News

Well, one reason for my lack of blogging in January was that big new was developing, but I wasn't able to share it until it was official. Once I could share it, we got busy again, and so now I'm just sitting down to write everything out. This could get long but since it such an important event for us, I want to record. I started this blog as a way to record our family memories since I coudn't keep up with scrapbooking, so I want to have this for us to read and see God's faithfulness to our family.

The news: We're moving!

It all started about a week before Christmas when Ryan told me he was going to be apply for a job in Birmingham. He really didn't know a lot about the job but it sounded interesting to him. As a side note, he has always done this during our marriage. He enjoys looking and seeing what options are available, so I didn't think much of it. A recruiter for the company called us the very next day. Then a person from the company called to have a phone interview within the next few days. That interview went well so Ryan had to complete a ton of tests. He took personality tests, attitude tests, and even had a phone interview with a psychologist. On the way to Prattville for Christmas, we stopped in Hoover to eat lunch with Ted (who will be Ryan's direct boss) and his wife. It went well and we enjoyed meeting them. By the time we got to Florida for Christmas we were pretty excited. When we got back from Christmas Ryan went to the company's headquarters to have a panel interview and to interview with the President of company. At this point we started letting our minds drift in the direction of the fact that we were moving. We prayed a lot for God's will for us and we also specifically prayed for a shut door if this wasn't God's plan for us. Later that week, we got a call from Ted who said that they got a resume from someone know in the company and that they needed to interview him. At that point, we thought this was a completely shut door. We prayed that God will would help us move on, and also that we would be content where we were. For a week, we thought Ryan was not getting the job. Exactly one week later, Ted called to offer Ryan the job. We were shocked to say the least. Ted questioned Ryan about this and Ryan told him that he really thought we weren't getting the job. Ted's comment, "Boy I must have had my poker face on." He told Ryan that he was always his first choice but they felt that they had to interview the other guys because he was known in the company. We really felt God was teaching to to be content and to also trust Him. It was a difficult week, but we learned so much. After we spent some days praying about it, we accepted the job, which leads us to today, Ryan's first day on the job, and a for sale sign up in our yard.
We really loved our life in Chattanooga, and could have stayed here a long time. We have a great church and great friends. Ryan, though, is very excited about this job opportunity. He will still be in sales but now instead of chemicals he will be selling valves and parts to industry. He will specifically be covering the paper mills in Alabama from Birmingham to Dothan. The president of the company is a Christian and he starts his meetings with prayer. Also, in Ryan's interview he asked Ryan about his spiritual goals for the year. We were excited that the president of a company was concerned about that aspect of Ryan's life because it is important to us. We will definitely miss Chattanooga, but I will say that in the back of our minds we always thought at some point we would move back to Alabama. I just didn't think it would be this soon.

Ryan will actually be training in Atlanta for 4 to 6 months. The girls and I are staying here to finish up the school year and to hopefully sell the house. Ryan will be coming home on the weekends. If everything works out, then we are planning to move over the summer. We are just praying for God's timing through this transition and moving. We are still very confused about where to live in Birmingham. We have some flexibility, but everyone seems to have a different opinion. We definitely want to live in an area with good schools and young families. We are just trying to not focus on it that much now. We have been focusing on getting Ryan settled in the job and getting our house on the market. If you are reading this, and you know about Birmingham, please let me know. I would love any info that I can get. (I am thinking of you, J)