We've been a little disconnected

I'm sure some of you have been wondering...where are the rest of the Christmas pictures and all of the snow pictures we have heard about. Well, on Christmas afternoon, our computer decided to no longer work. We had loaded a new game on the computer that Ethan opened that morning for Christmas. Little did we know, it was using too much memory and bogged the computer down. We had to take the computer in to see the Computer Doctor, aka: 'Puter Tech Man. We are so thankful for Vince! He was able to save almost everything on the computer...what he wasn't able to save was no big deal. We just got our computer back today and are finally up and running again! He quadrupled our memory so the new game works great and we shouldn't have to worry about a memory shortage for quite some time.

All this to say, I will be getting Christmas day pictures and snow pictures up very soon!! It's so nice to be back in the blogging world!

Christmas Eve with the Silves family

Christmas Eve was spent with my family out at Tyler and Tanya's. We woke up to lots of snow that morning and were beginning to wonder if we were even going to make it out to Everson. We got everyone ready and left home at 11:00. We ventured down the Hampton, only to find that there was not a snow plow in sight. So, after much careful driving, we arrived in Everson at about 11:30...this is normally a 10 minute drive.

My sis-in-law did an amazing job with the table and the meal. She did all of the cooking for the day and the food was delicious! It was a great time to be together as a family to enjoy great food, fellowship with each other and watch the snow come down. The kids were all amazing and were so much fun to watch.

The kids waited so patiently to open up all the gifts waiting for them under the tree. Wayne was so excited he decided to start taking the tags off of the gifts...that made for fun in figuring out who a few of the gifts went to. He knows how to keep life fun!

The three granddaughters all got new bathrobes, pajamas, slippers and a new movie from Grammy and Papa Duane. Our girls were so excited about their new bathrobes that they wore them around the house for the rest of the afternoon.

After gifts, Jason played a game with the three girls while the rest of us watched little Weston open his gifts...he had been taking a nap while the other kids opened gifts. I can't believe he was able to sleep through all the commotion...what a trooper!

The original plan was to stay in Everson so we could attend our Christmas Eve service but due to the snow it was cancelled. So, we left Tyler and Tanya's before dark because of the snow. The drive home was a little easier because it had stopped snowing and there had been more traffic on the Hampton. It was nice to have time to be home and give the kids some wind down time before bed. We have a tradition at our house...the kids sleep around the Christmas tree every Christmas Eve. This year was Ethan's first year...he was finally old enough to get the "stay in your sleeping bag and go to sleep" idea.

Official Scheib snow update

I just went out and measured...now that it's daylight...and when we went to bed last night at 11:00, our sidewalk was completely clear of snow. As of 8:00 this morning, we have been blessed with 5 inches of new snow.

I have also checked the FedEx website and it says they are attempting delivery again of these 3 boxes that I am waiting for. I think we will clear those 5 inches of snow from our sidewalk just in case they are able to make this delivery.

Okay, back to trying to get ready for this magnificent day that we are suppose to be having.

Remember, JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

Snow must go!

Alright people, I've had enough of this snow business. It's 6:50 on Christmas Eve morning and I can't sleep. I woke up about an hour ago, took a peek outside, and almost started to cry. I then laid in bed tossing and turning. Decided it wasn't worth it and got up. I have no idea how long it has been snowing but I was really hoping the forcast was wrong. You see, I have been waiting for 3 Pampered Chef boxes to arrive via FedEx. (They were suppose to be here last week.) But, due to all the storms that have hit Oregon and Washington they still have not arrived. I have 4 customers patiently waiting for Christmas gifts to arrive. As of Monday, the boxes were in Burlington. The worst part is, a couple of these gifts were specially picked by two adorable girls from our church for their mom. I am so sad that their Christmas gifts won't be arriving. The FedEx rep informed me on Monday that the boxes should be on my doorstep on Tuesday. Well, that was yesterday and when we got home from our family Christmas, I immediately was at the front door looking for boxes. When I saw nothing, I got online to check the status, hoping the trucks were still out delivering...Status of the boxes: In Burlington, WA on "delivery exception" due to weather conditions...new expected delivery date is December 24th. My heart sank. I was still a little hopeful until I looked out the window this morning to see all of this snow coming down. If they couldn't get here yesterday, they for sure aren't coming today. So, all this to say, I will be on the phone this morning calling my customers, informing them that they are going to need to wrap pictures of the item or notes explaining where the gift is.

