September 2025 Update

I mentioned last month that Krista and I met with her sister, Conny, and Conny’s husband, Brian, for lunch.  As planned, we did another lunch with them and added her other sister who lives nearby, Nanita, and Nanita’s husband, Ray.  We had another excellent time with all of them, and we’re going to try to do this again soon.  Nanita sent me this wonderful sisters picture.

Conny, Krista, Nanita

 

Krista and I met with an estate planning attorney recently.  We’ve been spiritually ready to die for decades by faith in the grace of Jesus paying for our sin on the cross, but now we’re also materially ready.  With the attorney’s help, we’ve setup our wills, power of attorney, health care proxies, and protected our assets if we ever need long term care.  It’s a bit of a costly process, but it is well worth it for the peace of mind we have knowing these things are done, and our children will hopefully have less to worry about when we go to eternity.  Our last step is what Krista’s been calling “death cleaning,” where we go through all the junk we’ve accumulated over 65+ years and get rid of things we’ve been holding onto for no good reason.

 

My daughter, Abigail, and her family bought a new house, and we all helped them move on August 30.  They were living in a decent area of Rochester, but now they are in a much more country area with a lot more room.  It’s a beautiful house and lot with acres to explore!

 

Then they were so happy to be there, that they hosted our local families for Labor Day.  As usual, we had tons of excellent food and a fantastic time exploring their new home and “back 40.”

 

The last thing I’ll mention is that my grandson, Alex (Hannah and Kevin’s son), started playing football with our local kids’ team.  We got to go to his first home game on September 7, and he did great.  He was playing center on the offense and linebacker on the defense, and we heard that he’s now playing running back sometimes.  We’re planning to go to his game this Sunday too, so maybe we’ll get to see that.

 

That’s all for now, I guess.  See you in October!

 

 

 

August 2025 Update

Summer greetings to all!

 

In our first news, Krista and I really wanted our house painted, but it is a lot of work.  We noticed our back-yard neighbor had her house painted, and we really liked the way it turned out for her.  So, we got the name of her painter, and his price was very reasonable.  So now our house has a fresh coat of paint, our wallets are a bit lighter, and overall, we’re very pleased.

Before

After

We had recently seen Krista’s sister, Conita, at a party they had, and we talked with her and her husband, Brian, about how we should get together more often.  So, on August 2, we met them at a restaurant about halfway between our two houses and had a nice lunch with them.  It was really good to actually be able to talk just to one other couple, which you really can’t do at big family gatherings.  We liked it so much that we’re going to do it again this Saturday and add in Krista’s sister, Nanita and her husband, Ray.  Hopefully, we’ll be able to manage talking with two other couples at the same time!

 

This past week, we were blessed to have all of our kids and their families visit us.  Originally, Cai and his family weren’t planning to come, but they managed to squeeze out a couple of days from their schedule and surprised us by joining for part of the week.  We rented lodges at a couple of different parks on different days where we could play games, enjoy playgrounds and splash pads.  We had a karaoke night, a beach day, a farm day, and a Seabreeze (our local amusement park) day.  My future daughter-in-law, Kayla, made a collage of all of the grandkids at one park.  I loved it so much I made it my phone wallpaper!  We also learned that three more grandkids are on the way from Ella and Cody, Amelia and Ben, and Brandi and Zach!  That will make 23 in case you’ve lost count.  😃

L to R and top to bottom:  Ansa Mickle, Maya Shaw, Hazel Sommer, Emmett Shaw, Alma Mickle, Truman Sommer, Faye White, Ivy Sommer, Milo Wilkinson, Lena Updegrove, Ruby Wilkinson, Dorothy Matthews, Gus Rhode, Josie Sommer, Bea Rhode, Ava Matthews, Daisy Rhode, Atlas Wilkinson, Nora Updegrove, and Alex Mickle.  The Mickles are Hannah and Kevin, the Shaws are Abigail and Bernie, the Sommers are Ella and Cody, the Whites are Amelia and Ben, the Wilkinsons are Carissa and Matt, the Updegroves are Caitlin and Ben, the Matthews are Cai and Amy, and the Rhodes are Kortney and Mat, just so you know which of my kids go with which grandkids.

Finally, a health update:  I still feel some shingles symptoms, but they are much easier.  I’m not taking pain meds anymore, but I still have a bit of a rash and minor pain occasionally.  Thanks for praying!

 

Until September!

 

 

July 2025 Update

I mentioned last month that my Uncle Erle and cousins Kevin and his wife Janet, Wayne, and Wes Wirth were going to come out here for a visit.  We had a great time meeting at a diner nearby with all of them, my Dad’s cousin, Priscilla, and lots of my family—we made quite a crowd at that diner!  The food was good, and the company was better.  We got several pictures, and here are three of them.

