It was a VERY Merry Christmas!

I LOVE Christmas and everything about it!

But my most favorite part is spending time with family and this year was absolutely the best! We stayed home this year and relaxed! Christmas Eve, we picked up my brother Christian because of the weather and had him spend the night.

All the kids were home too which was amazing as we laughed and enjoyed time together!

Christmas afternoon, Mike and I made a delicious prime rib dinner and invited Mike's parents over for the feast.

It was a wonderful day!

Walkin' in a winter wonderland...

The snow is beautiful, but I'm ready for it to melt already!

Welcome Home Derrek!!!!

After studying abroad for the semester through the University of Washington at the Technilogico de Monterrey, Derrek is finally home!!!! He had a wonderful experience! His favorite part was spending time with Daniel Herrera's family (a friend Derrek has had for four years). They were so kind to him and treated him as one of their own. I will be forever grateful to them for taking care of my son! Welcome home Derrek!!!!!!

Tagged!!!

Our marriage through the years!1.Where did you meet your husband? our church had a Young Single Adult, Temple Marriage Institute Class. It was taught by Bill Jefferies in the Bremerton Building.
2.How long did you date before you got married? We met June 1983, were engaged that October, right after my birthday (he waited until I was legal!) and married in the Seattle Temple June 16th, 1984!
3.How long have you been married? 24 1/2 years! Definitely more good years than bad, but a roller-coaster ride never-the-less!
4.What does he do that surprises you? Nothing really surprises me any more, but when he works on the house that's such a nice surprise and he knows I love it.
5.What is your favorite feature of his? His eyes, ears...
6.What is his best quality? He's entertaining and there's never a dull moment.
7.Does he have a nickname for you? boo, booya, bethiebooBoo.
8.What is his favorite food? Japanese!
9.What is his favorite sport? He loves to watch football, basketball, baseball and play golf, basketball and go skiing.
10.When and where did you first kiss? He tried to kiss me on our first date, but I did the quick hug maneuver so he didn't try again for a MONTH! We were at his house (his Mom's) and we were standing by the back bathroom and he kissed me in the doorway.
11.What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? watch movies at home, go out to eat, talk...
12.Do you have any children? Four, all grown up!
13.Does he have any hidden talents? He is very neat and tidy and does the laundry. I haven't touched the laundry in YEARS!
14.How old is he? 46. 47 in March.
15.Who said 'I love you' first? He did it first in Japanese at my house in Harbor Heights! I was sneaky though and found out what he said from a Japanese friend of mine and she told me what to say back. Little did I know I said something back like, I want your body! So embarrassing!!!! He then told me in English at Lion's Park at the dock there. It was a beautiful cloudless night and it was PERFECT!
16.What is his favorite music? He's on this Crazy Train by Ozzy Osborne kick right now when he wants to get pumped up and ready to go to work/start a project and it drives me bonkers!!!! If I have to hear "ALL ABOAAAAARD, AHA,HA,HA,HA one more time...!!!! He also likes Journey, Anberlin, and anything from the 70's.
17.What do you admire most about him? He is the most giving person I know and he really cares about people. He serves the Lord without a second thought and He's also REALLY smart, almost to a fault. Sometimes I think he's going to burst with all the knowledge he acquires!
18.What is his favorite color? Blue.
19.Will he read this? Probably not.
20.Who do you tag? Anybody and Everybody!

My Christmas Style...

This survey knows me so well! It was fun and a little FREAKY!

You Are a Minimal Christmas Tree

You're not a total Scrooge, but you feel no need to go overboard at Christmas. Less is more, and your Christmas reflects refined quality.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

Happy Thanksgiving Turkeys!

Thanksgiving was such a fun time for our family. Mike went and played in the annual Turkey Bowl after squeezing in to his old high school football jersey. He looked so cute, but came home muddy and pretty sore. I kept telling him he was getting old, but he didn't believe me! We also had a wonderful surprise when we found out that Jordan would be able to come home and celebrate with us! He hasn't been home for Thanksgiving since 2004 and so it was wonderful having him here! Kendal, Taylor and Tay's girlfriend Mercedes were all able to make it too and so did my brother Christian!!!!It's probably been 20 years since I've celebrated a holiday with him, so that was the icing on the cake!!! Jim and Betsey were able to be there also, which is always fun for everyone to see them.We ate a ton thanks to Lisa, Marilyn and of course Randy's skill at slicing Turkey (Thanks guys),
We also played games, Some of us took naps,and then we made a Thanksgiving Tree, which was a first for the Mantzke clan and will hopefully become a new tradition! It turned out great and helped us focus on what being thankful is all about! It was a wonderful Thanksgiving day, though Derrek was sorely missed, we look even more forward to Christmas!

Happy Birthday Taylor!!!

