Well, I didn't quite succeed in getting out a year end letter or
even a Christmas collage card with cute photos from the last year, so for my
own sanity, I am finishing this year in review post by the end of
January...
The year 2017
will be a year that I will remember for the intense losses that we endured and
also one in which I experienced time and time again what it means to be engaged
in close community. Last year, we lost three members of Luke's family-
his aunt Cathy, or Tauntie as she was known to us, in Kalispell, MT who had
cancer, his cousin Erin who lived in Portland and endured a traumatic brain
injury as she was struck by a car while she was walking across the street, and
his grandpa Bob, who surprisingly passed away on the weekend we were in
Kalispell for Erin's funeral and to move him to Portland. We also found
out that the pregnancy we were so excited for ended in a
miscarriage.
During those seasons of waiting and sadness and grief, we did not
find ourselves alone, but rather surrounded by family and friends who walked
with us. The moments we spent in the ICU waiting room with housemates and
family of Erin were some of the most tender moments of the last year. The
food, flowers, wine, and notes of love that showed up on our porch after we
found out that we miscarried did not go unnoticed. When some of our dear
friends had their first foster placement of two brothers and in the same week,
ended up in the emergency room with one of their biological sons, it was such a
gift to lay witness to their community, of which we are a part, springing into
action. Whether it was group text messages coordinating who was going to
drop off meals and toothbrushes to them at the hospital or us being able to
bring the two foster sons into our home for a few days, the whole experience
made me grateful that I have people in my life I get to call on and also, that
I get the chance to be someone that others can lean on.
We are still certified to foster parents, but in this year, we
have welcomed in significantly less placements into our home. We had
several children for 2-3 months and were not called on to do as many emergency
placements as we had in years past. That doesn't mean that our home did
not often have additional children in it. We found ourselves more in a
role of supporting other foster families that we know, through picking up kids
from school, watching a 6 month old for a month so her foster family could take
a road trip, and regularly watching the foster son of dear neighbors and
friends of ours. It is easy to get caught up in wondering if we're doing
enough or if are still being part of the solution even if we don't have a
foster placement long term in our home, and I wholeheartedly believe that the
role we find ourselves in currently is much needed and a real, tangible way
that we can show love to other families and these children, and enable them to
keep on doing the hard job of fostering. Last year, we did have the gift
of reconnecting with several kids who had been placed in our home the year
before. We run into kids all over the place- at schools, where we are
dropping off new placements, or at city parks when we're celebrating my
birthday. We are happy to know that many of the children who were in our
home are now either living with relatives or in the process of moving in with
relatives.
Luke continues his work with ROSE CDC, working with the residents
who live at nearby affordable apartment complexes. One of the most
notable projects that he worked on last year was a partnership with Metro, and
involved getting youth out to different parks each month, with the aim of
teaching them basic photography skills. You can check out an article on
the project here.
The photos of the youth were printed and are posted in an outdoor permanent
setting a few blocks from our house in a highly trafficked area. He also
worked to organize and coach a soccer program for youth that live in the
neighborhood. He loves to play jazz whenever he can and had several gigs
last year, at places like Turn Turn Turn and the 1905. My favorite gigs though have been when he played at the
rooftop bar at our nearby New Seasons grocery store, because it means I get to
come with Dahlia!
This past year, I spent the bulk of my time being mama to Dahlia
and whoever else happened to be with us. That means, we spend lots of
time at local libraries for story times and community centers for indoor
park. We are also lucky to live in a place that has a wonderful park
system so we spend lots of time biking to different closeby parks on our hard
to miss, bright orange cargo bike. I continued to volunteer for cooking workshops with
an awesome neighborhood non profit called Zenger Farm, just up the street. In August, I
began part time work at the director of an organization called Foster Parents' Night
Out or FPNO. FPNO
hosts events statewide run by churches that offer foster parents a four hour
break once a month. We are in our 6th year of volunteering at FPNO, and
are grateful to local grandparents who watch Dahlia so we both can continue to
volunteer together. My new role means overseeing all of the sites in
Oregon and supporting new sites that are getting off the ground.
And now, for a quick month by month breakdown of things I don't
want to forget!
January:
-Lots of snow days
-Visited a very frozen Multnomah Falls
-Got my new cargo bike from a friend who was moving and promptly painted it orange
February:
-Had a nine year old boy with us for nearly three months
-John built a wood fired hot tub and needed a space to store it,
for which we graciously agreed
March:
-Mary Lou turned 60 and had a very fun, fitting party!
April:
-Trip to Zambia to see my sister and her family.
-Victoria Falls
-Camping overnight safari in Chobe National Park in Botswana
-Tauntie died
May:
-Rowena Crest hike with incredible wildflowers
-Good friends Carly and Matt Cross moved to Alabama
-My parents moved into their new home in Vancouver
-Obligatory trip to the Adelman Peony farm
June:
-Visit from Luke's cousins who live in Paraguay- Anna and Oliver,
along with their daughter Melissa and not yet born son Noah
-Finally painted our shed!
-Baby E, 6 months old, was with us for a month
July:
-Working on the addition where Grandpa Bob was going to move into,
including roofing
-Fun concerts at neighborhood parks
-Hannah and Quilen came for a quick visit, so we got to see her
growing belly
-Lots of time at OHSU in the ICU waiting room for Luke's cousin
Erin, which ultimately ended in saying goodbye to her
-Driving to Montana/Glacier Park/Grandpa's death/Memorial services
August:
-I turned 30! And though I was feeling worn down from all
the death and sadness, decided that was even more reason to celebrate, so
gathered with friends and family at a nearby lake for a bbq
-Eclipse which we watched from Portland
-Camping at the coast with some friends
September:
-Our sweet niece and nephew twins were born, Olive Catherine and
Josiah Booker on September 1st
-We visited Holden Village in the North Cascades, a place that
holds a lot of meaning for my parents and somewhere we hope to return to
-Celebrated Dahlia's birthday by visiting a nearby dahlia farm and
announcing our pregnancy
-9 year old A came to be with us for 2 1/2 months
October:
-Dahlia mailed her binkies to her baby cousins in Chicago
-We got away for our first overnight to Edgefield
-Apple Cider pressing party as usual on a gloriously sunny day,
which means we ended up with lots of neighbors but not enough cider to turn
into hard cider
November:
-Miscarriage (thought we were 11 weeks, but baby stopped growing
at 5 weeks)
-My sister visited for two weeks over Thanksgiving. We had a
nice time away at a cabin on Mt. Hood with my family. It was her first
time visiting without the kids and was fun, but definitely something was
missing.
December:
-Cookie Party
-Breitenbush with friends David and Ashley. Everything was
covered in ice and the starry night sky was incredible!
-Rockaway Beach for Christmas with the Bonhams
Click here to see more of the photo highlights from
the year!
