Indiana, again?

In attempt to help you use your imagination, I'm not putting any pictures on this post.  Words.  Just words.  Take that, blogosphere.

Wow, it's hard to believe that almost a year ago, I wrote this post about moving to Maryland.  I'm not gonna lie, parts of this year seemed to take forever (like the winter), but as a whole, it has gone by so fast.  I haven't written much about Simon's job in a while because frankly, it wasn't turning out the way we had imagined.  What we hoped would be a perfect fit just wasn't fitting.  And as time went on, going to work became harder and harder for Simon.  
The issues at hand involved the desire to work in an office setting with other people (as opposed to being alone all day except when with clients).  If you know Simon, you know he loves to have a good time during the down time, laughing with people and brightening the day.  He would also benefit from a set schedule rather than a loosy goosy flex schedule. 
After talking with his regional leaders, he was pointed in the direction of looking at the Edward Jones headquarters for a new position.  When the job he really wanted fell through (for no apparent reason), we were left with no ideas and were willing to move anywhere.  
This is where the story gets crazy.  See, my parents go to a financial planning company that they rave about and when they're feeling brave, they joke about Simon working there.  When I shared our dead-end job search with them, my mom asked if she could suggest their financial company.  Simon went ahead and submitted his resume (on a Friday), and the same day got an email to set up a skype interview on Monday.
I'll spare you the gritty details, but lets sum it up to say that by Friday of the same week, Simon accepted a position with a financial company in South Bend, Indiana!


The company is privately owned, and although they don't advertise themselves as a Christian company, everyone who works there is a believer and faith is integrated into everything they do.  They work in an office together and do a lot of things as a team rather than as individuals.  I think it will be a perfect fit for Simon.  
He'll be continuing to get more licensing and move into more of an advisor role over time.

We know that this job wouldn't have been possible without first moving here and doing what we did and what Simon went through.  It's really a God thing.  God had been preparing us for several months, and we both felt like a move was coming soon.  We would not have guessed it involved going back to Indiana, but we have to admit, we're thrilled about it!  Another thing: when I was at my parents a few weeks ago, my mom was telling me that they have felt like there was a reason they needed to get their basement finished... like someone was going to need to live there.  She thought it might be a college or exchange student, or maybe my sister and her husband after he finishes chiropractic school.  Never in a hundred years would she (or I) have thought it would be us.  (If you haven't picked up on it by now, yes, we are going to live in my parent's basement to start).  


Simon starts in one week.  ONE...as in, August 22nd.  I'll be here in Maryland packing and enjoying our last days in Maryland bliss.  We'll be moving around the 2nd weekend in September.  This entire situation has been surrounded by prayer, and with the timing of this job and how quickly it came about, we trust that God has prepared a place for us.  
The downside to moving will be leaving Simon's family.  I have really enjoyed getting to know them better (as I had never lived around them since we had been married)... now I feel like they're truly my family too, and leaving comes with sadness.  And we'll KEEP making that 8 hour drive!


Indiana, here we come!