с Новым годом! (happy new year!)

Happy New Year, y'all!

Let me tell you, I am blessed. I have a happy husband, a beautiful boy, a fantastic family and the best friends a girl can ask for. I am Luck-E!

Of course, sometimes I get tired & cranky, which doesn't help with the remembering of the blessings, but weekends like last, they pull it all back together again.


In the car, on the way to Jack-o's, Alexander was having a little trouble figuring out which Liam we were off to visit. We tried to tell him we were going to "Jackie's Liam," "Dylan, Audrey & Liam's," and "Big Liam's." But you know what sparked his memory? That's right, "Chocolate Liam..." Thanks Denny:).


Chocolate Liam is, by far, the lovingest child I've ever met. I can't tell you how many times he told me he loved me, or how many random hugs & kisses I got. Hopefully some of the cuddly-loving rubs off on our little elephant.

Even after the boys got overly-tired (they refused to sleep until after they saw Dick Clark make it to another new year), they played great together. (Selective memory about the "mine" episodes...)

If you look closely at the above picture, you will notice Alexander's game console controller. Yeah, he snuggled up next to whomever was playing a video game & pretended to play himself. And if you look even closer, you'll notice he is holding the controller backwards...

The boys absolutely refused to sleep. They were so tired; Liam actually begged Alexander to go lay in his bed & watch Scooby. Alexander went, but didn't stay long. As soon as Mama's boy heard that NKOTB & the other boy band were ringing in the New Year with Dick, he got a second wind.

OK, Liam might be the lovingest now, but until he came along to unthrone his sister, Audrey held the love-bug crown. Now she has to settle for the smartest member of the family award. This morning, Papa said, "Audrey's not going to be like a normal teenager, she's very intelligent & already knows how to interact with adults."

Although the boy didn't pass out until nearly 12:30, he was still up, bright & early at 7:30. AM. Early. Very early. Ugh. And then, he woke the rest of the house up. Sorry guys!

When we told Chocolate Liam that we were going to have to leave to go to the family Christmas Party very soon, he asked Alexander, "Are you going to miss me?" We are. The boys are just too cute together!

Listen very closely to the video below, and you'll hear exactly what Liam thinks of Alexander's departure...

About 3 minutes after we got into the car, before we even passed the EZ Shopper, the boy was passed out. We (Mama) wanted to stop at the Windber Hotel on our way through Windber, but Papa thought it might be a bad idea to leave the kid asleep in the car so close to the new Sheetz...

Unfortunately, a huge truck rumbled past Aunt Connie's just as I was carrying the sleeping kiddo inside. So much for a nap...

But who isn't willing to wake up for a little Christmas poker with Uncle Johnny & the gang?

Now, just so you know, we don't usually play poker. Our Christmas game of choice, of course, has always been Bingo-bango. But this year, without Bingo Bob to call the balls, it just didn't seem right. So the whole family got in on a game of Smoke & Fire, before the true gamblers pulled out the coin & started dealing for money.

Of course, the true Leventry's don't need to play for money, we play for Chocolate (Thanks Aunt Jenn; we all really appreciated your trip to Hershey Chocolate World last week!)

And also, in true Leventry style, the kiddos headed out to play in the snow (& throw snowballs at Aunt Connie).

Anyway, like I said, I am so very, very lucky to have such a wonderful, supportive, happy and healthy family. I love you! I am also lucky to have so many awesome friends throughout the country to visit, reminisce & have the best conversations with. Thank you!

Happy New Year!