Texas Traffic Stop

I got a good laugh watching this so I thought I would share. The "Benny Hill" music is perfect.

So.......

......I've been on vacation from the blog for a month now. No reason....just felt like being quiet. My nephew Jesse has been on my mind quite a bit lately. March 10th was the two-year anniversary of his death. Death is never easy, but when it happens to someone so young and under such tragic circumstances it makes it that much harder.

Jesse had just turned one when Janay and I started dating. For some reason he was petrified of my black Reebok shoes. Needless to say, I exploited that fear every chance I got. He even went through a phase where he would scream if he saw my picture at Janay's parents house. They would have to put my picture face down when he was there. At some point he got over the fear of my shoes and my picture and actually came to like "Uncle Matt". Good ol' Uncle Matt even taught him how to make "face prints" in the sandbox. I still remember the smile on his face when he came up spitting sand after his first face print....and the scowl on Janay's mom's face when she found out :)

Jesse.....thanks for the memories.....I hope you are making face prints in Heaven.

Surely.....Surely.....

My blogging has been limited lately. I'll blame it on the winter weather that has kept me inside and my job that has had me working long hours.

The title of this entry will make sense once you watch this video. I know many of you have seen it, but it makes me smile every time I watch it.

Formal Sprockett

I stumbled upon this photo of Sprockett sporting his new tie. Surprisingly, he didn't mind it too much.

Calm After the Storm

The storm was gone almost as soon as it arrived. I doubt if it lasted 10 minutes. Hail, rain and high winds pounded the house. I had just arrived home and was fixing something to eat. The lights flickered so I thought I should find a flashlight. As soon as I found the flashlight, the microwave beeped signaling that my baked potato was done and then everything went dark. Little did I know that we wouldn't have power again for 32 hours. Janay called me the next day at work to let me know our fence was damaged and a large spruce tree was uprooted. The fence is easily repairable. Loosing an old tree stinks :( It could have been worse.

We take electricity for granted. Flip a switch and the light comes on. Turn up the thermostat and get more heat. We are spoiled.....and I'm thankful for it.

Drug Problem

I had a good friend (thanks Dave!) send me this the other day. Though I can't honestly say I experienced all of these things as a child, I certainly agree the point it makes.

Speechless.....and Smiling

If you are like me, you go through life trying to do the right thing and often wonder if you make a difference or even if people notice. I've never been good at receiving compliments, so the blog entry at the link below left me speechless.

Blog

Mug Shots.....with a Purpose.

You are probably wondering why I would post such somber looking photos of us. The photos you see above will be used for our passports we need for the cruise we are planning! That's right.....Matt and Janay finally get a vacation. On Saturday, April 12th we will be flying to Ft. Lauderdale. We will stay in a hotel one night before boarding the ms Westerdam and sailing off to the Carribean for six days. I don't know exactly where all it will take us, but I don't really care. I'm looking forward to going, but I get more joy seeing how excited Janay is. The last couple years have not been easy. Saying she deserves this vacation is an understatement. Let the countdown begin!

I hope we don't encounter any natives in the Carribean and return with shrunken heads. It might be an improvement on this melon head of mine.

The Roller Coaster Called Life

My busy life has returned. That partially explains the lack of new entries on the blog, but I'll also blame it on lack of inspiration. I've been feeling a little funky lately. I have no real reason to feel down because everything is going great. My leg has healed. I got a promotion at work. I'm married to the best woman in the world. So what's the problem?

Since my spinal cord injury, spring has always been a difficult season. Nice weather arrives only for me to once again come to the realization that I can't do the outdoor activities that I enjoyed pre-injury. I have my short pity party and move on. It doesn't last long, but it comes every spring.

I've had those same feelings and I think I know why. I've been battling this burn for so long and now it's finally healed, but that same realization that I'm still disabled kicks in. I don't know if I expected to make headline news and fireworks to go off once I was healed or what. It's difficult to explain.

I hope this post doesn't sound like I'm ungrateful or have sunken into some deep, dark depression. I'm just pouring out what's in my heart and believe it will help shake off the funk. Life is full of ups and downs, physically and emotionally. As long as God continues riding with me, I'm cool.

Office Woes

Fellow office workers.....we've all felt like this.

glumbert - Bad Day at the Office

Merry Christmas everyone!

Small but Mighty

I wish I had the determination of this turtle.

It's Still Healed!

I had to shout that out once again. I liked logging on to my blog and seeing "It's Healed!!" posted at the top.

