This weekend our family is embarking on an anniversary
"kind of"... One year ago this weekend something
began that we could have never imagined.
Let me give you a little history first....
July 3, 2000
(ok...I promise it will be a short history)
Chon was currently working at a factory in
Mattoon, IL--third shift.
I was living my dream of being home with my kids.
The kids and I had left for the day
(you know groceries, swimming, etc)
so that he could rest...we had
become quite acquainted with the outdoors
by this time due to his
need of sleep and Colten and Caylor being too little to
understand how to be 'really quiet' so that Dad could sleep.*
We got home at approximately 200p and Chon was sitting on the
front step - AWAKE!! He normally slept until 530ish or so...
So my first thought was
"oh no...I left the phone on and someone woke him up".
So, I non-chalantly asked him, not wanting to be in trouble, why he
was awake. His response was, "I am not going in today". He had
been threatening-jokingly-that one day he was just not going to
go to work, because he didn't care for the factory life.
(here is a side note for you: Chon would never 'not' go
to work--it would go against his grain)
I said, "Honey, I know you don't like it, but we have two kids now."
He kept playing me and then finally
said, "Well, I would much rather
start sprinkler fitting instead." He had gone for
job interview with a sprinklerfitting union approximately 1-2 weeks prior,
and had just heard that he had gotten the job.
We were so excited.
Finally, weekends off, good benefits, good pay...you know
all the things we thought we needed.*
Ok...so now fast forward to Sept. 11, 2001.
Now we all know what date this is...
This date affected, in my opinion, indirectly or directly...
our household was an indirectly.
From that date on, work, for sprinkler fitting, was
few and far between. He pretty much
got 'laid off' every year. In the meantime, I
(was living my dream of a stay-at-home mom)
met a young lady who introduced me to a family that was
AMAZING. They lived
so simple that I did not want to leave, and was
exposed to HOMESCHOOLING.
I was officially hooked. I was attending church
regularly-Chon was not, but God had a plan.
I came home and asked Chon if I could
homeschool and he told me HSed kids are 'weird' - NO. *
Ok...now fast forward again to September 2008.
Chon was laid off, from sprinklerfitting, September 15, 2008. He did not return
to work as a sprinkler fitter.
After being laid off for one year and eight months, Chon
was hired to work for Norfolk Southern.
His first day was June 6, 2010.
So...this weekend marks this as one year ago.
What happened in this year's time is what has gotten me so
'smitten' if I may.
OK...so here comes some more history:
November 2009
Chon was to the point of almost being crazy....being
off for as long as he had been off.
He spent a lot of time pacing, reading his bible, and praying.
We weren't really stressed out, but, rather, frustrated.
I was working part-time at the time to help financially.
We continued to trust that God had a plan for our family.
We prayed for a job, but not really. Our prayer just
kept consistently remaining that we would
stay focused on his will for our lives.
I came home from work one day and Chon was on the couch.
Normally, he would meet me at the door to help me
carry any items that needed brought up.
(we lived in a bi-level at the time...so every thing had to be 'brought up')
I asked him if he was alright and his response to me was:
"We need to sale our house and home school."
I looked around for my husband.
This, surely, was not the man I left on
this property this morning.
Remember the statement "homeschooled kids are weird-NO"??
I basically at this point thought he was toying with my emotions and
he finally said, "I am not kidding."
I told him that I was not telling his parents, because I wanted them to know
that this was his idea (this time) - not mine.
I knew they would be supportive, but I didn't want
them to think that I had bullied him into this decision.
He was okay with telling them.
My in-laws did a great job raising him, and his sister, especially when
it came to respecting their decisions for their families.
(even if they don't agree)
After Chon approached me
about selling our house and homeschooling we began
driving around other communities that we were more
likely to be able to afford living vs. MTZ. We found a very
interesting property for sale with
a realtor. The house that we found the owner
was outside. We pulled in and asked them how much they
were asking and how long
it had been on the market.
He told us that they had just put the sign in the yard
that morning. There were no other signs
directing toward the house....A God thing???
I think so.
He told us how much and it was more
than we had decided we were ever spending
on again on a house, but he mentioned that he would
be willing to split the acreage. So
we scheduled an appt to see the inside. Chon
fell in love....i was much slower to convince, but it
was definitely a lovely home and could potentially be
a great place to finish raising the kids.
