Week Rundown! (01/19/14 - 01/25/14)

We woke up Sunday morning tired. There was still luggage in our living room floor waiting to be unpacked. Before heading to morning services at church, we sorted through some of what we brought home from our cruise. The afternoon was a bit busy. We were tired, but still got things taken care of. There were cuddles and hugs throughout the day when chances allowed. We arrived early to church so that I could attend choir practice. Lydia studied her college homework, Mysia wrote in her notebook, and Malachi played with Legos. After evening services, we enjoyed the birthday and anniversary dinner and then headed out to visit Grandma Taylor for a bit. My parents also let me borrow their extra microwave since ours had stopped working last week! Once home, we went to bed.

Monday was almost back to schedule! The kids didn’t have school since it was Martin Luther King Jr Day. I dropped Lydia off at her office and then the kids at the Boys & Girls Club before I headed into work. There was a lot to catch up on since I was on the cruise last week. Lydia had a busy day too. Once home that evening, we worked on chores around the house and had chili for supper. The kids worked on homework and I sorted through cruise photos. Laundry was still running, and Lydia worked late through the night on catching up on her homework for her college classes.

The kids attended school and Lydia had her first college classes Tuesday afternoon. After work, I picked up the kids and we had supper and worked on homework before picking Lydia up from college. Once back home, the kids took showers and got ready for bed. Lydia had homework to finish, so she stayed up late. Yes... her schedule is hectic again!

We woke up early on Wednesday and rushed out of the house, dropping the kids off at school. Mysia attended her Pride Choir Practice. Lydia visited the “Heart and Vascular Center” to get consultation on her heart condition,”paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia”. To correct the problem, they scheduled Lydia to have a "Catheter Ablation" on Friday, February 7th. This procedure will selectively destroy areas of the heart that are causing the heart rhythm problem. Lydia has a college class on Wednesday evenings that is required for her to take so that she can graduate this spring, so I dropped her off at college before picking up the kids and heading home. We ate supper and then made it to church. The services were our annual business meeting. Mysia kept herself occupied by writing notes, but Malachi didn't last long... he fell asleep on the pew. We picked up Lydia on the way home.

At lunch on Thursday, I took Lydia to her afternoon classes. The kids and I ate supper that evening before picking Lydia up and returning home to get things done around the house before bed. The kids had brought home their school report cards. Both are doing very well with their grades... Although, we got a good laugh from what was written on Malachi's report. He needs to give "a little bit more effort self monitoring his impulses". Ha! What a great description! ;)

The weather was cold on Friday! Lydia and I cleaned out the van so that she could take it in and get it detailed during her lunch break. After picking up the kids and coming home that evening, we had a celebrated Mysia's birthday with family. A few were able to come over and enjoy pizza and dessert. Mysia had a wonderful time! Her friend Lizzy spent the night.

Malachi and I got up Saturday morning and attended our church's Men's Prayer Breakfast at Golden Corral. Malachi's biggest excitement was the chocolate fountain. At home, Mysia and Lizzy ate breakfast and played. Lydia got the grocery list ready, and when us guys came back, the kids played outside for a bit. After noon, Lydia and the girls left, and Malachi took a nap. Mysia got to spend some of her birthday money on a journal while shopping. Her and Malachi spent the the late afternoon cleaning their bedrooms and playing. Lydia did a grocery run before supper. We enjoyed the evening at home watching "The Princess Bride" before bed.

~Matt

Week Rundown! (01/12/14 - 01/18/14)

Sunday was our first full day aboard the cruise ship! It was neat waking up to the ocean outside our room window. The ship changed time zones, so we "lost" an hour. We met up with Ken and Linda Whitecotton (our cruise buddies for the entire trip) at breakfast. It was buffet style! The morning devotion was lead by Mark Milioni and Dave sang a solo. We spent the entire day on-board at sea; walking around the shop, enjoying the pool, and a wonderful lunch! Since the dinner was formal night, we dressed up before going to the concert later that afternoon. All the artists treated us to several songs... what a time we had! We then headed straight to the dining hall. It was an elegant evening. Of course, before going back to our room for the night, we swam! :P

Lydia got up early on Monday to workout at the gym. We met up for breakfast and then headed over for morning devotions with Linzy Slayden. I was the guest soloist that morning. We then went ashore to Key West, Florida. The special excursion was a tram ride around the island, with the guide explaining points of interest along the way. We visited several shops and went to the small aquarium. We were allowed to touch a shark and a few sting rays. Lydia had Key Lime Pie on a stick, and we visited the post office before getting back on board. The concert that evening featured the Bilyue Family. After a beautiful dinner at the dining hall, we headed over to the Karaoke to hear Caleb. Dave and I decided to join in on the fun as well… He sang "Ring Of Fire" and I did Elvis' "Hound Dog"! We had a blast.

