Matte Finish

The Arch

2012-02-16T20:14:00.000-08:00

If you go to St Louis you have to visit the Gateway Arch. It's so beautiful. You can see it from so many places, especially downtown which is where we stayed. It reminded me of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. You'd be heading down a street and say, "there it is!" I had been up in the arch back in the 90s when I was working in St Louis with Houlihans and Darryl's restaurants. My friend Sonya was also there on business so we met up (think Meet me in St Louis Louis!) and took the little tram to the top. I wasn't looking forward to going again and really wouldn't have but the little cars seat 5 so I thought I just should do it with Paul, the kids and my dad. I had to sit down at the top. Wasn't feeling too hot. Major wimp in my old age.

Will post more pix of the views and little tram car another day...

Winter Swim

2012-02-13T20:45:00.000-08:00

We stayed in a nice hotel in St Lou that had an indoor pool and hot tub. The kids loved getting to go swimming in February. I enjoyed the hot tub myself. We took advantage of the fun both nights we were there!

Meet Me in St Louis

2012-02-11T16:44:00.000-08:00

We're just back from a fun weekend in St Louis with my father. More pix to come but can you guess what we're standing next to in this photo?

Christmas Card Out Takes

2012-02-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

Busy

2012-02-02T04:34:00.000-08:00

I'm busy getting ready for Grandaddy's visit so here are just a few random pix of the kids!

Grandaddy's Coming!

2012-01-30T05:00:00.000-08:00

We're counting down the days until my dad comes to see us. He will get in this Friday night and we can't wait to see him. It's been over a year. We will surely be missing Grandma June but will enjoy every minute with Grandaddy. These pictures were taken the summer of 10 when we went on our cruise...

More Play Time

2012-01-26T16:34:00.000-08:00

We had six kids here last Sunday having a good time playing around.
Here they made a fort in the living room with the dining room chairs.
Matthew is our music pastor's son and Michael's big buddy.

Emmy and Lyndi are sisters and go to the church with us. Lyndi is in Mallory's class.

I made the kids some cookies but they had to sit on the floor to eat them since the chairs were all in the living room!

The girls and Michael dressed up in costumes we have around the house. Taylor, in the blue, is our next door neighbor.

This picture cracks me up. The girls are twirling and dancing and the boys are pointing toy guns at them like they're trying to take them out!

Hilarious!

Michael's turn

2012-01-22T14:34:00.000-08:00

Mallory's had quite a few friends over to play since we moved here and Michael wanted to have a kid from his class over. So Braylan came over last Saturday for a couple of hours and the boys had a big time. I am enjoying this about the small town. Lots of good clean fun with kids coming over to play. It's nice.

Go Eagles!

2012-01-18T13:58:00.000-08:00

Mallory recently participated in a cheer clinic put on by the high school cheerleaders. They got to perform at half time of a basketball game.

dsiPad

2012-01-13T18:46:00.001-08:00

My dad and brother gave Mallory and Michael my brother's old iPad for Christmas. And Santa brought them a dsi to share. They are really enjoying them both as they did on Christmas morning here...

East Prairie Hill

2012-01-10T18:44:00.000-08:00

As you can tell from pictures it's pretty flat around here. The kids enjoy playing on this dirt mound in the lot next to our house. It's the closest thing they have to a hill or mountain to climb on! ha!

EP Church Building Photos

2012-01-06T04:37:00.000-08:00

I got these off the church Facebook page for a photo gift I did for someone for Christmas but thought I would share them here for anyone interested.

This is the front entrance to the sanctuary although there are a handful of different ways you can enter the building. I miss having just the one entrance we had at Frankfort. You could literally stand at the front door and see every person entering and exiting! Here you really don't know if you have seen who's there so you can't say, "missed you last Sunday" with much certainty!
If you look just to the left you can see the school where the kids go and I work. Mallory's class is right there and Paul's office window is directly across from her door.

This is the coffee room where people gather just before Sunday school to visit.

This is one of the Sunday School rooms.

This is the prayer room.

These two lots are across from the front entrance and the church owns them as well. There used to be a tabernacle on the slab you can see where camp meetings were held years ago.

What's not pictured is the Family Life Center which is a nice gym/kitchen where lots of events in the community take place. Also not pictured is the old sanctuary building which was built in the early 40s. It's a beautiful building but is in need a much repair. I love the wood floors it has and the little gas heaters in each class room.

Happy 2012 from the Missouri Mattes

2012-01-04T14:16:00.000-08:00

We hope you had a good new year's weekend. Paul cooked a pork roast, made black eyed peas and I made a slaw for the cabbage. It's not that we're superstitious and believe in the good luck and all that. It's just tradition.

Paul's pork roast...

And black eyed peas...

Gotta have rice.

Lock jaw slaw...

Cornbread

and a lemon meringue pie for dessert!

Happy New Year!

Our little sister

2012-01-01T15:03:00.000-08:00

Paul and I got a new sister today...this darling little daughter of ours became our sister in Christ when she was baptized this morning. Praise the Lord!

We had 13 in all baptized today, what a wonderful way to start the new year!

