Week Rundown (01/22/12-01/28/12

Sunday

Since Mysia was sick yesterday, Lydia decided to stay home with her. I woke up Malachi and he rode with me on the church van route.

During the afternoon, we all took long naps. I think it was needed. Lydia was going to attend evening services since I went this morning, but as she was getting ready to leave, she felt a little nauseated. So she stayed home and took it easy. Nothing happened, but we decided to play it safe and not spread germs to others.


Monday

The night was crazy! Both kids woke up multiple times in the night. Mysia vomited... yuck!

Lydia dropped Malachi off at daycare before going into work and school for the day. I planned on staying home with Mysia. However, she was feeling fine, and I had a ton of work to get accomplished. She got to spend the day with me in the office. She was my personal secretary, although she spent some of the time in front of the tv watching cartoons.


Tuesday

Today went by fast. School, daycare, and work. This evening Adria visited and had dinner with us. We had a good time chatting and finding out what's been going on in her life.


Wednesday

This evening was a bit rushed. The kids and I got home and ate real quick. Lydia had to work over, so she was running behind. When we arrived at church, there were over 50 kid for children's ministry! Wow! Talk about a interesting evening! Thankfully it all went well, and we have some great leaders and helpers that kept things in control.


Thursday

We had a nice evening at home. Lydia worked a bit late, I made bean dip. The kids and I worked on getting their rooms straightened up and in order. It's not a fun job, but it has to be done!


Friday

This afternoon, I went to Mysia's school and had lunch with her since tomorrow is her birthday. It was something unique and special. The ladies at the school thought it was a neat idea, and the Mysia's class-mates thought it was awesome. Several of the kids said that they're going to get their parents to do the same thing... good thing I don't know them! ;)

Lydia worked later tonight, so the kids and I ate supper, watched some tv, and cleaned up some things around the house before she came home.


Saturday

Today is Mysia's 7th birthday! She woke us up with excitement. She has a cd that has princess songs on it, one particular was played over and over again... "Happy Birthday Princess"

We had breakfast, and rushed out of the house by ten. We ran by several stores. Mysia used some of her already acquired birthday money to by herself a new Bible she wanted, and our gift to her was a nice Bible cover. Malachi took his collected money and bough a "Larryboy-Mobile".

I dropped Lydia off at work for a few hours, and went home with the kids to prepare for the birthday party this evening. After lunch, I put Malachi down for a nap, and convinced Mysia to observe some quiet time. I snuck in a 30 minute nap as well! :)

We picked Lydia up from work, got some pizza, and hurried home before family arrived. Mysia was so excited as they came. Of course, they brought gifts... which added to the excitement. We ate, visited, and watched Mysia open her gifts. Everyone was wore out since it was Saturday, and all were gone by 8. Mysia went home with her Aunt Abigail to spend the night. We gave Malachi a shower and put him to bed! What a day!

~Matt

That Gold City Concert...

Yes, a week from today, I get to attend a special Gold City concert. My place of employment, KWFC Radio, is hosting the event. That means I’m actually working the concert... but that gets me backstage, where I get to mingle with the artists, etc. Needless to say, I’m excited. Gold City is my favorite Southern Gospel group, and I’m thrilled to be a part.

I was in charge of designing the web banners, concert tickets, and more for the concert. There’s also going to be a something special offered at the night of the event that I’ve worked hard on.

As I had posted earlier, in less than 4 days, the two thousand “free” tickets were gone. Since then, we’ve fielded calls and emails about how people could get some. I’m happy that we’ve “sold out” the event, but sad that there are still many who want to attend. It’s something I don’t wanna miss!

~Matt

Bowling T-Shirt Design

During the first of this month, my boss came to me and asked for me to quickly come up with a simple t-shirt design for our winners for the KWFC Bowling Night (Jan 12). He wanted it to simply say “2012 Winners” with the station logo and somehow have the bowling theme incorporated in the design.

So I made a quick sketch, he approved, and I got to work. I turned out pretty good. Unfortunately, my team didn’t win that night, so I didn’t get the finished product. But I still have the files! ;)

~Matt

Ways I Embrace My Audience

Okay, this this is an unusual topic for me to discuss. I know that I have a small ‘audience’ that reads my blog, however, I do not know who all that audience is. I assume that some of my family reads what I post, and that there are also a few friends who may keep up, but that’s it. In fact, only eight people follow my blog publicly. That isn’t much.

