Christmas presents!!

Paige asked for and received a Hamster!!


Ben's nerf tag set!! Oh Joy..what fun!


Shelby LOVES Clothes!





It happened!! YES SIR!!! For the first time in SEVENTEEN YEARS, we had a white Christmas in Seattle and surrounds!! WAHOOOOO....

We had our big dinner on Christmas eve this year as Mark had to be in to work by noon on Christmas day. We have decided that this plan of eating on Christmas eve is MUCH nicer, as it makes Christmas day SOOO much more relaxing!! It is going to become a new family tradition!

So Christmas morning arrives and as usual, Mark and I are the first ones up (God saw fit to bless us with children who ALL like to sleep in! Thank you Heavenly Father!) and so we turned the lights on the tree, put on the Christmas music and woke up the kids! Shelby was quite pleased with all her new clothes (she got many many tops and hoodies from Aeropostle, her FAVE store) as well as the numerous other 'little' gifts (day by day calendar, sodoku rubix cube etc). Ben was thrilled with his nerf tag gun set for two..in fact, he and Mark spent Christmas eve playing army with it! (The kids are allowed to open one gift each on Christmas eve). Santa also left Ben another kind of nerf gun...so now it has become quite normal to be cooking, or at the computer, and have a nerf dart whiz by my head! :) Ben also received the usual assortment of legos and board games as those two things are his favorite things to play with. Paige absolutely FREAKED out, SCREAMING, YELLING, SCREAMING when she opened her hamster cage complete with gift card to petco to get a hamster. That was the ONLY thing she REALLY wanted for Christmas.....I will have to remember how wonderful her reaction was and how much we laughed every time I have to clean it's damn cage! hahaha.....(we have given her firm instructions that SHE will take care of it..and she will do fairly well for her age I know as she takes great care of her lizard!).Although she also received a pile of other things, I don't think she has touched any of them! She is all about her hamster! Around 11 am on Christmas morning, the snow began to bucket down! The kids were just amazed! Ben said 'THIS is the BEST Christmas EVER!" and he began to sing "I'm having a WHITE CHRISTMAS, just like the ones I never had before'...kids....they are so darn funny! It snowed all day..and in the afternoon the kids and I went and sledded down the hill that is actually our driveway...what the heck, we couldn't drive up it anyways so why NOT make it a sheet of ice!? hehehe.... It snowed all day..and made the day truly magical..

Mark came home in the morning on Boxing Day (if you are Canadian or British you know what I am talking about...if not, google it!). We went to town so Paige could pick out her beloved pet. She was originally going to get a Teddy Bear Hamster, but ended up choosing a 'panda bear hamster'. I have to admit, this thing is REALLY cute and VERY affectionate...no biting, and just LOVES to be held! Paige named it Wasabi (we wanted some sort of Chinese name as it is a Panda Bear Hamster!). Morpheus the cat is VERY interested in Wasabi!

Our dear friends, Paul and Ami and Lillybug came over in the evening for snacks (I made bruschetta and an olive tapenade) and a movie. They had gifts for all the kids and we had some for Lilly so there was another round of gifts. No wonder the kids love Chrismtas! :)

Here is the snow we woke up to on the 27th!!




I woke up this morning (December 27th) to see that it is once again snowing! Mark left the house at the butt crack of BEFORE dawn to go hunting. Only a few days left in deer season for bow hunting. Maybe he'll get something....he says its nicer to hunt when it is actually snowing...something about the deer all coming out to play! Shelbys stepfather is quite the hunter and has gotten four deer this year (I think four!) so Mark is looking forward to moving back to WI where there is no limit and you actually SEE deer! It has been a pretty bad season in WA this year, ALL the hunters are complaining. If he gets something, I will do another post!

I hope you all had as lovely a Christmas as we did!!

Hugs
Jaye

White Christmas??

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas, just like the ones we've never seen in WA state before! :)

It is only the 22nd...so really anything could happen to the snow...it could warm up and we could have more flooding! But as of right now, there is a couple of inches on the ground and it's coming down! :)

Like I said, I'm dreaming of a White Christmas! I've never had one before. Even the year we went to WI for Christmas....not ONE FLAKE! We came home on the 4th of January with a snow storm chasing us, got stranded in Denver (ask Paige how she spent her golden birthday and you'll get the MOST disgusted look as she says 'We were STRANDED in DENVER on my golden Birthday! I spent my Golden Birthday in the AIRPORT!!'. She wasn't impressed), and then arrived home in WA only to get snowed in for three days! But no White Christmas! So maybe 2007 is the year! I want all of you who have snow to send it here...and the rest of you to keep your fingers crossed for me! I WANT A WHITE CHRISTMAS!!!!

