Several months ago Claude was looking for a change in his work situation. We prayed a lot and started applying for positions that seemed like a good fit. One position was at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. It sounded like a great position and an ideal place to raise our growing Crew. But, we never heard back from them, Claude got a transfer at his current place of employment, and that was that.
Then near the end of June I got a phone call in the middle of the day. Since my phone is essentially an alarm clock, I was a bit surprised. The call was from Claude. The director of the flow cytometry facility at UVA wanted to know if he was still interested in the position. They had a hiring freeze back in February/March and were unable to move forward with the search.
After praying and talking together we decided to move forward with the application and interview process. Many things about the Charlottesville area were appealing to us, especially as we thought about our family life. And God wasn't giving us an answer in advance, so instead of parking ourselves and waiting for a sign, we opted to see how God would direct our path as we entrusted our next steps to Him.
The interview was scheduled for the middle of July, but as the Lord would have it, we spent that weekend in the hospital while Claude had his appendix removed. We weren't sure if the director would still be interested in waiting until he could go again for an interview, but we knew that if a medical emergency was the way God wanted to shut the door then we were at peace about that.
The door remained open.
Come the middle of August, Claude and I found ourselves (alone!) on a plane headed to Charlottesville, VA. :) We enjoyed a couple of days hiking in Shenandoah National Park and as I flew back home on Monday morning, Claude was at the University of Virginia interviewing for the position that we thought, way back in March, was closed.
He had very positive responses from the director, but we heard that the process could take a while to get to the point of a real job offer. So, we hunkered down for a long wait. And boy, did it ever feel long!
Normally a month rolls by in the blink of an eye. This past month has felt like an eternity! But, like most waits, this one came to an end. This week Claude signed and returned the official offer. Praise the Lord!
We are excited about what is to come and yet we are sad about leaving Texas. The kids, especially, had mixed responses when we announced it to them. They have known that this was in the mix from the beginning, so it wasn't a shock to them, but it's still hard for some of them to accept - especially when change is not usually welcome.
However, they are on board enough to have happily participated in our creative endeavor for the day. :)
With five small children, you can never count on a great photo. This, apparently, was as good as I was going to get. Real life, folks. Real life.
And here is the rogue "Virginia or bust" sign, complete with monsters, fire-breathing dragons, and camouflage letters. :)
And so begins a new stage in our journey! Well, after we find a place to live, pack up all of our belongings, load up the moving truck, drive a couple thousand miles... We'd better get to work!
That's 2 hours and 45 minutes from us in VA. We are enjoying it here, and the weather is lovely from fall to spring (minus the little bit of snow last year!).
ReplyDeleteHi Stephanie, I remembered that you and your family moved to VA not too long ago. We are looking forward to the seasons - even winter! And we are excited about living in a quieter, slower-paced area. I know it's a ways, but maybe at some point we could meet in the middle.
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