Top Things on My Bucket List

I have to say a lot of my bucket list things have to do with travelling. I love to travel and see culture, people, places that are different from my experiences. 

1. Go to Australia and New Zealand

2. Take our family to Disneyworld.

3. Go to the Harry Potter theme park.

4. Have more kids

5. Travel around Europe more/again

6. Buy a house in Colorado

Those are just a few off the top of my head ideas. I have to say a lot of these things are just things we wanna do in the next 10 years. That qualifies, though right? As long as I have my family, I am pretty content. Matt and I love having adventures together and travel creates a lot of adventures. I also must say that these are not in any particular order. If you asked me what was on my "What do you want to happen for yourself and the people you love list?" the list would become a lot longer and more interesting. But, alas, we must save that one for another day. 

Anyone wanna take me to Florida? 

http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/ Just check this out. How could any HP fan not want to go? Seriously?

The last time I cried

I don't think it would surprise anyone that I cry pretty much every day. I am the kind of person that wears my heart on my sleeve. I am not afraid to show emotion. I don't have a choice actually. I can't control my tear ducts at all! I cry when I am sad, happy, inspired, angry (which makes me more angry), and any other passionate emotion. It's worse when I'm pregnant. My poor husband. Hehehe.

I have to say, the reasons that I have cried in the past 2 days have been because I am worried about people that I love. There are a lot of people that are really close to me who are going through so much right now. Like, huge, life-altering things that will alter their futures and change their families. Some of it can be positive but most of these things are huge trials. I am inspired by these people daily and humbled and grateful for their examples and for the blessings I have. I cried yesterday while I was talking to one of my sisters about these situations. I wish I could take away the burdens of worry, doubt, fear, frustrations from all of these amazing people. I hope they all know that I pray for them and think of them almost constantly. I also wish I had millions of dollars so I could ease their financial burdens for them as well. Money doesn't buy happiness? Well, it sure can reduce stress.

Another reason that I have cried almost everyday is that my home is currently being ravaged by wildfires. The entire state of Colorado is being effected by these awful fires. There is wildlife being lost, homes being lost and people's lives being changed forever. Not to mention just the incredible amount of some of the most beautiful and breathtaking land in this world that is being totally destroyed. The inspiring thing about nature is that it always will rejuvenate itself. It may take years, but it will come back. Little green shoots of grass and trees will start to poke up. Seeds will spread and animals will return. But it is so devastating to see the destruction. I am so heartsick I actually haven't really wanted to talk about it at all because I feel physically sick. For those of you who have never been to Colorado, go. It will change your life. Go after the fires are over to help support the local economy and get people back on their feet. Help the firefighters and Red Cross with your prayers, support and finances if you have them. That is all I have to say about that.

This is a photo from the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. This is my hometown. The fire is getting closer. God be with the people fighting it and the evacuees.

I believe this is the fire in Colorado Springs. My sister says the air all over Colorado smells like campfire. 

What Makes Me Feel Better, Always

I guess I am just gonna have to be reconciled to the fact that I have some pretty cliche answers to a lot of these prompts. Oh, well. I guess if I try too hard to be original it won't be true to who I am. So, what makes me feel better always?

1. Michaela. She constantly amazes me at how positive she is. She is not phased by anything. She is so sweet and if I am upset she says: "Oh, mommy sad?? I'll give you a hug." And then she does. And she gives me kisses if I stub my toe or scratch myself or something. She is so sweet and nurturing already and she is only 2. I love having her around me all the time. She reminds me not to sweat the small stuff.

2. Matthew. If there was one person in the universe that I could choose to be with all the time and forever, it would be him. I guess it's a good thing he married me, right? He is funny, sweet, sympathetic, compassionate and many more redeemable qualities. He is working so extremely hard right now to simultaneously pursue his music career and take care of us. When he is away from me I feel it physically. There is a hollow feeling that accompanies his absence. When he comes home, I feel better even if I felt good already. His touch soothes me and his words of wisdom help me through tough times. We are so lucky to be best friends. We love doing things together. He always can make me feel better, no matter what.

