Marriage Stinks....But Only Because of Sam's Farts!

             I don't have any pictures to share with this blog, since we have been in Awesome Altus for all of June, there really hasn't been anything epic enough to capture in the form of a picture. Thus, this will mostly just be a blog of words, I will try to keep things short and sweet, but much like my stories I tend to ramble and when I get on a role its hard to stop me. Much like some of my statuses on Facebook this past week/weekend, as my lovely friend Stephanie's fiance put it, "A blog post via Facebook status," (once Facebook stopped limiting the characters for each status, well the world was doomed to Amanda statuses), which also resemble my notoriously long voice mails and text messages. You will never receive a one word or one letter text from this girl....unless I am angry. Already I have digressed.

            Well you will all be happy to know that your tax dollars have not been wasted this month, Sam has been working quite a bit. His class finally moved up to top priority this month, since they are suppose to finish their simulators by June 30th. The civilians realized their prior scheduling didn't keep them on track so they had to play catch up. Basically, Sam has had a SIM every Saturday in the month of June. Aside from that, last week he had a SIM everyday except for Friday. It made for a long week for him and for me. His SIMS were from 2 to 6pm so he was gone from 1 to 7pm, which my days pass much slower when I don't get to spend them with him. Plus, it was rainy a few days last week too, which always seems to make a day last longer, but I still brought Sam a snack everyday at 4pm, and then had dinner ready for him when he got home around 7. However, since he was gone in the afternoon I felt like we didn't get much time together, especially because in the mornings he would have class, I missed him....ahhh newly weds, missing each other when you go a whole afternoon without seeing each other for four days in a row! This past Saturday Sam was suppose to have a simulator, that I was going to be able to sit in on for the last two hours. These are full motion SIMs, they even push out from the steps you use to get into them, and the entire SIM moves, so it would've felt like we were in the real plane. I was pretty excited to be able to see Sam in action as well as spend sometime in the simulator, but unfortunately there was a computer issue and they all went down, but it gave Sam a free afternoon, FINALLY! I love spending time with my husband, he is my best friend, we always have a blast together.


          On Saturday, once Sam had lunch, we headed to the pool with Sam's SIM partner and his wife, Kedem and Lauren. Since it was such a beautiful Saturday the pool attracted a lot of people! Our group of four quickly multiplied into a group of ten plus a baby. There are some pretty sweet slides at this pool which we take full advantage of during the fifteen minutes of adult swim that occurs every forty five minutes. We also played an intense game of monkey in the middle. Unfortunately, though we were wearing sunscreen, Sam's back burned and my face got burnt. When we were outside of the pool there was a natural segregation of all the guys sitting in a circle and the four wives laying out on lounge chairs. The boys were discussing pilot terms, while us ladies discuss how much we don't understand their pilot lingo, but they don't understand differentiated instruction or parts of the muscle, which comes from me being a teacher and Lauren being a personal trainer. We also talk about practical things, like where we are going to live at our next base (on base, off base, etc). Saturday night we had a BBQ with the people from the pool plus a few other guys who joined us. It ended up be a cloudy, cool evening and a perfect night for a BBQ. We had a blast! Getting to know each other more, laughing (those boys with leave you in stitches), and enjoying each others company. As the night drew to an end it started to hit me that each one of us are headed in different directions. Some people are leaving Awesome Altus as early as this Wednesday, others are leaving in two weeks, others midway through July, and then us at the end of July. People are going to California, Washington, Hawaii, England, Colorado, and South Carolina. Literally, all over the world. I had a small reality check of military life. I knew we would make new friends and have to leave them, but it seems like as soon as you start getting comfortable, start making stronger friendships, its time to uproot your lives and leave these partially nurtured friendships. However, there is also a pretty strong bond that forms pretty quickly between military friends, though you may have to leave them earlier than your ready to there will always be that connection you made of experiencing similar things. Plus, you can always look them up when you travel and maybe score a free place to stay for a night if you need it and/or good people to catch a meal with later on in life. I have a feeling that by then end of our military career we will have many friends all over the world that will always hold a special place in our hearts. Our future home in England is open to anyone, military or not, who is looking for a place to crash while traveling Europe!