Lydia again woke up early on Tuesday to visit the gym. I was a beautiful day and after breakfast and a wonderful devotion by Bruce Haynes, we watched as we neared Nassau, Bahamas. It was exciting to see as the ship neared harbor. We went ashore with Ken & Linda and rushed to a few shops to grab some jewelry that was specially offered for our cruise trip. Lydia and I then rushed back to port to catch up with our excursion group. We were lead to a boat that took us out 45 minutes to sea to a coral reef. Once there, we snorkeled for about an hour, getting close and personal with the tropical fish and sea-life. It was neat and definitely a fun experience! On our way back to the Nassau, we passed Paradise Island and viewed the beachfront homes of celebrities like Oprah, Tiger Woods, Chuck Norris, and Michael Jordan. A bit hungry, we stopped by a two-story McDonald's to grab a cheeseburger and connect to WiFi for a few minutes. Then… it was off to a beach. Sure enough, there was a small one close by. It was my first visit to a beach and we played in the sand and water. We watched the sunset on the horizon and then decided it was getting late enough. Since we didn't want to be in town as the bars began to come to life, we back on board for some supper and more swimming before bed.

We got up Wednesday morning, had breakfast in the dining hall for a change, and then dressed up for our visit to Cococay… a private island ran by Royal Caribbean for their guests. Once ashore, we visited the market on the beach. Once we found a nice spot on the beach, we filled our water rafts with air and drifted out to sea. The water was a bit cold, but the sun felt wonderful. Royal Caribbean served us a fantastic BBQ lunch while ashore. Lydia and I enjoyed a short nap afterwards, and then decided to once again float on the beach. We ended up napping on our rafts, once again drifting out to sea. The wind started picking up, and it took us about 30 minutes to wade back to the shore. We packed our things up and rode back to the boat in time to get ready and attend the late afternoon concert.

Thursday was a full day at sea. We had breakfast and enjoyed the devotion by Eddie Bumpers. We went swimming and roamed around the ship until lunch. The afternoon concert was great, featuring all the groups. The evening dinner was formal night, so we dressed up and then enjoyed roaming the ship taking pictures. We changed back in to relaxing clothes and played a round of miniature golf on the top deck in the high winds! The moon was gleaming off of the ocean waves.

Friday was our last full day on the ship. We had mixed emotions… not wanting our trip to end, but also wanting to see our kids. The time change took effect overnight, so we were able to sleep in for an extra hour. We met Ken and Linda for breakfast and then headed over for morning devotions by Eddie Bumpers. We did some shopping on board, looking at the deals they had. We picked up a few postcards and trinkets to remember our trip. After a wonderful lunch, we went swimming! I tried out the waterslide… It was designed for kids, and not an overweight adult, so I got stuck a few feet from the beginning. We packed up all of our belongings besides what we were to wear on Saturday for our return home. We watched "Iron Man 3" at the Cinema after dinner. We called the kids telling them we'd be heading home and they disappointed thinking that we'd mess up their fun plans for Saturday. After some assurance that we'd be getting in late, they were satisfied. I was able to convince Lydia to join me in attending the last Karaoke night on the ship. It was loud, but still fun. We then went for a cool swim before bed

We woke up early on Saturday morning and ate our last breakfast on-board as the ship docked in New Orleans. We were able to pick up cellphone services, so we were able to catch up on emails and news while we waited to get off. We met up with our luggage once off the cruise ship and took it to the bus. Once boarded and in our seats, we made our long continuous trip back home. We made several stops to stretch our legs and eat lunch. Lydia and I took a few naps and enjoyed watching a few movies with others on the bus. We made it into Springfield around 10:30pm that evening. The kids were asleep at Granny's... but we picked them up and took them home with us. We piled the luggage in the living room, cuddled for a bit with the kids, exchanged a few stories of what happened during the week, and then went to bed.

~Matt

Week Rundown! (01/05/14 - 01/11/14)

We got quite a storm overnight, and it was deemed to treacherous to venture out Sunday morning. It was a real snow day. We took advantage of the situation and slept in. After breakfast, the kids played while Lydia and I took this chance to pack our luggage for our Cruse trip later this week. We kept busy during the day, playing games and watching movies. Mysia even did some homework... using the laptop to create a report she had been assigned to do. Before going to bed, we watched the first two movies of The Mighty Ducks.