Mark picks Shelby up from the airport today! It will be fun to have her here, she is such a great young lady. Yes, we STILL are dealing with all the craziness like we have been for the past 13 years. But time marches on, and one day, we will have our relationship with Shelby without the other ties! :)

Hugs to you all,
Jaye

Christmas break begins!

Time sure flies this time of year! With all the errands and parties and events to attend, a week flies by before you know it! I am a bit behind on the blog, so I will try to catch up over the next few days! All my 'daycare parents' work for the school system in some fashion or other and so while I get paid, I actually don't have any kids for Christmas break! :)

Today was the last day of school for Paige and Ben, and Mark is on duty every fourth day until the middle of January! Shelby arrives on Saturday for the Christmas break as well...so this all adds up to being a GREAT holiday season with lots of quality family time!

Last week I blogged about going to Paiges mother/daughter cheer luncheon! It was really fun. The restaurant that was chosen was NOT a kid friendly place (seafood!) nor was it cheap (15 bucks for a plate of cod and chips and a root beer!), and the food really wasn't that great either. The view on the other hand was terrific! It WAS nice however to reconnect with all the cheer moms, as cheer has been over for about a month now! Each girl received a trophy with her name on it and the date. Paiges first trophy! YAY!!!

Tonight Mark and I hosted our Church Small Group Christmas party! We all decided on a menu of tacos (each person gets theirs just the way they like it AND it's 'fun' foood!). I made a few desserts (7 layer squares and Shattered Glass). We also played the 'gift game' with the gifts being Christmas Ornaments! What fun! There was alot of stealing of ornaments..and coveting of ornaments...and alot of fun! The kids joined in as well and it was really interesting to see what ornaments the kids would take when their turn came around. Ben usually wanted whichever one was the sparkliest! So now we've cleaned up from all that...the daycare 'stuff' has been put away for the holidays...and we are set for relaxation and family time!

Hugs to you all,
Jaye

Reflecting on the magic of the holidays

The house is quiet. Mark and the kids are all still asleep early this Saturday morning. As I look out our living room windows, I can see that dawn is just breaking over the tops of the mountains...I can see the snow level has dropped on them. In the foreground, the Christmas tree is casting its flickering glow on the walls, the tree itself a focal point of coloured twinkling lights. There is something very peaceful about sitting in a semi light room with the tree on, the outdoors as a backdrop to it all.
As a child who didn't celebrate Christmas, I remember when we would be driving at night, I would enviously be looking into living rooms for a glimpse of their tree. Christmas always felt like such a magical time, even though I didn't celebrate it. The stores were decorated and full of people. The homes were all lit up and cheerful. People were different too. It was almost like they put aside their worries for just a bit, and enjoyed the magic of the Christmas season. I remember waking up Christmas morning and imagining all my school friends gathered around their trees, opening gifts, eating a big meal with all their family. It made me sad. It made me mournful. I so longed to be a part of all that 'magic'. And now I am!! I love Christmas! Our home gets all decorated, our tree goes up, we bake our tooshies off. The house is full of 'Christmas secwets' as Ben calls them. It is a good time. A time to step away from all the things that worry us. A time to let go of all the things that get us frustrated. I am so glad that now I can celebrate the season. I don't have to put on a religious holier than thou attitude to explain to other Christians why I DON'T celebrate this most Christian of Holidays! I can just enjoy it!
The rest of the year is good in our home. We lead a busy fulfilling life. It has it's worrisome times, it has its stressful times. Mark isn't always able to be home due to his job. We deal with ex's and all the craziness that they feel the right to inflict into our home. There are bills and repairs and cheer practices and t ball games and lots and lots and lots to do. So it is nice to take a few weeks to really just ease off on the busy schedule and enjoy the time we have together.
So grab a sugar cookie. Sit by the tree. Put on some Christmas music (Try Sarah Mclachlans "Wintersong" for a really nice DIFFERENT take on Christmas music!)and enjoy the peace and tranquility that steals over you!

Merry Christmas everyone!
Jaye

Busy Busy as the holidays arrive

It's been awhile since I've 'blogged'....busy days followed by more busy days! Last weekend Mark and I took the kids to get our Christmas tree and it is our best one yet! As you can see in the picture above, our whole living room looks quite festive!