Uncle Erle and Priscilla

Uncle Erle and me

Our gang took up the two long tables and the two booths across from them!

Late in June, Krista had a chance to visit our daughter, Kortney, and her family in Minnesota.  She always has a wonderful time with them, and this time was no exception.  She even got to stay an extra day when her original flight home was cancelled and they booked her for the next day, so that was a nice bonus for all of them.

 

While Krista was gone, my future daughter-in-law, Kayla, and her family invited me and Jem over for supper one night.  Kayla and Levi had given me a Blackstone grill for Fathers’ Day, and Kayla’s dad, Lenny, is an experienced Blackstone griller, so he cooked Philly cheesesteaks for us and gave me a few pointers for when I start using my grill.  His food was delicious, and it gave me the courage to try cooking something for my family.  A week or so later, I made breakfast taquitos on my Blackstone, and, if I say so myself, they turned out pretty good.

 

We had some fun times around the 4th of July.  On the night of the 3rd, several of us went to our town’s fireworks show.  We didn’t have the best seats, but we could see the ones that were up high.  Then on the 4th, Ella had suggested we go to the fireworks show at Point Breeze on Lake Ontario.  That one we could see everything!  Not only were there the “official” fireworks, but several of the area neighbors had pretty impressive shows of their own.  We didn’t know which way to look!  Left, right, and straight ahead was all going at the same time!  It was actually a bit overwhelming!

 

We hosted a local family get-together on the 4th too with our usual lots of good food and fun times together enjoying the pool and nice weather.

 

My grandson, Emmett, turned one this past month, and his family hosted a party for him at the other grandparents house.  He was adorable and officially took his first steps!  I’m proud to say I helped by holding him up in front of his mom, my daughter, Abigail, who he was delighted to be able to walk to!

 

Our church had a Talent Show this past Wednesday night, and I, like usual, got up to be foolish.  I sang the song “Ticklish Reuben” that mostly consists of just laughing.  There’s one verse of words and two verses of laughing, so yeah, it’s pretty silly.  But it was fun, and people seemed to enjoy it.

 

Finally for this month, I unfortunately found out I have shingles.  It started about a week ago and was confirmed a few days ago thanks to my Nurse Practitioner son-in-law, Kevin, although I have to say that Krista was the first person to diagnose it.  It’s quite painful, although I’m able to manage the pain with ibuprofen and Tylenol and lidocaine patches.  Kevin was able to prescribe some anti-viral medications for me, which will hopefully limit the duration.  And I know that if you pray for me, God can heal me too, whether by Himself or through the medicines, so please do so!

 

Hopefully next month I’ll be able to report good progress on that health issue, and maybe more normal fun things too.

 

June 2025 Update

I don’t seem to have any pictures from this past month, even though we had some exciting and fun times.

 

Late in May, my daughter and granddaughter, Amelia and Faye, visited from Kentucky for a week.  We got to spend some time with them, including on Memorial Day, and it was so good to see them for a while.

 

On Memorial Day, we did our usual gathering at my daughter, Hannah’s house, where her husband, Kevin, made some wonderful barbecue, and we all provided lots of yummy side dishes.  The weather had been pretty bad, but that day it was perfect—sunny and in the 60s, so not too hot, but a beautiful day.

 

Last Saturday, my granddaughters, Alma and Ansa (Hannah and Kevin’s girls), had their dance recitals.  They were obviously the best dancers in their classes, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching them.  We were afraid that Ansa’s recital in the morning was going to be cancelled because it was held at our local high school auditorium, and a nearby maintenance building caught fire about an hour or two before it was supposed to start!  Fortunately, our great firefighters got it under control, and everything went off without a hitch, other than having to go a long way to get into the school campus to avoid the burning building.

 

Of course, this past Sunday was Fathers’ Day, and a lot of local families met at Five Guys Burgers for lunch with me or later at a local ice cream stand for dessert with me.  It was a great day, and our church had another photo area like they did for Mothers’ Day, so I got a picture with my three daughters who go to our church with us, just like Krista did last month.

That’s it for this past month, but tomorrow we’re looking forward to a visit with my Wirth relatives.  My uncle Erle and cousins Kevin, Wayne, and Wes, and Kevin’s wife, Janet, are in our area, and we’re going to meet them for lunch tomorrow.  Hopefully, I’ll have some pictures from that to share next month.

 

May 2025 Update

Since I wrote last, we had an opportunity to take a big vacation with several members of our family to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.  My son-in-law, Kevin, has a membership at the Hard Rock Resorts, and every few years we get to join his and Hannah’s family on one of these nice vacations.  Besides them and Krista and I, Abigail and Bernie and their kids, Zach and Brandi, and Levi and Kayla joined in on the fun.  The resort was beautiful in every way, and we had lots of fun lounging by the pools, eating so much good food, and spending time with each other.

