happy new year!

Happy New Year! We're bumbling around the house today...taking down the Christmas decor (sad...sad...but much easier to do now while daddy is home than once he's back to work!)....and otherwise puttering around in exhaustion. Exhaustion because we actually made it to midnight last night--perhaps the first time we've done so since Elizabeth was born! And just to be wild, we even left the house...imagine that!? The past few years we've had friends over so we could still put the girls in bed, etc...but this year when some friends who live just minutes away asked if it would be a blessing if they hosted, we jumped on that offer....I do LOVE inviting people into our house and doing the whole hostessing thing...but seriously...the idea of not having to clean anything or prepare anything was delightful. We were able to tuck the girls away to sleep at their house...and at one point there were 6 children all soundly sleeping while the adults played dominoes, filled up on yummy treats, and simply enjoyed one another's company. And lo and behold, before we knew it midnight was upon us....we grabbed our sparkling juice and goblets...flipped on the TV to see the ball drop...did the clinking glasses and kissing spouses thing...and voila...a new year! Believe it or not we even stuck around chatting until 1 am...when we finally roused the sleeping angels, slipped them into carseats, made the brief drive home, and all tucked ourselves snuggly into bed. Granted...the girls still woke up at 8 this morning...far before daddy and I were really ready to be up and at 'em...but it was well worth the lack of sleep to enjoy a nice evening with friends!