Merry Christmas From Southern California!

I've never had a white Christmas.

And let it snow, let it snow, let it snow? In The OC, snow is about as rare as seeing a family with five kids.

When we passed a guy at the pier and he started counting aloud the number of kids in our tribe, we realized we had officially become An Anomaly.

"Five! Hoo-boy!" the guy laughed as we passed him.

We laughed, too. I mean, what else can you do? The stroller alone is so big you need blinkers and beeping sounds just to turn or back up. We've dubbed it "The Strailer"--a blend of "stroller" and "trailer." People see The Strailer and do a double-take. Then they see three other kids and you can almost see them doing the math; the number FIVE dawning on them like some crazy revelation.

But even if you're a traveling circus show, nothing beats post-partum blahs like a walk along the beach. We strolled the Newport Beach pier and spotted dolphins swimming nearby. There were a lot of surfers but not a lot of waves. No matter; everyone seemed happy just to be soaking in the sunshine.

Then there was this guy: a hungry pelican looking to score some tasty morsels off the guys fishing from the pier.

We finished off the morning with fresh donuts from a beachside shop. We may not get snow in SoCal, but that doesn't stop us from having ourselves a merry little Christmas. And this year, it's not so little. It's doubly merry, doubly happy, doubly wonderful because of our double gifts: our precious newborn twins.

So, wherever you are, in snow or in sunshine, I wish you a very Merry Christmas! If you'd like, post a comment wishing our family a "Merry Christmas!" from where you are! (ie. "Merry Christmas from Oregon!") It would be fun to get a bunch of different places listed!