The Matossian Family

Lindy self portrait

2011-01-29T12:40:00.000-08:00

A little catch up

2011-01-29T12:05:00.000-08:00

I am just going to throw in some fun pictures...

Bob and I on a date to see Hair the musical in LA

Daddy made the girls pancakes covered in Whipped cream and strawberries!

Jammie sisters

Abigail and Brock for his birthday at Chuck E Cheese

Trip to Disneyland

Saw Goofy

and Jeanette McClury - Sam from icarly

We found Faith and her mommy there and spent the day with them!

Daddy's friend Rocky has a HUGE race track in his backyard!

A visit to the American Girl Store with Marita and Paige!

Lindy Singing Silent Night

2010-12-01T20:21:00.000-08:00

Okay background story - the girls all have the same music teacher at school, Mr. Keddy. He is GREAT! For Christmas they are learning Silent Night. I guess today Mr. Keddy told Lindy's class that they need to make a circle with their mouth to sing it. So I had her explain it to me and demonstrate on video...

First Day of School at Grace Christian

2010-10-09T13:10:00.001-07:00

We are so blessed this year to have the girls at Grace Christian School. Here are pictures from the first day of school. Sophie is in 3rd grade with Mrs. Price. Abigail is in 1st grade with Mr. Nishimoto. Lindy is in Kindergarten with Mrs. Walker.

My offices are in the school building! So blessed.

That is Mrs. Walker - the blonde in the background.

Abigail turns 7!!!

2010-10-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

We celebrate ALOT around here for birthdays! Abigail's 7 year celebration began with cupcakes she decorated for all the kids in her class at school!

Abigails teacher Mr. Nishimoto - getting ready to sing!

Next we had a cupcake decorating party with the neighbor kids!

And then the Pumpkin birthday party!

Cake masterpiece by Marita.

Pumpkin game borrowed from our new church!

Sisters!

Brock surprised Abby! We didn't tell her he was coming - so fun!

Sophia and Alexa Morris

Faith from her new school.

Paige and Ethan Frank

Painting pumpkins

Elijah Hunt

Cousins Sarah, Tommy, Jimmy and Michael

Cousins Maddie Jo, Natalie and Gracie

The whole gang of kids!

Mimi and the birthday girl

Mom and Dad

Opening presents

She got a bike that is big enough for her now!

Mommy's Birthday at Disneyland

2010-09-03T09:52:00.000-07:00

What a great birthday! Went to Bake n Broil in Long Beach with the family for breakfast! Huge plate of banana and pecan pancakes with homemade whipped cream!

Then the girls and I headed to Disneyland! Not too crowded...here is what we experienced:

Fast passes to World of Color, Soarin' 2x (first time ever for Abigail and Lindy), Alladin, over to Disneyland for Buzz, ice cream and the parade, teacups, Small world, Big Thunder Mountain 3x (first time for all three girls!), Tiki Room (saw the Greer family), back to California adventure for Glow show, Monsters Inc., closed Toy Story :0(, Carousel 3x, Giant swings (first for all of us), Mullholland 2x (first time for all of us), One more time on Soarin' to make Three for the day! Then off to get hot chocolate and wait for World of Color! Which we loved!

No lines for Soarin' Over California!

Picture with one of the aviators :0)

Ice Cream and the Parade!

Had to get a a picture with Miss Piggy for Mimi!

Getting late and being silly!

My favorite toys!

After World of Color

And all the Birthday wishes from friends and family - Wow what a day!

I am so blessed.

Sophie's Baptism

2010-08-29T21:36:00.001-07:00

Our first daughter was baptized today - to tell the whole world she loves Jesus and wants to follow him all the days of her life!!

Thank you Jodi for taking such great pictures to capture the event!!

Here they are...

Telling her 'God Story to a crowd'

In line to go into the water - Abby was SO proud of her sister!

I came out of the water to get her...

Oh it's cold...

Do you believe Jesus is your Savior? YES

Do you promise to follow Jesus for the rest of your life? YES

One proud mama!

Thank you everyone who came and everyone who couldn't. Thank you all for being an example and partner to Sophie as she walks this life with Jesus.

