Crazy life

View of the park and the sea from our new living room

The unusually nice bathroom

The living room and the door to the balcony

So sorry to go so long without an update. We have barely had a free moment before tonight. Actually, there is a ton to do, but we know our fans need to hear from us!

I"ll give a quick run down of what we've been doing for the past two weeks: moving, language, painting, shopping, and going to a 3 day orientation. So, early last week Ryan and some friends repainted the living room in our new apartment. Then he spent a few afternoons/mornings waiting on furniture to be delivered or setting up utilities. Meanwhile, I ran back and forth between apartments (temporary and new) and packed. On Friday night, we decided to move into our apartment on Saturday. With the help of members of our church, we moved in about 4 hours on Saturday and tried to settle into the new apartment for the night.

In the midst of this, my mother notified me that my grandmother had passed away on Friday. We have been so busy that I've hardly had time to process this bittersweet news. My grandmother's health had been declining for a few years and her Alzheimer's was advancing. I'm glad she doesn't have to deal with her mortal body anymore and that she can be in heaven praising God now but I am sad because I'll miss her so much.

We moved in and couldn't get the washing machine working (meanwhile laundry continued to pile high), had some furniture delivered that was not made correctly, and started feeling general frustration and fatigue. I think we were just stressed because we had to be in orientation ALL DAY on Tues, Wed, and Thursday and had no time to settle into the house.
We're feeling more settled and much more relaxed tonight.

We moved in and realized that there were a lot of small, annoying things about the apartment that we CHOSE. Though I've come to terms with all but one, I'll list them so you can feel more connected to us :) ALL the doors on the inside of the apartment are completely frosted glass on the top half; the doors won't stay shut (now the bathroom and Selah's doors stay shut b/c Ryan is awesome); the windows rattle when the wind blows, the outlets are like loose powerstrips, and.....the one I'm still struggling with....the kitchen smells gross and it doesn't seem to be getting better. I think the smell is coming from the plumbing.

The good stuff about the new place: an air conditioner in the living room, carpet in Selah's and the living room, new cabinets and counter were put in the kitchen before we moved in, a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom and a linen closest, room on the back balcony for both the washer and dryer, nice wood floors in the guest bedroom and my bedroom, and we are across the street from a really great park. We also have some very friendly neighbors below us that already brought us some cake.

I included the before pictures of our place at the top. Next I'll post the after pics.