Today is suppose to be Christmas with my family out in Everson. Everyone has four-wheel drive but us. I am praying that we are able to make it to our destination for Christmas. So much thought and hard work has gone into today's family gathering and we have all, especially the kids, been looking forward to today...spending an entire day with cousins, playing. Pray that we are all able to make the trip safely!

I'm also bummed because I'm sure our Christmas Eve service is going to be cancelled. Christmas just wouldn't feel right without our Christmas Eve service. Church on Sunday was cancelled because of the snow. We spent time as a family reading the Christmas story and talking about Christmas. It was a great time with the kids. But, not being in church with our church family singing Christmas songs felt a little weird. We have been excited all week for the Christmas Eve service to help fill this little void that we have had...looks like this will be cancelled too.

We pray that you are all kept safe while out in this winter weather that we have. Drive safe and...

THE SNOW MUST GO!!!!!!

Scheib Family Christmas

Tonight was the Scheib Family Christmas. It was a nice, laid back evening. The kids played while the adults ate goodies! Along with the annual glass ornaments that the kids get, Nancy made all the kids blankets. If their not careful, Mommy is going to be stealing these blankets. They are fleece and very warm! She did a great job on them and they were a huge hit with all the kids! "Grandpa and Grandma scored!"


Uncle Jason and Aunt Tanya with Renee and Autumn (Ryan and April's girls). Autumn was enjoying the candy cane!! Look at that cute, sticky face.

The kids opening their ornaments...

This year's ornaments were all personalized. Brenna got an ornament shaped as an envelope "stuffed" with goodies.

Alyssa's ornament was in the shape of a purse...very fitting for this little girl!

Ethan's ornament was a basketball. He was so proud of his ornament and wanted to put it on Grandma's tree. He couldn't wait to get home to put it on our tree.

Brenna with her new blanket...I love this print!

Alyssa was very proud of her blanket and informed mommy that she wasn't going to share. I bet the next time she wants to snuggle with me she has the new blanket with her.

Ethan was so excited with his blanket. It was a John Deere print. When we headed for home, he was sure we had left the blanket at Grandpa and Grandma's house because he couldn't see it in the van. We couldn't convince him until we got home to show him that we didn't forget his new blanket.

Jason, Ryan and Norvel enjoying dessert...Nancy made a wonderful dessert! It was a pineapple cake with a toasted coconut frosting...Mmm, Yum!

Derrick and Amy weren't able to join us due to work and weather (they live in Sedro Woolley and were dumped on with snow)...they sure were missed!

Christmas cookies

Yesterday was our annual Christmas cookie baking with Janice, or as the kids call her "Aunt" Jan. We started this tradition several years ago. We pick a day to go to "Aunt" Jan's house and bake cookies. It is so fun to go back through the years and compare pictures. Of course, the favorite part for all the kids is decorating the cookies, and I'm not talking about the frosting. The kids love to dump the sprinkles on the cookies and then eat every sprinkle that doesn't stick. The kids look forward to this day every year. Once December hits, they are asking if "Aunt" Jan has called to tell us when we are making cookies. It is a highlight of Christmas! Of course, Jason's favorite part of the day is when we arrive home with the cookies and getting to eat them. The kids usually always have one that they have decorated just special for daddy.

This year, Brenna got to go first cutting out the cookies...she was very good about the placement of the cookie cutters and made sure she was able to use all 6 cookie cutters each time "Aunt" Jan rolled the dough out.
Alyssa is still perfecting the concept of cookie cutter placement...she relies on "Aunt" Jan a little more than Brenna to make sure she isn't overlapping any of the shapes.

Ethan is like any typical man..."let's just get the job done." He doesn't really care where the cookie cutter lands...his method is "drop and press". It was very cute. "Aunt" Jan had to make sure she was holding on to the cookie cutter as he pressed it down so it wasn't sliding across on to the other shapes.

Mommy even got in on the action...directing Ethan on how we were going to decorate the cookies. He wanted to go straight for the sprinkles...what kid doesn't? He was also very adamant about using only the green frosting. The "red" was just a little too pink for him. In Ethan's words, "Pink is for girls, I use green."

Having fun...not sure what's up with Alyssa's "smile". She's at that stage again...tough to get good smiles from that girl.