I wish I had something fun to post, but there's nothing too new to report. I suppose I need to carry a pen and paper with me because several times I've had a thought pop into my head that would make a good blog entry, only to forget what it was when I had the opportunity to write a new entry.

Christmas has once again snuck up on me. It's time to visit with family, reflect on the past year and share some good laughs. This past year has been challenging, but through it all Janay and I have had some great laughs. Laughter helped us get through. Don't get me wrong, we've both cried many tears too, but God has put a joy in our hearts that only He is capable of. Have Fun this Christmas season and laugh with those you love.

This photo is from Christmas with Janay's family in 1994. I'm not sure anyone else laughed when this photo was developed, but I sure did.

It's Healed!!

The blog entry you've all been waiting for and the one I've been wanting to post for a long time.....my leg has finally healed! I had a visit with the doctor yesterday and he confirmed what we already knew and said he didn't want to see me for 6 months.

It has been a long 20 months, but God has been with us all along and has finally seen this to completion like we have believed He would all along. Simply saying thank you to everyone for all of the prayers and support doesn't seem like enough, but it's all I can do....Thank You!

Though we may never know exactly why God has allowed Janay and I to go through this, we trust Him have stood on Romans 8:28, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." We've been presented with opportunities to witness to others, not always with our words, but many times with our actions. We pray that we've been able to make a difference along the way.

Finally, thank you to my wife, Janay, for always encouraging me and helping me to see the end when it seemed like there was no end in sight.

The burn journey is over.......the end.

Christmas Card Photos

Since I have an entry with the outtakes I thought I should show the photo that made the final cut. Then the brilliant idea popped into my head to show all the photos from past Christmas'. That forced me to think back to when we did our first one (the only one with the cats) and then actually find a copy of it. Janay managed to find it and we think the year was 1998. We didn't take a Christmas picture again until 2004. We sent two cards that year, one with a picture we took in the summer and one with a picture we took in the fall. That was the year I discovered Photoshop, hence the heavily edited photos. You might want to put your sunglasses on to view the photos because our white teeth might blind you.

1998


2004 - Summer Photo


2004 - Fall Photo


2005


2006


2007

Christmas Card Outtakes

Our annual Christmas photo is always interesting. Not the final product, but the actual production and effort involved to get one good picture of us. It's an interesting combination of fun, tension, laughter, frustration and love. Since we don't have children, we always want to get our cats in the picture. We've been successful once out of six years trying......and that was because my mom took the picture. Enjoy the 2007 outtakes.

I'm behind the camera setting things up. Sara, the boss of the house, decides to join the fun and show her best side.

Sara decides to behave and pose with Janay.....

Ummm.....nice focus

Try again.....

.....and again.....

.....maybe that bottle of wine would have been better after the shoot....

.....definitely should have waited.....

.....falling off the stool and unintentionally flipping the bird.....next.....

.....Sprockett's ready to go back in for treats.....

.....maybe a new location will help.....note Sara still wanting to join the party.....

.....make up your own caption for this one because I don't have a clue what was happening.....

.....that's one painful looking pucker.....

.....looks like Janay is begging for treats.....

.....and finally, this one just missed the final cut.....

So there you have it.....Christmas Photo 2007 Outtakes. No people or animals were harmed and no wine was consumed. I can't wait to see what 2008 brings.

Are We There yet?

I'm not talking about arriving at our vacation destination. I'm talking about my leg being healed. It's sooo close, but it's still a little crusty so I can't say it's healed yet. I go to see the doctor at Wishard next Monday and I'm actually looking forward to going so he can see it. I think my leg has been almost as frustrating for him as it has Janay and I......almost.

Kelli Pickler

When Kelli Pickler was on American Idol I remember thinking this girl sure is "playing dumb" to fit the blonde sterotype. After watching this video, you decide if it's an act.

Thanksgiving Weekend

My long, holiday weekend has been tainted by the flu. It kicked in at 4am Saturday morning and it's now Monday evening and I'm still feeling the affects. It's been a long time since I've been visited by the flu bug and I hope it's even longer before we meet again.

My leg continues to heal and look good. I'm looking forward to that blog entry when I can shout "IT'S HEALED!" Look for that entry before 2007 ends.

Soon and Very Soon......

The healing continues. My guess is two or three more weeks and my leg will be totally healed!! Praise God! The pictures have been updated and can be seen here.

