Iowa bound...home is where the heart is

It is with great excitement, and many mixed emotions that I write we will be moving back to Iowa! We are so thrilled to be moving closer to our family and so many great friends, but it is also a very bittersweet move for Sean and I. While we have greatly enjoyed our short time in West Michigan, making our first home together "home", meeting SO many wonderful friends we will cherish forever, and learning so much about ourselves and each other, we will now venture on to a new chapter in our lives. It isn't coincidence that both Sean and I received job promotions within our same organizations, both back in Iowa...we feel it is a true blessing! For all of you who know us...we are not new to Change...change is probably the best word to describe the life that Sean and I have lived together. Shortly before we were married, Sean was approached about his current job in Kalamazoo. Within a few months of being married, we were selling a house and planning our move to Michigan, buying our first home together, and me finding a job...as all things do...everything fell into place, maybe not on our clock, but things worked themselves out! Enjoying our first year of marriage, one of many changes, we thought certainly year #2 will be much less "exciting"...not exactly! We got to share our exciting news of Baby Merrick's existence! As we prepare for our Sweet Little One's arrival, why not throw in a few job interviews, selling a house, moving, etc. A few weeks ago Sean accepted a position with Stryker to manage the Stryker Orthopaedics Branch in Iowa, and I have recently accepted a management position in the Midwest with Medtronic covering Iowa, South Dakota, and Nebraska. I have already started my new position working from home, trying to get as acclimated to my new team as much as possible, before taking maternity leave. Sean will officially begin his new role October 1st.

We are very excited about this new chapter and all the great changes about to take place in our lives these next few months, but not without being saddened. We have been so greatly blessed by the people we have met here in Michigan, our neighborhood friends and friends we met through work, have been an absolute godsend and have made our time here so memorable, we will miss everyone so much!