Happy New Year!

Last night we entered a new phase of New Year's celebrations. Several weeks ago, I promised Isaac that he could stay up until midnight to celebrate the New Year. This is a bit of a stretch for me. I typically like all of the children to be in bed by 8:00. We are a little wild on Friday nights and allow them to stay up until 9:00. I start to twitch a bit if they are up much later than that. So, I had a few second thoughts after I made the promise, especially since I am not even sure that I have stayed up to bring in the new year since I have had children. But, I stuck to my promise.

We started our evening with a "special" dinner. I had thrown a few frozen food items in the shopping cart this week that we do not usually have. We ate bean and cheese burritos, curly fries, onion rings, barbecue pork, and Totino's pizza rolls. The pizza rolls were the hit of the evening! We finished our meal with chocolate ice cream topped with sprinkles. While we were eating, we talked about many of the things that happened in 2007. The first things Isaac mentioned was our move and his broken arm. I mentioned that we had gone to the beach, and they were amazed that we did it this year. June seemed like such a long time ago. We also talked about things that we hope happen in 2008. Bailey hopes she has a birthday and Christmas. Olivia wants more pizza rolls in the new year. Mommy wants to go to Disney World. We all agreed that we hope to make new friends and feel more at home here in our new city.

After dinner, we played Simon Says, which was a hoot. Everyone took a turn being Simon, even Anna Grace. We sang songs and watched television. Anna Grace was the first to head to bed. I tucked her in at 10:00. Olivia made it until around 11:15, and Bailey followed about fifteen minutes later. Isaac was determined to make it, and he was victorious! His proud little head hit the pillow at about 12:02. I had dreams about the children sleeping late, but Anna Grace and Bailey were up by 7:00, and everyone was up by 8:00.

We spent the day hanging out at home. Mark "enjoyed" the Tennessee football game and the children played. Everyone was a little crankier than normal after the late night. We headed to Cracker Barrel for supper and Starbucks for a little dessert for Mommy and Daddy.

I am thankful for the feeling of newness that comes with the January 1. Happy New Year!