We have a busy weekend ahead of us. Tomorrow Paige and I have our 'mother/daughter' luncheon for Cheer leading. Afterwards we will be going to sub base to pick up Lillybug (she will be here for the weekend for a sleepover!) and then do some grocery shopping before the commissary gets completely insane for the holidays! Those of you who are military know what I am talking about! Sunday morning finds us in Church...the kids are having a special 'kids christmas celebration' of their own which they are looking forward to! Sunday evening we are meeting Paul and Ami at Kings Wok for dinner. Why? Because it is Sams birthday and that is the place he picked. How old will he be? SEVENTEEN!!! I am NOT old enough to be the mother of a 17 year old (and lets not talk about me having a 20 year old!!!).

Tuesday Sam flies out to Hawaii for Christmas to see Katie. It's been a few years since they've seen each other so that will be nice for both of them. Sam is even going to fly over to Kauai to visit my mother and her new husband. None of us has met him or even talked to him yet, so it will be nice for Sam to meet him! On Thursday, Shelby flies in for a little over two weeks! We are all so looking forward to that!! It looks like it will be a fun filled and busy Christmas as usual around here and we wouldn't have it any other way! :)

Hugs to you all,
Jaye

Floods, pestilence and strife...ok..just floods

After two solid days of snow, the temperature warmed up considerably during the night. Then is started to rain. And it rained some more. And then rained some more. In fact, it is STILL raining! The schools are closed due to a road wash out on our main road, and as you can see by the clip below, our driveway is having washout issues as well! Such is the life of us Pacific Northwesterners...can't wait to move to WI where all we'll have to deal with are tornadoes and ice storms! :)

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Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Mark and I wanted to go and check the mailbox this morning as we hadn't been able to get down to it yesterday. We also wanted to see if the paper delivery guy was able to bring the Sunday paper...we attempted to drive the van but only got about a 100 yards and realized that was NOT going to happen, so we walked! It was a wonderfully snowy day for it!

It has begun to rain now, which means two things. One- the snow should be gone by tomorrow and Two- it will be an ice rink on the roads as the snow will freeze overnight...which means the schools will be closed and Mark has already been told to stay home from work tomorrow as well, so it will be a perfect cookie baking day!!


Cleaning off the van before our attempted drive!





The driveway we tried to go down unsuccessfully...





Me in the snow!...



Hugs to all,
Jaye

Great White Hunter

The Great White Hunter went out again today in the snow....he saw some 'sign' but didn't get a deer! WAH.....
Ben told him he needed to hunt Bears. He said "They hibernate, it might be an easier target for you"....ahhh kids....gotta love em!






Hugs to all,
Jaye

Who can resist a snowman? NOT ME!

Snowmen. How can anyone resist snowmen? I sure can't! So a few years ago, I started a collection of them for the Holiday season. With help from Mom and various friends, I now have 104 of them! :) I cannot buy anymore until we build our new house in Wisconsin (which I am designing myself btw!). So for all those of you out there who are like me and LOVE LOVE LOVE snowmen, here are pictures of my home decorated for the holidays with snowmen. We don't have our tree up yet as we are in the middle of a snowstorm (see previous post), but once it is up, I will have to edit my snowman count as I know I have snowmen ornaments to put on the tree!!! If anyone ever wonders what to get me for my b'day, Christmas, groundhog day..think no further! I will lovingly accept any and all snowmen sent my way! After all, there is NO such thing as too many snowmen!! :)


Snowmen looking out the front door....






Snowmen on the record player (yes, some of us still listen to vinyl!)





Snowmen above the pantry...





Snowmen above kitchen cupboards...





More snowmen above more cupboards...





Snowmen on the freezer (good place for snowmen!)





Snowmen on the living room entertainment center...





Snowmen on the kitchen windowsill (notice the snow outside!)...





Snowmen on the craft center...





Snowmen on the coffee table...





Snowmen on the china cabinet (a b'day gift from Mark two years ago!)...





Snowmen on the bakers rack (notice the snowman plates on the wall?)...





Snowmen on the dining room table...





Snowmen on the stove...





Snowmen above the stove...





Happy snowman sitting in the dining room...





Fat snowman and Fat cat on living room couch...





And last but not least, my snowman clock! Every hour it softly plays a Christmas Carol...but it has a light sensor so when it is night, it doesn't play or I wouldn't have bought it!..



Now go out and buy yourself a snowman, you KNOW you want to!!!

Hugs
Jaye

Day two of snow!

Day two!! We are supposed to be getting a three day snow storm...we were doubtful, this IS after all WA state...snow in December? Yah right...but here we are- Day two!

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Snow Storm!