Keep praying for her!

Backyard giggles

2010-05-04T19:06:00.000-07:00

The girls were swinging in the backyard tonight and Lindy was trying to get higher than her sisters...in the baby swing...that is too low...pretty funny to see what her solution is...

Easter 2010

2010-04-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

There were many events surrounding Easter in our house! We started with decorating eggs and opening all the resurrection eggs to hear the real story of Easter...

On Saturday our church had an Easter Fair...
There was a train to ride! Paige and Ethan were there!
This is Dalton and Rayanne from Kid City staff!

Then Easter Sunday...
Mimi and Papa's for lunch...

Bunnies, Field trips and Dress up!

2010-03-28T20:56:00.001-07:00

This week was full of fun! Over the weekend we had breakfast with the Easter bunny at the Mission Viejo Mall. A fun little event - there was another bunny there too - the Build a Bear Bunny (the first picture).

On Monday, Lindy had a field trip with school to Tanaka Farms in Irvine. She tried EVERY vegetable they handed us to sample as we rode around the farm in a wagon. Her favorite were the snap peas and the carrots! Then we got to pick and eat all the strawberries we wanted!

Her class and Mrs. May...

Then on Thursday, Abigail had her first field trip! Her class went to the Santa Ana Zoo. She was more excited about getting to ride a bus then going to the zoo!

She touched a duck, possum, rooster, blue tongued lizard and A SNAKE!!!

Her Kindergarten class...
Her bestest school friend Brock...
Then on Friday it was Western Day!! How cute are my cowgirls!!

Big Bear 2009/2010

2010-01-06T21:11:00.000-08:00

We had a great trip to Big Bear! Although each day someone new got sick...overall everyone had a chance to sled, play in the snow, play games, relax and just have fun. This first picture makes my heart smile. Just love these girls God has placed in my care!

Going sledding at the park behind the house.

We tried to make a snowman and the snow was so powdery that we couldn't get it to stick...so we made a snow lump.

Christmas Day

2009-12-25T21:17:00.000-08:00

Goodmorning! The girls actually let us sleep until 6:54! Here they are so excited to see what Santa brought...

American Girl Doll for Lindy, an 'alive' leopard cub for Sophie (at her feet) and doll crutches, casts and accessories for Abby (on Kit in the picture)! Just what they all wanted!

He ate his cookies and chocolate soy milk...

Daddy and the girls bought tobi an elf outfit.

Then to the Matossian side celebration.

Aunt Debbie and Uncle John got them matching beautiful coats!

Tomorrow is Christmas at Mimi and Papa's!

We can hardly wait for more celebrating!

Here is a silly video of Lindy...she was so excited EVERY gift she opened! Here she opened a little lamb and she broke out in song and dance across the house!

Christmas Eve

2009-12-24T22:07:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! We went to two churches for Christmas Eve services...Sea Coast Grace in Cypress. Bob helped direct their event. And my new church, Mount of Olives in Mission Viejo. What a joy to celebrate Jesus today!

This is the family in front of the set at Sea Coast Grace.

The girls opening their Christmas Eve presents....

which are Christmas pajamas!

Ready for Santa to come!!

We ended the night with our final four Adornaments. If you don't know what these are...it is a great tradition...they are 12 ornaments that teach the kids different names of Jesus. Tonight we read about King of Kings, Bread of Life, The Good Shepherd and Savior. Then the girls get to hang them on the tree. Then off to bed they went.

I am so excited for Christmas Morning. Another tradition we have is that the first present they get to open says "To Everyone From God". Inside I have collected all the baby Jesus' from around the house...ornaments and nativities etc...then all go in the bag and when they open it they go put them all back in their places!

Have a Merry Christmas!

An angel visited our house today!

2009-11-04T13:45:00.000-08:00

Seriously - we just got home to a house that has freshly scrubbed bathrooms, vacuumed bedrooms, 3 loads of laundry done, and an anonymous note on the front door that says "I hope you have a great day". A great day? This made my month!

What a great opportunity to teach about Kindness - which is what the lesson is on tonight at church. The girls and I talked about kindness and we held hands and thanked the Lord for our angel and prayed for the Lord to bless them abundantly.

