Youth Workers Retreat

 

We just returned from a weekend away at Camp Shamineau in Motley, MN.  This was our third year at the Youth Pastor's and family retreat here.  What an amazing time we had.  Jhon enjoyed his first time there.  One year ago during camp we learned that we that we would meet Jhon on June 5th, 2012.  I remembered I felt elated to finally have a date we were going to meet our son.  I also remember being so sad and in tears over missing his 11th birthday (May 30th) and Jhon having to spend his birthday in foster care.  The other youth pastors and wives prayed over us and it was such an encouragement. Now, what a celebration to have Jhon with us on this time.  The kids enjoyed horseback rides, campfires, zip line, wagon ride, and a nature center with animals.  I love the time our family gets to bond and the time Jim and I get learning about loving God in our lives, marriage, and parenting.  My favorite part of the trip was watching all 5 kids go on a zip line.  They had to be harnessed in with helmets and off the went, flying fast and 25ft in the air.  Even 3yo Prospero went.  They were all so brave.  Jhon, Ryan, and Prospero even went upside down.  Update: Jesus is now requesting to be called Ryan (his middle name). 

 

 Playing Hockey in the Gym, Go Momo

Campfire Donuts, delicioso!

 

 Los Hombres

 Estefania was the first one to go on the zip line!  She loved it and was fearless.

 Jhon being superman

 Ryan getting ready

 Even Prospero went on it!  This kid is fearless and hardly has a fearful bone is his body.

 Derly's Turn

 This is Ryan hanging upside down on his turn, (on purpose!)

 Prospero's second run he wanted to go upside down as well.

Happy 10th bday Derly

Our sweet oldest daughter turned 10 this month! Slowly are the days of baby dolls and barbies disappearing only to be followed by makeup and nailpolish.  Derly loves cosmetology and is very good at manicures.  She is learning the less makeup you wear, the better, verses caking it on. She loves trying different hair styles and loves her crimper and blow dryer she got for her birthday. Derly loves God and her family.  she is very helpful.  She is very neat, her room is always immaculate.  She likes to sleep on top of her made bed so as not to ruin it or have wrinkles.  She uses a throw blanket to cover up with.  This a battle not worth fighting at this point in life.  She is beautiful, funny, energetic, she is the most flexible kid in her class.  She is our daughter forever and we are so proud of her, we cannot wait to see how God guides her in life.  For her birthday we took a trip to mall of America and  enjoyed many rides and laughter. She was grateful for all the phone calls she received as well. Thank you to everyone who made her day special. (Pics to come)

Happy Easter! He is Risen

 Decorating eggs with Grandma Matthews

 Wrestling with Dad

 Getting ready for church, Prospero jumped right in there and wanted to spike his hair.

 So handsome

We enjoyed a great first Easter for Jhon, celebrating the risen King.  We have been watching The Bible on the history channel and the kids love it and are so engaged, they love hearing and seeing the stories come to life.  They enjoyed their spring break, can't wait for all the snow to melt.  Jhon got braces this last month and is doing well with them.  Not too much pain at this point.  Estefania's weight was up 2.5lbs, so lets hope that is enough, we are waiting to hear back from the MD.  We had the blessing of a wonderful injection nurse at the clinic who went through all the kids immunizations and what they still needed.  Getting 5 kids caught up on all their immunizations they have missed is not easy and because of their ages they all can get different things, has been such the headache.  We have had many issues regarding this.  Our nurse this last week was amazing, is new, and worked at a clinic doing immunizations all the time, so she was also very fast.  The simple pleasures in life.  We look forward to Derly and my birthday's this month.  Windy is adjusting well, she still has not barked, so weird to have a quite dog.  We are working on the potty training thing, (not my favorite).  Jim is staying strong with seminary, he has to go 3 days a week this semester.  Hopefully only one more year until he is done! 

Welcome Windy!

Thank you for all the prayers for Estefania's MRI, her results were negative which is great news and her back pain is probably attributed to years of malnourishment and her current bone growth.  She did such a great job and I cannot speak higher of the care she received at Children's Minnetonka.  They really helped put her at ease and thankfully did not start her IV until after she was sedated. 

Yesterday we welcomed Windy into our family.  She is a six year old Boston Terrier from Alabama.  She is very sweet and slowly adjusting to the new changes around her.  We have over 10inches of snow on the ground and kids have no school today, so craziness at the Matthews home.  Windy has never seen snow, so she is not too sure what to think.  We believe she is about 10lbs. 

We have been enjoying outdoor activities, Jesus has found a love for snowboarding and does really well with it.  The kids are also enjoying ice skating, however, Derly prefers to enjoy sledding.  It is March and I am so ready for green grass and warmer temperatures, so hopefully that is just around the corner.

Estefania is 8!

 What eating pudding turns into at our house nearly every time!

 Dad and Prospero at Chuck E Cheese

 Birthday Girl winning a ton of tickets

 Estefania with Mami

 Happy 8th Birthday!

 Ticket Blaster

 After the ticket blaster

Estefania enjoyed a wonderful 8th birthday, she picked Chuck-A-Cheese as the location of her birthday celebration.  She had a great day, thanks to all the bday wishes and gifts she received.  The kids are getting a little cabin fever and we are trying to keep them active with swimming and rock climbing, Jhon started indoor soccer once a week, they practice skills and play in a school gym.  Derly is trying out gymnastics twice a month at open gym and she is enjoying that as well.  Estefania has been having some back pain in the last several month.  She has had xr, blood work, ultrasound and in about 10 days an MRI.  The MRI is going to be about 2hrs long, so sedation is highly recommended.  So prayers for good results and successful imaging would be great.