Christmas

Yes.....we did take pictures of Christmas but I can't seem to find time at home to post any on the blog. Someone is ALWAYS on the computer! Thanks to all the Aunties/Uncles/Siblings for the gifts. They were all great. Jan and Petra gave the kids Cranium and I think its a blast. We had a surprise for Christmas Eve....Mark showed up. We didn't know he was coming and it was a real treat for everyone. Mark, the kids and I stayed up and played Cranium. The girls won of course! It was a quiet Christmas dinner with just us and Richard. Tons of food.....all very yummy for the tummy. Then up to Mom/Dad's for round two. By the blogs, it looks like everyone else had a great Christmas too. Jan/Petra/Myself are planning New Years Eve......Don't know if Mom knows it or not....but we will be there with lots of goodies. Anyone from Oregon wanting to make a trip to WA!!! Come on people!!!!

December 21, 2010

Today would've been my Dad's 75th Birthday. It doesn't seem possible that he has been gone for 10 years. He always loved this time of year....probably because of his birthday and Christmas. I just pray that I get a fraction of his compassionate nature and unlimited patience. On a lighter note, I made Almond Roca and white chocolate mints last night. I have to make fudge tonight. I'm going easy on the candy making due to lack of funds. Candy making is expensive!! Jord had a relapse of the flu and is pretty miserable. I'm hoping he feels better by Christmas-he has put in a couple long nights. I got a surprise this morning when I came to work.....the Mayor gave me an extra paid holiday for Christmas!!! I only have to work two days this week....Whoo Hoo!

Ba Hum Bug

I drug myself home last night with a sore throat and body hurting. I had to do the city Santa Festivities while Jord and the kids were eating Taco's and helping decorate Grandpa/Grandma's tree. Sounds like they had a lot more fun than I did! Feeling much better today. Lots of hot tea, hot cocoa....more chocolate. This stuff is weird....I feel pretty good until around 5:00, then kabam! I have a sore throat. Games tonight, tomorrow night and Monday night....I will have to remain calm and not yell. I went to Jan's Flicker page and looked at pictures, but didn't see any video option to look at video's and no extra basketball pictures to view....I may have to call her and find out the secret. Hope everyone has a good weekend....I know I will, I took Monday off!!!Yippee

Life at the Wilson

Well, Jord is finely better and the rest of us manage to get along with a few sniffles, sore throat and an occasional tooth ache. I didn't make it out to church last night.....I wasn't feeling up to par.....woke up this morning feeling much better, just a little sore throat. I have to finish shopping on Monday in Wenatchee. I took the day off to go to Creston's games at the Toyota Center, so I may as well finish up with Christmas. I apologize to Liz for dumping my gifts at her feet. I ordered most of Christmas online due to the fact that we don't have much in Wenatchee and we never get to Spokane. So, the Oregon kids will get their gifts umwrapped but filled with hugs. Hope everyone is feeling good and that Christmas treats you well.

18 Years!!

How funny....Audrey is right. It's been 18 years not 19. At work I've been working on the 2011 budget for three months, so I think all the time that its 2011 not 2010.

Fa La La La!!!

Petra asked me to host the Frugal Sister Christmas Party and I must say.....I don't think we could've squeezed anymore bodies into our livingroom. Ha Ha. I counted 35 people including kids.....don't know if it was a little more or less. I had a really great night!!! Nancy played the piano and we sang Christmas Carols, which at times was a hoot! (Jan & Manthy) Jord has done an amazing job at decorating the house....me and the kids can only take credit for the tree. Anyway....great idea Petra. I enjoyed myself and it looked like everyone else did too. Yesterday, Jord and I had been married 19 years!!! WoW! People asked me....Your having a party at your house on your anniversary??? Well, Jord and I never celebrate our anniversary in December because we are always broke. We always do something after the first of the year.

