How great shall be your joy!

This week I had one of those very wonderful life experiences that I have hoped to have for 10 years now. So let me take you back to a sleepy little village in Northeast Thailand, early in 1997.

Even though it was February or March of that year, it was a sweltering day on my mission (they all were) and I was street contacting with my companion Elder Wengreen (this is Matt, if you hadn't already guessed). We were walking down a street talking to every man we saw and having no luck. It was nearly time for lunch and I decided that no matter what, I was going to get an appointment with the next male I saw. As we passed the next house I saw a young man inside and thought, "to young and it is illegal to knock doors in Thailand, so skip it." But an oath is an oath even to oneself, so I did what I should do, I walked right into the house (without knocking), approached Num, gave him a Book of Mormon, asked him to read 3 Nephi 11 and told him that I would return the next day.

The next day we returned and sat down to read 3 Nephi 11 with him, confident he hadn't read it. At the same time his sister was getting us water, so I asked her to join us an we would read it together. At this point she told me that she had already read the chapter and them some. So yeah, I got excited.

I was able to teach Nok and Num for the next few weeks before moving back to Bangkok just prior to their baptism which was sad to miss, but here is a picture of them on that day.



Now fast forward 11 1/2 years to last week. I was trying to find an old friend and found that he had a facebook page. So I thought, maybe I am a bit old for this, but I will bite the bullet and join up on facebook so I can locate this friend. Once I signed up, I immediately had a request to be friends with a mission buddy (which took me by surprise I must say). This lead to an avalanche of friend requests among which was Mayura Seesarn aka Nok, who was still very strong in the church and doing her best to keep Khonkaen strong. Anyway, I came in contact with her again on a really hard day and it turned everything around for me. The icing on the cake was this picture below of Nok at the Hong Kong Temple (she is on the left). There is no greater reward for missionary service than temple attendance. Thanks for staying strong Nok.

The Five Most Beautiful Things (according to me)

I (Matt) was inspired to write this by a number of breathtaking things I have seen lately, (mostly in my own household) and just had the bug in me to go forward with it. So here goes.

5. Mountains. I recently posted my love for the Sierra Nevada, so here I will dream of mountains covered in trees of the Tropical Rain Forest. A few months ago, I traveled to Puerto Rico for a "work trip" and had a fantastic time spelunking and catching bats and bugs. I just love the rain forest! The first picture is where I would sit and eat meals at the field station in the morning and evening. The second is from a cave we climbed through, and to our surprise, we found an exit that was 200-300 feet high on a cliff overlooking one of the most amazing places I have been. Good times.


Ahh.... mealtime, this beats reading the box of cereal


A nice surprise in the dark cave


Playing with bats.


Did I mention? The beaches on there were pretty nice.




4. Fall in New England
For this I have to borrow from the words of Bill Bryson

"New England provides a setting that no other in America can rival. Its sunny, white churches, covered bridges, tidy farms, and clusted villages are an ideal complement to the rich, earthy colors of nature. Moreover, there is a variety in its trees that few other area achieve: oaks, beeches, aspens, sumacs, four varietes of maples and others almost beyond counting provide a contrast that dazzles the senses. Finally, and above all, there is a brief, perfect balance of its climate in fall, with crisp, chilly nights and warm, sunny days, which help to bring all the deciduous trees to a coordinated climax. So make no mistake. For a few glorious days each October, New England is unquestionably the loveliest place on earth."

Having now moved away from New England, we miss it terribly, however, we have found that Western New York has a great amount of charm and the leaves are very nice here as well.

Sunderland MA, pretty much exactly what Bryson described


The Coast in Maine, there is no rival to this area in Fall.


3. Southern Utah Canyon Country in the Winter.
I love the desert. One of the best books ever written is Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. Beautiful Prose. Well, I love the silence, solace, beauty, stillness and peace that I find best when sitting quietly overlooking something pleasing to the soul in the desert. Winter is even better because, the air is crisp and cool, there are never other people, you can hike for hours without over heating and there is something about having a small amount of snow dusting over the desert floor that enhances the landscape just that much more. So here are a few shots from the last time I got to go to the San Rafael Swell in the winter.







