I see the end to this tunnel

I've decided that life is one huge subway system. Sometimes we get to choose which line to take, and sometimes not. You never completely leave the system though. After all, you have a long way to go. You'll come to the end of one line, get out on the lighted platform and start on the next leg of your trip. Always setting off or coming to another lighted platform.

It has almost been a year since Jeff was laid off. It has been one of the worst years of my life. I have never been this stressed out for this long of a period. Being mentally and physically wiped for that long will either kill a person or make them stronger...I'm still here to type this, so it's probably the later of the equation.

In this long dark tunnel I have lost many things along the way. I have been stripped of all my pride. I've had to do things that I never thought I would have to and accept help from everyone. I have been to the edge of loosing everything that Jeff and I have spent 11 years building and acquiring. Now I seem to be leaping off that edge into the wide abyss, hoping that I made the right choice in hurling not only me, but my family. I have been put in a situation that I can't afford to buy my own food for my family. We're having to sell our house that we waited a long time to get, not to mention we love. I've had to rely on someone else to help clothe me and my children, because everything we get goes to a bill of some sort...thanks Mom. I've spent a year of not knowing what is coming next. I felt hopeless, scared, angry, and depressed. This is the darkest tunnel. I just couldn't see any light. I've even fell so down in spirit at times that I've questioned the existence of God. This has been to date one of the largest, longest, and hardest trials I've ever had in my life.

I want to tell you all though, I see the light. I am so filled with relief and joy because of this light. With the blessing of retrospect, I'm now able to see that this was also the best year of my life. My pride was broken. "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." I have had help from friends and family. In the winter, I was so cold. We had our heat turned down to save money. I would wear the thickest socks, sweatshirt, and two blankets just to keep the shivers away. My sweet aunt and uncle sent us some money so we could turn our heat up. I will never forget such a loving gesture. It has been hard to accept these blessings, but they fill me with so much gratitude and love it's hard to express.

Because of this long tunnel, Jeff and I are pursuing a life long dream. Without this year, neither Jeff or I would have the courage or inclination to do this. It's going to be one of our greatest endeavors. Jeff will realize his dream of becoming a doctor. I have wanted to go the dental hygienist route ever since I was a teenager. I feel confident that Jeff and I will succeed. I know that with these chosen professions, we are guaranteeing a great life for our family. We will be able to have and do what we want. The most important thing will be the ability to pay it forward. I think the best way to payback all of the help and love we've received, is to do the same for someone else down the line. I, in fact, can't wait.

So, this dark and long tunnel of my life has finally come to it's end. I'm stepping out onto the lighted platform. I get to choose the line to ride this time. This time I'm not scared. I know what lies ahead, for the most part. I know when we reach the end of it, life will be even better. I know that the Lord will never leave me to go it alone.

What's going on at our house

Ya, life is still marching on and I'm just trying to keep up. We are packing up all superfluous items and getting the house ready for the market. After going through the rooms I have determined that we have a lot of stuff. I think we are finally going to tackle Lindsay's room and I'm a little scared. I've found so many weird and gross things other times I've cleaned it. The funniest was when I found an egg buried deep in a laundry basket. It was so old that the yoke would slap against the sides of the shell. I asked her why on earth she was keeping an egg in her room. She told me she was trying to hatch it...for the last 2 months. WHAT! So glad it didn't break. Uhg, could you imagine? Horrifying yet so cute at the same time. :)

Anyways, that's what I've been up to and why I haven't been posting. Life has also just been kind of boring to. School's fine, girls are fine, Jeff and I are fine, everything is fine. Fine is boring, but fine.

New Direction

For the last 11 months Jeff has been unable to find work. He has applied everywhere and to everyone. He's even tried starting his own business. I have tried to find work as well and that has been a dead end too. I can say without a doubt, we have exhausted all avenues of finding employment. Especially in Spokane.

When we went to visit Tracy in the hospital, we sat down for a meal break and had a very deep discussion. We {I mostly mean Jeff} finally faced the facts about the job front and that we need to think of something else. We made some very important decisions that day. It's going to change our life for ever and for the better.

Jeff has decided to go back to school and finish what he started when we were first married. That means that in a short 8 years he will be known as Dr. DeCoursey. That's right, he's going to go to med school!

We've got a plan in place and we've been setting it in motion. We're selling the house and moving to the Tri-Cities. Jeff will finish his Biology degree at the WSU branch there and I will be going back to school myself. I'm going to do the dental hygienist program through CBC. That will take about 3 years to complete. In that time Jeff will have about a year and a half left for his bachelors, study and pass the MCAT's, and apply to a medical school. We're hoping for UW.

Yes, we have our living arrangements all planed out. I won't bore you with the details here. We are hoping to get this all launched by January.