(These pictures were taken previous years)

Happy Birthday Tay Tay Zo Buddy. Awwwww, our baby boy is all grown up! Love you!!!!

Awesome Tribute

My sister Allison posted the best Veteran's Day tribute to our father! Please click on her blog link. I want everyone to know him better. Also, if you have the time, listen to Amy Grant's song "Father's Eyes" The lyrics are perfect for what I'm feeling right now. Thanks Allison! Love you Dad!

Wordless Wednesday

Fun in Vancouver, WA

Mike and I had two days of fun as we spent some time with family down in Vancouver. It was so wonderful seeing the kids and it made me just that much more excited for the time when Derrek gets home in December! We also got to meet Jordan's sweet girlfriend, Destiny. Another one of the highlights for me was being able to see Jamie!!!
I've missed her living by us so much and our time together Sunday was long overdue. It was awesome!!!! We also had fun attending the Young Single Adult Ward with the kids and the Break Fast Dinner they have at the church after every fast sunday. They had a cook off which was very tasty and then we went to the boys apartment and hung out until Mike and I had to leave. Overall it was an amazing weekend and I'm glad we made the trip!!!!

Happy Halloween!

Can an empty nester have a happy Halloween? DEFINITELY! Unfortunately, in the past 23 Halloweens at our house, we have gotten a total of no more than 5 trick or treaters which has always meant more candy for us, but not very much fun. This year, I invited my Primary class over the Wednesday before and had a party. I had 7 six year olds dressed in costumes and we decorated cupcakes for their families and watched Pooh's Heffalump Halloween (very cute). It was great! Then that Friday I worked, so I dressed the girls in their costumes for the day, took them to school and had a simple, sugar free party for them.

They still were bouncing off the walls and wouldn't even nap for me. It was crazy and not very fun. I felt bad for the girls, but the other Nanny came in the afternoon, so I was free to have fun later that day. That evening, Marty and Kathleen Francom had a party for some of the couples they knew in our ward. It was a blast!!!! Jim and Jan Wells were there, along with, Cathy Stensen, Leonard and Kathy Anderson, Chuck and Susan Shores and another couple, Linda and ? whom I don't know as well. Mike had to help his mother with a construction emergency, so he couldn't go, but I decided to go anyway and though I missed Mike, I'm glad I did!!! The Francoms are such a neat couple and they really know how to throw parties. Thanks Marty and Kathleen!!!

This is the house that Mike built....

Not really, though from the time we moved here in 1986 to the present, this house has been a work in progress and a royal pain in my side. The remodel from Hell that's like the energizer bunny and keeps going and going and..... you get the idea. It's truly a love/hate relationship. When we moved here 22 years ago, it was 'Grandma's House' and we were doing her a favor by taking care of it while she was in a nursing home. And Grandma was doing us a huge favor by helping a poor young family save some money to buy their first home. But, as life happens, sadly Grandma never got well and so we just stayed. It really was a blessing to live here. We paid the property taxes and slowly worked on the house to upgrade from it's 1910 existence to make room for our growing family.

Mike also was busy being a husband, father, college student, an employee, to becoming a business owner and serve at church. For 22 years, my husband has had to take on Goliath and as time and money would allow, Mike replaced practically everything!!!

In 1996, we became the official owners of the house. It had no foundation under much of it, the wiring was old knob and tube, insulation was newspaper, the windows were single pane glass, there were only two bedrooms and the heating system consisted of an oil stove that belched black smoke and covered us and the walls with black soot. Once, we had to all be tested for carbon monoxide poisoning! Most times I wished the house would just blow up, but as of late, my feelings have changed. You see, my house is growing. As of December 2006, what began as 800 square feet of livable space, is now over 1,200 and I don't feel so claustrophobic anymore.

Though the house isn't done, I can start to see the big picture, not just dream about it. I now have a large bedroom, a formal dining room and sitting area that I've decorated to my changing taste from country casual to simple sophistication. This month has been especially fun as Mike and I have made a few cosmetic changes around the house. We fixed up Kendal's old room so now when the kids come and visit, the three boys can sleep in there.

We also had the main room's ceiling painted. For almost 100 years the ceiling has been a dark brown, but now that the sunlight no longer enters this room, we decided that lightening the ceiling was the way to go and boy does it make the room seem bigger!
Our next project will be the walls where there once were windows. (Below) One wall is a pass through from the kitchen in to the dining room and then the other wall will have a tiny window at top to allow more sunlight in to the family room. One thing I've come to realize through the years is that you don't need a lot of "stuff" to decorate. Simple, good quality furniture, fabric, pictures and paint and WA LA! Your house is a home. I used to lament that my house was so small and it is, but it's made me keep only those things that are important, what we really need and are using. In retrospect it's been a nice "problem" to have! I love my new surroundings! Thank you Mike.