Concert

The JH/Highschool Concert was fantastic!! Mr. McBride sure does a great job with these kids. I was so excited to see 36 kids in the choir...Wow...that's great for Pateros. We had 32 in choir at Brewster when I was in Highschool. The Band looked like it had grown too. I chuckled at Tag last night. He was so worried that Jerry wasn't going to buy him cookies.....be came to his Auntie and I snuck him all the broken cookies that we couldn't sell. As I seen it...it was a win-win, I was going to throw them away anyway.

Today

Well, I woke up at 5:00 am to get the kids ready for early morning practice....Gotta love basketball (grumble). They had early practice because of the Christmas concert tonight. I stayed home from church last night to take care of the sickies in my house. Creston was better this morning (little).....determined to go to school, he's got a full schedule this week with the concert and two more games. I would've preferred him to stay home one more day....I don't know how much running he thinks he will be able to do when he's congested! I'm going to vent a little.....yesterday when I went to pick up Creston from school, Laura Divis said...."I didn't know he wasn't feeling good, he didn't come to the office and tell us." It was lunchtime and Creston used his cell phone. She then said "Well, its our policy that the kids come here and we take their temperature and we determine whether they are sick then we let them call home." I very politely stated "Well, I think that is my job as the Mom to determine whether my child is sick or not, not everytime are they going to run a fever." She said "True...." I told Laura, "Look, Creston is an A student, he waited until after his Physic's test to call me....you got to give him credit for that! I then turned to Creston and told him next time he needed to come to office so they knew he was calling me and then I would come and pick him up. My problem is....I understand the need for the kids to check with the office, however, I don't think they should be the ones determining whether my child is sick enough to call home. What happens if its a personal problem and its something that we don't talk about to everyone!!! Hello people!! Enough....I think they got the point. On a good note....Jord is feeling better this morning....it must've been the homemade pizza I made for him last night. Ha!

Schedule

Ran home after work, cooked pasta with chicken then started making cookies to sell at the Christmas concert. Of course, I was going to send 3 dozen or so to the concert, but.....we ended up eating a dozen for ourselves. You can't make double chocolate chip cookies and not have a taste. Jord is grumbling around. He started getting sick yesterday and still not feeling good today....sore throat, body aches, headaches....stay away from me. You know he's sick when he trades in coffee for OJ. Gotta love my kids.....this morning, Creston went out and started the car so it would be all warm when I got in and Kat had plowed the pathway to the car so my feet didn't get snowy.....maybe I need to feed them double chocolate chip cookies more often.

Games

Well, the boys played hard but didn't play their best.... but the girls did really well. Great game for Rhi....we were all pretty proud of her last night. She stepped up and took ownership of the court....LOVED IT!!! Coming out of the gym last night, I fell on the concrete.....Totally humiliated!!! Drop and Roll was what was going through my mind before I hit the ground. Jonathan Gelstin was right there to help me up and dust off by coat. Nice young man....I reassured everyone looking that I was alright. Of course Jord, Marty and the kids were already in the truck waiting and Kim hadn't come out of the bathroom, so it was just me.....so I was thankful for Jonathan's help. This morning....more than a little sore but still o.k. I must've been moaning in my sleep last night because Jord would pat me and ask if I was alright. Of course, he doesn't remember anything. Ha Ha. It's tough getting old and not as flexible as you once were.....I was thankful for the extra padding though.

It's December!!

As Liz keeps reminding us on her blog....December 1st....December 2nd. STOP!! I haven't even started shopping. Shopping will be very different this year. I will have to buy a little this week, a little next week and so on. This is a pain, but you do what you gotta do. I am going to try and get all the Oregon people's gifts to them on time, but no promises.....you may get them a couple days late. Jord is officially in hibernation....you will be lucky to see him until spring! Just kidding. Although, he only gets out when he has too. (chores and basketball games) I want to get my Christmas tree tonight on the way to Tonasket B-Ball game. We carpool with the Evan's so I thought I could make use of Marty's truck and throw my tree in it. Busy weekend ahead....Christmas tree decorating, Ruben/Manthy over on Saturday to watch the Big 12 Championship game----GO OU!!! Not sure how I feel about all this snow. It's pretty, but with it snowing so early, I think we are in for a long snowy winter.

