4th of July

The 4th of July felt a little different this year.

Rewind 2 1/2 years. Dallin and I are talking about getting married and he brings up his desire to join the army to get through medical school. I told him that while I really appreciate the men and woman that do that, serving my country was never really in my plan. Fighting for our freedoms was something other people can do, and I will just think about it on memorial and independence day. 

Dallin responded that if that was not something that I wanted, we could still get married and he would just not join the army. You see, I couldn't really say no because it was not about the money for him. He has this overwhelming desire to serve (in every aspect, really). He feels like he needs to give back for all the people that sacrificed before him, which is pretty awesome of him.

So Dallin is spending his only summer off of medical school at officer training camp. He spent the 4th of July in 18 billion degree Texas heat, rather than slip and sliding and rodeo-ing. 

The 4th of July was a little different this year because I felt like I could get a little taste of what it feels like to truly be grateful for the people who are serving my country. I think that it is rough to have Dallin gone for 6 weeks, I can't imagine what it would be like to have a family member deployed for months or years at a time. 

Having a baby on the way makes me even more grateful for my freedoms. I am glad that I have the freedom to raise him in the gospel, and that he will be given so many opportunities in this country.... because of people like Dallin.

And this is what my 4th looked like...