Frankfort Souvenir

2011-12-30T10:08:00.000-08:00

We just got back from a few days in Frankfort visiting friends and checking on our house. We decided to list it with an agent after having tried to sell it on our own for the past four months. (Here are the photos and info if you're house hunting!)

The kids stayed with Martha and Wesley and Paul and I got a room at the Best Western which was really nice. We basically were tourists in our old home town and enjoyed driving around and seeing just a few friends.

I brought back a bag of my favorite flour, White Lily, since they don't sell it anywhere around here. It's the best for baking and I will have to smuggle it in to Southeast MO every time we take a trip somewhere!

Preschool Christmas Fun

2011-12-29T18:12:00.000-08:00

Mrs. Leslie really went all out to make Christmas fun for our class. Here are some of the fun things we did with our kiddos.

Little mice ornaments...

Santas made from the kids' hands...

Reindeer made from the shoe print and hands of the kids...

I love this one. The kids just colored gingerbread men then they glued them to some aluminum foil to look like they are baking.

The kids loved making these gingerbread houses using graham crackers and lots of candy!

Merry Christmas from the Mattes

2011-12-24T20:07:00.000-08:00

We celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas. We are so thankful God sent his son to be with us. Emmanuel-God with us. Hallelujah!

More Tree Shots

2011-12-23T05:34:00.000-08:00

These were taken when the family was here for Thanksgiving. They are coming back for Christmas so we will no doubt take more of these this Sunday morning!

Here the kids are holding their Baby's First Christmas ornaments.

Three generations!

Mallory sneaks in on the Mother and Children shot.

Now we got it!

Sunday Morning Christmas Tree Photo Shoot

2011-12-21T12:52:00.000-08:00

See that York Peppermint Patty? You'll see more of it as the pictures progress:) Oooh, yuck.

June

2011-12-16T13:54:00.000-08:00

My daddy's terrific wife, June Claunch, passed away on the 14th. My dad was with her holding one hand and her daughter was holding the other. Her parents and sister and other family members were there as well. This New Year's Eve would have only been their third anniversary. June always told me she would take good care of Daddy. She was hoping for even a few good years with him. We all never dreamed she would precede him in death. She had lung cancer that had spread through out her body. The kids loved her and called her Grandma June which was really a bit ironic for she was not at all grandma-ish! She was actually younger than Paul and had his mom's birthday. He teased when we found that out and said "my two moms have the same birthday" :) We are all terribly sad to have lost her at only 51 years of age. She was a little like a big sister to me and bought me whatever stylish pieces of clothing I own. She always looked like a million bucks. She was kind and thoughtful and we loved eating all the goodies around the house at Christmas time when they were here. She always laughed and said "muffin tops" referring to how she was going to look after all that eating! I am so thankful to have had her in my life. We received a package in the mail yesterday that she had addressed. It was a Christmas gift, a beauitful canvas framed picture of our family at their wedding in 08. She had even written on the Christmas tree tag, "Merry Christmas Tammy and Paul from Dad and June". I will always treasure that gift and the gift June was to our family. June loved the Lord so we know we will see her again. Even though we will miss her dearly we know she's going to have a wonderful Christmas in Heaven with Jesus and her son, Earnest, who died ten years ago of cancer when he was only 11. We love you June!!!

Below are some pictures of some wonderful memories with June.

2011-12-16T13:52:00.000-08:00

2011-12-16T13:50:00.000-08:00

2011-12-16T13:47:00.000-08:00

2011-12-16T13:30:00.000-08:00

2011-12-16T13:26:00.000-08:00

2011-12-16T13:19:00.000-08:00

Fun in the Snow

2011-12-13T18:27:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pix of Michael playing in the snow a couple of weeks ago.

Our little soloist

2011-12-11T20:23:00.000-08:00

Mallory sang two solos in Christmas programs this past week.

The church had a talent show and chili cook-off last Sunday night.
She sang 'Happy Birthday Jesus' that evening.

Then on Thursday she sang 'Christmas Is...' during the First Grade Christmas Program at the school.

We're sure proud of our girl!

iPad help

2011-12-07T19:48:00.000-08:00

Opa bought a new iPad when he was here for Thanksgiving. Michael spent some time teaching him a few things about it. I think these pictures are so sweet.

Somewhere...

2011-12-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

I made these cupcakes for our class the week we were studying the letter R. You might have seen them on Pinterest. They were soooo easy and super cute.

Preschool Thanksgiving Feast

2011-12-02T03:54:00.000-08:00

We took the preschool classes over to the family life center of the church for a Thanksgiving Feast last week. There are four classes of 15 and ten staff in the preschool so we fed 70. The teachers prepared the meal for the kids. I made striped jello squares for the kids' dessert and a pumpkin cake for the big people. The church is right next door to the school so we just walked over. I love all the classic pilgrim and Indian stuff associated with school kids and Thanksgiving.

These are the little guys I get to work with every day. They are so much fun.

Michael, bottom right, is in a different class but it's fun to be a part of things like this with him.

HOW was your Thanksgiving?!

