December 2016 Update

Greetings from the frozen tundra of western New York State!  This past week has been very snowy here with close to two feet falling over that week.  Thursday’s commute for me was awful, taking over twice as long as usual.  Thankfully, I made it to and from work with no mishaps.

This was taken out my front door during our blizzard Thursday 12/15

Birthdays we celebrated since I wrote you last were Zach’s on 11/23 and Amelia’s on 12/3.  Of course, we also celebrated Thanksgiving with all of our local family.  Unfortunately, our family in Philadelphia and Minneapolis couldn’t join us, but we had delicious food and a wonderful time together at Ella and Cody's house.

Happy Birthday Zach!

Happy Birthday Amelia!

A small part of our Thanksgiving feast

Our downstairs project is going very well.  We decided to hire someone to do the drywall mudding for us to save time (although not money), and he did a very good job in a very short time.  Now we are painting it, and we hope to have that done by tomorrow.  By “we” I mean Abigail’s boyfriend, Seth, who has done all the painting so far, and probably will end up doing it all.  We are very thankful for his skill and availability!  I have neglected to mention all the people who have been helping us with this.  My son-in-law, Cody’s, father, Matt, has been the most tremendous help.  He has lots of construction experience and has been invaluable in saving us from mistakes and saving us money in getting the project done.  Matt and his wife, Cathy, go to our church, so we’ve known them for a long time.  Another guy from church, Steve Morse, has done all the electrical work downstairs for us.  Also, Cody, Seth, my son-in-law, Kevin, and my kids have all helped with hanging drywall, clean-up, demolition, cabling, etc.  We bought the flooring we wanted last week, so we’re excited to think it may actually be usable for Christmas when everybody is here!

On Sunday 12/11, we went to the Bills game against the Steelers with Ella and Cody.  Cody had gotten suite (and sweet) tickets through his work, so even though it was a cold day, we stayed nice and warm.  We even got to go on the field before the game with the passes he had, so we were within a few feet of the Bills as they warmed up.  It was a lot of fun, even though the Bills didn’t win.  I guess they didn’t warm up enough.  In my life I’ve been to three Bills games and they are 0-3 when I go.  Maybe someday I’ll go when they win.  But I was proud to watch the Seahawks game on TV when they clinched the NFC West.  Now we just need them to keep on winning while Detroit and Dallas lose!

This was our view.  Hannah, Kevin, Abigail, and Seth, and some of Hannah's friends are in this picture (somewhere).  It was full by the time the game started!

Bills selfie! (with Cody, Ella, Ivy, and Krista)

Cai came home from college for the Christmas break this past Friday.  It actually turned into Saturday because his train was delayed in Albany.  He was supposed to arrive just before midnight Friday, but it turned out to be closer to 3AM Saturday morning.  But he made it safely, and we’re very glad to have him home for almost three weeks.

Last night at church was our kids’ Christmas program.  Only Jem and Levi are still in these things, although Zach helped with sound, and Abigail helped direct the program.  They did a great job presenting the gospel through the Christmas story in a fun and interesting way.

Levi and Jem (on the right) in the play

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!

Ivy (left), everybody at Caitlin's wedding (middle), Daisy (right)

November 2016 Update

Hello to all of you again this month!  I am thankful that you care about me and my family enough to read this.

Birthday updates from the past month were me on 10/19, my Dad’s heavenly birthday on 10/21 (5 years!), Levi on 11/14, and one more that I’ll talk about later.  Also, Carissa and Matt celebrated their first anniversary on 11/14, so congratulations to them!

Buffalo Bills slipper socks for my birthday (photobomb by Levi)

Krista celebrated my birthday by flying to Minnesota to visit Kortney and Mat.  That might sound mean of her, but really, I’ve had enough birthdays that it was no problem.  We wanted her to go there to be with Kortney and Mat after their baby was born, and that was the best day to go for the flight.  It turned out to not be the best time to go for the baby.  She was due on 10/15, but she was too comfortable inside her Mom or something, and decided to wait until 10/28 to be born.  Marguerite Kimble Rhode was born that day at about 9:30pm Central time.  She weighed 8 lbs, 8 ozs and was 22 inches long.  They are calling her Daisy.  Now, I had to look this up, but you probably all knew this.  The reason Daisy is a nickname for Marguerite is that Marguerite is the French name for a specific kind of daisy.  Her middle name, Kimble, was suggested by Mat, sort of as a joke, because his family has a cabin on Kimble Lake in Minnesota, but Kortney really liked the idea when he said it.  I think it’s really great that no matter where her life takes her, she will always have a connection to her lake and to Minnesota.  I told my kids that I should have named one of them Ontario for our lake here in western New York, which would have been cool, but of course, Carissa and Kortney were born in Seattle, so they would have been stuck with Puget or Green for a middle name.  Definitely not as cool.  Rainier might have worked.

