Lincoln's First Birthday

November involved taking several more Foundations classes for foster care.

I was asked to bring a meal to an inactive member of the church who had a newborn.  It turns out Vicki Hubbard had been in Young Women's with Debbie Hardy (Grandma) as a leader several years before.  So she recognized my name!  Not a coincidence, definitely the Lord is in the details.

We voted!

We started house shopping, I'm still not so sure about moving.

Dillan lost his second front tooth!

We replaced our 2 30-year-old aluminum sliding doors with one regular "energy efficient" new one.  While prepping the space for the new door Kyle messed up his back and was useless the rest of the day (and the next 2 days until he saw a chiropractor).  We had asked Josh (his brother) to come help lift it into place.  Josh and I (Kellie) ended up installing the door while Kyle laid on the floor.  

After a few visits to the chiropractor and a few weeks of rest Kyle was able to get the door just right.

 I wish I had something clever to say about this awesomeness.

 Dillan's creation

A cozy Saturday morning by the fire.

We had a crazy freeze.  School was cancelled.  Our front and side yard are shaded so the ice stayed for days longer than anywhere else.  They loved using cookie sheets as sleds and a skateboard without wheels as a snowboard.

We were excited to take the kids to go see the musical the local high school drama department was putting on: The Wizard of Oz.  It was cancelled due to the ice!  We were able to go the next weekend though, and it was a pretty special experience for the kids.  I'm impressed by how professional their productions are.

We had a 50 lb. box of apples and Hazel unloaded half the box onto the couch. I wonder why

 Dillan took some paper into his room to do art during rest time, this is what greeted me when I went into his room!  It flies really nicely.

 By Dillan

 Happy Birthday Lincoln!  I'm amazed and excited and surprised and little sad that you are one.  You are calm and curious and fun and loved by your family and neighbors.

 We drove the kids crazy by letting Lincoln unwrap his presents at his own pace.  They could not hold back their knowledge and enthusiasm for opening presents.  Lincoln got a lot of "help."

 At Red Robin for Lincoln's birthday.

 Red Robin

A few weeks ago we started Saxophone Sundays.  It's a hit with the kids.  I'm surprised that on their first day they could get the sound to come out right.  Their little hands and short arms aren't long enough to reach all the keys.

We made my Great Grandma Hugo's famous apple pie for Thanksgiving and enjoyed our meal at the Nagle's house because the Hardy Grandparents were out of town.

I informed Kyle that I didn't want to be stressed about Christmas this year.  He told me I didn't have to be.  So we ordered most of our stuff online and shopped in stores on Black Friday and that covered most of it.  Then I was free to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost for ways we could give during the rest of the Christmas season.  (More to come in December's post)

 Lincoln enjoyed the lights!

We put up our Christmas decorations on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to enjoy it all as long as possible.  We chose a tree that had been overlooking the creek on the Christmas tree farm; it was a happy tree!

This is the first year we went to Gresham's Christmas Tree Lighting at the Arts Plaza downtown.  It was pretty lame, I don't think we'll go again in years to come.

Aren't we fun? (and perhaps loony?)

In October we began Foster Parenting Classes.  There are 8 classes, 3 hours each as part of the certification.

 Kyle coached Dillan's YMCA indoor soccer team (that was a fun way of being a part of the community).  Goalie is the most popular position among 5 year olds, and Dillan was best at that!

In the same Friday evening we went to the Children's Museum and a Temple Family Night that the primary children in our ward had earned.  The Lord was supporting us, because normally Lincoln would not have lasted that late.  I'm glad we made the effort, it was peaceful and calm outside the temple with my family.  We got to watch a short film and do a scavenger hunt around the temple.

 This is General Conference!  The Piano Bench has some special art materials on it.

We enjoyed a crepe breakfast for Kyle's birthday before the Sunday Morning session of general Conference.

 Dillan, I'Janae(neighbor's boyfriend's daughter), and Hazel

 Gisselle, our neighbor.  I taught her the first song in the beginner piano book.

 They came up with a new game where they would push each other around in the strollers.  It was lots of fun (several days) until the fabric of the double stroller started ripping.  Now only the littlest ones can ride it in.

 Art time! (This happens a LOT!)

Dillan tried his hand at cinematography and directing with this.  He did about 5 takes, from a few different angles, different zooming, and different words.  It made me inexplicably happy to find these videos that I didn't know he had taken.

She got the camera out and tried recording herself singing.  This is the second take, with Mom's help holding the camera.

 I think our family portraits get better each year!

 Family day at the Pumpkin Patch in Sauvie Island!

 In the corn maze.

 An energetically interesting marching dance

 Our little family of pumpkins

We went straight from the Pumpkin Patch to dropping Dillan off at a play date with his friend Ammon.  Which meant playing in a Taekwondo studio (that his parents' own) and later participating in the beginner class with Ammon (because Mom was late picking him up). 

 Ninja Daddy!

Sometimes I get to participate in art time, that's the best.

This was a great activity on a dark fall evening.  It got their energy out and kept them going for at least 30 minutes.  We changed the "race" each time (backwards, crawling, spinning, crab walk...)

Our little Ballerina, ready for class.

 The after math of a now forgotten art project on our kitchen table.

 I love it when they love each other!

 Lincoln has the littlest pumpkin on the left, he put a hand print on it, much easier than carving on his behalf.

 Kyle's (a bat), mine, Dillan's (a skeleton), Hazel's (has plastic eyes on top you can't see in the dark)

We do exist! (Pictures of us on the blog are rare)

 He designed and made that himself.

 He lost his first tooth on the evening of Halloween.  That was more exciting than dressing up, trick or treating, and candy combined!

It was an interesting experience for me.  Obviously it meant he was growing up, but the ensuing lisp made him sound a lot younger.  How could he be so much older AND so much younger simultaneously?

Other Happenings in October:

We participated in a food drive in our neighborhood.

We went to a performance by the Oregon Ballet Theatre with the kids (designed for children)

We were fingerprinted for our background checks as foster parents.

Isaac (cousin) was baptized.  All the kids gathered around the glass to watch and Lincoln crawled right up to the front through everyone to see it.

Primary Program: Dillan had his part memorized, sang a little bit (which was more that last time) and has the best smile.

Carmenza Gonzalez, our Foster Care Certifier, came to our home to meet us, go over the basics, and make sure we were really serious about being foster parents.

Trunk or Treat

Car Repairs (now we're friends with the people who run Rob's Auto Repair): the starter, a water drainage system in the air conditioning box, and a new blower motor (for the A/C).