New hills to cross

When Sean and I were dating, we talked about what it would be like to be married, and we started making plans for that, as all couples do who are in love and starry-eyed. Being that we were both close to our families and felt the importance of staying in as much contact with them as possible throughout our lives, we concluded that we would eventually love to settle down in Charlotte, North Carolina. Not only did we love the city (place of Shannon's birth too), it was the ideal middle-ground for remaining as close as we could to each respective set of parents.

After marrying in 2004, we fairly soon began looking for jobs in Charlotte, thinking we would go ahead and move down there as soon as possible. We eagerly began applying for jobs, anticipating the flood of offers to come rolling in. Weeks became months, and months became years, and we found ourselves faced with the realization that the time just did not seem to be right for us and Charlotte to converge.

Two years in to our marriage, Sean was approached about the job he currently has, and you all know the rest of that story. This life on the road for the past 5 years has been exhilerating. We consider ourselves profoundly blessed to have experienced all that we have on this journey for these years. Yet four states, eight cities, nine homes, one baby, and "several" air mattresses later, this adventure is coming to a close. With a 2 year old and a new baby on the way, we knew at the beginning of this year that these travelers would need to find a resting spot - a permanent adventure - to spend the next years of our lives.

So it was with utter amazement on February 9, 2011, that a friend of Sean's sent him an email with some details of a job that he had heard about. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina. Working with a church. Using the very same experience that he's accumulated these past 5 years, but also using his seminary degree to boot. Sean has been going though the interview process for the past 7 weeks, and he was officially offered the position yesterday. We couldn't be more exited. We've discovered that God has been working in this long before we were ever even aware of the job, preparing the way both for Sean, as well as the church. We've made a trip to Charlotte and secured housing, so we'll be moving pretty soon.

We'll be sure to update you here with updates of our new adventure. I'm sure there will be many stories to tell in Charlotte. But we wanted to make sure that we thanked all of you, our faithful and loving family and friends who have been on this journey with us through Virginia (3 x's), Pennsylvania (2 x's), North Carolina (2 x's), & Tennessee, and many places not found on a map, but in the heart of soul of each of you. We literally couldn't have done it without you.