We are blessed.

What a sweet treat and it couldn't have been at a better time...God knows.

Lindy got stitches

2009-10-26T06:35:00.001-07:00

Playing ball in the hall, hall corner and head meet, tons of blood, Daddy cleans it up, Mommy takes her to the ER, sedation, plastic surgeon, very very sweet nurse, and 10 stitches! Glad daddy didn't leave for Chicago until today!

Matossian Family Pictures

2009-10-23T17:07:00.000-07:00

It was Sarah's 8th birthday party last Sunday! So at the party we also celebrated Grandpa James birthday (which was Tuesday) and we took family pictures! I wanted to share them all!

MV Fire Station Open House

2009-10-10T19:11:00.000-07:00

After two soccer games today we decided to go to the Mission Viejo Fire Station open house. We got to see where they sleep and eat and exercise! And other fun things - see below!

Walking to the firestation!

Abigail turns 6!!!

2009-10-06T06:30:00.000-07:00

It was a big day...a big weekend! First she had a book donated to the library in honor of her birthday. She was called up in front of the entire school assembly and took a picture with the principal. Then they celebrated her at school and she got to wear the crown all day and she continued to wear it at disneyland! AND she got to take home the class pet for the weekend - Fuzzy Wuzzy bear. After disneyland we met Daddy and sisters at Rainforest Cafe in Costa Mesa. What fun!

Dr. Wilbur

Disneyland Double Decker Bus

Birthday hug from Chip

Waiting for Playhouse Disney to start

Rainforest Cafe balloon crown

Birthday ice cream

On Sunday was her birthday glamour party!

Mimi and Papa

Abby requested this photo :0)

Sisters!

Ashley and Malia - neighbor friends

Face painting by Marita!

Purse cake by Marita

All the kids!!

Paige

Grandpa James

Then dinner at TGIFridays with the Morris family!

What a wonderful celebration for a wonderful 6 year old!

Happy Birthday Abigail!

First Day of School

2009-09-12T20:40:00.001-07:00

Sisters on the first day of school!!

Abby started Kindergarten and her first day was only one hour with Mommy there the whole time. She got to hear a story and then do stations all over the room. This one she is writing her name. She goes by Abigail in Kindergarten because there is another Abby!! And she asked to be called Abigail!

Abigail's teacher Mrs. Paulicivic reading a story. Do you see Abigail sitting right in front of her? When Mrs. Paulicivic moved to the side of the group to talk to us parents, Abby scooted across the floor and sat directly in front of her over there too!

Lindy's had two first days - since she is in preschool five mornings her tuesday/thursday class started first. It also happened to be the same day her sisters had picture day! So they were all matching!

Lindy in Mrs. Radosch tuesday/thursday class.

Lindy's first day of M/W/F preschool.

Lindy's teacher Mrs. May

Mrs. May said on the first day that the most important thing we can do as parents is to pray, pray, pray! What a blessing to have Mrs. May and a precious school for Lindy to go to!

(Check out the last blog too)

Mommy's birthday at Disneyland

2009-09-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

Awesome Awesome birthday!

Bob even came with us!!

We actually did a ton...Mainstreet car, Matterhorn, Small World, train around the park, Autopia, Innovations, Jedi training, train farther, Pooh Bear, Mardi Gras band, Buzz Lightyear - walked on two times in a row, then watched the parade!! What a fun day!

The Parade

The Mardi Gras band

Jedi Training

Sophie had to perform some special moves to protect everyone from the dark side!!!

Adventurous Lindy!

2009-08-29T12:51:00.000-07:00

Check out these pictures Kim Counts sent me today...

Yes that is what you think it is...and she ate it!

While I was in Peru, Sophie, Abby and Lindy got to spend one night at the Counts house. They slept in a tent, went to the water park and apparently ate WORMS. Well, I guess Lindy was the only one who was adventurous to actually eat them...

Boogie Boarding!

2009-08-29T09:16:00.001-07:00

Bob took the girls out on boogie boards for the first time this week. The waves were 4-6 feet, red flag, but they stayed shallow and had a blast! He started by taking each one out on his back and then Sophie and Abby braved some waves on their own!

