Time for a Change

*This is a repeat post from Facebook, but I wanted to make sure my blog was updated as well for those that are not on Facebook and for my personal history of the year.

After almost 6 years, I officially left my employment with Simplifile on June 12. It has been quite the journey and experience that I never thought I would have had when I took the job right out of school. I have made lots of friends, learned a lot, been able to work from home, and made it through one baby with another on the way. I’m thankful to have been a part of the organization and for all that I have gained because of it. I’m not sure what the future holds for me now, but I am looking forward to spending some quality time with my little ones while I figure it out.

Selfie shot while working at home.

I'm really going to miss office visits to Utah and getting to see family and friends so often.

This is what my daily routine looked like for the past 5 years.

While at Simplifile, I made some really good friends.

I have been able to travel some and enjoy some fun adventures.

Not too mention all the fun lunch outings with co-workers and getting to eat my favorite chocolate cake! 

The three amigos.

 The office view from home with the mandatory employee signage hung for legal purposes that I enjoyed sending to HR. 

 Going out to fun events with co-workers.

I planned my first golf tournament, which was a lot of work, but quite fun as well. I think it was successful and people enjoyed themselves.

I even played while pregnant and still smoked some of these guys. ;)

I helped establish an annual bowling night - something most everyone enjoyed attending each year. Let's bowl!

The current Simplifile gang at the last bowling event I attended this year. 

Not to worry, there was a lot of the professional side too. I spent many long days and hours working hard, skipping lunches, etc. in order to make sure I worked my very best!

That work was magnified even more when I gained a new office assistant.

And the new daily routine looked a lot like this as I managed being a full-time stay at home mom and employee.

A lot of days I felt like this, but somehow I still managed to successfully get through all of the work.

I seriously could not have done it without Annabelle's cooperation. She was a very good baby and often would fall asleep right at the precise moment I needed her to when I had to jump on conference calls or call a client. She played independently and was happy just keeping me company and hanging out in the nursery/office all day.

She was a lot of fun to have around and kept me on my toes. Some days she was just the reprieve I needed to make it through a long day.

The last year or so was hard for me emotionally as I balanced these two worlds. I felt proud of what I was able to do/accomplish in both aspects of my life, but the business drumbeat kept pushing along and so I was faced with a decision when I became pregnant again. I was struggling to find my place still with having my feet in both worlds, not to mention feeling nearly exhausted at the end of the day. Thus, I finally decided it was time for a change and I needed a new start/adventure. It was a very long and hard decision process as I weighed all the options and tried to think of my goals, desires, and family. In February it became clear to me that my ultimate desire was to be there for Annabelle more instead of giving up the time I did have with her. I wanted the freedom to be able to take her to play dates, museums, parks, etc. and I want to be with my little ones as they grow. I did not want to miss these little moments, so I spent many hours pondering this impact financially and emotionally. Fortunately, for someone who struggles to make decisions things seemed to also work out timing wise with Simplifile and that made the transition of leaving easier because Simplifile was going through its own changes internally. The timing just seemed right. So I put in my notice and took a huge leap of faith that things will work out for us as a family with this new decision/career path. I'm not sure what the future holds, but I am confident that I'll find my way to some new adventures/experiences.

 I lasted working until I was 9 months pregnant with my second and this is what my days looked liked.

 In the end it was time to say goodbye to Simplifile.

 It was quite the journey!