My husband Kevin deserves more appreciation than I have words to express.

Would he have ever guessed that less than eight years after our wedding, we would have

moved to Florida and back to Colorado, we would have two children, and we would have

put me through a doctoral program? I thank him for his limitless support, for having faith

in me and helping me keep faith in myself, for listening to my ramblings on theories and

statistics, and for helping me to stay grounded and keep my sense of humor in this

process. I also thank him for his friendship and dedication as we embarked on our

transition to parenthood together and as we continue to care for our children.

 Lastly, I thank Rachel and Zachary, our precious daughter and son who transitioned

us to first- and second-time parenthood. They taught me more about my research topic

than I could find in any book. They also have been present through the development of

this dissertation. My daughter accompanied me on trips to the library and my son slept in

my arms as I typed up sections of my dissertation with one hand. I thank them both for

helping me keep things in perspective, Rachel for making me color with crayons and take

her to the playground, Zachary for giving his enormous smile when I was feeling

overwhelmed. I am looking forward to a life-time of learning from them both.