An Announcement 6 months in the making.....

I know I have been remiss in posting but that is because my life has been so busy with things I couldn't tell you! But finally I can! I'll let the senior VP of EA tell you:

So can you guess who is leading this project in Ireland? You guessed it! In a stunning plot twist Jason will be the CS director in Galway. To apreciate what a big deal is you need to think about where we were a year ago and what Jason thought he would be doing. When we left Luxembourg in 2008 it felt like we would never see Europe again. We were starting over and trying to figure things out. We tried starting a business with my brother James but after a year of struggling plus a hurricane it just didn't come together. So Jason went back to his resume and what he knows, which is customer service and call centers. EA knew they were getting a great CS a guy, but what they didn't know is how valuable Jason really is. As they started to look at the global needs of launching games in French German and English, Jason thought Ireland would be a great solutions for CS. Once they started looking into it they decided it would be smart to put all of CS there and asked us if we would be willing to live overseas. We said yes and then had to keep it under wraps as the company did its due diligence. Today it was finally announced publicly and you can find it on many international websites like Forbes, Marketwatch, and the Financial Post.

Last week we went over to check out Galway and get an idea of whether or not we could actually live there. I have dreamed of Ireland my whole life. Growing up a Keating I just always "felt" Irish. I thought going there would be like returning to the Motherland. Don't get me wrong its a beautiful place filled with beautiful people, but it will have it's challenges too. In 2008 I was really done with living overseas and if this opportunity would have been in any other country I would have said no, but I have made peace with the Nomadic life we accidentally lead and I know that, as always, our unexpected journey will bless us in ways we could not have imagined. The schools are very different, the Mormon population is very very small, but I do have this in common with the Irish: they love to talk, tell stories, play music, and laugh. Here are some pictures from our covert trip:

Now the announcement is finally made we can start to make our move. Our lease here in Austin runs out June 30th. During June we will be visiting Utah to see all the relatives and friends there, then in July I will be in Virginia with the kids to hit two family reunions, some annual dinners with HS friends, and doing a lot of genealogy. By the second week in August we should be in Galway. So if you are in America there are two options to see us before we go- if you are in Europe.... well I told you so! I told you we never say goodbye forever! There might be some out there saying Livingstons- you so crazy! But we have come to terms with who we are. We might not be ever able to give our kids a hometown, we may never be the richest family on the block, but we will always say yes to what God has in store for us. And we are ok with that.