- We have no school, no homework. At night we can watch movies without feeling guilty.
- Speaking of watching movies, Joshua just informed me that I convinced him of the greatness of watching movies. Our favorites are old time black and whites. Fred Astair, Ginger Rogers, Gary Cooper. We also found an entertaining new TV series called Sherlock, originally aired on BBC. Thank you Netflix.
- There is an AM radio station based in Provo that plays radio shows every night from 10-12. Some of them are really scary, some make us laugh. A lot. I wish we could take the station with us to Indiana...
- Posh jobs that let Joshua work from home and me set my own hours.
- Because of those great jobs and no school, we go on weekend vacations, about every weekend! Recently we have hiked around Zion National Park, acquired sunburns from the southern California sun, attended a wedding in Oregon, took pictures of the Seattle skyline, and probably we did some other fun things.
- We live in a nice house - with a brand new kitchen and fancy couches, a yard with bushes we planted ourselves, a big garden plot with great soil (Joshua's new favorite hobby!), blossoming tulips (my new favorite flower), a fat, old bunny named Buddy, four chickens named after our grandmothers' maiden names, 2 baby chicks that are really ugly and have no names yet.
- Our neighborhood is quaint and friendly and has that old-fashioned community feel. Kids from Joshua's cubscouts and from my primary class visit frequently to check on the chickens and to see if we caught any mice. "Oh how I wish I had some hot chocolate right now," they say with their cute little faces. "My hands are so cold." We wave hello to the Bjarnsons across the street, ask the Parrotts how to trim the apple tree, stop and chat with the families going for walks. I decided the small-town feel is definitely for me.
- Even though the experience makes me sick, the excitement of preparing for our own 'blessed event' is fantastic. Yay for having a baby in November!
- We are surrounded by family. Siblings down the street, sibling downstairs, sibling in the room across the hall (which miraculously translates into dishes being done and me not being lonely when my husband is out making TV), sibling playing baseball games only 40 minutes away, weekend retreats at the parents' in Salt Lake, parties and get-togethers with cousins and aunts and uncles, and good chats over dinner with beloved grandparents.
- We know what we are doing (for the most part) for the next two years. We even picked out the place we are living and like it. We will be in Bloomington, IN where Joshua will be getting his masters in Public Administration and I will be changing diapers and taking walks to the park. On weekends hopefully we will go drink some fresh cider and visit the camel (I saw one as we drove by a horse ranch when we were scouting out the place!). After Indiana, who knows. But at least we have a two-year plan. It feels good not to be in limbo land.
And that is why we are happy.
