Week Rundown! (11/24/13 - 11/30/13)

On Sunday morning, Malachi and I attended the Men's Prayer Breakfast at church. I then ran the church van for morning services. Malachi spent the afternoon with Granny and Granddad. Mysia watched some her favorite tv shows at home with us. After evening services we came home and got ready for bed.

Monday was back to school and work. I took the van in to the shop to get it looked at, and everything seemed to be fine. Once home, we packed up some food and headed out to visit with Lydia's extended family... Her Uncle Richard's retirement party!

Tuesday was the last day of school of the week for the kids. That evening, we came home and had pizza for supper. We attended midweek services at church (it was moved from Wednesday since many travel). We stopped by the store before heading home and bed. Lydia had homework to do.

The kids woke up early on Wednesday and cleaned their rooms before Lydia and I got up from bed. We had breakfast and Lydia left for work. The kids spent the morning watching Garfield before we did some housework. They did crafts and had fun with play-dough before lunch. I then had them take naps. The afternoon was spent playing Mario on the Wii and games on the Nook tablet. I was able to get a few home projects done on the computer. Lydia was able to come home early, so we started on the turkey preparation! Yum! We spent the evening watching "Chitty, Chitty, Bang-Bang" and playing Mario Kart Wii together.

On Thanksgiving Day, we got up early and put the turkey in oven at 5am. I went back to sleep, but Lydia stayed up and finished her homework that would be due next week. Once the kids woke up, we made breakfast and turned on the parade. We were disappointed with some of the "musical performances" that came on, but enjoyed the parade and floats. Once ready and packed, we headed to my parents' house. We spent the day eating, visiting, and playing. The kids played with their cousins. Of course, I got a chance to play some computer games with my brothers! Yes, when it comes to technology and games... we've never grown up. Where do you think our kids get it from? :) We also played some family games and the kids watched a few movies before we came home an went to bed. What a fun day!

I was planning on us sleeping in on Friday, but agreed to get up early and do some Black Friday shopping with my dad. He picked me up and we stood in line outside at Bass Pro Shops. They had ammo on sale, and he wanted to take advantage of the offer. While waiting, we got donuts, coffee, and sang to by a mixed quartet! There was a rush to grab the product and then try to get out. Overall, it was fun! But once home... I crashed in bed. Lydia got up and went to her chiropractor, then I went into work for a few hours. The kids watched tv and played, and then after lunch the Lydia and Mysia went to the mall with Granny, Abigail and Ana. Granddad, Ben, and his two boys came over. The boys played all afternoon. Ben and I played a few computer games, and talked tech with my dad. I made a run to the bank and my car died. I abandoned it for the day, hoping that I can take it to the shop next week. After supper, Lydia and I, along with the kids, brought out the Christmas decorations! Our living room was transformed into a winter wonderland... watched Frosty the Snowman and the sequel, then it was bedtime.

We woke up tired on Saturday, but we ate a quick breakfast and headed out to taekwando practice. Afterwards, we decided to spend the rest of the day Christmas shopping. We went to several stores around Springfield. We had a late lunch and HuHot and still had places to go before we finally headed home. Lydia and I were pooped... but the kids were energetic. They took showers and we watched some classic Christmas cartoons before sending them to bed.

~Matt

Week Rundown! (11/17/13 - 11/23/13)

I woke up Sunday morning and left to do the van route. Lydia woke up with a migraine, but thankfully, it went away before church. The kids spent the afternoon with their Aunt Abigail. Sam and Madison visited Lydia and I at lunch at home. Lydia had to meet with her classmates that evening to finish working on their main project that was due later in the week. Of course, she's hoping for a good grade.

On Monday, Mysia found out she's now working on Christmas songs for piano. Yes... she's excited. She's determined to learn them quickly! Once home for the evening, Lydia got supper going and the kids finished their homework. Malachi read a few books and Mysia was doing some of her Bible study. We had them get their showers and watched some tv before bed. I got some projects completed and started while Lydia focused on her homework.

After a busy, but productive day at work, I picked up the kids and headed home. Lydia was already at the house, she had worked on homework after classes. We ate supper, worked on homework, and spent the evening together as family. We did sneak in a few tv shows before bed.

I had a dentist appointment on Wednesday. A new crown need placed on my back tooth. Mysia had school choir that morning and was excited about it when I picked her up after work. That evening, we attended church services.

On Thursday evening, we watched the T"his is America Charlie Brown, The Mayflower Voyagers". Mysia was full of information about the Mayflower since they had been doing reading about it at school. We also watched a few episodes of "cake boss" and the kids (plus Lydia) worked on homework. After showers, Lydia and Mysia worked on some sewing.

Friday finally arrived, and after work and school we came home to a relaxing evening. We ate spaghetti for supper and the kids worked on room clean up before bed.

Saturday morning we woke up, got ready, and attended TaeKwonDo class. We had leftovers for lunch and took naps! We got a few things done around the house and watched a movie before bed.

~Matt

Week Rundown! (11/10/13 - 11/16/13)

Sunday was exciting. After morning services, we had our friends Ken and Linda over to talk about and plan for our upcoming cruise trip in January. They are going, so we went over the itinerary and what all we'd be doing on our vacation. It's gonna be fun!!!

