Mathews Family Blog

He's a growing boy!

2008-09-21T20:53:00.002-04:00

Our little Hayden is in that curiosity stage. You know the one, where a kid will try any food you put before them, where they will try and repeat any word or action he sees, where he will climb to the heights without any regard for the impending depths.

Nowadays Hayden keeps me constantly on my toes. I have few moments throughout the day where I don't have to be on alert for what he might be climbing, where he might be hiding, what he might be eating, what buttons he might be pushing. Whew! He also loves to get on top of the table and see if there are any leftovers after his big brothers have finished their snacks. Sometimes it is just a lonely cereal box, but then sometimes he gets lucky and Asher has abandoned a plate of French fries and ketchup for dipping. Yummy!

So enjoy this little sampling of our baby boy chowing down. Man he is cute and we can't seem to get enough of him!

The Parachute Tribe ...

2008-09-16T23:11:00.002-04:00

Sometimes I wish I could crawl inside of Asher John's head. He comes up with the most interesting and strange ideas sometimes.

Elias and Asher were talking about Native American tribes. Justin asked Elias if he could name a tribe and he replied, "Cherokee." I told him that the Lakotas lived near Nanny and Poppy. Some time passed and then Asher asked me, "Mom, is there a tribe called the Parachute tribe?" I had to ask him to repeat his question because I wasn't sure I heard him right. Nope, he said exactly what I thought he said, parachute tribe. "I don't think there is a tribe called the parachutes," I informed him. He just smiled and kept on daydreaming.

Asher is one of those kiddos that can make you feel so full of love and happiness one minute and then in the next moment he can send you into orbit with his tenacity. And those dimples, man!

If anyone hears about a lost tribe called the Parachute, please let us know!

Jodi

little cow pokes ...

2008-09-14T22:02:00.003-04:00

OK, so it isn't the best picture, but here are my big guys on their first horse ride! While recently in SD visiting Mom & Dad, we got to visit "Cowboy Church." The boys and I sat in a barn and listened to a preacher donning a cowboy hat and belt buckle, while a dog named Molly ran up and down the "aisle." Oh, and yes there were horses! In fact, the horses kept inching forward into the barn during the sermon and knocked over a box fan at one point. After church the boys mounted their steeds and rode around the pasture. Of course they had to wear Poppy's cowboy hats and bolo ties! You know my guys ... They always have to look the part.

I hope to be better about posting here. But I am always hoping that! Truly I have much to tell you all about how Elias is faring in our little St. Innocent's Homeschool, about how Hayden is changing and all the new words he is saying, and about how Asher keeps us on our toes with his humor and imagination.

I will leave you with my little Asher as he rides off into the sunset (okay, use your imagination about the sunset part!).

"Papa Virgil"

2008-09-12T12:09:00.002-04:00

Well, yesterday marked the one year passing of my Papa. In my busy and relatively noisy life, I rarely slow down long enough to "remember." Sometimes things just hit me--like I've failed to look up and notice the tulip poplar in the front yard before my forehead meets in squarely on its rough, hard trunk. Ouch!

The one year anniversary of my Papa's death did not sneak up on me though. It didn't take me by surprise or bring me to a place of sadness. You see, part of the joy of having little ones running around is that they see things so innocently, so clearly sometimes. The boys and I were having breakfast yesterday and I told them that one year ago Papa died. I asked them if they remembered going to his funeral. They did. Then Asher, who is four, said what he always says when anyone talks about Papa. He said, "But Mommy, Papa is ALIVE in Christ!" That's it folks. My four-year-old gets it.

I read my cousin Tisha's blog a little bit ago and was thinking about what she said about her kids not knowing Papa. It reminded me that my little guys have a very limited memory of their "Papa Virgil" as they called him. They remember the farm, the tractor, the tools, the cats, and they even remember how Papa always had a toothpick in his mouth. But they remember other things too. As we drove to the funeral one year ago, Asher asked all of us if we remember visiting Papa when he was on "that machine." Yes, we visited Papa one day while he was at the dialysis center. Papa told them all about the machine he was hooked up to. He told them how it helped make his body feel better afterwards. They were fascinated and a bit concerned. After we talked a little bit about their memories of that visit Asher said, "But Papa doesn't have to do that anymore now, right?" "Right, Asher!"