            Sam and I passed our five month mark this passed week. It is crazy how quickly five months have passed since we said "I DO" or "YES" (since that's what Sam said because he didn't know it was the part where he was suppose to say "I DO", we didn't rehearse it he claims). It has truly been the most amazing five months of my life. Making the adjustment into the role of being a wife has been a humbling and fun experience. There have also been some strange and yucky moments as I adjust to living with a boy, man they are just different than living with girls! I will start with the serious part of what I have learned in the past five months then take you through the more humorous part of newly wed life. Learning to be a Godly woman is something I have striven for, struggled with, and pursued my whole life. Being a Godly wife is something I have heard about but now it feels more real to me, even after just five months of marriage. Most of us have probably heard Ephesians 5:22, either at weddings, in church, or even maybe some movies (that might be a stretch) aside from the famous 1 Corinthians 13 (love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious, it does not boast, etc.) and Genesis 2 (A man leaves his father and mother and is joined with his wife and the two shall become one) Ephesians 5 is probably the next most popular scripture you hear at weddings. Ephesians 5: 22-24 states the following:
                                        

²² Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. ²³ For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

            I have heard this verse multiple times, but yet the word "submit" never really made sense to me when I was single. I probably never will have full comprehension of this scripture, but I don't think any human will be able to fully comprehend God's word. Anyway, at first I saw the word submit as a literal term, but how do you practice submitting yourself to your husband in today's society? Things are way different then they were back when the New Testament was written. However, I have come to find submitting myself to Sam for me is serving him. We were made to serve God, which it says in verse 22 to submit to your husband as you do to the Lord. I serve the Lord by showing love to his people and serving others. Thus, I should serve my husband. Right now, that means making sure he is well fed, preparing him delicious dinners, cleaning the house, making sure the bed is made, the laundry is done and folded, so he can focus on his training. I love doing these things for Sam, but I am human and at times over the past five months I have gotten tired and frustrated. Tired of cooking, or felt under appreciated, or been frustrated that I have to make a trip to Walmart alone, or gotten irritated with my small kitchen. When I let myself get frustrated, it makes Sam feel bad like I don't enjoy being a house wife, and it puts a strain on the marriage, just as we should serve God with a joyful heart, I should do the same for my husband. I know I will continue to grow and improve on submitting myself, but I also will stumble and fall along the way, just as I do in my relationship with God. Sam is always quick to forgive me and move on when I am less than pleasant to be around. The second part of Ephesians speaks to a husband:  Ephesians 5:25-30

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing^[a] her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body.      

            God began preparing Sam to be a husband long before we were married. He is a very loving husband. In these short five months Sam has already shown me Christ's love. There was never a moment, even when we were dating, that I didn't feel loved by Sam. He is very patient with me, though I know I can be difficult. He is not easily angered. Sam reflects Christ's love, just as Christ loved his church so Sam shows love for me. I know I have frustrated him before, but he doesn't keep any records of my wrongs, just as God forgives our sins and then forgets about them. I am very blessed to have such a loving husband. 

           Aside from our spiritual growth and the growth of our love (which I didn't know it was possible to love Sam more, but I do everyday) we have learned some other valuable lessons these past five months:

1. A clove of garlic is only one small part of the large white garlic. Sam saved me from cutting up five of those big bunches of garlic when a recipe called for 5 cloves of garlic, but I have since learned how to mince fresh garlic.

2. Sam has horrible farts, though I knew most conversations in a Holbrook get together turns to a poop conversation, I didn't realize how rank Sam's farts can be, one night I thought I had to evacuate the bed because he was farting on me in his sleep! (ewwww boys)

3.  It is very easy to confuse fabric softener with laundry detergent. 

4. Glass bowls, if slightly cracked, will explode in the microwave, much like wax paper smokes in the oven.

5. When a recipe tells you to warm the cookie sheets in the oven it does not mean leave them in there for fifteen minutes (Sam did that and they smoked a lot)

6. It doesn't take much to set off a smoke alarm, we now disable ours every time I cook on the stove. 

7. Locking yourself out of your house on base costs $25, after the second time you do it, but the first time is free.

8. Sam yelling from the bedroom "AMANDA!!!!!!!!!!" Yes Sam? "I've been abducted by aliens", in reference to a mysterious bump on his arm.

9. Standing for the National Anthem in your swim suit when your soaking wet is cool, because everyone stops what they are doing and gets quiet, but is also equally awkward.

10. "HELP" "HELP" I cant get my sports bra on! Sam saying, "Oh Amanda, I didn't think I would have to dress you until we were old and grey after many years of marriage." The next day..."Help!" HELP!" Me saying, "Oh Sam, I didn't think I would have to help you put your shirt on until we were old."

            Being newly weds is awesome! We have had a blast and made many lasting memories. I don't think we will ever get tired of the words "husband" and "wife" as we only refer to each other as husband or wife. Every night, before the goodnight kiss, its "goodnight wife"...."goodnight husband". I love it and I love being a wife to my amazing husband.

Thanks for Reading!!

-Amanda