Who does Malachi look like?

I was going through some old pictures we had scanned for our wedding, and thought it might be fun to share them here. So- who does Malachi look like? I don't know if these pictures all place us at about the same age, but I figure it's pretty close. Cast your vote by commenting. We look forward to hearing your thoughts! :)

Finally Dealing with being "Tagged"

OK people, I hope you have learned a valuable lesson here. It is no fun tagging Sarah because she is SOOOOO ridiculously slow at following up on it. My husband would claim it is because I am "not good with administration," but I disagree. It is just that I have so many other things occupying my time, such as cooking him dinner, that I don't always get to the things I'd like to. (I love you honey!) Anyhow, here goes...

• Attached or Single? Most definitely attached to John. It will be 5 years on Dec. 19th!
• Best Friend? I guess I'll take the cop-out answer: John
• Cake or Pie? Pie- that's what makes Thanksgiving so great! (j/k... sort of)
• Day of Choice? Saturdays
• Essential Item? Hmmm... chapstick- I always have some in my pocket. A close second is minty gum.
• Flavor of Ice Cream? Edy's Lite French Silk-- yum, Yum, YUM!
• Gummy Bears or Worms? Worms- there's something about biting off a cuddly bear's head that just isn't as fun.
• Hometown? Rochester, MN (there's a song I'm singing in my head right now that starts that way. It was written by a teacher from my Elementary School- ask me to sing it for you sometime!)
• Indulgences? Fancy coffee from Dunn Bros., Caribou, Starbucks, and the like. Now also from the Cafe at my church (YEAH!). I also love to read when I get a few minutes. Reading by the beach or inside on a snowy day are two of my favorite pastimes.
• January or July? July- I'm off from work :)
• Kids? 1- our sweetie Malachi (9 months)
• Last Movie I saw in a Theater? We saw an awful, awful movie that I DO NOT recommend to anyone. "Burn After Reading"- I felt like I needed to scrub my brain after watching it. It was the closest I have ever come to walking out of a movie.
• Middle Name? Nadine (I love my middle name! It's after my Grandma on my dad's side)
• Number of Siblings? 3 sisters, 3 brothers, 2 half-sister, 1 half-brother!
• Oranges or Apples? Oranges, except for in the fall. Then I just love a good crunchy apple!
• Phobia or Fear? I am afraid of heights- actually of falling from them. I'm also not a fan of bridges.
• Quote? "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Phil. 4:13
• Reason to Smile? Some of these are so weird... I guess I'll say going on dates with John and playing with Malachi each make me smile. Oh! Especially when Malachi gets to giggling!
• Season? I love every season as it comes (my mother thinks I am nuts), but I do especially love Autumn. Plus, it definitely has the coolest name!
• Tag five more: I refuse! Ha, ha, ha!!!
• Unknown Fact About Me? See below...
• Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals? I am an omnivore.
• Worst Habit? Oops! I just discovered I missed this one. Hee, hee. I guess that makes it a bad habit- not quite following through with things. :P
• Xrays or Ultrasounds? Ultrasounds- I'm really not sure who would disagree.
• Your favorite Food? Shrimp, but a good steak or cheeseburger isn't bad, either.
• Zodiac? How should I know? I honestly don't pay attention to those things, nor do I really care. ;)

OK, that was part one. Now for part two. For this tagging wonderment I am supposed to come up with "7 random and/or weird facts about myself." Here goes:

1. I LOVE peanut butter. I've been known to take a big spoonful of the stuff out of the jar and eat it straight. Occassionally I mix it up and add a sprinkling of chocolate chips. Don't judge me!
2. I have 3 half siblings who live in Colorado. We hardly get to see each other- they are from my dad's first marriage. I feel bad that we don't have the opportunity to see more of each other, but I suppose it is what it is...
3. I am related to Rutherford B. Hayes- the president. My grandma on my dad's side was a Hayes, and she was related to him somehow.
4. Also on my dad's side we are related to the inventor of Tide detergent!
5. I wanted to be an artist when I was in elementary and middle school. I loved to draw and paint, and I hoped one day I would be able to do that as my job. It didn't quite work out, but every now and again I get to flex my artistic and creative muscles. That's how the painting of Malachi's room came about!
6. We had about a half-dozen different dogs as pets over the years growing up. None of them lasted more than about 2 years each before we sold them or gave them away. My family was awful with pets. Hmm... which reminds me of gerbils... Aha! Which leads me to my final fact...
7. I got to keep one of my class' pet gerbils when I was in 5th grade. After we had one I think my family bought one more. At any rate, they multiplied, and at one point we had more than 20 gerbils (I'm pretty sure it was 27-- AT HOME). We had this elaborate set up of plastic cages and tunnels. It was actually pretty impressive, and we all enjoyed them. After a couple of years it got to be too much, and the pet stores weren't interested in taking more than one off of our hands at a time. We decided to take the gerbils down to a nearby forest and "set them free." We went down there, and my sister took the bucket they were in and threw them (as in flying through the air) into the woods. I was SO mad at her, and am still a little miffed about it today. Those poor little guys probably broke their legs when they landed!

Anyhow... I am finally freed from the tagging! AND I refuse to tag anyone else. Sorry, but I'm notorious for stopping chain letters, etc. Oh! That was an 8th interesting fact. I better stop while I am ahead! Until later...

Some Pictures, etc.

Hello Friends! Apparently my attempt at making excuses in my last post didn't work so hot. You all got right back on my case. And, truth be told, I like it. It helps keep me motivated to get on here. I've had a lot on my plate lately, but I'm expecting things to normalize again here soon. 1st Quarter just ended at school, which might sound like a relieving sort-of-thing for the unobservant bystander. However, those of you with a teacher as a dear friend know that's not exactly the case. With the end of the quarter comes REPORT CARDS (da-da-DUM!!!). And report cards are no small thing to complete on a teacher's end. They take hours and hours, and unless you feel it's okay for me to stop teaching a class during the day so that I can accomplish this monumental feat of paperwork, that means hours and hours of my "free" time spent at school. I'm not complaining, I'm simply stating a fact. So, if you've wondered where I've been lately, the likely answer is holed up in my classroom grading and filling out reports.

So, enough with the excuses, already! I also still realize I've been tagged by a couple of friends. Now that report cards are done I may actually have the time to do superfluous and fun things. :)

Here are some pictures. I know many of you have been dying to see some of the growing boy lately. Here're some snapshots from our life...

From this summer- sitting with cousin Nevaeh and Grandpa Winston at Ron and Doreen's.

Beating up on his bigger cousin. :)

Malachi in his dinosaur costume that Grandma Sands gave us. He wore it to a costume party in early October.

Malachi's eating solids these days! He loves veggies, and is also now eating in his real high chair (not in this picture).

He's starting to sit up. Here he is sitting on Daddy!

It's cold around here! This jacket is cute and functional!

Although I struggled with whether or not to take Malachi out on Halloween (I never celebrated the so-called holiday growing up), I compromised and we went around our circle. It was fun, and Malachi was a good little froggy! (He started as a ladybug at daycare- but had a poo incident. A froggy was a good backup.)