It's Official!!!

Many Emails

7 Applications

6 Different firms

15 Interviews

5 Water Bottles

4 Courtside Blazer Tickets

3 Free Meals
2 Fleece Sweatshirts

1 Free Hotel Room

3 Great Job Offers

1 New Job!

All In 2 Months time..........

It is finished. Peter will be working for:

It has been a very difficult decision in coming but we both are confident that this is the place for Peter to begin his career. We have had so many ups and downs in trying to weigh through both firms but finally with some help from God we are excited about what Peter's future holds!!! We are that much more excited now to finish this school phase of life and on to the real part. This year is still going to be full of a lot of information and decisions and we will be sure to post as all of that comes into place. Yes, we were highly considering the offer at AKT, but it really came down to benefits. KPMG has amazing health care and retirement and disability insurance (hopefully will never need that one) and that is so important to have with our hopes of being a one income family someday. What KPMG offers with help with preparing and taking the CPA exam is going to be so valuable in the coming months. Peter will be able to get the best education available to help him prepare for the exam and they will also pay for him to take the exam. One less thing for us to worry about.

Like I said, all of our nervousness and anxiousness has been overshadowed with a calmness about the decision we made and a sense of anticipation and excitement for what our future holds. Thanks for all the prayers sent our way in this decision. God has surely blessed us!

They are all done!!!

The interview process has officially ended. I think we are both relieved to have it over with but still are kind of nervous or held back for now. I think we will finally be able to relax once the decision has been made and the offer has been signed. It is close, the offer has all but been signed. We both clearly know where the place for Peter to work is. It is kind of weird, we have had this "feeling" all along and as the process is now done and over we still feel completely like that firm is the place for him to work. If you haven't guessed already - it seems unless something drastic happens in the next few days that Peter will be accepting the offer from AKT!!! KPMG does have a lot to offer education wise and it has been a difficult choice to make but I think the last few days have confirmed that it is not the place for Peter.



Let me tell you all about our trip up to Portland. Peter had to be checked into the hotel around 3 so he could be to KPMG by 4. We get on our way and are doing great time wise until we hit downtown Portland. With all of the construction and dumb people everywhere it was extremely hard to find the hotel. After circling the block, we find the hotel and we are supposed to valet park the car. The valet was all backed up and with construction directly across the street from the hotel and one lane of traffic there was no where for us to leave the car. So we go around the corner and just have to settle for a parking spot we have to try to cram all of our stuff in our hands to carry to the hotel, pay the meter (with the little bit of change we had on us) and hustle because Peter was supposed to meeting a girl from fox to walk down to KPMG at 3:30. It was after 3:30. We get up to the hotel room, and the keys don't work. Peter goes down to the lobby to fix that while I look down at the piece of paper they scribbled our room number on - that looked like a 409 was probably a 404. So here I am, standing in front of someone else's room with all of our stuff sitting right in front of there door. Peter comes back up, he drops our stuff and is out the door because the girl was down in the lobby waiting for him and he still had to get the car moved.



Great first impression of working in downtown Portland :)



Well Peter went to his night activities at KPMG. They did some activities and such (I am not really sure what they did - it can be difficult getting information out of men sometimes) and then went to a fancy Italian dinner. Anyone who knows Peter, knows that fancy isn't really for him. Out of this whole event, Peter was most nervous about ordering dinner :) I really don't think he enjoyed the food very much but it sounds like they had a decent time at dinner. What did I do with my night? Well, I watched the CMA awards which was nice and I took a warm jacuzzi tub bath and read Every Woman's Marriage (good book). My night was nice. Peter finally came back around 9:30 and he watched the rest of the CMA's with me.



The next morning he had to be up and gone by 8. He had three interviews and an office tour. He feels everything went pretty well. He went out to a fancy breakfast with them and I don't think he was to impressed with it either.



