the Ozark Empire Fair for the day, and we had a big concert planned for the evening at the grandstand.

A lot went into getting this event together and I had a part as well. There was a video presentation at our booth, t-shirts, registration flyers, and the powerpoint presentation for the concert. With the heat reaching 105°, I was glad our booth was in the AC. However, the concert was outside...

Lydia came and joined me after she got off work. The kids were with Granny, and she took them to VBS at church. I got to eat catered dinner with the artists and watch them set up. Of course, we had to set up things as well. My hope was that my laptop wouldn't over-heat due to the extreme weather! Running video and slides... it woulnd't have been good.

Thankfully, there was a bit of a breeze, and we were able to keep hydrated. Attendance was FAIR, considering the heat, and the concert was good. We got home after 11ish, and I was tired!


Tuesday

Back to work at the station for me! There was a lot to catch up on. Mysia got to spend the later morning to early afternoon with me in the office. While I worked on my graphics, she watched movies on my iPod and created characters out of paper with scissors and tape. After lunch, she was picked up by Granny to spend the rest of the day with her.

After work, Lydia, Malachi, and I ate real quick before heading to church for VBS. My mom brought Mysia. Lydia was in nursery and I taught the 3-4 grade boys. It was a busy but fun evening.


Wednesday

Today went by fast. Vacation Bible School was fun. The lesson was on the two disciples arguing over their seating next to Jesus around the throne and blind Bartimaeus. The theme dealt with being a servant, and serving others. Matthew 20: 27 &28


Thursday

Today was pretty much like yesterday. After work we ate and rushed to church for VBS. The kids in my class were well behaved considering that the heat had been extreme for the week.

Friday

Today was half day at work for both Lydia and I, so once we got off we headed to the YMCA to meet up with our friends Stephen & Jestina and their kids to swim! It sure felt good to relax in cool water and allow the kids to swim off their energy. We spent several hours there... it was fun!

We went home, ate real quick, and headed back to church. It was our last 'evening' for VBS and excitement was in the air.


Saturday

For the entire week of Vacation Bible School the kids have been working on a pinewood derby car during craft time. This morning was the races! I ran a church van to pick up kids. The starting time was at 9:30... so getting up and ready was a big thing, especially on a Saturday!

Mysia and Malachi were a bit disappointed that they didn't win in the race, especially Mysia, but we had fun anyways. They were happy to bring home their creations.
Back at home, we ate lunch and took a nice long nap. We then took advantage of our fair press passes that I had got on Monday and walked around the Ozark Empire Fair taking in the sights and sounds. We spent a good portion of our time in the air conditioned E-Plex looking at the booths and crafts. The kids took part in some of the activities in the Kids Zone.

We also went to the Truck and Tractor Trailer Pull. It seems that we spent  more time waiting on the event to start, but it was neat seeing them pull the weights across the dirt. The first tractor even caught on fire! That sure got Malachi interested and excited.

Before heading home, we walked the midway to see the rides and the lights. We didn't ride anything since it was expensive and we didn't really trust those quickly, put-together vomit traps... lol! But we had fun watching them though!


~Matt

Week Rundown (07/24/2011-07/30/2011)

Sunday

Today was hot. I ran the vans for church, and we kept the air conditioning on.

For the afternoon, we ate a good lunch and then took naps. Lydia worked on homework. I didn't mean to, but since there was no choir practice, I had a long nap!

Evening services was put on by our teens who had attended Senior Camp this last week. They demonstrated their talents with songs, preaching, dramatic readings, and awesome testimonies. Services were longer than normal, but worth it. I'm happy to report that Mysia did very well sitting through it all. Malachi had a fun time in his class and didn't mind the longer service.

We stopped by McDonalds on the way home and got some caramel sundays. The kids ate them in car, and once we got home, we got ready for bed.


Monday

Well, a new schedule was put into act today. Since summer daycamp had ended, Mysia got to go to Granny's house. However, my mom started a new job at the library on the BBC campus, o Mysia spent most of the day with her Aunt Abigail. Malachi was a bit disappointed that he can't spend the days with her.

I had quartet practice this evening. We worked on several songs. Looking forward to singing at a few outside events next month.


Tuesday

A busy day, but we got a lot accomplished. The evening was nice. Besides Lydia studying for her finals, we enjoyed time as a family.


Wednesday

This evening was spent at church. Lydia stayed home to study for her last final.


Thursday

Lydia's big event for today was her last final for her summer semester in college. She was very glad she is now finished for a few weeks. (so am I)


Friday

A nice half day for me at work. Lydia worked until 5, so the kids got to spend the afternoon with me at home. We had a late lunch, so after naps we headed to the park to let them release some energy. Lydia met us there, and then we headed home. We watched some tv in the air-conditioning before getting the kids ready for bed.

I spent several hours at church trying to prepare my room for Vacation Bible School.


Saturday

The main activity planned for today was swimming. Lydia got up and went to her appointment at BioLife. The kids played instead of watching cartoons. I joined in, and we wrestled for a good hour. The play ended after I somehow 'poked' Mysia in the eye and gave Malachi a rugburn! They wanted to continue after that, but I figured that once they got 'hurt'.. the time of wrestling was over.

We ate muffins and we watched some tv shows on Netflix when Lydia came back home. We drove over to to the pool to find out they didn't open for another hour. We headed back home, watched more tv shows, ate lunch, and took a nap.

We finally made it to the pool. It had rained and the weather cooled the air down. The pool was cold, but it sure felt good! We ended up swimming for several hours.

The rest of the evening was nice... showers and then bed!


~Matt