The story begins with a 2004 family sabbatical. Brian took six weeks from his job with Schwab to spend time with the family. We traveled to Pennsylvania and took a Caribbean cruise with the girls. We spent time hiking around Windsor and doing some long needed home maintenance. It was so nice to spend long days together instead of working around Brian’s work schedule and long (5 hours round trip) daily commute. Sabbatical with the family cemented Brian's desire to put work and home closer together. Schwab was planning more layoffs, and so Brian told them not to fight to save his job. By the end of September, Brian was offered a severance package.
In the meantime, I had gone to Augusta to teach at a stamp camp. Jokingly I said something about moving to Georgia to have more stamping time. About the same time, Brian was researching places in the country where IT project manager work was abundant. This area is overloaded with Agilent and HP layoff victims and under loaded with employment opportunities. The one job he saw here required a 40% pay cut. As it happens, Atlanta is THE happening place for high tech right now.
So, Brian sends off a couple dozen resumes and we plan a trip to visit Atlanta---after all, neither of us had been there. In the meantime, we start prepping our house for a possible sale. All the improvements were things we'd wanted to do anyway, so it made sense. If we moved, they added value to the house. If we stayed, we could enjoy them. Laminate floors, fresh paint on the banisters, get the heater serviced...stuff like that.
Along the way, we thought we'd replace the old kitchen table. We wanted a round table---not fancy, but not Amish. Right--not under $1000-- without chairs. There is a store near us that I kept meaning to check out, but never had the time. Once Brian was home full time, he enjoyed taking Carrie to school. One morning I went with him, just for fun. On the way home we thought we'd dash into the shop and see. Not a round table in sight. The owner asked what we were looking for and as we talked, the warehouse manager came around the corner and offered to take us to the warehouse. The owner was surprised; customers don't get to visit the warehouse very often. So off we went. We walked into the warehouse and immediately spotted the perfect table. Rosewood, round, simple, but not plain. Add five chairs and we were off---and all for under the $1000 tables alone were going for everywhere else.
As we left the store, we debated what to do with the farm table. Knowing we wanted a basement in any Southern home we may purchase, we opted to keep the old table. But where? There is a storage unit facility near us, so we stopped in on the way home. One unit left. Just for us.
The school auction was Oct 16. Among other things, there were three cork oak trees that were valued at $60 each. I wrote down my bid of $60 for all three fully expected to be out-bid...but no. Three lovely trees fill a big home in the backyard landscape--at a bargain price. There was also a stunning armoire---solid cherry, 8 feet tall, 7 feet wide, and all dovetailed construction...heirloom quality furniture. Well, that was a live auction item--worth well over $3000, but the bidding was rather slow. I loved the piece, so I bid on it--and won it for $1400. Unreal--the steal of the night. It looks lovely in the living room here, but.......
Oct 20 we headed to Atlanta for a five day exploration, sans kids. No job offers, but no matter: if God wanted us in Atlanta, He would provide the job when the timing was right. So we met with a realtor who showed us the area in East Cobb County. We knew the schools in Marietta were good, so we thought that would be a place to start. Since neither of us had been there, it was all new. It was beautiful and felt "right." We looked at a dozen houses on Friday before leaving to visit my friend Melissa Baldwin and her family in Lincolnton (near Augusta.) It was Brian's birthday, and Melissa and Byron cooked for us--even made a cake. Back to the houses---we looked at a beautiful house that backed up to a lake...and loved it. It needed some work...and a fence to keep the dog safe, but the lake was appealing. We looked at another house that had a great layout, but it backed up to a noisy street. Too bad, it was a nice place. The lake house was the favorite for sure.
We spent Saturday with Byron and Melissa. Byron took Brian out on the pontoon boat and out hiking in the pastures. Byron is also a computer guy, so they got along great. Melissa and I made card samples of her new line of stamps--drawn by one of my students (www.thestampingstudio.com look at the SOS stamps). The end of the day took us to Byron's parents’ house, where we were served a wonderful meal with delightful conversation. Then we headed back to Atlanta.
On Sunday we went to church at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church. We were really impressed with the philosophy and the music and the preaching. Even better was the church's focus on discipleship--especially in the youth. We left thinking that it felt comfortable--much like the church I grew up in.
Then we went to look at more houses. We looked at several that did not appeal at all. The last house of the day was a stunner--.74 acres of wooded property, newly remodeled kitchen, and full finished basement....lots of light and windows. The only thing we didn't love about it was the wallpaper in all four bathrooms. We headed back to the hotel with lots to consider.
Monday was a travel day, but we went to re-visit the lake house and the wooded property houses. That sealed it---the wooded property house (1951 River Forest Dr) was our dream house. So, no job, but a church and a house we liked a lot.
We came home and decided that God would close doors and open them as He desired. We went praying for confirmation of direction, and the doors appeared open to the move. We put an offer in on the house, and after some back and forth, agreed on a price. Another step of faith.....
Back home we continued the work on the house and tried to figure out when to sell the Windsor house. It's waaaaaay too stressful for me to think about working and keeping the place in show-worthy status. So we prayed for direction--sell now? rent? sell in the spring? Finally Brian decided that we would just sell it...we'd list it in the spring to reach the market at its peak. What a relief!