Our First EP Snow Day

2011-11-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

It started snowing yesterday just as school was getting out. By 5 there was a nice cover. I didn't think it would be enough to cancel school today but sure enough we got the call from the superintendent of the board of education for our school district at 5:30 this morning...No School Today. So, the kids and I are home watching Sleeping Beauty and eating popcorn still in our jammies. Mallory took this picture with my phone earlier. It's the view from our front door. Are you with me in thinking they don't do much down hill sledding here:)

Mallory's New Sword

2011-11-26T16:43:00.000-08:00

We got Mallory her first real Bible for her birthday this year. She can read now and it was time for her to have one of her own. We got a nice girl's Bible with her name embossed on the front. We gave it to her on the first Sunday after she turned 7.

Frankfort Friends' Visit

2011-11-21T20:00:00.000-08:00

I worked up an album of our weekend with Martha, Wesley and Yvonne. You can view it here.

Nice Catch!

2011-11-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

Our dear friends Martha and Wesley and Yvonne were here over the weekend. We went to the original Lambert's for the first time since moving here. There is a Lambert's in Foley AL near Gulf Shores that is very popular with the tourists. Well the first one is right here 20 minutes away from us in Sikeston MO. We knew we would be going there every time we had visitors so we were holding out until this past weekend. I have lots of great pix from our friends' visit but will have to post them when I have more time. Until then, here's a great one of MIchael catching one of their famous throwed rolls.

School Parties

2011-11-14T19:10:00.000-08:00

These pix are from the kids' Halloween parties at school. Michael wore his Spiderman costume and Mallory her Wonder Woman. I dug out some scraps to be a 60s girl. I really don't like the 60s and what all those hippies stood for but I was out of ideas and time when party day came around...

East Prairie Kick-Off party

2011-11-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

These pix were just uploaded from a camera we rarely use so they are old but wanted to post anyway. They are from the East Prairie first game of the season kick-off party. They sell these shirts which get you dinner at the kick off party and then also in the game. I had never seen that before and thought it was a neat way to have most people at the game wearing the team colors and same shirt.

Mallory's school birthday celebration

2011-11-10T19:08:00.000-08:00

Mallory wanted home made chocolate chip cookies to take to school on her birthday so I was making those the same night as the sleepover cakes! We took a gallon of milk and cups big enough so the kids could dip their cookies in the milk. Paul walked over from the church and I walked over from my class room to be there when they sang and had the treats in her class. It's nice to be right there for things like this!

Party Pix

2011-11-07T19:35:00.000-08:00

Click here to see more pix from Mallory's Sleepover.

Party Update

2011-11-06T18:55:00.000-08:00

Mallory's birthday sleepover was a whole lot of fun. I am going to post an album but don't have it together just yet. Here are a few pix of the action! We had ten and it was quite a party!

Mallory will be 7 tomorrow...

2011-11-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

guess what kind of party she's having?:)

Trunk or Treat

2011-11-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

We went to our first East Prairie Trunk or Treat last night. The churches all combine to do one big event in downtwon EP. The kids had a big time and seemed to enjoy themselves. These costumes were just some that we had around the house. I like it that they don't care that much about their costumes at this point.

We've created two monsters

2011-10-31T18:28:00.000-07:00

Our kids are officially addicted to playing on our new iPhones. It's our fault. We let them have the phones to keep them quiet in restaurants and on car rides and now this is what we get...

Pink and Blue

2011-10-27T03:56:00.000-07:00

My friend Amy helped me paint the kids' rooms before we moved in to the new house. The whole house is this tan color which is fine with us but the kids wanted to jazz their rooms up a bit. They each picked their own color...Mallory-blush and Michael-chambray 3:)

My First Day of School

2011-10-25T20:09:00.000-07:00

My camera battery charger cord is lost so while we wait for a new one to arrive all I have is old photos to post! These were taken the morning of my first day on the job at the school.

Still Unpacking

2011-10-24T04:22:00.000-07:00

This was the stack of boxes that was unloaded in to our new house here in East Prairie. We tackled a lot of them, moved some to the other shop garage and I am still working on others. I spent 12 hours Saturday working on them and still have more to do. Way too much stuff to say the least.

Frankfort Farewell

2011-10-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

I never posted these pictures from our going away dinner on the last Sunday in Frankfort. They make me a little sad to look at now. We are so happy and thankful to be here but all of these friends are so dear and special to us.

Of course there was lots of good food!

Michael and Mallory have grown up with Jared, Jon and Malachi. They really are their best friends.

And the mommies are my best friends in Frankfort.

Gracie, Sam and Kourtni were in my Wednesday class for a long time.

2011-10-20T15:27:00.000-07:00

Our good friend Ben had some nice words to say.

John and Paul worked out together for a long time and were real good pals.

Steve Martin is such a great man. He has such a servant's heart and was a pleasure to work in ministry with.

Juanita was always so supportive and kind.

Michael and Wesley are big buddies.

Roseanna is the church secretary.

Hallie and Mallory were quite a twosome.

We love love love Martha!

Miss Angela was the kids' preschool teacher. She serves the kids of the church so faithfully.

It's a school night for this little guy...

2011-10-16T19:56:00.000-07:00

Michael got in the preschool here and starts tomorrow! We're so excited because he has been missing out on all the fun of preschool plus it will just be great to have him there with me all day! I work as an asst for one of the preschool teachers and love all the little darling 4 year olds in our class. I have been missing Michael every day since I started work and now he and Mallory and I will all ride together and be at school all day together. Michael will be in a different building from me but just right next door. I will see him at lunch and when I have recess duty which is tomorrow!!! We thank the Lord for answering this prayer request. All praise and glory to Him!

