Playing Catch-Up!

We're back! So we took a break from the blog this summer and fall, but our faithful reader Merissa may have only been the one person who noticed. (Thanks for reading, Merissa!)

Here's a quick recap from summer and fall 2010:

Our twin nephews were born July 1st! They were so tiny! They have been growing and learning so much. What an incredible joy they are to our entire family. Two babies at once. Wow. We got to fly up to see them early in the summer. It was an amazing time. We love them so much.

Jason had a great summer job at the forest running summer camps for kids. He got to spend every day doing what he loves - hiking and teaching! There were a few super hot days (in upper 90's and low 100's!), but he really enjoyed his job and the break from classes. He did, however, keep up with his reading and actually got to read a few books for fun.

We made a trip to Spartanburg in July for our dear friends' wedding (Mal and Shane). It was a joy and honor to be a a part of their wedding, and the event was so much fun! We got to see many sweet friends.

Thanks to all our summer and fall visitors who made the trek to Louisville to spend time with us! We were graced with visits from Johnny R, Jared and Anna Leigh (pre-engagement), Merissa and her kids, and both sets of our parents. We love hitting up the hot spots around town when our friends and family come to town. We took our visitors to Graeter's ice cream, downtown Louisville, the Creation Museum, Lynn's Paradise Cafe, Boom Boz's pizza, and more!

We love visits from friends!

The fall school and work schedule was much more hectic for us. Between Jason's classes, small group, my job, Jason's part time job, and some classes I've been taking, we didn't see each other a ton during the weeks. We lived for the weekends - especially Sundays when neither of us had to work and we got to spend the whole day together. We did manage to fit in a trip to Cincinnati with Jason's parents and his sister to cheer on the Reds in the playoffs!! Although our Reds didn't win, it was an outstanding experience cheering on our team surrounded by thousands of fans!

In October, we made an unexpected trip to SC when my sweet grandma went to be with Jesus. Grandma Hazel was the mother of ten children and twenty five grandchildren. She was a faithful wife, loving mother and grandmother and was devoted to her Savior. I'm so thankful for her life and will continue to remember wonderful memories. Most important, she has left an incredible legacy for our family. Thankfully, our whole family was able to be together for the week of her funeral. We got to spend precious time with our sweet twin nephews! It was a sad but happy time as we mourned her death and yet joyous as we celebrated her life.

My brother, his wife and our nephews

We spent Thanksgiving in Louisville this time with Jason's family. Jason's older sister hosted at her house, and it was an incredibly delicious feast! We also had our first experience at Churchill Downs, and the whole Read family spent the day after Thanksgiving at the race track cheering on the ponies!

Here's Lyla and me, warming up inside

Uncle Jason and John watch the horses race!

Uncle Jason loves his niece and nephew!

What a great summer and fall!

April Happenings

April flew by! This weekend Jason's been hitting the books hard, preparing for his final exams this week. I'm so proud of him! He's done an incredible job this semester. On top of excelling in his classes, he's fit in a part-time job, helped keep the house in order, and managed to catch every Reds' game on tv! (Did I mention we get the Reds' station?) He's really has done well in all his classes and has enjoyed learning so much. Here are a few pictures of the job he has at the seminary hotel. He drives the shuttle a few hours a week - takes professors and visitors to and from the airport. He's even received several tips!

You should see him back this shuttle into the parking space. It's impressive!

He wears a suit for each drive. Isn't he handsome!?

The Kentucky Derby festivities kicked off two weeks before the race (May 1), so we got to experience the excitement here. There are so many events and parties leading up to Derby. Our dear friend Jon and Leslie came one weekend to spend time with us, and we all went to the air show and fireworks at Thunder Over Louisville - the nation's biggest fireworks display. We are so thankful we got to spend time with Jon and Leslie!

Little Sluggers!

This past weekend we celebrated with friends and family and showered Megan with gifts for the twins. The theme was Minnesota Twins - which is the major league baseball team where David and Megan live. I have a feeling the Mathis family will stock up on Minnesota Twins gear over the years - it will never get old for us! Here are some pics from the weekend. I love my sister-in-law Megan so dearly. She has made our family so much better - and Jason has too! I already love our nephews so very much and look so forward to holding both of them!!

