Soooooooooooo much has happened since August! Joe's sister got married at the end of September. I had a blast and it was really fun. Joe and I celebrated his birthday at a state fair and the boy at from one end to the other and back and drank a gallon of apple cider. We celebrated my birthday and Halloween together by spending the day together by sleeping. College + late hours = Sleep time...plus Joe is an excellent pillow. November was filled with Christmas play rehearsals and Thanksgiving, which was a bit emotional because it was Jennie's last holiday with us before she was shipped off to the Air Force on December 1st, she's the one who got married. The Christmas play went great, I finished up my first semester of college, and things hit a really rough patch.

My Uncle Glenn died two and a half weeks ago and Mom was a mess. The guy was an alcoholic with heart problems and a lot of other stuff. I didn't really care for him, but he was my mom's brother and I had to pretend to be all upset. They say that one has to be sad, but I'm not. I'm down right mad. He left behind a 16 year old daughter who now doesn't have a father (her parents were never married, there is a lot of stuff that went down and I was really young when it happened). She has a step dad, but it's not her dad. The doctor's told him to stop drinking and he didn't, I'm mad at him for leaving her behind like that. Plus, alllll of the crap we're doing to figure out his estate is driving us crazy. The man hid everything so no one can find anything. It will take months, if not a year, to get everything straightened out.

Yet, Joe's family came to the rescue and saved me. I think I have spent more time there in the past three weeks than I have at home. Normally home sucks, but of lately, it super sucks. Mom and dad can't get along at all and I'm dead in the middle of it. Joe's parents really have made me feel welcome. His dad has welcomed me into the family (he keeps telling me I'm family so that I stop ringing the doorbell and just walk in) and told me all of the good traits that he sees in me and how good I am with Joe and is so proud of Joe for bringing home such a nice girl. His dad adores me because I try so hard to fit in with them and understand their culture. He enjoys how I love to bake for them because I know they like it and that I love help out. He used to yell at me when I did the dishes, but now he has accepted that I do it. It's the least I can do for them since they let me come over all the time. He also loves how I'm very innocent to the cruelty that he's seen growing up in NY and that I have a good heart. I love his dog, okay, stupid sounding reason but to this man, if you like the dog and the dog likes you...well...in my case, the dog loves me. The dog totally ignored Joe, who had food, and came to say hi to me. Plus, he has seen how much I have changed the once rough, tough, and emotionless boy into a gentle, caring, some what emotion showing young man. Joe used to have a bad temper but I broke him of that, I have taught him tolerance and to think before breaking people's necks. In a way, I'm dating my own father, since Joe and my dad are two of a kind...well, Joe's dad and my dad are two of a kind and Joe is like his dad...sooo, I get along with his dad and I am madly in love with Joe...so I luck out.

Now don't get me wrong that I don't like his mom, but his mom is like my mom. She's a bitter woman who really really has a messed up view of Joe's dad. She listens to lies and hear say and is influenced by stupid people. Now I've only known his mom and dad for a year and They, separately, are very nice people, together...they drive us crazy. His mom picks fights and his dad tries not fight, but the lady is persistent. She also never listens...ever. She can hear you, but she doesn't listen. Hence why the house is always in disarray of who is where and what is going on and why his mom has to call the house or text me to find where Joe is when he told her where he was going. -_- Gotta love family. She likes me because I bake and because I am making Joe act like a young man, not a chauvinistic man whore...his younger brother is one step away from being one. She also likes that I am willing to help, but scolds me when I help the boys do stuff because tells me, "I have two sons, let them do the work." I like to help and the faster things get done, the more time I get with Joe. Plus she has this knack for when ever Joe gets comfortable...she calls him to do something for her.

Bobby has a steady girlfriend, all they do is have sex, she's a nice girl, but dumb as can be. Jennie is now in Texas for her basic training, her husband came up for Christmas with one of his friends. Joe's parents' friends were up too and I'm now accepted as family and Joe and I can't ever break up (not like we want to anyways, we're happy). I like being with them and they love my baking and me too, but I think the baking really helps.

For once, I actually really enjoyed Christmas. After my Christmas dinner, I went up to Joe's and I had a blast. I spent the night upstairs (with Caesar knocking stuff off the windowsill onto me because he wanted me off the couch, which is his bed, and Sam trying to get me to pet him all night). Then after everyone left, Joe and I went downstairs and slept all day. He then made me laugh because he got me one of those perfect brownie maker things and a box of brownie mix and asked if I would use it. It was funny because the brownies were out of the oven for like ten minutes and he had me cut them and pop them out of the pan so he could eat them and then complain they were hot. I hope they were hot, I mean, the oven was at 350 degrees!!

So, that's been the past four months in a nutshell. How have you all been?