the final three

1) My parents. All four of them. I lost my mom more than a decade ago, but I am so grateful that she chose me to be her daughter. My stepdad, Ralph, is one of the best people I know. I am grateful that he loved my mom enough to love both my brother and I, as well. My dad and Amy have worked hard their entire lives to provide me with every opportunity imaginable growing up. I am grateful for their support through countless successes and mistakes. Over the past six or seven years, I finally feel like I have managed to get my shit together and I hope they are proud of me.

2) The selfie. As it turns out (and my mom used to complain about the same thing), moms end up taking most of the photos in our household. Thank goodness for selfie. It means this mama at least ends up in some pictures!

3) The Bishops. This family has made us feel at home from day one and we couldn't be more grateful. They have watched our kids, watched our dog, and are the kind of people who you can text from work and ask them to check to make sure you remembered to turn the crockpot on. Of course, I'm not sure how we couldn't be friends with a family who also names their dog after a Republican. RIP Bristol Palin. Carl Rove misses you.