How do I ‘embrace’ them? Ha.... I have no clue! ;) I just try to keep this blog interesting. Hopefully that’s what keeps people reading what I write. I use blogging to report the weekly ‘news’ that happens with our family, thus the name. I’ve occasionally blogged rants and off-the-wall topics that pop into my brain. Some have emailed or told me they’ve liked what I’ve written, which is encouraging.

It’d be neat if I had an interactive audience. But right now, I’m just happy to have a small place on the web to write whatever.

~Matt

How I Use Facebook

Yes, Facebook is a part of my life. Probably too much... but hey, I enjoy it. Some people enjoy a daily news paper, I enjoy Facebook. Catching up on other people’s lives and opinions is what makes it interesting to me.

It is very common to read posts by others others who like to rant or just try and air out their problems. Hopefully, you won’t ever see that from my status posts. My goal is to have fun with Facebook, and bring a smile to my friends’ face when they read them. If I make a post, I try to be creative.

I’ll admit that there are times that I want to comment to those who get under my skin. But I then try and let them make a fool of themselves and ignore it. It does, however, give Lydia and I topics of discussion!

Besides family, Facebook also allows me to keep up with my favorite SG music artists and fellow fans. Of course, it helps me in my job as well.

How do you use Facebook?

~Matt

HUH!?!? Blogging Challenges...

I admit that I don’t write on this blog very often I want. I’ve tried themes, day-to-day posts, and they just haven’t been working. So... I found something new.

There are several places on the internet that give blog ideas and challenges. I found one that gives 100 blog post titles. I just have to write the copy. This seems like a neat challenge and I'm thinking it should help develop my creative writing as well. If not, at least I got a good picture out of it!

Anyway, stay tuned..! ;)

~Matt

Week Rundown (01/15/12-01/21/12

Sunday

I woke up before everyone and made it to church for the van route. Lydia and the kids made it to church for Sunday School. We took naps during the afternoon, and then attended evening services.


Monday

Lydia got up early and took Malachi to daycare before heading to work. I dropped Mysia of with Granny since it was a holiday. She got to ride her scooter and go get ice cream. After work, I picked up and met Malachi and Lydia at home.


Tuesday

Lydia started her first classes at MSU. She found out that things are little bit different then OTC.

This evening Lydia attended a ladies meeting at church while I stayed home with the kids. They were in bed by the time she got home.


Wednesday

After work/school/daycare we met at home and ate a quick supper before heading to church. Tonight was business meeting, so the kids went to the children's class.


Thursday

Daycare called me before lunch to let me know that Malachi had vomited twice. They said a a bug had been going around, and it looked like he got it. As I arrived, he was on his third round, and I found him at the trash can. I took him home, and the rest of the day was spent running back and forth from the restroom. I was able to work on my work projects from home.

After work, Lydia attended Mysia's school presentation. Mysia did well, singing along with the rest of the school kids. Lydia was able to get on video with her phone so that I could view it as well.


Friday

Malachi had slept all night long with problems, and woke up full of energy. Since I he had to be 24 hours symptom free before going to daycare, Uncle Sam volunteered to watch him for most of the day. They played hide and seek, watched movies, and snacked!

I picked up both kids after work and met Lydia at home. We ate and enjoyed the evening together.


Saturday

Mysia woke up complaining that her stomach didn't feel so well. Uh-oh. I got up and hurried in to work to finish an exciting project that we hope to have available at our Cabin Fever Concert on February 3rd. Lydia texted me and reported that Mysia vomited. She did indeed have the virus that Malachi had.

I came home later in the afternoon. We ate a late lunch, and Malachi and I went grocery shopping. He was excited at first, but was ready to leave by the end of the list. Mysia was feeling a little better by the end of the day, but we were still cautious. Lydia gave us guys haircuts before bed!

~Matt

Week Rundown (01/08/2012-01/14/2012)

Sunday

Church was great, and we took naps during the afternoon.


Monday

Back to work, school, and daycare!

This evening we had dinner with Lydia's dad. We had supper, visited, and played a game around the table before we had to go home.


