Big Changes Ahead

It's official... I am going back to work. I have accepted a new position... in Cincinnati, Ohio. We are moving!

Let me back up and let you know how all this unfolded. It has happened so perfectly that I have no doubt that this is God at work showing us the next chapter of our lives.

For years now we have been wanting to leave Florida. We have wanted to return to a more rural environment and out of the congestion of South Florida. Once Adam came along we were more determined to relocate before he was school-age. We want him to have the same small-town upbringing Michael and I both experienced. I'm sure our friends grew tired of us saying we're moving... someday. I know I did. For the past 3 years we have lived our lives in 'Idle', not fully living and thriving but instead just holding and waiting for something to happen. I tell you, it feels good to have life back in 'Drive'.

Honestly, I don't think I was truly ready to look for a job or go back to work until recently. Being a stay-at-home mom was an adjustment for me, and for some time I lost my sense of who I was. Over the last couple of months I have begun to find myself again and get back on top of my life. While I have been praying for some time for a job or for Michael to find something new, I finally prayed specifically for a new job for me outside of Florida.  A couple of weeks later I got the call.

Rhonda, my boss at FLA, has been feeding me freelance web design projects over the past year. I had once asked her to keep her ears open to her contacts for a position in the midwest. We talked at length about how we moth wanted to relocated back 'home'. On Good Friday she emailed me and asked if I'd be interested in a position in Cincinnati. We talked after Easter and she filled me in on the details.

This is how I know this is a God thing:

• I did not pursue this position, it found me.
• The company was located in Cincinnati, Ohio, not far from Michael's and my family in Kentucky and where we've wanted to return to
• The salary was the same as my last position at FLA, plus benefits and relocation expenses
• Once again I will be reporting to Rhonda, my last boss, who works for the parent company Remington Products
• The job was mine if I wanted it before I even stepped foot in the building, solely based off of Rhonda's recommendation of me.
• Everything has happened so smoothly and perfectly, it could only be His orchestration

Last week I flew to Cincinnati to visit the company, and one of the first comments from the company founder was, "This really isn't an interview. You're already penciled in to this position." Easiest. Interview. Ever. I tell you, it felt so good to be fully accepted and welcomed just based off of Rhonda's assurance that I was the right fit for the job. I am grateful.


The company is called StableStep and they manufacture shoe orthotics. Their brand is Powerstep (http://www.powersteps.com) and is sold in running stores and through podiatrists. It's a small company with only 15-20 employees and lots of potential. I will be Product Manager/Graphic Artist. With their aggressive marketing plan over the next few years, I truly feel like this is an excellent time to come into this company and catch the ride.

So, the question you must be thinking is when. I start July 11th, roughly 6 weeks from now. We have much much much to do before then! Monday we met with a Realtor and heard the not-so-surprising news that we'd lose money on the sale of our condo. We have decided to rent out our condo, and we are praying for good tenants. We still don't know where we are going specifically. We will likely rent first while we learn about the area and find where we want to buy a house. While we have family in Kentucky, the commute from them to my new job would be over an hour, and that's not something I am willing to do with Adam being at home. We will likely be living in Ohio. God has seen us through this far, and I know he will continue to see us through and settled.

In the next few weeks we will be pricing moving supplies and companies, looking for a tenant, looking for a rental property for us, improving and cleaning the condo, and packing packing packing. I am looking forward to those tasks more than the final task -- saying goodbye to our friends and family. I am confident, though, that these relationships run so deep that we will be seeing all of them again after we've relocated, and as long as my parents still live in Florida, we will be back, too.

We are excited but also sad. This is where our life together began. This is where we married and where we became a family. But we've outgrown this place and it's time to move on. In the words of our dear friend Chris, "we're the happiest sad people on the planet!" It truly is bittersweet.


PS. If you know anyone who would like to rent a beautiful, clean 2/2 condo in the Davie-Cooper City area, send them my way!