3. Visits home. This includes, of course seeing all of our family in our favorite places. That one doesn't need much more of an explanation.

4. Seeing people doing nice things for strangers. This always will make me feel better. I love when people aren't afraid to show love and compassion to others. Whether they know them or not it is a great thing to spread kindness around the world.

5 Favorite blogs

My sisters blogs. And my mom's blog.

Holly's theglems.blogspot.com
Jen's whatnowjen.blogspot.com
Lisa's lisaandhondo.blogspot.com
Mom's mahanthing.blogspot.com

I occasionally check a few other friends blogs but I am not a huge cyber reader.

My best physical feature: you can laugh, it's ok

My feet. I know, it's a little weird. But I like them. They are pretty. I have nice toenails and my feet look quite dainty. I love to keep my nails painted in the summertime. I love pedicures but I rarely get them because they are spendy.

A Difficult Time in my life

I have to say, I am actually going through a difficult time right now. But instead of talking about that, I will talk about one of the other times in my life when I struggled.

When I was a Sophomore/Junior in college, my brother was deployed in Iraq. Because of his job, we didn't know for sure where he was. We were hearing on the news every day about soldiers being killed and attacks in Iraq. A lot of them were Marines, which is what Adam is. I always was reassured in the back of my mind that he was ok but every time the news came on there was just a tightening in my heart. I would sit in my dorm room and my grandparents house and just pray and pray for Adam and all of the soldiers and their families. Those that were lost and those in danger. During this time, one of my closest friends was going through one of the hardest times in his life. It was extremely difficult to watch him going through these emotions and changes in his life and to try and be a good support and friend for him. The combination of both of these events made it so hard that I was often on the brink of tears. I carried my scriptures around throughout the day and was reading them constantly to draw on the words of the Savior and Prophets for inspiration. It did help. I had a few Priesthood Blessings from my Bishop at church. I was struggling to be a good friend and support to my friend, and to my family as we were all going through the separation of having our son/brother in harms way.

All I can say about this time is that it was hard. I drew on my testimony and the testimony of friends to help me get through. My family is awesome and we love and support each other through everything. My brother has been home and safe for a long time now and I am so grateful. My friend got through his difficult time and is a bright, shining person who is so strong, even if he doesn't know it.

I am so blessed to have the knowledge of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to have the people in my life that I do. Hard times come to us all. We just need to draw on the strength that is offered to us and we will succeed at anything that comes our way in this life.

Pet Peeves

You can never really think of these things when you want to but I'll try to list a few.

Here we go:
1. When the toilet paper roll is backwards
2. When people leave lights on, cupboard doors open etc.
3. Hitting all red lights
4. When people don't appreciate the goodness of others
5. Parents who think their children are angels 100% of the time and never could possibly do anything wrong. Ha!
6. Misunderstandings
7. Dirty houses
8. Clutter
9. "Friends" who don't ever consider your feelings and always only think of themselves

I guess I can't make it to 10. That'll have to do.

Note: When I am pregnant, almost everything is a pet peeve. :)

10 Favorite Songs

I am catching up, so I'm not going to get all creative and post links to the songs. I will just list them out and let you all imagine the songs for yourselves. :)

In No Particular Order:

1. Finale B from RENT. I sang this song with a group of my friends at my Senior Recital. I love it.
2. Ok, I'm gonna cheat a little and lump some into one category. I love Nickel Creek: Why Should the Fire Die?, Reason's Why, Out of the Woods, Tomorrow is a Long time, The Lighthouse, Sweet Afton. Their music is truly beautiful and inspiring. Matt and I love to sing their songs.
3. For You by Matt Griffith. Go listen to it at http://www.reverbnation.com/mattgriffith
4. Fall Into Me by Emerson Drive
5. Somebody Like You by Keith Urban
6. Be Still, My Soul from the LDS Hymn book. This song is so ethereal and I love the words.
7. Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked. Girl power song. Gotta love it.
8. The Heart of Life by John Mayer. Just an inspiring song and I love the music.
9. The Wind by Cat Stevens as sung by Matt Griffith
10. Fire and Rain by James Taylor as sung by Matt Griffith

I would recommend these songs to anyone. They are just good tunes that make you feel happy and remember the good things in life. I could go on and on. Music is one of the greatest influences in my life.

