Big time. I just had the best day. All I can think about is how beautifully things are going, and how much I have needed this. You see, I have been in a slump. The kind where you think "why me?" about 27 times a day, and it seems to drag that way forev'. I dont even know where to start with this story, and it's probably not that interesting, but it has a very happy ending....even though the ending is me crying (the good cry).

My brother came. I love my brother so much. And Melanie came too. Melanie is amazing. She is the best thing that ever happened to my brother, not that he was a mess without her, but there are some naggyhighmaintainanceannoyingneedybratty girls out there, and she is nothing like them. They were some of the coolest and easiest guests we've ever had. I was worried about splitting up the amount of tourist/piper seeing they'd have, and I think they would have been fine not seeing anything but Piper the whole time they were here. They loved her so much and even tried changing their flight to stay with her a few more days. After we dropped them off at the airport, Jake and I talked about how awesome it was that they just crouded around Piper the whole time and never got bored with sitting at the hospital. You could just tell how much they loved her. It makes me cry thinking about it.

We had such a fun few days with Natey and Mel and were so happy they were here for Pipsey's birthday party, which was today. This is where it gets more amazing...our friends came all the way to NJ to spend Pip's birthday with her/us. Some of them rented a car, some of them borrowed a car, some of them sat in traffic for two hours and they all did it because they care. This meant more to me than I could ever express. I wanted to do a birthday party even though it sounded like the most impractical thing in the world, and our friends made it happen. Even though my baby is still in the hospital a full year later, we got to have her birthday party like REAL LIVE normal parents. I know it was really out of the way and a lot of effort for everyone to be there, which is why it makes me cry. My cup's brains runneth over like crazy today.