Hello all, Chris and Kelly here. It's quite possible we are the last to join in the blogging revolution, but we are finally here, and what a better time than this, January 1, 2009!
Happy New Year!
It’s officially 2009 and we are praying that this year will not bring yet another huge change for us, but instead be one of peace and rest and stability. In two short years we have moved three times, have had six jobs, been members of three churches, traveled through every state between New Jersey and Texas and added five cats and two dogs to a wild and crazy life. Although the journey has been long and at times we have been weary the destination has made it all worth the while. We have had the privilege to see our sweet Jesus move in a way that neither of us had ever experienced.
We left New Jersey to give Kelly the opportunity to complete her final semester at The University of Houston. She graduated in December ’07 with honors. We both struggled to find work in a tough job market. However, we were blessed to be near Kelly’s family and be members of a wonderful church near our home. Christian began interviewing for teaching positions in schools in both Texas and New Jersey. Although the thought of another move so quickly brought on a lot of stress we were ready, willing and able to go where we had to go.
As the days grew longer and longer we found ourselves struggling to find work, pay the bills and on some days even find the strength to get out of bed. After months of silence from God we dropped to our knees and didn’t ask for a job or money but a miracle. We knew that God was in control, that He was the only One who could deliver us, and we asked Him to move in our lives in a way that only He could. We asked Him to move in a way that would be His undeniable hand over us. We asked for a miracle. And a miracle is exactly what we got.
As we faced our battles daily, our dear friends Alex and Danielle Tavarez were facing the same battles 1600 miles away. In May they asked us to begin praying for them because Alex had applied to a job in Charlotte, NC and was excited about the opportunity for both his career and their family. Two months later, as we sat frustrated and jobless we thought North Carolina seemed like a place we might like too and Christian sent his application to school districts across the greater Charlotte area. Fifteen minutes later, Christian received a call from the principal of Independence High School in Charlotte, NC. Principal Bosco seemed eager to meet with Christian and a week later we were on our way to NC for the interview and to spend a few days checking out the area. Kelly made arrangements with a realtor to show us a few homes and tell us about Charlotte. The more we heard the more excited we were about the possibility of making this our new home.
Christian’s interview ended with an initial offer pending HR paperwork. Two days later, Alex called us at our hotel to tell us he too had just received a job offer. It all seemed very surreal. The drive home was long and filled with phone calls and random stops to fax this or that and awkward discussions as we avoided getting too excited about this opportunity. When we got back to Texas we sat on pens and needles hoping this would come together. It was a Wednesday in July and Christian was on his way home from yet another interview when he received the call…or calls. His interview from earlier that day offered him a position, Princeton High School in NJ offered him a position and Independence officially offered him the position. We were overwhelmed but this was a no-brainer. We were on our way to Charlotte. Christian had to report to work on August 4th. August 4th meant we had two weeks to pack up, move and move in.
During our initial visit to NC we were shown a home in Concord that stood out among all others. It met our needs and had all the personal touches we wanted. It was big enough and had a nice little piece of land, red brick, white columns and blue shutters, fenced yard, covered patio and rural enough to give us the “country” feel we wanted. When the job offer came in, Kelly immediately called the real estate agent, we put in our offer and it was accepted. We had the job, we had the house and now we had our own little spot in the world that we could call home and we did it in less than a month.
August began with Christian teaching and coaching volleyball and Kelly setting up our new home. There were moments we would stop and take it all in, feeling like any moment we would wake up and be right back where we were just a month earlier. It seemed like this little town outside of Charlotte had everything a Jersey Boy and a Southern Belle could ever want. Six weeks later we eagerly welcomed Alex and Danielle and their brand new baby girl Bekah to North Carolina. They had found a home perfect for them that we really liked too…mostly because it’s a mere 15 minutes from our house.
We settled in easily and found our routines. After a successful volleyball season, Christian is now on the tail end of a successful basketball season and enjoying being back in the classroom. Kelly stays busy taking care of Christian and seven animals and has begun working with the local chapter of the Daughter’s of the American Revolution. In our free time we enjoy weekend trips to places like Greensboro and Asheville and taking in all that Charlotte has to offer. Charlotte is home to Lowe’s Motor Speedway where for $5 you can ride around the race track in a passenger van at 85 miles an hour! And for $100 a professional driver will take you around the track 3 times at 165 miles an hour!
It took us a few months to find a church where we would both be happy but true to form, God lead us to Pitts Baptist Church and into a church family we love and look forward to seeing every week. We have already made several friends and are excited about using our gifts to serve and give back to the church.
Even our critters have adjusted nicely to the move. The house is big enough that our cats Luke, Leia, Han, Padme and Obi all have their own little nook and cranny to get away from each other, us or the dogs if they so choose. Duke and Daisy love the big yard to run and play and have even learned to catch a Frisbee in the air and bring it right back to us to do all over again. It’s hard to imagine what God has in store for us this year but we are hoping it’s peace, rest and a little stability at least until next year.
Until next time.
Happy New Year!
