Lots of Stuff Happening Here...

I know I haven't blogged in a while. We have been super busy around here. It was the last week of school, so that filled our week with extra time with students before they left for the summer (or for good after graduation), house guests, lots of extra time in the office, Emma's ballet and tap recital, and some in service work days (among other things). The cool thing is that I have a ton to blog about. The bad thing is that I don't know when! Addie's surgery is tomorrow. We have to be there at 7:30am. Please keep her in your prayers!

New Tribes Bible Institute graduating class of 2009!

Oh yeah! Emma also lost her two front teeth!

Do You Hear What I Hear?

Addie had an appointment today that confirmed what we have all been thinking around here. She has lost the hearing in her right ear again. The last time they put tubes in her ears (about a year and a half ago) that seemed to do the trick. It did not surprise us to hear that the tube in her right ear was gone. The doctor thinks the best choice is to replace the tube (and check out the left one) as soon as possible. This all to say that Addie will be undergoing surgery on the 21st. Although it is a fairly common surgery, it is surgery none the less, and she is my baby. There is nothing so sobering as holding your little one in your arms, limp from the anesthesia. It's a scary thing for me.

Please keep Addie in your prayers! Once the tubes are in, we will know for sure when she is just disobeying as apposed to not hearing us. :)

While you say a prayer for Addie, maybe you can say one for me too.

"Cheese, Momma!"

A Litlle Bit of BBQ...Mongolian style!

Last Thursday Josh and I took the Campus Life crew out for an appreciation dinner for all their hard work this semester. We decided to head to one of our favorite places: B.D.'s Mongolian BBQ. It was a great night, that went by WAY too fast!

One of my tasty creations!

The Campus Life crew. What a great team we had this year!

Um, this would be why I stick to the beef, pork and chicken. This little guy was found in the dish of one who chose some sea food. Gross!

Yeah, Sarah is a beast. She ate that sucker!

Special Spark In My Life

Last Wednesday was the annual AWANA awards banquet. It is a night set aside to honor the efforts the kids have made during the year to memorize verses, and complete their workbooks.

After a feast of gourmet wieners and other wonderful potluck foods like jello salads, deviled eggs and brownies, we watch as the kids are handed out certificates and awards.

I was so proud of Emma. She completed her first book in Sparks, which includes memorizing over 30 verses of scripture, memorizing the books of the New Testament in order, and doing a missionary interview. (That last part was kind of easy for her, seeing as her parents are both missionaries!)

Even though she did all of that (which is a huge accomplishment for a little kindergartner I think!), that was not what made me the most proud. What made me the most proud was when the leader of the Sparks said to the room "Anyone who has said it isn't worth working (in AWANA) has never had Emma Mathew". Wow! My heart beamed (as well as my face, I'm sure).

I am sure proud of you, my Emma girl!

We opened with the pledge to the flags.

Emma with the Sparks leader, Mrs. Barsuhn. Emma sure loves her! I think the feeling is mutual. :)

You See Flowers In These Weeds

I will always cherish these sweet gifts of love from my girls. Emma has always given me a bouquet of dandelions. Josie now copies Emma and I get lots of little love bouquets. Sometimes they are from our yard. Sometimes they have made it all the was from the school yard, a little more wilted upon delivery. Always, they are given with love.

I don't think we will ever get weed killer.

I don't care how the lawn looks. Blow all of the seeds you want girls.

I will always have a vase ready. I hope they never stop coming.

Curious George

I have a little monkey of my own at my house. She is always getting into things, and always asking questions. My own little Curios George. :)

"I see you momma. You taking picture momma."

End of the Season And Other Ramblings

It has been a long week. My sweet hubby went with the senior class to Jersey Shore, PA for the week for the senior retreat/intro to tribal missions class. You can learn more about it here.

He had a great time, and hopefully he will do a guest blog about it (hint, hint. I know you are reading this, honey).

We are so glad he is back. When Daddy is gone, things are just not as happy around here. Dinner takes longer, bed times are longer, the sun refuses to shine... okay, so maybe I'm exaggerating that last bit. Needless to say, he is missed very much, and we are so glad to have him home.

