Our crazy life!

Dan is currently completing his last semester of schooling to obtain his Bachelor's degree in Special Education. It has been a tough road, but one that has been well worth it. We have had some major hiccups along the road (that have extended the length of the road by quite a bit), but are thrilled to say that we can almost see the end! Well, the end of this road, but at the same time, the beginning of the next road ahead of us. Let me explain, when Dan was on active duty at first we thought he would continue working for the Air Force for the long haul, but over time we both felt very impressed that the path we were on wasn't quite right. After much prayer we decided to have Dan switch into the Reserves so that we both could move back to Utah and finish our schooling. I had a scholarship on hold at Weber State that I wanted to finish using and Dan was too busy on active duty to get anywhere with his schooling.

We took a big leap of faith moving back to Utah with no set place to live, no jobs (other than Dan's two days a month with the Reserves), and the need to decide what we would be going to school for. We stayed with my parents for a few months while we sorted out a few of those details and then the school adventure began! We went for a semester or two before realizing that we both needed to change our majors, a few semesters later I graduated, then Daphne joined the family, and Dan is almost to graduation as well!

As I mentioned before, his graduation will be the end of this current road, but only the beginning of the next. From the time that Dan chose to major in Special Education neither of us felt that it would necessarily be his career path. It has been extremely challenging to have him going to school, and quite often struggling through school, just to graduate in a field that wasn't meant to be a career. We have had to trust in the Lord in ways we never have had to before and have grown tremendously from it. As his graduation has drawn nearer we have been praying even harder for what the next step to take was in our lives. We finally know the next step. And what is the next step you may ask? Going to school to become an LDS Seminary Teacher. Yup. More schooling. Were we thrilled to still live the student life? No. Were we thrilled to have an answer to our prayers that we feel more happy and at peace about than anything we have felt in a LONG time? YES!!!! Is this the final destination? Who knows. The number one lesson we have learned through all of this is that we just have to trust in the Lord and he will give us answers to our prayers one at a time. For now, we are excited for this next step.

Now the point of this post....as this semester began, I was quite apprehensive as how we could make it through each and every day. Dan's school schedule is crazy, our budget is tight, and I am busy working over-time while my boss is on maternity leave (a huge blessing though is that  I am able to work a good portion of it from home! It is challenging, but I am so happy to have my best buddy next to my side while I work away!). After a particularly rough day, I decided that Daphne and I needed to make a paper chain to count down the days until graduation, so we did! Each night Daphne helps Dan pull off one piece of the chain and wouldn't you know, slowly but surely, the chain is shrinking in size.

 Pictures:

Left- Daphne helping daddy pull off a piece of the chain after a busy day.

Right- Daphne excited to see her daddy at the end of a school day.