Their actual experience with Papa may have been few, but they are strong memories for them. And I get to add to their memories those I have. About a month ago when all the watermelon started appearing at our local farmer's market, the boys just had to have one. We were enjoying the sweet fruit later that night and I couldn't help but make some watermelon rind teeth. That's right, I carved some green teeth right there at the dinner table. The boys always appreciate a chance to be silly at the table, so they joined in and we all sported our watermelon rind teeth! I have such a vivid picture in my mind of Papa and his watermelon rind teeth. No, my boys never saw him carve out teeth from a watermelon, but now when they think of this in the future it will be tied to their Papa Virgil, who lived on a farm and had so many tools to play with. ("Put that tool back where you found it Elias!" "But mom this is where I found it," he says as he tosses it into the tall grass growing around a tree that has become a collecting spot for various items covered in rust.)

I guess as long as I can remember and relay my stories to the kiddos, they will begin to see the Papa they knew through my eyes as well. The Papa that took me fishing in farm ponds, the Papa that let me play with the baby chicks, the papa that bought me a $300 chevette when I arrived at college without transportation, the Papa that then taught me how to drive that chevette since it was a stick, the Papa that said about dancing at my wedding, "Now why would I want to go out there and tire myself out like that?" And he really enjoyed seeing his great-grandsons! He would watch them wrestle and tumble, run around the yard, sneak up on the cats. And when I would try and settle them down or reign them in he would say, "Now, you just let them be. They aren't hurting anything."

So the thing is, Tisha (and the rest of you all without little ones yet), your kiddos will know their Papa Virgil through your stories, your memories and your love of him. And for kids, that is everything!

I know my post is a day late, but I like to think that Papa would tell you all, "Now leave her alone, she's got three little boys to run after. She does what she can!"

Love to you all!

Jodi

a Marine rings the Peace Bell

2008-06-21T10:07:00.001-04:00

a Marine rings the Peace Bell, originally uploaded by jmorthodox.

Jake is now doing well in Japan. We always enjoy hearing from him on skype.

JM+

Ps 117:24

2008-06-21T09:46:00.001-04:00

MVI_2728, originally uploaded by jmorthodox.

Asher and Elias are doing so well with memory verses and we thought we would share!

JM+

Ps. 117:24

2008-06-21T09:44:00.001-04:00

MVI_2725, originally uploaded by jmorthodox.

Crawdads...

2008-06-18T22:04:00.001-04:00

IMG_2716.JPG, originally uploaded by jmorthodox.

We had a great hike the other day with the boys. We hiked in about half a mile to a small waterfall and rocky creek. Along with many crawdads, we saw two water snakes. One swam right between Hayden's legs! When we returned to the van, I spotted a large Copperhead snake right where Elias was admiring a slug. We avoided danger and had much to talk about on our ride home!

Check out the other pictures in this series at our Flickr site!

We love and miss you all!

Jodi

Bugs in KY!

2008-06-09T14:36:00.001-04:00

Bugs in KY!
Originally uploaded by jmorthodox

on the way home from Indiana. More on flickr. Jm

Hayden blows on the hot bean

2008-05-30T19:12:00.001-04:00

Hayden blows on the hot bean
Originally uploaded by jmorthodox

dinner at our house tonight...
JM+

Peace ...

2008-05-28T21:47:00.002-04:00

As some of you may already know, Oak Ridge has a rather notorious history. It was established by the government as the seat of the Manhattan Project and was the site where much of the uranium was extracted to create the atomic bombs dropped in Japan during WWII. Now in the Civic Center Park in the heart of town is a memorial to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is called the International Friendship PEACE Bell. It was actually given to the City of Oak Ridge by the Japanese Government. Ironic!

Anyway, with my littlest (he would prefer I say "youngest") brother visiting for less than 24 hours before shipping out to Okinawa, it seemed like a fitting place to take him. And yes, he rang the bell. He is now a Marine. The little boy who used to sit for abnormal amounts of time twirling his pencil, Lincoln log, or any common twig, will now be serving his time in the military. I would be lying if I said I wouldn't prefer him to be heading out on a mission trip or Peace Corps assignment, but that is not the case for him. My prayer is only that he find a way of serving God in this journey and that it will hold for him PEACE, always PEACE.

