hey everyone- just got back from chicago. went to a concert which was really good (patti griffin). really relaxing to get away from everything, but now i am back to school. hope everything is going well with each of you. anna- i was so glad to hear that you have lost your first tooth. how much money did you get from the tooth fairy? tom- how is school going? pete and megan- it would be nice to get together next week sometime. what does your week look like? sarah- what is kojoe doing for the superbowl. we are having people over for house church, but he may not feel like that. otherwise, i have saturday night off, maybe i could come and hang out with you two. i have to figure out a little bit more, but what are your thoughts. mom and dad- have a great time on your trip. i hope its not too cold down there. abby and justin- hows the business going? i heard that you were getting together with your pastor sometime, how is that?

not much new is happening here. one of the people i got to know in montana could use some prayer. her son who is 19 and in love with a young mormon girl has decided to become a mormon missionary for two years. it has really been hard on the family. so you can be praying for jake? also, i may be teaching a class and Northcentral college on feb. 15th for one of my professors. this could be a great opportunity to see if i like the classroom. i will keep you posted. talk to you later, matt

BIG NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After much anticipation, Anna finally pulled out her loose tooth! And, as she is very quick to point out, it was PULLED OUT, it did not just fall out. Very exciting day. I will post before and after pics, along with a blurry pic of when Thomas's first tooth came out for your viewing pleasure. Other than that nothing has happened since I last posted. Actually, nothing had happened then either. South Dakota is sure exciting during the winter! Have a great week. Abby

Birthday - Part 2 - from Mom

I certainly think Matt covered all the main points of your birthday, Peter, but yet I feel a need to add just a few nuances...For one thing, you were just the cutest ten and a half pound baby ever! You had the roundest face and long long dark hair - kind of like an eskimo look, and I think you started out in 3-month size clothes. Twenty-seven years ago...and you've given us a lot of enjoyment since then. Hope your birthday really is a very happy!!

Your dad and I were going to put a baby picture of you in this blog - the idea was to take a picture of a baby picture, download it into the computer, and then move it to the blog. However, your dad couldn't figure out how to get the pic from the camera into the computer, even after I found the English version of the instructions (we knew the Spanish version wasn't going to do well, right from the start...) So - what can I say? The thought was there but the brain-power wasn't. And if we had gotten it into the computer, could we have moved it to the blog?? I guess we'll need more instruction from the next one of you kids who comes home!


Things not birthday-related: Matt, have a great trip to Chicago (the real one, not the musical Peter and Megan went to last weekend)...Sarah, it was great to hear you will officially be graduating in the spring! The next time Matt is at your place have him bring his camera and take a picture of Wendy for the blog...Abby, it sounds like the end of another 12-hour workday for you - glad you made it through! I heard you and Justin were at Cabella's after he finished a job this week --- hmmm, there go any profits :>) Hope all of you have a good, good weekend...And, new blogger Thomas, where are you???

birthday

pete... Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday. Hope you have a great birth day. matt

Happy B-day Peter (early) and Dad!

On friday night mom, dad, sarah, peter and megan spent a relaxing night celebrating b-days. The night consisted of a delicous chineese dinner, ice cream and peters favorite....the chocolate covered rice krispy bars. Everyone had a great time! Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. Love peter and meg

PS

note from peter: wally had a good time also (see picture in picture)...he is smiling just for you

weekend picts

mom, dad, sarah, kojoe- thanks for coming over. it was really nice to have you down to my house. pete- sorry i couldn't come to your birthday party... it sounds like you still had a good time even without me (as unlikely as that is). thomas- why haven't i seen you blogging lately? hope your weekend is going well. anna- how's my little kitty cat blogger girl?

right now i am just enjoying the newly discovered "automatic record turnover" capabilities of my record player. thanks mom. it has revolutionized my vinyl experience. love you all, matt

helping mom

showing mom how to post a picture. Now it's Mom...OK , I'm just watching Peter show me how to put pictures into the blog, but I'm not sure I'll actually be able to do it when I get home again. Time will tell. But we're at Peter and Megan's, celebrating birthdays and having a very pleasant evening! Keep watch...more to come in future editions! Mom

Thursday

Thursday and no posts?!? C'mon guys, you're slowing down. At least "new blogger Thomas" is keeping up :)