Saturday was Josie's last soccer game. She did great! Their team won, and she came home with a medal. It's all very exciting. I am just glad with the coach gone in PA for the week, they didn't make me go out there! Can you imagine?

Me "Um, yeah. Kick the ball."

The kiddos "Where?"

Me "I don't know. Away from the other team."

Yeah. That would have worked splendidly.

I like to blame my lack of ability in sports on my parents who did not let me play, but truth be told, they must have known how clumsy/uncoordinated I am, and tried to save me from that humiliation. For that, Mom and Dad, I thank you.

She was so tired after the game. She played the whole time, because the other kids were tired out, and she wanted to keep going.

I'm so proud of you, Jo!

Kindergarten Spring Program

Last night was Emma's kindergarten spring program, and it was so fun! I have been hearing the songs for months, so it was nice to hear them perform them.

Emma was asked to do a speaking part! She was like one of ten kids asked to do one! It was so cute!

All the kids did really well. I was really proud of Emma!

I just thought this was a funny picture. :)

Emma talking about bunnies coming out of hibernation.

Here is Brandon (Clint and Keisa's oldest son) in the white vest singing "Ten Little Bunnies".

I just love how Emma gets all into it! I wonder where she could have gotten that? Someone said to us in the parking lot that they could see Emma on Broadway one day. He he!

For Reasons Not So Obvious...

One thing I've learned in my marriage of almost nine years, is there is no need to question Josh. Although it may not be obvious to most, he always has logic behind what he's thinking.

Just as an example, we order pizza with pepperoni on it. Now that's not so weird, you may think. It may seem weird when you learn that Josh is the only one who cares for pepperoni on his pizza.

You see, it is actually well thought out. The girls love to pull their pepperoni off for Daddy. :)

Enjoying the fruits of a well laid plan.

Soccer Star

A couple weeks ago Josie's soccer team did team pictures. There is no way we could justify paying thirty some bucks for pictures, so Josh told me to take my camera and I can snap a couple for myself.

I took one picture, and then got yelled at! Sorry! I didn't know it wasn't allowed. So, the team picture isn't that great, but I got some great shots of her after her game in the gym. I am so proud of my little soccer star. :) Her coach is pretty cute too. Not the lady. The guy. Josh. He is the cute one.

Will the cutest player on the team please raise your hand?

A little soccer rookie trading card!

And what post about Josie would be complete without a silly face shot.


This is who she truly is.

"Smile Josie!"

"I am."

Look What I Found In My Garden!

I'll be honest, I haven't had much time to be out in the yard. I think that I raked all of the leaves that collected at the end of Autumn, but that is all I have had time for. Even though I haven't had time to work in it, occasionally there is a surprise there waiting for me, beckoning me to get my hands in the soil.

I love perennials. They give me something to look forward to every year. Although they don't last very long, they are very strong and beautiful.

This was a lovely thing to see in my garden, welcoming me home from the weekend.

"Hello. Are you as cheerful as I am?" he asks.

"Why, yes. I am."

Hello Neighbor Kitty!

Where did you come from stranger?

It's sure nice to meet you!

You are so darn gorgeous, I could just keep you!

Sadly, I don't think it would work out. Despite the fact that you probably have an owner, despite the fact that you obviously need to be fixed, despite the fact that my dear wonderful husband sent our last kitty packing, and responded with a "NO!" at the photo I sent him by phone even before I said a thing...

I'm pretty sure he would eat you.

No doubt. He is running through his "gourmet gato" recipes in his head right now.

Insurmountable Joy

Coming down from a wonderful Easter weekend can be overwhelming to me sometimes. I am reminded of what a priceless gift I have in Jesus. I get to see my Dad and Mom, and eat a delicious meal with them and my brother and sister and their great families. I see my kids have some of the best times playing with their cousins, making memories that will last a lifetime.

Then I come home and look at my calendar. Oh, is that puppy full already. Aren't calendars daunting sometimes? Do they ever make you want to go hide your head under a pillow?

Really? I'm the only one?