January 2009
Colten, who had was on his 10th year wrestling, had a tournament
in Shanahon, IL. It was an overnight tournament, and we had
decided that he was not going if we were not able to go.
A friend of ours,
which we will keep anonymous,
offered to let us 'stay' in their room for the night.
We agreed. Colten wanted us there, too.
The couple that we stayed with we knew thru our daughter...it
was a friend of her's parents. So we were
acquaintences, but not really 'good friends'.
As we sat around the room...the husband, which we did not
know worked for NS, mentioned to Chon that he
might consider applying with NS. Chon had
not thought about RRing to this point. He and the husband
continued talking. I was visiting with the wife.
I heard bits and pieces, but was not too
interested in their conversation.*
We returned home from the wrestling tournament
and I asked him what was said in their conversation.
Chon said that 'he' suggested that I apply
with NS that they might be doing some
hiring in May. My initial response
was "May??? We can't wait for May.
Our unemployment runs out at the end of May."*
Remember me telling you that we were not good friends
just acquaintences with the couple we 'bunked' with??
Well, we did not know going into this weekend
that the husband was a 'higher up' with NS.*
Chon jumps on the computer and applies at NS.
Still with the mindset that God has a plan.
Two weeks later...he gets an email from NS inviting
him to an interview at such and such date and at such and such time,
which was a Wednesday.
(A little side note: Chon only knew how to search the internet at this point...
I didn't know he knew how to run email--apparently he did).
He emailed me the invitation at work, and I kind of
read it not knowing what it was.
So I call him and asked him...what is this??
He set me straight real quick....
WE WERE SHOCKED!!!!
"Our friend" had told us May... it was barely February!!!!
The invitation was for later in February or early part of March.
So he attends the interview.
I don't think I will ever forget that day.
Chon left the house looking confident...something I had not seen in him
for a long time. Being laid off, especially for a man, can really take
a toll on your 'knowing you can provide for your family'.
The kids and I made him a card to wish him luck, and lunch to take with him.
He was not sure what to expect at the 'interview'.
He had heard different versions, but was not sure what was accurate.
The kids had school and I had to go to work, which
is probably a good thing since
we were all on pins-and-needles,
it kept us busy. :)
I got to work, but I don't think I worked.
I sat at my desk and just stared.
About 1030 my phone rang...IT WAS CHON!!
I tried to be real cool and answer with hello, but
I really wanted to say was "WELL???".
I pulled it together and answered with hello.
The voice on the other end of the phone was Chon-duh right?
I say that b/c it was a 'less defeated' Chon. He proceeded
to tell me that he had PASSED the first round of the interview!!!!!
And...that out of the 25 that they started with only 20 came back after
the break they were given. Next, they were to take an actual written
test. I really got nervous here, b/c he was so nervous for this part.
He proceeded to tell me that he had PASSED that portion too.
And again...out of the 20 that went in to this portion only 17-18
made it. The way you knew you were proceeding to the next phase
they called your name, which meant you passed the written exam.
Then after that was the face-to-face portion of the interview.
He answered every question HONESTLY and confidently.
(according to Chon which is not a surprise to those of us who know him)
On his way out, he shook hands with everyone
in the room until he got to the 'real' big guy. The
'real' big guy in the room did not
shake hands with anyone b/c he had
been sick. So when Chon
got to this gentleman and he did not respond with his
hand out to shake...Chon just went on without being offended.
I love that about him....he is not easily offended.
But when he got to the door, he turned around and saluted him.
The 'real' big guy, according to our friend, really appreciated that
b/c he retired from the Army. Did I forget to mention that
'our friend' was part of the interview process? This was something
we did not know until Chon went into the face-to-face portion.
"Our friend" was so professional about the process...
"Our friend" did call Chon that evening and tell him that
he did a great job, but did not know any results at this point.
It was not up to him...he just gets to sit in on the interviews
for a 'small' opinion from the panel. :)
We had decided either way...we were continuing to trust God
with where he wanted us.
Saturday morning at 9:30, Chon's phone rang.
He did not recognize the number...it the hire/fire guy
from NS. He called to offer Chon a job if he was still
interested..assuming he passed his physical, drug test, and background check.
Chon gladly accepted!!!
He gave him specific instructions on what to do next.
1. Report to Conduit Street for information to do background check and driving record.
2. Report to St. Mary's for his physical and drug testing.
3. Wait for background check, physical, and drug test results.
Obviously the drug testing and background check were our biggest concern---NOT!!!