Last family picture before the twins!

Love this pic of Anna. This girl knows how to do showers! She's the queen.

I love my sister!

These boys are set for baseball!

March Madness!

The month of March has brought nicer weather, new jobs and lots of basketball for the Reads! We've spent several afternoons at the park a few miles from our house thanks to the warmer spring temps. We are perfectly fine with seeing no more snow until next year! Louisville is so beautiful and it's fun to be outside. There are several parks near us and it's so nice to walk the trails and paths.

I accepted a job in Admissions at the seminary last week!! The position is called Guest Services Coordinator, and I'll be work with prospective students, trying to make their experience visiting Southern first-class. I'll represent the seminary at conferences and events, and I'm excited about the staff I'll be working with. Since my temporary job isn't over yet (the lady is still out on maternity leave), starting tomorrow, I'll be spending half of my day in the Admissions office and the other half in the Operations office. Thankfully, both of these departments are willing to be flexible and split my time! I don't mind working in both areas for a few more weeks. I'm so thankful God has provided a full-time job in His perfect timing. Jason and I will still drive to work/school together each day, which is a huge plus!

We've been glued to our tv the past few weekends watching the NCAA tournament. We love cheering for the "under dogs," and probably our favorite game so far has been watching Butler beat Syracuse! We were hoping Wofford and Clemson would have made if farther than they did. Unfortunately, the Kentucky Wildcats were unable to beat West Virginia last night, so the bracket I filled out is toast. I had Kentucky winning it all!

Next weekend we are heading to Spartanburg to spend Easter with the entire Mathis fam and to host a shower for Megan, our sister-in-law, who is expecting twin boys! The boys are due late this summer, and we cannot wait to shower Meg with gifts and support for these two little guys!!

Happy First Birthday, John!

Today is our sweet nephew's first birthday! It has been so wonderful to live five minutes away from Jason's sister and brother-in-law and our nephew. We've only lived here two months and already we've shared many specials memories with them - Super Bowl party, watching 24, walks to the pizza place, book clubs, dinners, babysitting John, and so much more! We love them so much!

We are so blessed to have the most incredible nephew and neice in the world! Our neice is only two hours away - so much closer than when we lived in SC. Will post more about her later. Here's a picture of Jason and me with John this past Thanksgiving, and the second is of John helping his dad and Papa work on the shelves. He's such great a helper! This year would not have been as fun and exciting without his precious life. We love you, John, and look forward to many more years with you!! We could not be more delighted in you.

A Snowy Walk

The seminary was cancelled again this past Monday because of more snow so that left us with no classes and no job for the day. But we got reading and cleaning done, and later in the day we bundled up and walked with the Speidens to a local pizza place for dinner! (I think we've found the Louisville version of the Brick, all you Columbus, NC Brick-loving folk!)




Here's our adorable eskimo nephew. He was great and enjoyed the walk!

This is Where We Live - Part One

We are snowed in today - again! It was fun last week, but now it's a little frustrating because Jason is missing class and since I'm working an hourly job, I'm not getting paid when the office is closed! It is beautiful though! And it's been fun to stay in

side and watch the Olympics.

I figured I would take this time to post and share some pictures of what our place looks like. First, I'll post pictures of the kitchen because this is where I spend all my time! Okay, not really, but I have been cooking more! Here's a shot from when you first walk in the kitchen door from the dining room. We love the wooden floors! The back door goes out to the little deck we have.

This is our breakfast nook in the back corner of the kitchen. There's not much counter space, but the microwave fits perfectly on the cart.

Sink and dish washer!

We're quite the magnet collectors. We started buying a magnet in each state we traveled to when we worked for Upward. Thankfully we're not going anywhere anytime soon because we don't have any room for more magnets...

Hope you enjoyed the quick peak of our kitchen! We will post pictures from the other rooms soon!