"For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me. And it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads." Doctrine and Covenants 25:12

Something I miss

I am sure that everyone is tired of hearing about how bad I miss my family but it's just the truth. I am blessed to be part of a large and loving family and we have always been close with each other. It is really hard for me to be the one that is farthest away right now. I know that they are not always in the same place either but the fact that they can drive to each other much more quickly than I can makes it hard for me. It's a lot more expensive for us to go and visit family at the drop of a hat than if we were closer.

I miss Colorado almost as much as I miss my family. Every time we fly home and I see the mountains out of the airplane window, I start to cry. And I cry again when we leave. I have traveled to many many places and I truly believe I was blessed to grow up in one of the most beautiful places on the planet. There is desert, mountains, rivers, lakes, trees, gorgeous blue skies and so much wildlife it's like the discovery channel. I love Colorado and I love Utah.

I miss my friend Lindsay. She is one of those people that it doesn't matter how long it is between visits, we pick right up where we left off. We love each others kids and husbands and families. We are lucky to have a friendship like we do.

I miss my friend Christopher. A lot. He lives in New York City. He is a full-time musician and he is making his way in a very hard place to be successful. He is talented, giving, loving and always will be one of my best friends. He was in my wedding as one of my attendants and I can talk to him about anything and know that I won't be judged. We have the same handwriting. We can look at each other in a certain situation and know exactly what the other one is thinking and we just burst out laughing. Hehehe:) We are quite the pair and I miss him every day.

Where do I want to be in ten years

Colorado. With our family and loooots more cousins and a few more kids. Miki will be 12 and Lucy will be 10 and we will hopefully have about a 7 or 8 year old and a 5 or 6 year old. I would like for Matt to be able to be doing just what he wants to do in the music business. I would like to have our debt paid off and own a home in Colorado and a condo in Nashville if that is where Matt still needs to spend time. I would like to be able to travel with Matt and our kiddos and go on as many adventures as possible as a family.

What more could we ask for than a healthy family and good times in a place and with all of the people we love the most?? Friends in Nashville, this includes you!

My worst habits

1. Stressing about the house being clean because clutter makes me feel icky.

2. Not taking time for myself until I am about to explode from frustration.

3. I forget to call people back right away when they call me. My brain just moves right on and I don't remember until a lot later. Unless it's my family members.

4. Lately, impatience. With my life, my house, my dog, and especially myself.

5. I am slightly OCD about certain things. I like them to be a specific way and it bugs me when something is out of order. I tend to organize the condiments on the table as soon as we sit down in a restaurant and I usually will go through the house making people's beds cause it makes the whole room look so much cleaner. Oh well, it could be worse.

What am I most afraid of?

I think it's kind of obvious that losing the people I love is about the scariest thing. I have to go one step further and say that losing one of my children would be the scariest thing to consider.

Since that one is obvious I will list a few other things that scare me;

1. Bugs. Crunchy ones.
2. Scary movies
3. Being away from Colorado and family for too long.
4. Heights

That's what comes to my mind when I think of being scared. There you go.

Favorite Childhood Book

This one is tough too. I have always loved to read and loved being read to. Some of my favorite memories are of my mom sitting in the rocking chair in Holly and Lisa's room at night reading to us. She read us Winnie the Pooh, Anne of Green Gables and many many other series and books. Oddly enough, one of the first books I remember reading on my own and loving was a chapter book. The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford. I just remember loving the story and the companionship the characters shared. I didn't see the movie till after I read the book and I like them both.

Another one I loved right away was Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. I still love that one and pull it out to read it once in awhile. It opened up my world to the possibility that bad things happen but good things can come of it. I have been interested in studying the Holocaust ever since.