Mahallie D. Young

We went down to A. Hallie's funeral yesterday. Beautiful weather, a little brisk. It was just graveside and mostly family. She was born in Oklahoma, and they moved to Prosser in 1954. She worked at JCPenney's for 10 years. Her and U. Leonard loved to travel, and run over 600,000 traveling miles on their last three cars.

A. Hallie was the last of George and Sadie's kids. Mahallie was Kerri's Great Aunt and Brandi's Great Great Aunt.


Burman - ?
Ollie - (wife Pat) 7 children George (died @ 2), Bev, Shirley, Betty (Creston and Kates Grandmother), Venita (Jessica, Heather and Roman's grandmother), Don, and Jim
Mahallie - Gary (Dakota, Garrett, Lacy, and Lana's grandfather), Glenetta (Stacy, Romi and Deedee's mother), and Rick (the man Elzie and Denny baptized in prison)
Dadi (Loraine) - Sonny, Anita, Donna (mother of Paul, Biff and Lorna. Lorna's daughter Lea Pinter is friends with Janice and goes to church in OKC), and Sandy
Cricket (Lora Jean) - Larry ( Amanda and Brandi's Grandpa), Denny, and Linda
Zona - 2 kids
(one other brother or half brother) ?

(My spelling on these names is atrocious - how would you spell Dadi? Daydee?

Winter has arrived

Snotty

Well, I was supposed to go visit Phyllis this morning but I woke with congestion and a snotty nose. So, no go for me. I was excited when Mom called last night and said they brought back oranges and persimmons from California....what a treat! I remember when I was 5 and my parents took us to CA and we have pictures of us kids standing in an orange grove. I could use some of the warm temperatures about now. It's supposed to be in the teens next week.....Yuck!!! I noticed last night in church that our highschool boys were moving very slowly......apparently its been a rough week at basketball practice. Its the only time of the year that Creston actually soaks in the tub.....he is strictly a shower taker. We are so happy that our Sisters are here for the week with the rug muffins!!!! Gotta love the holidays.

Winter is coming, what is does your protection from the cold look like?

Some Channel Mathew Pictures from Sheri

If you can ID any of these it would be great.
Pat Channel

Ollie Channel, Lester Holding Phyllis, Kay in front. Others unkown ID if you can.
Ollie Channel baptizing Granny Gordon (Betty Clevengers Mom)

Ollie Channel and his elk. Elzie and Ollie both got an elk this year, and Elzie's rack is above my mantle.
RJ and Elzie Mathews, Bob, Kirk, and Clinton (Pittman? I'm guessing because the name is unreadble.) Loyd Overacker is in the back



Bill and Ellen Mathews on the Left, (Sherri ID's the rest as ?,?, Josie (?) Pittman, Joe Pittman, Olympia Fred & Ruby Pittman) I know this is very confusing, but someone will know if it is Josie and Joe or Fred and Ruby.

Flash from the Past

Sheri sent some old images and thought I would share.

Ol' Grump

I get a call at 5:00 pm last night. The youngkids need somewhere to go. They want to come out and roast hotdogs and have smores. I look at Jord and he's game....so we had a houseful last night. The first part of the evening was great...the kids were outside chillin' and the old folks were inside chillin. Then they decided they wanted to come in and play games....ok....so they all gathered in the diningroom and played games around the table and all was great. However, it was when they decided to play states that things got crazy. (I know we played this when I was a teenager, but I don't remember us being so loud! Jord chuckles....we were so much worse than them...he says) Anyway, Jord and I endured it for about 30 minutes and couldn't take it anymore (we heard things rattling that shouldn't be rattled) and we kicked them all outside! So, I'm probably labeled the Ol'Grump, but they way I see it, I agreed to a hotdog roast and smores and I didn't even get a smore! So, I'm the one that got the short end of the stick. The kids were very apologetic and thanks us for letting them come. I must say, I was impressed with how each one made a point to thank us. We as parents must be doing something right! We even got a hug out of Dakota....all in all....a great night.

