Just stuff

Hold the phone for this one...
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I just feel like blogging. Weird.

Right now we're in Utah visiting family.  Family is so good for me.  Ever since we moved to California (almost 3 years ago), I have really had roller coasters of emotions.  Happy, sad, excited, angry, free, alone, hopeful, and the list does go on. I didn't realize how much of a home-body I am until I moved about 800 miles away. I remember saying to myself "My life will never be the same. It will be worse". I am here to tell you that moving away has been a very big blessing in my life. Here are some reasons why:

I am a different person. I'm happier.
I don't feel pressured to be someone I am not.
I am content and happy to make decisions that are good for me and for my family.
I am forced to learn and grown in an area that I am not 100% familiar with.
I can make new friends that know me and like me for who I am right now and not who I was.
I cherish opportunities to learn and grow as a mother and wife. These opportunities are important to me especially because I don't have my own mother around to lean on.
I have a true and deep love for those around me that support me and love me because they are who I associate with on a daily basis.
I don't take for granted my family in Utah. When I lived in here I didn't embrace the fact that my parents lived 5 minutes away. I miss them a whole bunch.
I feel more care-free. (maybe that's the Santa-Cruz-hippie rubbing off on me)

These things, along with others, are the reason that I am thankful that I was brave enough to pack up the Uhaul and drive across the dessert to the land of "the Granolas: fruits, flakes, and nuts." When I come home to visit, I am reminded of the blessing it has been to live in California. I am reminded of the change that has taken place in my life. Good change. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Utah. It's just not the best place for me. And even though marrying someone from another state has had it's rough times, I couldn't be more thankful for my California boy, and for our wonderful life there.

We struggle, but we have each other. All 3 of us :) We have hard times, but we get through them. We work hard, and sometimes it's not enough, but we are doing it. We are living life. We are enjoying our moments together. We are laughing and playing and learning and growing. This is just our life and I am in major likeness with it. I'm thankful for California. I'm thankful for all the good things that have come from living there and all the things that have come since living there, this one being the biggest blessing of all: