Giving Thanks.

We are going HOME for Thanksgiving! Yay! I knew this time of year would really be the biggest challenge for me not being close to home. I am homesick and I'm such a family person. I am posting this "Thanksgiving post" early, because while I'm home (for a very short 2 days), I am spending every waking second with my family. 

I have SO much to be thankful for this year, and every year. In the last 2 years I've learned a lot about myself and have really come to know what is important to me. So, this may sound a little sappy but here it goes anyway :)

I am grateful for...

• Austin- The most patient, understanding, loving, hard-working, trustworthy and HANDSOME man I know! I always find myself just staring at him and wondering how I got so lucky. We balance each other out perfectly. It's so natural for us to be together... I can't wait to see what our future holds, I know it's bright! With this man by my side as my partner and best friend, I know we will succeed. I am grateful for you, my babe, for everything you are and what you bring to our relationship. I love you!!

• Zeppelin- I got my little Yorkie on Christmas 2007. Since that day he has been my little buddy. He is so in-tuned with my emotions...when I'm happy, he's happy and when I'm sad, he's sad and nobody could comfort me the way he does. I couldn't imagine how my life over the last 5 years would be without him. He's currently living at my mom's since we're not allowed a pet in the apartment, and I miss him every single day. I'm thankful for my little baby Zep.

• My parents- I would dare to argue that I have the best parents in the world. I have such a special relationship with my mom and my dad that I am more than grateful for each day. They have always supported me in everything I have ever done, and I don't know where I would be without them. I am grateful for the times when I have needed them and they have needed me, and we're somehow in the right spot at the perfect time. I'm so grateful for the memories they have given me, and the unconditional love. When I'm a mommy one day, I hope I am at least half of what they have been for me.

 

• My in-laws- Rick and Lisa have supported me and Austin since day one. I was soooo nervous to meet them for the first time and I put if off for as long as possible. The first time I ever spent time with them was on Thanksgiving 2010 and I knew I just fit in with their family. They set the perfect example for us, I admire their marriage and the way they have raised their kids. I know I speak for Austin too when I say we are truly grateful for both of our parents and what they do for us.

 

• My siblings- These 4 people have helped me experience every emotion possible from love to heart break. I am nicknamed "the mom of the family" because that's who I am... I am in this family to keep us all together and to be a second mother to everyone. I love you Chase, Chance, Cherie and Dallas to the moon and back. We are so incredibly blessed to have each other and I thank God for the connection we all have! I am grateful that we'd all rather hang out with each other than anyone else. And even though there have been a few maybe a few too many times I've wanted to kick all of your asses (pardon my french), I am also grateful for those moments because that has made us who we are. We are stronger and closer because of what we have overcome together.

 

• My nieces and nephews- I never knew I could love so deeply until my nieces and nephews were born...I can't wait to say that about my own babes one day! To say my crazy little family has been through a lot over the years is a complete understatement. My little babies are what  keeps us going. They are the sunshine in my world. There is not a better feeling in the world than having them all running at me for hugs and screaming "Hannah!!" Life would be so dull without them. I am thankful for all my 5 babies!!

• My friends- New and old. I am grateful I have people in my life who have been there for my through thick and thin. I always get teased about being the one with the camera and taking pictures of everything, but the reason is... I love looking back and remembering all the fun times I've had with my friends. There have been a few of my closest friends who have helped shape me into the person I am today, and I am thankful for their positive influence. I am also grateful for new friends here in St. George, for welcoming me and helping me feel a little more at home.
• My job- I love Costco! Who doesn't though, right?? I am blessed to work for a company who truly takes care of their employees. 

 

• Forgiveness- This has to be one of my favorite qualities. I am the most stubborn person in the whole world, I am willing to admit that. But I only am, because I love so much too much at times. Forgiveness plays a huge part in my life. I've had to learn to forgive some of the people who are closest to my heart and also accept being forgiven. If Austin had been as stubborn as me and not forgiven me for putting him through hell, we wouldn't be together today. So forgive and move forward. It's a beautiful thing.
• Sobriety- It's no big secret that addiction runs in my family. Over the last 10+ years 4 people in my family have fought a hard, ugly battle against drugs. It's put us all through hell, but I am grateful for it. We've grown so much as a family, although I wish we didn't have to suffer the heartache. I am so proud of these 4 people because as of this moment in time they are all clean and sober! Each day is battle and sobriety is fragile, so every day as much as today I am grateful for sobriety!