Driving record -- not a concern (i.e. no DUIs, very speedy speeding tickets)
Physical?? Well, who knows what is going on that body until you start looking--right??
We got word a few weeks later that they
found blood in his urine, and that he needed to report
to his family doctor. Dr. Rohde seen him very quickly and decided
that he might have just been a little dehydrated, but that everything was
okay. He was cleared to start work!!!
Once the results were given to NS...we should be good to go.
We knew that there was a group leaving for 'training'
the beginning of May.
Here it is May 6...we missed the
May training session.
For just a moment, we forgot that God is in control.
We recieved a letter that Chon was to report to Georgia for training
Monday, June 6, 2010.
Our unemployment ran out May 25, 2010--our last check was June 1, 2010.
We finally get to June 4.
We had decided to sale our house, rent for a while,
and begin homeschooling the following school year.
We put a 'for sale' sign in our yard Saturday evening before he was to leave.
He left Sunday morning for Georgia. It had been so long since we had been
without him that I wasn't sure how this was going to work again.
He called us every day/night keeping us updated on how things
were going. He was in classes for 8 hours everyday, and with each lesson he had
tests, which he had to get an 80% or better. He was only allowed a 'less' than 80%
on three tests total for entirety of the training.
He only had one test that was less 80%....God was very gracious to him.
He slept little and studied A LOT!!
By the time he got home, our a/c unit died and
we had recieved an offer on our house.
In a time where houses that are for sale were sitting for long periods
of time an offer after only three weeks on the market was almost
unbelievable. But....we were 'scheduled' to close in August 2010.
The evening we finalized the negotiations on the house, we recieved a
phone call from a landlord friend of mine. He was calling to see if
we were still in need of a house to rent. Talk about good timing?
I said...boy you can't imagine how good your timing is.
I explained that we had just completed
negotiations on our house and would be needing a house
to rent. He agreed to let us move in and we could put
our belongings in early.
August 2010.
It was very hot!!
But we were moving.
The plan: to rent for one to two years and save some money to buy.
School begins!!
The neighborhood was a little rough, but it could have been worse.
We met a great younger couple who we really enjoyed getting to know.
Our direct next door neighbor was the least tolerable.
October 2010.
Completely blind-sided we recieved a phone call.
Remember the house in November 2009 that we looked at??
The owners called to let us know that they did not sale in the
Spring and was re-listing their house if we would
be interested. I told him well..I would need to talk to
Chon, but we would let them know. We
immediately contacted our landlord about
letting us out of our lease and he agreed. Talk about God's intervention.
We contacted the home owners and asked if we could see the house again
to make our decision. We set up a time to see the house.
Chon fell in love again.
And again....I was not easily convinced.
There was something about the house
that was not working for me.
It took me a few weeks and it finally hit me...
IT WAS THE KITCHEN!!!!!!
It was in the wrong place.
We asked to see the house again.
So back to the house we go.
After looking again...Chon and I agreed to make an offer.
We made our offer and they accepted.
THEY ACCEPTED OUR FIRST OFFER!!!!
We couldn't believe it.
HERE WE GO AGAIN....WE ARE MOVING!!!
After many bumps and bruises to getting the final paperwork
complete...God kept reminding us that we were not
in control of 'the timing'.
Scheduled to close early December...we began packing--lightly.
We finally were able to move a week before Christmas, but
we had a wonderul Christmas.
April 2011:
So now we are enjoying our first Spring in house that
has been such a blessing in regards to having
everything that we have looked for for years, but with many
lessons on how to be content.
May 2011:
We have our garden tilled, school is beginning to wind down, and
Colten and Caylor are growing too fast both physically and mentally.
The best part of the past few months is watching
the grow closer as a family and
grow closer to God.
The gifts that God has allowed to surface has
been almost overwhelming at times.
Chon and I are stronger and so much more peaceful when
things are quiet around than I could have ever imagined.
Sorry if this is too long, but God's plan all along is
much more satisfying than my 'scheduled' chaos.
I don't know if you noticed the 'stars (*)'...to me these are times that God reminded us of
Ecclesiates 3:11
He does everything in his own perfect timing.
This is what happens when eight mommas (and their children) get busy sprucing things up. There were lots of laughs, discussing curriculum and various topics, and 'catching up' going on....Did I forget to mention that there was some cleaning involved??
