I am thankful for sooo many things, so don't think that it is limited to what i have on the list here.
1. I am thankful for Time... i know it might seem like an odd thing for me to be thankful for. But i am. Riley left for Bootcamp almost exactly a year ago... he was around last Thanksgiving and left shortly after. if you've been following my blog, you'll know that he was away for trainings after that... i saw him on weekends, and then he came here to Hawaii, where he started his "work up" to this deployment. in the last year (365 days) since last thanksgiving, i've been able to spend 153 days with him... if my math is correct(which it totally may not be, i'm no good at math) that adds up to 41.9% of the year... not even half of it. the really strange thing is that next thanksgiving my time will have been less than this year, because of the deployment. but i am extremely thankful, and grateful for every day i get to spend with him. he is amazing, and definitely my hero.
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| Last Thanksgiving, only a few days before this journey started. |
2.I am thankful for Technology... on the 58.1% of the year i was not able to spend with Rye, i normally had absolutely NO contact with him. except for the occasional letter. however, while he was in California for that month, i was able to receive phonecalls.. not a ton, because his cell didn't get signal. but he was able to borrow phones. when he was at work, but not away, i was able to text him during the day... something alot of people take for granted. i could text him about something funny that happened. or how mad i was that some ants found Deezul's food, or ask what sounded good for dinner... that kind of stuff. NORMAL stuff. i'm thankful that technology allows me to stay connected to him even when he's NOT half a world away. and i think Skype falls under this category.. i recently discovered Skype, while Riley was in a random foreign country. being able to see his face, made everything better. i sat on Skype with him for like an hour just making faces at him :) i'm thankful that even though he is in Afghanistan that he has phone/internet access... not all the time, and it's not uber reliable... but i'll take it. i don't know how you world war 2 wives did it... you are some STRONG women.
3. I am thankful for Deezul...when we first saw Dee and his 2 sisters, Riley had already insisted we get a BOY dog, not a girl. so we held Deezul and tried to get him to play with us. he was only 6 weeks old and basically just fell asleep in my arms.. but he was precious. we went back to base, and later that day Riley turned to me and said "should we get him?!" i had already forgotten about Dee, Riley will let me play with puppies, but then tells me no when i ask if we can keep him :) so i had learned by this point to NOT get my hopes up. but i guess little Dee had stolen Riley's heart. i looked at the clock and told him they closed in 30 min cause it was a sunday... he grabbed the keys and we were out the door. and we went and spent alot of money on the little guy that would soon have my heart in the palm of his paw... it took me a few months to actually LOVE him, and for him to be "my baby boy" rather than the puppy that cost us alot of money. In August he started losing his hair in patches, and i was worried that he wasn't going to be the pretty dog we had hoped he would be. but we found out he had demodex mange, common for his breed, and curable.. so now it's maintained, and he is healthy and GORGEOUS! the only thing now is we have to get his eyelids fixed... call it an eyelid lift. but he honestly makes my life more enjoyable. he's alot of work, and sometimes i feel like just setting him into the wild and telling him not to come back, but 90% of the time, he's a PERFECT puppy, he doesn't chew on furniture, chords, anything really. he is realizing that I'M the alpha, and he is required to listen to me, and it's making both of our lives easier for this deployment. He's really depressed since Riley left, he's been acting out, and he'll scratch at the bedroom doors until i open them and he can check that Riley is not in there, then he comes back to the living room, and either looks like he's the saddest puppy in the world.. or he'll whine. but he sure is a snuggler, and he loves his mama more than anything :)
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| Deezul being a butthead... this is what i get to deal with for the next 7 months. :) |
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| and then he's the sweetest dog in the whole world!!! |
4. I am thankful for Music...it's one of those things that can ampliphy your mood. if you're sad, you can listen to something sappy, if your happy you can listen to GLEE and sing along at the top of your lungs! which i do... again, i'm sorry to my upstairs neighbor.. but i'm sure on HER list of what she's thankful for.. she's probably thankful that i have talent, and i don't sound like a tortured animal. but in all seriousness, there are alot of songs i can listen to, and know that sometime in the last 24 hours, Riley has probably listened to that exact same song... on my ipod of course, cause the idiot stuck his in the washing machine back in October, and being the good wife i am, i let him take mine to Afghan, and i'm stuck with his handicapped one until i get a new one.
5. I am thankful for Friends...new and old, i treasure each and every one of you. Since Riley left, i have experienced an outpour of love from so many people that i didn't know even paid attention to what was going on in my life. i promise, i facebook stalk most of you :) and look at soo many of your pictures, i should be better at commenting, and i'm trying to get better at that. everytime i see a comment, text, or e-mail i light up. knowing that i have the support of soo many of you, and that if i really truly needed something, that you would all be there with whatever i need. and to my new friends, i'm learning more and more about you everyday, and while we may not be close forever... know that you have honestly changed me!
