A RUN DOWN

Well.... basically I haven't posted a blog in a VERY long time!! I don't even know what to say b/c I feel like I've gone through a lot but I haven't written about any of it b/c I just wanted it all to pass and I didn't want to dwell on it!!
Pretty much.... it's been rough!! We moved 900 miles away from home. We have been struggling b/c Derek has been out of work. I was stressed with work and school. We sold our car... and we were ripped off when we bought another car. The man who sold it to us scammed us... so we are basically screwed. We've had horrible car problems, and everything just kept piling higher and higher. Derek and I held it together for so long until about 2 weeks ago. The car completely pooped, we didn't have a vehicle, getting to work for either of us was kind of an issue, and... basically we couldn't see any ups in our situation.
Finally Derek has been receiving some input back from jobs, so there was an up. We fixed our car... or so we thought... but there was a small little up to that situation for a while. Just having these small little ups made a world of difference. I feel like going through all of this has made us stronger. It's made Derek 10x more motivated to go to school and to get a career. Derek came home from a down interview realizing that he didn't want to take a crap job. He came home and worked on his resume for hours. He was determined more than ever to find a good job. He also registered for school that night, so he will be starting in January rather than September. I have been more motivated about my job. Even though I don't enjoy going to work everyday b/c of the people and the stress levels of it all, I am still determined that I want to go into this field. It has made me so thankful that I have a full time job b/c without it, Derek and I could have never made it this far!!
I am grateful for the oppurtunity to be going to school!! School is so important, and I know that it is important for me to have a degree as well. You never know what life will throw at us. In the future we may need an extra source of income, Derek could end up jobless, or I could even end up a single mother. I have always felt that I need to get a degree for my future, and I have always been bound and determined to make it happen.
We really do enjoy Arizona!! Derek and I have amazing friends here!! I love our ward, and I love our friends!! Every week we get together w/ some young couples from the ward and we play sports. Whether it's some intense dodgeball, volleyball, basketball, or ultimate frisbee, we do it all!! We also get together and have dinner, movie/game nights. Without our ward and our friends, it wouldn't be the same!! About 3 weeks ago they completely divided out stake. Now rather than having 100 people in our ward, we now have 400 people in our ward!! We have met a lot of new great people and it's so exciting getting to know everyone!! Derek and I were both put in the primary, but then they had to put him into Sunday School, so I am left with a class of 9 children without Derek!! haha it's so much fun though, I love it!! I teach the 7 and 8 year olds!! This is such a prime age, and they are all so excited to learn! Derek teaches the 14 and 15 year olds, and his first week is Sunday!! Wish him luck!! He will be an awesome example to those kids!!
So even though it has been a struggle moving down here, we have learned a lot!! We are working towards our goals, and we have amazing support down here!! I just hope that we can get this car situation sorted out, and I hope Derek can find an enjoyable job!!!