Life in the Fish Bowl...

Big-Huge Announcement

mattdantodd — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 03:26:42 GMT

If you haven't somehow gotten the memo that my blog has moved and you somehow aren't a friend of mine on facebook, then you probably missed out on this big-huge announcement our family made yesterday.

Movin' (for now)

mattdantodd — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 19:17:27 GMT

I think I'm switching. Follow me here

Go Hoosiers!

mattdantodd — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:50:03 GMT

Football season is here!!

Go Hoosiers!!

Lucas Oil Stadium Pictures

mattdantodd — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:17:54 GMT

Here are some of the pictures from our tour of Lucas Oil Stadium a few weeks ago. The place is enormous! I've posted a few of these pictures on my facebook profile, but here's the rest of them...

Waiting outside

While we were waiting in line, it was announced over the public address system that the South Gate had no waiting. We were standing in line in the South Gate at the time. Does this look like there's no waiting here? Really?

Inside

I'm not sure why you'd want a Colts lawn mower, but one's on display there.

There was live music throughout the concourse. The kids wanted to pose with one of them.

The skyline from the upper Terrace.

On the field

Alyson's first instinct upon stepping onto the field.

Aiden put his foot in the end zone. And subsequently celebrated with a touchdown dance that he learned from the Madden video game.

While waiting in line to visit the locker room, the cameras were pointed on the crowds. Our family was up on the JumboTron a few times.

You could choose to simply walk by the Colts locker room, or explore the Visitor's locker room. We chose the Visitors.

And that's the end.

Annoyed

mattdantodd — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:09:21 GMT

The ads are here. I'm seriously considering leaving LiveJournal. If I wanted ads on my Journal, I'd have signed up for a plus account.

The ads themselves aren't an issue for me. Like most people, I've learned to block out most online ads when I see them. My concern is the content of potential ads. What's to stop the ads from promoting something I don't support or don't agree with?

I feel like I've lost a certain amount of creative control here. And I'm quite annoyed.

Happy Birthday, Aiden!

mattdantodd — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:50:57 GMT

I had a dream a few nights ago that Aiden was a toddler again. He had the diapers, curly hair, and everything. But we were living in this house. Maybe it's because I've been thinking a lot about how quickly our little boy is growing up. Parents tend to do that when their children have birthdays, don't they?

Happy Birthday, Aiden! Don't grow up too fast!

Still going...

mattdantodd — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 18:53:38 GMT

As one lady in our church put it, "It's been a long month this week." It's been busy, to say the least. Today's the first day I haven't been to a hospital or a nursing home since...two weeks ago (?).

There's no resting tonight, though. This morning, Christy won free tickets to tonight's Music Builds concert. So, we're heading to the Indy area to see Switchfoot, Third Day, and Jars of Clay tonight.

It's going to make for a long night. But I'm not complaining.

Taking a breath

mattdantodd — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:21:42 GMT

Sorry I haven't posted much recently. I'll try to give more complete updates (with pictures) soon. Probably won't be until Tuesday evening (at the earliest).

Had a church member die Friday afternoon after a very quick, very difficult battle with a very rare and horrible disease. I was glad I got to spend a lot of time with her over the past week, but I wish I could have been there more. I was conducting a wedding rehearsal at the time she passed away. We went over to the family's house shortly after the rehearsal was over.

Saturday was the wedding, which was pretty cool. It was short and simple. The groom cried - which is always memorable.

After the reception, we hopped in the car and drove down to Indy to tour the new Colts stadium. Didn't get home till after 11.

Sunday was church. I got up at 4:45 because I felt like I needed to revise my sermon.

Today, I'm preparing for tomorrow's funeral.

Oh yeah, the kids started school, too. And Friday was our 10th anniversary.

We've gone through the whole spectrum of emotions over the last four or five days. And now I need a nap.

But at least we get the Big Ten Network now.

All Drug Olympics

mattdantodd — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 20:07:36 GMT

I was listening to sports talk radio today and heard something about track & field athletes complaining about being tested too frequently for drugs.

This made me think of an SNL skit from more than 15 years ago. I thought it was pretty funny then. I think it's even funnier now.

It had been years since I'd seen this. It made me cry I was laughing so hard. And that doesn't happen too often.

