Hey guys! I just wanted to say I added some new pictures to Flickr that I'm excited about (I even named each one!), and also I wanted to encourage you all to add more pictures to Flickr and keep our account booming! I blub you all
Trying out new Christmas presents: Especially homemade ones! and musical instruments:And trying out favorite new shoes: And my beautiful new rug! Wearing cute aprons:
Home again we are. SO sad to be away from you all already. The house is a huge over flowing mess. The kids have dug into their gifts and me into cleaning. Tried to listen to Joeys and Heather new homemade cds for us and they didn't work. I was so bummed, but then had the bright idea to put them in the DVD player and been singing, dancing and some what teary eyed. All the kiddos. So glad to have you all and wish a was back in that snug group photo now. jarom enjoying bellas new gift this is what she thinks about that Oey also loving bell's new roller skates.
It's past 2am on Christmas night. Art is sleeping. As I was about to get into the cozy bed myself, I felt like I had some kind of unfinished business. And then I remembered, that I really had wanted to have us all watch some old family videos tonight. Or perhaps do a sort of slideshow, like we used to, to that one song Somewhere In My Memory. I think that set of slides exists somewhere, set to change pictures every few seconds to the words of that song. Anyways, just wanted to put that thought out there, and perhaps we can get together for something like that on another night like New Years or something.
It's so crazy. I feel that our family is closer than we have ever been before. I had the most wonderful and lovely Christmas today. I loved everything about the whole day. I love so much the new additions to our family. I am IN LOVE with our beautiful family, all of it. But I also feel as though we are more stressed than ever too. Maybe it's just the day and age, or maybe it's just ME getting old? Maybe it's just the late 2000's versus the early 90's? Whatever it is, I just remembered the old Christmases and how we would watch the slides and I want to do that again. I don't think that we barely had a moment to just CHILL, all of us together today. Later, when Art and I left Heather's I noticed how sweet it was to see everyone cuddled up together playing Nintendo DS, painting, playing games, just hanging out. But there is so much more stimulus these days for sweet ol family moments to compete with.....and I kind of think it would be so great to just sit around and all just CHILL together. We got to just MAKE it happen. Just to sit around and talk to each other and watch old family homevideos and laugh and not have any other games or distractions ( like that's possible we are the beattys) from the outside computery world and just hold all of our souls together in one room for a moment in time and appreciate the beauty and the rarity of our situation. Which is, being so lucky to be healthy and alive and in the ever awe-inspiring presence of each other as human beings. Just to laugh at old crazy moments caught on tape, and to tell stories of our own pasts, and to just peace out.
I don't want anyone to think I am not completely in LOVE with the way today went. I am. I am just suggesting this as a ....suggestion. Cause I love love, and I love you all, and I just want to BE around you all and tell stories and sit together and drink Martinelli's and cider and wine and just have a good ol' peaceful time.
Thank you for being the most amazing people I ever met. I mean, that even includes Joey's little stints of (how is it that Amy and Matt put it) buckys? and the crying outbursts and the fits of joy and the screaming of everyone at the same time and the forevercalmness of Amy and the foreverexcitement of whoknowswhatisgoingon at the Beatty households. I love you all. I love IT all. All of our wonderful and sweet madness and love. I know we are crazy, but we got lots of love.
It would be pretty easy to make a slideshow of my old christmas SLIDESHOW on youtube, to the song Somewhere in my Memory. Maybe Dad can help me put all the slides onto the computer and I can make the same thing digitally and post it on our blog!. .......or ....I could just drag all of you AND the old stand-up slidescreen into a living room with the slide projector and plug it in and set up a stereo and an Ipod and do it the old fashioned way.....isn't that what Christmas is kind of all about? Traditions are awesome too. But in the meantime, here's the same song to someone else's little slideshow. I love you my dear family.
as always, it is busy busy busy around here. but i can't let a few days go by without my little updates, so here i go.
this is last wednesday. darin and i had a sacramento date: i had some business on campus and then we went to fresh choice for lunch which is always a special treat. then we did some christmas shopping at arden mall and around that area.
we love our huge plates of salad!
this is thursday. it was my last day at school and here i am with my fellow English 50A interns at Zocalo where we gathered for drinks and appetizers after the final. What a beautiful place! It's the kind of place I would never dream of treating myself to, but Eric works there so we got the royal treatment!
That is Professor Sweet in the back, our lovely mentor and guide through this crazy semester! On the left is my friend Meghan who is such a doll; she got us each a specialized gift based on our presentations. So for instance, I got the graphic illustrated Edgar Allen Poe! Sitting next to me is Heather Watson-Perez, another sweetie.
Here is Katie Post, the amazing Professor Toise (technically our internship teacher) and Eric Anderson.
After our wonderful gathering, Addie picked me up at J Street and we headed over to the grand opening of Velvet Leaf, our friends' shop for their lovely sustainable clothing company. The guys' band was playing that night to celebrate the opening and they rocked. I had such a blast.
Here's some of the audience.
Our stellar starboys.
Here's just a cozy in-between moment I had to include. My reading-men.
I finally got to see Kimmy, my pregnant darling forever friend!
She is twenty weeks but hardly showing. Except in one area, you'll notice.
And by the way, it's a girl!
Joey's show at Upstairs Gallery. Here's Nate Lawton playing his sweet tunes.
Phil brought a mask that I adore.Some of the P'ville crew. Mom just glows in her christmas gear.
Oh just hanging out, being handsome devils.
Solomon Fox.
Emma joining in.
Artie on melodica.
Singing Harvest's song. I cried.
And finally, WRAPPING BONANZA at mom's. It was just me, pops, and momma. Ever since I was little, I felt special when I got both my parents all to myself.
We got really weird. I was laughing so hard there were tears running down my face. Why are my parents the biggest dorks on earth? Mom says "there's such a thing as wraprage. THERE IS!"
Cats love gift wrap.
Dad thought this was very clever. I said, "Uh dad?" And he's like, "I thought it was kinda different."
Then mom and I made fudge!
Here's Darin at the shelter. They had their Christmas open house and then addie and I came over with In-n-Out for him and helped open the presents!"Just a couple of elves, out on the town."
And trying out favorite new shoes:
And my beautiful new rug!
Wearing cute aprons:
And hanging out with cats:
Watching it snow:
Hanging out with Jarom:
Hanging out with Oey:
Hanging out with Bella:
And hanging out with Dad!
watching cozy movies:
DANCING!
sharing the love!
we love our huge plates of salad!
this is thursday. it was my last day at school and here i am with my fellow English 50A interns at Zocalo where we gathered for drinks and appetizers after the final. What a beautiful place! It's the kind of place I would never dream of treating myself to, but Eric works there so we got the royal treatment!
I finally got to see Kimmy, my pregnant darling forever friend!
She is twenty weeks but hardly showing. Except in one area, you'll notice.
And by the way, it's a girl!
Some of the P'ville crew. Mom just glows in her christmas gear.
Oh just hanging out, being handsome devils.
Solomon Fox.
Emma joining in.
Artie on melodica.
Singing Harvest's song. I cried.
We got really weird. I was laughing so hard there were tears running down my face. Why are my parents the biggest dorks on earth? Mom says "there's such a thing as wraprage. THERE IS!"
Cats love gift wrap.
Dad thought this was very clever. I said, "Uh dad?" And he's like, "I thought it was kinda different."
Then mom and I made fudge!
"Just a couple of elves, out on the town."
