Dear Family & Friends,
We are coming up on our 10 year anniversary in February so we figured it was a good time to actually take and send out family pictures with Christmas cards. Will it be another 10 years before we do this again? Probably! So don’t get your hopes up of receiving a Christmas card every year. Ha! Where do I even start? This year we did a lot of camping trips as part of our homeschooling/life experience education and we have loved the adventures every time!
In February, we made our annual pre-Lenten trip and stayed for a few days at Martin Dies Jr. State Park in Jasper. Carmen’s family joined us along with Dad. I remember driving into this park for the first time and Genevieve noticed the “pets only on leash” sign. She said next time we should bring the goats! Matthew, Dad, and Lil Matthew (Matthew²) rode their bikes a few miles to the other side of the park and the adults couldn’t keep up with 6 year old Matthew²!
In March, we went old school and did some tent camping for two nights in San Antonio for the pilgrimage to the Missions…which also apparently was our last ever tent camping trip as Matthew declared never again. I’m sure it didn’t help that the tent we borrowed had no stakes, haha. Even though the pilgrimage was in March, it ended up being the hottest day of the year so far. The kids made it about 7 miles of the 10 or so total miles walking in the 90 degree weather before they needed a break. But we survived to tell the tale and it was an edifying trip.
In May, we decided we wanted to find a spot we could camp where Andrew (my brother) could join us as he was always at college in Lubbock for our other trips. Dad flew up after Andrew finished spring classes at Texas Tech in early May and met us at Palo Duro Canyon. We stopped at Abilene State Park for a night on the way up where we were met with a sudden West Texas hail storm shortly after we arrived. The camper now has a few more dents to prove it.
Palo Duro quickly became one of our favorite state parks due to the different landscape and incredible views. The kids loved “blazing their own trail” through the canyons and caves and Genevieve declared herself “a mountain goat” with all the climbing she did. We even managed to complete the famous 6+ mile “Lighthouse Trail” during which Matthew² spotted one of the rarely seen Aoudad sheep at the top of one of the canyons. We saw roadrunners, wild turkeys, huge lizards, and a Hognose snake which crossed our path on one of the trails behind camp. Another West Texas thunderstorm in the middle of the night echoed through the canyon and brought pouring rain which ended up being too much for Andrew’s tent. He had to retreat to our camper couch which was probably 2 ft too short for him. But all in all memories were made and we will 1000% be back. On the way home, we stopped for two nights at Ray Roberts Lake State Park to attend Sunday Mass at the Sanger chapel since Matthew’s former classmate from HS, Fr. Fabula, is pastor there. We enjoyed catching up with him for a bit before enjoying the last day of our “trip of the year” and heading home.
In early June, Matthew and I (along with Isabella) made a short weekend trip to Schulenburg to visit the Painted Churches for my 30th birthday. Matthew’s brother Thomas and now fiancée Patricia met us there and toured some of the beautiful historic churches with us. After which we visited the Shiner brewery and played some cornhole. We also had a chance to shop at some of the garage sales that were part of the “90 miles on 90.” It was a fantastic birthday weekend!
In July, we decided to go to Guadalupe River State Park in the hopes that we could float the river, but this time Matthew’s parents brought their motorhome and joined the party. It was HOT as expected for Texas in July so we swam in the river just about every day. The water was low though due to the drought so there wasn’t much floating to be had. In fact, the river at its deepest in most spots was 4 ft or so. Even the water was hot so it wasn’t as refreshing as it could have been.
In September for Labor Day, we visited Dinosaur Valley State Park in Glen Rose. It was hot there as well and the river was completely dry due to the drought. We literally walked most of the park in the river bed. We did take some amazing hikes with fantastic scenic views though. I’m not sure how much we believe that the “dinosaur tracks” we saw in the riverbed are actually real tracks. On our last full day, we visited the town of Glen Rose and an old school soda shop, where Isabella dumped all of Matthew’s drink all over him. That night the electricity in the entire state park went out. Fortunately, it was not humid at all there and we survived just fine without AC. We still don’t know why the electricity went out but we blame it on the fact that on the way out, we saw an electric car plugged in at one of the campsites charging, haha.
