What we like (love?) about Arizona

Sometimes I look at my life and I wonder "How the heck did we get here??" I don't mean anything so deep and thought provoking as, on this planet... just simply (and yet still mildly profoundly) our station in life at this time. Last year at Halloween or even Christmas time we had no plans of moving out of state, leaving everything and everyone near and dear to us. We had no plans of pulling up our roots and completely starting over. But apparently God did!! And so, here we are. And as difficult as it has been, I decided to compile a list of what we love about Arizona.

1) The Lichtenbergers. If we hadn't moved here, I never would have met Jeanna and the rest of her family. We love them... each and every one. 501 yo!

2) Trick or Treating without seeing our breath. I do believe it was a first for me. Most Halloweens growing up we were in a downpour. And who knew what you were dressed up as... we all looked like eskimos!

3) Monsoons and lightening. Monsoon season is over, and it wasn't a very active one. But we got plenty of lightening and man is it ever awesome to see over 200 strikes of lightening in a five minute period.

4) Hot Air Balloons. There is just something magical about seeing those things floating through the air practically every morning.

5) Sunshine. (Of course this could also go into the dislike category. Waking up every day to sunshine can be a little "Groundhog Day" ish. But) I also love that we get to spend so much time out of doors all year. And the kids love it too. And don't forget about all that Vitamin D we are exposed to!

6) Poiema Church. I didn't think we'd find a church that we liked as much as Imago Dei. But we have! And we are making new and wonderful friends! Can't wait to get more plugged in.

7) The Sunsets, here are phenomenal.... breathtaking.

8) Location we are close to the Grand Canyon, California, and Disneyland!! Just a hop skip and a jump, really.

9) John's New Job. Things are going very well for him there. He is their superstar! Now if only he could get that same status at home....

10) The Homeschool Laws. There really aren't any!! :)

11) Our Community. We have an amazing community center with a fitness gym, (where I will be teaching a zumba class!), a water park and lots of other fun stuff. People travel from all over to play on our ginormous playground! Plus we have great neighbors and our little playground in our own development that is a place that we go and connect. We have had two fun fairs and a block party since we moved here in April. Plus a Fireworks show that was nothing to sneeze at, that we could see from our driveway!

There is more.... like Kohls (there might have been one back in OR, but I didn't discover it), palm trees, cacti, and finding cute little lizards in your house. For the first several months it felt like we were on vacation! And after awhile I wanted to go home from that vacation, so now, we are making it home.

Don't hold your breath for a list of what I hate about Arizona. There is one.... and I'm afraid it isn't short. But I need to focus on the loves, and move forward!