Not a lot to say

All I wanted to do this morning was stay in bed.....not normal for me, I'm usually up at 5:00 every morning with my body telling me to get out of bed. It's hard getting old and fat. Billygoat was sure pretty this morning with the new snow....Manthy/Ruben got snow too and I haven't even put my snow tires on. Very excited for the holiday--been making lists of things I need to get done before Thanksgiving. The grocery list is getting a little scary, I keep adding things to it. Jord tells me I over analyze things....I'm mentally counting the days and redoing my lists every night. I'm just excited!!! The pitching barn is almost finished. Jord has to frame in the end and put the door on....I'm hoping we can work on it this weekend, its getting a little chilly outside. Well, thats all folks....I told you I didn't have a whole lot to say....

Interesting Night

Dad calls Jord Monday night and asked if we wanted to go to a concert on Tuesday night with him and Mom. Great I said....sounds fun! And it was, enjoyed the dinner (Garlini's), enjoyed the company to and from, the concert.....well it was o.k. I didn't know the artist very well, I recognized 5 of his songs, but he is 72!!!! I have to give the man credit....72 and still performing. Anyway, we were glad we went if nothing else....it was a good night out with Ma and Pa! Trying to figure out Thanksgiving menu. My brother's and their families wants a Mexican feast (taco's), I can't seem to wrap my head around having taco's for Thanksgiving, so I'm thinking I will fix taco's Wednesday night and have a traditional Thanksgiving. They are all worried about the extra work.....Come on people....I've been waiting 12 years for this and I am going to cook, cook, cook. Cory has bought tickets to the Ducks game on Friday for Jim for Christmas, so they will be leaving early Friday morning to head to Eugene. What about Black Friday????, we had plans!!! Oh well, I may get up and head to Wenatchee without them and let them fend for themselves Friday morning. Can't wait to see everyone from Oregon...especially all the nieces/nephews.

Harvest Party

Jord quickly put on pictures of the party and we realized that we didn't get 1/2 the people that were there. No pictures of Marty & Kim, Rhi, the Pittmans, Petra, Abe, Colton and all the grown ups who came for the Pre-trick or treat party for the 12 and under. I know there were lots of cameras going off.....Hopefully Rhi will post some of her pictures or Gideon will post. It seemed like everyone had a great time, I hope so.....Jord and I had a blast! SO, here is a list of the winners.

Best Costume 12-under: Sierra Swezey/Abi
Best Costume 12-under: Christopher Swezey
Best Costume Youngkids: Joan Jet-Chantae
Beattles-Creston, Lance, Mickey and Dakota
Name that Artist Game: Kerrie Kesti and Mikey Swezey
Bags Champions: Katarina and Rylan (we actually drew names and these two got chosen as a team) there were lots of groans in the crowd....they are two peas in a pod...COMPETITIVE!!!
Scavenger Hunt: Rylan and I can't remember his partner.

Lots of food, lots of laughter. The costumes far exceeded our expectations, But I am whipped today. It's going to take a lot of caffiene to keep this girl going today.

Halloween Party 2010

Waylon & Willie

Victory Dance

Mrs. Competitive

A. Roni & Sis. Bev

Champion Baggers - Stevie Nix & Bruce Springsteen

Teenage Clan ( More to show up later)

Abbi & Sierra (gilly suits) & Little Grey

Pre-Trick - or - Treat Crowd (12 and under)

Chantae (Joan Jet), Laura & Kerri (Queen?) Chancy (Madonna?) Chloe (Olivia N. John)

A. Lahna & Sis Kim

The Beattles (Mikey (P. McCartney), Lance (R. Star), Creston ( J. Lennon), and Dakota (G. Harrison)

Abi

Brian Adams

Billy Joel

Waylon and Willie

Incredible Fall Day

Thomas (Marly?)

Emmy Lou Harris & Brian Adams

Lots more people than pictures
Maybe someone else will have some on their blog (Rhiannon? You were taking pictures.)