Just another Thursday

Well, Halloween is finally almost here! So says Gabe. Me, I'm excited because Gabe doesn't like nuts, so I'm looking forward to all the Snickers that are coming my way. (For the bargain price of $30. It's not really free if you take into account the money you put into a costume.) Oh, well. It's fun. I'll post pictures of the boys dressed up soon. Gabe is going to be Darth Vader and Malachi is going to be a monkey. Gabe has is class party tomorrow morning and then we will go to Mike and Kathy's Halloween party on Saturday. They should have fun.

Class is going well. I got an A on my first test. That felt great. Although our paper is a reasonably fun project, it's a lot of writing. We have to watch the movie "Catch Me if You Can," and write a case formulation and diagnose the main character who is played by Leonardo DiCaprio. At least he's nice to look at, since I've had to watch it many times already.

The family is all doing well. Not much to report on. Chi definitely grew some, but I think he's still growing. He is a bit tired lately.

Catapults and Ca-chow!

Greetings. We've been keeping busy this October. It's funny, at the beginning of the month I made the comment that October is always so long, but then the rest of the year flies by. Spoke too soon.

We have had a bit of bad luck with weather on the weekends, but we have persevered. Last Friday, every one had the afternoon free, but it was a cold, rainy day so we went to Bronner's Christmas World. It was, of course, a bit cheesy, but fantastic too. They really focus on the ornaments and they have one for everything. We found flamingos, vegetables, including garlic, every character under the sun, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was hard to not feel like Christmas was just around the corner when you are in that store.

On Sunday, the weather was slightly improved, so we braved the chill and went to Johnson's Giant Pumpkins. They had horse rides (only $3! If you don't pay for kid's activities nowadays, let me tell you, that is a bargain.) and all sorts of activities. Malachi is fond of the goats. He just kept feeding them and petting them and in general hanging out with the goats. So, then we went and watched them launch a 80 lb. pumpkin from a giant trebuchet. All were duly impressed. The boys picked out their pumpkins (just regular size ones, but they really had giant ones for sale too) and we got a giant bag of fresh kettle corn, and took our frozen ears home.

Malachi is attempting more words. His current favorite, is from the movie Cars. Every time he see Lightening McQueen, Chi says, "Ca-chow!" It's funny. He even grabbed Gabe when he wore a Cars shirt and held him down, pointed and said, "ca-chow!" until we made him let Gabe go.

Gabe

The other day Gabe was talking to me about what he will name his dog when he gets one. Finally he settled on Thomas, but then he asked me if I wanted to name the dog Thomas like the famous inventor (he means Edison) or Thomas like the train. I said I wasn't sure I wanted to name it Thomas at all because what if it was a girl. He said no, you have two choices, Thomas like the real one or Thomas like the inventor. Oh, he cracks me up.

Adulthood

So, the question is often posed: when did you know you were an adult? Answer: today. Today I realized that when you are an adult you are often confused, but you also realize that there is very little you can do to eliminate or ignore confusion, you just live with it. The only thing I know for sure is that I don't know.

Basically we have to make grand life decisions. We don't love Midland. It's just a town. It's not bad, but it's nothing to be excited about. There are some good things though, like Gabe likes his school, there are activities for kids (if you have money, luckily we have enough for some options), and we figure over the course of the year we will start to meet people which always makes a place feel better. That being said, neither of us can imagine wanting to stay in Midland long term.

We have now visited Frankenmuth twice and we like it. But it's a small town, albeit cool, which may have fewer offerings. We are still trying to sort all that out. The thing Frankenmuth has over Midland, is that it is interesting. Just walking down the street is entertaining. Also, the parks are cleaner (the whole town is neat as a pin). We have no way to know with absolute certainty whether or not we would want to live there longer than a few years, but we think it's more likely than Midland. But do we move down there, only to move yet again soon, or do we think it will last longer. The other consideration is that the only nearby art therapist I can find is down near Flint, and if I was to do my clinicals with her, Frankemuth would make for a shorter commute.

Also, we know some of our problem with Midland is that we don't like our house and landlord that much. Would it be better if we had our own place? I think it would be, but I still have trouble envisioning life here long term. We did see our dream starter home today, but it's so darn cute it won't stay on the market long and we don't have enough for a down payment right now. We really need to wait until the summer.

We don't know how to decide, and we kind of wish we didn't have to, but eventually, a decision will have to be made. At least we have some time, but answering these questions isn't likely to get any easier. If anything, the more time Gabe spends in school and we spend in church, the harder it will be to decide what is really best for all of us.

Summary: adulthood equals confusion. Grr.

Chi

Malachi is enjoying the use of a new word. He uses it liberally. The word is: Mine!

Oh, the joy. So happy to be entering the terrible twos (January, just around the corner).

Today he attempted to play with a boy at the playground. He pushed him and then clapped. Oh, joy...

(Actually, it's all kind of amusing. Annoying, yes, but amusing too.)

Life and times

I have been absolutely terrible lately about updates. My apologies. We have been quite busy trying to get settled into our new routines. Gabe seems to be enjoying Kindergarten. He misses his old friends, but he is making new ones -- mostly girls so far. ;) Matt is overall enjoying teaching, but he's still a little hyped up. One of these days he'll settle down, I hope. He's beginning to get a reputation as the bad joke professor since he is starting his 112 class with a joke each meeting. He'll tell you that they are not bad because people laugh. I don't love my class per se, but the subject is interesting. I'm finding that it's a bit stressful to carve out time to study since I don't spend much of my time away from the house, I have to make a more concerted effort to get it done. Chi is just going with the flow.

My parents were here for a visit which was nice. We did a few things in the area, they took a day to go up to the north side of the bay and we capped the week off with Oktoberfest in Frankenmuth. Good beer and music. Gabe got a real Bavarian hat and he looks so great in it. The boys enjoyed playing on the inflatables. They had them all to themselves for quite awhile which was nice for them.

We still haven't picked a church. It's annoying because there are things we like and don't like and all of which are important to us, so it has become a matter of sorting through what we feel is the most important. But it's a factor in life that is making us feel a bit unsettled, so I hope we soon have a church.

I will leave you with my favorite of the jokes Matt has told so far.
What is E.T. short for?
Because he's got little legs!

School

I am enrolled in one class right now. I am hoping to go to grad school next fall, but I need a couple classes first. I am planning to get a masters in art therapy. So, right now I am taking Abnormal Psych. The book is interesting. The class wasn't so much. I hope that improves over time.

Matt has taught each of his classes at least twice now. I think he is settling down. He seems happier now.

Gabe went in for his assessment with his teacher. He got to meet Mrs. Price and look at the room and the school. Mrs. Price just had him show her what he knew basically. I didn't say anything beforehand. When Gabe was done, she said "wow." I will say that socially he is definitely a kindergartner, but he is a bit advanced for where they are planning to start. She said she is prepared to work with kids being at all different levels. I just hope Gabe doesn't get bored, and then get into mischief.