On Monday,  Malachi lost another tooth at supper. He had been wiggling it for several days. His toothless grin is fantastic. Both kids finished their homework and had wanted to read and play before bed. Lydia was again working on her homework and I dealt with trying to back up some computer files.

Lydia attended iMom on Tuesday, which is breakfast with the kids at school and encouragement the mothers. That afternoon, I went with Lydia as she visited a sleep doctor. We found out that there is a good chance she has "sleep apnea" and it could be the cause of her occasional tachycardia. We'll be looking into this in the near future to see what she needs to do. We picked up the kids a little earlier than normal and came home for supper. The evening was spent working on projects (like finances) and spending normal family time together!

On Wednesday, we came home, ate supper, and then headed out to church for evening services. We didn't stay up too late once we got home.

Thursday was exciting!!! Lydia got news that she's been hired at BKD in May. That evening we headed over to school to attend the "Superhero Math Academy"! It was giving us an hands-on experience with how "Common Core" has been implemented in grades K through 2. We were impressed. The teachers were excited in showing the useful tools they have in teaching the kids. The emphasis on learning and creativity is great! The kids and I came home and worked on some of the school crafts while Lydia attended the church's ladies' meeting for a Thanksgiving dinner. The kids were asleep when she arrived home.

After work on Friday, we met with the PTA. We then picked up the kids and attended our friend Noah's singing recital. We then visited with friends at Dairy Queen before heading home to bed.

We woke up Saturday morning, ate a quick breakfast, and headed out to see the new VeggieTales movie, "Merry Larry". It was a fun film, and we enjoyed it. We then went to TaeKwonDo class. It has been a while, so it was good to be back. We came home, had pizza for lunch, and the kids rested while Lydia and I got our weekend house chores accomplished. The kids took turns playing games on the laptop while we watched tv and worked on our projects. We stay busy!!! :)

~Matt

Week Rundown! (11/03/13 - 11/09/13)

Sunday afternoon was spent at my parents' house, celebrating Abigail's birthday. We played bananagrams. After church, we got to hang out with our friends who had come up for the weekend to attend the SG concert last Friday night. We visited at Braum's. Malachi fell asleep before we got home for the evening.

Monday was trying to catch up with all the new events at work. Mysia had piano lessons, and then I made dinner while Lydia went to her Zumba class. Lydia and the kids had homework that evening.

On Tuesday, I attended All-Pro Dads breakfast with the kids at their school. I worked on projects that evening and the kids worked on homework. Lydia had school projects as well.

Wednesday evening was fun night for children's services at church.

On Thursday, the kids and Lydia worked on homework, and I worked on a few design projects. Mysia and Malachi shared turns playing educational games on the computer. Mysia is learning how to manage a shop, and does very well.

Friday evening was relaxing. We got a few things done around house and before bed, we watched "Mirror, Mirror".

Saturday was a day to get things done. We got up and had breakfast while the kids watched some cartoons. We did some weekend housework and the kids played outside. They enjoyed the nice weather while doing "yard work"... raking up the leaves. For lunch, we had our friend Justin (who is attending BBC) over, we also played some Nintendo Wii. That evening, we visited Sam's club and CPO. Both kids got a new book. After supper and showers that evening, we watched "How to Train Your Dragon".

~Matt

Week Rundown! (10/27/13 - 11/02/13)

Sunday was fairly normal. Malachi went to Men's prayer breakfast with me, and spent the afternoon with Granny and Granddad. After evening services, we attended the birthday and anniversary dinner. I lost half a tooth while eating.

It was back to the normal schedule on Mon day. After work, I took Mysia to piano lessons. Malachi and I waited patiently in the car. We met Lydia at the school for a meeting with Mysia's BRIDGES teacher. She is doing very well in her class! That evening we did chores and watched some videos before bed.

On Tuesday, Lydia and I visited with both of the kids' teachers after work. We got some excellent reports, and we're thrilled with their progress. We had a great supper, and then went over homework. Malachi read "green eggs and ham" while Mysia wrote a he real letter to the troops for her class. After the kids' showers, they watched some Garfield before bed.

Early Wednesday morning, Malachi woke me up. He had went to the restroom, and on his way back to his room, his loose tooth popped out. He couldn't find it. A quick search, and I found it near his bedroom door. He was thrilled all day about it... even taking it to school! evening, we went to church. After services, the kids participated in the "trunk-or-treat". They dressed up as Queen Esther and Prophet Malachi. Since it had been raining all day, the adults stood in the foyer to hand out the candy. We came home with a good variety of treats!

Thursday evening was family night. After supper we got things cleaned up around the house and then watched tv... Eating candy!

The kids didn't have school, so they went to boys & girls club for the day. Lydia was sick, so she stayed home and rested. She spent the evening at home with the kids while at worked at the big southern gospel concert. I enjoyed being able to visit ether Greater Vision & Soul'd Out Quartet. It was a big night, announcing next year's concerts, selling the new discount card, and enjoying the concert experience!

Lydia was still feeling sick on Saturday, so she didn't want to go anywhere. I was still tired from the long day before, although energized, or on a music high (concerts do that to me). The kids played for mist of the morning and watched two episodes of cartoons. After lunch, the took naps while I did a grocery run. The kids had their showers, and we spent the evening watching the movie, "Mirror, Mirror" before bed.

~Matt