Time Flies- again!

Hello to all of my friends. I'm sorry there haven't been any recent updates. I kept thinking I should write, but I really had nothing to say. What I wrote in late July still seemed true for me through August! I continued house projects and playing with Malachi, and there was really nothing exciting to report. My computer also died in August, so that complicated matters for updating purposes. Dr. Dad brought the computer back to life, though, and I'm in business again!

Now we're in mid-September. I'd like to believe it's early September, since school just started, but the calendar is telling me a different story. I have to be honest with you, too- the cool summer really messed with my head. Although I normally love the fall and going back to school, I dreaded it this year. That could have been for more than just that reason, but I know the cold didn't help. I am starting to embrace the Fall now, but it's certainly been less of a smooth transition than most years.

I have spent 4 days with my new class- and PTL! I think I'm in for a magnificent year. We really had a fun week filled with smiles and new inside jokes. If you spoke with me over the summer, you know I was dreading teaching 5th grade again, but God knew what I needed, and HE directed the way. I really have a positive outlook after the last two weeks. :)

Another thing that happened in august- I bit the bullet and joined Facebook. I know, I know! I wrote a whole post about how I wouldn't! I found that I wasn't connecting with some friends who had moved away, and that they used Facebook to keep in touch. I figured I would try it. I am certainly not addicted, and am only visiting it about 1-2 times per week, so I'm feeling okay about it. I also am writing a post here on my very own blog, so I haven't abandoned my true love of blogging. :) I think it'll be okay.

Malachi still isn't walking yet, but it's more of a confidence thing, we think. He's practically running when holding on to something, and he can stand if you let go, but as soon as he figures out he's on his own he panics and squats to the ground. He's picking up new words all the time. He likes to say "beh-ba" for belly button and "mou" for mouse. He also loves his mommy and daddy very much, and hates to see them go. He usually gets over it about 2 seconds after we leave, though.

Well, here's hoping that you are finding joy in the Fall season! Here's hoping I also don't wait so long to write again! :) I'll definitely be writing again soon- we took family pictures again, so I'll have new ones to post soon!

Summer Projects and Fun!

I've definitely stayed busy while I've been at home lately. I must say that it has been SO fun to be home with Malachi to play, walk, wrestle, and hang out (among other things)! When he's napping or when he's at daycare on Wednesdays, I've been working on house projects. Below is the living room that I painted- it's a fun burnt orange color (it looks brighter in the picture than in person). I also decided to do an accent wall in our office the same color. Now I'm working on choosing paint for our hallways and kitchen. This week I also installed more shelves in our pantry, and added shelves to our coat closet to better utilize the space. It feels good to get the house in shape and organized, and it's also very satisfying to build something with your own two hands. :)

In other news, here are some fun videos of Malachi. I'm so glad I figured out I can record short videos with my camera. These are some of the fun things he is doing these days. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Here is Malachi barking like a dog (sort-of). It's the best one we've gotten on tape yet.

Enjoy some nose picking, meowing like a kitty, and a stupendous drum solo!

Malachi walking with the help of his Pooh walker. Notice he'll only do it on-camera when I'm not right in front of him. As soon as I move to be in front of him he gets down to crawl! :) Sorry if my moving-while-filming makes you a little nauseous. :P

Malachi's Cute Things

Malachi's been doing a variety of new things since the last time I blogged in APRIL. Uff-da! Anyhow, here're the highlights:

• He started getting serviced through the school district's "Birth-3" program. His first Physical Therapy session he went from exclusively army crawling to pulling himself up on furniture. It only took 5 minutes- amazing! I believe that was May 11th. We were hoping to see him improve in his ability to move to a sitting position after crawling (he couldn't do that in early May), pull himself up to a standing position, and eventually "cruise" along furniture. He was doing all of those things within weeks of the therapy! :)
• On June 8th he started climbing stairs. It was so out of the blue, and totally caught me off-guard. Here are 2 pictures from the second day of climbing:

• While we were in Cancun he started walking while holding on to someone's hands. I think he's very close to walking without help (gulp!).
• He started saying some words a few days ago. He now says "uh-oh!" The first time he said it was in the airport on Saturday. I dropped the wipes while changing him and said "uh-oh," and he repeated it. We think it is so funny! See for yourself- I caught it with my camera:
  
  
• He also now says "no" and tries to meow like the kitty. It's more like a "neow" but he changes his voice to be all high-pitched, and it is super cute! Also, when I point to the cows in his room and ask him what they are he says "Moo-ca," which I think is moo-cow. So many words and things in such a short amount of time.
• He's super giggly these days. It seems that everything we do there's a giggle with it. :)

Huh?!

