Big Changes

It's been a very, very long time since I last posted and so much has happened in the meantime. But since most of you who read this already know everything, I'll try to keep it relatively short.

After Stuart's graduation, the job hunt began. We had our sights set on Chicago for obvious reasons, so he set up some appointments and headed that way. Out of four agency visits, only one was actively hiring. A couple of weeks went by before we heard that they had either filled the position or were no longer hiring. It didn't seem to be too hard of a blow. After all, it was still early (I wasn't even finished with my school year) and there are several agencies in Chicago. So, Stuart put that city on the back burner... something to revisit in a month or two.

About a month later, a promising interview came his way from LA. As most of you know, prior to this, we had been opposed to LA for many reasons, the most important of which was financial. However, we found ourselves very excited about the interview and the opportunity that may have laid ahead. Again, no luck, and a heart-breaking moment for us. Many of you know what it's like to go through such a high-stakes job search. (High-stakes because his job dictated our new state, my new job, my opportunity to go back to school, starting a family, etc...) It's agonizing!!! A week with no movement feels like a month. Any job starts to look like the "right" one and every rejection seems to be another nail in the coffin, which is exactly why the disappointment of not getting the job in California hit so hard. So, it was back to the drawing board.

Stuart kept his eye on Chicago. Some lucky agency was set to gain a very big client in the near future (SC Johnson) and we knew that meant there would be a hiring frenzy. So we waited and waited for that news to break, but it never came. He even reached out to the Richards Group, the agency in Dallas where he interned last summer, as sort of a fail-safe, but again, we heard nothing promising. It was beginning to get extremely discouraging.


Then, we made the decision to move back to Jackson until Stuart found a job. We had family and friends coming into town early August, so we figured we might as well make the move then. It felt so strange to be packing up our life and moving when we had nowhere permanent to go, but we agreed that it was the best decision... we would save a lot of money and enjoy time with family and friends. Like an extended vacation! But God had other plans...

Stuart had been in contact with GSD&M for months. He had contacted someone before graduation and was getting very positive feedback. It continued this way for several weeks - a new contact, positive feedback, then silence. (That pretty well sums up job hunting in advertising.) About two weeks before our move, Stuart's friend Tim from Brandcenter called to say he had an interview with GSD&M. He wanted Stuart to join him so they could present themselves as a package deal - Copywriter and Art Director. Stuart gladly agreed and we both hoped that this would refresh his communication with GSD&M. That it did, but not without a wait. A week later, Stuart's first "interview" was over the phone. It was no more than a 5-minute conversation where he was officially invited to come down to Austin for a face-to-face interview with Jay, the Creative Director who was hiring. We were already excited, but we began to get really excited when Stuart and Jay discovered they had two things in common: St. Louis and video games. (Prior to this, if someone had told me Stuart's video gaming would help him make a connection in his industry, I would have laughed.) Everything looked so good - almost too good to be true, so we tried to keep a healthy amount of skepticism (reality) as he headed to Austin.

The interview at GSD&M went really well and Stuart and Tim both felt that they would be offered the jobs. All signs pointed to an offer, but things were moving very slowly. So now, we were in the waiting room.

Garrett and Meg had just sent us a video of a three-part sermon their pastor had been giving. In our last few days at our emptying house in VA, we sat down to watch it. It was amazing. We were so encouraged, but more importantly, we were reminded that we are not in control. It felt like a weight had been lifted. Stuart had done his part and done it well, so the only thing left to do was wait and allow God to do his will. (Garrett and Meg - thank you soooo much for the DVD!!!)

Three days later, we were in Jackson. We had packed up our entire house, loaded the truck, and made the 13-hour drive. We were exhausted. And very, very appreciative of the family members who helped us unload the truck!!! :) We put all of our things in the Knowlans' garage and settled in. Lara and Spencer came in from El Paso and we got to meet our newest (at the time) nephew Chase. We absolutely loved our time with the three of them. Chase was so much fun and such a happy little boy! A few days later, Mitchell and Piper and their two girls arrived from Alaska! We really enjoyed soaking up our time with them over the next week. It was so hard to balance... family, friends, babies!!! Too much to do and too many people to love on! :) In addition to spending time with our parents and family, I was able to celebrate my mom's 50th birthday with an awesome day-trip to St. Louis!!! We are still so thankful for the time we had in Jackson even though it was cut short...

Less than a week into our Jackson "visit" Stuart got the official offer from GSD&M. We were ecstatic. All the pressures of the job search were over, we knew where our new home would be, and we'd had the opportunity to spend several precious days in Jackson. Best of all, Austin just seemed like the right fit. It had felt this way as soon as he got back from his interview. In the beginning, it was just a feeling, but after some research we realized it seemed to be the perfect city for us. Extremely dog-friendly, live music capital of the country, affordable, etc. So the chaos of organizing another move and finding another place to live began. And by August 10th, we were en route to Austin.

It's now September 4th... time has flown. We "celebrated" our 4-year anniversary on the 11th with take out chicken :), we found a house, Stuart started his job on the 15th, I started my job (shortly before we left Jackson, I applied for a part-time music position in a small Christian school) on the 24th, and in our free time, we have tried to unpack and spend time with new friends. It's been a whirlwind. We are so excited to be here.

So... buy yourselves some cowboy boots and come visit!!! :)