Mr. D

We had D with us for  a little over a month.  He was our first foster child.  This was quite an experience.  Hans and I started this process saying that we would only take kids 3 and below, and right out of the gate they approached us about a 5 year old.  The case workers sure know how to sell it and against our original plan we took him in.

He really is a sweet kid.  He learned a lot about sharing while he was here and stuck to a schedule.  Two things I'm sure he had never done before.  He usually had a smile on his face and he loved getting hugs.  It was sad to see him go.  Hans and I realized quickly that our kids did not take disrupting the birth order well.  It was painful to watch our three change so drastically in a couple of weeks.  As hard as it was to request that D be placed in another home, we were happy to know that he was placed in a good home.  I still keep in contact with his new foster family.

But our time with D wasn't all tears.  We had a lot of fun while he was here too.

 My mom bought all of the boys Ninja Turtles costumes for Halloween and the boys had so much fun playing with them.

The day before he left we sat down for a family picture.  

The boys still talk about him.  They miss him, as we all do.  It took some time, but eventually I saw my boys transform back to their original personalities.  I think everyone is better with things now.

Crazy Sock and Hat Day

The boys had another spirit day at school.  They both loved Cowboy Day so much they couldn't wait to wear crazy socks and hats.

 The boys decided to coordinate their crazy/mismatched socks.  They also took it a step further and wore mismatched shoes.

Anders was feeling a little left out.  So he told his brothers his was having Cool Day at school.

Yoga with Grandma

After that big Thanksgiving meal the boys needed to do a little workout.  So they enlisted the help of their yoga-doing Grandma.

 Now, one would think seeing Gus in his pjs that it was late.  It was probably only 5 o'clock.  Gus would live in pajamas if I let him.

 Two of the Fiene boys were actually trying out these moves.  One of them was being ridiculous.  Care to venture any guesses?

 Doing a little cool-down.  Looks like it is time for bed.

Thanksgiving Festivities

Yes, I know it is way past Thanksgiving.  I'm behind.  Way behind.  But it is this or nothing at all.
 
We went down to Zionsville, IN for Thanksgiving this year.  River of Life has a Thanksgiving Eve service so Hans had no service obligations on Thanksgiving Day.  We woke up early that morning and made it to Zionsville in time to surprise his parents at their church service. The boys even picked out matching sweaters to wear.  They actually still like matching.

 We attempted a family picture with the matching boys.  If only they could have matching smiles...or at least all be smiling.

 Great Grandma Fiene was in town so we had to get a picture with her too.

 The table was set and we were all waiting for some delicious food.  I was just hoping Fritz wouldn't try to get under the table and break everything.

 We were excited to spend some time with Jake, Ashley, and our adorable niece, Finley.

 Finley definitely stole the show.  Grandma and Grandpa just couldn't put her down.

 Finley had just turned the big O-N-E a couple of days before Thanksgiving.

 I know the parents of an adorably cute child get lost in the crowd.  But we were super excited to see them too.

 Anders was willing to share his new toy...for about 5 minutes.  Then he picked up something else to distract Finley so he could take his toy back.

 Hans and I enjoyed some mimosas.

 Uncle Christian enjoyed spending time with his nephews.  We didn't think we were going to see this California boy, but he was able to fly in and surprise all of us at the last minute.  We loved seeing him.

See?  He is fun and crazy.

We all had a ton of fun and a Happy Thanksgiving.

Flossing

The dentist came in to Anders' school to talk about dental hygiene.  Anders was obsessed with flossing for the next few days.

 He came downstairs one morning flossing like this.  Needless to say we've been going through a lot of floss.

And of course, when one boys gets his picture taken the other one wants his done too.  And there is Anders still flossing.  I wish I got video of this, he looks like he is sawing something.

Sophie's Basketball Game

We were able to go to several of Sophie's basketball games this past season.  I only brought my camera to one game and it was my old camera at that.  So many of the pictures were blurry.  I'll just blame my camera and not the photographer.  I'll be anxious to see if my new camera does a better job.

 I know this picture is very blurry.  But for whatever reason I like it.

 There is Sophie, #50, going in for a rebound.

 A quiet, still moment.  She is concentrating on her next move.

 And she is off!  Stealing the ball from the other team.  She goes on to make a basket.

There also happened to be a girl from church on Sophie's team.  Ashley is the one taking the foul shot.  She was in the game for all of 1 minute before getting fouled.

We had fun going to the games.  Ashley has a brother a year younger than John.  They all had a good time together sitting in the stands and eating popcorn.  We can't wait for next season.

Minecraft Cakes

I was asked to make a Minecraft cake for a little boy's birthday party. I'm sure all they were thinking of and expecting was a sheet cake with some simple Minecraft image piped on.  But I decided to try out a couple of new fondant recipes and some new tools.  I ended up making two cakes because they wanted half white, half chocolate and this was the easiest way for me to do that.

 I don't actually play Minecraft.  After doing some image searches I was able to find that this looks like part of the game.  That ends my Minecraft knowledge.

 This one took FOREVER!  Each tile is cut out and placed by hand.  About a quarter of the way through I was really regretting my decision to do this.  But I'm glad I pushed through.

Everything is edible (well, not the toothpicks).  I regret that I didn't take a picture of this cake before I started packaging it up for travel.  The toothpicks were there to ensure the pickaxe didn't topple over in the car.

It's been a couple of months since I tackled this cake and I might take on a project like this again.  I said MIGHT. It was hours of work.  I now know why our wedding cake was so expensive.