THINGS I LOVE

1. Husband - A hard working one who worked his tail off for 14 hours today trying to get our backyard put in!
2. Parker - Who makes me feel as though every morning is Christmas when I get to go get him from his crib and see his happy little face (Somedays I feel like a total zombie that early in the a.m., but I am still so excited to see him!).
3. Sunshine! Please stick around...
4. The beautiful area we live in- I just love this little neighborhood we live in. I feel so safe here and so blessed to live in such a beautiful place. The mountain views outside my front door are breathtaking and I just love the beauty that surrounds us here.
5. Family who love my little boy! We are blessed to have great family who absolutely adore Parker. Chris' Mom calls often to tell me that they are having "Parker withdrawls" & are in need of a visit. We feel blessed that Parker has such great grandparents and aunts and uncles who are soooo good with him. He has just one adorable little cousin - Atticus (5 months old) who currently lives in Texas, but we know that eventually they'll be great friends and are grateful to have at least ONE cousin who isn't too far apart in age from him!
6. A baby girl - This pregnancy came somewhat as a surprise - but we couldn't be more thrilled to be expecting Parker's little sis in just three months. Seeing the baby "countdown" on the blog drop below 100 days floors me! In so many ways this has seemed like an eternal pregnancy (it being accompanied by lots of sickness in the first four months, followed by many strange and not so fun medical "issues"...lately I'm pretty good though, knock on wood) but then again, I can't believe I'm in the third tri and that this baby's debut is just around the corner. We're so excited!!!! :)
7. Chris' job - It's been really thrilling for me to sit back and watch Chris as he exercises the doctorate degree that he's worked so hard for this past 8 years!!! He decided as a kid that he wanted to be a Pharmacist when he went on some scout or church outing to a neighbor's pharmacy, which really sparked his interest. As he was going through college working on his undergrad, he at times doubted his abilities to accomplish this goal and wasn't so sure that this was the path for him. But with lots of hard work and perseverance, he made it through and it definitely has paid off! I am so proud of all of his hard work & for all that he's accomplished! Pharmacy really is such a great field and we highly recommend it as pharmacists are in such demand. All in all, we are so grateful that he is blessed to do something that he so enjoys, that he's worked so hard to be able to do, for the way that he's able to provide for our family - and the job security is such an added bonus! Great work, honey! We think you're the best.
8. The Gospel - What a blessing it is to be a member of this church! I am so grateful for all the good things that encompass my life, beliefs, and standards because of it. I'm grateful to be able to move anywhere in the world and have those instant associations and meaningful relationships with many wonderful people that otherwise could take years, if ever, to develop. I'm so grateful for my knowledge of the Plan of Salvation and to know that I have the opportunity to be with lost loved ones again someday. I'm grateful for the meaning my knowledge of the gospel gives my life and for the way it is enriched because of it.
9. Great friends over the years - I've been so blessed throughout my life to have great friends. I had such a wonderful group of close high school friends who were always such amazing examples to me. I was one of the lucky few I guess you could say who really was never "peer pressured" in high school, because those that I hung around with were truly upstanding people. I was also one who was blessed to have a blast in high school and to really leave with no regrets.
I also had great friendships develop in college, and then as Chris and I have been married we've met such wonderful people through our first married student ward, all the way through grad school in Arizona and back. It's hard to keep in touch with everyone that we want to, that is for sure! This blogging thing is so good in that regard... I wish more of them would enter the blogging world!! :)
10. Roxy- I admit - she's really annoys us somedays but we do love her and she really has blessed our lives. Chris picked her out at a no-kill rescue shelter right after we moved to Arizona one day while I was at work, and she has been like a little child to us ever since. Once Parker arrived, her status in the family definitely changed - saying she was demoted is an understatement (I know, poor Roxy), but we love her nonetheless and she's brought us much joy in the almost four years we've had her. Oh, and Parker definitely enjoys having someone to boss around all day. (Once again - poor Roxy...)