The last week has been a bit of a blur for the Schween household. Long story short, we are moving to Denver, Colorado. But let me explain...at least with a little bit longer story.
Robin and I have had an interesting last couple of years. He started as a financial advisor with Edward Jones in January of 2007. Needless to say that pretty much directly coincided with the major financial chaos that our country has recently experienced! Building a business from the ground up during such a pivotal time turned in to an extremely difficult 2-year battle for Robin - and in turn, for our family. Despite the financial difficulties and the resulting stress, the last two years have drawn us closer together as a married couple and a family, have helped us depend on each other more than ever, and have required us to completely trust the Lord with the present and our future. I could go on and on about the lessons we've learned and the ways we've grown, but those things can be part of conversations saved for other days. Now on to where this adventure is taking us...
About six months ago we realized that we were rapidly running out of money due to negative cash flow with Robin's job for quite a while. We also realized that, in this economy, a new job isn't something that we could just decide to jump into overnight - those jobs don't exist anymore with everyone else out looking for work! Robin started exploring his options, meeting with friends and family for advice and counsel, and leveraging contacts where he could see some job potential. After a few months it came down to two different options: opportunity A), a job in Bellevue with another financial firm, or opportunity B), a job in commercial real estate appraisal in Denver, CO with
National Valuation Consultants, Inc. (http://www.nvcinc.com/).
Much thinking and praying and waiting later, Robin finally had interviews with both companies. We both prayed fervently that God would uniquely show us the path He wanted us to take if they both were to become available. We also prayed that God would only open one of the doors if there was one option that we really needed to pursue! Of course, in the back of our minds both of us subconsciously assumed that the "one door" to open would be here in Bellevue and that our lives would continue on the same track, except with the improvement of income and job satisfaction for Robin! Little did we know that God would completely and perfectly answer our specific prayer of only opening one door - just not the door that we expected.
All of this is to say that we are officially moving to Denver where Robin will have his first day at a new job on Monday, March 1st. Congrats to my incredibly hard-working husband! He deserves this chance more than anyone could possibly know. He has a heart of gold, an unbelievable work ethic, character of amazing integrity, and he is the greatest gift for me being such a wonderful husband and father. I could not ask for a better man to be following into a new adventure. He is excited not only to work hard at a new job, but also to move back to Colorado for a time! He grew up in Denver (where his mom and step-dad still live) and lived there through high school until he moved to Seattle for college and met a really cute girl who convinced him not to move back.
I, on the other hand, am struggling a bit more with the transition. I am overjoyed for Robin, I know this is God's plan for us now (which brings great peace of mind), I am looking forward to going on an adventure together, but I am heart-broken at the same time to be leaving my family and our friends. Ahh, such is life! Once again, this time away will serve to grow our little family of 3 together, and will force us to really rely on our Savior for our comfort and our joy as we set out on the road ahead.
I say "this time away" because there is more to the story. The plan is for Robin to work and train and learn the business in Denver for 2 - 3 years, and after that we will be moving back to Seattle! YAY! The company wants to open an office on the West Coast in the Seattle area. They have a few other offices around the country but none yet on the West Coast, which is exactly why they wanted to hire Robin with the plan to send him back home once he is ready. So it really will be a relatively "short" adventure in the grand scheme of life (that's what I keep telling myself at least ;-). When the company is ready to send Robin off we will move back and he will likely telecommute from home for 1 - 2 years while the necessary plans are made to open an office. We are looking forward to the potential that this career holds for us, as well as the work schedule flexibility that Robin will have as we eventually add more little people to the Schween family.
We appreciate your thoughts and prayers as we prepare to move over the next couple of weeks! There is much to be done and it is always a little bit more difficult with a crazy little boy wandering around our house. We will be blogging constantly while we are away so family and friends can stay tuned into what we are up to! More updates to come...
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This picture was taken during one of our trips to Denver in February 2006. Not a bad landscape to be moving to!
Wow! A bit of a parallel scenario between Jenn & us. If you can, getting a web cam is well worth it. That's what Jenn & Dave gave us for Christmas! That means though, that whoever you want to skype with has to have one too. G&G is a number one choice. -- We try to vist as much as possible even if for short periods of time. (both ways) -- It can & will work for you. I'm proud of all you had to say & how you'll continue to trust/believe God to call the shots & the comfort! Bless you, Becky
ReplyDeleteChange is hard. Change is also the avenue in which I have experienced a richness in relationships with the Lord and with friends and family that would not have been otherwise. My prayer is that that is what this time is for both of you. Rewarding for Robin in the commitment he has shown in the past two years and that there would be a sense of freedom and release bringing joy to your little family. We love you and will miss you incredibly.
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