2. My Girls
As I eluded to above, this blog was inspired by something beautiful in my home. Well, it was my nightly ritual of checking on Ashlan and Elli as I go to bed. Each night my heart is full to bursting as I look at them so peacefully sleeping in the quiet dark of our house. Sometimes I want to sit and stare for a few minutes, other times I am overcome with the urge for a good cuddle or squeeze and on rare occasions I just want to wake them up and play with them. Now I think they are always beautiful, but there is something about them sleeping contently that is really amazing (I hope it isn't just because they aren't making noise). I don't have any shots of the sleeping so I will just post these from the first day of school, more pictures of them are below.

Ashlan


Elli


1. Stacie
I really don't know where to begin with this one. Stacie is the essence of beauty. Inside and out she is the most beautiful person, place or thing I have ever known. There are times (quite often actually) when I look at her and think, "I have no business being married to such an amazing person" but I am and she can't get out of it now, so... lucky me. I would love to go on, and I would, but I know that the more I say, the higher likelihood there is that she will "unpublish" this blog post. In fact if you are reading this, consider yourself lucky, I don't expect it to be up long. Anyway suffice it to say, I am madly in love with this woman, when I count my blessings she is the first, the last and every other in between, and I would be lost without her.


Isn't she gorgeous!



Between my family, my home town and my job, "there is beauty all around". So yeah, I think I am pretty lucky.

I want to see mountains again...

Ah Buffalo, it really is a great town, but what is has in fun weather it lacks in mountains. Early in August, I got to spend a few glorious days in the Sierra Nevada range with Stacie's two brothers, backpacking in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Our destination was Twin Lakes which was rated as a "strenuous" hike, but we saw the mileage (just under 8) and thought, "easy, peasy, lemon squeezy".

We set out after Scott and I had gotten, literally no sleep, as we had both traveled from New York all night, arriving in Merced, CA just as the sun was rising, to an anxious Kevin, bursting with energy and a strong desire to hit the trail. In the first image below you can see our optimistic faces, 3 miles into the hike and just before the 2500 ft elevation climb that nearly put my system into shock.(As it turns out... living at sea level + flying all night with small children + hiking to 9500 ft + swimming in a cool crisp alpine lake = a few rough patches for Matt Gruwell. Scott handled himself much better.) The picture was taken in Cahoon Meadow and we joked about climbing the top of the peak seen above our heads. Silly fools, we camped a good 500-800 ft above that peak and in the end hiked to 1500 feet above it.

Once I had some hearty Lasagna with meat sauce (compliments of Kevin) it was time for some evening fly fishing. The fishing was fantastic (a strike on every well placed fly) and the fish were beautiful brook trout. We let them all live and I might have glimpsed heaven as I sat, fishing in this amazing lake as the sun went down.

During the night we had a fun visit from the deer shown in the third picture. I was sleeping under the stars and had a good fright (this was bear country) as the foot steps of this fine animal approached. Kevin was even more startled as he was caught with his pants down (not figuratively) when the deer came into camp. To our relief, it wasn't a hungry bear and while it stayed around for the next few hours, I found it comforting company because having her around meant that there were no bears.

The next day we set out for Silliman pass into Kings Canyon and saw a really good sized chunk of the world. I can't describe the feeling, but it was wonderful to behold the great western divide of the Sierra Nevada range in all its glory. It rekindled the East Coast/West Coast battle inside me as we will be seeking gainful employment over the next few years. I really miss mountains...

Childish optimism



Reelin them in, one at a time



The Night Watchman



Ahhhhh - Sierra



Overlooking our campsite on one of the twin lakes



Coming down the mountain

Dancing Through the Summer

Summer has begun and we are filling the days with FUN! We started the vacation dancing, with Ashlan and Elli's ballet recitals. Ashlan's was a dance with Winnie the Pooh and Elli twirled to princess music...very fun! (Ashlan's recital was on a Sunday, so we went to a dress rehearsal.)













































































Just two days after school got out Ashlan had surgery to remove her adenoids and tonsils. We recently found out both were enlarged and the large adenoids were blocking her sinus airflow. It has been so sad because she has not been able to breathe or smell or sleep well. The surgery went so well, and I feel deeply grateful for the blessings that come from prayer and priesthood blessings. Ashlan was such a trooper and had an amazing recovery. Her snoring no longer rocks the house! Below is a picture of the darling quilt they had for her on her bed at the surgery center. This little quilt was waiting for her when we arrived...they give one to each of the children, they get to keep it with them during their stay, and then take it home with them. It was so sweet to see it over her in the big, white hospital bed, and it made it all seem so much less sterile. She took that little quilt with her everywhere she went for days. So, message to Relief Society Women...the quilts you tie pay off!!




