Abby

Lindy

Sophie

Peru Day 2

2009-08-27T22:10:00.001-07:00

On the second day, I taught two more classes to adults and had another rehearsal with the kids!

Trip to Peru

2009-08-27T21:59:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Lima, Peru was incredible. We taught at the !Admirable! conference.

I had the opportunity to work with an amazing group of kids each night. Here are pictures of our first rehearsal.

Hola Amigos Nuevo!

Here are my nieces and nephew who live in Peru.

Eliana is 4, Michaela is 8 months, Josiah is 2

Love you guys!

Quick view of the last month

2009-07-14T17:12:00.000-07:00

I haven't blogged in a month...so much has happened so I will try to give you quick picture highlights! ENJOY!!

Happy 89 Grandma!

Disneyland with Marita, Paige and Ethan!

Sophie's last day of 1st grade! Thank you Mrs. Findley!

Lindy turned 4 years old!!!

Kunkel/Chapman reunion

The next generation below...

TVBS with Dean-o and our cousins!

Dance recitals

Fun at the park with Sophia and Alexa Morris!

Sophie donated 8 inches of her hair to locks of love - her idea!

Family beach days!

It has been a fun-filled month for the Matossians!

Thanks for sharing it with us!

Swim lessons!

2009-06-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

Abby and Lindy have already taken swim lessons! I prefer to sign them up for the first session each year to get them ready for the summer! They had a great time. Two of the best teachers. We did it during school hours, so Sophie didn't get to participate.

After 8 lessons, on their last day, they get to jump off the diving board! Lindy held her teachers hand and Abby went for it on her own! So proud of both of them! Daddy and Mimi came to watch!

Happy Birthday Papa!

2009-06-04T16:58:00.000-07:00

We had Papa over for dinner last night...here is the song the girls all sang!!

He had nine hearts/nine candles...each grandchild was represented.

We love you papa!

Lindy singing HSM3

2009-05-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

So if you have seen High School Musical 3, you will recognize Lindy's song from when Rocketman appears on the stage instead of Troy. This is Lindy's favorite part of the movie and on the soundtrack in the middle of #10, it is played exactly like the movie - this is so fun to listen to with her in the car! Anyway, she was in the backyard riding her bike and singing it as loud as possible...so I had to record and share it! Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T19:21:00.000-07:00

What a great day! Started with a yummy breakfast! Then cards, chocolate, starbucks gift card and a chocolate bar pillow! With lots of kisses and I love you's!

Then to Mimi and Papa's for lunch!

Here is my mother's day song sung by Lindy...

Happy Mother's day to all the mama friends and family in my life!

Crazy Hair Day

2009-03-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

Friday was crazy hair day! Sophie drew me a picture and wrote instructions of how she would like her hair to look! She was very pleased with the outcome!

The Swallows Day parade

2009-03-26T14:30:00.000-07:00

We went to the Swallows Day parade in San Juan Capistrano last weekend. The Morris family, some dear friends joined us. We watched the parade, went to the Kidzone area and then finished the day with ice cream! Enjoy the pictures!

Alexa, Abby, Sophia and Sophie

A horse came right up to them to pet it!

A clown in the parade stopped and crowned Abby with a clown nose!

Lindy in a giant inflatable slide (she ended up coming back down and making me go with her!)

Annie Jr. The musical

2009-03-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

Sophie, Abby and I went to see Annie Jr. the musical at Musical Theatre Village last Sunday! Had to share this adorable picture of the cast members we went to see perform, Hannah and Anders Plett and Annie!

Hope you experience God's Joy today!

Birthday at Disneyland

2009-02-24T15:53:00.000-08:00

Sophie is 7! I was able to take her to Disneyland just Sophie and mom (thanks to Marita watching Abby and Lindy) for just two hours and it was so cool. My favorite part was that she held my hand the entire time we were there - I will never forget that. So she got to go on BIG rides. She never gets to because we always have her little sisters. So we did a few firsts...

SPACE MOUNTAIN

INDIANA JONES

AND SLEEPING BEAUTY'S ENCHANTED CASTLE WALK.

AND A FEW MORE FUN THINGS...

