Sometimes I wonder... I guess I am still a lousy blogger. I only post when I really have a good chance to sit down and think about the direction our life is goin, which isn't very often. We have been unbelievably blessed financially this year. Andy and I are out of debt completely, except for the house and my lease car (can't break the lease for 11 more months). We have our emergency fund at 3 months salary (his and mine combined), our 401k is maxed, college savings going on, and a sinking fund for categories I didn't even know we wanted to have! Andy got a huge raise out of nowhere... it's not review time, but they gave him a project and he did well so they just walked in and gave him a raise. We are struggling with how quickly this financial freedom has come, because we have seen it all go away before. We are well invested and prepared for just about anything right now, but stil live in fear. Andy tore the meniscus in his right knee. No idea how. He has been having leg pain since before Christmas and after seeing a doctor, having physical therapy, and still enduring pain, they did an MRI and found this. We will see what they want to do to fix him. Probably a surgery in his spring/early summer. The house is coming along nicely. I painted a bathroom and got new bathmats and shower curtain and a pic for it. It's the only room in the house that isn't some neutral/tan color and I LOVE it. We toyed with new carpet for our room and down the stairs, but have decided to wait another 6 months. Outside is the priority this spring. We are going to have some landscape worked on because we have some sort of choke weed destroying all the perennials in two different flower beds. We are having that removed, and all the beds mulched. In addition we are having two evergreen bushes near the garage rescued. I think they were planted in the wrong location and they can't survive with so much cement surrounding them. My brother Pat gets remarried in June, so I have been spending lots of time buying suits and shirts, and ties, and belts, and shoes for boys. It's times like this I wish we went to church, so they would already have all this stuff, or at least have a chance to wear it again soon. I have the shower next weekend, and have already gotten the gift for that. We still need to get them a wedding gift, shoes for my dress, shoes for Max, and I 'need" jewelery for my dress. :) Life is really good right now. Sometimes it seems too good... and it scares me. Most of the time I am able to think that we have worked hard for 21 years, and lived poor for so long that we are finally able to do the things we want. All the time I realize how far we have come and how lucky we are.