and we're moving to...

Yup, we're moving to Portland (!!) Joel accepted an offer for an Assistant Professor (in the Counselor Education program) at Portland State University -- our number one pick!

And I am going to take this opportunity to gush about him a bit. I can't help myself, I am just so proud of him. Out of the three on-campus interviews he had in the past two weeks, all three offered him the job, rather quickly (coincidentally, all on the same day -- the timing couldn't have been much more ideal). They all wanted him pretty badly. My husband is a hot commodity! It felt like he was getting drafted. He really enjoyed getting to know the faculty members at each school, and it was no easy thing turning down the other two offers. 

Photos from the beautiful towns where Joel interviewed. 

But we feel pretty strongly that Portland is where we're supposed to be. From the minute Joel first saw the job posted, it felt significant. Joel felt like the position was created just for him; everything about it aligned with his specific interests and experience.  It really is the perfect fit for him more than any of the 29 jobs he applied for. We planned a trip out there for a counseling conference Joel presented at before the job had even been posted. Once the trip came around, the job had been posted and he'd just applied, and had the opportunity to meet with a faculty member to learn more about the position & felt even more strongly that it suited him to a tee (plus he really clicked with the faculty member). On top of that, we absolutely fell in love with Portland, as is evident in this post. There were moments, while hanging out at Powell's (when Joel was at the conference) where I had to snap out of feeling as if we already lived there. It was the strangest feeling; something about it just felt so right. We left very reluctantly, hoping very much that we would be back soon. But by no means were we getting our hopes up, knowing the chances were so slim that he would be offered the job (there were over 100 applicants after all). 

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But he got it! His #1 pick. Not only that, but the search committee voted unanimously to offer him the job. Talk about confirmation. All of his ridiculously hard work and determination over the past five years has led up to this. I am amazed and inspired by what he has accomplished. We have both made many sacrifices to get to this point (being the wife of a PhD student definitely comes with its set of difficulties!). It is hard to believe we are on the brink of this challenging (and long) journey coming to an end. We feel incredibly blessed and are so excited for the adventures God has in store for us.