God, however, had another plan. In November, my boss (Tor Benestad) started asking about the house. He and his wife had been looking to move from their condo to a house. Our home was more than their budget really allowed, but our realtor was also theirs. She's from our church, and she's been watching out whole story unfold. She offered to reduce her commission to 1% if Tor and Erin wanted the house. Then we could reduce the price by what her commission would have been. Of course, they first had to see the house and like it! Tor was like a little boy all week--he was so excited about the idea. He and Erin had been looking at houses and hadn't found anything they liked. Friday night they came over--the house is still in process and so is not exactly in show condition, but they really liked it---the swing set was a hit with their two-year old, and Tor liked the hot tub, DSL, DISH, et al. Erin liked the kitchen and the layout. So by Saturday, they were planning to list the condo and sign an offer. Condos in their complex have been selling in less than 14 days at $350K, so it shouldn't be long. God is in it!!! (and to prove it: Tor and Erin’s condo sold at full asking price SIX HOURS after they listed it!!!)
Along with all that, I’ve been teaching and writing curriculum, and I am stage managing a play with the community theatre--and I got Assistant Director credit, too. Carrie sang the National Anthem at Windsor HS's last home football game and did a magnificent job. A new restaurant is opening in Santa Rosa, and two of my photographs will be on display there--and for sale at $200-$300.
Life continued to roll along busily with school and church and packing and signing papers every week. Escrow closed on the Marietta house Dec 16 and on the Windsor house Dec 19. On the 22nd the movers came and loaded up the truck and headed east. We stayed in town to sing at the Christmas Even services at church---our tradition for 12 years.
Blessings followed us all along the way. The usual Tule fog in the San Joaquin Valley was out of sight as we drove through visiting family on Christmas Day. We trudged through Pasadena (LA traffic is never a blessing---but it made us thankful to NOT be moving there!) just before the huge storms hit that area. We missed every bad weather situation as we traveled east along Interstate 10 and Interstate 20. Our longest travel day was 624 miles from El Paso to Dallas. We had fun caravanning and trading cars and communicating via walkie talkie.
We arrived in Marietta on December 30. The girls loved their new rooms and Velvet raced around her new HUGE backyard. We camped out the first night and made plans for how we wanted to arrange the furniture when it arrived. My asthma forced us to alter some of our plans---we had planned to leave all the carpets alone (including the worn carpet in the basement), but the previous owners had a cat that lived in the basement. That carpet must be completely replaced. The rest of the carpets will be professionally cleaned, and Lord willing, that will be enough.
Church was another blessing. Carrie was giddy with enthusiasm at the youth groups and the missions opportunities and the 120 voice youth choir. Corinne made a friend right away, and Caty liked her teacher very much. There were friendly people at every corner who made us feel very welcome.
By the first Monday of January we had unpacked as much as we could before the carpets were dealt with, so we made it a day on the town. Again, God’s grace abounded toward us. Carrie’s meeting with the counselor at Walton High School eased a good deal of her concerns. (Mostly because she learned she could take honors English and Geography and avoid honors Science!) One of her new friends from church met her at the school and gave her a tour. Corinne’s meeting was equally reassuring. Corinne was relieved to know she would spend the first day shadowing another student to learn the routine.
School meetings done for the day; Brian and I went shopping for furniture. We stopped at AAA for a map (after getting lost twice on our way Walton and Dickerson) and made our way to a group of furniture stores in north Marietta. We found a style we liked in sofa, loveseat, and recliner at the first store, but decided to look around. We found a similar look at a second store that was less expensive, but didn’t feel at sturdy. We returned to the first store and decided that the quality was worth the extra money. Brian struggled with that—it’s hard to spend money when you aren’t sure when you’ll be employed again. Still, he knew that God was providing for all our needs. As we checked out, the salesman looked perplexed and then determined that a sale that was supposed to start the next day was already in effect. The sale price made the higher quality furniture the same price as the inferior alternative. God just keeps blessing us in every way.
As January progressed, we began to settle in. Carrie managed to spend the night with friends multiple times and Corinne made two good friends. Caty made friends everywhere she went. Brian went on multiple job interviews and worked on painting and repair work around the house. The basement carpet came and my allergies cleared up. I joined two neighborhood book clubs and a Bible Study. Even Velvet (our Greyhound) blossomed in her huge backyard.
By February, Brian was interviewing almost daily and receiving multiple query calls every day. On February 9, he accepted a 6th month contract working for Nasco Inc. He’ll have some options at the end of that time, but in the meantime, he’s excited about being back to work! Every step along the way has been prepared by the Lord.
Over the next weeks, Caty (who now calls herself Caty MAE) adapted to school so well that her teacher kept forgetting she was a mid-year transfer. Corinne quickly became a favorite of teachers and peers and earned all A’s---in spite of changing from a 6th grade classroom to a middle school. Carrie’s eating disorder continued to plague her, however, and by late March, she began having anxiety attacks. The eating and body image issues had been reality for several years, although it was difficult to find counsel in Santa Rosa. When the anxiety attacks began here, I made a single telephone call to a Bible study leader. Within days, Carrie was set up with counseling, and by May 1, she was a client of the Atlanta Center for Eating Disorders. Our new doctor and Carrie’s school counselors and teachers and the church youth choir leaders ALL stood behind Carrie with support and love and prayer. One of the youth choir leaders struggled with anorexia herself, and became one of Carrie’s greatest partners in recovery and prayer.
After months of therapy, Carrie is doing better, although she is a long way from fully healed. How could we have known in October of 04 that Carrie would find the help she needed 2600 miles away from home? God knew...and He provided.
It's exciting and overwhelming all at once---and it's a whirlwind of activity. In it all, we see God's sovereignty and blessing over it all.
One last note to complete the story: Brian’s contract job turned permanent on Oct 10, 2005. What a year!!! What a great and awesome GOD!!!
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