I'm Home! (Lot's of words and no pictures)

Some of you know I was able to take a little road trip to check out a prospective job for Justin when he finishes his residency in June. We got back today and it was a great little vacation. Justin got home from Germany on Monday night and everyone couldn't have been happier! The whole way to the airport Care Bear said, "I so sited to see Daddy! I give him big hug!" The kids were like jumping beans all day. I even got a call from the school nurse asking if Jaco got his ADHD meds but it was just his excitement for daddy coming home.
So Tuesday we packed our stuff all up and packed newspapers all night so as soon as Jaco got home from school on Wed and the route was delivered we could leave. Wonderful ward members and friends kept the kids for us and that was the best part for me! A month with no support at home was ok but not easy so I was excited to have some time with Justin and no kids! It has been 8 years since we went anywhere overnight without kids and our 10 year anniversary is coming up so it was good timing all the way around. Justin met with the doctors from this office we are hoping to join, right before he went to Germany and they invited him back and asked for me to come too. The kids were also invited but that would have been a NIGHTMARE! Too many formal meetings in small rooms! Thursday and Friday we met with different staff members and doctors of this multi-specialty group. They talked income, benefits, ect... and just got to know us better and us them. They provided all meals with dinners at amazing restaurants that made us even happier to not have kids with us to worry about. They had a local realtor take us on a community tour. She was a young 65 year old lady who drove a car that could go 0-60 in 5 seconds and let me tell you she proved it several times! It was pretty funny. This job opportunity feels so right so we are very hopeful that it will all work out. We are pretty sure it will because Justin will bring to the community a skill that doesn't really exist there right now and they specifically wanted someone with the training Justin has received. Through his residency he has focused mostly on rear foot and ankle surgeries. The town has some orthopedic Dr's who know how to repair ankle fractures and such but not to the degree Justin can and they don't really like to do them. The other podiatrist who he would work with is not able to do these procedures so the office has had to turn away a lot of business that Justin will be able to keep for them. There are so many positive features about this job. The office staff is amazing and the group of doctors have a strong positive energy that you feel immediately. The group of Doctors own a small insurance company and the building they use is accessible to the community free of charge for classes such as healthy cooking, childbirth, and anything else a community center might be used for. The group has no debt except for the mortgage on the office building and I think that says a lot for the business side of the practice. The orthopedics respect the podiatrists in the community which in a lot of areas is not the case. Justin will only have to work a 4 day work week which he thinks will mean more golf but we will see! The group really encourages a balance between work and family. His first year in the practice he would be a salary payed employee and then after 12 months he would be given the opportunity to be a partner in the group. They will give us a moving allowance, the cost of living is a lot lower than what we are used to and it is a smaller community without the traffic we have to deal with now! The schools sound great and we could camp and hike everyday and still have new places to explore ten years from now. By the end of next week we should know for sure so I will keep everyone posted. I prefer to not say where this is specifically for internet safety reasons so if you are dying to know where I am talking about let me know!
Before the trip I was worried about what I should wear and how formal everything would be. I ended up probably overdressing because everything was quite casual. I had a feeling it would be pretty lowkey since this is a community that goes fishing and camping for fun not attending an opera but I figured for a first impression it would be better to over do it! Overall it was a wonderful trip and now we are just waiting to hear from them next week. So if anyone is already on their knees in prayer, if you wouldn't mind throwing our names in we would appeciate it! On that note I have to say that from the moment Justin received an e-mail from the group letting him know of this opportunity, it has felt so right! We are just ready to move on to the next stage of this medical school journey and are very excited!