Kincaid Family

Merry Christmas to all!

I have been terrible at blogging this past year, but thought I would write our family Christmas letter on here. Even though we had decided to not send out cards this year, the year was too eventful to not send out an update!

Where do I start? The year has been a character building year for us (hey wait- I thought we already had one of those!! :) ) but at the same time, a great year!

Here is a small summary:

Dan- in February Dan was promoted to Truss Design, along with the floor design work that he has been doing for several years. He was hired on by another company alongside Woodinville Lumber, called Tri County Truss. It was an unexpected job offer, but later on in the year we were able to see that the Lord orchestrated it and why! In early August, Woodinville Lumber announced that their owning company in Minnesota was filing Bankruptcy and would be closing Woodinville Lumber and Tri County Truss down. Wow. What a blow. Dan had always loved his work- he took pride in it, and enjoyed going each day. A job like that is hard to find! And within a blink of an eye it was taken away from him. But, of course, the Lord never once left our side- within a week he had 5 or 6 job offers! And it was all thanks to his new job training in Truss Design! Currently, Dan is working for a company called Pro Build and he designs Trusses for them. It is definitely a change- he has a very long commute now, among other things, but we are so very thankful for a job.
Kerri- I am just thankful I had the time to sit down and write this letter! This past year has been a whirlwind of a year! Between teaching piano, doing photography jobs, training for my first 1/2 marathon, and running this house of three busy kids I haven't had a lot of "down time"! My "me time" is spent at the YMCA working out- I get 1-1/2 hours of childcare a day with my membership! To some it may be torture, but to me it is my outlet!
I did run the Seattle Rock 'N Roll 1/2 marathon this past summer with Team World Vision! I raised about $700 for clean water in Africa and ran the marathon in 1 hour and 56 minutes, so I was pretty happy about that!

Jacob:

Jake is in first grade now. He played Little League baseball and soccer this year. The kid eats, breaths, and sleeps one thing: Soccer. Although he recently told me that going to church was his favorite thing to do in the whole world! :)

Olivia:

Liv is home with me for one more year before Kindergarten starts. I have overheard her tell people that the reason why she is not in preschool is "because I am too smart"..... :) She loves her barbies and pretty much anything girlie. Her big accomplishment was learning to ride her bike this summer.

Samuel:

Sammy is 17 months now and is starting to talk and is a very busy (and goofy- full of character!!) boy. If he isn't dancing on top of the kitchen table, he is playing in the toilet... fun times! He has been pretty sick this year- they finally put in ear tubes in March, so far it hasn't done the trick- I think he has ear infections more often than not :( but he sure is a special kid!

Some highlights of our year so far also include:

*Kerri and kids flying to Manitoba to meet the latest "additions" to the family; Tianna, Meskerem, and Paulos. (below are the cousins on the Martens side of the family)

*Meeting up with Kerri's brother, Trevor, and his wife Susan and daughter Tianna on the OR coast

*In May Dan's brother Travis, his wife Rashelle, and their three kids moved to the area from Tennessee! The cousins love seeing each other weekly- it is wonderful to do "life" with them. There are now 8 Kincaid cousins to play with! 4 of them were all born within a few months of each other last year. Here are the "newest trouble makers" at the cabin:

*Driving to Manitoba this summer. On the way there we took the long way and saw Little Bighorne battlefield, and Mt Rushmore amungst other historical spots Dan has always wanted to see.

Dan flew back after a week to get back to work, and the kids and I stayed for the rest of the month in Manitoba camping and hanging out with family. It was WONDERFUL!! My mom drove back with the kids and I- which I was extremely thankful for since we drove through a flash flood, a tornado, and then the van broke down in the middle of Montana and we were stranded there for a couple of days!

Dan and I also celebrated our 10 year anniversary this year! Although this seems like yesterday:

We celebrated it along with me turning 30 with a trip to Kona, Hawaii! JUST THE TWO OF US! My parents so graciously drove 1500 miles to spend quality time with their grandchildren so Dan and I could get away! Our first get away! It was amazing- we swam with sea turtles,saw dolphins, played in the ocean, saw volcanoes, flew to Pearl Harbor for a day (another thing crossed off Dan's bucket list now! ), and relaxed in the hot sun!

So, you have seen and read about some of the highlights of the past year. It's been a great year-and a busy year!
The photo below was to be one of those adorable holding hands and walking photos... but instead it depicts our lives 100%!
Sometimes we just have to laugh when things don't go as planned...

(Sam usually has his own agenda)....

Merry Christmas!

Love The Kincaid Family

Apparently this year is a significant year for me. I am turning 29 for the second time and it has caused me to do some reflecting on aging. On a run the other night a thought flashed through my mind "Am I becoming middle aged?". I have three kids, drive a minivan, and staying up "late" is 11pm. Do I think I am younger (and younger looking) than I really am? In my mind I still must be 22 or 23 tops.

Here is what is going on in our house right now:

Jake: "Dad, are you becoming a grandpa?"
Dan: "No, why?"
Jake: "Because your beard has white hair in it." (now, close to tears)
Dan: "No, that is just what happens when your hair gets old"
Olivia: "Well, can you water it?"
Dan: "No"
Jake: "Can you please shave the white off? I don't want it to be on there. What does it mean??"
And so goes the conversation for about 5 minutes. Jake is very concerned. I'm hearing the conversation unfold as I type this. Dan's telling the kids how his hair turns white when he has a stressful day but it can turn back to brown when his kids are very good.

Never a dull moment in our house!