It’s officially 2009 and we are praying that this year will not bring yet another huge change for us, but instead be one of peace and rest and stability. In two short years we have moved three times, have had six jobs, been members of three churches, traveled through every state between New Jersey and Texas and added five cats and two dogs to a wild and crazy life. Although the journey has been long and at times we have been weary the destination has made it all worth the while. We have had the privilege to see our sweet Jesus move in a way that neither of us had ever experienced.
We left New Jersey to give Kelly the opportunity to complete her final semester at The University of Houston. She graduated in December ’07 with honors. We both struggled to find work in a tough job market. However, we were blessed to be near Kelly’s family and be members of a wonderful church near our home. Christian began interviewing for teaching positions in schools in both Texas and New Jersey. Although the thought of another move so quickly brought on a lot of stress we were ready, willing and able to go where we had to go.
As the days grew longer and longer we found ourselves struggling to find work, pay the bills and on some days even find the strength to get out of bed. After months of silence from God we dropped to our knees and didn’t ask for a job or money but a miracle. We knew that God was in control, that He was the only One who could deliver us, and we asked Him to move in our lives in a way that only He could. We asked Him to move in a way that would be His undeniable hand over us. We asked for a miracle. And a miracle is exactly what we got.
As we faced our battles daily, our dear friends Alex and Danielle Tavarez were facing the same battles 1600 miles away. In May they asked us to begin praying for them because Alex had applied to a job in Charlotte, NC and was excited about the opportunity for both his career and their family. Two months later, as we sat frustrated and jobless we thought North Carolina seemed like a place we might like too and Christian sent his application to school districts across the greater Charlotte area. Fifteen minutes later, Christian received a call from the principal of Independence High School in Charlotte, NC. Principal Bosco seemed eager to meet with Christian and a week later we were on our way to NC for the interview and to spend a few days checking out the area. Kelly made arrangements with a realtor to show us a few homes and tell us about Charlotte. The more we heard the more excited we were about the possibility of making this our new home.
Christian’s interview ended with an initial offer pending HR paperwork. Two days later, Alex called us at our hotel to tell us he too had just received a job offer. It all seemed very surreal. The drive home was long and filled with phone calls and random stops to fax this or that and awkward discussions as we avoided getting too excited about this opportunity. When we got back to Texas we sat on pens and needles hoping this would come together. It was a Wednesday in July and Christian was on his way home from yet another interview when he received the call…or calls. His interview from earlier that day offered him a position, Princeton High School in NJ offered him a position and Independence officially offered him the position. We were overwhelmed but this was a no-brainer. We were on our way to Charlotte. Christian had to report to work on August 4th. August 4th meant we had two weeks to pack up, move and move in.
During our initial visit to NC we were shown a home in Concord that stood out among all others. It met our needs and had all the personal touches we wanted. It was big enough and had a nice little piece of land, red brick, white columns and blue shutters, fenced yard, covered patio and rural enough to give us the “country” feel we wanted. When the job offer came in, Kelly immediately called the real estate agent, we put in our offer and it was accepted. We had the job, we had the house and now we had our own little spot in the world that we could call home and we did it in less than a month.
August began with Christian teaching and coaching volleyball and Kelly setting up our new home. There were moments we would stop and take it all in, feeling like any moment we would wake up and be right back where we were just a month earlier. It seemed like this little town outside of Charlotte had everything a Jersey Boy and a Southern Belle could ever want. Six weeks later we eagerly welcomed Alex and Danielle and their brand new baby girl Bekah to North Carolina. They had found a home perfect for them that we really liked too…mostly because it’s a mere 15 minutes from our house.
We settled in easily and found our routines. After a successful volleyball season, Christian is now on the tail end of a successful basketball season and enjoying being back in the classroom. Kelly stays busy taking care of Christian and seven animals and has begun working with the local chapter of the Daughter’s of the American Revolution. In our free time we enjoy weekend trips to places like Greensboro and Asheville and taking in all that Charlotte has to offer. Charlotte is home to Lowe’s Motor Speedway where for $5 you can ride around the race track in a passenger van at 85 miles an hour! And for $100 a professional driver will take you around the track 3 times at 165 miles an hour!
It took us a few months to find a church where we would both be happy but true to form, God lead us to Pitts Baptist Church and into a church family we love and look forward to seeing every week. We have already made several friends and are excited about using our gifts to serve and give back to the church.
Even our critters have adjusted nicely to the move. The house is big enough that our cats Luke, Leia, Han, Padme and Obi all have their own little nook and cranny to get away from each other, us or the dogs if they so choose. Duke and Daisy love the big yard to run and play and have even learned to catch a Frisbee in the air and bring it right back to us to do all over again. It’s hard to imagine what God has in store for us this year but we are hoping it’s peace, rest and a little stability at least until next year.
Until next time.
Tell em' about the twinkie.
ReplyDeleteevan
Huh?
ReplyDeleteYay! Welcome to Blogland! We are excited you guys are here and can't wait to read more.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Josh and Beth
You're supposed to say "What twinkie?" I was making a ghostbusters reference.
ReplyDeleteOkay, "What twinkie?"...But you should know the line is "What about the twinkie?" I still don't get it though....Am I supposed to be the twinkie? Or am I the twinkie filling? Is blogging like a twinkie? Are you the twinkie?
ReplyDelete