Eight is great!

2011-10-12T04:47:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our eighth anniversary! We celebrated by going out to dinner on Friday night at Ray's of Kelso which is about 45 minutes from East Praire. We had a wonderful wedding day eight years ago. We love to talk about it every year. And I always email my pastor who performed the ceremony to thank him for the awesome job he did. I love you Paul Matte!

Cute

2011-10-10T17:44:00.000-07:00

Our First East Prairie Parade

2011-10-07T19:14:00.000-07:00

This was the homecoming parade last week. We watched it right in front of the parsonage of the church with our friends. Michael's buddy, Matthew, walked with his Cub Scout troop.
David and Dillon go to the church with us.
Our friend Amy designed this float for the sophomore class. She drove the truck. This float won.
Our friend Sue was on this float with the class of 66.

Savanna from the church was on the homecoming court.

Brianna goes to the church. She's here with her mom Brittni.

This is Chassey who cut Michael's hair the first time.

Here's Taylor our next door neighbor.

The parade was a lot of fun and the weather was perfect!

A good sign we're here...:)

2011-10-06T04:30:00.000-07:00

Surprise 12 hour Visit from Uncle Bud

2011-10-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

My brother drove out to OK this past weekend for our Uncle Don's funeral. On his way back he stopped in East Prairie to see the new town, church and house. He got here around 9:30 Sat night and left around 8:45 Sunday morning.

Bud wanted me to make him a chocolate pie for when he got in so I did:)

We let the kids stay up for Uncle Bud's arrival.

Time for a late night pie party!

We got up early Sunday morning and toured around East Prairie. We went to Boomland for breakfast.

Saying goodbye way too soon!

Come back Uncle Bud and stay longer!

Homecoming Week

2011-10-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

Mallory and I both dressed up each day for Homecoming week. It was fun to come up wtih something for each day's theme...

Country and Western

Sweatin' to the Oldies (or workout clothes)

East Prairie Eagles school colors day...red and black

Football player and cheerleader day

Animal print day

A few more pix from Kelly's wedding

2011-09-28T14:02:00.000-07:00

The bride and groom eating choc covered strawberries before leaving.Heading out in a sea of bubbles.
Kelly is a big Alabama fan and they were playing that afternoon. There was a TV set up at the reception.
The bride and her bridesmaids at the bridal luncheon at Pensacola Beach.
Her friend Bridgette had this fun balloon bride delivered to Kelly during her pedicure and manicure.
Us girls in the bride's room at the church.

Rehearsal night.

The happy couple the night before the big day.

My sweet friend the bride.

Us BMs:)

Our Old Kentucky Home

2011-09-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

I took these pictures the morning after our last night in our house. We were about to load the moving truck for Missouri. I wanted to remember the view of our neighborhood from our house. We loved living here. It was a perfect location in the city and was such a peaceful, quiet and pretty setting. And, it can be yours! We're still trying to sell the house and are praying for a buyer to come along soon. We'll miss you Kimberly Drive!

Moving In

2011-09-23T19:17:00.000-07:00

We moved in to our new house this week and things are a mess! We still don't have the computer hooked up so I haven't been able to download any new pix to share. Hopefully this weekend we can do that. We are enjoying getting settled and are looking forward to Paul's first Sunday in the new church this weekend. Today was a holiday for the kids and for me too! I tackled a few more boxes from the garage and the kids played with Taylor next door. She is in 2nd grade at the same school as Mallory so it's nice to have a friend next door for the kids to play with. We drove to Sikeston and looked at three furniture stores for a chair for Paul. No luck.

Tonight the move Tooth Fairy was on. They were playing hockey and Michael looked up and said, "Look! They're playing skate golf. That's dangerous. You shouldn't try to play golf while you're skating on ice!!"

My first day of school

2011-09-20T19:15:00.000-07:00

I started my new job today and really enjoyed it. The kids are great, there are five girls and ten boys in our class. Mrs. Leslie is awesome and such a great teacher. I am so thankful to have this opportunity and look forward to learning the ropes and helping out in any way I can. There are several people who work at the school who go to the church so it was nice to see familiar faces throughout the day. I ate lunch in the teacher's lounge with the other grown ups while our kids ate in the lunch room. I helped get the cookies and milk ready. I played with the kids during play time. Mrs. Leslie had chocolate for me when I arrived. I'm going to love my new job!

The Game Farm

2011-09-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to the Salato Wildlife Center, or as most of the locals call it...the game farm, one last time when we were in Frankfort a couple of weeks ago. We met my friend Kimberly and her daughter Sutton for a nice morning. We have been going here for years and it's really great because it's FREE! I used to push the kids in strollers and now they run all over the place and wade in the streams.

I got a job!

2011-09-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

ASSISTANT!!!

I got the news tonight that I have been hired as a preschool teacher's assistant at Mallory's school, Doyle Elementary. I will have the same hours as she does and we will ride to and from school together. This is also the preschool where Michael is number one on the waiting list so if and when he gets in we will all be going to school together. I have met the teacher I will be working with and she is great. When I told her about my degree she said having a degree in theatre was perfect for working with a class full of 4 year olds! ha!