We've been dealing with this for almost nineteen months now and to see that the end is near is almost hard to believe. As difficult as things have been, throughout it all Janay and I have been reminded of two words.....but God. God is omniscient, omnipresent. He allows us to go through things for a reason. Sometimes those reasons are obvious. Other times we may never know why. During times of bad news, we chose to believe the Truth, not the facts. It's a third degree burn and we need to do surgery....but God. It's burned worse than I thought and we need more surgery....but God. It's not healing properly....but God. It's infected....but God. We need to do more surgery....but God. The tests show it's infected again....but God. We need more surgery....but God. It is healed....Praise God! Throughout it all, God was and continues to be there. Thank you Janay for reminding me when I needed it.

Generics

Generics items are a wonderful concept. Products are touted as being the same as name brand items at discount prices. Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't. Tonight I was reminded of a generic item that I can't stand.....q-tips. When I need to clean my ears, I want name brand, Q-Tip brand. Thick, fluffy cotton tips attached to a firm shaft helps get the job done. A couple other "can't stand" generic items.....peanut butter and coffee. Sorry mom, there is a difference.

The Healing Continues

As the title says, my leg is healing very well. The hole on the graft site that was draining heavily has almost completely stopped. The hole is still there, but since the drainage has stopped I think we will start seeing progress there too. The other side continues to heal well. New tissue continues to fill in where needed. I've done my best not to get too excited until it completely heals, but I'm shouting for joy on the inside. I truly believe it will be completely healed by the end of the year.

I've been slacking once again on my blog. Between being back to work full time and keeping up with my photography business, I've been very busy. This is the busy time of the year for people wanting photos. If I could be this busy year round I could quit my day job. You never know....... :) I sure would miss that 80 mile a day commute.

Our Feline Friends

I love all animals, but I'm a cat fan.....I'll admit it. Sprockett and Sara have been the subject of many of my blog entries. I'm sure those of you who have cats can relate to this video. I got a good laugh out of it and hope you do too.

October Progress

October has been a good month for healing. The collage shows the healing that took place during the month. I'm glad we took pictures because it's so easy to forgot how for it has come.

For those of you with a weak stomach....sorry about your luck :)

Blacklight Drama set to Casting Crowns

This is an inspiring video set to "Who Am I" by Casting Crowns. It's a drama made with white gloves and a blacklight. It sounds simple, but obviously lots of time was put into this.

Time Management

This daily thing called "work" has got me slacking on my blog. I leave the house at 7:15 in the morning and get back home at 6:00. My mind still thinks I have all of this free time, yet my body and the clock tells me otherwise. My evenings seem to fly by. It's real easy to get out of the "work groove".....getting back into it isn't. On to more important stuff.

My leg is still doing well. One of the two areas we've been keeping an eye on is healing very well. It's been amazing to see the tissue fill in over the past couple of weeks. The hole on the graft site still exists and is still draining. I continue to believe it is going to come around in time too.

One of Janay's co-workers gave her some magnets from Nikken to try. I've heard of the various ailments cured using these magnets before and I'll admit to being a skeptic. After using the magnets for a few days I could see a difference in the amount of new, healthy granulation tissue. I'm still waiting to see the same dramatic improvement around the hole on the graft site. Is it just a coincidence that it improved once we started using the magnets? I don't know. I do know I'm not quite as skeptical as I was before.

If this doesn't make you smile......

......then your smile must be broken.

Back to Work

My first week back has been good. My co-workers had a pitch-in breakfast for me, even though I specifically asked for a quiet return. I don't like being the center of attention. I guess I've harassed them all enough that they have learned to ignore most of what I say. It's nice to be welcomed back.

Janay says.......

......if I'm well enough to go back to work tomorrow, I'm well enough to resume my laundry duties. Once she made sure I was doing it properly, she went back to her usual Sunday afternoon activity.

The Joys of Being a Man

Sometimes you just have to take a break. This little guy took one during a recent shoot.

All Good Things Must Come To An End

"Vacation time" is almost over. I return to work next Monday. No more Little House on the Prairie reruns. I saw all of them last summer during my "vacation time", but for some reason I'm drawn back to the struggles in Walnut Grover once again. My plan this week was to get up at 6 am in an attempt to get my body prepaired. My plan failed today.....slept in until 9, but as always, I prefer to focus on the positive and celebrate my successes on Monday and Tuesday. Maybe it would help if I could go to bed before midnight....but what's the fun in that?

Back to work....I'm anxious. By the end of the week I'll be wishing for Little House reruns.