That same weekend Matt and I snuck away for a night out with wonderful friends to see the play Wicked. It was fabulous, of course, and we continue to get the songs stuck in our heads. We followed the play with dessert at the Chocolate Bar- how can you go wrong! Thank you Amy & Ryan, and Eliza & Brad, for a super fun evening and your friendships that bless our lives.




































And as for Fourth of July festivities, we spent the holiday camping with 5 other families in Allegheny State Park. We are so grateful for good friends! It was beautiful and lush and green, and we loved escaping into nature, sitting at the campfire, exploring and hanging out at the lake. They had a fireworks show over the lake on July 3rd (we sat on top of the car for the show.) I LOVE fireworks! Matt and I joke that the only arguments we ever have are over me wanting him to drive faster to get to the fireworks! We came home on July 5th and, lucky for us, our little town of Clarence was having their Independence Day Celebration that day, so we had a traditional 4th of July BBQ and headed to the town park for fireworks, again. It was very fun, and we are reminded of our deep gratitude for this amazing free land in which we are blessed to live.








































































Tip of the Week:

I love entertaining and decorating, and all things party....so I thought I would add a "tip of the week" each time I make a post, just for fun! The tips may be something I've seen somewhere and tried, or an idea I've created.
This week's tip is a simple way to name that place at the table! You can do this with any color or font- here I made it more fun for a birthday party, a black and white cursive would add a formal touch.

The Little Joys of Life

The last few months have been full of so many wonderful events and fun times, that when put together define what makes life great. Isn't it the little joys along the way that make all the difference? Time with family, friends, and just being together....

We took a trip to California in March for my brother's wedding. Scott was married to Alisa Leonard in the San Diego temple. WE LOVE OUR FAMILIES! It was so great to be with everyone and we love Scott and Alisa so much. We've been blessed to live near them (they live in Manhattan) over the last few years and we love it! The sealing was very special, performed by my father, while all seven of his children, their spouses and his wife sat in the room with him. A tender moment that words can't quite describe.













































































In May we celebrated Elli's 4th Birthday...I can't believe my "baby" is 4 yrs. old! My father always says "every year goes by faster", and I am beginning to see what he means. We love our little Elli and are so grateful for the pure JOY she brings to our home. She is one ticket full of smiles and sweet expression and she literally lights up our lives! Here are some pictures from her birthday dinner and Butterfly Birthday party- she was insistent and ecstatic about having a "butterfly" birthday...we painted butterfly wings and all! (I'm a bit of a birthday cake fanatic!)























































































Elli's birthday was immediately followed by a visit from my sister Kristin, her husband Greg and their little Jake, also 4. It was fantastic to have them here, and we had oodles of fun! We visited Niagara Falls and the church sites, and just played- including chocolate pedicures and lunch at Cheesecake Factory for Kristin's birthday! They joined us on a trip to Masachussetts for Matt's commencement (he finished in August but commencement is only held in May). What an emotional moment it was to watch Matt walk across that stage...a fabulous "cherry on top" to the work, tears, and smiles of the last 6+years! We were so happy to have family and friends there to share it with us- their support and love has made all the difference. We sent Kristin and Greg off from there and then spent some time in Mass. with Matt's parents, and our Massachusetts family- such wonderful friends. Matt's mom and I topped off the trip with a few days playing in Boston, visiting museums, SHOPPING (of course!), and discovering little crepe restaurants....it was a joy to spend time with her.



























































































































































































And now, Ashlan is finally out of school (they went until June 24th!) and we are gearing up for summer! We've got a lot planned, we'll keep you "posted"....(I promise not all posts will be this long...I had a lot to catch up on!)