Room to grow . . .

Todd and Laurie Peterson knew what it was like to make ends meet during the tough times. Cut out cable TV. Watch it at the grocery store. Conserve on gas. Put off buying new clothes.

Vacations weren’t an option anyway because Todd was working two jobs, including nights and weekends, so he could take a full load of courses at Kellogg Community College.

“We prayed a lot,” remembers Todd, looking back on how he and Laurie decided he needed to find a new career in the wake of 9/11. Todd had gone to work for American Airlines at the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport right out of high school in 1987. The shock waves from the 2001 tragedy included a first round of layoffs at American that would affect 20,000 people.

It was time for the Petersons to set a new course. A committed stay-at-home mom, Laurie made her own sacrifices, taking care of young Natalie and Sadie in the family’s small Kalamazoo home while Todd studied and worked. “The hardest part was all the time he had to be away, but we managed,” says Laurie.

The education, hard work and sacrifices paid off. Todd transitioned into a job as an X-ray technician at Borgess Medical Center, where quick advancements got the couple back on their feet. Todd got a chance to join the highly regarded care team at the Borgess cardiovascular lab.

But life’s next challenge came in the form of a beautiful blessing, baby Hayden. Hayden’s birth forced the girls to share a bedroom. The family’s 1,040-square-foot home simply didn’t fit any more. Hayden’s needs also meant shifting from home-schooling to a more conventional approach for the girls. In a sense, everything was coming to a head.

The Petersons went looking for a new home. Being able to save money on one salary, along with the equity they built up in their first home made the search possible.

Both Laurie and Todd had grown up in small towns in the Kalamazoo area, and moving away from the community was never discussed. “We want the children to be close to their grandparents,” said Todd.

Schoolcraft and Vicksburg, then, were the primary targets of the search. Both communities were deemed close enough to Todd’s work and to their place of worship, Lake Center Bible Church. But, Schoolcraft didn’t have the one thing the Petersons were shopping for: An Allen Edwin neighborhood.

“Todd had done his homework. Better Business Bureau, Home Builders Association, you name it,” said Laurie, who not only wanted a big house, but one with a good-sized yard for the kids to play in. Their decision last December to build a new, 2,700-square-foot home in Austin Shores made it possible for the girls to enroll in Vicksburg Schools this fall. The school bus comes right to their doorstep and “the girls love it,” says Laurie, who noted that Natalie has already been named “Student of the Month” at her new school.

If the Kalamazoo home was too small, the Vicksburg home is certainly too large for the family’s furniture, but the Petersons have a vision of the new space being “just right” for the needs of a young family.

“We can already picture ourselves coming down the stairs, and the Christmas tree will be right there,” said Laurie. “I’m also looking forward to having people over, do a little entertaining.”

“We’ve still got our challenges,” adds Todd. “But I can see this as a place where our kids will bring their kids. This feels like home.”