From this...Kane is approaching the end of grad school. He has his defense date set for July 23rd (11 1/2 weeks from now). This marks the end of a very long road for us. We moved to Atlanta immediately after our wedding on July 24th, 2004. Kane started graduate school at Georgia Tech in August of '04. We have been doing the Midtown/Atlanta/Georgia Tech/grad school life for almost 5 years now. Mara Kate was born 15 months after we moved here and she will be 4 this Fall. Sometimes I feel like the time has flown by (mostly when I look at her) and other times I feel like we have been here, in this season for much, much longer than we actually have.
I cannot begin to tell you how extremely proud I am of Kane. There is no way I could ever do what he has done over the past 5 years. He has worked extremely hard (and still does everyday). There have been ups and downs, encouraging times and discouraging ones, but he (we) are almost at the finish line. For a very long time we felt like we would never be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it is very refreshing to finally see that there really is going to be an end to this chapter of our life.
While Kane has recently had to pick up the pace a bit and add some extra hours each week to his workload in order to make sure he can finish everything on time, he has also spent a lot of time applying for and interviewing for jobs.
He has now officially accepted a position at Shorter College in Rome, GA as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry (starting mid-August). So, that means after he defends his dissertation the end of July and we celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary as Dr. and Mrs. Barker we'll be loading up all our belongings and driving about an hour outside of Atlanta to our new home in Rome.
I am thrilled for Kane and his opportunity to have this job right out of grad school. It is practically his "dream job" and I think he will really thrive in it. I am also excited about living in a small town again and not having to deal with the traffic of Atlanta on a daily basis. No more thinking about what time it is before I head out to do errands, so I can make sure I'm not going to get stuck in rush hour traffic while I'm out. Ahh! That will be a nice change.
But, I am sad to be leaving my close, dear friends in Atlanta as well as our wonderful church. It will be an adjustment I am sure, but I am thankful that Atlanta will be just over an hour away and I can come visit friends fairly often. I can also still get to IKEA (and other Atlanta stores) without too much hassle (very important!) So, although I won't be around on the daily/weekly basis, I do think I will be able to maintain good relationships with those I am close to now and also have the opportunity to meet new people in our new town as well.
As time clicks away this Summer I will be going to Rome at some point to look at possibilities for where we can live. We are thinking at this point we'll try to rent a house. We are praying that God will lead us to the right home to meet our needs, fit our budget and not be too far for Kane to drive on a daily basis.
So, one chapter is about to end and a new one is about to begin. I normally don't do well with changes and I know this change will have it's tough spots as well, but I am thankful that I do have peace about where we are going and I know God is going before us and with us.
And, we will welcome visitors anytime, so if anyone wants to come see us and check out the pretty little town of Rome, please do--any time!!!
I cannot begin to tell you how extremely proud I am of Kane. There is no way I could ever do what he has done over the past 5 years. He has worked extremely hard (and still does everyday). There have been ups and downs, encouraging times and discouraging ones, but he (we) are almost at the finish line. For a very long time we felt like we would never be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it is very refreshing to finally see that there really is going to be an end to this chapter of our life.
While Kane has recently had to pick up the pace a bit and add some extra hours each week to his workload in order to make sure he can finish everything on time, he has also spent a lot of time applying for and interviewing for jobs.
He has now officially accepted a position at Shorter College in Rome, GA as an Assistant Professor of Chemistry (starting mid-August). So, that means after he defends his dissertation the end of July and we celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary as Dr. and Mrs. Barker we'll be loading up all our belongings and driving about an hour outside of Atlanta to our new home in Rome.
I am thrilled for Kane and his opportunity to have this job right out of grad school. It is practically his "dream job" and I think he will really thrive in it. I am also excited about living in a small town again and not having to deal with the traffic of Atlanta on a daily basis. No more thinking about what time it is before I head out to do errands, so I can make sure I'm not going to get stuck in rush hour traffic while I'm out. Ahh! That will be a nice change.
But, I am sad to be leaving my close, dear friends in Atlanta as well as our wonderful church. It will be an adjustment I am sure, but I am thankful that Atlanta will be just over an hour away and I can come visit friends fairly often. I can also still get to IKEA (and other Atlanta stores) without too much hassle (very important!) So, although I won't be around on the daily/weekly basis, I do think I will be able to maintain good relationships with those I am close to now and also have the opportunity to meet new people in our new town as well.
As time clicks away this Summer I will be going to Rome at some point to look at possibilities for where we can live. We are thinking at this point we'll try to rent a house. We are praying that God will lead us to the right home to meet our needs, fit our budget and not be too far for Kane to drive on a daily basis.
So, one chapter is about to end and a new one is about to begin. I normally don't do well with changes and I know this change will have it's tough spots as well, but I am thankful that I do have peace about where we are going and I know God is going before us and with us.
And, we will welcome visitors anytime, so if anyone wants to come see us and check out the pretty little town of Rome, please do--any time!!!
...to this.
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5 comments:
Awww....sniff, sniff! :) I'm so happy for your family and so proud of Kane as well (Spencer agrees!). We have had many special times here in Atlanta together and I will miss you like crazy and miss our weekly get togethers but I know you are not too far (praise the Lord for that one) and it's not the end of our friendship (Never!!!). It's just a welcome change for your family and a new way you and I will have to adjust to on keeping up with one another. I look forward to visiting you infinate times in Rome!!! Congratulations!!
Love,
Katie
It has indeed been a long road, and I am celebrating with you that it is almost over. It is always exciting to finish the time of preparation, and begin the time of actually doing what you have prepared for. I know that you both will fit into your new town and new church very well. Love you guys!
First of all, has it already been FIVE years!?! Congrats! It seems like yesterday. :) (And it means I've been driving my dear sweet blue station wagon for 5 years.) We still love that car. Congrats to Kane for finishing school (almost) and getting a job. That's so exciting! I wish you the best and hope to see you one of these days (but I enjoy keeping up on line in the meantime)!
Aw, Jana, I'm trying not to think about August!! But I'm glad I'll have you around this summer and that you won't be far away! SO EXCITED for you guys and know that this is a perfect fit for you all. Much love!
Congratulations--I know y'all are relieved to have an answer on the future and an end date to grad school stuff. I am so excited for y'all as you begin a new chapter in your lives!
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