I think I could go on for days with a list of everything I am thankful for, but these are the most important to me. My family and my friends are my everything and relationships outweigh any sort of material item, so I make them count.

Happy Thanksgiving to all, I hope everyone enjoys the holiday with their loved ones as much as we are going to!

Photos.

Because I feel too lazy to blog about what we've been up to here in St. George. Plus...pictures are worth a 1000 words right?? (In no particular order)

[We had an 'Austin and Tori must-ache to St George' going away party on the 4th of July. All of our wonderful friends and family came. We ate. We drank. We lit fireworks. We laughed. (I cried). Bryce played music by the fire until the wee hours of the morning. It was really freaking great.]

[Now that we're only a hop, skip and a jump away from the AZ strip, my Mister is quite obsessed...after all this is THE best place to shed hunt. duh. We camped for 2 nights and hiked alllll day. There's nothing more peaceful and relaxing than being in the middle of nowhere with the one person you love the most. Trips like this help us be us]

[I found my very first shed ever! (with the help of my boo, but we won't mention that) We had been hiking for about 2 hours and finally stumbled upon this horn! Woo go me!]

[My best friend in the whole world, Taylor, came to visit me! GIRLS WEEKEND! She even surprised me and brought my puppy. I love both of them. Oh and isn't her new haircut so cute?? It was loooooong before]

[Us just being cute. duh]

[We did all kinds of girl things. Pool, nails, face masks, wine, etc etc etc]

[Austin's little brother's baseball tournaments in St. George. BRRR! We love having them in town!]

[I got to spend the whole first week in September up north, at home. This precious guy is my nephew. He was due on Sept 1....born on sept 7 .Stubborn baby! I got to watch him come to this crazy world and let me tell you...there was not a dry eye in that room. So amazing]

[Shootin our bows, getting ready for the hunt!]

[Not a whole lot goes on around this little town, but this my friends was quite the weekend. We went to the derby and the fair]

[Miss Danielle and her bf Tim came to visit us! We had a blast! I think our favorite memory from that trip was golfing at Green Springs. I don't know if I've ever laughed that hard!]

[I got homesick after being here like 2 weeks. So these wonderful people...aka my sister Cherie, brother Chance and their daughters Aysha and Hadley, and my puppy Zeppelin....came to visit us! Austin kept calling me Grandma Hannah (Hannah is what my nieces and nephews call me) because I loaded up on so many yummy treats, we went swimming, colored, made cookies and ice cream in a baggie....you know...Grandma type things. But I can't help it. I love these babes like they're my own]

[My brother and his daughter share the same birthday...awesome right?! We spent the morning at Kangaroo Zoo and eating cake at Grandpa Chucks. That night we had a bunch of friends at Texas Roadhouse and spent the rest of the night around the fire. Happy Birthday Chance and Hadley!]

[While I was home for that week, I got to celebrate my nephew Ryder's 4th birthday! Donkey Kong party! This was the day I was coming back home and I was so so sad to leave my family. I'm so glad I got to spend that day with all these babies]

[My other love. Zeppelin. I miss him so much. He currently lives at my mom's]

[Such a treat! Lunch date in St George with my sweet Gramps, Cherie and my daddy. I love them]

[Momma's big 50th!! Girls weekend... Thriller at Tuacahn was AMAZING and freezing...then we headed to Mesquite for 2 nights. Always such fun times with my momma and second momma]

Tuesday

September 25, 2012...

Was one of the greatest days of my life; The day my love asked me to be his wife.

