* Jon accepted a full time job at USU.
* We moved from our apartment in Logan to a house in Smithfield. Still renting, but a house! With a yard!
* Jon was offered an interview with a company in Bloomington, Indiana. We had applied months before and hadn't heard anything.
* Jon had 3 interviews with the company, aced them all and was offered the job of Senior Instructional Designer and Research Scientist at WisdomTools.
* Mary and Jon prayed, talked, discussed, made lists and ultimately decided to take the job.
* Jon worked like crazy (!) to finish his dissertation and successfully defended it.
* Mary worked like crazy (!) to pack the house (again!) and prepare to move across the country.
* Jon defended on February 4th and we moved on the 5th. Here's a wise piece of advice: Don't finish a PhD and move on the same weekend. :)
We are extremely grateful for everyone who helped watch kids, move boxes, and feed us. Especially the feeding us part. We miss our families and friends but feel like we are in the right spot. Our new ward is fantastic and we feel at home here. The final piece of good news. . . we bought a house. Yes, we felt it was time to finally grow up and join the ranks of homeowners. We close on May 6th. It is a new house and is still in the final stages of construction. Here is a picture of the front. I think that is Grace, maybe Emmeline standing on the front porch.