So in the end he learned a lot about KPMG. They are a great company and would be perfect for a lot of people, but it just doesn't feel right. Yes, we could definitely make it work and it wouldn't by any means be a "bad" place to work. We both feel so much better about AKT then KPMG though.



We were talking on the way home yesterday about how some of the people at KPMG who were interviewing or considering KPMG were - stuck up or felt they were better then other people. KPMG is a big firm, to an extent it is a company that you have to jump over your friends to reach the higher positions. Peter wants to work for a company where his co-workers are his friends, not his opponents. A place where you aren't always stressed out about your job. Somewhere that he can have a family life and enjoy his work life. I think we know where he can have all of this. Yes, there are some bad things about AKT too, but overall it fits much better for us.

TGIF

Well one more week of our lives is over. This week was so great in so many ways and in a few others it was awful. First for all the great things going on in our life. Peter is very excited about the prospect of working at AKT. They really did present a good offer and he has already made friends with some of the employees there. On top of that wonderful news they have also told him that they would allow him to inter with them until he does graduate!!! This is great news as his job at SPNP isn't the best and he is always in jeopardy with the financial situation they are in of losing his job. No he has not accepted the offer yet, he is still waiting to hear from Moss Adams and he still interviews with KPMG next week but it really appears that God is directing us to AKT.

One of Peter's old professors at George Fox met with him this week. Her name is Michelle and he shared with her where he is in the recruiting process and who he has it narrowed down to. She told him that she would recommend the job at AKT - she personally loves the people there and from knowing Peter she thinks that would be the better place for him to work. Her opinion counts for a lot as Peter has a lot of respect for this woman!!!

The KPMG interview is actually going to be a lot of fun. They are putting him up in a hotel in downtown Portland Wednesday night. Actually what they do is just take them to dinner Wednesday night and then in the morning do a brunch and interviews. Peter is allowed to take me, so I am going with him!!! Granted, I will be in the hotel the whole time, but it will be such a nice time and a cool experience!!!

I really need some time off of work. I have two and a half days off next week and I am definitely ready for it. Work gave us in my department some startling news and there are quite a few ruffled feathers!! Basically what it comes down to is this: I have spent the last year and a half training new employees to go to swing shift. I have worked my tail off and dealt with a lot of stress to get them trained. We were informed this week that the people we trained are going to be given our job and we are going to have to go over and do the harder more physical job while they make more to do the easier work (they make 14% more to work on swing). What this means for me personally is that I will have to go do a job that my body will not be able to physically handle and will have to leave the department. I feel like I totally got screwed over in this and as a business decision this actually makes no sense for them to do. Oh well, what do you do??? Keep my job in your prayers, it hasn't happened yet but it is going to happen unless we can change their minds.

So that is what is going on. Tonight my mom and I are taking my niece's to see Disney on Ice. We may have one or maybe two little girls staying with us tonight so we will see what happens there.

A sigh of relief!!!

After a maddening week last week this is just what we needed. Before I get ahead of myself I have a little bit of time to explain just what was going on last week and how things are going now!!! (The good part is at the end, so stick with the reading until the end, don't cheat!!!)

Last week was the final week of first round interviews. Peter was getting some responses from the firms he had interviewed with the week before and unfortunately was not getting the responses we wanted. He got three rejection letters in a row and while these were not the firms that were really important to Peter, it was worrisome and frustrating. Sitting here as his wife I began to wonder just what in the world were these people thinking! Peter is perfect and would be amazing for anybody to have work for them - why didn't they want him??? I kind of became angry and offended that they did not want my husband to work for them!!! So the three rejections came and we both began to wonder if the two remaining firms would respond the same way as the other three. It was scary to think about the possibility that maybe God didn't want us to stay local and maybe we would have to move to find a job. We began to really wonder what God had in store for us. I remember laying in bed Thursday night thinking about the two remaining firms that we hadn't heard from yet. We were both dying to just hear something from them. So I was praying - not so much praying as much as asking God why he couldn't just give us the answers we wanted. I heard God say "patience" ........................ and that was all he said.

