October 2023 Update

As I mentioned last month, just one short month after the whole family surprised me with an early birthday party, the whole family again met in the Louisville area of Kentucky for Amelia’s wedding on September 22.  It was a beautiful ceremony with fantastic weather.  Congratulations to the newlyweds, Amelia and Ben White!

 

Caitlin was due to have a baby very soon after the wedding, and we were all praying that she’d make it there and back with no complications, and that she could be back home in familiar surroundings before the baby was born.  Well, God was gracious, and Eleanora (Nora) Gray Updegrove was born at home on September 28.  Gray is Caitlin’s middle name, and was also my mom’s, Jeannie Gray Taylor Matthews, middle name.  My mom got the name from her great-grandmother, Jeanie Gray, who was married to Herbert Hudson Taylor, son of James Hudson Taylor, well-known missionary and founder of the China Inland Mission (now OMF International).

 

Lena and Nora

Krista and I just returned from a visit to the Updegrove’s home in Philadelphia, where we got to spend a week with them meeting Nora, making friends with her big sister, Lena, and helping out where we could.  The bonus was that Carissa’s family lives only two doors down, so we got to spend time with them too!

 

Krista, Lena, and I took a walk one beautiful day

Krista with her newest granddaughter

My son, Levi, has now finished his soccer career with our local Christian school that I mentioned last month.  His team made it to the championship, and we got to watch lots of his games this year.  We’re all really proud of all he accomplished with them!

 

Levi (#4) usually plays defense, like here, but...

In this game, they were so far ahead that his coach put him in on offense, and he scored! I apologize for a lousy video.

That’s all for now, so we’ll talk again in November!

 

 

 

September 2023 Update

This was a momentous month!  The day after I wrote last, August 19, I went to what I thought was an end of summer party with my local families at Hannah’s house.  It was a beautiful day, and as we’re sitting in her back yard, my son, Levi, subtly says something like, “Hey I just realized it’s your 63 years and 10 month birthday today.”  To which my daughter, Jem, replies, “If I’d known that, I would have thrown you a party!”  I laughed that off and made some comment about how I plan to retire on August 19, 2026, when I’ll be 66 years and 10 months.  Minutes later, my daughter, Amelia, and her fiancé, Ben, walk into the yard.  They live in Louisville, Kentucky, so that was very unexpected!  As a matter of fact, we’re going there this week for their wedding.  Anyway, shortly after that, my son, Cai, who also lives in Louisville walks in to the yard.  Unfortunately, his wife, Amy, and their daughter, Dorothy, could not come, but I figured, OK he just came with Amelia and Ben.  Then my daughter, Caitlin, her husband Ben, and daughter, Lena, walk into the yard (from Philadelphia), followed soon by my daughter, Kortney, her husband, Mat, and their kids, Daisy, Bea, and Gus (from Minneapolis), and finally by my daughter, Carissa, her husband, Matt, and their kids, Ruby and Milo (from Philadelphia).

 

It turned out that Jem decided I needed a surprise 65th birthday party, so she planned this whole thing with everyone, and to surprise me, they had it a year and two months early!  It was great in every way!  They each gave me t-shirts from where they live, so I have a Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and New York t-shirt, and I’m very proud to wear each of them!

My Kentucky shirt

They all stayed for at least a couple of days, and while they were here, we did several fun activities, like going to Seabreeze, our local amusement park, and visiting a kid-themed farm, the beach at Lake Ontario, and other local parks and playgrounds.

 

Mat and Gus on the carousel 

You might have to zoom in, but the 2nd car is Carissa and Milo, and the third is Kortney and Bea

Maya and Truman being cute eating snacks under Cody's watchful eye

Matt (with his arms out) and Ruby

Video of Carissa, Milo, Kortney, and Bea on the kids roller coaster

I mentioned a month or so ago that I’m taking the local grandkids out for their half birthday for a dessert date with me.  This month, it was Ansa’s turn, and she chose a local ice cream shop.  That seems to be a favorite outing since many of them have chosen that, and there are several in our area, so we haven’t repeated one yet!  And, of course, I don’t mind getting ice cream!

Ansa and I on our dessert date

For Labor Day, we stayed low key, and just had a simple get-together at our house with the local families.  It was beautiful weather, and a nice time together.