Grandson Alex making a diving catch into the pool

Breakfast with Kayla and Levi

Zach and Brandi playing with Emmett

Bernie, Abigail and Emmett

At the hibachi restaurant, the chef made a snake out of eggs!

Sort of related to that vacation, I wanted to give a health update on myself.  The resort was very large, and it required a lot of walking to get everywhere.  You may remember that I have had problems with plantar fasciitis.  We had tried exercises, stretches, seeing a podiatrist, better supportive shoes, etc., but nothing seemed to help.  I’d still have a lot of pain if I walked too much, even just like mowing our lawn (which isn’t that big).  Krista and I were worried after the first day of walking and walking at the resort that I would be miserable for the rest of the week.  But, praise God, I wasn’t!  I had no PF pain all week!  Now she and I have been able to go on walks again around home, and we’d really missed that.  It’s like a mini-date when we can just go for a walk down the street.  So please praise God with us for His goodness to me in this way!

 

I also had my latest check up with my urologist for the 2-year follow-up to my prostate cancer surgery.  Everything is still looking good with that, so now I only have to see him annually for three more years, and if everything stays good, we can be done with it.  Again, God is so good to me!

 

As if that wasn’t enough excitement, my son, Levi, proposed to his girlfriend, Kayla, on May 10!  He had planned to propose at the Lilac Festival in Rochester, and then have Krista and I and Kayla’s parents and some friends join them there for a celebration lunch.  Well, the weather was perfect that day, and the Festival was packed!  Lots of things he hoped would go a certain way were thrown off by the crowds and the lack of parking, and people not being able to get there at the right time, but he managed to get a “Yes!” anyway, and we celebrated later that day at a restaurant near home.

 

That night, Abigail, Ella, Jem, and I went to see the latest Marvel movie, and we all enjoyed that.  It made for a very full day!

 

Of course, the next day, May 11, was Mothers’ Day.  Jem and I quietly celebrated Krista with lunch at home, with lots of other kids and grandkids dropping by at various times throughout the day.  Our church had a great place to get Mothers’ Day pictures, so Krista took one with her three daughters who go to our church with us.

Hannah, Krista, Jem, and Ella

And we’ll talk again in June!

 

April 2025 Update

Time for another Greg Matthews Family update!  I know you’re excited!

 

Our church holds Euchre tournaments about twice a year.  I’ve played in several and always enjoyed them, even though my team has never done super well.  My son-in-law, Bernie, and I played again on March 29 and did about our usual.  For a while, we were in the top 10 (of about 32 teams), but then we hit a couple of bad games and dropped into the bottom half to finish.  We still had fun, and our picture made the church’s newsletter!

We look happy, but unfortunately, this was one of our bad games 😞

I mentioned last month that our 20th grandchild, Atlas, was born on March 3.  Krista, Jem, and I finally got an opportunity to go to Philadelphia for a long weekend April 5 – 8 to meet him and see Carissa’s whole family, as well as Caitlin’s family who live right nearby.  We loved seeing all of them, holding Atlas, going to church with them, taking the kids to a park, and just being a part of their families for a little while.  Once when Krista was holding Atlas as he slept, he must have been having great dreams, because he was smiling.

Isn't he the cutest thing!

Our final special time this last month was on April 15.  No, it had nothing to do with taxes, thankfully.  Abigail and Jem went to a Dancing With the Stars live show in Buffalo, and Bernie had to work, so they needed someone to watch Maya and Emmett.  Krista and I gladly filled that need, and we had tons of fun playing with them.  Levi and Kayla came over for a while too to make it more enjoyable for both us and the kids.

 

That’s it for April, so we’ll talk again in May!

 

March 2025 Update

In the last month, we reached a milestone:  Our 20th grandchild was born!  On March 3, Atlas Wayaki Wilkinson was born to our daughter, Carissa, and her husband Matt.  He joins big sister, Ruby, and big brother, Milo.  We have many more granddaughters than grandsons (14 to 6), so we are delighted to add to the male grandchildren!  As a matter of fact, this is the first of our kids’ families with more than one boy!  Atlas’s middle name is sort of an homage to his father’s upbringing as a missionary kid in Papua New Guinea.  Wayaki is the last name of Matt’s best friend from there.  We’re planning a trip early in April to meet Atlas.

The only other thing I can think of from this past month is something many of you may have experienced too, and that is the lunar eclipse we had overnight on March 13th to the 14th.  I woke up about when it was at peak (just before 3AM our time), and so I went outside to take a look.  I took a picture with my phone, but it isn’t that great.

I think I might have zoomed too much, and it made it fuzzy

Here's a professional picture I found online.  Much clearer!

 

And we’ll talk again in April!