Now all my life I have heard the saying, "never ask God for patience" - so I have never asked God for patience. Well, I came to the conclusion that God is in control and whether I liked it or not I was just going to have to wait for the answer. I was going to gain patience one way or another. So I fell asleep. I wasn't asleep long before the phone rang. It was pretty late and we both in a really groggy state kind of ignored the call. Well, they left a message and I groggily made Peter check the message. It was AKT and they said that they were very interested in Peter and wanted to make sure he didn't make any decisions before they were able to meet with him again!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! I think God knew we don't have a whole lot of patience and so he just had to make us wait a little bit longer then we were willing to try to help build that in us.

Last week was a horrible week. Between the stress of my job which I don't even want to get into to much and all of this job stuff I thought I would be bald by the end of the week. Last week was by far the worst week I have had at my job. I have taken on a lot of responsibility at work and it definitely adds to the stress I encounter. I believe God is constantly trying to build character in me and I don't think I am catching on fast enough!!!

Friday began with more good news. Peter had an interview with Moss Adams. That was just kind of the icing on the cake. We knew he had three second round interviews!!! Whew, big sigh of relief.

Well, we are to Monday; or through Monday I guess. Peter met with AKT today. I say "met" because it wasn't really an interview. It was much more like "meet the people you are going to work with" and "here's your offer"!!! Yes, you read that correct......

Peter got his first offer today!!!!

It was surprisingly better then we expected. It still has its pros and cons but we won't know for sure where the right place is until after the other two interviews; but all we feel right now is relief, joy, excitement!!!!

I am so incredibly proud of Peter - he has worked so hard for us to get to this point and I am thrilled that he has made it. Sure he still has six months of school, but this is it!!! He is an amazing man!!!

The Verdict!!!

So we are 50% for second round interviews. There are three firms that didn't want a second (pwc, dwcc, and Geffin Mescher.) On a more important note he has three firms that he is returning to. On Monday he has another interview with AKT. This firm has been his favorite choice at this point and they called really late one night last week to make sure that Peter hadn't made any decisions without talking to them first. They are very interested in him and really want to talk to him about a job. On Tuesday he has a second round interview with Moss Adams. It is actually going to be four interviews in one it sounds like. Then on the 7th and 8th he has a two day interview with KPMG. He is surprisingly thinking that KPMG may be the best place for him right now. They are big four and will be able to do a lot to help him get off on the right foot with education in the field. He has been talking with a distant relative of mine who works at that firm (yes, I have connections everywhere ;) and they have recommended to him to start at a big four if possible because you can always go to a smaller firm, but you can't go small and then go big. So right now it is going to be a very hard decision between AKT and KPMG if he gets offers from both firms.

I had a killer week with work this week. 11 hour days all week and then my half day today turned into an 8 hour day. Needless to say I am exhausted right now and have a short weekend before starting all over again on Monday. I have been experiencing a lot of shoulder pain this week which is a new thing for me. I have made a doctors appointment as it is hindering my ability to work and have let my bosses know that this is going on as it will be Workman's comp if anything is going on.

We are going to the Oregon State game tomorrow and that should be fun. Hopefully Sunday will be a nice day of recovery and rest for us before another busy and stressful week begins!!!

Waiting is hard!

Still nothing much to report on the job front. First round interviews are officially all done and we continue to wait for word from anyone on if or when there will be a second round interview. We are enjoying the short break as the next phase of interviewing will be much more time consuming for Peter. Waiting is so much harder then the actual doing part of it all. Peter seems to have a clear favorite as far as where he feels he would like to work. It all could still change as job offers come and we find out just what the benefits are and such.

