HM20: The New Year

It's so hard to think about the fact that a new year is rapidly approaching. Christmas is just a few days off and that's still the focus here. After Christmas though things start moving along, back into the normal rhythm of life. By New Years Eve the Christmas tree is down, the decorations have been packed away and, besides the host of extra toys, things are just as they are the other 11 months of the year.

New Years Eve will be wonderful this year. It's the first time Brian has been home with us since he started in law enforcement and we're all excited about spending it together. We actually have the option of having the kids go to my Dad's house this New Years, but there aren't any big parties or plans that we've been invited to attend so I think we'll be staying home with the kids.

New Years Eve is the only night of the year that the kids are allowed to stay up until midnight (and get to sleep in the front room) and they make the most of it. We bring out pillows, blankets and sleeping bags and make a nice comfy place for the kids on the front room floor. Then we chose a movie or two and sit down and watch them together. We play some games (I'm sure Disney Scene It! will be played, maybe some new games received for Christmas too). We munch on popcorn or make ice cream sundaes. We just enjoy hanging out together.

The kids all really try hard to stay wake. It's sometimes difficult, since they aren't used to staying up and they're so warm and comfy watching movies. Usually at least one of them falls asleep before midnight, but we're hoping they all make it thisyear.

About 10 minutes until midnight we turn on the TV to catch the ball dropping in Times Square (OK, so it dropped 3 hours ago by the time we saw it, but it's our tradition even though it's not live). We all yell "Happy New Years" and hug each other. Then we pose for our traditional first photo of the new year. Shortly after, the lights go out and we all go to bed.