Family for a visit

The gang playing Little Big Planet


Mark and Xavier


Abilene and Xavier


This is the easiest way to get around the house, hitch a ride on your Uncle's leg!!!
Mark and Xavier


Austin and I before making Lumpia

The cutest ever, Sabastian!

Aunt Lisha(my sister) and Abi

Uncle Jimbo (my brother), Austin and Abilene

I LOVE being surrounded by family and friends...so, this year I got the best Christmas present that I could have ever asked for! We had such a good time, I was very sad to see it end.

Twas the Night Before Christmas

The Brewer Family Christmas 2008

Austin

Abilene

Abilene and Austin

I'd like to say nothing was stirring, but we are the Brewer Family...so, we had plenty going on! It is our Christmas tradition to attend the candle light service at our church. This year, Austin and Abi were asked to stand in as Mary and Joseph...of course they were so excited!!! "We get to dress up in costumes," was Austin's response! They did a great job and looked so cute!

Austin and Abi as Joseph and Mary

Pancakes and Pajamas

Okay, first, let me just say Koodos to the Taylors for their AWESOME idea of a pancake and pajama party! Hopefully we can make it a tradition as planned. My kid-o's had a blast and are still talking about the visit from Santa. That's the imagination of a magical Christmas that I want the kids to remember. Let me give everyone a run down of how the evening went. First, we started with a FABULOUS pancake bar. Anything filled with sugar could be added to your pancake, if you so desired. Gum drops, chocolate chips, fancy Christmas colored M&M's, the sky was the limit! From there, the kid-o's worked on a craft- baby Jesus in a walnut manger ornament. The there was a surprise visit from that very special guest- SANTA!!! He passed out a small gift to each very eager child! They topped off his vist by watching him ride away into the night on his Harley! (Christmas in Texas, what can I say?) Then we heard the story of 'What God Wants For Christmas'- each child got to help unfold the story. Then we headed to the backyard for smores around a campfire. It was THE best Christmas party I've ever been to, I think I might have enjoyed it just as much, if not more that the Kids...if that's possible. We are so blessed with good, loving friends. I really feel like our family has grown...Thank you God!


Mark and I in our matching PJ's


Levi, Austin and Keaton enjoying their pancakes


Abi receiving her gift from Santa


The kids with Santa

Go Tell It On The Mountain

The kid-o's sang at church this past weekend- It was so cute...the preschoolers spent a lot of time wiggling! In the second service, they realized that they could watch themselves on the big screens behind them...so, about half of them were faced away from the audience the entire time!

SO CUTE!!!

Christmas on the Ranch

Me and Mark


Sarah, Papa, and Mark


Austin and Mark fishing


Abi playing in the dirt!


Mark and his big bro, Aaron


Mark feeding the cows

Austin playing in the leaves

Abi feeding the cows

We just made our (most of the time) annual trip to Papa's ranch in Laneville, Texas. It is SO beautiful there...like a completely different world! There is really no record of time there, it is very relaxing and just down right FUN!

Let It Snow...In Houston????

That's right folks...Once leaving Arkansas, I thought I would never again see a snow flurry. But yesturday...IT SNOWED!!! Okay, it didn't stick; so, there were no snowmen. But it was very cold, and the snowflakes came down pretty heavily from time to time! The kids were very excited! The last time I remember it snowing in Houston, I think I was 13 or so...So, it snows here about every 15 years! I guess I'll take what I can get!

Ballerina

Abi for the most part is quite the tom-boy. Out oOf all of her dress up clothes, her pink power ranger costume from last halloween is her favorite. But every once in a while she gets in a girly mood!!! She decided to practive her ballet the other day!!!

O' Christmas tree...

Saturday we had our annual family trip to the Christmas tree farm. Our first year, wewere able to go close to home at the Jingle bell Ranch, but the last two years we have gone to the Red Caboose Christmas Tree Farm in Magnolia. Apparently they bought the Jingle Bell Ranch. We passed by the JBR, and I couldn't help but notice the HUGE for sale sign in front of it. I did have a dream later that day about purchasing the farm and selling Christmas trees for a living. But then I woke up...when I told Mark about my dream he just laughed and said "no way, we are NOT buying a Christmas Tree Farm!" A girl can dream, can't she?!?! Well, without further delay, here are the pics!

Abi and Austin-before

All of the kids on the hayride

Mark and Austin

Abi and Mark cutting the tree

Austin and Mark cutting the tree

The Family

When we got home that afternoon, we took a long nap...and then decorated the tree. I have to say, one thing I will definately miss as the kids get old is decorating the tree with them. One of my favorite things is how they hand two or three ornaments on the same branch!!! It's so darn cute! This year Abi was so excited because it was her turn to put the Angel on top! We closed the evening with hot chocolate in Christmas pajamas and watching Home Alone 3.

Girls Night Out for a Fancy Shin Dig

Wendy and Lizzie

Marisa, Taunya, Wendy, Me, and Lizzie

Yes, this year the girls talked me into attending the women's Christmas banquet at church. While I am not much for those kind of shin digs, I did have a good time with the girls...how can we not have a good time when there is food involved!?

Giving Thanks

We had a great turkey day this year...even if the turkey took WAY TOO LONG to cook! I put it in the oven at 8:30am and it didn't finish until a little after 5pm! It was worth the wait though. My favorite dish this year was definately the candied yams, it was the first time I ever made it from scratch. They were so tasty. We enjoyed this turkey day with our good friends, the Ayons. Check out the pics of the kids!Also, for another fine dining experience, I had to do a project for my nutrition class. We had to go to a new restaurant that we have never been to and evaluate the food and give a background of the food in that culture. I chose Italian food because American Italian food and real Italian food are not the same. Here are some pics from that experience!