Getting Acquainted

We had our apartment walk-through today - our first glimpse of our new home for the next 2+ years. The apartment is upstairs and we share a balcony with our next-door neighbors, who we met today. The husband and wife are really friendly and he has just finished his first year, so they'll probably be a great source of information when we have questions. They have a boy and a girl, about 8 and 10, respectively. Hannah just made herself at home, walking into their house, playing trains with Alex in his room, and sharing popsicles.

Our apartment is actually really nice - the girls' bedroom is larger than Hannah's room back in Bakersfield. And since our building was built to ADA standards (as our neighbors told us), the bathroom is bigger with a linen closet and (best of all), we have a ramp down to the basement instead of the steep, scary stairs that I've been afraid of. (Our washer, dryer, and storage will be down in the basement and I've been really nervous about carrying loads of laundry up and down the stairs during freezing weather.)

One thing, unfortunately - we hadn't realized that our kitchen, though bigger than the one in Bakersfield, doesn't have a dishwasher... So that should be interesting. I told our neighbor, "Paper plates, here we come!"

We came out the first time to visit in fall of 2004. Most of the students and wives we met started in summer or fall of '05, which means they're now 3rd-year students and headed out on their vicarages (internships).

One couple we definitely clicked with back then were from Tracy, CA. We met them again when we were here last fall, but didn't expect to see them this year because of they were supposed to be out on their vicarage this coming year. However, we saw them tonight and learned that he has deferred his vicarage and they'll be living a few buildings away from us in The Woods. So that was really nice - to see someone we know, from close to home, who can help show us the ropes. God is good!

More to come soon...bookmark and share our blog website address with friends and family and check back often, as we will continue to provide updates regularly.

Love and blessings,
Stacye & Family