 

Our barbershop chorus is getting ready to compete this Saturday.  I won’t be there because I have a better offer to spend time with family at Amelia’s wedding!  Anyway, our director had to be gone for the past couple of weeks, so I got an opportunity to direct two rehearsals to hopefully keep them ready to do their best at Contest.  Also, our chorus sang at a local 9/11 remembrance ceremony, and I directed us then too.  We even made the local news!  If you watch the video here: Victims and heroes of 9/11 honored at memorial in Webster | WHAM (13wham.com) near the end you’ll see a very brief shot of our chorus (we’re the guys in khaki pants and maroon shirts) singing The Battle Hymn of the Republic.  Then shortly after that, you’ll see a shot of two young families with a little boy waving.  That’s my grandson, Alex, son-in-law, Kevin, daughter, Hannah, daughter, Abigail, granddaughter, Maya, granddaughter, Ansa, and granddaughter, Alma.  Maya is Abigail’s daughter, and Alma, Alex, and Ansa, are Hannah and Kevin’s.  So, basically, we’re all famous.

 

My son, Levi, is playing soccer again with a local Christian school.  Their league allows local homeschooled students to play with them, and even though Levi is out of high school now and in college, he is eligible to play this final year since he’s still 18.  Anyway, they’ve had three games so far, and they’re 1-1-1.  I missed the game where they won, but I’ve been able to go to two of his games, and I love watching them all play.  He usually plays center back (defense), and occasionally plays goalie.

 

Abigail and her husband, Bernie, threw a big part for their daughter, Maya’s, first birthday.  It was at a local park, and although the weather wasn’t wonderful, we all had a great time watching her cuteness.  She seems to enjoy being the center of attention.  I wonder where she gets that from?  *cough* Abigail *cough*

 

We were all very disappointed with how poorly the Buffalo Bills played in their first game, but happily they bounced back nicely yesterday.  Go Bills!

 

I guess that’s it for this past month.  Thanks for reading, and we’ll talk in October!

 

August 2023 Update

In looking back over the past month, I don’t see a lot worth putting in here, but there are a few things.  I don’t have any pictures to put here this month, so, even though it seemed really busy, I guess it was not that busy.

 

I had a surgery follow-up with my urologist, and it was good news.  My PSA is supposed to be zero now since I don’t have a prostate gland anymore, and it was!  Thank you for your ongoing prayers and thank You God for Your goodness to me!  I’m sleeping better these days as well, and I think I am seeing some progress with the side effects of the surgery.

 

I’m excited for the start of football season.  I enjoyed watching the preseason games so far, and I’m ready!  Go Bills!

 

This past Wednesday night, our church had its 2nd annual Talent Show.  Since I enjoy making a fool of myself, I participated again, making lots of inside jokes about some of the people of our church.  It seemed to be well received, and I had fun doing it.  There is a video on our church’s YouTube channel, but unless you know our people, you won’t get most of the jokes.  However, if you’re interested, the video is here:  FBBC Talent Night 2023 - YouTube and my part starts at about 1:04:50.

 

That’s about it for this month, so we’ll talk again in September!

 

July 2023 Update

It seems like there’s a lot to talk about this month, so get ready!

 

I mentioned last month that Levi had gotten a new kitten that he named Lord Licorice.  We’ve all been enjoying him, but he’s especially a hit when the grandkids come over.  Here are some pictures and a video of his latest antics, including a couple that demonstrate some hot weather we’ve had here lately.

 

He runs around like a crazy thing, then crashes. Here he found a breezy spot on a hot day

Here's Licorice and Zuzu trying to stay cool on a 90 degree day

He sacked out in my arms while I was watching TV

Alex and Alma made a house for him to play in

When my kids were little, I used to go out with them for dessert for their birthday, just Dad and the birthday boy or girl.  Somewhere along the line, we stopped doing that, so I decided this year to start it back up with the local grandkids and my unmarried kids that are still home, but we’re doing it on their half birthdays to avoid the busyness that’s typical around their actual birthday.  I plan on doing something similar with my far away grandkids when we visit them.

 

Anyway, in June, it was Josie’s turn.  I don’t think I mentioned it here, but I did take Ivy out in January and Alma out in April.  Josie and I went to a local ice cream shop and had a great time.

 

Krista got a wonderful opportunity to visit Kortney and her family in Minnesota late in June.  She had a fantastic and relaxing time visiting with them and catching up with that family that we see way too rarely.  While she was gone, we tried to fend for ourselves here at home.  We mostly ate things that are simple to make since our expert cook was gone, but we were really proud of one meal where we went all out with grilled chicken, sweet corn, mac salad and chips.  All four of us (Zach, Jem, Levi, and myself) pitched in to make that happen, and it turned out really delicious.