This is about my favorite night of the week - I got home at 6 and knew I was done with work until next Monday...so several days ahead for my own designs. What a nice feeling! Of course, I can't sleep in too late on Friday because of my Bible study group, but at least it doesn't meet til 9:30 and meets in town...we use to meet at 9 in the country, so this is an improvement. Then - maybe/probably a trip to the Cities...that will be fun to get together again with whoever we can/however the details work out. One thing - I'll get to meet Sarah's new cat, Bendy-Wendy, and I plan to get in as much time as possible on her Boggle game, my great entertainment at her apartment. But - for now, time for bed so I'll be ready for all the excitement my weekend holds !! ---------Mom

Thomas

Evil!!!!! This is our Christmas picture. Cool.
I wrote some comments on my first blog. I think Anna did too.

this coming weekend

hey mom, did you and dad decide if you were coming up this weekend or the next? just wondering so i can better plan those few days. also, an added incentive is that if you come this weekend, i can show you how to do pictures on the blog. ps, i went to that race exhibit for MLK jr day (it was free) and you and dad should really make a point to go and see it when you are up. it is very eye opening. matt

Pictures

Hmmm - First I had to think about Peter standing next to that attractive young lady with the pears on her chest (at least that's how Anna described her), and then I saw a picture of Peter that made me wonder why anyone would stand by him (but I'm so glad for you, Megan - you must be judging Peter by his inner qualities rather than his outward appearance...) Then three was green-eyed Toby - a little weird. And next I had to be concerned about Matt sprawled on the ice, and now I seeThomas high in a tree! I'm wondering if these pictures are a good idea??? But at least there was the sweet one of Anna, and also "Matt and friends"... so they do add a bit of spice to the blog. I'm hoping the next time someone's home you can show me how to add pics...could I even transfer them from e-mails into the blog? And, Abby - how about some house pics/kitchen pics for those that haven't been to SF to see it in person? just an idea... Hope you're all having a good evening. Mom

Monday-Funday

Well usually mondays are no fun- However, for Megan, who had the day off, it was a fun-day! She did some shopping at the outlet malls, while Pete worked like always. The great finds for the day were: a new black dress coat, another pair of cute shoes (not that she needs anymore), and new socks. Tonights evening consisted of frozen pizza and tv. Pretty typical of most week nights. The rest of the week looks pretty uneventful also. We are trying to kick into gear by working out more this week and laying off the monster cookies that Megan baked for Peter (Mom's (judy) still are the best). Peter has had some trouble with eating too many cookies as you can imagine. He ate a few for breakfast, a few for snack and lunch, and then of course, the midnight snack. Lets just call him the "cookie monster." Well, thats it for now. Pete and Meg signing off.......

Thomas

Hi everyone! Thanks for the Christmas presents. This is cool. I should start my own blog. Here's a picture of me. Thomas

For the record, you were all wrong! No remodeling, hunting, being a kitty, or what ever it was Thomas was suppose to be doing. Today we went down to Vermillion to pick up Thomas from his friend Kenneth's house. Thomas and Kenneth were good friends back in Vermillion. Since we've moved they've stayed in touch (for over 2 yrs!) In that time Kenneth spent 1 1/2 yrs in Florida. We visited him there last year. Thomas was suppose to spend one night there, but got snowed in. Neither of the boys minded. After we picked him up we tried to go to the museum, but it was closed. So we drove around awhile, then went home and baked cookies for our neighbors (from scratch, mom.) They didn't turn out the best. It was a new recipe. Anna had a great time delivering them, though. Now everyone else is upstairs playing Mario cart. That is our exciting life. OK, now that I see it written down it is rather predictable. And we sure didn't do much today. The kids are home tomorrow too. It seems like they never have school. I work tomorrow- I'm working full time for the next month while I'm orientating to resource nurse. I'm scared to think about what I'll come home to. Anyways- That's our life. Have a great day! Abby

sunday night

hey everyone... here is a nice little sexy ice pose for you this sunday evening. hope everything is going well with you. right now, peter and megan are probably playing european board games, mom is doing a crossword puzzle while dad is asleep in front of pbs, abby is planning her next steps in "improving" her kitchen, justin is shooting something outside in the snow, anna is probably acting like a kitty, thomas is reading calvin and hobbes, and sarah and kojoe are probably watching some movie. my, we are such a predicatable family aren't we?

i just got done with my monthly urban homeworks meeting which take place to help us understand the twin cities better. Today we had a lady from the african american community in the twin cities. here are a couple of interesting facts i learned:

while african americans make up only 8 percent of Minnesota's population, thirty percent of people in minnesota prisons are african american.

the teen pregnancy rates for minnesota as a whole are some of the lowest in the nation, yet the african american teen pregnancy rate in minnesota is one of the highest (103 per 1000)

as of 2001, minnestoa had the highest concentration of inner city poverty in all of the fifty states

It was interesting to learn more about the huge disparity between the affrican american community and white community in minnesota.