Peace,

Jodi

Our Beautiful Home ...

2008-05-21T19:02:00.003-04:00

I know it has been ages since I wrote. All I can say is life is busy! The boys are active, I am regularly waking in the middle of the night to attend births, our Church calendar is full, and the grass grows about a foot a week! ;-)

We have discovered a beautiful part of the Smokies National Park. It is called Cade's Cove. We love taking a picnic and spending the day in the park. The boys get to explore old cabins, cemeteries, and creeks, and I get to gaze at the Smoky Mountains rising all around the cove!

Sometimes we wonder if this stout little guy might be able to pull us all along. Then to our surprise we actually found a yoke that fits him!

Our little daredevils! Last time we were at this creek we saw a water snake. The forrest is thick with rhododendrons in this area!

We love you all and so wish we could afford the gas money and the time for a visit! Our doors are always open. Y'all come see us, y'hear!

Christ is Risen!

Jodi

HAY BABY!

2008-01-31T19:36:00.000-05:00

just sittin' here in the colander while Mom gets dinner going ...

... hey, there's that dog ...

... what's the trick for getting out of this thing? ...

... he doesn't mind when I squeal and shake his crate, but sometimes he does lick my fingers and face if they come too close ...

long time no news ...

2008-01-27T15:05:00.000-05:00

Well, I realize it has been a while since I have posted new comments or pix. I hope to make up for lost time! Much has been happening in the Mathews household since my last post. We have seen quite a bit of calamity as far as plumbing, water damage, and multiple-appliance failure. We are still putting things back in order after all of that. We will have a remodeled bathroom when it is all said and done, and may even end up with a new oven (ours has been broken since just after Thanksgiving!). On top of all the house issues, I have been quite afflicted with one inconvenient and painful ailment after another. From Christmas until now, I have been through losing my voice, mastitis, extreme tooth pain, acute gastritis (due to the ibuprofen I was taking for the pain of the previous two ailments), and the removal of all four (three of which were impacted) wisdom teeth! My jaw is still a bit sore and swollen, but I am seeing the light at the end of this tunnel. Actually, I think I am seeing a big, juicy hamburger at the end of this tunnel. With the gastritis, I lost about 12-14 pounds because I couldn't eat anything without experiencing very sharp pain and burning. The upside to all of this is that I am starting the year out under my pre-pregnancy weight, and I am feeling very anxious to get back into the swing of things. I am hoping I can ride the wave of this energy spurt for the next six months! ;-)

Anyway, here are few fun pix of all of us from the past couple of months:

"I can't move my arms!" This is how we bundle Hay Baby up to go out into the East Tn cold.

Asher playing with his new "hunter" set from Nanny and Poppy. Notice the bright orange hat he must wear so no other hunters will mistake him for a deer!

Sometimes we get so tired around here that we collapse in some interesting positions. Here is Elias with a sticker name-tag over his eye. I found him like this after checking in on him. He rarely "naps" now and his "quiet time" is never very quiet, with him singing or talking to himself the entire time. But on this day he was suspiciously quiet!

Here is Justin in the throes of bathroom demolition. Remember the "funny" incident with our toilet I wrote about. Turns out it leaked down in more places than I originally thought and we had to pull up carpet and remove carpet padding. As a result of the water damage we also had to remove the bathroom linoleum. We figured if we are ripping into the lovely pink and striped bathroom we might as well get to remodeling it. Out with the pink and in with the deep soak tub, new vanity, toilet and flooring!

This is the Sun Sphere in Knoxville. It is a leftover from the old World's Fair days. We spent a lovely Fall afternoon at World's Fair park and Justin snapped this picture of me with the world at my fingertips.

Love to you all. I will put up some Christmas pix of the kiddos up this week. Keep checking back. I am back in the saddle and plan on getting a more regular posting schedule together!

Blessings!

