Last week you read about why I wanted to create a personal brand. But what happened that made me want to shift gears from photography to private photo editing? To answer that question, we’ll have to go all the way back to one year ago.

Settling Down?

One year ago, Matt and I had just purchased our first home. It’s a cute little 1100 square foot home in a quiet neighborhood close to family. The drive to Matt’s work was less than 15 minutes. It has trees on 3 sides, a nice yard, and it cost us less than $100K. Yep, you read that right! My CA friends will know why I included that tidbit. 😉

We purchased the home in March, and for the next 2 months we fixed it up. It was a foreclosure (which is why it was so cheap), so there were certainly some oddities about the house. But we fell in love with it and it was perfect for us! We put in brand new appliances, new flooring, and new paint throughout the house. We still had a lot more plans for it, but we fixed it up just enough to make it livable and decided to move in May.

Those two months were incredibly stressful but oh so exciting. It seemed like so many things were falling into place. Matt’s job was going well, we were stepping out on our own after living in my grandmother’s house for the first 9 months of our marriage, and we were making plans for Matt to eventually work from home. And we were one step closer to starting a family. Then, as things always do, everything changed.

Plot twist!

Right before we moved in, Matt found out he would be without a job starting June 8. The company he worked for was outsourcing his department to another country, so he and the rest of his team would no longer be needed. Part of our decision in buying the house was because of the easy commute to his work. I think he only worked a grand total of 5 days while we lived in the new house.

What were we going to do? The year before I’d quit all of my other jobs, so my only income was photography. And honestly it wasn’t going very well. Yes, I was posting a lot online and getting more comments in person about my business, but the inquiries weren’t coming in, and I didn’t understand why.

So Matt began the long process of looking for another job. Matt is a very methodical, well-thought-out person. He doesn’t pursue something unless he’s absolutely sure it’s what he wants to do, and he always has a plan for everything. This was NOT planned! He started job hunting like crazy. He spent about 12 hours a day either on phone calls, preparing for interviews, doing take home challenges, or working on his portfolio. Because he has very specific goals, he didn’t want to settle for the first job that came along.

Learning to Trust

During that time we saw God provide for us over and over. I got inquiries for weddings that were only a month or two away, and I booked more family sessions than normal. Matt got a few freelance jobs too. And somehow we made it.

God provided in other ways too. Matt was initially looking for a job in Greenville or a remote job. We prayed and prayed and prayed. It seemed like every job that we said, “eh, I don’t think this is the right one” would make him an offer, but every job that we were actually excited about turned him down.

During this time, Matt connected with a company called Triplebyte that helps connect talented people with startups in the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City. He took their coding challenge on a whim thinking there was no way he’d get in. Well, he did, and apparently his coding impressed them. Triplebyte not only gives their candidate challenges, they also give them invaluable feedback. They told him exactly where his weaknesses were and gave him suggestions on how to fix them.

Because of Matt’s experience with Triplebyte, we began discussing the possibility of looking for an out-of-state job. Just 2 days after we decided to take the plunge and look outside of SC, Matt got contacted by two big companies on the west coast, one in Seattle and one in Silicon Valley.  Not only that, but both of them decided to bypass their initial interview stages and fly him straight for on-site interviews. What?!? He went from having no promising interviews to having two software giants interested in him. Matt said over and over that if these opportunities had come when he first started looking or before discovering Triplebyte, he wouldn’t have been prepared. God was preparing him all along!

Now what?!

So, in October we flew to Seattle WA and Mountain View, CA for Matt’s big interviews. Since we were potentially choosing the place we’d spend the next couple years of our lives, I came along too. We had SUCH a blast traveling together. The future seemed exciting and scary all at the same time.

What about Matt’s big interviews? He got offers from BOTH companies!!! We couldn’t believe it. After six months of disappointments, this was finally good news. But this good news came with a twist – we’d have to move. Not just one or two states over, but all the way across the country. Both of us grew up in the Greenville area and never lived more than 30 minutes away from our families. Not only that, but my grandma’s health was declining rapidly. Did we really want to make such a huge decision?

After much prayer, and many many conversations, we decided we would accept an offer. But which one? Both would be good for his career, and both had their pros and cons. Eventually we chose California because we wanted sunshine in our lives, haha! 🙂 So, on Thanksgiving Day, Matt sent over his acceptance letter for his ACTUAL DREAM JOB: a software engineer position at Google.

Grace upon Grace

We had an absolutely lovely Thanksgiving with our families. We also got another unexpected treat: SNOW! It made my heart SO happy to see our little house covered in snow. Then, we received more grace in an unexpected sense.

The morning after the snowfall, my mom called to tell me my grandmother had passed away. How can that be grace, you ask?! One of my biggest fears about moving to California was that it most likely meant I wouldn’t be there when my grandmother passed away. But God was gracious and allowed me to grieve with my family, be there for them, celebrate her life with them, and play the piano in her funeral as well. For that I am so, so grateful.

It also worked out for us to be able to go on a trip to Dollywood with Matt’s family. We were in the middle of packing, preparing, and grieving for my grandmother. But amazingly we had those few days free, and we had a blast.

A New Adventure

So, on December 26, 2018, Matt and I boarded a plane to our new home. We didn’t have an apartment, we didn’t have a car, and the only possessions we brought were our clothes and some photos. Our plan was to search for an apartment, but if we couldn’t find one we’d crash at an Airbnb for a while. To our surprise, within 3 days we’d found an apartment. It’s a studio apartment close to grocery stores and restaurants (important since we didn’t have a car). And since it’s California it costs 3 times+ more than what our mortgage in SC would be *eyeroll* but we love it!

Looking back, I see many struggles that were actually blessings. I had only 2 weddings on my 2019 calendar, and that worried me. But now I am SO grateful, because I didn’t have to cancel any weddings or figure out how I would fly back for them all. For six months Matt experienced only disappointments in his job search, but now we see that God was preparing him for something grater than he imagined. With this move I wasn’t sure what would happen to my business. But now? I’m pursuing private photo editing and LOVING it. I am confident that this will bring me the freedom in my business I’ve been desiring all along.

These last few months (well, our whole marriage really!) have been far from easy. You guys only see the highlights on social media. Eventually I want to share some of what I’ve learned, but this is more than enough for one blog post. Next week I’ll share more of my heart and why I’m so excited about transitioning into private photo editing . Thanks for going on this adventure with me, friends! Here’s to many more…