I am thankful for Veterans Day & POWs

So I am a day late for Veteran's Day and I am not keeping up with the Thankful posts, but I am thankful for the military represented in my family.

I am thankful for all military, and I know it isn't a contest, but I am grateful for POWs.

In 2004 I was in Washington DC at the Vietnam Wall on Veteran's Day. How more appropriate can you get! Honestly. I even bought a POW pin from a street vendor, feeling very patriotic! At the wall, there were a lot of bitter veteran's. Many of them were disgruntled and many were quite vocal. I don't know their story, but I wanted to say, hello, you have had 30+ years to get over it. I don't know, maybe this is something they only do once a year and I haven't been in their shoes.

To contrast, that evening, I was privileged to go to a dinner with several former POWs along with my parents and grandparents. (No McCain wasn't there, or there would be a picture, for sure). There, in a small restaurant outside of DC, were a group of men that went through more than most Americans will ever be able to comprehend. These were men that spent five or more years in a North Vietnamese prison camp being tortured! And they joked and conversed and compared experiences. There were businessmen and a judge and professors and career military men. There was no bitterness whatsoever. There was no protesting or anger. It was actually at a Vietnamese restaurant!!!!! It was a true example of maturity and patriotism.

And someday, when I have nothing to do, I will write my master's thesis on this exact comparison....

Here is a bio I found on http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=23846

I tried to get an image, but everything is copyrighted!

David Rollins

• Place of birth: Oakland, Calif.
• Home of record: Pioche, Nev.
• 
  David Rollins served as an enlisted combat aircrewman, serving as an aerial gunner, radar operator, flight engineer, navigator, and bombardier during the Korean War. He made Chief Petty Officer (E-7) in July 1957, and was commissioned as an Aircraft Maintenance Limited Duty Officer (LDO) on January 8, 1960, before becoming a Naval Flight Officer. During the Vietnam War he was interned as a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam after he was shot down on May 14, 1967, and was held until his release on March 4, 1973. He was the only Navy LDO captured and held as a POW during the Vietnam War.

Silver Star

Awarded for actions during the Vietnam War

The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Silver Star to Lieutenant Commander David John Rollins (NSN: 0-633926/5691152), United States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while interned as a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam from May to September 1967. Lieutenant Commander Rollins' captors, completely ignoring international agreements, subjected him to extreme mental and physical cruelties in an attempt to obtain military information and false confessions for propaganda purposes. Through his resistance to those brutalities, he contributed significantly toward the eventual abandonment of harsh treatment by the North Vietnamese, which was attracting international attention. By his determination, courage, resourcefulness, and devotion, Lieutenant Commander Rollins reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the Naval Service and the United States Armed Forces.

Service: Navy

Rank: Lieutenant Commander

I am thankful for digital photography

My wedding pictures aren't on a CD. They were shot with film. When Matt shoots weddings now, he sells a CD with the images. I have only been married nine years. Not 50. 

I am grateful for digital photography instead of film. And not just because Matt is a photographer. I take A LOT of pictures and delete what I don't want. I valued my film too much to take tons of random photos. My kids are going to have  A LOT more pictures from their childhood than I do. My parents had to pay for film, batteries, flash cubes and have all of them at the same time. And then pay to develop it. 

I have spent hours this week sifting through boxes of Matt's film from the Herald. I am looking for his Jazz playoff pictures of John Stockton. I haven't found the pictures yet. While everything is labeled,  I still have to look at each folder of negatives!!! Have you tried to tell who is who on a negative!

Here is a random picture of that I found on our lap top. It was a digital file, not negative! It is the Hoover Dam in Nevada December 2006. I told you I was random

November and Being Grateful

November is a busy month for me. There is Thanksgiving. And my anniversary. And I will turn 31!!

Being as this is November, I decided to try to post things I am thankful for. These will be random. As I am a very random person. I am going to try to post several times this month, instead of once a month and list things that I am thankful for. 

At times it is hard not to be negative with all that is going on right now. I am going to try to be hopelessly optimistic! This coming from me. I bought two left shoes once. A drunk hit my parked car. My basement has flooded three times. And let's not forget that my favorite car went out in a ball of flames! 

I am thankful for the standard things home, family, the gospel, education, health, clothes, etc. But I am also grateful for things like flannel sheets and caller ID and a mulching lawn mower. 

Here's to posting more than once this month! 

Ashley & Stockton

Here is an updated picture of Ashley & Stockton. Every now and then they get along. We had to bribe Stockton with $5 to get him to hold still!

Matt Smith Photography of Saratoga Springs

After a lot of planning and work on Matt's part, his studio in Saratoga Springs is ready!

Here is a picture of the outside of the building. It is in the same building as Avondale Academy and Little Scholars Preschool, near Saratoga Shores Elementary.

It is a gorgeous location, but I just wish that it wasn't so far away from Payson.

North by Northwest

I have to brag about how nice Matt was over the weekend.

Let me preface this with an excerpt from an article in the Ensign about marriage advice. Someone had commented this about their parents:

"As my mom watched science fiction movies with my dad (even though she preferred musicals), I learned about putting my spouse’s wants before my own."

While I can't stand either of those movie types, Matt does always let me pick the movie. On Saturday we ordered pizza and he special-ordered my half so there were no tomatoes or onions, and he added artichoke hearts! He then watched North by Northwest, one of my favorite movies, knowing that I would fall asleep before it was over (and I fell asleep before they even got to Mt. Rushmore!)

September 3, 2000

Matt proposed to me on September 3, 2000, in St. George. He told me he locked the keys in the Jeep and then had the ring on his finger (see exhibit A below).

We were married two months later in the Manti Temple. Now, nine years and two kids later (or one before, one after), we are still happily locking ourselves out of things!