It has come to my attention that there are those of you out there that do not 'do' facebook, and therefore have not been able to keep up with the exploits of the Greene family! I do offer my humble apologies and am actually quite surprised that my blog had faithful readers (after all you never commented, and you know who you are!)....I found that facebook allowed me to take ten minutes out of my day to post a few pictures, relay a few happenings and I could keep everyone up on all that was Greene (those who were interested anyways). So..blame my lack of blogging on facebook! :)
I actually prefer to blog, as writing is a love of mine that goes back to when I was a little girl. Words fascinate me. I love them. I love stringing them together like one would put a string of beads together. You can string words together that make a perfect picture, or you can string words together that really make no sense, so there is an art to words and all that is 'writing'. I cannot draw a stick man to save my life, but I can write up a storm!
Our life since the last post...which has been awhile! :) I think the BIGGEST happening has been that Mark is now a retired Sailor! He retired from the United States Navy, Submarine Fleet, after 20 years of service. He had a two week window that he did not have a job before he began his new adventure working for Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. Yes, he is doing the same thing that he spent the past 20 years doing, only as a civilian and for MUCH BETTER money! :)
Sam will be twenty in four days. I don't know how that happened. One minute I was dealing with the 8 week early birth of this four pound baby boy and the loss of his twin brother and then I blinked and he is 20! He is getting ready to move out of our house and into his own place with three other friends. This is such a bittersweet thing for me. I want him to live with us forever and I want him to GET OUT! :) I know how excited he is to move out. He found his wings awhile back and has been flexing them ever since, but now he is going to FLY...he may fly back to the nest a few times, but isn't that what life is about? You try your wings, you fly back to the nest to regroup and then you try again. Of course, he may NOT fly back to the nest, perhaps that is just wishful thinking on my part! ;)
Paige and Ben are both in the gifted program and attend a school for gifted kids. Paige is in the sixth grade doing high school math...and recently tested AHL (above High school Level) in reading. She is doing wonderfully academically. She is also a normal 'almost' 12 year old. Her body is changing, her attitude is reflecting these changes, and we are adjusting to this new stage in her life.
Ben is in fourth grade, doing sixth grade math and also doing well academically. He is obsessed with building paper airplanes right now, at least until something else grabs his interest and pulls him into its clutches for a length of time. That is how Ben is. He finds something he likes and his life becomes all about that until something else grabs his fancy. Part of what makes him...well..Ben!
I am also in school! I have finished two quarters now and am on a three week break. So far I have all A's but I cannot brag too much as I know that as soon as I get a big head about it, I'll get a b...or worse! I am getting my bachelors degree in Psychology and then my Masters in Marriage and Family counseling. I have an associates degree in Legal Sciences, which allows me to be a paralegal if I want, and I had planned on becoming a Family Law Attorney, but have decided that I'd rather be an ADVOCATE for families than someone who helps tear them apart. We have enough broken families in the world today.....
Marks ex wife is on husband number four...well, they aren't yet married, they are engaged. Her third divorce was final in January this year (after a year long battle over the home that they built together) and in March she moved the new fiance into her home. Quite the stellar example to Shelby isn't it? Mark has not talked to nor seen Shelby in two years now. Mary has blocked every attempt he has made, and last Christmas she REFUSED to put Shelby on the plane for her two weeks with us. Shelby emailed Mark after that fiasco and told him that 'right now I do not want a relationship with you, but when I am an adult I will want one'. Coming from a 15 year old (she is almost 17 now!) that said a lot to us. We know from talking to Marys third ex husband that Mary would go into a two to three day rage whenever Mark would call to talk to Shelby or send her a letter. Apparently she made that home a living hell. SO, Mark made the responsible choice to just let Shelby have the next few years of peace and quite so she can graduate and move on with her life. When she is ready to have a relationship with him, she will contact him. As for her schooling, Shelby is falling through the cracks. Normally a straight A student, she is now pulling in C's and D's. She used to be in the top ten in Cross Country, but now is not even close. Since September, she has been late to 21 classes, and absent from 29, and that is just in four months. We think that Mary is so invested in keeping this fourth relationship from failing that she is neglecting Shelby. There is nothing we can do but watch...and be prepared to pick up the pieces when we are asked to by Shelby. :) We have 18 months left of paying child support and of having to deal with Mary. That time will fly by and then we are done!
Now...on to happier topics! My brother is getting married in the spring and his fiance lives in Switzerland and so that is where they shall be living. Mark and I are planning on taking the kids to Europe in 2012 for a vacation and to see lots of exciting things. On our short list is Switzerland (which will be our base!), Paris, Italy, and Germany....but we shall see how things shape up closer to our travel time.
Last September for my birthday we got a Yorkshire Terrier which we named Dexter. He is adorable and has certainly become a beloved (albeit bratty!) member of our family!
And that brings us to today! We had three days of snow and ice and bitterly cold weather about two weeks ago, and that was it. Now we are in a flood watch until tomorrow due to the incredibly heavy rains! We are still hoping the temps will plummet (currently it is 51 degrees) so that we can have a white Christmas...but I think that might be wishful dreaming! We are all excited about Christmas and have had a flurry of shopping and wrapping and today I start the baking!
I wish each and every one of you a Very Merry Christmas, and I hope to hear from you! Leave a comment, or feel free to email me at k_did@hotmail.com
Love to you all....
Jaye
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