Happy New Year!!!

We had an AMAZING New Year's!!  It was probably my favorite EVER actually.
I had completely forgotten that it was New Year's Eve at first! 

We started the day off by going to eat at Chili's just our little family.  While we were sitting there at the table, I couldn't help but feel extremely blessed that we are able to take our kids to dinner with us!  They are total flirts, so the waitresses absolutely love them, they always say please and thank you whenever they get refills or are ordering and they sit quietly in their chairs and wait patiently for their food for the most part.  Not everybody is able to treat their families to things like that very often, at least I know with 4 kids and 2 adults, it adds up! (Makayla is able to eat Mac and Cheese now and she feels left out if everyone is eating but her)  Then we went grocery shopping. Again, I feel extremely blessed to be able to provide for the needs of our family! When I walk down the aisles with heaping carts full of food for the next 2 weeks, sometimes I feel guilty. Not everybody can do that. I feel so blessed to have a husband that has a good job so we can provide for our family.

While we were grocery shopping I was wondering why it was so busy!  I was looking around at all the people when it hit me that it was New Year's Eve!!! So we had the kids each pick out a bag of chips, crackers or cookies that were their very favorite and we got a bunch of drinks, sparkling cider and champagne glasses and we headed home!

So first we did fireworks.  We did all the ones we had left over from the 4th of July that we were too nervous to light back then because of how dry it was.
Then we cleaned up the house a little, put up the card table and put out all of the snacks we bought.  Then we played a family game of Apples to Apples.  With only 3 of us being able to read, you'd think it wouldn't be very fun, but oh my heck!!!!!
Here is a little taste of the hilarity:
The catagory: "Helpful"
The card: "Referee"
What Thomas read (he's only in second grade mind you and referee is a tricky word for a little kid!):  "Things that are helpful... Reefer!"  Oh man... He has no idea what a reefer is since we don't usually teach our small children drug references, but Matt and I knew what it was and we laughed... and laughed.. and laughed... and lovingly corrected him.. and laughed... and laughed... 
It's really not funny at all.
In the end Matt won, then Riley came in second, then Connor, then Thomas, then me... (good try Alicia, there's always next year)

After we played Apples to Apples we got all the kids sleeping bags and pillows and put them on the living room floor and let them choose a movie.  They all voted on Aristocats, so that's what we watched.. while I read. : )

Then after the movie, we were watching the ball drop and guess what!!! MAKAYLA WOKE UP!!! YAAAAAY!  So I ran and grabbed her and was super excited to let her join the festivities!

At midnight we got our party blowers (and the kids had party hats and toy musical instruments as well) we went to the door and we made a ruckus! Then we drank our sparkling cider (Makayla even got her first taste!) and then went to bed.

We started a new very cool New Years Tradition though that was absolutely AMAZING!!!

New year's night (So not the night of the party) Matt gave each of the kids a father's blessing.
It was a very cool thing.
It was so fun to see the kids just glow after their blessings.  It was like they felt a small portion of how special and important they are to Heavenly Father.
After all the kids were done, I was able to get one too.  It was amazing. While it was a very personal thing, I would like to share my favorite part. In my blessing it said how much God is aware of my everyday struggles.  He knows of my worries, and he knows that I'm doing my very best at raising my children. But not to worry, because our children are being watched over and protected.

I think about that statement and I realize something very cool.
None of my kids have ever had a broken bone, needed stitches, gotten a black eye or any other major ugly bruise. Never any serious or life threateneing illness or accident. The cat has scratched them here or there, but besides that the most major thing that has happened is Riley bit through his tongue. A centimeter to the left or to the right would have required them to sedate him and stitch it up, but where it was positioned, he was fine.  It's not that they don't attempt crazy things sometimes, they totally do! Riley being my craziest!  But usually I feel an urgent need to check on them and get there just in time to catch them. (Literally I have caught Riley right before he has hit the ground sometimes) or by some other miracle, they walk away with a small bump.  It made it very clear that it is totally true.  My kiddos have guardian angels.  And while I am still going to do everything I need to do to keep my boys safe, it feels really good to know that there's a higher power there to suppliment for my inadiquacy. I can't wait to do it again next year!!!

Hope everyone else had a great New Years too!!