Then we grabbed the sisters and met Daddy for dinner at Coco's...Sophie got to pick!

Fun, fun memories! Fun, fun birthday! Happy Birthday Sweet Sophie! We love you!

Happy 7th Birthday Sophie!!!

2009-02-23T09:19:00.000-08:00

Today Sophie turns 7! We have done a ton of celebrating! Friday she had a small afterschool ice cream party with classmates and friends. Sunday she had a family and friends birthday party at home. Today she took cupcakes she made to school for her class and afterschool we are heading to Disneyland (in the rain again) to get her 'birthday disney money'. Then we will have family birthday dinner! What fun celebrating this precious girl and her 7 years!

A little bit about Sophie: she notices things other don't, she uses and knows peoples names, she is is intellegent, she loves to read, she loves to do things for others, she loves to be celebrated but doesn't love being in the spotlight :0), she is beautiful inside and out, and she loves Jesus so much!

The Ice Cream park party

The Wild Horse Party

Homeschooling dreams

2009-02-21T11:41:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am a closet homeschool mom. I would love to do it someday...

Sophie tells everyone that we homeschooled for preschool. I guess because they never went to preschool, that is how she explains it. I don't mind :0).

Here is what we looked like on Friday...

Lindy can write 1/2 of her letters and four words...Lindy, mom, papa, abby, ?

Abby really wants to learn to read so I ordered the book "How to teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons". She knows and writes all her letters and knows all the sounds...struggles with 'w'. Don't want to miss the opportunity when they ask...we shall see how that goes.

Sophie reads chapter books and tests at 111 words per minute (1st graders right now should be at 30 wpm). She loves school but says she wants to go back to 1/2 day like kindergarten because she is too exhausted. And says she wants to go to private school every other year to be able to learn about God every other year. Always something to pray for!

Sophie's Front Teeth

2009-02-16T13:01:00.000-08:00

Before...

We have been teasing Sophie about how silly her front teeth look for a couple weeks now. They are so close to falling out but haven't been quite ready...until TODAY!!! She was playing with her little sister Lindy and Lindy jumped on her and popped it out!! YIPPEE!! Now for the other one...

After:

Earlier today Sophie 'helped' Lindy dress up like Little Red Riding Hood...

Do you notice the scotch tape and hair clips to keep it all in place? Hee, hee.

(I don't know how to make it stop underlining?)

Day at Disneyland

2009-02-14T13:43:00.000-08:00

Several interesting events since I last blogged. As a family we are on an exciting journey to see what God has next for us! So now I am back to keep up with some fun in the Matossian girls world!!

Yesterday was a day at Disneyland! School was off and rain was on its way...so we decided to try to beat the rain and go to the Happiest Place on Earth! Lauren Maggi came too!

We watched the singers on Main street,

went on Nemo,

the new Small World,

ate lunch and watched the Jedi show,

and then visited Pixie Hollow to visit Tinkerbell and her fairy friend, Rosetta.

After 30 minutes in line, with the rain beginning, we took pictures with Tink and Sophie said, "We stood in line all that time just to take a picture with Tinkerbell?" Love that child.

Then we headed home because it started raining harder and harder! But it was fun and so worth the cold and a little bit of rain!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-02-02T08:42:00.001-08:00

Today is Daddy's birthday and he requested going out to breakfast! So we all went to Coco's before Sophie went to school!

The picture card that Abby made for Daddy!

It is Mimi's Birthday today too! Happy Birthday Mimi!

January 29th was Uncle Mark's birthday!

We had birthday dinner at our house!

Mimi and Papa were on their way home from Peru!

Really? Did you just ask that?

2009-01-28T09:44:00.001-08:00

This morning Abby asked if she could have a phone in her bedroom! She is 5! Oh dear, here we go, on our wild ride with three girls in 3 1/2 years. LOVE IT!

Yesterday, Sophie (6) passed her 20's at school. This is a big accomplishment for a first grader. We are so proud of her and she is so proud of herself!! Way to go, girl!

Fun with the cousins!

2009-01-27T21:20:00.001-08:00

We had company for dinner...