The other thing about Krista’s trip there was that her return flight was scheduled for 10/26.  Do you see the problem there?  But we were able to change that so that she ended up staying until 11/1, so she got a few days with the baby.

Welcome to our world, Daisy!

Yes, she has already found her thumb

Daisy and her grandma

In other big news, Amelia is now a licensed driver and orthodontia free.  Those were the last two obstacles to her moving to Minnesota to live with Kortney and Mat, so she is now finalizing those plans.  I believe the current plan is to return with them after they come here for Christmas.

On 10/30, our pastor started a series in the book of Genesis.  He put a quote up on the screen from Ken Matthews that was profound.  I was impressed by my brother’s deep theological insight, but then I researched and discovered the theologian is actually Ken Mathews (one “t”), but here's the quote anyway.

Most Sunday nights, all of us here get together at Ella and Cody’s house for a family game night.  It’s always tons of fun enjoying each other’s company and especially watching the granddaughters play.  However, on 11/6 a bunch of us went to see Tim Hawkins.  If you don’t know him, look him up on YouTube.  He’s very funny, and we had a side-aching time!

Monopoly game at Family Game Night

We’re making good progress on our downstairs.  We got all of the drywall up on the ceiling last Saturday and started on the walls.  Hopefully, we’ll finish the drywall tomorrow and start the long, messy process of mudding and sanding.

That’s it for now, so until December!

October 2016 Update

Apparently, this was a boring month picture-wise, since all of my pictures were of my downstairs.  We are working on a refurbish of that area, and I took pictures of it after the old paneling was removed so I could remember where the pipes and wires were once we cover it all back up with drywall.  But that’s all the pictures I took this month, and since I don’t think any of you care to look at bare walls, I won’t bother to post those pictures on the web version of this update.  If I’m wrong, and bare walls are really your thing, you need counseling.  But let me know, and I can send you some pictures to carry you through until the counseling takes effect.

I’m done with PT now and just doing at home exercises on my wrist to try to get back full mobility.  I appreciate your ongoing prayers for my full recovery!  It has gotten better enough that I have started leading singing at church again (for a while it hurt too much to flop my arm around).  The fun part of that is that Ella agreed to be my accompanist, so we get to work together each week that I lead.

Birthdays since I wrote last were Ella on 9/21 and Alma on 10/6.  Alma turned one, so that was exciting.  Ella’s birthday was exciting too, but it’s impolite to discuss women’s ages, so don’t ask.

On 9/25, our pastor was away, so I had an opportunity to preach at our church.  If you care to listen, the sermon is posted on our church’s website at http://www.gracebrockport.org/forms/Media.aspx#/mediafile/102.  I thought it went well.  I was a little worried when one of our church members came in with a bag of tomatoes (really!), but she was just giving them away—they were not for sermon feedback.

Since I wrote you last, both the Bills and the Seahawks have done very well, winning all their games, so that makes me happy.  My fantasy team is another story, but no one but me cares, so I won’t bore you with it.

Until November!

September 2016 Update

Hello family and friends, and welcome to another exciting update from the Greg Matthews Family!

In order to properly enjoy our hot summer, we decided to all go to Seabreeze, our local amusement and water park.  My family, Hannah’s family, Ella’s family, and Krista’s sister Nanita’s family all went on Saturday, 8/20, and enjoyed a day of sun and fun.  My wrist didn’t give me any problems, which I wasn’t sure about going into it, although it was a little sore the next day from holding tightly to the rides (I love roller coasters).  I never even got my phone out to take any pictures, so you’ll just have to imagine how cute my granddaughters were on their rides.  No, it was cuter than that.  Try again.