Jodi

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

2007-12-06T20:22:00.000-05:00

Well, in spite of what we are calling our week of seven plagues (3 broken appliances, two car break downs, a broken toilet and a substantial flood in the newly-carpeted basement!), we managed to really enjoy our time with Grandmama and Grandpapa this weekend.

We went and cut our tree down together on Sunday, It was a lovely outing, complete with hot chocolate! We had to adapt our tree to actually fit in our house. The trees at this farm were particularly large. The tree fits and it is huge. And, we all agreed, quite possibly the most perfect tree there ever was.

The boys had fun helping saw the tree down. Elias even wore his hard hat and goggles. That one's always a stickler for safety! Asher carried around a pitiful little branch while we hunted for the perfect tree. He called it his little Christmas tree. It was reminiscent of Charlie Brown! Hayden just loved being outside as always.

standing on the stump...

This morning the boys woke up to find that St. Nicholas had left them some gold (chocolate) coins, a chocolate Santa and a new puzzle. They really enjoy the story of the "real" santa! Check out this website if you want to learn more about the man behind the stories: www.StNicholasCenter.org

Hayden thought his first St. Nicholas Day was fun. Everyone was in his room when he discovered his slippers and a new book behind his curtains. He didn't care a lick about what was in the window, but he just loved that everyone was paying attention to him!

We love you all and miss you so much!

Jodi

Not sure what to call this...

2007-11-30T14:39:00.000-05:00

Well, I wasn't sure what to title this post. It could read: "Why the boys played emergency plumber all day" or "The one sound you never want to hear while sitting with a babe on the breast" or "How to have fun with water inside on a cold Fall day" or maybe "Why the boys need to drink more water"

So here's what happened:

My dear boy did his business like a champ, mom helped him get finished up, then we washed our hands, flushed and left the bathroom. Mom moved on to go nurse Hayden in his room, the boys went to couch to look at library books and await their mom's arrival for some reading time. So, I am sitting in the rocker, enjoying a quiet moment with the baby, when I hear the toilet running. Strange, I thought, since we hadn't heard it doing that in a while. Then I think I hear the faint sound of water trickling. Could that be what it sounds like? Faster than than you can imagine, and while nursing Hayden, I bolted from the rocker and into the hallway, where I was met with the slosh and splash of water around my feet.

In about a split second, I put Hay Baby on the ground in the living room, call Elias to come keep him from crawling into the water, and enlist Asher to go back to the other bathroom for the plunger. While they are carrying out their tasks, I am taking every towel within arms reach, whether it be hanging on a hook or folded neatly in the cupboard, and tossing them all over the ground, making sure that the first place they land is at the top of the stairs which lead down to our newly carpeted stairs and basement. Then I go to the water shut-off, which doesn't seem to be working!! As I fling the last piece of cloth I had grabbed, Asher comes back from the other bathroom. "Where's the plunger?" I ask. "Here," he says as he hands me the TWEEZERS! That's what I get for asking my three-year-old to fetch something he probably has never seen. SO, blinking back the tears of laughter, I make my way through the growing river to get the plunger. With just a few plunges, I begin to see the waters recede!

The upside to all of this drama ... the water was CLEAN!! And, it provided great inspiration for play for the boys. While I put Hayden in the saucer and began the job of mopping up the overflow, the bigger boys raced around the house pretending to call the plumber and re-enacting the flood drama they had just experienced. It really was laughable!

Moral of the story: Make sure the boys are getting enough water so their bodies are working more efficiently (AKA: avoid bodily back-ups, so as to avoid toilet back-ups.)

All in a day's work here at the Mathews' house.

What did you all do today?

Jodi

Look What I Can Do!

2007-11-29T09:12:00.000-05:00

Yep! Hayden is officially pulling himself up ... in his crib, on the coffee table, on his brothers (if they are still long enough for him to use them as leverage), on the couch ... you get the idea.

At 7 months this little guys is keeping us on our toes!

LOOK WHAT I CAN DO! (and I think it is FUN too)

Love to all,

Jodi

A River Runs Through It ....