Tuesday

After work, the kids and I came home for the evening. Lydia went to a PTA meeting. The kids and worked on homework and played.


Wednesday

Today was pretty normal for a Wednesday.


Thursday

We woke up so some snow! Finally! The kids were excited, and also thrilled that got to wear their snowboots, even though it was more like a dusting.

Once I got off work, I picked up the kids and dropped them off at my parents' house. I then met Lydia at home, ate a quick supper, and then we headed to the bowling alley. Tonight was the KWFC Bowling Night at Lighthouse Lanes, and we were part of a team I had put together from church. We weren't the best... in fact, we weren't even close! We had the lowest score! Yikes. However, we had fun.

We picked up Malachi, leaving Mysia to spend the night with Aunt Abigail, and came home for bed.


Friday

Mysia had the day off from school, and spent the day with her Aunt Abigail. They had a tea party and fun hanging out together.

Lydia went to the eye doctor and got them dilated. Since too much light bothered her eyes, we spent the evening with most of the lights off. We ate tacos and watched some tv before going to bed.


Saturday

After waking up, we worked a bit on the house before Lydia left for work. The kids and I worked on their rooms, straightening them up. It was needed. ;)

Lydia accidentally left her cell phone at home, so we took it to her work. I discovered that someone had gotten into our van and stole a few things. Needless to say, we weren't happy! Thankfully, nothing major was taken, and the van wasn't harmed.

We spent the afternoon with my folks and siblings. The cousins played while we visited, and I got to play the Wii with my siblings! It was fun!

The evening was restful, and we got to bed on time.
We spent


~Matt

Tuesday Tidbits: Hurry To See GOLD CITY!

On Tuesdays I'm wanting to share 'Tidbits' on things that may help others out. My original thought was that it would have to do with technology, like computers and smartphones. However, with the excitement we have in our area about the upcoming concert in a few weeks, I can't resist.

The tidbit.... if you live in the Ozarks and want to see Gold City, GET YOUR TICKET SOON!

KWFC's Cabin Fever Festival is on February 3rd, and there is so much interest about the tickets, that I predict that the FREE 2,000 limited tickets will go fast. Even though they won't be available until this Friday, we've gotten calls, emails, and even the ticket locations have been hit with people!

This is exciting!!!


~Matt

Week Rundown (01/01/2012-01/07/2012)

Sunday

Happy New Years!!!

I ran the church vans for morning services, and during the afternoon we took naps! There was no choir practice, so didn't have to be at church early for evening services.


Monday

Lydia and I both had the day off, so we stayed at home getting things done. It basically a lazy day.

After the kids woke up from their afternoon nap, we had a late lunch. We then got cleaned up and dressed and headed downtown for a wedding of a friend. The ceremony and reception was beautiful. When we got back home, the kids got showered and sent to bed.


Tuesday

It was back to a schedule! Since Lydia won't have college classes starting back up for another few weeks, she is working full time. For me, it was my first day back to work after two weeks of 'vacation'. To be honest, I was glad to get back.

I had quartet practice this evening. We actually went over some new songs, and picked some out to be working on. It's gonna be a fun year!


Wednesday

Malachi was cranky this morning. He wanted to get up early when we were doing our morning exercises, but we made him stay in bed. Then when it was time to get ready, he complained he was tired, and moved around very slowly.

We had a quick supper and then headed off for church. We're on break for a few weeks with the children's services, so we this evening we got to enjoy Pastor's sermon!


Thursday

This afternoon, Lydia and I decided to have a lunch date.The weather was so nice today, low 60's, that we didn't even wear jackets! I even rolled down the car window while driving to enjoy the fresh air.

After work, we picked up the kids and met at home. We made supper and watched America's Funniest Videos before getting the kids ready for bed.  


Friday

Today went by quick, but there were a lot of things to accomplish at work since it was the last day of week. I've been working on the tickets for KWFC's concert in February. It's pretty neat that I get to design tickets for my favorite artist... GOLD CITY! Plus, these tickets are extra-special, something that I've never heard happening. I can't wait until we release the news!

After meeting at home, we got dinner ready and the house ready for company. Our friends, Noah and Courtney came over to visit and talk about their wedding plans. I have the honor of helping them with the invitations and programs!

