Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Gideon is Hurting...

Hey everybody, it's been a quiet week in our household, except that the Gidster has had to go to Angola twice in the past couple days to see Doctor Grandpa. Friday he had his regular checkup, and though he had a cold everything else was fine. He's in the 95th percentile for height, 40th percentile for weight and 30th percentile for head size. So apparently he'll be tall, pretty skinny, with a really little head.

Anyways, last night he cried intermittently the whole night, crying for an hour or so straight and then for just minutes at other points. We couldn't figure out what was wrong, he couldn't tell us and we couldn't see anything, he didn't have a fever, or anything. So we just figured it was his teeth hurting him. So we gave him some Tylenol and put him back in bed. But this morning Courtney found a blister that had broken open and been seething all night long. So, he's back over in the magical land of Angola getting that looked out today. We have no idea what caused it.

Anyways, you can be praying about that. I always worry that random things I don't notice could really hurt my son, I hope this doesn't end up being a big deal and that he heals quickly.

Love you all,
Matt.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Colorado?

For those of you who like to use the computer and are serious about looking at dates in July and October for flights to Colorado, Frontier Airlines has some great deals out of Indy. For instances a flight on 7/11/09 returning 7/19/09 was right at $130. I think that is a good deal. We should think about this and maybe coordinate something. Let me know what you all might think. mom

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Weekends!

Hi All,

Well, it's been another quick weekend. This weekend was full of fun with family and friends, but it seems like it just came and went. I have been looking forward to this weekend for two weeks now, with Mom and Dad coming to visit, and I always get sad when it's over.
On Friday night- Andrew, Greg, and I got in to plenty of mischief, going to BW's for wings and the games. Of course we overate and had left overs, but it's all good. Greg stayed the night so he could go play in the tennis league the next morning.
I had tennis practice on Saturday morning from 10-11:30 and when I got home, mom was waiting for me on my sofa! The boys had gone out golfing and we headed off to Panera for some food and talking. I always get good insight after talking with her and more peace from hearing what she has to say, because her opinions and thoughts are different than mine and it challenges me! Then, we went to bed bath and beyond to get some curtain rods. Nine months after making our nest, I decided to get something up on our windows. That project was a success and now there is slightly more character in the living room and bed room.
After golfing, mom and dad got checked in to their hotel and we all got cleaned up. They picked us up to go out to dinner at a cool little place called the "Half Moon." This was after we stopped by the mall to get me a one piece swim suit (more on this later)
Dinner was excellent, convo was great, we had a sweet little waitress, whom Andrew proceeded to fart really loudly as she walked by...I love my husband because he makes me laugh.
We played a cool game at the apartment called "True Colors" I did not get some of the logic from all who were playing, but I will not be bitter. :-)
Then, I was a party pooper and fell asleep really early. Why you ask? My mom convinced me it would be a good idea to do a triathalon this morning. Tha's why I had to get the swim suit at the mall. So 7 a.m. I was at the YMCA, in a pool for 15 min. Biking for 30 min. and Running for 30 min. I am now dead tired and sore on every part of my body, but it felt great to do it. Many times during the event, I couldn't help but thank God for the strength he gives us to be able to accomplish things with his help. I hope this is something I can do again.
We went to church this morning and had a sub pastor. Our normal one was on vaca. Then, we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch and enjoyed wonderful homestyle food. We hung out a little longer at the apartment where I think all of us napped and/or watched golf. Then, we said good bye to Mom and Dad at the tennis center, where Andrew and I were working for a couple hours this evening Now I am waiting for Andrew to get done (hence the book I just wrote.)
Love you guys,

Kristine

Friday, March 27, 2009

Never far from my thoughts!!!

I wanted all of you to know that each day you are never far from my thoughts. I wonder how you are all doing and if you think about your dad and I. You are all like the sunshine in the spring, making me feel lighter and younger. I love talking with all of you and spending time with you. When I am with Gideon, it reminds me of when my biological three were young. Sometimes I thought those days would never end, but they have, and the three of you gave me a beautiful gift of another three children/friends. Guess I am feeling a little sentimental today. Just go on about your days knowing that you are loved and cherished!! mom

Thursday, March 26, 2009

I second that thought...

Of a vacation in Colorado! I know that you've all been here before, and next year we should consider doing something different....however, I need my ladies out here to help me with some big decisions I will need to be making for a "certain event" happening later this fall.

That's it for tonight--I am snuggled in my little house alone hoping that the blizzard will pass tomorrow morning so I can make it up to Denver to be with my love this weekend. :)

Love you all!
Kristi

Family Vacation?

Talking about a family vacation, what about July in Colorado?

