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Monday, July 11, 2016

Our Big News!

I once heard that when you look for growth, you find it in the valleys.  As breathtaking as the view is from the mountaintops, they are barren.  That has been true for our family as God has asked us to walk through this valley of unemployment.  As God has asked us to trust him, more than finances, more than the security of a job, even more in the uncertainty of the future, we have grown more into the image of his Son.  He has been incredibly faithful, gifting us with more of himself, and sustaining us in surprising, and unexpected ways.

Nate's last official day as an employee with Verizon Business was December 22, 2015.  It has been a long, wearying journey to finding a new job!  Preparing for interviews, then waiting with bated breath to hear back, only to be disappointed with no job, has been a very hard emotional roller coaster to get on and off of.  I am new to the corporate interview process, but apparently it is normal to go through two or three interviews per job application.  Again, a very emotionally trying process!  Sometimes we would go more than a week between interviews.  So it could take over three weeks from the application process, to the final interview, and then the "we've decided to go in another direction" phone call.

At some point, I believe God put it on Nate's heart to begin searching for employment in Milwaukee. As strange as it sounded at first, (I mean, what is there in Milwaukee?  No family, friends, or church to attend . . . what's the appeal?) eventually the idea sounded intriguing to me as well.  After one interview "cycle" that fell through, he found another, better company to apply at.  The first interview went well!  Then the second . . . and then he was asked to come in for a third, face to face interview.  Certainly encouraging!

Only a few days after his in person interview, he received the phone call we'd been waiting six months for:  he was HIRED!

Immediately I started reeling.  Obviously Milwaukee sounded like a promising, exciting idea when it was only a possibility, now that it was reality, it began to sink in that we were leaving home.  I certainly had mixed emotions.  We were out of town when we got the news, so once we got home, it was full fledged chaos!  We wanted to get our house listed as soon as we could, which meant getting all the house "projects" or as many as could be managed, finished.

There was so. much. painting!  haha.  Nate patched up several holes in the walls, thanks to the dog and the kiddos, and we touched up or painted just about every single room in the house.  We also went through closets, moved a bunch of stuff that doesn't get used as often out into the garage, and went through "staging" the house.



We signed the papers to list it with a realtor, and the house went live July 5th.  We left with the kids and took a little hiatus up to Milwaukee, as I had never visited, and we wanted to get a feel for where we will be moving to as a family.  When you only see it as a dot on the map, it's pretty abstract.  ;) It was a whirlwind couple of days driving, driving, driving around the city looking at houses, and checking out neighborhoods, etc.  We did enjoy a little diversion time in the awesome hotel pool with the kids, and Julia's first time in a big pool was a success!  That girl is part fish, I think!  :)



After our one night stay in the hotel, we spent an entire day driving around Milwaukee, and then driving back home.  We were in the van, with the kids, from 10 am that morning until nearly 10 pm that night.  It would not be the understatement of the century to say that the day felt like an eternity.

The next morning, we got a phone call from the realtor's office that they would like to schedule a showing for that afternoon.  The chaos continued!  The day after that, the realtor had hired a photographer to come take pictures of our home.  This is when the phrase "picture perfect" hit home for us!  While ultimately, our trust was in God, and not in the realtor to get our home sold, we still wanted to do our best.  Saturday morning came with another showing.  We had to be out of the house (including the dog) by 9 am.

Sunday came (July 10th), and we thought we were safe for a "breather" day.  We got a phone call soon after church asking "would we be available for a second showing in the evening?"  Wow.  A second showing already?  This is encouraging!  Since we had the dog, and it was raining off and on, we opted to just, um, drive around for an hour?  haha  Since we had no plan, we ended up driving back by the house about ten minutes before the showing was scheduled to finish just to see if by chance we could go back in.  We saw the realtor out front, with a young person and their parents (hugging, no less!).  Definitely a good sign.  This morning, (July 11th) after the house has been on the market for six days, we woke up to a message from our realtor that we had an offer!  We've accepted it, and we will be closing in just over a month.  

It is absolutely clear to us that God has had this planned, and He has been preparing the way for us all along.  Down to our current Pastor who "just so happens" to know of a solid church in the Milwaukee suburbs.  We are thankful!  Talk about a whirlwind two weeks!


Now the process begins of packing up everything that's left after "staging" and finding (QUICKLY) a new home in Milwaukee.  More adventures to be had!


It will be hard to leave behind all the people we love so much, as well as our incredible church family!  We have lived so much life in this house.  We went from newlyweds when we first moved in, to pet owners (with a puppy!), and then we brought home our three babies to this house.


We are so thankful for the way this house has served us well, and for the many precious memories we've made here.  If you want a little tour, you can watch the video below:  :)


God is so faithful!  I am praying for lots of grace during this time of transition, and for the energy to keep up!  Hopefully my next post will involve something about finding a new home!  Until then - 

Grace and Peace,
Amanda

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