And let me just say, please read to your kids! It will help them in ways you can't even imagine. Even if you don't feel comfortable, do it anyway. They will appreciate and love you for it and it will bring you closer together. Just do it!

My dream Job

I am going to be honest and say, I don't like working. I also don't like that my sisters computer doesn't have the key on the "n" button so this is going a little slower than I would like. Anyway, I don't really like the idea of slaving away the best hours of the day away from my family only to come home exhausted and have to make dinner and go straight to bed just to do it all again. Luckily that is not really how my life is right now. I am lucky to stay home with Miki. It is hard for me to have to watch kids during the week. It's long hours for not a lot of pay and I feel stuck sometimes. I do love both of the kids that I watch, however and that makes it a little easier.

So, I guess you could say right now my dream job would be to have the freedom not to watch kids at home and still not have to get a day job. My ultimate dream job, as I mentioned in an earlier post would be to run my own non-profit organization for kids. I would be in charge and I would assemble the best team of people ever to help me and we would make a difference in the lives of thousands of children who need a better situation and education in their lives.

If you have to work, you should be doing something that you love and believe in, right?

Blog Challenge: Today's the day!

The timeline of my day. Huh. Let's see. Well, I am a stay at home mom who watches kids while I am at home with Miki during the week so my day usually looks like this:

7:00 Wake Up and get some clothes on, open up the house for my kids who arrive shortly
7:15 Tyler arrives
7:30 Abby arrives/Miki wakes up
7:30-8:00 Feed Abby a bottle, get Miki some breakfast
8:15 Feed Tyler a bottle
8:30 Change Diapers/Get Miki dressed
9:00 Playtime with kids
9:30 Abby down for a nap/feed Tyler a bottle and he goes down for a nap
10:00 Watch some veggie tales with Miki
11:00 Abby wakes, play time, feeding time, diaper time
11:30 Feed Miki lunch, text Tyler's mom when he wakes up so she can come feed him
12:00-2:00 Diapers, naps, playtime, paint, coloring, reading, cleaning if I can-mostly in the kitchen or throw in a load of laundry
2:00 Abby down for afternoon nap, hopefully Miki and Tyler sleep too. (Never a guarantee.)
3:30-4:00 Kiddos wake up, diapers, bottles, snacks
3:00-4:00 Watch Ellen while doing the above

Note: rarely do all the kid sleep at the same time so this is on a good day.

4:15-4:30 Tyler is picked up
5:00 Abby is picked up
5:15 Clean house and take Miki out to play, sometimes I shower
6:00 Make dinner/hang out with Matthew/run any errands we need to depending on what night of the week it is.
7:00-8:30 watch TV or out and about rehearsing, watching Matt's gigs, or just hanging at home
8:30-9:00 Bedtime for Miki
9:30-10:00 Bedtime for Mommy and Daddy

As you all know with kids, this is an outline of approximations. It is generally what I like to try and stick to but things are different every day. It's pretty busy though in case you weren't picking up on that. And a lot of work for this pregnant mamma!

Blog Challenge: What's a Handbag?

So, I don't like to carry a lot of things around with me all the time. I am going to post what is usually in my diaper bag/purse instead of what is now cause we are one vacation and I am carrying a lot more than usual. Here is the list:

1. Wallet
2. A couple diapers
3. Wipes
4. Chapstick
5. Granola bars
6. 2 small books for Miki
7. Possibly a few crumbs and other snacks

That's all folks. Less is more.

Blog Challenge: Favorite Quote

I agree with my fellow blog-challengers that this one is hard. There are many many quotes that have affected me and that I love and turn to often. I love reading and when I come across a good quote in a book I love how it can change your way of thinking. There are many scriptures that I turn to and think about when I need some inspiration and motivation. There are many moments in books that affect me greatly and I think of them often as well. So I will list a few of my favorites:

“When I left Queen's my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there is a bend in it. I don't know what lies around the bend, but I'm going to believe that the best does.” 
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

“I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” 
― L.M. Montgomery

“It's not what the world holds for you. It's what you bring to it.” 
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

“Life is worth living as long as there's a laugh in it.” 
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

(Sidenote: I love the Anne of Green Gables series. I read it probably once a year.)

