Six Things

Beth tagged me to list 6 things that make me happy, so here are mine:

1. Bill. I never in my life imagined that I could be so incredibly happy with a partner in life! Bill has touched my heart in ways I just didn't think imaginable. We have almost identical values (if you leave politics out of the equation), but our personalities couldn't be more different. When I am being introverted and shy, I can count on him to be outgoing and pull me out of my shell; when he is being careless or disorganized, he can count on me to bring him back down a level. I know we are still "newlyweds," but I think I fall more in love with him every single day. God has blessed me with such a wonderful husband, and you bet I thank Him all day every day for that.

2. Family and in-laws. Although I have decided that every family is disfunctional in one way or another, I don't think I could live without my family. I have such an amazing mother, who has given of herself so selflessly to see that I be happy in this world, and I do not think I could ever truly thank her enough. My grandparents have provided me with amazing opportunities in life and I will always love them with all my heart. While my sister and I don't always get along and I don't agree with her choices in life, I love her with all of my heart and if it wasn't for watching her choices and mistakes, I honestly have no idea where I would be in life. I absolutely adore every single member of Bill's family. His dad has always treated me like I was a member of the family and has always acted like more of a father than my own ever did. Bill's sister, Carol, is just an absolute blessing. She has such an amazing heart and really loves her brother and father so much. She is so much fun to be around; we've had many late night laughs together. Bill's granddad is so enthusiastic about life that there is never a sad moment when he is around. More than anything, Bill's family is fun. I have never seen a family that just gets together, throws all of their worries to the wind, and parties. I love the bonfires, Thanksgiving dinner, Scategories night....

3. My animals. I don't have children yet, but my animals are my babies. Animals have always been an important part of my life, with shelter babies being an important part of my adult life. My Winston has so much personality and I love him to death! It is such an amazing feeling to come home to those big brown eyes and wagging tail every afternoon. Dogs have this amazing love and devotion for their owner, which I think is at least 10x stronger when they've been in a shelter - it's almost like they know what it means to be homeless and they appreciate you more. There's nothing better than curling up with a good book, a warm blanket, and Winston in my lap. Of course Aerial has chosen Bill as her owner, but she is still a super sweet kitty. All three cats have such different personalities, and it is so much fun to watch them interact. They are also very loving, which is great whenever you're down because they will try their best to cheer you up.

4. My Sunday school class. When Bill and I moved to the Birmingham area, I really felt like things fell into place so perfectly. We found my dream home in a dream neighborhood, near Bill's dream job and my dream PhD program - the problem was how far away from Birmingham it was. We were very uncertain about living so far out, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that it is where we needed to be, so we made the decision and bought the house. I think I see how God was pushing us here. Bill and I had drifted away from church, but we both wanted to get back involved when our neighbors invited us to their church - FBCA. Dr. Kneirem pointed us to his son's class and we haven't been able to leave since! This group of people is the most compassionate, guided, involved, genuine, uplifting group of Christians that I have ever encountered. We have learned so much from them, grown with them, cried with them, laughed with them, prayed with them. They are a great support system and amazing accountability partners. It is so easy to fall in love with God when you meet them because His spirit flows so freely from each of their hearts. Thanks to their support and encouragement, I have never had such an amazing relationship with God. The Bible talks about how important fellowship with other believers is, and now I definitely know why.

5. My lab and research. I never thought I would find a lab with people I could enjoyably work with and a project that I found interesting, but I succeeded. My mentor is great. He is so uplifting, a great teacher, and completely grounded. He has taught me so much since I've been here and I can't wait to see what else I learn. I love the concept of my project - it drives me every single day to get up and go to work since I know that today may be the day that I learn something new...something that could potentially prevent at least 1 woman from hearing those 2 dreaded words - "breast cancer". If you don't know, I despise chemotherapy. I think that it is the most horrible thing to take someone who may have very little time left, bring her to the brink of death with poison, and still not be able to say "you're cured." My research is based on the hope that we can discover a drug to prevent the cancer from ever developing. Could you imagine? It's not a cure, but I think it's the closest thing we will ever get.

6. My new size 4 waist (and my health). I have spent about the past 4 years battling with a thyroid condition (which was only diagnosed a year ago) and the past year with high cholesterol. Thanks to a wonderful doctor, both situations are under control. The thyroid is still not perfect, but, thanks to my great new healthy diet and my weight loss, my body is finally responding to the medicine and beginning to help regulate itself. I will still be on medicine for the rest of my life, but I hopefully won't be having to change my doses every 3 months.

Things that make me happy but just didn't make it into the top 6 include cake, reading, cooking/baking, Auburn football, and Biggest Loser.

I guess I will tag Aby Stewart, Christina Findley, and Sarah Knighten. This was fun - thanks Beth. I think it's a great reminder of God's blessings.