7.18.11: Decisions, decisions

Dear Friends and Family,

We have made a decision.

We are moving to North Carolina.

Shocking I know. Just as I was beginning to really feel settled in Provo and make a few friends who weren't going to move away in a few months and had learned all the free stuff to do here and finally figured out CityDeals and Groupon, we're out of here.

We don't really want to move, but we know it's the right thing for us and I'm sure some magic will happen once we get there that will let us know why we need to leave the beautiful and wonderful Provo, but until then, we're going on faith.

Here's how it happened. About a month ago an old co-worker of Greg's (JP) called him and told him about this amazing job in Orem. A job so amazing it would almost double our income. Obviously Greg applied. He even got three interviews and a contract for the company. But then we had to leave for North Carolina for Emma's wedding. Since we were going out anyway, Greg decided to send out a few resumes in Charlotte just for kicks and giggles. He ended up getting an interview while we were in Charlotte. And then a second, on the day of the wedding, with the same company. We joked about moving out to Charlotte, but were convinced that after three interviews and a fourth on the way with the company in Orem, it wouldn't be an issue.

We enjoyed the rest of our trip, as evidenced by previous blog posts and return to Provo. Greg has his fourth interview and called me after telling me he had nailed it. He was getting the job. Sweet. Twice the income. Automatic sprinklers here we come. Later that day, Rex calls Daddy to tell him how he had peepeed in the potty and Greg tells me that he hadn't nailed the interview. In fact, according to JP, he had completely bombed it. We were in shock. One of the reasons the company said Greg didn't get the job was because he wore a suit. Seriously? But Greg still had his job at eFileCabinet and the contract so we had options.

Then the company in North Carolina called. They wanted another interview. And then another.

Thursday I get this text from Greg: Check your email. So I did. AvidXchange in Charlotte had offered Greg the job.

Now we really had a decision to make.

Friday Greg went to his then-current employer and told him about the job offer. He countered.

So we spent the weekend deciding.

We had three options: AvidXchange in Charlotte, eFileCabinet in Lehi, Veracity from home.

We made lists and lists of pros and cons and talked and talked and talked, but in the end none of the options seemed particularly good or bad. AvidXchange was the best job, but we'd have to move. Veracity was the most money but it was only an 8 month contract and Greg would have to work from home, which doesn't work for him. eFile was the most stable, but Greg had reached his limit with the management.

By Saturday night, we had made ourselves sick thinking and talking about it.

This was the hardest decision we/I had ever had to make. Deciding to marry Greg: super easy. I knew from the first or second month we were dating back when we were freshman that I wanted to marry him and prayed every day that God would allow it. Having a baby: easy--a little harder than getting married, but the prophets tell us again and again to have a baby so we did it. Buying a house: easy. The market was down; we lived in a one-bedroom and I was pregnant--why not? All of these other BIG decisions were easy. I mean I prayed about them, but in the end, I made the decision.

But this was different. There was no clear choice. No easy answer.

This brings us to Sunday. We had to give an answer to AvidXchange by Monday. Greg fasted and we both prayed and thought some more. I told Heavenly Father that we had done all the thinking it out in our minds that we could and that we needed some direct and clear revelation--I'm talking angle style.

While I didn't get an angle, I did get a clear understanding of what we should do. All I could think about all day was AvidXchange. When I'd try to think about staying at eFile (my personal favorite option), I couldn't. I literally could think of no other option than AvidXchange.

And so Greg accepted the job today and will leave for Charlotte on Thursday. Rex and I will go out later in August.

Just to testify that we really did make the right choice, things are falling into place very nicely. Emma hadn't really signed a contract for anywhere to live in the fall so she and Travis will live in our house and be the managers of the property. Greg's parents asked their tenets to move out by September 1st, before we even got the job, so we will live there--in their second home until we find one to buy or...we don't really know, maybe we'll be back in Provo next year. My neighbor agreed to take our chickens for us. My adviser from Utah State called today and said that the school has allowed people to finish degrees from super long distances before. Greg called the HR lady at AvidXchange today about my super-pregnant situation and she said that midwives are quite prevalent in Charlotte.

So while I'm not super pleased about this move--I would rather stay in Provo and live in the house I love and be with my family and my friends and just keep to the status quo, I know this is what we need to do. And hopefully the magical reason why we needed to move out there will manifest itself quite soon.

And so we are moving. And very soon. And quite unexpectedly. But it's what we need to do, as lame as an answer as that is.