Natalie 2, Lindy 3

Maddie Jo 1, Sophie 6

Gracie 4, Abby 5

and for baths...silly hair!!!

Last time the girls were over for baths, I put them all in at the same time...six girls, six and under. I decided that families with this many kids probably did baths in shifts...so this time I let Sophie (6) watch Maddie Jo (1) while the four 'middle' girls went together first and then they switched. It went pretty well...as well as it could :0). We LOVE having our cousins over!! Too much fun and so many memories!!

Silly side of Lindy

2009-01-22T21:00:00.000-08:00

Lindy, 3, was at Mimi and Papas house. She asked Mimi to take some pictures of her. Mimi placed her head against Lindy's and started taking self pictures of the both of them . She figured the more they took that there was bound to be one good one in the mix. Little did she know until she downloaded the pictures, that Lindy had posed for every one...

Sorry Mimi, guess you weren't going to get a 'good one' this time!! :0)

Slip n Slide in January?

2009-01-17T13:46:00.000-08:00

Seriously! Where are we? Yes the girls played in the slip n slide today...in the middle of January! That is crazy! 77 degrees in Mission Viejo California! We live in a beautiful place!

First Dance Class

2009-01-17T10:01:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Lindy took her first dance class! Oh my, she was so excited! She actually gets to take the dance class with her cousin Gracie who is 4. If you ask Lindy how her dance class was she says in a very quiet voice, "good". But if you ask her to show you what she learned, she is loud and uses her whole body to show you! I never would have guessed that she would be SO excited. She told everyone at Sophie's school that she was going to dance and wanted her dance clothes on first thing in the morning! I took a few pictures...

Gracie and Lindy

I asked her what her favorite part of dance class was and she said, "Doing tap." I asked what she liked the best about tap and she said, "The marching" - with a demonstration.

Cousins at Christmas

2009-01-11T20:19:00.000-08:00

My brother, John and his wife, Heather and their three precious kids live as missionaries in Lima, Peru. For Christmas, my brother Mark set up the computer so we could Skype them and see them full size on the television. So we attempted to take a picture with all the cousins. Michaela, born December 17th, was napping in the first picture, so we got 8 out of the 9 in the picture. Josiah and Eliana on the tv, then left to right, Abby, Lindy, Sophie, Natalie, Gracie and Maddie Jo.

So then Michaela woke up and I asked who wanted to take a picture with her (because everyone was DONE taking pictures). Sophie JUMPED up to the tv and her grin tells it all. She is very proud of her new baby cousin!

Then a couple of the other cousins wanted to be a part!

It was fun making memories like these, eventhough we desperately miss our family abroad.

Date Night

2009-01-10T10:30:00.000-08:00

Bob and I have a date night every single Friday...very few exceptions. It is a very important part of our marraige and relationship. Lindy, our 3 1/2 year old is an adventurer. She likes to take risks and most of those risks she likes to take at 5:00pm on Friday night...30 minutes before the sitter arrives! Last night was one of those nights. She decided to climb up on the side of her toddler bed, into the window sill (says her 5 year old sister taught her this) and jump onto her toddler bed. Well, she decided to 'hold on' to the mini-blinds as she jumped. Picture a potato peeler on your ring finger from the first fold almost all the way to the tip...yeah, ouch. Blood everywhere...called my dad and he taught me how to put on a pressure bandage. And we still made it out for our date night even with a minor injury!

Here is Lindy right after her finger was bandaged.

Big Bear 2008/2009

2009-01-07T17:02:00.000-08:00

December 29 - January 2 we spent our time at Uncle David and Aunt Fran's house in Big Bear, California! We were hosted by Grandpa James and Kathleen. What a fantastic week! With a storm that brought in 4 feet of snow the week before, we got to experience a winter wonderland just by driving 2 hours away from home! The weather was so perfect that the girls never had to wear jackets, only long sleeve shirts and snow bibs! What fun!

Abby , Sophie and Lindy ready for the snow!

Sophie and Abby sledding on their own!

Daddy and Lindy!!

Snow angels!

Snow eating!

What a great week! Thank you Grandpa James, Kathleen, Uncle David and Aunt Fran!

Happy New Year!