The job sounds awesome and I am so excited and thankful!!! I haven't worked outside the home since I was pregnant with Mallory so I was really hoping to get a school job when I did go back to work. Having the same schedule as the kids is really ideal. I will have the holidays, snow days, Christmas and Spring breaks and, of course, the summer off with them. And get this...the schools here get out on May 4th! Nice! So, hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go! Praise the Lord!

Kelly's wedding

2011-09-12T07:24:00.000-07:00

I am just back from a trip to Pensacola for my dear friend Kelly's wedding to Keith Goolsby. Here are a few photos that Lothar took. I will post more later. So happy for Kelly and Keith!!!

Magee's

2011-09-06T18:56:00.000-07:00

Oh man I hate to leave this place!! Magee's Bakery has been in Frankfort for over 40 years from what I understand. Even though we have been in Frankfort for five and a half years I didn't discover Magee's until about two years ago. But, once I did, I became a regular, unfortunately, and always enjoyed their yummy donuts and pastries. We had to visit this past weekend during our Labor Day trip to Frankfort.

They have wonderful donuts in the morning. Usually I would catch them when they were still warm. Oh so awesome.

Charlie and Alice are the owners of the bakery. Alice always looked beautiful, even at 730 in the morning and was so nice and friendly. She would often give Michael some free donut holes. Charlie makes the best petit fours!! MMMMMM Good! I must make one more trip there when we go back for the last Sunday in a couple of weeks.

I will miss you Magee's!!!!

Freya

2011-09-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

Michael and Freya were pals all through out their first year of preschool last year. They played together and just got along really well. We don't push the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing with our kids but if we did you might say Freya was Michael's first little crush. One day he told me, "Freya was in purple today." So cute. Freya's birthday was going to be after we moved to East Prairie so we had a little mini birthday celebration at the Y in the child care room where they also played when their mommies were working out. Freya told me she liked Hello Kitty so we got her some Kitty cupcakes and a bag of Hello Kitty goodies.

When I took this picture I said we need to get a good one for the rehearsal dinner one day if they ever were to get married:)

FBI Round-Up

2011-08-31T14:14:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday was the kick off for the Wednesday night kids' program at church. It's known as FBI or Faith Builders Incorporated. We had a great turn out and the kids enjoyed face painting, s'mores, hot dogs, etc as well as games and horse back rides. Tonight the actual classes start. Looking forward to learning all about the ministries here in East Prairie.

Breakfast

2011-08-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

These pix were taken at Chappy's Deli the morning we left Montgomery at the end of our vacation. We always enjoy going out for breakfast when we're with the Alabama fam.

My beautiful bridesmaids

2011-08-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

When we were on vacation last month I got to see several of my dearest friends, all of whom were bridesmaids in our wedding nearly eight years ago. I love each of these girls and am so glad we are still in touch even though we might only see each other once a year.

This is Teresa. We were KDs together at Troy State back in the early 80s!

Sonya and I were cheerleaders in high school together.

Jo Ann and I met on a missions trip to Ecuador.

Kelly and I were roomies for our first Darryl's opening in Jan of 1990. She's engaged and getting married in a couple of weeks! I will get to be her bridesmaid then!

Marylynn and I met in Jan of 2000 and she set me up with her brother. He and I didn't pan out but she and I did:)

Susan and Stacy and I went to Evangel together and were part of the young adult singles' ministry.

Ronda and I met at a Bible study and Jennifer and I met at Evangel.

Terri was my pastor's wife and my matron of honor. People always thought I was her when I was her husband's secretary!

Can you spot the girls here?! (Stacy was sick pregnant and couldn't make the wedding but the rest are all in this picture plus a few more:)

Sweet Dreams

2011-08-25T06:56:00.000-07:00

Some wonderful people from the church here brought these nice bunk beds for the kids to use while we're in the apartment. They had helped us move in last week and also brought us a sofa, love seat and chair for our living room. We'd be sitting on lawn chairs and sleeping on air mattresses if it weren't for the Randy and Amy! (Another couple lent us a bed for Paul's and my room here at the apt.) Everyone has been so great since we got to town.

Another teacher, another crayon wreath

2011-08-24T11:49:00.000-07:00

Last year I saw this crayon wreath on line and had to make one for Mallory's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Graves. I blogged about it here. This year I wanted to do one for Mallory's first grade teacher at the new school, Ms. Mayhall. She's engaged and getting married at the end of the year so I made an extra apple with her new last name for next year:)

Buddies

2011-08-23T19:19:00.000-07:00

Mallory and Michael have been friends with Malachi and Jared ever since we moved to Frankfort. Malachi is about 6 weeks older than Mal and Jared is about two months younger so they've known each other nearly all their lives. The kids got to have some quality play time with each of them before we moved.

Jared

Malachi

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

2011-08-21T20:01:00.000-07:00

We went to a Montgomery Biscuits minor league baseball game when we were on vacation. The Biscuits are part of the Tampa Bay franchise. Mallory stayed at Oma's so we just had Michael and he had a big time.

