Warren Family Update

Over the last six months, a lot has happened. In the fall of 2010, our pastor asked our church to begin praying about moving to a different part of town. He said it would make sense to live in a place we served, rather than just swooping in to be saviors and then going back to our nice homes. We didn't think this was the plan for us, but we began to pray. A lot of the people moving were going to homeschool. While I was a teacher before the boys were born, I don't feel equipped to homeschool Jonathan. I think he will get better help with teachers who have specialized in special education.


Previous to this, we had found out about a home in our neighborhood that sat vacant on a dead end street. The street had many other families on it, one of whom were friends of ours - they had three kids like us and their middle child (Jonathan's betrothed:)) has Down syndrome as well. The owner of the home is a friend of our family. Jamie contacted him a few years ago to ask if they would be willing to sell. They politely said "no" and that five other people were in front of us. So, we decided to stay where we were and put down roots. We had great neighbors across the street, down the street, and behind us. Our street could be busy at certain hours and we thought drug deals could be going on next door, but that was okay.:)


When we began praying about if we should move or not, our family friend (the owner of the home we had been interested in) contacted us and said he was ready to sell and we were at the top of his list. I was thrilled - I thought praying for the church move had been God preparing us to move to this other street in Homewood.


Jamie and I got our house ready and put it on the market in the fall of 2010. Every couple of months, we would wonder if we were doing the right thing. I wondered if I had misinterpreted what I thought God was saying. It was stressful trying to keep the house clean when I never knew when a call would come to see the house. Jonathan was potty training and letting the boys have fun but trying to keep things neat was hard.


In June, our contract was up with the family of the "new" house. We ended our contract with them. Three days later we got an offer on our house while we were at Disney. Jamie sat outside Pirates of the Caribbean, wheeling and dealing. We closed on a Friday in July and were supposed to be out by Sunday. We were in a quandry - we had no place to go. On Wednesday of that week, we had no place to go. We were looking at a house a third of our home's size. The realtor called this house "The Mountain Chalet of Homewood." I affectionately referred to it as "The Deathtrap." There was no front yard or back yard and it was on our old street. The backyard had a deck - on one side were stones and the other had tree stumps. Knowing my boys, they would jump off and be dashed to their deaths. Inside, you walked in at the second level and looked down into the den. Two bedrooms were upstairs. One room had French doors that were locked. If, however, someone were to get them open, they would look down into the den. I was terrified that the boys would kill themselves. The staircase was not up to code. 


Jamie and I talked about it. He had scoured the neighborhood, as had our realtor and friends. He said, "We have prayed about this. We have no other options. This is what God has provided. We will trust Him." He was right, but that night I prayed. I told the Lord that I knew He had provided us that house but would He please give us something else? 


The next morning (Thursday) I woke up feeling peaceful. My mom was in town. She and I had been to visit my aunts and sister and she had stopped back through with me. She helped me with the boys while Jamie and I tied up loose ends. That afternoon, an hour before we had to sign the lease, a man called. He told me he owned a home on the same street of the home we wanted. He wondered if we wanted to rent his house? I almost started crying. I called Jamie, we met this man at the rental, and we took it right away. God is so good! I know that there are more serious things in the world going on, but I was so grateful He chose to provide differently for us.


Now we are living on a new street. We hope to buy and renovate the house down the street but we will see if that works out. We miss our old neighbors, but we are so grateful for our fenced in backyard and the quiet street. The boys can run outside and I don't have to worry that they might get run over. There are other kids on the street that come out to play and they are kind to our kids. Everyone is accepting of Jonathan and so good to him. I often get nervous about our reception in new social settings so that was great for me. 


We don't know what is going to happen next but we are confident God will determine our steps.