All three of our goldfish died this evening. They had gotten "Ick", and not realizing it, it was too late to kill the parasites! The kids were sad.


Saturday

Lydia and I were tired... so we tried to sleep in a bit. The kids played nicely for the most part, but breakfast had to be taken care of! We got up, ate, and left for my parents' house. We spent most of the day over there as part of what I called "Granny Day". My mom's birthday is Monday, so we celebrated early by spending the entire day with her. We visited, let the kids play outside, and had cashew chicken for lunch, and played Wii together. Sam and I also took the kids on a trip around the block, he and I walked while the kids rode their scooters. We all played Wii bowling together, then did some tennis, dance games,and Mario Kart.  I think we wore Granny out! ;)

Once home, we got ready for bed. The kids didn't take any nap or get any rest, so they were tired. Lydia and I didn't stay up much later either.


~Matt

A Must Read Book About CS LEWIS!

Since I work at KWFC radio, and it is owned by Baptist Bible College... I'm considered as an employee of the college. That means that there are some neat privilages. For example, I get to enjoy the cafeteria! Yum!

Well, I also received membership to their library. I do love to read, so I had visited it a few times after I was employed back in April. However, since I now read a lot on the internet, and some books on my phone, the library just didn't have that great of an appeal like when I was younger. Well, in early summer, my mom got a job there. So, being the awesome son that I am.... ;) .... I go visit her from time to time.

In one of the visits, I talked about CS Lewis, and how there are companion books to the Narnia series. My mom then did a search on her library computer and read the titles of what they had. There were several that sounded interesting, but one struck my attention. I checked it out, and hoped to read it. I ended up renewing it a few times, since the holidays had taken more of my time than I relaxed it would.

This evening, I just finished reading the book "The Secret Country of C.S. Lewis" by Anne Arnott.

WOW! What a great biography it turned out to be! A must read for any Lewis fan!!! Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Written for young readers (teenagers) back in the mid-70's, it's quite a journey through Lewis' life. I highly recommend it.


I do want to share a quote of Lewis', that I think is great:

"It is Christ Himself, not the Bible, who is the true word of God. The Bible read in the right spirit and with the guidance of good teachers, will bring us to Him... We must not use the Bible (our fathers too often did) as a sort of Encyclopedia out of which texts (isolated from their context and not read with attention to the whole nature and purport of the books in which they occur) can be taken for uses as weapons."

~Matt

Friday Fun: How to write a Facebook status...

Step 1. Write what you're REALLY thinking.
Step 2. Go on! Really express yourself! Don't hold back!
Step 3. Re-read status.
Step 4. Think of people who could potentially read said status.
Step 5. Delete status.
Step 6. Write something obscure, preferably depressing. Don't worry about grammar, spelling, or punctuation...

Thursday Thoughts: Those Candidates...

With the beginning of the year, and this November being the presidential election, the media has been going nuts with all the political candidates! Yes, I’m already sick of them. I also know that it’s only going to get worse. As voters, we’re really going to have to dig deep to find the truth.

The thing that upsets me the most is the fact that people follow the media blindly. No one wants to do research on their own. They let others make up their mind! There are many that will stick to party lines, just going with what the party picks instead of voting for someone who is for their true beliefs. This happens on all sides. Hmmm... how smart is that?

I understand that some my come back with the response, “but they’re all politicians....” And I'll agree, to some extent. Yes, we are all humans. We fail. They fail. There is no 'perfect candidate'. But that’s no excuse to just vote under a party banner! I wonder what would happen if we allowed others to dictate our other decisions we make? Would you let that happen? Voting for president is a pretty big deal. Makes me wonder...

~Matt

Wednesday Wishes: Snow...

Yes, that four-letter word... "SNOW"

I wish we'd see some of it. I'm already sick of the change in weather, warm to cold, cold to warm. And nothing!

I'll admit that it was nice to have some warm weather over the weekend. The kids got to enjoy time outside, I was able to take down the Christmas lights, and it sure felt nice to have the windows open and a nice breeze going throughout the house. However, it's now January! We need snow!