This is Avery-Kayte, my friend Jennifer's daughter. Every time she and Michael are together I say they look like they could be siblings.

Cousin Eli came too! He's my friend Ronda and cousin Jason's son. He and Michael are only a couple of weeks apart.

The boys went exploring down near the dugout.

Big Mo always comes around to greet the fans.

Us moms and our babes.

Michael and Eli got Biscuits shirts from the Biscuit Basket souvenir store!
Don't ask me who won. I don't even know who they played. I didn't watch one at bat, was just there to visit with my friends!

Family Swim

2011-08-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

We had a great time swimming in Montgomery while on vacation. My mother and brother both have pools so the kids had a blast---built in entertainment. Mallory learned to jump off the diving board and swim to the other end of the pool so that was really awesome!

Promotion Sunday

2011-08-18T18:28:00.000-07:00

Mallory got promoted from the preschool class to the elementary class at church last Sunday. Here Miss Angela is talking about Mallory and giving her her certificate of promotion. So sweet.

Breaking News

2011-08-14T13:31:00.000-07:00

The Matte family is moving to East Prairie MO, population 3227, to pastor the First Church of God there. We are excited to go but will miss our friends in Frankfort. These pictures were taken during our recent visit to the area. It's 18 miles to Dorena MO where you can drive your car on to the ferry to cross the Mississippi to Hickman KY. It's pretty interesting as this is one of only a few riverboat ferries in the US and the only one crossing the Miss River between MO and KY. Anyway, much more on the move to Missouri to come. We're excited to get there and begin the ministry and work the Lord has laid before us with His call. Praise be to Him for his surpassing greatness!

How we got Mallory's name

2011-08-14T04:28:00.000-07:00

When Paul and I were dating (we might have been engaged by this time) I was working as my pastor's secretary at Evangel in Montgomery. I would always get the visitor cards so I could send out a letter from him. One came across my desk with Mallory St in the address line. I emailed Paul and asked how he liked the name Mallory Matte. He said he liked it and we would call our yet to be born daughter Mallory every time we talked about having kids. The day we found out we were having a girl little Mal was finally going to be. We stopped by the street while we were in Montgomery on vacation last month. There's a Michael Blvd here in Frankfort. I need to get Michael's picture by that sign! Incidentally, he was named after Paul's grandfather, not the road!

Birthday Sneak

2011-08-11T18:19:00.000-07:00

The kids, and Makayla from the church, helped me surprise my friend Kimberly on her birthday recently. I made her a little cake and we picked up some balloons and flowers at Kroger. Then we drove to her house the kids walked up to the front door a la Publisher's Clearing House to surprise her. It was sweet.

Here are Kimberly and her daugter Sutton with Makayla, Mallory and Michael.

my little contortionist

2011-08-07T16:00:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Billy

2011-08-05T04:47:00.000-07:00

Billy Franks is a long time pastor friend of Paul's and was his best man in our wedding. He has been sort of a mentor and father figure to Paul throughout his years in the ministry. We always get to spend the week with him at the Church of God convention and it really is one of the best parts of the trip. The kids call him Grandpa Billy. We love him dearly and consider it a real privilege to get to have so much quality time with him during camp meeting. I think he has the best smile!

The Lemon Drop

2011-08-02T04:52:00.000-07:00

We discovered this fun little restaurant in Anderson this year while at Camp Meeting. It's been around for years but Paul had never been there. I always sniff out the new places to try and had seen it on the internet before we left for the convention. It had the best burgers and we ate there two or three times it was so good. There are only about 5 booths and 10 counter seats and is always packed. There's a neat train that goes around a track at the top of the walls. Try it if you are ever near Anderson IN!

McDonald's makes a come back

2011-07-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

You might remember when our McDonald's on the East side of town burned down last December. I wrote about it here. Well it recently re-opened and everyone in town was excited to visit the brand new shiny Mickey D's...including us:) I took the kids and a friend from church to breakfast the morning it opened. We got there around 8 which was not nearly as extreme as the group of kids who had camped out all night to be the first at the counter when it opened at 5:00 am.

The Hills are Alive

2011-07-20T04:56:00.000-07:00

The Grand Theatre downtown was playing The Sound of Music last Friday night so I wanted to take Mallory. She had never seen it and we had such a good time. I love that movie and could almost say each line before it was said on the screen. I wanted to sing the songs too! Mallory enjoyed it and has been watching the DVD since that night. I told her she reminded me of Gretl.

Growing Up

2011-07-17T04:13:00.000-07:00

We met Patsy and her husband Ron back in 2005 when they came down to New Orleans after Katrina to help with the rebuilding. They were from Wyoming and brought their camper and stayed for months along with several other couples we grew to love. We get to see them every year at the Church of God convention. They all were so great with Mallory during those post-Katrina days and she became their adopted little grandchild since most of them were missing their own grand kids. I happened to find this picture lying around the house and took it to Anderson so we could recreate the shot with Patsy and Mallory. Patsy said, "This time I'm not going to pick you up!"

Michael's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Party

2011-07-14T19:12:00.000-07:00

It was nearly six weeks ago and I am just now getting these pictures posted. We had a great time celebrating Michael's 4th birthday. Mallory's music teacher let me borrow a lot of the decorations I used. The school had done the Willy Wonka musical last year. I got most all of the chocolate at the after-Easter sale at Wal Mart. Those big Wonka eggs were only a quarter each! Here is the album of all the fun.