I just brought up my blog, and let me tell you, denial ain't just a river in Egypt! I can't believe it's been since April since I've updated! That's just plain ridiculous. And yet, here's how my brain works. I'm busy, so I don't have time to update. Then when I have a minute, I think, "Oh! There's too much to talk about to sit down and do it now. I'll update later when I have more time." But then, later when I have more time, more has happened, and again I think, "Still too much to say, maybe later I'll have more time to get it done right." And this quickly snowballs until it's ridiculous how much has happened in life, and I can't update it all anyways.

So I think I'll try to just list some of the important events so that they're at least mentioned. If I ever find more time, I will do a proper post about them. :)

• The TeenMOPS fundraiser I last mentioned went very well. It was a lot of fun, and was a success!
• American Idol finished, and I was happy with the result (although totally and completely bummed that my man Danny didn't make it to the very end. At least Adam didn't win the whole enchilada!).
• I finished the school year, and am HAPPY it is SUMMER!
• I will be teaching 5th Grade again next year at my same school (L-O-N-G story).
• I threw John a surprise birthday party at the end of May.
• John had his 31st Birthday on June 1st.
• We went out to Michigan for Jared's wedding (my brother) to Becca on June 13th. It was Malachi's first flight, and we were there for a long weekend. Malachi did very well.
• We went on a Carlson family vacation to Cancun last week (June 20-27). It was gorgeous and fun! John's parents, sister and her daughter, and brother and his wife all joined us for the week. This was Malachi's first International flight (which was less smooth than the Michigan one, but not bad). Malachi also enjoyed going to the pool just about everyday, but hated the ocean.
• Malachi's started doing some fun and cute things, which I think I will need to do a subsequent post all about.

I think those are the main things. We are getting ready to go enjoy an Independence Day weekend up north- should be fun!

Ahhh... I feel so much better now that I have this off my back! Relaxation, here I come.

Silent Auction and Dinner!

Hello Friends! I want to invite you to a very special silent auction and dinner to benefit Teen MOPS. My church runs this awesome ministry to encourage pregnant or parenting mothers ages 13-19. It helps teen moms become more self-sufficient, confident, mature, giving, and self aware young women. I am helping organize the silent auction portion, and there are some wonderful items up for bid! Tickets are $8 for adults, and $4 for children ages 2-10. It will take place this Friday, April 17th from 6:30- 8:30pm at Christ Community Church. Oh! And the dinner is catered by Olive Garden- yum! Please register on-line prior to the event (the sooner the better!!!) here: http://www.icebrrg.com/Public/EmbedForm.aspx?formID=27114. If this link doesn't work for you, please let me know.
Thanks for considering this, and maybe I'll see you there!

American Idol "Top 9"

Last Night was the "Top 9." I'm watching it this afternoon so that I won't be so far behind, but I'm bummed I haven't been able to vote in a few weeks.
FIRST- I have to say I think the introduction of the judges at the beginning of each show is super cheesy, and I am SO over it! Also, as one of my friends pointed out, I'm irritated that Simon doesn't take his turn critiquing first. Hmm...

Alright, now that I got that out of my system, let's see if I can sum up each person's performance in 3 words or less...
Anoop- OK, not great.
Megan- Snore... Weird tone (still)
Danny- Gave me chills! :) (Wow, wow, wow!)
Allison- Indulgent; liked (the) guitar
Scott- Still: poor vocals!
Matt- Cool rock vibe! (OR) Growing on me :) (the judges were really hard on him!)
Li'l- Pitchy- not great. (the judges didn't say anything about the pitchy-ness?!!!)
Adam- Amazing vocals; (still) strange. (and what's with the Elvis hair-do?)
Kris- Wow! Loved it!

So- I got close to 3 words each! I am surprised that a few contestants I didn't like much a few weeks ago are becoming my favorites. I suppose that's what makes the show fun each week!

I think the bottom 3 will be: Megan, Li'l, and I don't know. I wish it would be Scott, but I'm thinking it'll probably be Anoop or Matt. :( We shall see!

"Heaven Practice"

We have what my friend Ron calls "Heaven Practice" this weekend at my church. Instead of the normal 3-5 singers leading the praise and worship for the services, we have a big contemporary gospel-type choir with about 30 people. It is so fun to be in, and so awesome to hear. If you're in the area and don't regularly come to Christ Community Church, consider this your invitation to join us this weekend! The services are at 5:30pm Saturday, and 9am and 10:30am Sunday. All services are the same. Maybe I'll see you there!