Christmas in Texas

we are having a VERY relaxing time here with family. it is always fun to be together! malachi is very much loving playing with his cousins. he is not used to so much activity but has seemed to blend right in. i did a horrible job last year of taking pictures so i am working hard at taking many more this time. i am feeling lazy right now and don't feel like getting up to get the camera to download but i will post some pictures later.
kurtis is enjoying the time off of work and soaking in all the time he is getting with malachi...and me i suppose :). as i write he is in the room laying next to malachi's crib as he takes a nap and kurtis is getting some much needed reading time (he has not had any time to read lately and he goes into withdrawals)
i am enjoying just being around family and having the extra hands around to help take malachi and give me moments here and there of alone time.
i'll try to post again in a few days...but no promises. ;)

Christmas Family Photo

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
...this is in lieu of our usual Christmas card :)

"Forget It" aka Rafiki

malachi's true feelings about the dog come out in his pronunciation of her name. :)

Finally a haircut

malachi's hair finally drove me crazy enough to take it upon myself to cut it. usually his grandma cuts it (which is a fabulous thing) but it hasn't worked out for her to cut his hair the last few times we've gotten together.
i looked online for ideas of how to go about cutting his hair and the one great tip i found was to let them watch a video. so i popped in the movie 'cars' to our computer, malachi was ecstatic cause he has never gotten to watch a video on our computer before and we don't have a tv. the only time he watches anything is when we are at someone else's house.
well i must say the movie worked wonders. he sat and let me take all the time i needed to get his hair finished. i am sure i will improve on my technique but for a first time toddler cut i was happy.

it's the little things

for me it's hearing a belly laugh from malachi, seeing him sit quietly and read a book by himself, a hug from a friend, being treated to a cup of coffee, getting an encouraging email. these are all things that bring joy to my life. as many of you have read in a previous post god blessed kurtis with a wonderful job a couple of months ago. we continue to thank him for it and are so grateful but it has been a difficult transition for us. we keep reminding ourselves that this is a season and god will get us through it but at times when it seems so overwhelming i try to appreciate the little things (and of course not forget those big things either).

well the other day it was fun to watch malachi appreciate a 'little' thing as well. we have some amazing friends and family that have been so giving and supportive for us over the last...well during this entire job searching/transition time...and of course it is never enough to say thank you but for now that is about all we can do. anyway, one of these terrific couples had bought a christmas present for malachi knowing that it would also be very helpful to us given that money has been tight to say the least. they gave us the gift early when they found out we were in need of it and boy was it a hit with malachi! who would've thought a box of diapers could be such an amazing toy! and to think of all the money that gets spent buying kids the newest gadgets. malachi walked on, stacked, carried and jumped over these diapers for a few days. thank you igos for the wonderful gift!!

36

we celebrated kurtis' 36th birthday today. i am embarassed to say this is the first year since kurtis and i have been together, including dating and married life, that i actually made a cake for him. i've decided this needs to be a tradition...i'll need to buy my own round cake pans then, thank you autumn for letting me use yours :)

malachi enjoyed yet another sugar high this evening, he's had more candy and chocolate in the last month than in his entire life combined...and we have how many days left before christmas?!