He has it pretty well narrowed down to which firms he would entertain an offer for and which ones he really doesn't care if he gets an offer from. We know KPMG is a possibility, they have a lot to offer as far as experience goes, but it is kind of floating around in what choice it would be. It is the only firm we have heard back from at this point to get a second round interview. It is probably number 3-4 on Peter's list right now. DWCC is right there with KPMG. This was the first firm that Peter thought about working for and he still likes it a lot so it is always a possibility. (He is supposed to hear back from DWCC by Monday). Geffen Mescher is #2 on Peter's list from what I have been able to get out of him. He has no idea if he will get a second round interview with them, but if he does they would be a real possibility. (He thought he would have heard back from them by now.) In the #1 spot for now is AKT. We both have a feeling that this could be the place for him. We have no idea if he will be interviewing again with them, but as far as our "feeling" goes this seems like the place. We are trusting God and know that if it isn't the place for Peter then he will pave the way into another firm. It is interesting how we both just have a feeling about this one.

We will see what happens. No real information to talk about. Granted, any firm Peter interviewed with could still be the place he chooses to work. There are so many unknowns right now that all we can do is wait and see what happens!!!

not much to report

It has been almost a week since the last update. I don't really have anything exciting to say. We have both been very busy lately, but not with anything really entertaining.

Peter is still waiting to hear from all the other firms he has interviewed with. He had an interview on Monday with Moss Adams that he thinks went very well. His interview with PWC on Tuesday went alright, but he didn't feel it went as well as some of the others. He only has two more first round interviews, both of which are tomorrow. It is crazy how quickly this has all happened and is now done. He is confirmed for a second round interview with KPMG in the beginning of November and that is the only progress he has made as far as second round interviews go.

He is so busy right now. I know that life is very stressful for him right now and he is handling it really well. He is very busy with school and homework and then throw in job interviews and a wife and trying to fit in work. We have been up and going since 4 this morning (like every other morning) but he won't be home until after 7 tonight and then he still has homework tonight. I feel really bad for him and I am really afraid he is going to wear himself down, but he can't compromise any of these areas so we are hoping it just goes by quickly and pray he doesn't get sick.

Last week was very nice at work for me. I didn't have to work any overtime and it has been a long time since that has happened. We are thankfully back to heavy overtime this week (11 hour days) . While I did enjoy the week break and getting to sleep in (crazy that 5 AM is sleeping in!!!) I was more then ready for some overtime on my paycheck!!! Work is still killing my back and the wrist pain is back with a vengeance for me. This weekend can't come soon enough for either one of us!!!

We are still making time to run in all of this madness. I am officially running more then I am walking which is a huge milestone for me :) As of lately Peter has been running along side me. He pushes me way harder then I want to be pushed but it is good. It is frustrating to come home and be exhausted and he hasn't even broken a sweat, but he is really supportive and that is always the best.

What else? The chins haven't been out in over a week and they have been pretty good about it. I have let them out now and they are running around like CRAZY!!! They are very entertaining!! I am thankful we have a pet that can be cooped up for a few days and not NEED to be out. They enjoy being out, but they don't have to be out.

This past weekend, in addition to watching Oregon State beat the #2 team in the nation, we went to see the movie "Why Did I Get Married?". That movie was hilarious - I loved it!!! I highly recommend it to everyone.

Well, that is all I really have to say for now. I will be sure to update if we get any job updates!!!

The First Interview

Peter had his first interview today. In his words it went "fine". The interviewer only ended up asking him 4 or 5 questions and Peter asked the rest. He is pretty confident that he did well and is hoping that he hears that he has another interview with this firm soon. He did like a lot about the firm that he heard about and so it sounds like it is a contender for him. We will wait and see what happens. We won't have too much time to think about this one as he will be interviewing again tomorrow morning. He also had one more interview scheduled for Monday of next week with Moss Adams. So far he has interviews scheduled for all but 2 of the firms he has applied with. Even those two have been in contact with him in ways that imply he will be interviewing with them so we will wait and see what happens.

