A New Adventure

Packing up the Irvine home

On a Tuesday afternoon in mid-March, we received news that quickly changed our lives. The boys' piano teacher was over for their weekly lessons when Chris called to tell me that he was offered the job he had recently interviewed for at Brigham Young University in their General Counsel office. He started the new job two weeks later, and by April 10 we had listed our home, arranged for the move, said goodbye to our friends, and left California.

When we first heard of this opportunity a few months ago, neither of us could stop thinking about it, and we both felt that Chris should pursue the position. We were so happy in Irvine and couldn't ask for better circumstances there, but this was one of those dream jobs (for us), and we wanted to go for it. After a months-long process of applying, waiting, interviewing, and waiting again, the day finally came that he received and accepted the offer. I had felt all along that Chris was very well-qualified and would be a really great fit for the job, but I also knew that he had a lot of competition. So we were surprised and couldn't believe it when that call finally came. We still can't believe that we are actually here. But we knew without a doubt that it was the right thing for our family, which made it easier to close an amazing chapter in our lives and open a new one.

So here we are, six weeks later. So much has happened in such a short time. We've been in Utah for three weeks now. For the first two weeks we stayed with our generous and kind family and friends until the home we are now renting became available. Now we've been in our rental home near BYU for a week. We will be in this home until August, by which time we hope to sell our California home and buy one here.

Josh and Seth started at their new school the day after we arrived here. They are doing well, and we've been very happy with the school and their teachers. We are thrilled to have their good friends (that moved here from Irvine a few years ago) in the same school. The kids have done well with the move considering the chaos, being unsettled for weeks, bouncing from place to place, and all the big and quick changes. They've loved having snow a few days since we've been here, and it's a good thing we had winter coats handy. A few days ago when we woke up to snow, Seth declared "It worked!" I asked him what worked. "I prayed for a blizzard! . . . I can't believe it really worked!" I told him to stop praying for snow and gave him a list of other things to pray for, like selling our house! Oh such faith. We love our children.

We are so grateful for nearly seven wonderful years in Irvine. We were blessed with so many great experiences and priceless friendships, and we will always treasure our time in California. Driving away was one of the more difficult moments, and we miss it so much already. But it was time for that chapter to close and for a new one to open. We are grateful for Chris' new job and for the opportunity to work in such an uplifting environment. We are also grateful to be closer to more family and to have good friends already here. We look forward to settling down soon and to all the experiences our family will have. Many, many thanks to all who have helped us during this time of transition--we couldn't have done it without you!