My favorite things

This post is inspired by "My Favorite Things" from the Sound of Music. Lately I have been listening to a radio station that features many of these types of songs, and it has caused me to reflect on my favorite things.

1.My all time favorite thing is my husband. He is fantastic! Lately as we have been listening to the radio station with Disney/musical inspired music he has been dancing in the morning as we get ready for the day. It makes me smile and happy to have such a fun-loving person in my life. He has also taken on a great amount of the cooking because of my course load. I am so grateful to him. And there are a lot of other things that would form an endless, rambling paragraph of reasons I love him. Isn't it great we can marry our best friends!?

2. Another one of my favorite things is a good/hardworking day of work. My schoolwork has been quite consuming, but I have noticed that as I complete assignments and prepare for the next, I feel a great sense of accomplishment. It is fantastic to be busy with school again.

3. Little children are another one of my favorite things. They are so innocent and honest. This past weekend Jimmy, Gretchen and I spent the weekend in Murray with Jimmy's side of the family. His two nieces are wonderfully fun. Some of the best moments were their spontaneous hugs, calling me with Gretchen's cell phone from the other room, dressing up in my clothes as I folded them, and listening to them pray. It was fabulous! Hooray to Heather and Nathan for fantastic children. I really love spending time with all of you! Plus, I have the unique privilege of spending time with my officemate's son. I have been around for his birth and continual growth. He is almost 1 year old, which makes him a very active character. It has been a great blessing to see him grow and develop. It is also a great distraction from work.

4. The Gospel is another favorite thing in my life. I know, I know kind of sappy, but seriously so true. If I didn't have such a wonderful Church family, based on principles that I believe in, I don't know where I would be. Our ward is very friendly, and we enjoy the people we interact with. Jimmy has a calling with the Young Men, and I know that he is excited to be able to serve in that capacity. I am excited to do something as well. As a somewhat related story. Jimmy and I went to the ward Chili cookoff on Friday. We brought a cobbler, which Jimmy made in our Dutch oven. Listen to this recipe. This is no ordinary cobbler. Strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries, covered in milk chocolate chips, devil's food cake, and a layer of white chocolate. It was a hit. We had no leftovers...people were scraping the dutch oven as we left. Jimmy is a brilliant cook!

5. My family! I have recently acquired a bigger family. "A bigger family? How is that possible?!", you say. Well, now that I am married I now have the fabulous Cooprider family as my relatives. They are amazing! I am excited to spend more time with them. Plus I have an awesome family, that has always been my support and comfort. Poul, Andrea, Jobo, Gretchy, Pedy, Geoff, Mom and Dad, you are all wonderful people. Which leads into another one of my favorite things...

6. Communication. As I do every Sunday, I call home to talk to my parents and siblings. It is always fun to get an update about the happenings in NH. But even better, this past week I talked to my sister Andrea and her son, my cute nephew Liam! Skype, the video chat system, is wonderful. It made me very grateful for this convenience.

And that is just a few of my favorite things.....

Wait...

8. I would be remiss if I didn't mention my favorite activity of exercise. Running! I would like to report in writing that Jimmy and I are training for the Ragner Relay in Arizona. Our friends Davis and Melanie invited us to run a 200+ race with them. It is a relay where people run a number of legs, that add up to 15ish miles. It is going to be great. We bought new watches, and Jimmy got some new running pants. We got the wrong size, but we are going to take them back to get him all ready for the race. I am excited!

So now I will end. I am sure I have a lot more favorite things, but I believe I have distracted myself enough for this week.