Creating a Meaningful New Years

I love it that New Years is a time to reset.  Reset my goals and priorities.  It gives me a time each year to self reflect and get a “do-over”.  This year we are focusing on things we desire for our family and life as we follow Christ.  Here are some questions we will be asking each other.

How did we see God work in our kids in 2011?

How did we see God work in us as a couple?

As a family?

What would you like to see God do this next year?

What are some ways you desire to grow as a follower of Christ?

What are some big prayers we desire God to answer this year?

How can we serve others (school, neighborhood, friends, family, church, etc)

We also chose a family motto/verse that we will seek to follow this next year.  Our motto is going to be “What needs to be done?”  This is broad but it is a way for our family to be others focused and be a servant like Christ commands us to be.  This could be something as simple as what needs to be done in our house, picking up toys, putting shoes away, etc.  It could also be when we are out and about looking for ways to serve and impact others.  Not being so caught up in our own lives that we disregard what God can do in others through us.  I am excited to see how this gets developed.

I will be making a painting and placing it up in our house to remind us of our family focus.

What are some meaningful ways you enjoy New Years?

New Years with Kids

This year we will be celebrating New Years with several of our good friends!  We wanted to make it fun for the kids as well as enjoyable for the adults.  The kids countdown will be at 7:00, but still just as enjoyable.  Here is a look at some of our ideas of what we will be up to!

Milk toasts with sprinkles on the cup! (We ended up using sparkling cider, they loved it).

Answer questions about yourself…we do this interview with our kids each year to see how their likes change.  We include favorite color, food, book, friend, etc.

Homemade noise makers (We used store bought ones due to time….)

1. Beans in a cottage cheese container

2. Drum with oatmeal container or empty box.

3. Kazoo with empty toilet paper roll.  Secure a piece of wax paper on one end with a rubber band and poke a small hole near the open end.

We have also done confetti (have the kids hole punch or tear paper to get it ready and have them throw it at the countdown.

Balloon release is fun.  Blow up several balloons and place them on a sheet.  When it is countdown time have the people hold it up over the kids head and then drop at “midnight.”

Another idea is a family time capsule, bury it in the yard and find it again the next year…or in 5 years!

Have fun creating those memories!

New Year’s Resolutions

I am not big into New Year’s Resolutions, but this year I decided to make a few for myself.  These are things I hope to accomplish or how I want God to change me in the 2011.  Some I have started, and some are yet to come.  Here are mine.

1) I made a prayer sheet up for my kids and husband on specific things I want to pray for them for in this year.  Each day I have something I am focused on in prayer for them.

2) Tuesday night I am fasting from TV.  I do love watching TV, but I also know there are things I want to/need to do and this allows me to do them.  I decided to do this to focus on praying for my brother and his family, as they lost their newborn baby during the Christmas season.

3) I am stealing this one from my good friend Abby.  She told me the other day she is focusing on not leaving things unsaid.  If she notices someone looks nice, tell them.  If I am overcome by a deep love and respect for my husband (He really is amazing!), tell him!!!!  I have realized truly how fleeting life is and I want the people in my life to always know how much they mean to me.

What are your hopes for the new year?

New Years

We had a kids New Years Party this year and it was great fun!  Isaiah and Ayla were very excited to have a house full of kids.  We rearranged the furniture, made decorations, goodies bags, and set up lots of games.  Isaiah was super excited that his two best buds from preschool made it, and Ayla loved all the treats!

The kids and I made a banner for our door. Isaiah and I cut colorful pieces of felt into rectangles and I wrote the letters in glue. Ayla and Isaiah shared the task of dumping, yes dumping, the glitter on the glue. Lots of mess, but very fun too!

This was one of the centers I had set up, it was a kazoo made out of toilet paper rolls. The kids decorated them with markers and stickers and then loudly played them at the balloon drop!

Another station was a noise maker station. I had a variety of tubs and containers that the kids could fill to create their noise maker. They filled them with rice, maccaroni noodles, and a variety of beans. Taped them shut and they were good to go.

Confetti center: The kids used a hold punch, scissors or their fingers to cut and tear the paper into small pieces of confetti. They threw the confetti at the balloon drop.

This was a best and worst memory of 2009. Worst memory winner was a kid who broke his arm, and Best memory was a girl that went to Disneyland. The kids voted.

2009 Interview was another station. The parents asked the kids their favorite cereal, animal, color, etc. Other questions include what do you wish for this next year, what would you change your name to, what do you like best about each person in your family… the kids also drew a self portrait and wrote their name. Favorite answers include Isaiah wanting to be named Superman and Ayla loving everyone hugs and kisses.

Isaiah and Ayla helped decorate the house with streamers

Ayla was such a cutie in her new Christmas dress

What cuties!

The kids dove right in making their crafts!

We had lemonade, hotdogs, pretzels, and candy! Isaiah enjoyed eating two hotdogs!

One of the favorite things was the dance party! We played a couple of rockin songs and the kids danced. Ayla only lasted a little while, then she got overwhelmed. Isaiah rolled on the floor and did break dance moves! He loved it!

We had four of the dads hold a sheet and did a balloon release as we counted down to the New Year (at 6:30).

Isaiah was ready with his confetti and noise maker.

Ayla all smiles as she gathers some of the balloons.

Ayla and Lydia toast with sparkling cider to ring in the new year.

Isaiah toasted to Daddy

The excitement didn’t end when the New Year came, the kids continued to run around, play and celebrate!

All in all it was a great night.  Good friends and lots of fun!  I think this will be a tradition of ours to host a kids New Years Party, next year who knows maybe we will even stay up until 8:00!