Goin' Campin'

2011-07-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

Michael went to a day of camp at his preschool last month. The theme was actually camping so this is what we came up with. He's is just too cute with all his posing isn't he?!

The Willy Wonka Elevator

2011-07-10T06:39:00.000-07:00

There is a building in Louisville called the Kaden Tower that we pass every time we go to the airport. It has a glass elevator on the outside of the building that we call the Willy Wonka elevator. Michael has been wanting to ride it forever. When we took Oma and Opa back to the airport when they were leaving after coming for Michael's party we stopped there. It was on his actual birthday so it was really a fun treat.

Here he is ready to get on.

The nice view from the top. The elevator opens at the top to a Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

The kids loved it but I got all nervous on the thing. It was hot and I could not look out. And after my getting sick episode on the tilt-a-whirl recently I don't know what I'm going to do when the kids want to go to places like King's Island. I will not be able to hang.

Fun with Friends

2011-07-08T10:14:00.000-07:00

Mallory wasn't able to be at Ella's 7th birthday party due to our being out of town for camp meeting so we had a little mini-celebration the week before. Ella and Mallory were in dance class together when they were 3 and 4 and then cheered together when they were 5. Ella's little sister, Libby, and Michael were on the same spring soccer team. We love the Kays family!

father's day fotos

2011-07-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

I never posted these sweet pix from Father's Day.

Bathing Beauty

2011-07-04T12:21:00.000-07:00

Look at my beautiful mother at her home in Alabama all ready to celebrate the 4th of July! (click on photo to enlarge)

Mallory's Last Day of Kindergarten

2011-07-01T05:49:00.000-07:00

It's been a month since Mallory got out of school but I still wanted to show these sweet pictures of her last day of Kindergarten. She wanted me to make her a shirt saying Goodbye Kindergarten so after she went to bed the night before I found this old blue shirt she had from a Mother's Day Out years ago. It was way too big then but was perfect now. It actually had a big red and white star design on the back so I went with those colors on the front. It says...

Good bye K

Hello 1st Grade

Thank you Mrs. Graves

Daddy took her to school almost every day of Kindergarten.

Little brother wants a hug goodbye.

Coming home on the bus.

Mr. Greg was a great bus driver!

Opa and Oma were here for the last day celebration. (they had flown in that morning for Michael's party that weekend)

Mallory's school didn't have a Kindergarten graduation but I still wanted to do something to celebrate, especially since Mother and Lothar would be here.

Mallory did so great in Kindergarten! We are super proud of her. She didn't know how to read when she started and at the end of the year she tested at a 5th grade reading level! Mrs. Graves said she is ready for 1st grade. Way to go Mal!

Walkin' in the Rain

2011-06-26T17:39:00.000-07:00

The Y sponsored a 5 mile run and a 2 mile walk last weekend so Mallory and I signed up to walk the two miles. The morning of the walk it was dark and rainy and stormy and there was lightening but the race went on and so did we. Paul had a meeting so I pushed Michael in the stroller since I didn't think he would make it. I was proud of Mallory for her diligence in the rain. She did great! I hope we can more of these. The next day when I got to church Paul was helping the kids out of the car and said we were in the paper that morning. Sure enough this big ol' picture was up on the bulletin board in the foyer. The caption said something about us heading to the finish of the two mile walk and it looked like we were struggling to make it. I wanted to say "hey, last Saturday I was walking a marathon!" :)

Father's Day Special

2011-06-23T03:24:00.000-07:00

Mallory has been singing in the service on Father's Day for about 4 years and last year Michael joined in. Here they are this past Sunday.

Special Fathers

2011-06-19T04:16:00.000-07:00

It's Father's Day morning and I can't help but think of some of the wonderful fathers who have been and still are a tremendous part of my life.

This is my father's father, Thomas Howard Claunch. My dad and brother are named after him and while they go by Tom and Thomas, respectively, he went by Howard to most and Granddaddy or Granddaddy T to us. He was from Arkansas and if I remember the story right went to to college with Bear Bryant. He was a colonel in the Army and got a graduate degree from Harvard. What a great man he was. I can picture him reclining in his big chair eating cornbread mushed up in buttermilk. I recently asked my dad if he liked that and he said, "no!" He loved my grandmother so much and she was extremely devoted to him. She was only 62 when he died at the age of 70 but never took off her rings and never had a thought of dating or remarrying. Theirs was a real sweet love story.

This is my mother's daddy, George Ewen. He was a kind, gentle and humble man who raised five kids on a farm in Oklahoma. Although they didn't have much he did all he could to provide for the family and his children. My mother still has the accordion he bought her so she could take lessons and she knows now what a sacrifice it must have been to pay for all that. She tells a story of him hitching up their horse and buggy during a terrible snow storm to take her sister to school so she could keep her perfect attendance record. He loved to play chess with my brother and me when we were there in the summer time. He always had on overalls and I somehow ended up with a pair of his after he died. I will always treasure them and the memories of visiting Grandma and Grandpa on the farm in Oklahoma.

