The Next Chapter

Hey y’all, happy Saturday!

If you saw my Instagram or Facebook post then you know we are officially moving to North Carolina!

Our lives over the past year have been nothing short of interesting. From getting married, moving, starting new jobs, getting pregnant, giving birth and now changing gears in our jobs once again. Brendan got a promotion within the company he has been working for in the last 3 years. The promotion also involves another relocation, so Greensboro, here we come!

I always said when I was growing up that I would end up in North Carolina one day. And it seems like more and more of our family and friends are headed the same direction. Between Brendan and I we have a brother, a couple of cousins and a couple of friends that live there. I also have close family that will eventually be making their way to NC as well. For us, this is great because in Knoxville we had zero family and started off with zero friends. It will be nice to live closer to our home state of MD and to be around some familiar faces.

Knoxville has treated us very well for the most part. We decided to live here pretty much on a whim, thinking we had plenty of time to float around before we had children. Well, God had other plans for us, so now we are kind of under some pressure to figure out where we want to plant our roots and raise our kids. And while I love the city of Knoxville for its outdoorsy charm and friendly company, I am excited to be closer to the coast! We have both made some pretty awesome friends through work and will miss them. I am so thankful to my UT Medical Center family for coaching me through my first year as a nurse and for being so supportive while working and being pregnant. Orienting as a new nurse and being pregnant at the same time was not ideal, but they made it doable.

So now we are faced with a new challenge and new adventure. October is going to be a very eventful month for us. We have to find somewhere to live, visit MD for a week for a reunion and a wedding, come back and pack up our lives and then head towards NC before November 5th. All while having a 5 month old! Luckily, my MIL will be here for the next 2 weeks to help us with the baby while we find a place to live and start packing.

As far as my career, I am still torn between which field of nursing I want to work in. Brendan and I agreed that it would be best to wait to get a new job until after the holidays. This way I won’t miss any of Hadleigh’s first holidays and I can have some more time to figure out exactly what I want to do.

Isn’t it crazy how life pulls you in directions you never thought you would go? Sometimes it is hard to not get anxiety about where you will end up. Thoughts can consume you, like, where is my forever home going to be? How many kids am I going to have? What will my long term job be? When should we buy a house? There are so many decisions to be made in life, and it is hard to know which ones are the right ones. I have a tendency to be impatient and wanting things right now. Wanting to know exactly where I will be and how I will get there. I am trying to start trusting the journey. Trusting that God has a plan for me and my family, and that no matter what direction it takes us, everything will work out.

Cheers to new beginnings and new adventures for the Stepeks!

 

 

And the adventure continues.