Thankful

I am so thankful for many blessings in my life. It has been a rough couple of years, and as I sit and reflect, I know in my heart that without the trials, the joy wouldn't shine so brightly.

Foremost among the blessings in my life are my family and friends. I am so thankful for the beautiful baby girl we have been entrusted with, and I hope and pray that she grows into a woman who chooses to do good in this world. I'm grateful for my husband, who chooses to make caring for our daughter his full-time job, and for the friendship we share that is above all others. And I'm thankful for our extended families that are stuck with us, and for the friends who comprise our chosen family.

We spent Thanksgiving in Utah this year. We stayed with Jared's brother Richard and his girlfriend Kristen, who were such wonderful hosts! We really felt at home there, and we had so much fun. We enjoyed a wonderful feast! Our nephew Dallin recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout, and we were able to attend his Court of Honor the day after Thanksgiving. We are so proud of him and his accomplishments!

After Thanksgiving, we drove down to visit friends. We first stopped in Midvale for a few hours to visit Kris and Caroline. Katie had lots of fun playing with Gracie!





We continued on to Lehi, where we were going to stay the night with Kurt and Desiree. They have a big black Lab, and Katie absolutely loved him! Jared and Kurt were making him run around and do tricks and she would squeal with excitement. We figured out that she learned to bark this weekend. Kristen has a dog named Winston that barks a lot, and Katie will make little high pitched "oof!"s back.

Here she is in a quieter moment, reading with Desiree.





And here is all of us, including Gooch!