Life is good!

I am going to New York City on Thursday night! I cannot tell you how excited I am! This will be my first airplane trip, and this is the #1 place in the world I always wanted to visit. All the best ballet companies and schools in the world are in NY. I want to go visit the School of American Ballet (the school from the movie Center Stage) and maybe the Joffrey ballet. We are going to see 2, maybe 3 Broadway plays (The Little Mermaid, Mama Mia, and maybe Wicked), the Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Times Square, etc... I am so excited! I was telling Alan last night that yes, I am so excited to go to New York, but I am just as excited to be my own person for four days. I will only have to take care of myself, no diapers to change, no bread to make, no multiple sets of teeth to brush etc... I love taking care of my kids, but a break is much needed, especially before baby #4 arrives. I am so grateful that Tracie let me tag along on her Dance Co. trip, Thanks Tracie!

Also, we put an offer on a house in Orem that we really like. It is not a short sale, so there is a really good possibility that it will go through. We made them an offer on Saturday night and they got back to us this morning saying our offer was too low, so we counter offered there asking price. They are supposed to get back to us today again. This house was built in 1973 and is a split entry. 6 bedrooms and 2 bath. The best part is, is that it has a separate mother in law apartment with separate entrance completely finished and being rented out right now. The family wants to stay if we will let them (score!) This is actually the only way we could afford a house right now, so we really hope we get it. Other things it has are: a fenced and finished back yard, 4 or 5 mature trees, a two car garage, and a full sprinkler system.

If any of you know us well, you know that we have never really been that good with money. We have been working hard to change that. I am in charge of the budget, and I must say, I am so proud of what we have accomplished. One thing that Alan and I have always struggled with is spending miscellaneous amounts of money on random not budgeted for things. So I came up with the idea to give he and I get a $25 allowance every time he gets paid. We can spend this money how ever we want, no questions asked. This has helped us the most! It has taken us a long time to get our finances under control after the studio. I know we have been commanded to get out of all unnecessary debt, and I know when Heavenly Father commands us to do something, he also provides a way for us to accomplish it. I feel like in almost every part of our lives this is true. We are so blessed and I am grateful.

One more thing! Our friends the Wilkerson's need help! They recently found out that they need to get invetro fertilization to be able to conceive another baby (they have been trying for over 5 years). They don't have the money they need to pay for this expensive procedure. Lyndee has come up with a way to earn money to pay for it on their own. She makes the most adorable knitted hats has dedicated a blog to selling these hats to raise money for their baby. Please just take a second and check out her blog. www.wilkersonivffund.blogspot.com

April