On Monday, because of the weather, schools were closed. I woke up with a very sore throat. My uvula was inflamed and swollen. It hurt to swallow and left me with a temporary speech impediment. Lydia waited a bit for the road conditions to improve before going out to clean off the van and heading into work. Mysia played on the laptop while Malachi played on the Nook for an hour. I sent them outside, allowing them to enjoy the snow for only about 20 minutes since the temps were around 0-2 degrees! We had lunch and then some naps before they watched some tv. Once Lydia came home, we ate supper and watched the "Mighty Ducks 3". 

Even though the schools were closed due to the weather on Tuesday, the kids got to go to the Boys & Girls Club. Lydia woke up with another Tachycardia attack. So after dropping the kids off, we headed to the hospital ER. They were able to treat her and get the heart rate down. She was able to go into work afterwards. I was still sick, and had an appointment with the doctor later that afternoon. That evening, we watched "Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe" before bed.

Mysia woke up Wednesday morning letting us know that her throat was a bit sore. We treated it and both kids went to school. Later that afternoon, I ended up picking her up early because she was running a low grade temperature. Since I was still recovering, and Mysia was considered sick, we all stayed home from church services so that we might not spread any germs around.

Thursday was very interesting. It was the last day for Lydia and I to go to work… and we had many things to get done before leaving on vacation. Schools were once again closed due to the cold weather. Mysia went to work with me and Malachi got to spend the day with Granny at the library! At home that evening, things were in high gear in preparation for our trip. We had a nice supper of sweet & sour and cashew chicken. Sam came over and we loaded him with a ton of information for when we were to be gone. Mysia and Malachi were so excited that we were leaving them in the care of Uncle Sam and Aunt Abigail. The kids took their showers and finally went to bed, knowing that we'd wake up early tomorrow.

The day had finally come to leave for our Cruise! We got up on Friday and loaded our luggage into the van. Sam and the kids dropped us off at BBC and then bade us farewell as we boarded the bus. He then took them to breakfast before dropping them off at school. It was a bit of a long day for Lydia and I. We enjoyed the bus trip, visiting with those sitting around us, and then spending time with our cruise buddies, Ken & Linda Whitecotton. We had lunch at Cracker Barrel and made it to the hotel by 6pm for supper. We then spent about thirty minutes at the indoor pool to relax before going to bed.

I didn't get much sleep overnight and was ready to go when time to get up on Saturday morning. Lydia and I had a good breakfast before joining our group on the bus for the last leg of the trip to New Orleans to board the cruise ship. The views were awesome along the way. Just before noon, we arrived at the ship. We went through 'customs' and made it on board. Many people were wandering around and we decided to have lunch on the top deck. It was buffet style, and the food was delicious. Once back in our room, we unpacked a few things and then attended the drill so that we know how to make it off in case of an emergency. We did some more unpacking before meeting with the entire KWFC group. Supper was fine dining with Ken & Linda; we tried some new dishes and were pleased with what we ate. Lydia and I got to swim and relax before retiring to our room. We made a quick call to the kids before going to bed.

~Matt

Week Rundown! (12/29/13 - 01/04/14)

Lydia and the kids rode the church van with me before services. We took naps that afternoon. During evening services, Mysia and Malachi participated in the fifth Sunday song. They sang a duet of "Jesus Lives Me" with Mysia playing the piano. She also played a solo, the "Thanksgiving Hymn". Both did very well!

On Monday, Lydia went into work and I dropped off the kids with Granny so I could get a few things done at my work as well. The kids and I ate lunch at home, they took short naps, and then played outside. Mysia is finally learning how to ride her bike without training wheels.

Lydia had work on Tuesday. I stayed home with the kids. That evening, we went downtown to partake in the New Year's Eve festivities. We got to make some masks. But since several if the venues were crowded, and we were cold. We came home and bright in the new year in warmth. The kids played the Wii before bed.

On New Year's Day we got up and ate breakfast before heading to MeMaw's house for Christmas celebration with Lydia's side if the family. We had a wonderful turkey dinner and opened gifts! The kids enjoyed playing with their totems and watched a movie. We got to visit before heading home later that evening.

Thursday was back to school for the kids. We woke up to snow that made the roads a bit slippery. For supper we met up with out friends Noah and Courtney at rib crib. The food was good, and we visited more at our house that evening.

Friday was still cold and they snow didn't melt away. The kids claimed it was a normal day at school. The kids played while supper was being made. Lydia and I spent the evening getting some of the stuff ready for our cruise trip, and looking over finances.

We woke up on Saturday morning and got ready for Taekwondo class. Lydia stayed home to work on laundry and the the grocery list. Once back home, the kids and I ate lunch while Lydia left for the store. While she was gone, Malachi took a nap and Mysia helped me with some chores around house. She mopped the floor and I finally installed grip-locks on our kitchen table to keep the leaves in place. Mysia wrote an email to a friend and Malachi played some games on the Nook before bed.

~Matt