"Remember, if the time should come when you have to make a choice between what is right, and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort." Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The above quote is the part of one of my favorite speeches in the Harry Potter Books. It's Dumbledore's "Remember Cedric Diggory" speech at the end of the Goblet of Fire. I don't have my book with me as I am on vacation and so I can't post the entire thing but this is a good representation.

John 14:18

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

John 15:13

13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

 3 Nephi 17:7 Have ye any that are sick among you? Bring them hither. Have ye any that are lame, or blind, or halt, or maimed, or leprous, or that are withered, or that are deaf, or that are afflicted in any manner? Bring them hither and I will heal them, for I have compassion upon you; my bowels are filled with mercy.

The last scripture is found in The Book Of Mormon when Jesus Christ visits His people on the American continent after His atonement. I love how much Jesus Christ loves His children.

That's it for now, there are soooo many more quotes I could post and maybe I will later in my own post. Thanks for sticking with me!

Blog Challenge: If I had a million dollars...

I'd be rich!

Ok, so I think this one is pretty obvious. We would pay off our debt including our house and then help our family to pay theirs off too. I would buy my parents a house, invest in a few things and put money in savings for our kiddos.

THEN, I would completely makeover our house!! Yay! Hardwood floors, new kitchen. I hate white cabinets and that's what we have. Wood cabinets and an awesome new fridge. Granite counter tops, great tile floors etc etc. We would knock down some walls and build a state-of-the art studio for my hubby in our garage. Completely finish it and make it the best studio ever! We would landscape the yard and put a huge porch in the front and patio in the back with awesome lawn furniture. All of this work would pay off when we can sell our house for a heckuva lot more than we paid for it. We would buy a house in Grand Junction and we would travel back and forth between Nashville and Colorado whenever we wanted to!! Haha!! I would eventually like to start a non-profit organization for children who are born into less than desirable circumstances and help educate and motivate them to rise above their situation and give them a platform for change.

Matt and I would also probably adopt a baby.

That's a good place to start, don't you think?

Blog Challenge: Most proud moment

This one it too easy. I suppose it's a given but I don't remember a more momentous moment in my life than when I gave birth to Michaela. I am excited to repeat the experience with Lucy in September. I never felt more loved or important or closer to my Heavenly Father than when Miki was placed on my chest and she opened her little eyes and looked at me for the first time. I had the overwhelming feeling that I knew her and have always known her. What a special blessing to be a mamma!

Moments after she was born. Can there be any greater feeling?

Mommy and Miki

I mean just look at this little miracle!

And here she is now! I love this face. 

Blog Challenge: First Celebrity Crush

Hmmmmm... honestly probably Johnathon Taylor Thomas. But I'm pretty sure that's cause everyone else was going crazy about him and it didn't occur to me not to follow the fad. The first one I would say that I thought about on my own was AJ from the Backstreet Boys. Hehehe.

I liked him cause he was the "bad boy."

I mean, he is cute.

Blog Challenge: Piercings and tattoos

This one isn't too exciting. I have both of my ears pierced. Just one hole. I love dangly earrings and hoops. I didn't get my ears pierced till I was like 21 cause I was in California on a vacation with my sisters and brother and sister in law and I wanted to do something spontaneous. So we got my ears pierced.

I had my left cartilage pierced in high school. Adam and I got it done at the same time. It got infected pretty badly even though I cleaned it and I took it out.

I sometimes go through a phase where I want a tattoo. Matt thinks this is hilarious. I know if I ever got one it would be a beautiful red rose and it would be in a place I could cover up. However, I don't think I would ever get one.

Blog Challenge: Old Photo of me

Ok, lets see what I can come up with.