Mark and I woke up this morning and decided to head out early to get our grocery shopping and errands done and boy, are we glad we did! We are having our first snow storm of the year! We usually don't get snow until January, some years we've had a 'dusting' of snow mid December, but NOTHING like this and NEVER this early in the winter season! We may be in for a long, cold, snowy winter! YAY!

Mark went and bought two cans of gas for the generator in case the power goes out and then headed out hunting to take advantage of the natural curiosity that deer have for the snow....

And while I sit here blogging about all this to you, the snow is falling, covering the whole world (well, our little corner of it anyways) with it's magic. When I stand outside, there is nothing but silence...and peacefulness....I LOVE it when it snows!


The beginning of the Storm!

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My little Snow Angel







View from our front porch looking down on the 'bottom acre' (we have two and a half!)

Geocaching in Wisconsin

A few weeks ago I posted about Geo Caching and how we found several 'travel bugs'. We took those travel bugs with us to Wisconsin and did a Geo Cache while we were there, leaving behind the two travel bugs we brought from WA and taking a travel bug we found (which we will now hide in WA state!)...what a fun family sport!

Hugs
Jaye

Stamping at Auntie Lauras!

What do you do when you spend an evening at Dan and Laura's? The guys play pool while the rest of us stamp and craft of course!

Hugs
Jaye

Wisconsin sunset

Another reason to move to Wisconsin- the beautiful sunsets!

Mom and Dads 50th Wedding Anniversary!

The whole reason we went back to Wisconsin over the Thanksgiving holidays was to help celebrate Mom and Dad's 50th Wedding Anniversary! It was such a fun party, and everyone did so much to help make it a success. Kudos to Terri for doing an AMAZING job on the DVD for Mom and Dad highlighting their years together! Laura and Terri also did a FABULOUS job organizing the food, cake, decorations etc etc. I did the hardest part of course, I organized the WHOLE thing from WA! hahahahahahahaha....just kidding of course!

So let me take this opportunity to say a few words to Mom and Dad on their accomplishment! In this day and age, 50 years with someone is a big deal. You don't see TV repair shops, or any kind of fix it shop these days, other than a mechanics place....why? Because we live in a throw away generation, from cars to computers and sadly, marriages. It is cheaper and easier these days to 'buy a new one' than to fix the one we have, whatever that may be. Most of us 'younger' ones in the family are all divorced and on our second marriages....in fact, out of everyone at Thanksgiving dinner, only Mom and Dad, Gramma Ruth and Lisa can claim to be on their first marriages....
So for keeping it together for 50 years...for going through sickness and health...richer and poorer days....happy and sad days....for raising three incredible kids, who are now all in successful, blessed marriages, with loving, caring partners and children....for being an example for us all....Thanks...and Happy Anniversary...you two are amazing...and loved by us all more than we could all ever tell you!

And here's to the next 50 years!!


Enjoy these pictures from the Party!!






This was the drink fountain....






For dessert, we had all sorts of cut fruit and pound cake that we could put on skewers and run through this decadent chocolate fountain..soooo yummy!






Mom and Dad looking at the book we had made up for them of their first 50 years together!






Every celebration needs a cake! This one had a picture from Mom and Dads wedding on it...






Cutting the cake






Gramma Hazel and Don







Jenny with Allie and Alexis







Kay and Jerry...some of Mom and Dads oldest(not age wise of course, but in terms of length of time!) and dearest friends. Kay and Jerry were at their wedding, and Mom and Kay still cause all kinds of trouble! :)






Mark, Shelby and Ben (Being goofy as usual!)







Marcia, Brenda, Dan and Laura








Steve (Jenny's Hubby), Me (stuffing my face!) and Steven (Lisa's Hubby)








Ginny and Scott (Scott is Kay and Jerry's son, Ginny is his Gorgeous and hilarious wife!)







It wouldn't be a Greene family party without someone crashing at the end!!

What a wonderful day....what a wonderful reason to celebrate!!

Hugs
Jaye

Rockys Pizza..the best in the world!

A trip back home to Wisconsin would not be complete without us getting a pizza at Rockys. That is Marks FAVORITE pizza in the whole world...in fact, he once tried to have one fed Ex'd out to him but Fed Ex wouldn't transport such a 'perishable' item. So we have to make due with getting one every two or three years. The thing the kids like the most is that there are all sorts of games to play while they wait for the pizza to arrive at the table, which makes this a favorite place with everyone in the family. I hate to see what our pizza budget will be like when we move back to WI in two years!! Yikes!!




Ben playing games while he waits for the pizza to arrive!








Paige with her new teeth that she won with all her tickets from playing games!









Pizza arrived!! Mom and Dad dig in!