This is my new granddad, John Joubert. I inherited him when my dad married June, he's her dad. He and Benita, or Papa and Mama as we are calling them, visited us this past year and spent Christmas with us in KY. He's a sweet and special man and I am so thankful to have him in my life.

This is Paul's dad, Joseph Matte. I think he looks kind of like Ray Romano in this picture and what's cute is that Paul's mom was a big fan of Everybody Loves Raymond. I never met him as he died on Thanksgiving Day at the age of 61 when Paul was only 25. He worked hard as a tug boat captain off shore to support his five sons and three daughters often being gone for weeks at a time. Paul said he loved to read and worked on guns for a hobby. I'm sure he was a good man to have raised 8 responsible, hard working children.

This is my mother's husband, Lothar Zell. He was born and raised in Germany which was neat because my mother's side of the family is German. Lothar and Mother were engaged a month and a day after meeting. They got married a few months later and that was 16 years ago. Lothar is a wonderful husband to my mother and still to this day gets her door getting in and out of the car every time. I love that! He takes great care of her and for that my brother and I will always be grateful. Lothar is an engineer and very smart! He's an inventor (check out this great item he has patented and is selling) and always gets things done in a timely manner. My favorite story about this was one day in April when we were in Montgomery heading to the zoo he wanted to stop by a printer to pick up some flyers for a show they would be doing. He needed to get that taken care of right then, no messing around. Guess when the show was? November! He's great with Mallory and Michael going to kiddie movies and helping them fix toys.

This of course is my wonderful father, Tom Claunch. I could write a book on the great things he has taught me in my life but this is getting really long! He's always been so supportive of my brother and me in everything we have attempted to do. He is super intelligent, a big reader, funny and fun and just an all around wonderful daddy!!! He gave Bud and me a love for travel at an early age and we have had the benefits of that ever since. He raised us in the church and taught us the importance of family and God. He just had his 40th birthday of being sober and we are soooooooo proud of him and the work he does helping people with addictive diseases. We love our dad. He's a terrific granddad too and the kids are crazy about him. We miss him being so far away in New Zealand but always look forward to his visits.

Now look at this sweet daddy. My kids' daddy is such a wonderful father. I am so thankful for him and the relationship he has with our children. Here he is comforting Michael after he got hit with a soccer ball and in the picture below he is...well, the expression on his face says it all!! Thank you Lord for blessing me with this man who is a great husband and an awesome father to our kids!!!

Mallory's First Field Trip

2011-06-17T17:32:00.000-07:00

Mallory's Kindergarten class went to the Louisville Zoo on what was her first school field trip. Michael and I chaperoned. Fun day at the zoo.

Hatfield McCoy Marathon-I made it!

2011-06-13T04:53:00.000-07:00

I walked my third marathon this past Saturday with a time of 6:04. This wasn't as good as my second one (5:39) but was better than my first (6:12) when I was only 35! I was really happy to finish and thankful to have made it. It's a really great feeling of accomplishment to do these marathons. I might even do another one some day. The training is grueling and of course during the thing you are so exhausted but it's worth it. The weather plays a huge factor in things. My 5:39 time was at the Memphis marathon during the month of December-way cooler. My first half of this one I did in 2:49 and it was much cooler than the second half. We had a great time in West Virginia. The people were great and the race was well done. The race takes place on the WV/KY state line and is a very interesting course. I highly recommend it. It's a small marathon, only 500 total participants between the full and the half so you are really made to feel special and not just one of thousands like in the big city marathons. I put together an album of our trip. Click here to see more pix from the marathon and our little side trip to Camden Park on the way.

I came in 182nd out of 237. Here are the race results.

Michael's Last Day of School

2011-06-09T17:59:00.000-07:00

The picnic got rained out but the last day was as special as always with their program and singing. So precious.

Michael is 4 today!

2011-06-07T04:56:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th Birthday to my precious son, Michael Paul Matte! I love you so much Buddy.

Cheap Entertainment

2011-06-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

I took Michael and Jon to our new Petsmart while I was getting the oil changed on our van next door at Wal Mart. They loved looking at the animals and it was a great time filler. After that we got some lunch at the Wal Mart Deli. Fun times with boys.

Mother's Day Dinner Out

2011-06-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

May is a great month for me! I get to pick the restaurant for my Mother's Day and birthday celebrations the same month. And they are far enough apart that we go out twice! This year it was Rafferty's in Lexington. I love that place! It reminds me of Houston's and is just about as good in my opinion. After dinner we went to Orange Leaf mainly because the kids wanted to but I enjoyed it as well. I am so thankful to be a MOMMY!

Aargh!

2011-05-31T19:52:00.000-07:00

Michael's School BIrthday

2011-05-29T04:16:00.000-07:00

They celebrate all the kids' birthdays at Michael's preschool and since his is a summer one they did it a couple of weeks ago. They have the kids come up and talk about them and draw a cake on the board. Then the birthday person gets to hand out the treats he brought for the class. Paul and I both went for the little celebration! He picked out Zingers which I thought fit with his upcoming Charlie and the Chocolate Factory theme really well. They have to bring store bought stuff or you know I would have been whipping up something homemade!

Everyone sings Happy Birthday!