The weathermen have teased us with forecasts of flurries, but like like usual, our weather has changed. Since Springfield is has the wildest weather on the globe, it's what thing that you can trust... you can't trust the weather!

http://www.weatherpages.com/variety/most.html
http://www.forbes.com/2007/07/20/weather-storms-united-states-biz-cx_tvr_0720weather_slide_10.html?thisSpeed=15000


~Matt

Tuesday Tidbits: The Taskbar Shuffle (for Windows)

One of the things I like about the Firefox browser is the ability to move and reorder the tabs. I think it's a wonderful feature. It got me thinking. Wouldn't it be nice to do the same on your Windows taskbar?

Well, after some searching around, I found an application that runs in the background and allows you to do the same thing! How cool is that?

Try it out! http://nerdcave.webs.com/

Week Rundown (12/25/2011-12/31/2011)

Sunday

Ahhh.... Christmas day! We got the kids up and read the Christmas story out of Luke 2. Then we let them rush into the living room to see their gifts. They were welcomed with a huge hippo and monkey. Gifts were then spread around.

The kids played for a bit, but then we got showers and dressed for morning church services.

Afternoon at Paulette's with Lydia's siblings. We watched 'Cars 2' and 'Tangled' while playing on our iPhones and visiting. We then went with the family to watch the Christmas cantata. Unfortunately, the kids were so tired, they slept through most of the services! After the services, we visited and got some more family photos, then we headed home.

There was still some deserts from Friday that were asking to be eaten, so we snacked for a bit and headed to bed.


Monday

A nice day at home for all of us. We slept in, letting the kids play and watch some tv. I then got to go check on our van, and thanks to our friend Ben Winter, we found the problem was a bad battery!!! Hooray!

We stayed home all day! Grandpa Keim stopped by, giving the kids their Christmas gifts from him. They got scooters! They zoomed up and down the hall all afternoon. We played several rounds of Mario Kart Wii before the kids and I took naps, I was tired!

We had a lazy evening. I ran to the store to grab the essentials for the rest of the week.


Tuesday

Lydia got up and headed into work. I had both kids with me for the entire day. They did art, played around the house, and watched some tv.

After lunch, we took naps! Oh, it felt so nice to get a rest. I then took them outside to play on their scooters in the driveway. The weather was nice, both did well learning to ride.

This evening, we had Silas and Kristi over for supper and for visit. It was fun getting to catch up on their lives and being able to visit.


Wednesday

Today, Lydia left for work, again leaving me at home with the kids. I can't complain, both behaved fairly well throughout the day. Just like yesterday, we played, watched tv, took naps, and spent some time outside.

Lydia worked a little late, so we made it to evening services right on time. The kids sat with us. By the time we got home, it was bedtime, and we all hit the sack!


Thursday

Today was pretty much the same as the last few. Lydia worked and the kids and I stayed home. I worked on several projects, including trying to revamp my website for the New Year. Well, it was getting me a bit frustrated. I took the kids outside after naps and let them play on their scooters, giving me some time to relax a bit.

For the evening, we enjoyed a great supper, and watched some tv episodes together..


Friday

Today was the last day for the kids to spend at home with just me. We followed the same schedule as the previous days. However, since the weather was so nice, I took down the outside Christmas lights while the kids played. We spent more time outside due to the warm weather, and they played with the putt-putt set and their bats and balls.

After Lydia came home, we ate a quick supper and headed to church. We attended the 50 wedding anniversary celebration of one of the couples in our church. They had a great reception set up. When we returned home, the kids went to bed, and Lydia and I enjoyed some tv.


Saturday

Wow... the last day of the year! Lydia and I tried to sleep in. We worked on getting some things done around the house. Lydia did the laundry while I went shopping for groceries.

The weather was in the upper 60's, so we actually had the windows open, enjoying the fresh air. It was odd to have so warm of temperatures at the end of December!

We had our friends, the Copelands, over for supper and to bring in the New Year. We talked, visited, played a few games, and watched "America's Family Videos" on NetFlix. We stepped outside as the countdown for midnight approached, hoping to see some fireworks from downtown. Instead, we were greeted by gusts of cold wind. The wind was so strong that the city wouldn't shoot fireworks. So it was a bit disappointing. But the New Year still came!

We said our goodbyes, and went to bed!

~Matt