 

Our one impressive meal

I got lots of nice wishes from my wife and kids for Fathers’ Day, along with some really nice presents.  The kids pitched in together to get me a recliner of my very own, but really everyone uses it, especially the pets.  Krista and I got kayaks for my present, since I’d rather kayak with her than alone.  We’ve only taken them out once so far, but we’re planning some days off work when we can go to local streams and have an adventure.  Hopefully not too exciting of an adventure.

 

Krista kayaking

Greg kayaking

My recliner

Our Independence Day was actually relatively quiet this year.  We went and saw the fireworks our local town does, but really that was about it.  Unless I’m forgetting something, which, if so, I’m sure someone will point out to me.

 

In July, it was time for the dessert date with Hazel, Alex, and Jem.  They all agreed on a time and place, so we all went together to another local ice cream place that also had things to play on.  Jem and I enjoyed watching Alex and Hazel have fun together.

 

Our biggest news this month is the engagement of our daughter, Amelia, to Ben White.  They met when Amelia moved to Louisville and starting working at UPS with Cai and Zach.  Ben worked there too, and she was blessed to find a godly and handsome man!  They are planning a September wedding in the Louisville area.

 

Photo credit to Ben

Kevin (Hannah’s husband) has been wanting to try a seafood boil since we had one at Outer Banks.  Well, he finally got a chance, and we locals got together to see how he did.  We all gave him a thumbs up, and he is looking forward to tweaking his ingredients and trying it again.  We’re all looking forward to that too!

 

Just this past weekend was the Wilson/Dickinson reunion at Lighthouse Christian Campground in Barker, NY.  This is the reunion of Krista’s father’s siblings and their families.  Krista and I rented a cabin there for a couple of relaxing and fun nights and really enjoyed seeing extended family, good weather (until it was time to leave when we got soaked with rain while packing to go), beautiful Lake Ontario views, delicious food, and fun pickleball matches.  We also got a tour of the family farm where her Dad grew up.

 

Ansa and I on the trailer touring the farm

Farm tour

While we were there, Krista’s brother, Terrelle, showed me a plaque he had found at Niagara-On-The-Lake in Ontario, Canada.  He knows I am the great-great-grandson of Hudson Taylor, and he had learned that Taylor had spoken at the Niagara Bible Conference in Niagara-On-The-Lake, and that there was a plaque commemorating that fact.  He searched diligently and found it and shared the picture with me.  Krista’s parents and grandparents were associated with Niagara Bible Conference in Olcott, NY, and Terrelle is convinced there must be some connection between the two NBCs since they are so close in location and time to each other.  He is researching and promised to share what he finds.

 

Finally, I am asking for prayer again.  It seems it is my season to go through physical challenges.  I’m still dealing with the bodily control issues caused by my prostate surgery, so I appreciate your ongoing prayers for that recovery.  Also, for years I’ve had an intermittent swallowing problem that’s been treated by my GI doctor doing a endoscopy and dilation that stretches the sphincter at the top of my stomach.  I had that procedure done in January, but it didn’t seem as effective as it has been in the past.  Usually after that’s been done, I’m good for several years.  But this time, I’m still having occasional swallowing issues even though I just had that done.  Anyway, I’m going in again today for him to take another look at my throat to see if he can figure out why it didn’t work this time.  So, I’d appreciate your prayers that God would give him wisdom and knowledge to know how to help me, and that He would give me the grace to honor Him with however this turns out.  Thank you!

 

Talk to you in August!

 

June 2023 Update

Thank you for praying about the insurance issue with my PT.  God graciously provided that their services would be “in network” so they are much more affordable for me.  I’m down to once a week with them now, so that’s progress.

 

On May 20, my barbershop chorus, The Chorus of the Genesee, had our annual show.  It was our first one after a few years break due to an interfering virus and other issues, and it was a lot of fun.  We shared the stage with a local women’s chorus and several quartets, and I think it went quite well.

Our celebration cake from the cast party

On Memorial Day weekend, we had get-togethers with the local families every day.  It was special because Amelia and her boyfriend, Ben, came up from Kentucky to join us.  OK, that was really the motivation behind all the get-togethers, to be able to spend the maximum amount of time with them.

 

Those of you in our area may have experienced this too, but we had several days with the smell of smoke in the air and poor air quality due to the Canadian wildfires.  It didn’t make anybody sick or anything—it was just a bit of inconvenience for a couple of days in that we didn’t want to be outside if we didn’t have to be.