6. I am Thankful for Riley.. i didn't mean to make him number 6, but i've mentioned him in every one of the other things.when i met him, i honestly didn't see myself MARRYING the kid, i mean i was 15... but as some of you may know. i got engaged halfway through my senior year. i know you all think that getting married right out of high school is a dumb decision, and when a teen comes to me wanting me to be ALL FOR IT, and convince their parents that it turned out ok for me, i won't do it... because 90% of the time, i don't recommend it. HOWEVER, as soo many people will tell you, they've never met a happier couple. even after 4 1/2 years almost. i love him, he's honestly my soul mate. these have been the best years of my life. i am also thankful for the fact that we have grown into full blown adults. makes it alot easier on our relationship that we don't really fight anymore. we've figured out what is worth fighting over, and so we don't normally fight over anything anymore, it's not worth the anger and resentment. i will tell you, i used to get SO PISSED, because he will put his McDonalds cups in the sink after he was done with them. instead of dumping them out and throwing the cup away.. and that is one of my BIGGEST pet peeves about him.. i can't even tell you how many times i probably yelled and screamed about that... you're probably laughing at me now. haha, heck i'll laugh at myself... i've learned that i can be irritated with him, but NOT need to fight him on dumb things like that. he also leaves his vitamin wrappers on the counter. i DESPISE those gold wrappers.. he knows that both of those things bug me to no end, and i honestly don't know if he does it on purpose, because he thinks it's funny to watch me throw away the wrappers and cups while muttering what an idiot he is under my breath. or if years of living with his mom who does the same thing, and is too OCD to leave it there too long, that he really doesn't even realize he's doing it. all i know is. FOR 7 MONTHS I DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH YOUR CUPS AND WRAPPERS!!!! haha and i am oh so thankful for that :) so many other wives are like "i miss how he used to pee on me in the shower" (ok no one has said that, but you get the point, something disgusting and irritating...) yes they claim to miss the things that they would scream at them over.. don't lie to yourselves ladies, everytime you're in the shower, you may miss him... but you are also secretly grateful that you dont have to share the hot water with someone else, and you're not getting peed on... :) ok on a serious note, since i know Riley is going to read this and think to himself "Sav, i KNOW you miss the wrappers and cups" I'm thankful that i was able to marry my best friend. i'm thankful that we fall more into love everyday. i'm thankful that no matter how much i love you, you'll always love me more. i'm extremely thankful that you work, and have such a demanding job, to support me. and you never once complain that i'm living easy while you bust your butt everyday. i'm thankful that you WANT me to be happy, and to not have to go to a job that i hate everyday. I'm thankful that you were willing to sit through one episode of Glee, so that you could fall in love with it. and last, i'm thankful that you are the most loving and supportive man, and i can't wait to have a family with you, but i am oh so thankful we have waited :) it's been a crazy ride Cute Bum, but i wouldn't want to do it with anyone else.
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| Our wedding Day Aug 19th 2006.. LOOK HOW YOUNG WE LOOK! |
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| Feb 25th, after not seeing him for 3 months. we've grown up alot! |
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| we've definitely grown up alot since we first met. |
7. I am Thankful for Family... our families have been soo supportive over these last few years. even though some of you may have thought i was knocked up when we first got married(don't worry i would have thought the same thing... and i probably would have put bets on our marriage as well haha). and since Riley has joined the Marines, i'm realizing how amazing you all are. i mean the Washburn side of Riley's family is doing care packages for him, they are so proud of him... and he won't admit it, but he secretly loves all the gushy things people say to him about him serving our country. after the ball a bunch of people would stop and stare as we walked by them, cause he was in his blues, a few people stopped us and thanked him for what he does. some asian chicks kept taking his picture... but he loves that, he loves that people are thankful for HIM! when he talks about how his mom called him on veterans day and thanked him for serving our country.. he got all choked up. he likes to think that he is actually doing something with his life. and what he's doing is actually worth something. and you all help him to know that what he's doing is AMAZING. so i am thankful for all of you!
last but certainly not least
8. I am thankful for The Gospel... almost a year ago, i posted about my testimony, and how i hoped the church was true, and i thought it was true... but i wasn't sure. i can now post, with total confidence... THE CHURCH IS TRUE!!! i don't think i even understood what i was unsure of. Living in a place where i am basically the only Mormon, i'm learning ALOT about what other people believe. i mean on Oprah yesterday, some catholic nuns had said "Everyone is only married till their Death, but our love for Jesus is eternal" and until recently i honestly didn't realize that other religions don't believe in "Time and All Eternity" like we do. i am ETERNALLY thankful that i can spend FOREVER with Riley. I am thankful that a 14 year old boy was brave enough to stand up for what he believed. i'm thankful that our church doesn't require perfection... only that we STRIVE for it. i'll be the first one to admit that me and Riley aren't perfect, FAAAR from it. but we are trying, and we're improving. i'm at the point right now, where i see SOO MANY people that i know, and i just want to tell him everything i know about the church. and that i know as soon as they hear it, they'll want to get baptized. however, if i were to do that, i would then become the pushy Mormon friend... and no one wants that. so instead, i'm just trying to be the best example i can be. and when they point out my flaws to my face, i take it. i don't fight back and say things that may be true but are also hurtful. i'm trying to realize that people will try to point out things that i do "wrong" because they don't want to believe that Mormon's are perfect.. REMEMBER how i said we're not perfect, i don't need people pointing that out, i already know. however when they point things out, i honestly strive to improve, and i am thankful that i am open enough that i am able to see that i need improvement. I am thankful for Thomas S. Monson, and for the rest of our leaders, who will continue to stand up for what is RIGHT, and not for what is convenient for the world.
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| we went to see the temple the night before he left, it's kind of a tradition, and i took this picture of the Oahu Temple |
well i won't make this post any longer, just know i am also thankful Josh Groban, and Glee :)
Keep 2/3 and the rest of the military in your prayers this thanksgiving. because hopefully you are as thankful for them as i am.
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