Tennis Coaching

After seeing Kristine's post, it reminded me that I should tell everyone that I just started coaching middle school tennis this year. It's amazingly hectic, because I have 25 guys out and no assistant coach, and most of them are complete beginners. It's probably a lot like Kristine did last spring. Anyways, we only meet for two practices a week, and those practices are only 1 hour each. So, not much time. Which is good, because it allows me to still get home and spend good time with Gideon on some days. What's really important is that I need some of the guys who think they want to play soccer next year to choose to switch over to tennis. Otherwise my team might get really small, and I would lose funding for my assistant coach and I'd be back to coaching the high schoolers by myself.

Kristine, hope all goes well with your first match!

Love,
Matt.

Spring and Sun

Hi fam,

I am excited about the sunshine today and I love the Spring time! I definitely haven't done a blog in at least 5 years, so this is cool. I have enjoyed reading about some of your recent events and what goes on in your typical days. Honestly, this really excites me because it makes me feel more connected. As for me right now, I have been filling in at Kokomo High School for the past 2 months. I have taught Physical Education, Substance Abuse, and my favorite has been Adapted P.E. I have students in that class with Downs, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, ADHD, Behavioral Disorders, etc...etc... It has been my biggest challenge, but I always go away smiling because I have pushed them to do their best. Some activities we do together are gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, swimming, dance. It brightened my day when Andrew was able to come in and help with this class one day! My P.E. classes have been really interesting. A lot of them were not prepared for a teacher like me that made them do things like run, sit-ups, push ups, taebo, jump rope. I have no clue what they have been used to, but daily I get cussed out, screamed at, and disrespected multiple times. I try to have my management and discipline on top notch, and slowly but surely it has started to get through to these young ladies.

I started coaching at Westfield High School a couple of weeks ago, and absolutely love it. Our first match is next Tuesday against Noblesville, a big rival. On the Westfield front, I applied two days ago for the Elementary School position that is opening up for next year. Please pray that the administrators will see clearly who should be the best person for this position and that I will trust the decision that is made is for the best.

Well, I am absolutely pumped to be going on vacation in a week. Andrew and I need some time to just be free of work and be together! We have very opposite schedules right now with me working mornings and afternoons and him working afternoons and nights. I miss him a ton during the week, but always enjoy the weekend times we share. We have loved taking walks outside with Reggie, hiking, eating out, visiting with family, and growing together. Please pray that we will be able to make some tough decisions regarding next fall (where we should be living) (what jobs we should be taking)

WoW, I wrote a lot more than I was planning, and it is off to Westfield for me now! Hope to hear from all of you soon. I love all of you*~*~

Kristine

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Golfing

Hey family,
Many of you know that Kristine and I have Spring Break coming up in a couple weeks. We are going to Myrtle Beach, SC to spend some time with Amy and Josh (roomate and groomsman) who live there. Greg (another best friend and groomsman) is going with us. I am more excited about the side trip Kristine and I are taking while we are there and that is for golfing and fun. We are going to the Charleston area to spend some time and spend the night which will be a blast. I am also golfing at The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island. It is ranked 6 in the country on the best course list and it will host the 2012 PGA Championship as it has hosted in the past. Even though it is pricy, it will be worth it as Kristine will be riding with me in the cart looking at the views of the ocean! We are most excited about our trip and glad to get some time away from the stress of our life here in Kokomo. We love and miss you all. Can't wait to see you mom and dad this weekend. Hope to see the rest of you soon.

Andrew and Kristine

PS: I still am a fan for a summer family vacation on a houseboat or wilderness area for whitewater rafting or cruise or exotic vacation or basically am wanting a family vacation!!!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

For your enjoyment....

Just a funny little glimpse into my man's mad skills....

Monday, March 23, 2009

Prayer Requests Please

matt thank you for setting up the site I love it even though I'm not a good typer. ok make sure everyone sends me their prayer requests cause I love to pray for u all. I'm very excited to make this a regular part of my day. I love all of you!!!!!!!!! Dad

Painter


Gideon

So, here is a little Gideon update for those of you starving for little boy information. He's continued to be the cutest thing, right now he's standing out in the dining room saying, "Daddy, dinna," trying to tell me that it is dinner time. Of course, if we'd ask him to say a word for all of you he would clam up and just grin. He's mastering more and more words everyday, like 'please' and 'thank you' and 'love you.' Yea, we're a little proud of him.