In non-job news. We are just completely exhausted in life right now. We are so very busy right now that life is in some ways just a blur. We are trying to deal with life as it comes and are doing pretty well at it I think!!!

Let it begin.............

Keep Peter in your thoughts in the coming hours, days, and weeks. I know this is a very stressful time in his life and while it is full of excitement it is also full of a lot of anxiety too. His first job interview is tomorrow (Tuesday afternoon) and he has another interview on Wednesday. He has also gotten word that he has an interview next Tuesday at PWC (another big four firm!!!) and also an interview on next Thursday with DWCC (one of the firms he is pretty interested in.) I am sure there will be a few more interviews coming up besides these ones and hopefully we will have an update out tomorrow on how the first interview goes!!!

Waiting...........

Peter has officially turned in all of his resumes and now we just wait. He has done a good job of following up with all of the companies and getting his name out there. It is exciting to have that part of the process all done as that was really a difficult part of it. The ball is pretty well in the accounting firm courts now and there isn't anything else for the most part that Peter can do and if all goes as well as we hope he should be getting some phone calls pretty soon. We will keep everybody updated as all of this happens. I think the waiting COULD be hard but we are both so busy right now that we don't have that much time to think about it. Peter is continuing on with his 29 credits this semester - the boy is nuts but seems to be doing pretty well. I have noticed more of an increase in homework so far this year, I don't know if that is really the truth or if I am just noticing and worrying about it more this year. He definitely has more group projects then ever before and that takes away our evening time together but we will get through this year. Sometimes we just have to count down the days and literally live life one day at a time. If we actually thought about what tomorrow or next week hold for us - I think we would go crazy.

Work is extremely busy right now and I know it won't slow down until the new year. It is both a blessing and a curse as the overtime really helps us out financially but my back is not too happy with 11 hour days. We are right at about a year since this whole mess with my back began and I think the overtime at this time of year is what really bothers it. I am contemplating which would be better financially for us. I can be put to sleep every 3-4 months as needed and get injections in my back for 250 dollars a pop, or I can try out acupuncture and that is about 45 dollars a week. The third option is do what I have been doing - ibuprofen, ice, stretching, topical meds - but I really don't see me doing that for much longer if the pain keeps up. So keep me in your thoughts ;)

They are discussing changing my hours at work. Right now I have been working 5 Am to 4:30 PM. Swing shift has had a huge amount of new employees in the department and I am the only floor person in my area that is "supposed" to be training. There are 5 people in the process of being trained on swing and either they are training each other or a unit specialist has been working with them. Since they are so overwhelmed I suggested that I could help if they would like. So they are discussing the possibility of me working half the day shift and half the swing shift OR working on swing shift for awhile. So we will see what becomes of all this talk. I wouldn't mind sleeping in a little later in the mornings, so I am hoping they allow me to work the split shift idea just for a change of pace for awhile.

That is all that is going on right now. Living day by day - waiting.......................

Weekend ins and outs!!

Well our weekend has gone very well. Peter's conference on Thursday sounds like it was a great experience. He talked with a lot of potential firms and gave out quite a few resumes. I can't believe how fast all of this is happening and how soon the job hunt will be all over. It is a very exciting time that Peter has worked hard to get to and it has all really payed off for him. He has a great resume for someone fresh out of school and I think he is being noticed. He has what appears to be a first round interview schedules at one firm for October 18th. It is some sort of open house where they call back people for second round interviews. His calendar for October could be quite full!

Friday we finished out the busy work week and went to dinner with some friends. Saturday we went to Jezzie's (our 6 year old niece's) soccer game. Little kid soccer is pretty funny to watch and Jezzie spends more time elbowing the other players then kicking the ball and she also is into grinning at us as she runs by. But she's pretty cute and does pretty well. Saturday evening we went to the Oregon State football game with Grandpa and Grandma Fair. The game was frustrating but the rest of the evening was pretty fun. We usually get stuck outside in the pouring rain but since we got to go with my grandparents we were up in the box where it was nice and warm and there were lots of snacks and entertaining conversations. We lost - BAD, but the good news of the evening was not having to be cold by the end of the game. Plus the Ducks lost and a day is never bad if they lose!!!