We rarely have days off together, let alone in the middle of the week, but we both happened to have Tuesday off. After sleeping in that morning and lounging around the house we decided we wanted to do something to get out of the house. My mom had been telling us we needed to drive up to Cedar Breaks since we moved here, so that was what we were going to do. I wanted to get some new pictures of us and since the leaves were beginning to change I thought that was the perfect opportunity! So we packed a little picnic and headed on our way. We reached Cedar Breaks (which is completely breathtakingly beautiful) and I realized I didn't put the memory card back into my camera. I was SO bummed. It was also so freezing cold that we decided to head back down the canyon and find a little place to pull off and eat our picnic. We tried like 5 different spots before we finally found one that was flat enough to sit and in the sun where we'd be warm.
Aust was setting up the picnic and I was wandering around like a little kid pulling off the branches of the prettiest leaves to take home with us. When I was done I came over, sat on the blanket and was about to go to town on my sandwich when Austin said....
"Before we do this....let's do this." and he knelt down beside me, held out my beautiful ring and asked me if I would marry him.
We had looked at rings and he knew exactly what I wanted. I knew the day was coming eventually but I didn't expect it to hit me the way it did. I couldn't stop crying. I love this amazing man I have spent the last 2 years with and he was asking for my hand him marriage. Of course I said YES!
Since I didn't have my camera (BOO!) here are a few pictures from Austin's phone.

[I love him! Check out that grin he has]

[Here it is folks. The bottom band is the promise ring he gave me on our year anniversary...we are also adding a plain rose gold wedding band on top. He spoils me]

[Trying to control my tears so we could get a picture haha]

[My sweet Grammy that passed in July is buried in Cedar City, so we stopped by to bring her some of the leaves I picked. She was the first to hear of our engagement. I love you Grammy]

also

I hate that I don't know the ins and outs of this blogging stuff. Why do my fonts and sizes change randomly you ask?? I don't really know! This thing has a mind of it's own. So when some paragraphs are larger text than the others, I am not yelling. lol

Feeling...

ROTTEN.

And here is why. About 2ish or more months ago, Austin's softball team found out they'd be playing in Vegas for the Softball World Series. (I think that's what it's called. Could've totally just made that up too). That series happens to be this weekend... cool right?! So, like a good almost Wifey I got the time off work and have been super excited to sit and cheer my man on at his games allll weekend...and maybe spend a little time with my cousy and her cute babe Zoie. 

Little background of life here in St. George
1) We moved here without Austin having a job. We just knew this is where were supposed to be and had faith that it would all work out. Good things happen to good people. And it did. He got a job doing construction about a week after we got here. 
2) I am still only part time at Costco. I love the company I work for. They pay excellent and have the worlds best benefits, I'm convinced. Moving to St. George also required a dollar pay cut for me. I was fine with it. Once again, rolling with life here.
3) Austin's dream job would be to become a Physical Therapist. He would be AWESOME at this job. He's totally passionate about it... and so super smart. It's just a matter of finishing school at this point. (ps he's like 3 or so classes away from his bachelors...hint hint babe...you got it.)
4) We have wanted Austin to get out of construction for a long time now. It's totally unreliable pay wise and he works 6 times harder than what he's paid. 
5) So this opportunity comes a knockin on our door. A Physical Therapy aid. The only set back to taking this job is a major pay cut. But...the experience would be awesome for him to have since this is his ultimate dream job. We talk about it...know we can make it. So he takes it. I love that he doesn't have to bust his ass (pardon the language, but it's true) in the 100+ degree weather and gets to ENJOY work, like I do.

So there it is. Bottom line is, we're poor. 
I have been sitting here feeling sorry for myself all morning because we can't afford for me to go with him to Vegas. BOOHOO right? It just dawned on me that I am acting like a spoiled brat. 
I told my sis last weekend, "I just have come to the realization that we are just going to be broke for a few years until we finish school. Once we're both in our careers I know we will do well financially".

 And, we are happy! I would way rather be so totally, completely, passionately, obsessively in love with Aust and poor, than rich and unhappy! We have everything we need. I am blessed. So I will quit my sobbing now and live my life.
Babes, good luck this weekend and HAVE FUN!
Happy November everyone... I am THANKFUL for this financially poor/blessings rich life I have.