Matt and Courtney

As far as Court and I are concerned, life is hectic, but really good. Courtney started selling Pampered Chef in February, and was top seller in our area for the month. Okay, that wasn't too hard to do considering that not many people in our area are buying right now because of the economy. But she got a cool little certificate. It takes a lot of her time at night though to make follow-up phone calls, put numbers into the computer, etc. So, it brings a little extra money that we're trying to save right now. As for me, I am loving being a daddy, which all of you knew would be true. School is a bit stressful because we're making schedule changes for next year, major changes, and I keep getting a bit worried to see if they'll cut my position back at all. So far, so good, but it does mean that I'll get to teach another new class next year: PE. So Kristine and I will have that in common. The other thing that is stressful is that I have to finish my education classes by the end of the year to keep my license up to date. But, I'm having a lot of fun in my Bible classes right now. I've tried some new things in my seventh grade classes and they are going awesome, so that's making me feel like a good teacher. Also, middle school tennis started today and I had 22 guys out playing! That's pretty good for a school that only has about 40-45 guys total.

Anyways, that's all for now! I'm looking forward to putting some more family pictures up soon for you to enjoy.

Ta ta,
Matthew.

EDIT: Courtney says I'm underrating her 'mad' Pampered Chef selling skillz. So, she's completely awesome and I'm completely wrong :-)

Hawaii Photos








I thought you might enjoy a few photo's from Hawaii. The first is our last night there, the second is at a luau, and the third is on our hike. Hope you enjoy seeing them. Thank you Matthew for making this sight. I hope we all remember to use it and continue to share our hearts with one another. Andrew we are looking forward to seeing you this weekend! Kristi and Ryan, only 2 and 1/2 weeks! Yeah! Let's do a family vacation soon. I love you all. mom

I'm blogging?

Hello my lovely and beautiful family! You should feel very honored--this is the first blog I've EVER DONE!!! I'm pretty proud of myself for figuring it out this far.

Matt & Courtney (& Gideon)--thanks so much for putting this together. I am going to love checking this every day to see who has new pictures, updates, life changes, etc! It was awesome to catch up quickly on the phone the other night. Words can't describe how much I miss your growing family. Let me know when Gideon starts saying "Aunt Kristi." Maybe I'll consider moving home then.

Drew & Kristine-thanks for the update on what is going on in your lives right now. I know that we've been playing phone tag for about two weeks, so it's so great to get a real update and know how to pray for you! I know the job market is tough right now--so take your time in looking. I'm so thankful that each one of us has a job in this tough economy. (I'll give you one tip--why don't you try looking for some jobs in Colorado???!!!???!!! You know we'd love to have some family out here, even if it was just for a year or so.)

Update on me-I've had quite the busy spring season so far. First, Rachie came to visit, then Emily & Dennis came out, and this past weekend Ryan's sister (Megan) and her bf (Mitch) came to visit. In between those, we also celebrated Mardi Gras in Manitou with Caitlin, Amye and some other friends! It's always fun having visitors, but I'm sure ready for a relaxing weekend after all those guests.


The soon to be Rachel Graeser and I


Loving life with the girls in Manitou (Caitlin had just gotten her wisdom teech out! Ouch!)

Ryan & I in Nederland with Dennis & Emily (the new Wheelers!)


We've gotten about 10 days of skiing in so far, and we plan to have another possible two before the slopes close. It hasn't been the best ski season this year (how can it be when it's been consistently 60-70 degrees???), but we've enjoyed our time in the mountains and definitely gotten our money's worth. We continue to love the great outdoors with long hikes and learning new sports. I believe Ryan is going to take paragliding lessons this summer! Below are some pictures from some hikes and also one of us on this year's Valentine's Day.


Here we are at "Indulge!". After a long hike and a glass of wine, we came here for a 4 course dinner!


A day in the life of your adventerous Coloradians..skiing at Keystone!


A beautiful hike!

The top of "Pancake Rocks"

Well, I think that is it for now! Ry & I will make sure to keep posting life updates and fun news! I love you all so very much and am glad we are taking the time to keep each other really informed on what's happenin'.

-Kristi

March Madness

Hey family! March is here and the madness is upon us. In my life, that means two things right now. First, the basketball tournament has finally come and after the first weekend, I am leading the pack. I can smell my first victory coming!!! More importantly for Kristine and I, our schedule has been hectic. Now that she has started coaching again, we both are working 2 jobs a day. This means we don't see each other often. It has put stress on us and it is hard to fit in spiritual time, relational time, free and fun time, personal time, etc. This has led to one conclusion which some of you may or may not know. I am looking for a new job. This isn't public knowledge yet and isn't for sure but I am hoping to find work in Indianapolis or Fort Wayne. We would move there, possibly get a house, and have a more normal and less busy schedule. Pray for us as we again search for new jobs/work and that we follow where God is leading us. This adds even more stress to our lives now as, just like last year, we are unsure of our plans over the next year but hopefully it will be worth it. Thanks!

Welcome to the Family Blog!

Hello everyone! Here is the Christmas present that I promised, a blog for us all to keep in touch, post pictures, write prayer requests, share stories, share devotional thoughts, really whatever you want.

I love you all and look forward to reading further posts!

Matthew.