So we have some major changes going on around here. We are moving. To Georgia. Let me back up and give you the whole story.
When Craig and I got married, we knew that we would not stay in Pensacola, FL forever. Once we had Canon, we vowed that before he was school-age we would be out of this city. So two years ago, we began looking at our possibilities of locations that we would be willing to move to. The first, and most obvious choice for us, was Fairhope, AL. You know the place. Our families are {mostly} there. It is a really cute little artsy town right on the Mobile Bay, and we love the atmosphere there. We also knew, though, that we had better have contingencies if that didn't work out, so we looked elsewhere. My only real criteria was that it had to be close enough that we could make a weekend trip "home" if we wanted.
So we pulled out a map and figured out the places roughly six hours from Fairhope, then picked out the larger cities in that area. There were only a few that looked appealing to us : Atlanta, Birmingham, and Huntsville. We nixed Huntsville after realizing that scientists - not architects - were the hot tickets there. We visited Birmingham to see if that was a good fit and quickly realized that it wasn't, so Atlanta it was. We began sending Craig's resume to every architecture firm in Fairhope and surrounding cities and to Atlanta and her surrounding cities. For two years there was not a sound from anywhere. So we waited patiently - ok not at all patiently, but there was nothing else for us to do.
Flash forward a year and we decided to put our house on the market. It sat stagnant for 6 months before we finally decided to give up on that goal as well. Then, of course, I lost my job. To say that we felt beat up was an understatement. We were stressed about money and the ever-shortening time line of Canon's school beginning.
In January of this year, we decided to try again. Or rather, we prayed furiously for direction and were finally told that we should try again. So we sent Craig's resume out to all cities surrounding Fairhope and Atlanta. I continued to pray that if were supposed to be somewhere that the door would open, and if we weren't, then there would be no question. Again, no bites in the sweet artsy town, but there were several promising leads in Georgia so we followed up with them. After a couple of interviews that led nowhere, Craig got two calls in one day from two very interested firms. The door was officially swinging wide open - off the hinges! They wanted to see him in person ASAP. He and I made the trip and he walked away with an offer from each firm. One in particular truly excited him and after much prayer and thoughtful consideration, he accepted. We came home and put the house on the market again with different agents. Within two days of having the sign in the yard, we had a showing with an extremely interested family. We are crossing our fingers that it works out for us and them.
All that to say, we are officially moving to Marietta, GA by the end of May. I am not going to lie - I am sad about leaving our friends and family. I am worried for Canon because he is going to mourn the people he is leaving. I am even sad about leaving our first house, where Canon was born, and where Ange was laid to rest. But this is a good thing for our family and I am so proud of Craig for finding this opportunity for us. For that reason, we are so excited. So keep us in your thoughts as we go through this process of transition. I am sure it will prove to be an interesting, albeit exciting, one.
PS - If any of you have any insight into the area for things to do with Canon, churches to check out, or "watch out for that guy" stories, pass them my way please!
Oh and PPS - All of these pictures were taken on our two day trip to Atlanta for the interviews. Otherwise, they have no meaning to this post at all. :)