Cystic Fibrosis Update

I was just reminiscing and going through some of the older posts. I realized I never gave an update on the Cystic Fibrosis scare. After more tests it turned out Ava is just a carrier for CF. That meant that either Jeremy or I was a carrier, or both of us were carriers. If only one of us was a carrier there would be no chance of having a baby with CF, but there is a 25% chance they would be a carrier for CF. And if both Jeremy and I were carriers there is a 50% chance that we would have a baby with CF. Because we are still undecided if we want to have a 3rd baby, we both got tested. We wanted to make a smart decision. If we were both carriers, there would be no more babies in our future. We already have two beautiful and healthy girls, so that was okay with us. It turned out that I was a carrier, but Jeremy was not a carrier, so we are safe to have another baby if we choose to. We also got Sophie tested to see if she was a carrier, and she was. So when the girls get married, their husband will need to be tested to see if he is a carrier. If he's not, they are safe to have all the kids they want. If he is a carrier, they will need to decide if they want to risk having a baby with CF. Cystic Fibrosis is a horrible disease and it would be a very serious decision they would have to make. But, like I said before, knowledge is power. I am so thankful it turned out the way it did.

Spring Time

Here are the most recent pictures of the kids and us.

Sophie is talking so much. You can actually hold conversations with her. Her teachers at school think she is very entertaining as well. They always leave us notes about funny things she does while there.

Ava (and Sophie too) just keeps getting cuter and cuter. She is mostly sitting up now. She still falls over if she leans too far back or too far to the side, but is getting more steady every day. I can already tell she is going to be silly like Sophie. It's fun to see them laughing together. Sophie can make Ava laugh much easier than Jeremy and I can. I can already tell they are going to be great friends.

Just a quick update on Jeremy and I. Not much has changed with us. We are still working on losing weight, but it has slowed down a bit now. Jeremy has lost 40 pounds and I've lost 20. I would like to lose 15 more and Jeremy would like to lose another 10. We will do it, slowly but surely. Jeremy has started running again, after a 2-3 month break. I might take up running as well, haven't decided for sure yet. I need to buy some running shoes first. Jeremy ran the Detroit marathon a year and a half ago. How cool would that be to run it together?! We are looking forward to warmer weather so we can spend some time up at my parents cabin. I think Sophie is at a good age now and will be able to enjoy the lake more. I'm excited to see how she likes the boat, too.








Sophie and Grandma Griswold



Don't you just love those two front teeth?!

New Equipment!

We have our new printing and cutting equipment, finally! Our basement is being taken over more and more as time goes by. When I first started all I had was one desktop computer that Jeremy and I shared, and one little printer. Soon after we got a second desktop because Jeremy and I both need to work at night and one computer just wasn't enough. So we purchased a second computer. Now Jeremy and I each have our own desk in the office. We also just added a computer in the shipping area so I don't have to bring the packages to the office to print shipping labels. I won't even get into how many printers we've been through. Over in what would be the family room (we will finish the basement once the business gets a home of its own), I've gone from having just one shelf of supplies to four shelves and two tables. And we've now added a digital press and cutter. The quality just keeps getting better and better. I must admit, I cringe a little when I look back at the invitations I first designed. Ouch!

I remember being so excited in the beginning about getting just a few orders a week. Now I get at least 40 orders a week, and sales continue to go up every month. I just recently did 1400 invitations for a hospital who was celebrating 5 years since the grand opening of their NICU. I did invitations last year for a fashion show in California. And I've done international orders for places like Ireland, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and more. Crazy! So anyway, just wanted to share our news and show a few pictures.



Yes, the neat desk belongs to Jeremy. :)