2007-11-27T22:19:00.000-05:00

Here is my handsome man on his first fly-fishing outing with Adam. They left early on Saturday, the 24th. This is just 15 minutes from our house. They went fishing on the Clinch River. We really do live in a beautiful part of the country. It was about 30 degrees when they hit the river at 7am. No, they didn't catch anything but they really enjoyed the "guy time" on this amazingly beautiful East Tn morning.

Love to all!

Jodi

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-25T16:19:00.000-05:00

Give Thanks!

We have so much to be thankful for! We were blessed to have Kalyn and Adam here for the weekend. We have been missing family and it was nice to be with them. We had a fabulous feast, good times talking, a nice Fall hike, and nice birthday celebration.

Here are some pictures of our hike and our Thanksgiving feast. After our hike we ate turkey sandwiches and drank warm apple cider. We found a lovely kid and dog-friendly hike just 10 minutes from our house. We are discovering more and more about this area that we enjoy. Being so close to the mountains and so many rivers has been great! Justin and Adam got up early Saturday morning and went fly-fishing. I will post some pictures of that tomorrow!

The feast!

This is the centerpiece made from the things the boys and I collected on our nature walk last weekend. All these things either came from our yard, or from the woods behind us.

Making pumpkin pie with Aunt Kalie!

We miss you all! Happy Thanksgiving!

Love to you all!

Jodi

FullnessoftheFaith.com Launches!

2007-11-15T21:13:00.000-05:00

Fr. Justin's newest project! Check it out, embed it in your site, make a purchase (10% of all sales are donated to Orthodox Christian charities!) Enjoy and check out the full site...

FullnessoftheFaith.com

Uncle Josh ... underway

2007-11-06T21:19:00.000-05:00

Well, now I have one little brother at boot camp and one headed to sea for the next six months!

Jacob has joined the Marines and has been in basic training for the past few weeks. He will graduate January 4th and I am sure that cannot come soon enough for him!

Yesterday, Joshua, who is a lieutenant and the operations officer on the USS Germantown, got underway for a six-month ship tour. You can guess where he is headed! There was a great post on Josh and Tina's (and Otto's) blog about his departure (see our links for their blog!!). Justin read the blog post to the boys and me over breakfast this morning.

The boys are pretty interested in what their "soldier" uncles (sorry Jeremiah, Quinton, Adam, Jordan and John!) are up to. They regularly ask us if Uncle Josh has ever had to kill a bad guy. Sunday night we called him to say good-bye and they got to ask him for themselves. Uncle Josh told them that he had never had to kill anyone.

This morning, after hearing about Uncle Josh's ship setting off, the boys retreated to the basement and into the land of make-believe. Justin and I heard them talking and playing. Turns out Elias was pretending to be Uncle Josh and Asher was pretending to be Aunt Tina! Asher had this green fisherman-type hat on. ??

I told Asher that he could pretend to be Uncle Jacob, because he was a soldier too. He asked me if Uncle Jake was on a ship, to which Justin (seeing that being on the ship was part of the highlight of this play) replied, "Marines frequently have to be on ships. Uncle Josh's ship carries marines."

At this time we hear Elias yell from the basement, "I tried to tell him that but he wouldn't listen. He still wants to be Aunt Tina!"

Then Asher says with his special little smile--you know the one, "No, I am going to be Aunt Tina." And then he was off again!

God bless you Uncle Josh, wherever you are this night. Our prayers are with you!

Jodi

Go VOLS!

2007-11-05T21:02:00.000-05:00

That is the UT Volunteers for those of you who didn't know. And let me tell you that if you aren't a UT fan around these parts, you aren't anybody!

A man at our church, Cardy, called Justin Friday night and asked him if he and the boys wanted to go to a UT scrimmage basketball game. Well, I was on my way out the door to meet with a doula client and Justin had all three boys. He decided to "carpe diem", packed the kids in the van and headed for Knoxville. He wore Hayden in the backpack and the big guys had their own seats! They loved the game. It just happened to be the largest crowd for a scrimmage game in TN history, with a whopping 19 thousand people. Kudos to Justin for single-parenting his way through a massive crowd of people and a noise and energy-filled stadium!

Justin said Hayden did well except he lookied a bit worried when things got really loud. Asher said his favorite part of the game were the "pom poms." "Sometimes they spin," he said. "And sometimes they don't." I think this experience has definitely started them on their way to becoming die-hard UT fans. Thanks Cardy!

