Moving on up!

The 80+ hour weeks have not been in vain... today Ian learned that he will be promoted to Senior Manager at his firm! He is so excited and I am very happy for him. He has worked his tail off to reach this achievement and it is a huge milestone in his career.

Ian received his undergraduate degree at UF in accounting in 1999. He also attended UF for his "5th year" and received his Master's in accountancy in 2000. He made the decision to attend law school at UF and graduated with his J.D. in 2003 and was admitted to the Florida Bar later that year. Rather than entering the legal field, Ian opted to make the most of both of his degrees and accepted a position at one of the "Big 4" accounting firms. He worked his way up to Manager and left this firm in 2009 to accept a position at a local accounting firm. After a year at the local firm, Ian (and I) decided it was time to go back to a "Big 4" firm. In 2010, Ian returned to public accounting and accepted a position at another "Big 4" firm. This is where Ian has been for almost two years and it's where he has really grown. And the REALLY awesome part is that this promotion is one entire year EARLY! He has only been at this firm for 20-months and this type of promotion usually occurs after three years as a manager at the firm!

The girls and I are VERY proud of Ian. This promotion required a lot of sacrifice, hard work and dedication. This promotion required many long days (we're talking 20-hour days, people), out of town trips and weekends of work instead of fun. Both Ian and I knew these things would be required in order for Ian to advance. We planned for it, we argued about it and we cope with it on a daily basis. And if you're thinking "What the heck did Kim do?" and confused about my role, I will gladly tell you. I stay at home and raise our daughters and often do so on my own. When Ian goes in early, works late, works in weekends or travels out of town, I take care of things at home. The days are often long and the nights are often lonely. Such is the life of an accounting widow. It is amazing to see our efforts (especially Ian's) pay off.

So cheers to Ian's promotion and cheers the weekend. What an awesome way to begin a weekend! Congratulations to my smart, driven, caring, loving, understanding and hard working husband on your promotion... you deserve it! We're all so thankful to have you as my husband and Bella & Cecilia's daddy.

Love always,
Ian, Kim, Bella & Cecilia