Maybe it's all because of context. There was the story of the Hungarian dislocating his elbow yesterday. And the pictures were pretty gruesome. I don't think I was laughing at him. If I was laughing at him, that would make me a bad, bad, person - wouldn't it?

Or maybe it's because I needed a release. Some people in our congregation are going through some pretty dark valleys right now. So maybe this was somehow therapeutic.

Then again, maybe it's just funny.

"I think tomorrow, he's really gonna feel that, Dennis."

This one's for Melissa

mattdantodd — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 01:31:19 GMT

So, we didn't get to see the Super Colon (here's an article with pictures if you really want to see it). I know, I know. There's a lot of disappointment in the reading audience.

Instead of an oversized colon, how about an oversized brain?

This one was at the Evansville Children's Museum.

Gone Fishin'

mattdantodd — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:14:38 GMT

Today's the last day of Summer Break for the kids. A family in the church has a small pond and the kids are dying to go fishing again. So, we're off to catch the big one!

State Fair Pictures

mattdantodd — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 04:23:00 GMT

Pictures from the land of livestock, fried food on a stick, overpriced rides, and the 40-foot colon...

They had a pond stocked with bluegill and catfish with DNR people helping kids learn how to fish. Not many were biting during our time there.

I'm not sure what this was all about...

Sitting in a combine

Alyson got to ride a horse

She got all excited when a burro started following her on her horse

Bumper cars and roller coasters. shhh.... The roller coaster attendant let Aiden ride for free.

We were walking through the mule exhibit, about to start making our way back to the car. Suddenly, this lady walks up to Christy and starts looking at her. She doesn't say anything for a minute, and we wonder if she's someone we're supposed to know (she had that look...you know - "Hey! Don't you recognize me?" - that kind of look). Finally she says, "Would you mind if we put your kids in our wagon and they were part of the opening ceremonies for the show that's about to begin?" Although we really wanted to go (we were hot, tired, thirsty, sore, you name it), we agreed. The kids had fun and I doubt they'll ever do something like this again.

There they go...

Sorry, Melissa. We didn't make it into the pavilion with the super colon. I'm disappointed. I'm sure there was some kind of picture we could have come up with involving a 40-foot colon.

Evansville Vacation - cMoe

mattdantodd — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 03:54:35 GMT

The old Central Library downtown has been completely transformed into a children's museum. And they've transformed the place. No more librarians giving you dirty looks if you so much as breathe too loud.

When I heard they were making a children's museum, my first concern was that it was going to be some halfway job like I've seen in many cities and towns. And some pretty top-notch children's museums are within driving distance of Evansville (i.e. Indy, Cincy, and Columbus...although C-bus is a day's drive with kids). So I wondered if the market was already flooded. While cMoe isn't those mammoth museums mentioned earlier, it doesn't pretend to be. They've done some good stuff. It's worth taking a trip to see. And maybe they're right. It just might help revitalize downtown.

It's a magic harp. You pluck the invisible strings and it plays the note you 'plucked.'

There was a section talking about different aspects of the human body. One exhibit measured your reaction time. Another told you how many calories you burned while tapping a button repeatedly. Another timed your balance. One machine would play your heartbeat on a bass drum (the left picture below). And there was also a camera that magnified your mouth. Here's Christy's mouth for the world to see (right).

There was a mini theatre set up with costumes, stage lighting, and sound effects. The kids gathered a troupe together and acted out Little Red Riding Hood.

Look! A room full of drums! And they want you to be LOUD! Yes, the kids were in heaven (so was Christy).

A remnant of the old library. I'm sure there's a sense of irony here, since the entire building is now a children's room.

The centerpiece of the museum is the quack factory. What is the quack factory? Well, it's this massive room full of flowing water, flying balls, and air cannons. It's beyond description (although the explanation on the museum's site comes pretty close).

So, you take these plastic balls and try to get them up into the duck's head by shooting them from an air cannon. Even the adults got involved.

Evansville Vacation - The Fire Department

mattdantodd — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:23:22 GMT

One of the guys who works for my Dad is also a volunteer fireman at the Chandler Fire Department. He set it up for our kids to do a little bit of exploring. The neighbors' grandkids joined us.

Trying on the equipment

They even got to turn on the fire hose.

