No Greater Joy: Hello 2016!

We decided to try out a new tradition for NYE this year. We found ourselves craving rest by Christmastime. It had been a very busy December with kids' activities, unpacking, and attempting to get settled. The day after Christmas we hopped in the car and drove to Ohio to celebrate Smithmas with Greg's family. Greg and I envisioned how we might feel returning to our wrapping-paper strewn house with suitcases full of dirty laundry and decided to plan a low-key NYE.

The kids have wanted to try hibachi for a really long time, and we thought this was the perfect occasion! It was so much fun!

Here comes the fire!

We forgot to warn our four year old that this was all part of the performance, because we are parents of the year.

Oops.

Safe on Daddy's lap.

Max tried his hand at catching the food the chef threw at him.

Greg has a knack for being really good at random things that no one cares about, and caught everything that flew by. He was the champion of our table, natch.

After hibachi we took our twelve pounds of leftovers ("Mom, I don't like soup with eggs floating in it.") and headed home for fondue and family game night. We've had a longstanding tradition of doing "Prayers and Praises" with our friends on NYE- praises for something in the year that's ending, and prayers for something in the coming year. Usually the adults gather around the table during this time while the kids destroy the house. But this year, since it was just us, we did them with the kids as we ate our fondue. It turned out to be a profoundly special time. The older kids had such sweet, thoughtful things to express. We wrote them all down and look forward to reading them next year as we reflect on all the ways we've seen God's hand in our lives in 2016.