There are two casualties in all of this, Abbey and Lindsay. They're not to keen on moving away, Abbey most of all. I just feel like this is the right thing for us though. I know that they'll make it through. I know that as long as they both make new friends, Abbey gets to keep her beloved cats, Lindsay will continue with ballet, then they will not be too upset.

Jeff and I feel like this is the right thing for our family. We've prayed that something be thrown in our path if this isn't the thing to do. So far, it's just been clear and paved. So, anyways, that's the news around here.

If you read this, please leave a comment.
I would love to hear from you.

Labor Day....

So, I get a day off from getting the kids up and ready for school. That three days in a row last week was grueling you know.

I have a pretty full schedule today. I have two boxes of peaches to can. First time doing this, fingers crossed. :) I really can't wait. One of my favorite things to consume is canned peaches. I could eat a bottle a day... mmmm...peaches....{drooool}.

Pig Out in the Park is having it's last day today and my good buddy Lanae and I are going to hit it up for lunch. My brother Kelly was just here over the weekend to enjoy a little bit of Pig Out. Free bands, dirty weird hippies, and all the mostly over priced food you care/can afford to eat. Good times.

Later this evening is the annual Parker corn feed. They are a family in our ward that hold a BBQ on every Labor day. They supply the chicken, fry bread with honey butter, and of course corn. We need to bring the side dishes. They have a nice house out in the more rural area of where we live. It's good times. We also have a family that throws a Memorial day BBQ every year in our ward. Ya, our ward is pretty much the best ward ever.

After putting the kids to bed, Jeff and I will pop in a movie and probably pop a can of peaches open too. I know I won't be able to wait. I hope you all enjoy your day as well.

The big announcement will come tomorrow.

Fight Fight Fight for Washington State! On to Victory!

First game of the season! WSU vs. Stanford. Will we win? Probably not. ; ) Will that stop me from giving love and support? Never! Still, in my fan's heart I still feel like they'll win, especially since they are playing in Martin Stadium.

GO COUGS!!!

Fondue Feast

To celebrate back to school day, we had a fondue feast last night. Oh and what a feast it was. Of course I don't have any pictures of it, we were all consumed in, well, consuming it to be bothered with pictures. So, we'll have help from google.

First we started with our lovely CHEESE course. It was comprised of med. cheddar, swiss, and mozzarella cheeses. We dipped thick sourdough bread and tart green apples.

Next was our meat course. We use a broth to cook the meat this time. It was a beef base with all sorts off seasonings. We cooked pork loin, sirloin steak, and some kielbasa. Mandarin sesame dipping sauce was for the pork, while the blue cheese cream was served with the steak. Lindsay tried both of them and liked them. Abbey turned her nose up at both sauces.
Last and certainly not least, we had the chocolate course. Have you ever been to the bulk food section of a grocery store and you see those huge hunks of chocolate? Well I couldn't resist and got one. We had half dark and half milk chocolate and some half and half to smooth it out. I think we could have just used spoons and eaten the chocolate plain. We did however dip strawberries, bananas, and cheesecake. Maaaavolous!
The whole process took a bit of time to prepare and about two hours to consume. We had wonderful conversation and great family time. I highly suggest you go out and get yourselves a fondue pot, or dust off one that you already have. Not only was it delicious, it was a memory to last forever.

Do You Fondue?

p.s. Anyone that wanted the autographs, email me your address and I shall send them off to you. jhdecoursey@gmail.com

School bag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning.

That blessed day has finally come! It's the first day of school and everyone here is excited for it. Monday we got all of our school supplies. Tuesday we finalized the outfits for the next day. Today we sent them off with light hearts and studious minds {hopefully} to their respective buses.

Abbey is starting the 6th grade feeling a little anxious, but mostly ready and happy. She asked me to help her pick out an outfit for today. I'm sure this will become a more rare occurrence, so without hesitation I obliged. She looks grown up to me. She's still my little girl, but I see her changing so quickly. {sigh}

As we were downstairs getting Abbey ready we heard a loud thump upstairs. That could only mean that Lindsay was awake. Still warm from sleep and very frowzy morning hair, she crawled into my lap and we snuggled for a while. She has done this ever since she was old enough to get out of bed on her own. I couldn't help but wonder how much longer I have till she thinks she's to old to snuggle with momma.

School supplies are organized and issued by Jeff. Lindsay went with the satchel design of backpack this year. Abbey kept hers from last year. She still loves it. I also think that the fact that she bought it with her own money has made her a little more attached.

Here's this years back to school morning pictures. I just keep having that ABBA song roll through my mind. Hence the inspiration to the post tittle. :)
The haircut? New!!!{singsong voice}

Just an inconvenient scrape on the chin. It's healing quickly.

Happy back to school everyone!