This morning we got up early and went running. This is the first day that it has been raining while we were out there and it really isn't much fun. Only about 8 more months of it and we will be free and clear with the sunshine again! We had a good church service today with a lot of thoughts to ponder about service being apart of our growth and "construction" in Christ. There are some things I am considering that have to do with service and we will see how that works out. I am sure if it really is God's will then they will work out as long as I am faithful to obey - which is where the real challenge always is.

We have really enjoyed getting some time with each other this weekend. It is amazing how quickly you can begin to feel disconnected from each other without being able to have daily conversation with one another. We were finally able to catch each other up on the little things that happened this week and it is weird how you can miss those conversations. While we were engaged we went through a book together called "His Needs Her Needs" and it talks about the 5 basic needs men need and the 5 basic needs women need. We began a couple of weeks ago reading this book together again and it really is amazing how much we need conversation with each other.

The chins are barking at me right now, so I guess I had better give them a little attention before bedtime. They are finally to the point that they want a lot of attention from us and I am most often more then happy to give it to them!!

Welcome to our world!!!

This is the first post on our new blog. The reason that I really wanted to do this is to let people who may want to keep up with us know just what we are doing. It may not be the most exciting thing to read, but hopefully insightful and entertaining enough. Life is pretty busy at the moment and is showing no signs of slowing which isn't a bad thing. We are both anxious for this year to be over so it can go ahead and fly by!

The busyness of life has created some challenges. It has been very difficult for us to even see each other lately much less talk or have a relationship. My day begins at 4 in the morning while Peter's day hasn't been ending until 9-10 at night. We spend a very short amount of time together in the morning getting ready and then see each other for a short amount of time at night. We try to check in with each other as much as we can during the day and it is definitely refreshing to know we are still thinking about each other! It can be frustrating at times, but we are trying to embrace where we are right now and deal with the separation.

We are both pretty excited about the coming month. Peter will hopefully have a job by the end of the month or soon after! This is what we have been working towards and talking about since we met and it is so nice to know that it is upon us! I know I am much more excited then Peter is. He after all is the one that has to actually go out there and get a job. My excitement is in the waiting to see just what God has in store for him! I know God has his hand in this and has the right place for Peter all ready for him. Now he just has to reveal his perfect plan to us!

It is nice to see that firms are already interested in him. He will be a great accountant and it is so nice to see others noticing what I have known all along! He has met with an accountant from one firm and last night met with a recruiter from another firm. There are people pulling for him at both of these firms which is very good news! I think it has been a great opportunity for him to meet with these people and get a taste of the individual firms and they have also helped him out a lot as far as interview prep goes. The accountant he met with was very insightful on the young family side of the job and helped us realize just what "busy season" will be like on a family.

Tonight he is at something called OSPCA where a lot of accounting firms go and you kind of meet and greet with them. You give them your resumes and try to make a good first impression with them. Tonight is a big night - and I have no doubt he will do well. Peter informed me that the firms offer lots of free little gifts and candies at their booths so I put him on the mission to bring me back as much junk as he can. Hopefully my mission won't distract him from his real mission. He will probably be so nervous that he will completely forget about my goodies. He looked very nice tonight in his suit and tie. I could definitely get used to that look!


In non-job related news - We are runners!!! Okay Peter is a runner - I .............. am trying. Peter's short term goal for now is to run the Disneyland Half-Marathon next year and mine MAY be to run the 5K with him down there. We are trying to stay committed to running and we do run together when our schedules allow. Peter can easily run 3-5 miles a night while my goal is pathetic and I won't even mention it - but I am trying!

That's what is going on in our lives at this moment, thanks for reading!!!