The month of change :)

May 1st (Thursday) I got a call from Jason while I was at work. He held in his hand a letter from the Idaho State Board of Accountancy. In it was a letter stating that I had met all the requirements to be considered for, and had been accepted as a CPA in the state of Idaho. Elation, after years (literally years) of work, including going back to college for an auditing class, I have finally earned the certification I was seeking. So we rejoiced. We celebrated, Jason bought me candy and treats. We were delighted.
Friday May 2nd Jason received a call. Dell's Security team wanted him, was he still interested in a job? Which facility would he be most interested in, Chicago IL or Atlanta Georgia? What was the salary range he was looking for again? Oh, yeah, they could do that pretty easily.

So we rejoiced again, and I bought him flowers (cuz he likes that sort of thing).

Then panic set in as they gave him his start date and we realized the fun timing on all of this. I mean, it's all in God's hands, there's no ability to doubt that as I look at how it's all going down, but it's still crazy to try to keep up with His pace sometimes :)
If I had not gotten my CPA license during the April board meeting their next meeting would not have been until late June. Jason starts his job June 9th. I would have had to move to Atlanta and though the test is national, there's a certain amount of bureaucracy and hoops that have to be jumped through when switching states before receiving the CPA. They want to know why, they want to know all the details because they want to make sure you aren't just jumping ship to try to slip in under the radar when you don't actually belong.
The second fun part? I was due June 23rd. I swear that's the date I was given and I swear my midwife confirmed that date at least twice. I met with the doctor very soon after Jason received his offer. We had discussed and tentatively decided that I would have the baby in Idaho, wait a week or so, and then travel down to meet him with the kids. A total separation time of 3-4 weeks. My mother had agreed to come and be with me during the birth since Jason's six weeks of training wouldn't really allow him the ability to come and be with me. Then the doctor said "Well, looks like you're due July 1st."
"Wha?" That's almost a week and a half difference. That's really a cruel thing to do to a woman in her eighth month of pregnancy, but more important, that would add almost another 2 weeks to our separation. So we discussed it again and we've decided to do the unthinkable. I will be moving at 9 months (flying even - and yes, we've called the airlines, the airports and read articles online to understand the implications. According to flight attendants, doctors and a few individual experiences the danger generally comes in moving from low altitude to high altitude, but I'm going in the opposite direction, so the chances of going into labor are very low.)
My doctor's only warning (so far at least) - make sure you have a doctor and a game plan in place already just in case. Sage advice, and I followed it immediately. I have a doctor and selected my hospital and all that fun stuff. Cool part: I get to try a water birth! Atlanta Georgia is big enough to have all the necessary facilities. I'm excited about that part.
So in the course of 1 week our entire life changed. Jason's offer is more than we expected and plenty for us to thrive on without adding income from me working part-time. Although I may choose to open my bookkeeping business after a while, it will be purely to keep up my skills and pay for my continuing education rather than necessity to support our family. I can focus solely on the home and my family and our babies.
Jason's job is exactly in the field he was looking for, doing exactly the type of thing he wanted to do. It's similar to what he did in his internship, so he knows what he's getting into. He's thrilled and excited, especially because Dell is a well known company, and their security team is relatively new so he's getting in on the ground floor.
On the kid side, things couldn't be going better either. Although Alisabeth got a few yellow marks she's still scoring VERY well in her first grade classes (they do a warning system, green, yellow and then blue, but you can always pull it back up if the behavior is corrected in time).
We spoke with her teacher at the recent fundraiser they were having. I just wanted to thank her because Alisabeth has really been positive and happy about school, and I know it's because of her teacher's enthusiasm and efforts. Without prompting she teacher said "She's doing really well, I don't worry at all about her ability to continue into second grade."
That was a relief, I mean, her scores are plenty high, she's getting 100% on spelling, reading more than twice the requirements for her grade and has stopped writing her letters and numbers wrong for the most part, so I wasn't REALLY worried, but parents always worry, especially when we made the decision to move her forward into a higher grade.
Kryton, too, has been thriving. The boy speaks in half sentences already (I should probably look up the timing to see where he 'should' be at, but I haven't this time around. He loves the word nose for some reason and loves to point to his nose (and anyone else's). Aside from knowing and using the words please, thank you, and stop regularly and correctly, he now knows enough to give us one word descriptions for most of his favorite and regular things (candy, ice, drink, food, more. . . ) and he knows what he wants. If you try to give him something he doesn't want he'll shake his head to let you know you've got it wrong.
He does have quite a temper though. When he doesn't get what he wants he screeches and glares at you until he gets distracted by something else. Still, I can't help but adore him. He's so snugly and sweet most of the time, even when he's testing your boundaries.
Jason pointed to my belly and said "baby." So now Kryton will jump on me, and when I say "ow" or "be careful of baby" he caresses my belly and says "baby", then caresses his own belly and says "baby" It's adorable.
So amid the chaos we are beyond thrilled and excited for life right now. We still need to find a home in Atlanta (renting of course), but are working with a rental agent who seems VERY on the ball and has a couple of houses already lined up that fit our needs and wants. We also need to sell our home, but that too is flying at an unprecedented rate. Our home goes on the market Tuesday. We've got most everything already packed up. Jason will drive the moving truck with all our gear on the 3rd. I will stay for 2 more weeks to finish working and finish school for Alisabeth. This will ensure that I am insured when the baby comes under my old medical plan (since I've already paid the stupid deductible) and will give me time to wrap up my current projects. It will also give Jason a bit of time to get the house at least partially in order so that when I get there I can just go into labor and not worry about anything else :)
Here's another amazing 'coincidence' a new airline is coming to Idaho Falls airport (previously there were 2 airlines available here). They have a flight to Atlanta (1 layover), it's cheaper than flying out of Salt Lake, and their service to Atlanta doesn't start until June. The weekend we 'randomly' chose to move me just happens to be the weekend of the cheapest flights available. I'm getting myself and 2 children across the entire country for $400 and 6 hours of time. (Compare this with a 5 day car trip with kids.)
I have to say, for those who don't believe in God, or that His hand is directing each of our lives, I just don't see it. The evidence is too great for me. I KNOW He has been working behind the scenes to get Jason this exact job. (I didn't even tell you the miracle there. Jason didn't apply for this one. His friend from the internship, who already had a job, got approached by their recruiter and said 'not interested, but I know someone you should talk to').
I love the life He's given us so far, and my gratitude runneth over.