That's not clouds, that's smoke

That's what the sun looked like through the smoke

On June 10, my granddaughters, Ansa and Alma, had their dance recitals.  They were totally adorable, and it was a lot of fun to watch them enjoy dancing.

 

I mentioned back in March that our cat, Princess Lolly, died.  My son, Levi, was probably the closest to Lolly, since she slept in his room.  Well, on June 14, he and I went to pick up a kitten for him, that he has named Lord Licorice (do you follow the theme here?).  He is really cute and playful, and we’re all enjoying him.

 

This past weekend, our local families went camping at Hamlin Beach State Park.  Because of the issues I’m still dealing with, I went home at night, but I spent all day with them, and we all had fun playing on the beach, riding bikes, playing at playgrounds, eating delicious camping food, and spending time outdoors and with family.  Overall, we had great weather, and a fantastic time.

 

Thanks for reading, and I’ll talk to you next month!

 

 

 

May 2023 Update

I can’t think of a lot that happened in the past month, but that may be because I’m still focused on my surgery recovery, so we’ll have to see if I have to send out an update to the update again this month.

 

As my update to last month’s update said, I am recovering from my surgery and doing pretty well really.  The pain is no big deal at this point.  I’m not taking any pain meds anymore, and I only feel quite minor pain and only occasionally.  The bigger issue, without getting too graphic, is the recovery of my bodily control.  From all I’ve read, that can take a year or more, so I’ve only begun that process.  I am seeing some progress, however, even if it’s only a little.

 

My urologist and surgeon, Dr. Bloom, referred me for PT for my pelvic floor to try to help with this situation.  I found out that there are very few PTs in my area that will do pelvic floor therapy for men.  And we’re currently waiting to see how my insurance will process the claims.  None of the three places that do this therapy showed up in my “in network” providers for my insurance, but the place I chose, although the business name doesn’t show up, several of the therapists do show as in network.  So, we’re not sure if they’ll process it in network or out.  Please pray with us that insurance covers it in network.

 

We celebrated the mother of my children on Mothers’ Day with gifts and cards.  Hannah and Kevin invited us over to share in their Mothers’ Day brunch that Kevin made, and it was delicious!  Bacon, two kinds of sausage, eggs, fruit, pastries, and potatoes.  Yummy!  It wasn’t a very warm day, but it was sunny, and sitting on their back deck with the sun bouncing off their house, it felt wonderful.

 

I think that’s it, so I’ll stop there.  Thanks again for all your prayers for me!

 

April 2023 Update

We are go for my surgery tomorrow, so, again, thanks for praying for me!  Hopefully, when I write next month, I’ll be able to tell you about the success and quick recovery.

 

Now back to the news of the past month.

 

On March 18, my son-in-law, Bernie (Abigail’s husband) and I participated in a Euchre tournament our church ran.  We had a good time and finished above the middle of the 40 or so teams, so that was good.  I hope we can do this again sometime!

 

We enjoyed Easter with all the local families and tons of great food.  The resurrection of Jesus is what separates Christianity from all other world religions.  We serve a risen God!

 

Finally, this past Friday night, Zach, Jem, the Mickles and myself went to see Tim Hawkins perform.  It was at The Chapel in Getzville, NY, which is a very big church.  Our church is big and holds about 1200 people.  This one I would guess holds closer to 2000 people.  It wasn’t full but there weren’t a lot of empty seats.

 

Anyway, Tim was hilarious as usual.  If you want a taste of the fun we had, you can check out his videos on YouTube or his website.

 

Waiting for Tim to make us laugh

Thanks again for your prayers, and we’ll talk next month.

 Web bonus pictures of snow, and playing with a wild animal app:

No, there really wasn't a lion in the backyard with the grandkids. April Fool!

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I’m using the excuse that I was very focused on my surgery, but I forgot a major event of the month.

 

Zach moved back home from Kentucky!  He got here just before Easter.  He had been there almost a year and enjoyed (mostly) working at UPS with Cai and later Amelia.  He was able to get a job with UPS here doing about the same things he had done there, and he’s adjusting to living back at home.  We are very glad he’s here!

 

Also, my surgery went well, and I thank you all for your prayers.  I am home recovering now and feeling pretty good.  The pain meds help me feel comfortable most of the time, but coughing hurts a lot.  Thanks for continued prayers too!