House update

Yes, we finally have an update concerning the house situation! I have not posted about it, because we did not really know much more until this past week.

Doug and a friend went house searching for 7 hours one day a few weeks ago. They didn't find anything and concluded that the house we had been looking at is the one that is most suitable.

The house we have been interested in for about a month is VERY nice. Our biggest holdback was that it did not have much yard space for the children to play. It has a space of 8 feet that goes around the back and sides of the house, and there is a small front lawn with a garage area. Since we have 3 boys who love to play soccer and baseball, we were concerned with where they would play.

The day that Doug and his friend searched, they stopped at the house we are looking at and found an area beside the wall of the community which would be suitable for the children to play. It has a sidewalk, benches, basketball court, and grassy area where they could play their soccer and baseball. Having something like that in walking distance solved the problem of having room to play.

We felt that God did not say "no" to that house, so we proceeded to call the landlord. He told us it would be ready in 3 days (today) and then we could sign a contract. We are waiting on his call, and then we plan to go sign, and be working to move in - perhaps even yet before Christmas! Wow! It will be a lot of work, but we all agreed we'd rather spend Christmas there than here - even if everything isn't completley in.

The thought of moving brings mixed emotions to my heart. Even though we've suffered through the covering of dust, the noise from the street, the violence, and limited space, it has still been "home" for the past 9 years. I believe I've calculated it is the longest I've ever lived in a house before (excluding our furloughs). Maybe that is the reason for the sentiment. :-)

But when I look at the positive side, I will be very happy to have LOTS more room inside, a kitchen with a lot of counterspace, HOT WATER in the bathrooms (anybody who's visited us will rejoice with us on that one), peace and quiet from the noise of the cars (perhaps our neighbors will be noisy, but it was pretty quiet when we've been there), security for the children to play outside safely, electricity 21 hours a day, less dust, and a front porch.

We'll keep you posted as we learn more and hope to get some photos to post, too.

Thanks for praying!