In mid October, we decided to head to Lost Maples State Park. Funny story: when I was checking in when we got there, I noticed a couple in line with the wife wearing a scapular, veil, and crucifix. It turns out they drove straight from the SSPX chapel in San Antonio. What a small world! The weather at Lost Maples was AMAZING, the burn ban was lifted just in time for us to have campfires, and the star views at night were UNREAL! We did two days of hiking 6+ miles to the scenic overlooks and the kids did fantastic on the steep climbs. The best part was there was NO CELL SERVICE except at the top. We also visited Bandera along with a painted church where some of the groundskeepers asked us if we could move there when they saw our passel of kids. Dad came with us on this trip so we got to visit one of his clients nearby at the Frio River where the kids swam for a bit in the chilly water. Although the trees weren’t quite the fall orange colors yet that this park is famous for, we loved it and will definitely be back. Just the drive there had breathtaking views!
Our final trip of the year this year will be Fredericksburg just after Christmas. Instead of Christmas gifts and adding to the clutter, we are going to stay at a Yogi Bear Park for a week and visit Enchanted Rock State Park, Lyndon B Johnson Ranch, Johnson City, Marble Falls, and a few other places. After all, the experiences that we have had have been the best gifts of all. The things that the kids remember from these trips would AMAZE you!
Speaking of kids, Genevieve, 9, is in 4th grade, and has been taking piano lessons. She is a fantastic helper around the house and loves crafts. Matthew, 7, is in 2nd grade and will read a dozen library books in one sitting if you let him. He enjoys terrorizing his sisters but is a fantastic big brother to Isabella and was named the rooster catcher of the year. Gabriella, 5, is in 1st grade, knows how to read, and has amazing penmanship. She might have an attitude like her mother, oops, but she loves to help and is currently the designated mail fetcher. Victoria, 4, is a quiet one who likes to keep to herself and do puzzles all day long. She has been a fantastic help in the kitchen with dinner prep. Adelaide, 2, is the diva who wears her princess dresses and high heels all day and orders her older siblings around, making them bring her blanket and pillow to her wherever she goes. She loves dancing, singing, and carrying her mini chicken by the tail. Isabella, 1, is our blue-eyed little doll who walks, talks, sings, and climbs on EVERYTHING. Her favorite place to look at books is sitting on top of any of her siblings on the living room floor. She is loved by all!
Matthew stays busy with Matties Auto Repair and collecting cars including another motorcycle just last week (this makes 5, not all run). Reid called our yard “an enchanted forest of cars” with Gen’s piano teacher calling it a “graveyard,” haha. The appraisal district sure didn’t believe it was a junkyard though. Matthew also always stays busy with never-ending house projects as well as with everything he generously volunteers for. He “retired” from singing in the schola at Queen of Angels but came out of retirement for Lent and now Advent while also serving Mass at least once a week and coordinating Apostles Night at church. He is still in charge of bringing donuts every Sunday while he also leads the rosary before early Mass. When he has time, he enjoys (mostly) golfing with his brothers. Like, literally, what does this guy NOT do. Haha. He’s great and we love him and we are all grateful he goes along with all of my crazy traveling plans and ideas.
For me, I enjoy staying home whenever I can and avoiding strange people or really any people, introvert that I am. Matties Medicinals continues to be busy enough that I’m shipping elderberry kits across the country every month. If I’m not selling elderberry then people are most likely asking me for advice for different ailments and what Earthley remedy to buy. I’ve also been coordinating our Ladies Night events at church (or trying to) and taught a sourdough class earlier this year. I continue sharing about our little life, natural remedies, homesteading, homebirth, sourdough, cooking from scratch, liturgical living, camping, frugal living, budgeting tips etc. with a side of no filter opinions on random topics on my Minding My Matties pages. Some people seem to like it, others may not, haha.
On the homestead, we hatched chickens in the spring although most of them ended up being roosters. We have nine Nigerian dwarf goats now including a 3-legged goat (would that be 8 ¾ goats?) and two sets of adorable twins born in the past few weeks! The spring garden gave us some tasty cantaloupe, cucumbers, basil, and tomatoes, as well as a few pumpkins and green beans. Our fall garden is still going and has potatoes, broccoli, bell peppers, green beans, peas, parsley, and cilantro. We are hoping to improve it even more and possibly expand the garden plot next spring. We planted roses around the outdoor statue of Our Lady that I got early in the year and they have been thriving!
We are truly blessed with what we have and thank God for the blessings He has bestowed on us in our simple life. It isn’t always easy but hard work combined with trusting in God’s plans has proven to always be worth it. We hope you all have a happy and joyous Christmas season as we look forward to what God has in store for us in the next year!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Matthew, Jacquelyn, Genevieve, Matthew², Gabriella, Victoria, Adelaide, & Isabella