So this is only a few years old but, since I get to choose the picture I am choosing one where I was really skinny and tan and cute and with my favorite person. So, here Matt and I are on the plane getting ready to head to Hawaii the day after we got married. Aren't we cute? :)

Blog challenge: 10 Favorite Foods

So, Matt, Miki and I are one vacation right now in Colorado and so I have not kept up to date on the blog challenge the past weekend. However, I find myself awake early while Matt and Miki are taking up the entire bed so it is time to play catch up.

My top ten favorite foods in no particular order are:

1. Bagel Breakfast sandwiches
2. Mac Lasagna Casserole
3. Manicotti
4. Chips and Queso
5. Peanut Butter Cup Perfection Ice Cream from Cold Stone
6. Chick Fil-a Chicken Nuggets
7. Burrito's/Taco's
8. Lasagna
9. Strawberries
10. Grapes

2 things you should have learned about me in this post: I love Italian and Mexican food.

Day 6: 3 Personality Traits that I am proud of

Hmmmmm, so I agree with my sister, Jen that is is hard to talk about yourself. It's never been one of my favorite things. But when I think about traits I have that I am proud of the 3 things that come to mind are; Love, Friendship and Acceptance.

Let me explain a little bit. I have always been a very loving person. I guess you could call this trait compassionate. I am very affected by the feelings of others. I cry when other people cry. I genuinely wish I could take away sorrows and troubles from people. If I see a person that needs love, I want to give it.

I am a very loyal friend. I am friendly with everyone. But I only have a small circle of people that I consider really close personal friends. These are people that I would do anything for and help in any way that I can. They are friends that I will defend through thick and thin. I am blessed to have some wonderful people in my life.

Lastly, it has always been fairly easy for me to accept people no matter what their circumstances. I don't see any reason not to give someone love and friendship and support just because they are different than I am or they think differently than I do. I feel like the world would be a better place if we all just tried to understand one another and accepted that we are different and always will be. Sometimes you can't change people but you can always love them.

I hope these traits do really describe me. No one is perfect and I definitely make mistakes in all of these areas.

Day 5: Guilty Pleasure

When Jen told me what today's challenge is I said: "You mean besides watching 'Keeping up with the Kardashians?" Hahaha. But seriously, my guilty pleasures would probably include: Coke, Peanut Butter Cup Perfection Ice Cream from Cold Stone and The Bachelor/Bachelorette. Matt reminded me of the last one. The reason this show has any appeal to me at all is that it is so completely ridiculous. It's fun to watch the crazies and laugh at them. They know that's what people are doing so I don't feel sorry for them. After all, they applied to be on the show, didn't they? In every season there are some people that I actually like. They seem 'normal' and I always root for those ones. This season I love Emily. She is so sweet and genuine and I think she is the most real of any of the Bachelorette's. She tells it like it is and is sweet at the same time. I think she genuinely is looking to find someone and is taking this pretty seriously. I hope she picks either Arie or Sean. Anyway, that's it folks. My guilty pleasures.

Picture of the house

Here is our awesome house. This was after my brother and sister in law had the huge tree removed from the front yard a few years ago. What a great place to build some memories.

Earliest Childhood Memory

Ok, this one is easy. My parents moved to Broomfield, CO when I was only a few months old from Grand Junction. My dad got a job and there weren't many to be had in those days. So they took us to a little 2 bedroom house on W 132nd Ave. Holly was born when I was 18 months old and then mom got pregnant with Lisa 9 months after that. Yeah, my parents are crazy people. So that little house got too small really quickly. They found a house right down the street from the one we were living in. This became the house that I grew up in until I left for college. So, when we moved mom was pregnant with Lisa and Holly was a baby. I was 2. And I remember it. Not vividly but I have a few memories from that day. I remember walking down the street holding my moms hand while she was carrying Holly to the new house. I remember dad picking me up and walking down into the basement to look at it. The landlords were showing him I think. I also remember my Gramps was there painting my parents bedroom. It was pink and they were painting it white. He told me not to touch the wall because I would get paint on my hands. I didn't believe him so I put my hand on the wall and... it got covered in paint! Who'd have thunk?? I remember my hand felt really weird and I didn't want to show anyone cause I thought I would get in trouble.