I only have one PT session left, and then I just have to continue doing my home exercises until I’m completely back to normal.  The nice thing about having PT every week is that my boss has let me work at home each day I’ve had PT (once a week).  I had PT on 8/22, which was also Krista’s and my 36th anniversary.  So I took a long lunch that day, and we went out for a nice lunch together.

My Mom would have been 88 on 8/23, and Dad would have been 88 on 9/15, but they are both happier now without having birthdays.

On 8/26 and 27, Levi and I took Cai back to college at Cairn University outside of Philadelphia.  We briefly saw Carissa, Matt, Caitlin, and Ben.  We slept at Caitlin and Ben’s house Friday night, played some games with all of them, and then all went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch before we had to drop Cai off at school on Saturday afternoon.  Then Levi and I headed home.  It was a long driving weekend, but by God’s grace, everything went very smoothly.

We caught Matt replacing his kitchen flooring (see the small patch of old flooring?)

Playing games

On Labor Day weekend, our family fantasy league had its draft.  I got a very bad draft grade, so I guess I better keep my job and not try to break into managing an NFL team.  Although the Bills are winless this season, so I couldn’t do much worse than whoever is doing that job there now.  I had and still have much higher hopes for the Seahawks, although Sunday’s loss was just embarrassing.  Can we convince Marshawn to come back from retirement?

On Labor Day itself, we labored in the morning (isn’t that what the day is really for?), then played in the afternoon and evening, with rousing croquet matches, grilled chicken, and lots of family and fun.

At church this fall, I started teaching one of the adult Sunday School classes.  My topic is “What Is The Gospel?”.  It’s been a good study for me, and I trust God is using it in our church family’s lives to help us better understand what we may be mistaken about or take for granted, and be thus better able to share it with others.  The simple outline is:  God, man, Christ, response.  1. There is one God who created us all, and because He is the Creator, we are all accountable to Him.  2. We all, every one of us without exception, have rebelled against His rightful authority over us.  3. Instead of condemning us to death as we deserved, He sent His only Son, Jesus, to take the death that we deserved.  Christ willingly came and died in our place, and God raised Him from the dead to prove His ultimate victory over sin and death.  4. When we respond in faith, trusting only in His death and resurrection for the payment for our sins, we are redeemed and saved from our sin, and allowed to spend eternity in heaven with Him instead of separated from Him forever in the eternal torment of hell.

Please pray that God will use that amazing truth to penetrate my own heart more and more, and to win souls to Himself through this class.

My son-in-law, Mat, celebrated his birthday on 9/12.  Please pray for him and Kortney as they are preparing for their baby’s birth in mid-October, and Mat was recently laid off from his job.  This seems to us like awful timing, but they are trusting in God’s sovereignty in their lives.

That’s all for now, so until October!

Oddly enough, all the rest of my pictures are of my adorable granddaughters.  Who'd have guessed that?!?!

Ivy tummy time and head lift practice

Talking with Grandpa: happy

Talking with Grandpa: singing

Talking with Grandpa: even though he's strange

Talking with Grandpa: really strange

Alma and Hazel cooling off on a hot day

August 2016 Update

Today is about 13.5 weeks since my wrist repair surgery.  The doctor said it could take a full year to get everything back, and I’m definitely not there yet.  My hand is still swollen a little, but the thing that bothers me the most is the loss of feeling in the pinky side of my hand.  It makes it hard to type (which is sort of what I do for a living) when you can’t feel the keys your ring and pinky finger are touching.  The strength is lacking quite a bit still too, but I know I am improving bit by bit.  I still have weekly appointments with my Physical Therapist and daily exercises I have to do, so people often see me bending and contorting my wrist, hand, and fingers to try to get things back to normal.  They probably think I’m some sort of a wacko because some of those exercises look strange, and they’re right.

As I mentioned last month, Zach and I went to the Civil Air Patrol’s New York Wing Leadership Encampment from July 21 – 31.  Our weather has continued to be overall very hot and dry, and that week and a half was no different.  The food they give us there is very good, but thankfully the warm weather and the high amounts of walking that was required balanced out the good eating so that I came home about the same weight as I went.  Zach’s job was in Services (food prep, kitchen cleanup, etc.) so he had to be up very early every morning and stay up late at night as well.  My job was in Admin, so I was crazy busy at the beginning and end of the week when we were registering and out-processing cadets, and sort of slow the rest of the week.  I spent a lot of time helping people with technical issues (printing, network connectivity, etc.), so that was good to be able to use my skills that way.  I actually was rewarded with a “challenge coin” for my efforts, so that was nice.