"Aunt" Jan and the kids with the cookies they made...the tradition lives on!

Thanks for such a fun day "Aunt" Jan! This mommy needs to get your amazing cookie dough recipe.

Early Christmas

Because of the snow that we got last night and high winds, there was no church this morning. So, instead, we had family worship which involed reading the Christmas story and then singing a few Christmas carols that we would have sang in church this morning. (Jason was suppose to lead worship today so we had a little inside knowledge of what songs were going to be sung.)

After family worship, I got the idea of letting the kids open up a gift. We had purchased games for the kids so that's what they got to open. Our reasoning...we were snowed in and needed something new in the house for the kids to play with and be excited about.
Ethan got Hungry, Hungry Hippos...he was so excited and played with it for hours, mostly alone.

The girls had a gift to share...only because they both wanted the same game.

They got Operation and played it several times together.

Mommy joined in on the first round.

This is how Ethan spent much of his time today...he was feeding the hippos. It was very cute to watch.

Cousin fun and Winter has arrived

Wednesday, the 17th, we had Wayne and Weston for the morning. Weston kept chasing Wayne and Ethan as they were pushing the dump truck throughout the house and getting upset that he couldn't keep up. I decided to let him go for a little ride. The older two were so excited and were laughing so hard they could hardly push the truck. I only let Weston go for a short ride...it sure was cute though!
Wednesday morning it had started to snow and by the afternoon the wind had really picked up. This is what our front porch looked like from the winter weather that had arrived.

The backyard...hard to see but at least you can see the snow coming down.

Because of all the snow we got on Wednesday and because the wind caused so many drifts, school was cancelled on Thursday (and then again on Friday). The kids were able to play outside for a short while on Thursday afternoon. It was so cold out that I couldn't let them stay out long.

from left to right...Carter (neighbor boy), Alyssa, Dillon (little guy that we babysit), Ava and Brenna

Ethan was inside staying warm and watching a movie because he had a cold and a cough. He was such a good sport about the other kids going outside.

More snow pictures...we had a drift in front of the front porch on Thursday morning.

These crazy kids were whipping through the neigborhood on a sled being pulled by a jeep. I was waiting to hear the sirens.

A better view of the backyard.

Alyssa is officially 7!

Monday, December 15th was Alyssa's "real" birthday. We celebrated with her class by bringing cupcakes to share. Alyssa handed them out to each of her classmates and had a special birthday hat...a construction hat...it's the theme for the entire school this year. She was not thrilled about being the only one wearing a hat so I took her out to the hall for a picture.

Alyssa requested Dairy Queen for her birthday dinner. Duane met us there and we sat in a very cold restaurant...they were having problems with their heat that evening. After dinner, we went to the Health Care Center to celebrate with Grammy the rest of the evening. Alyssa opened up a few more gifts from Grammy and Duane and then got her gifts from us there also.

Hannah Montana zip-up hoodie from Grammy and Duane...Alyssa was thrilled to get this!

She might look surprised but she knew this gift was coming. When Brenna turned 7, we got her an American Girl doll. Well, Alyssa remembered this and kept telling us she already knew what she was getting for her birthday. I told her she just needed to act surprised. I think she did a great job at accomplishing the task. (Sorry the picture is blurry...I was laughing when I took the picture.)

Alyssa with her new American Girl doll, Kit.

Groen family Christmas

The evening of the 13th was the Groen family Christmas. Grandma has all of early in December so that we can all make it. This year, there were over 50 of us there. Yes, you read that correctly, 50+.

Our nephew Weston was the most festive one there. He was so cute with his Christmas hat and his binkie that says, "Falalalala". Leave it to my sister-in-law to find a holiday binkie. This is only part of the family down in the basement...everyone ready to eat!

There is a fireplace downstairs that is unused. The kids love to play inside of it.

Ethan went looking for Santa Claus...he was so funny he kept standing up inside calling for Santa.

The kids were excited to open up a gift from Great-Grandma.

The adults always play a game that involves gift exchanges and we divide the guys and gals. We always need to watch out for a special mother and daugther team...they get together and sceam...it's fun to watch and we love to give them a hard time!

The guys don't seem to get near the excitement going when their part of the game.

Brenna, our niece, came flying down the stairs letting us all know that..."It's snowing!"

We all had a great time and the kids were exhausted when we left.