As I prepare for the next five weeks until the Seniors at New Tribes graduate, looking at all the events, knowing some dear, dear friends are moving all over the world soon, I don't want to lose sight of what is so wondrous.

I have a Savior who loves me. Me! I have an amazing husband who is my best friend and the love of my life. I have three unbelievably gorgeous daughters, and I get to raise them! What a gift! I have a silly puppy who is always wanting to snuggle, daffodils blooming in my garden, a gift card to Biggby coffee burning a whole in my wallet, some left over pie in my fridge...okay, so I could go on forever. :)

So how about you? What brings you joy, even when life is going in fast forward? While you think on that, here three pictures of my joy for you. :)

Emma Leigh

Josephine Laura aka Josie, Jozo, Jo

Adelaide Marie aka Addie, Addie pie, Addie girl

The Reason We Celebrate

I never knew why we colored eggs at Easter. Some say it is derived from a pagan tradition. Others say that eggs represent immortality, and therefore a perfect symbol of Jesus resurrection.

I just color eggs because that is what I did when I was little, and so did Josh. We enjoy spending the time with our girls, preparing for Easter morning the next day.

All of that to say that the true meaning of Easter is not forgotten. Jesus death and resurrection is a part of our everyday life. It is hard to explain to the girls what makes this time of year special.

"But Mommy", Emma asks, "Don't we celebrate that Jesus died for our sins every day?" I love this girl!

We do. Jesus died for us, as payment for our sins. We know this is true. We celebrate life in Him every day.

May you not lose the focus this Easter, or any day. Christ died for you, and He lives!

Being very careful.

"Will these be enough eggs, Daddy?"

"Yes Josie, two dozen is enough."

Our brightly colored breakfast for tomorrow.

Our focus today, and always.

Indy Children's Museum Fun!

Indianapolis is such a cool town. There are so many neat things to do. My sister told me of the free night at the Children's Museum, and we just HAD to go!

Mind you, this event was free, so everyone was there with their long lost brother, neighborhood pal, and grandma twice removed on their father's side, but it was still fun even though it was crowded.

The only thing I wasn't too keen on was the lines for the bathrooms. Oh, and a special shout out to the older gentleman in his sixties that thought using the family restroom for his own personal use, while my three year old almost wet herself was a good idea. I know. I get it. It is a big, single bathroom, but as we all know, men's restrooms don't have lines anyhow, so please consider the potty dancing child behind you the next time you need to go, and use the men's room instead.

Enough about that.

Check this out! The dinosaurs are trying to escape! I thought this was very cool to see first thing as we were entering the museum. I heart dinosaurs ever since I was a little girl.

After our potty stop this is what we saw first.

(whoa, big boy. He is a little bit intimidating!)

Check out the size of his paw print!

I love the look on her face.

The whole gang (except me. I'm behind the camera).

Addie looks thrilled.

We went to see the dinosaurs. Addie kept saying "Arrrgggg. I eat you Momma!"

Emma was really into looking at fossils. I wanted to be a paleontologist when I was six, so I think she gets it from me. :)

Can you see me digging these babies up?

Me neither. Too dirty.

Mathew Girls Road Trip!

Emma had spring break last week from school, and New Tribes did too, so we thought it would be good time to go visit my sister Tomesia and her family in her new house just south of Indianapolis. Josh had to still stay in the business office (bills need to be payed at the school, spring break or not!) and so it was just us girls. I think we did well, only stopping one time. :)

We had a great visit with the McNeils. It was an exciting time. Tomesia and her husband Joe are in a band called Somewhere Familiar. They just recorded their first cd, and they were having a cd release party at on Saturday so they were busy getting ready for it. I was bummed that we could not stay for it, but I heard it went great!

We did go to the Children's museum, and I'll post about that later, but in the meantime, here are some pics from our visit.

This is their new house they bought in November. Isn't it adorable! It is HUGE inside too. I love their flowering tree. :)

Kiddos eating breakfast. I just love Alex in this picture. He is SUCH a ham!

Snuggling on the couch watching Kermit.

We went out to McAllister's deli. It was delicious! (Hey dad, they have a gluten free menu too!)