The front and back of the Challenge Coin I received

I drove some cadet staff to encampment. This is us at a rest stop (Zach far right)

Playing volleyball. I was tempted but was a good boy and didn't play

Zach cleaning the food service area

Zach (center) serving in the food line

We got to see lots of cool aircraft during the week, like a Blackhawk and a Chinook helicopter, F-15 fighter jets, and a “Reaper” drone, and we got to fly in a C-130 cargo plane again this time, as we had two years ago when we went.  It was a lot of exhausting fun!

I slept in the camper in the foreground. In the background is the Blackhawk

Zach (Philip) and I listed for the C-130 flight

Looking at the Reaper (can you find Zach?)

C-130 selfie!

Lake Placid from the C-130

Whiteface Mountain

The pilot (we all got turns to go into the cockpit)

F-15s flying by (they are hard to photograph)

Possibly the highlight for me was going to a Jewish worship service.  We had a Jewish cadet at the encampment who wanted to go to services, so our chaplain found a temple near us, and another adult member and I took her.  The temple was beautiful with lots of stained glass and colorful tapestries.  We sang a lot of songs, all in Hebrew, and heard a message in English, thankfully, but the way he pronounced the Biblical names was Hebraized as opposed to the way I learned them, so that was really interesting too.  It was fascinating to have this cross-cultural experience in the faith group that is the foundation for my Christianity.

New service book

Old service book (we used this one and used almost every page, and yes, you start at the back and go towards the front)

The encampment graduation ceremony was really nice too.  They surprised a cadet whose father had been serving in Afghanistan by bringing his dad forward to greet him when he thought he was still overseas.  That moistened a lot of eyes!

Encampment Graduation

Krista and I and Jemmie and Levi made a quick trip to Philadelphia to visit Carissa and Matt and Caitlin and Ben over the weekend 8/5-7.  We hadn’t really gotten to visit with them in the wedding trips to Philly, so it was really great to spend all day Saturday with them.  We went to a park on the riverfront, played games, ate good food, and we came away feeling like we connected with them again.  Ben’s birthday was on 8/12, so at least when we wished him happy birthday, we really felt like we knew the man who married our daughter.  ;-)

Fast food selfies from our Philly trip

Early the following week, I was contacted by Olcott Bible Church.  They are currently without a pastor and were looking for someone to fill their pulpit the next Sunday.  First, Krista’s cousin’s wife, Lisa, who is a member there, called me to make sure it was OK to ask me, then an “official” representative of their church called.  I was excited for the opportunity, but with only a week’s notice, I had to use a message I had preached before.  In August 2011, death was on my mind when my church needed me to preach.  My mom had died in May, and I knew my dad was not doing well (he ended up dying in October of that same year).  So, I prepared and taught a message on the bad news of death, the good news that God is in control of death, and the best news that believers at death are immediately in the presence of their Savior, Jesus.

As part of that message, I showed this video to illustrate God’s control over death.  WARNING!  If you cry easily, or have recently lost a loved one, be sure to have tissues handy when you watch this!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQYrF2g_48o  In 2011, after I got back up to continue preaching at this point, there were so many weepy people in the congregation, that I too broke down and sobbed and could barely speak.  This time I only got a little misty-eyed and choked up, so I guess that’s an improvement.

They also wanted me to teach Sunday School if possible, and I was preparing a lesson for our church for this past Wednesday night on Psalm 147, so I taught that in Sunday School.  I thought both lessons went well, and I trust God used me to encourage the believers there.

Then I was able to teach Psalm 147 this past Wednesday night for our church and was able to make some last minute changes based on how the Sunday School went at Olcott Bible to make it even smoother, so thanks to the OBC people for being my guinea pigs.

Backing up one day, we celebrated Krista’s birthday on 8/16 with a party at Hannah and Kevin’s house.  All the local family were there, and we had tons of fun and excellent food, as usual.

The birthday girl

At the party...

That was our full month, so I’ll talk to you in September!

Do you like my hat?