Along these lines, there is a new display at the science museum on race over the next week. I really want to go and was wondering if anyone would like to come. I can get free tickets from the library. Hope your mondays go well, matt

ps, mom- thanks for not preaching :) i guess you can preach if you want and i am waiting for you to remember and publish your jokes.

A good word for today...

Matt told me I can't give any sermons in the blog...and since I was in the nursery during church this morning I didn't hear the sermon anyway...but I did pick this up in SS and it's a good thought: "Be wise - walk with wise people." So there's a word of wisdom for today.

(I also heard a couple of good jokes, but they're too long to write up here --- hopefully I'll be able to remember them until I see you all...)

Tomorrow's Monday - hope it's the start of a good, good week for all of you! .....Mom

Anna's Christmas

My Christmas at Grandma and Grandpas house was really fun! I got to see Rudolph and eat cheese balls. I got my picture tooken like you can see at the dot com kitty cat. It was really so fun. And I opened lots and lots of presents. Goodbye friends now. Anna

Night At The Museum

So Megan and I saw the movie "A Night at The Museum" tonight. It is highly recommended, especially for Thomas and Anna (hint, hint). It was our first date night in awhile. We have settled into married life way to fast. No more special date nights usually or good night kisses. No offense mom and dad, but we are an old married couple. For the weekend, we don't have much planned. Weekend agenda: Cleaning the house and fixing the cabinet door (which fell off the hinge today when megan pulled to hard-by the way dad- i might need some help putting that back on), and possibly playing warcraft. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend (megans words). Again- thanks matt for starting the blog (again in megans words). Good Night!

Mom again

Now that I'm fairly sure about getting words into the blog, I'll add a few more. Did you see your dad even put down a comment? I thought that was pretty amazing since he usually doesn't even check e-mail...of course, his comment got on there twice so there must be a "technical error", but it's a good effort! Here's a thought - I see Megan signed her comment, and that's a good idea...

Matt, again thanks for initiating this. I keep wanting to check the blog to see if anything new is added...I enjoyed the new entries from both you and Peter, and it IS a good way to stay in touch. (And I really like the pics - I want some advice when one of you is home on how to add pics, and how to move them into files...)


We just got home from the Manor Christmas party - I won a door prize, a picture that said "Count your blessings" which I really liked, but then your dad saw a sign that said "Home is where your story begins" and he liked that so much that I traded my picture for it...Now I have to decide where to hang the sign. I like it too - I keep thinking it would have been so fitting for Grandma June...you kids (like us) have wonderful long stories, and are now adding to those stories (and you've added so many great new people into our family's story - Justin, Megan, Kojoe, Thomas, Anna...) and you're making your own stories. Matt, you talked about being discouraged at times by all that happens in the world, and that's so understandable...but there are many wonderful stories out there, and some hard stories hold promise, and many have unexpected turns, and endings that are better than expected...I know you see that too, in the many people you meet and work with...

Speaking of stories, it's time to go - your dad is waiting for me and we're going to watch some story or another before bed --- he's got a number of DVDs so we'll see which one it is... We're hoping to see Abby and Justin and kids tomorrow, although our plans aren't firm yet (since I don't see Abby contributing to this blog I guess I'll have to check on her in person....hint, hint, Abby) So - catch you all later!!

Cyber-dog Toby Says Hi

Cyber-dog Toby has been feeling a little left out these days! He has been locked up in the kennel while dad plays war-craft on the computer and mom reads her decorating magazines (martha stewart here she comes)! Also the lack of exercise has lead him to plump out a little bit. Can you say chubby? We are hoping that his obsessive carpet licking will counter act his laziness and aid in weight loss.

