The First Chapter in the Book of Opportunity

"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right." Oprah Winfrey

As I ready myself to make a big brunch for my sleepy-eyed family of four (we let the boys watch the ball drop at midnight), I want to share the photo we took of the boys last night, in new shoes and new shirts, sporting fresh haircuts, on our way to dinner and a movie.

I swell with maternal pride.

We thank you for reading our blog and caring enough about us (or thinking we are entertaining enough) to follow along in our journey of life as a family. We finished a year with Corey home, adjusting to new jobs and new parenting schedules, a new school and the challenges of multiple testosterone units living under one roof. We did many things wrong. We got in fights at school. We lied. We broke things. We yelled. We cursed. We drew inappropriate pictures. We wrecked our cars. We were flexible, and we made the necessary adjustments. But with all that, at the end of every day, we knew we were loved, and that we loved each other.

Jake has one New Year's resolution: to be more social. Specifically, he wants to hang out more with a boy in his class who lives a few houses down. They did fireworks together last night. This is a resolution I can fully get behind. Landen has no resolutions for the new year. He's apparently just fine with himself as is and sees no need for improvement. Corey is resolving to exercise more, give up sugared carbonated beverages, and buy a pistol. I'm going to try with all my might to delay the purchase of a pistol until the sugar withdrawals are long behind him. Otherwise we'll be front-page news.

Two of my resolutions are to say "yes" to my kids more. One time I will not be saying "yes" is when they leave their crap on the floor in the living room or sunroom or in the driveway, because another resolution is to throw away toys that are not being played with and are not where they belong. I told the boys this would make me a monster as the parent of young boys, but would make them good husbands someday. I have others that do not involve my kids, but they are not yet ready for public declaration.

I'm also looking forward to marking some of the home-improvement projects listed in this post as complete. Probably starting first with the boys' bathroom. This may be the year we start trying to get pregnant. Or the year I find a military school for Landen that we can afford (I kid, I kid.) We could be entering the year where Corey gets promoted. Or I find a better work-life balance.

That's my favorite thing about January 1st. The possibilities are endless.