Sprite and popcorn at the game! "I love sports!" Elias tells us.

Go BIG ORANGE!

Love to all,

Jodi

Sticker Tree!

2007-11-03T13:40:00.000-04:00

OK, we know it is "trick or treat," but try telling that to Asher. He thought for sure he was supposed to say, "Sticker tree!" Who knew that this simple, seemingly strange pairing of words would open the floodgates of sweets and treats!

The boys went trick-or-treating for the first time (really). OK, we went around to friends' apartments at SVS the past couple years, but this was their first adventure into the "neighborhood" with other miniature super heroes, military children, talking animals, high-society royalty, cartoon characters, and the like. When I told them earlier in the day that we would go trick-or-treating after Vespers Elias hugged me tightly and said, "You are the best Mom ever!" As if I wasn't sure he felt that way!

Grandaddy bought the boys these costumes, Batman and a "soldier" as Elias likes to say. We limited our jaunt to one smallish neighborhood without traffic, where the houses are close together and where there were many other little ones with which we could roam the streets. After we hit every house with an inviting porch light aglow, we headed to the Skate Church down the street from our house for some free hot cocoa and some running around the indoor skate park. The boys had a blast slipping and sliding on the ramps!

Enjoy these snapshots from our much-needed night of fun with the kiddos:

Ready to go...

The trick-or-treaters! You wouldn't believe how many comments Fr. Justin got on his "cool, awesome, interesting, original" costume!

Oatmeal Pie ... Sweet!

"Mom, look what I got!"

That's one tired super hero!

Love to you all!

Jodi

Making Apple Butter

2007-10-26T20:56:00.000-04:00

Greetings loved ones!

Today was a fabulously perfect Fall day. The boys and I spent the better part of it "helping" make apple butter at a friend's farmet. That's right apple butter--slow cooked (5 hours to be exact), in Great-granddad's brass kettle, stirred with the wooden paddle grandpa made over an open flame. Apple butter has never tasted so yummy.

SO how did we help? Well, Mom mostly stirred the pot. The boys would wander over to help me stir, when they took a break from chasing chickens, making mud pies, running through the buckwheat, playing in the wood pile, climbing trees, chasing the girls, and all the other fun things boys do when they are turned lose on five acres. I really had a hard time rounding them up and then convincing them they really needed to come back home and live with me. "Yes, the Pyle's are great people, but wouldn't you miss your mother?" "But Mom, I need to say 'good-bye' to the chickens." "Oh, I understand I am sure the chickens will miss you." You get the picture!

This was one of our "homeschool" gatherings. There are several families at St. Anne's who are homeschooling and we thought it would be fun to get together once-a-month (maybe more frequently in the future) and work on a project, go on a field trip, or just enjoy one another's company. Truth be told, once the fun of using the apple coring/peeling contraption was over, the Mom's took over stirring. It was great for me and it gave us grown-ups a chance to fellowship. Here a few pix of the day.

Love to you all. Come see us soon!

Jodi

puppies and their boys...

2007-10-22T21:27:00.000-04:00

Greetings loved ones!

Some of you have been asking me about the dogs. Well, there are a couple pix here of them right after we got them, a few months ago. They are much bigger now, but these pix should give you an idea about their coloring, etc.

Koda

Comfy (and clean I am sure!) kitchen floor:

The Lego doghouse:

Hayden (our real puppy) is creeping and "crawling now!

Kenai

Things seem busy here even when things are normal. Today, Daddy's day off, as the boys call it, was rainy and grey--a great day for a visit to the American Museum of Science and Energy here in Oak Ridge. They have a fun exhibit up about animation and we had a blast animating ourselves and playing with the camera displays. We also tried the Van de Graaff. It sends static electricity through your body and makes your hair stand up. Asher is particularly brave about trying new things. He wanted to be the first volunteer to go up and stick his hand on the machine. No fear, that one. Dad and Mom tried it to. Elias watched with enjoyment from the comfort of his seat. What a way to spend a rainy day!

Love to all (Hayden is awake now and crying in the next room--duty calls)!

Jodi