Ordinary Life

My little sister is 'in retail' and was the first one to bring the Little Mommy Cuddle & Coo babies to my attention. Apparently some parents weren't too keen on having their children reminded by the doll once every few seconds that " Islam is the Light " and began to return them. She mentioned it to me during a visit and I promptly forgot about it for a spell... the way she had described the dolls, I assumed they were an "off brand" doll and figured they'd be recalled in a short amount of time. Fast forward a month or so, I'm visiting Greenville again and need a gift for Christmas. Go figure, I'm looking for a baby doll and not just that, I'm in the market for a black baby doll. I find none at "The Evil Empire" (a.k.a.WalMart)  but am told by lil' sis that there is diversity to be found where she works... so I go there. I am on the doll aisle, Baby Islam long forgotten... I am bending to a low shelf when I hear a chorus ...

Christmas 2008 , originally uploaded by kellybrewer . In the event that you did not recieve our Christmas card, or we don't have the correct address for you, this is our Christmas letter, virtually.

Christmas 2008 , originally uploaded by kellybrewer . Not to sound like a broken record or anything but EVENTUALLY, I will blog something other than pictures. Tonight is not that time. From our family to yours, a very Merry Christmas and sincerest wishes for a New Year full of realistic resolutions and days lived to their fullest.

Before we went ice skating @ Savannah's SkatFest, the kids and I took a trolley around Savannah then picnicked with our lunch on River Street. It was a beautiful (and not too cold ) day for the outing. We learned some new things and just had fun together :

If God had intended us to move around on blades, He'd have given us ice skates instead of toes... Still, some crazy folks insist on renting a pair and risking their necks on the ice. Last night, we were numbered amongst them at Savannah's SkateFest.  The kids thought they were going to go out on the ice and instantly be doing figure eights, hockey slides, etc... they were humbled, needless to say. I have never been a big skater- ice or wheels. I prefer a little more control than those methods of travel which involve free gliding...nor have I ever really liked the idea of going endlessly in circles...WITH THE CROWD...  Still, it was fun to watch the kids give ice skating a go. They had a blast and were saddened when the session came to an end. They were asking to go again first thing this morning.... uh, oh...looks like we've started something.

We finally put our tree up the other night. All of our old Christmas stuff was lost or destroyed in the move (not to mention, eaten in storage by mice BEFORE the move) so we had to pick out new decorations and such... went with a gold, maroon, brown, champagne, winter white, sort of thing... my favorite are the peacock feathers... I am looking even now for a place to use those after Christmas :) Also, you'll notice a closeup of each of the kids' individual ornaments. They pick a new one each year... this year we took them to Hallmark. Chan's is the ESPN Santa & Elves, Logan's is the two mini Ariels and Fisher's is the Airplane. We chose the Polar Express one as a family ornament as we rode that ride at Sea World together just last month. 

In LAWN LIGHTS, I described a night of insomnia, insanity and Christmas lights... here are some pics:

I should first say that I despise yard ornamentation at Christmastime--and anytime really. It is such a frivolous use of time and money. I really can't appreciate all the work that goes into putting up then taking down elaborate displays for a mere month before having to figure out how to store the expensive yet tacky lighted sculptures for the better part of a year. I also can't appreciate leaving lights up year round, so bottom line is I'm scrooge-ish about decorating at Christmas. (yes, even the tree seems a little much fuss to my common sense detector, but that's another post) So, call it a Christmas miracle if you will, but we have lights on the lawn this year AND I put them out there. Yeah. I don't despise lawn lights any less, I just  love my children to the moon and back and they not only have Christmas Cheer, they have Holiday Fever. Clay was out of town one night this week and when he's gone, there is no one to tell me to go to bed, so I usually don...

   For those of you who've already seen all this on FaceBook, I am merely recording my Beanishness for those few family members who get all their latest Kelly & Family news from the blog.  Ben helped me give my photos a little face lift... I'm the Bean on the Right...the Right Bean you could say. A little brother who beans you, a little sister who elfs...aren't siblings the best?! (They really are.)

One of these days, I'll have time for Blogger once more... until then, random things that people send me or the occasional picture will have to (continue to) suffice:   Jamela elfed a group of us, including our Uncle Bean:

GIORDANO'S Lake Buena Vista , Florida Saturday, 11/29/2008

Fisher's First Lost Tooth ( Fairy Value:  $5! )