That house has meant a lot to me over the years. It was a special place for all of us. My parents moved out of it when I graduated from college in 2006. My brother and his wife now own it and have turned it into such a great little house! I love that it is always going to be a part of the Mahan family legacy.

Meaning of my Name

Well, this is easy. My name is Stefanie. My family calls me Stef mostly but I always introduce myself as Stefanie. I like Stef and Stefanie equally. Just don't ever call my Steffy. I will fong you.

Mahan is a very important name to me. I am proud of my family and who I am.

Griffith is just as important to me now as Mahan. It is who I have become. I love my Griffith family and I love that I am a part of my husband now as he is a part of me.

20 Facts about me

I'll see if I can make any of this interesting.

1. Being a mom is the best thing that has ever happened to me. It is the hardest and most rewarding thing that I have ever done. When Miki was put up on my chest when she was born I knew that my life had changed forever. I knew that I had known her before and she has always been mine. I love her more than anything.

2. I am currently watching The Bourne Identity on Blu Ray with Matt.

3. I like cheetos.

4. My sisters are my best friends. Holly is probably the most like me. Jen and I didn't really get along as kids cause I wanted her to think I was cool and I wasn't. But now we are best friends. Lisa and I got really close when we worked together one summer at Camp Explorer and hung out a lot after work. I am so glad cause we weren't super close before that. Kelli and I shared a room until I was 13. She used to climb in bed with me when she had a bad dream. It's hard for me to realize that she is a woman now but I love seeing the amazing person she has become.

5. My brother and I were in high school at the same time and I felt so special that he wasn't embarrassed to be seen with me.

6. I really hit my stride in College. I found a lot of confidence in myself and made friends that I will have for life.

7. Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favorite books.

8. I read the Anne of Green Gables books about once a year. All 8 of them. Matt has promised to take me to Prince Edward Island someday. I love escaping there with the characters in the books.

9. I love picnics. Especially picnic baskets.

10. My best friend lives in New York City and I am so unbelievably proud of him for following his dreams. His name is Christopher Klaich and next to my husband is one of the most talented people you will ever meet.

11. I struggle right now with being a stay at home mom. There is nothing I would rather do than be at home with Miki. But sometimes I feel isolated when I am stuck at home all day. I babysit 2 other kids during the week and so there are days at a time when I don't leave the house except to step out into the yard.

12. I love Italian and Mexican Food.

13. I fulfilled a lifelong dream when my husband took me to Paris in 2009. It was everything I thought it would be and more. I love the architecture, culture and history there. I love the language and the food. I could live there.

14. When people show kindness it makes me happy.

15. I love theater and if I was still single I would be auditioning and trying to perform as much as possible.

16. I am a dog person. However, once our dog we have now is no longer with us, which could be for awhile yet. I do not want another dog. Not at all. Until our kids are grown. Too much stress.

17. I love Keith Urban.

18. Nothing would make me happier than seeing my husband succeed in the Music Business. We are just waiting for a big star to pick up one of his songs.

19. I will choose fruit over vegetables anytime.

20. I play the flute.

31 day blog challenge. Introduction.

Ok, friends. I am catching up on my 3 days missed of the challenge. First, intro. My name is Stefanie Mahan Griffith. I was born in Grand Junction, CO on May 23, 1984. I just turned 28. I grew up in Broomfield, CO with my parents and siblings. I am the 3rd of 6 kids. 4 sisters and one brother. I love my family more than anything. I moved to Grand Junction for college when I was 18 and got a degree at Mesa State in Communications and Vocal Performance. I met my husband, Matthew Griffith in college. We were in choir together. We have been married for 4 years. We have a 2 year old daughter, Michaela Jones Griffith. We are having another girl this September. We are naming her Lucy Jean Griffith. I love reading, watching movies, singing, playing with my girl and hanging out with my husband. I miss my family fiercely and can't wait until we can move home permanently to be closer to all of the happenings in our families lives.