Looking Back

Well, this last Wednesday we were finally given our assignment. Looks like the Thompson family is headed to Calexico, California. Where is that?? Well, it is 3 km from the border of Mexico. 3km is less than two miles, folks. How am I feeling about it? All I am going to say is good thing Trent speaks Spanish, and I need to learn, fast.  And we are going to leave it at that. 
These last four and a half years have been filled with happiness, challenges, and sacrifices. I remember when we were first married hanging out with some other couples who were married around the same time as us.  They were buying new cars, toys, and planning down payments on houses.  Trent and I were in a studio, [covered in bugs I might add] struggling to save for school, and taking a leap of faith by moving to Idaho.  
I remember one night I was so incredibly discouraged.  I remember I asked Trent, "What are we doing wrong?" I felt like because we didn't have anything to our name, maybe we were choosing the wrong path. Maybe Trent should just start a career now, without a degree. Maybe we both should work so we could afford those nicer things. But Trent is not easily swayed. He saw past those things and realized that real security comes with sacrifice. So off to Idaho we went.
Fast forward to trying to find jobs.  I turned to Trent and said, "Listen. Let me go to school full time for the next four semesters and as soon as I graduate, I will support you through school."  After much discussion, Trent agreed. Now all the pressure was mainly on him to find a job to support us, and he did. That job was one of our greatest blessings. I took between 19-21 credit hours every semester to book it through school.  Trent also did school full time while working full time.  We were busy, but we were debt free and happy.
Then we moved to Salt Lake City and lived in downtown Salt Lake in a studio once again. I was finishing my student teaching and Trent was able to keep the same job, but transfer locations.  We were suppose to live apart for two weeks while I went back to get my classroom ready and Trent finished working in Salt Lake.  I remember our Stake President interviewing us and we mentioned our situation.  He asked us to drive to see each other between the weekend and spend time with each other.  Or for Trent to end his work early and move up sooner.  He said it was important that we not spend too much time apart.  We listened to his council, and Trent came up a week earlier.  Adding kids is always hard to the mix.  But Trent and I both felt good about starting our family once I began working.  We didn't have all the answers. Actually, once I started working, our pay decreased substantially.  We had to try extra hard to save for little Porter's arrival.  Looking back, we had no idea the time commitment and dynamic that Porter would bring.  And Trent would have to carry most of that burden while I tried to carry us financially.  Of course, Trent also helped carry us financially by working at the apartment complex.  We will ALWAYS be indebted to the Merrells for helping us get that position.  Always. 
Classes were tough, schedules between Porter, Mom, and Dad were tough, jobs were time consuming, apartments seemed to get smaller, and money always an issue.  I got a haircut right after Porter was born (like two weeks), and I didn't get another one until he was 14 months.  50% of my clothes have holes in them, or don't fit properly, and the same can be said for Porter and Trent. E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G for our little apartment we bought used.  Even down to everything Porter had when he was born. If it is new, it was a gift. But our motto has been make do or do without. So we have gone without on so many occasions.  We have missed out on so many family occasions. Weddings, homecomings, farewells, ordinations, birthdays, parties, family vacations, reunions, etc.  We were so far away from family.  We couldn't rely on them for help.  Instead, we had to rely on each other.  Which in the end, has been the best thing for our marriage.
Now, I don't mean to make our situation sound awful, because it really isn't that bad. We were VERY blessed with good people and good opportunities. It's more to show that great things come with great sacrifices. But guess what? Those sacrifices pay off. We have the.smallest.student.loan. that we are able to pay off right away.  Well, as long as things happen as they should and we have no hiccups for some reason.  We have two degrees that are extremely useful.  Teachers are needed, everywhere.  In fact, there are huge teacher deficits in many areas of the United States.  Our friend just got a 5k signing bonus with a school district in Nevada.  Trent decided to go into Construction with his degree, but he could have chosen several other avenues. 
We have finally graduated and we are grateful to have a job offer for somewhere. It is with a company that has a substantial growth opportunity that we can stay with for awhile. All those prayers, all those late nights studying, all those group projects, all those tears over bad tests and grades, all those tears over good tests and grades, scholarships, late night with Porter, sub plans, making up classwork, disappointments, successes, meeting with tutors, meeting with teachers, saying the words, "we just can't do that right now." ALL OF IT WAS WORTH IT.  I know it.  We know this is what the Lord wanted for our family.  
And apparently, he wants us in Mexico next???