And now the good news!

Amidst all of our repairs/house falling apart, there have been some good things happening.

First of all.......

We got invited to go on a cruise! And we are super excited. John's parents called a few weeks ago and invited us to go with them on a New England cruise. This was even more exciting for us since we had wanted to go on a cruise this year to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, but the funds for that had been taken away (or rather spent on some sort of repair). And now we get to go on this cruise for free! Which is the best price ever. We start in Boston and go up to Maine and into Canada. I think we end in Quebec City. It sounds amazing. I can't wait! Although, mostly I'm excited to have a week full of meals where I only have to feed myself. That is my favorite part of vacations. Next........

We were presented with a way to afford a car payment (hopefully). This has been weighing on my mind for quite some time. We are slowly out growing our car, and John's car is slowly nearing it's end. We've known the need for a new car was coming and just couldn't come up with a way to take on a car payment. Blessings come when they're least expected. Now we just have to get all our ducks in a row and can really start car shopping. Ahhh, relief.

And finally (just for the heck of it)......

I think Emmie is at one of my favorite stages. She's just so darn cute and fun. Her jibberish has got to be one of the cutest things, and I get to hear her every day. I think I love it most because she's at the point where she thinks she's talking and her sounds are so funny. Her favorite sound is "ow" and it's thrown in her speech often. She always responds when you ask her a question. Usually the answer is "now" (because it ends in ow). She says no a lot but doesn't know what it means. She also says dad, hi, ni ni (night night), and num num (which ironically enough means food).

She follows directions pretty well, for a 1 year old. I love when we tell her to go get something and she rushes off in excitement. She also has her own special way of organizing. She is always sure to put all the plastic bowls on the kitchen chairs (because that's where they go). She hides our shoes in special places. John and Owen were both missing a single shoe for weeks. She's definitely helpful.

And what's greatest about her is she's as spunky and happy as ever!