Miracle

Wow! Mom figured out how to post something on the blog... I didn't think that this would happen until one of us went home to show her how to. It must be the apocalypse. This is surely a momentous day for the cyber world. I little bit about my week: I just had the last of my new classes for this semester, and I think that this is going to be a really busy semester. Tonight I got to go to a Spoken Word (spoken poetry which is really rythmic, almost musical) contest at the only coffee shop in North Minneapolis. It was actually a highschool contest which was organized to send highschool student finalists to a national meet in San Jose, CA. I was quite impressed with these diverse student's abilities and how talented they were in telling their stories. It reminded me of how much crap kids have to go through in the city (parental abuse, violence, unstable families, etc) and made me really sad. This, along with the whole Iraq war thing, has been really on my mind lately. All of those Iraqis who are being affected by our policies. All of those soldiers and families (i think that Jeremiah will need to stay in Iraq three extra months) who are affected. Sometimes everything seems so out of our control. Kind of a downer day I guess. But on the other hand, seeing those highschoolers having a safe place to express themselves and grow was pretty uplifting as well.

Another story which brings me hope is the story of a Native American lady, Sheri, who lives close to us and has taken in three different children from a single mom who has three children which she cares for already. She has basically adopted these three Native American children (unofficially) and has had the oldest one for more the four years. Recently, she has taken a newborn infant into her house. Her name is Savannah and she is the cutest little baby ever. On top of everything, this woman is on dialasis and has some health problems. Yet despite this, she is a great mom to these kids who would otherwise be taken up into foster care. Some of the girls I know have been helping Sheri with babysitting and supplies... it seems that it really does take a community to raise a child. Last week, we got to take two of her kids to the science museum for free. It was such a fun day and really taught me about the importance of male rolemodels for kids who often see broken, unhealthy male-female relationships.

Hope everything is going well with each of you and keep on blogging. matt

Pictures below are all the kids at the science museum and savannah.

Blogger Mama

OK, I'm not at all sure what buttons I'm to push here, and who knows if these words will end up afloat in cyberspace, never to be retrieved, so I won't write anything too lavish at this point. This is just a trial...kind of like you kids are sometimes (just kidding!)...but I will say, that having you kids always pushes me one step beyond! Now - even though I'm just a gracefully aging matron who would be perfectly satisfied to sit and read a book, do a crossword puzzle, or crochet - now I'm going to learn to blog (whatever that is!)I'll do my best --- and, Matt, thanks (I think) for setting this up. We'll see where it goes...

Very Creative

Nice, but I'm not sure if the elders in the group will have the skills required to blog...actually I'm not sure if I will either. But I'll try. Our life has been pretty much the same as before. We did just buy a new car...Honda Pilot. Which hopefully we will be able to borrow the camper and go camping with this next summer. Toby (dog) is doing fine. Megan's job is going good and so is mine...although I am looking at stepping down as manager and taking the position of normal pharmacist. This will be quite a bit less stressful. And last, in case I didn't mention this before, THANKS everyone for there wonderful Christmas presents...although we are still waiting on the present from the creator of this wonderful blog.
Peter and Megan...and Toby

Beginnings

Brothers, Sisters, Computer Inept Baby Boomers, and little ones... lend me your ears.

I have taken it upon myself to begin the horn quest towards modernity by means of creating this wonderful new family blog. It dawned upon me the other day that very few of you really know what is happening in my life and likewise I know very little concerning your lives. As a result, I was trying to think of ways in which we could stay connected and listen to eachother's stories without having to write letters and whatnot. The result: a new family blog where we can put out thoughts, plan things, and let eachother in on what is happening in our lives. We can post pictures, write stories, and be creative (for I know how incredibly creative our family is:) Here is an example:

I have to come up with a decision relatively soon concerning what I want to do next year with school. I have a professor who is encouraging me to pursue doctorate work through him, but then I would have to learn German, get really good at greek, spend another three years in school, rack up more debt, etc. Yet on the other hand, it is something that I really could enjoy and I think it fits my strengths. I like school, but do I like it that much?

I could go on, but you get the point. You wouldn't know that that was going on in my life if we didn't have this wonderful blog. On top of that, I can post wonderful "ghetto" minneapolis pictures, while others can post beautiful dog pictures, and still others will be able to post first-day-of-school pictures. Are you sold on it yet? Feel free to post to the best of your technological abilities, matt

PS- Enjoy the Christmas pictures.