It was probably the most excitement they'd had at the fire house this Summer. And that's a good thing.

Aly in the News

mattdantodd — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:07:09 GMT

Alyson's picture is on the front page of today's Muncie Star Press. Of course, you can't see her face, but that's OK.

Alyson thinks she's a star now.

I Promise

mattdantodd — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:16:44 GMT

Pictures from our trip to Evansville and the State Fair will be posted tomorrow. Hopefully before noon. Definitely before bed on Monday.

Cross my heart & hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye (whatever good that would do me).

Video

mattdantodd — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:13:47 GMT

Christy's Dream Job

mattdantodd — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 17:22:07 GMT

Christy was offered her dream job this week. The only drawback is it's 50 minutes away.

She starts Monday.

Well you don't see THAT every day!

mattdantodd — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:56:45 GMT

We're heading to the State Fair in about 20 minutes. Here's a list of things we'll probably see today:

livestock shows
rides
fried food on a stick
"The Cheese Lady" carve a block of cheese into some kind of sculpture
Coco the Colossal Colon: a 40 foot model of the colon

Yes - you read that right. Apparently, it's supposed to raise awareness. We'll see how aware it makes me.

Trip to Evansville

mattdantodd — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 02:21:55 GMT

One of the advantages of moving up to Muncie is the fact that we are closer to family. Instead of driving 8 hours, the most we have to drive is about four. This is a huge improvement, since Alyson really doesn't like riding in the car and gas prices have...what...doubled(?)...since we moved up here?

We finally got to take advantage of the improved proximity to my parents and went down to Evansville for a few days last week. Like I've said before, it's always great going back and spending time in my hometown and hanging out with my parents. And when we're done, I always wish I could spend more time there with them (I know - scary, huh?).

This visit was even more special than usual because of the cool places we went (more posts about that later. Maybe tonight...maybe tomorrow...who knows?), and the old friends I got to reconnect with. I had lunch with Todd for the first time in ages. It was great hearing what God's doing to him and through him and his ministry efforts. We also 'talked shop' for a while and I came away with some great ideas for things we can do here in our church. He offered any support and all support that he could give in the future. If ever I've had a "Barnabas" in my life, it's been Todd. I just get so encouraged and fired-up after spending time with him. It was a great lunch.

I also had breakfast with Chad, a fellow Band Geek from high school who I hadn't seen in about nine years or so. We've reconnected through Myspace (I know - I desperately need to update that profile) and tried to get together before (I had even hoped to attend his wedding last year...but forgot where the service was held. Man, I felt stupid!), but it never worked out for one reason or another. Breakfast was good. Met his daughter. It seems strange thinking of him as a dad. But then again, I think it's strange thinking of myself as a dad...and here I am! We'll definitely have to get together again soon. Maybe the next time we're down in Evansville...whenever that is!

More updates later. I'm tired and going to bed.

Church Anniversary (revisited)

mattdantodd — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 22:28:02 GMT

To celebrate the one year anniversary of our being here, look what someone in our community gave us as a gift...

Wasn't that nice of them?

Cover Tunes

mattdantodd — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 00:24:29 GMT

From the guys who brought us such inspirational classics as I Can Only Imagine, comes Mercy Me's latest venture...cover tunes!

This week's is the best one so far...hands down!

So they loaded up the truck and they moved to...Muncie

mattdantodd — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 03:07:36 GMT

One year ago, we said goodbye to Tennessee's fair-eastern mountains and began our trek to the land of basketball, Colts, God, and corn (sometimes in that order). Life transitions like that are never easy. But looking back over this past year, I'm amazed at what God has already shown me. As I keep telling our church, the best days are yet to come.

And I truly believe that.

Lost your Bible?

mattdantodd — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 20:33:29 GMT

Maybe you should look here.

A whole database of found Bibles. Will wonders never cease?

Tickets

mattdantodd — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:06:44 GMT

Thanks to Christy's Internet prowess, we now have tickets to the last open house tour of Lucas Oil Stadium. I still don't understand why they need to issue tickets, but we have them nonetheless.

So, we get to walk around the stadium on the evening of August 16. I think Kevin and Liz got tickets, too. It's probably the closest I'll get to going to a Colts game for a long, long time.