So...................
Life has been a little crazy lately! Let me see if I can
catch you up. When Milt graduated from Johnson in May, we really didn't know if
he would still be working at Johnson as the graphic designer or not. He had
been working there since he started school but his employment
wasn't guaranteed after he graduated. Therefore, our housing on
campus wasn't guaranteed either. We started looking for places to
rent shortly after graduation because we wanted to be moved in before Reid was
born. I called one of my friends, Betsy, in a moment of sheer panic one morning
because I can always count on her to chill me out! She informed me that her
neighbors were selling their house. Seeing as renting somewhere we felt safe to
raise our children was going to cost the same as buying a house, we began to
pray about the possibility of buying.
We called the homeowners and let them know
our situation and that we couldn't start the buying process to even
see if we qualified until Milt's job was secured. Tasha (the homeowner) very
quickly became a friend. I felt an instant connection with her and felt like I
could share my heart with her. I remember telling my mom that it felt like we
were trying to buy a home from family! We drove over to see the house and
Cooper very quickly realized that he could be living right next door to one of
his best friends and ran straight to the fence separating the yards
and began yelling for him!
Tasha told Milt and I once we were getting ready to leave
that she was praying for us. She had been praying that the next people to come
and look at the house would be the new homeowners. She had a peace that we were
the ones. Knowing that she was praying as hard as we were gave me such huge
peace.
A month later we were told that Milt's job was
only guaranteed through September and that the chances for him to
stay on were 50/50 after that. We were disappointed and a little stressed out.
I called Tasha the next day and sadly told her that we could not pursue the
house but as soon as Milt found a job that we would call her if the house was
still on the market. I didn't give another thought to the house that day, I was
too exhausted.
Milt and I were leaving small group later that night when I
received a call from Tasha. She said that she and her husband had talked and
prayed about what to do next and felt like if they listed the house that they
would be taking our house from us, (I get
chills every time I get to this part in the story, even when I'm typing it.)
I told her that I felt like it was our home too. In my mind, I could picture
bringing Reid home and raising our family here. I pictured their first day of
school, taking pictures on the porch, and all the holidays that we would spend
there. Tasha asked me if we would be interested in renting until Milt found a
job and we could potentially purchase the home. I have never felt more humbled
and more excited all in the same moment. I just knew that God was in this and
that his plan was WAY bigger than we had even thought of for ourselves.
We frantically moved into the house a week later (15 days
before Reid was born). We continued to job hunt for Milt, still feeling like
Knoxville was where God wanted us to be. Nothing was looking promising, but
Milt was okay with that because he still felt like Johnson, somehow, was going
to work out. Milt continued to go above and beyond as he always had at work. He
really tried, and succeeded, to make himself irreplaceable. To make a
story about a LONG process short, believe it or not, a few weeks ago Milt was
hired on at Johnson University as the graphic designer! He has worked so hard
and proven him self over and over. I am beyond proud of him and excited that he
is doing something that he is so passionate about. He loves his job, his
co-workers and the University.
I believe the chain of phone calls went something like this:
parents, siblings, Tasha! She celebrated with me over the phone and told me to
let her know if there was anything that she could help us with during the
process. We applied for the loan last week and have an estimated closing date
for the end of this month! God is so good, and his timing is perfect. Yes it
has been stressful. I have cried, yelled, given up, laughed, repeat, repeat,
repeat. Milt has been with me through it all and I love him for it! We love
this home already! We have made some amazing new friends because of it, created
some amazing memories already, and are beyond excited for our life here. :D
