Recently at the Carlson home:

“Mommy! Come here quick! Pete pooped on the floor in the music room!”    

Yes, it’s that time again – potty training. And Pete (2 ½ ) is possibly the most  . . . hmmm . . . interesting one yet! Trust me, you don’t want to know the details!

Let’s see what else is happening here in Alpharetta   . . . Josh played football for the first time this fall and declared that it is now his favorite sport (surpassing soccer, baseball and swimming). He decided that he didn’t want to break any bones at the tender age of 8, so he chose to play FLAG football instead of the regular variety.

Meanwhile, Autumn (7) learned how to ride a bike, lost her first 4 teeth and perfected her backbend in gymnastics class. She’s decided that she loves to drink tea, either hot or cold, and that the Dunwoody Farmhouse Tea Shoppe is the best place to go for official afternoon tea.

Our other daughter, Elisabeth, turned 4 on October 1 and was already talking the next week about how she wishes she were going to be 5 soon. She also continues to ask Mommy when we are going to have 2 more baby girls to even things up. Our answer: “You just talk to God about that, sweetie.”

Since it seems I am writing this letter in birthday order (Pete = June, Josh = July, Autumn = Sept., etc.), I will talk about Sam (13 months) next. Have you heard the joke about the older brother named Pete and then the family has another boy . . . and what do they name him? Re-Peat! So besides Sammer Bammer, Sambo Man, Bam Bam and Sammy Whammy, Sam has earned the moniker, Re-Pete, quite dramatically.  We find him doing the EXACT things that Pete was doing a year ago  . . . falling down the stairs after figuring out the baby gate, pushing the on/off switch on the computer and more.

I guess the military/gun/bow & arrow phase is upon us. Jac turned 6 and asked for a full camouflage outfit for his birthday. After he put on all of his gifts, nobody could’ve seen him in the jungle – even from only 2 feet away. And although he doesn’t know it yet (we’re saving it for his Christmas present), he will soon be the proud owner of a Tootsie Texan cap rifle.

What about the adults living at 810 Nile Drive? Besides finally selling our old house after it was 20 months on the market, Kurt has recently started in a new position at the same company, DataPath – www.datapath.com . He is now in the sales division and is looking forward to selling the product he spent hours & hours developing. But if you have ideas for a family business, he’d be happy to listen!

I’ve been staying busy leading a subgroup of DASCH (Dunwoody Area Support for Christian Homeschoolers), called Considering Homeschooling. We are a local chapter of the national organization – www.consideringhomeschooling.com . It’s been thrilling to watch moms embrace the calling to bring their children home and know that God will enable them to do whatever He asks of them.

And finally, we hope you have a Merry Christmas and are thankful that it’s still legal to say that!

Kurt, Lauren, Josh, Autumn, Jac, Elisabeth, Pete and Sam