New Year, New Beginnings

The New Year is here and with it, our family will soon be experiencing many new things.

Tomorrow I start my new job and I am excited and just a little nervous, wondering what it will be like. God has been so gracious to provide me with a new job, it all happened very quickly and unexpectedly. I worked at my previous organization for almost 7 years but commuting an average of 1 and a half hours each way to work or working in isolation from home was really starting to get to me...  So after I got back from Europe, I did a quick internet search and was amazed to find a job that fits my interests, qualifications and experience perfectly, less than 20 minutes from my house. I decided to apply for the job and 2 days later, a 5 week process of interviews and negotiations started which ended with me accepting a new job offer and resigning from my previous organization. Little did I know during this process that God was leading me to change jobs for much greater reasons... I wish I could write down all the details of what happened but due to confidentiality issues, it's suffice to say that if I hadn't resigned, it was likely that in the near future, I would have been out of a job because of serious organizational problems I was unaware of until the day I resigned. God protected me from that situation and when I realized what He had done, I was just amazed at how my Heavenly Father takes care of me in such a personal and direct way! Thank you Lord!

So tomorrow our family will be starting a new phase, with me working 4 days a week instead of 3, but much closer to home, with a team of researchers (something I have greatly missed), still in the area of International Public Health Research...

Daniel will continue at his current pre-school but will change to one much closer to my new job at the end of June. I also thank God for helping us find Daniel a new school so quickly  -- this time I only had to look at 6 schools instead of 12 to find one we were happy with! :)

The other big change that is coming soon, is that Jonny will start an MBA program, part-time, at the end of January. He will be studying two nights per week for the next 3 years -- though it is a flexible program and he can do it in up to 6 years if he needs to. This will be a very big change for us and we will have to be very careful of how we manage our time, but we both feel this is the time and right thing for him to do. The MBA will provide him with the opportunity to change careers -- still stay in science but leave the laboratory and instead, work more as a technical consultant and in scientific investments. He is so excited about this which is a joy to see!

So all in all, we will be experiencing some very big changes in 2011! We are trusting God in all of this and are at peace about it all. We ask you, dear loved ones, as we come to your mind, to pray for us. We are praying to adjust well to these changes, to experience joy and peace, and to know how to manage our time, so that our family does not suffer from the extra commitments. Most importantly, we pray that we would continue to grow closer to God and seek Him more through all we experience in this New Year.

I hope to continue updating this blog, but it may not be as frequent as I would love to, due to us adjusting to these changes. I expect to be extra tired in the evenings for a while! I have enjoyed blogging more frequently this past week and a half but it's because I have been on holiday. :) But tomorrow, I new phase begins, so we will see what that will look like...

WE ARE EXCITED!

(Note: The photos in this blog were taken in Giverny, France, during our visit to Monet's Garden, this past September, 2010. It was one of the most beautiful gardens we have ever seen! Just amazing and a visit we will treasure forever.)