It's settled... and still up in the air.... Geesh!

FOR SOME REASON, THIS POST NEVER MADE IT ON THE PAGE...


I called Thursday, afer much consideration, and weighing of the options... to the sweet older couple in the town nearby. We have decided to take the smaller house. As much as we wanted the other place, I think this is the best decision for us. There was just so much wishy-washy uncertainty with the other place, and landlord... that and he wanted an outrageous amount of cash for the deposit. We could have done it, but it was just weird, all the way around. The custom in Germany, is to put the deposit in an interest accruing account, hand the bank book over to the landlord, who then (ideally!) at the end of the lease, hands it back to you, to collect.

I think we will be able to make it work... even if that means a little downsizing.
We measured the house last week, just to see if our furniture would fit, and it should... though it might be tight. It will be nice to have a fenced yard, that the kids can play in, and not get into too much trouble. It will be nice to not have to walk the dog a mile, to the dog-walk area... we have a field, and woods right behind our house...
It will be nice, to not have to listen to the neighbors radio all day on Saturday, because she is home cleaning or hanging out, and wants it up loud... I can't wait to be in a house.

I'm attaching a few pics...

Now we just have to wait till' tomorrow, to call the housing office, and see when they can go and inspect the house. I'm hoping that I can get the keys tomorrow, and can begin hauling over a few loads... Jon is leaving first thing in the morning, for the field... So I'm going to have a busy week.

In adoption related news... we are one of the families affected by the current delay. It seems that we are still waiting on birth certificates for the girls, due to the power outages in Addis Ababa. They aren't able to get the passports until the birth certificates are in, and the girls can't be tested for TB until they have passports... so at the moment, a week isn't looking like enough time to get it all together. I should know for sure sometime soon, but at this point, it looks like I won't be traveling until mid-May. Keep us in your thoughts... I feel so bad for the girls... who really thought they would be home with us back in January... Another month is a long time to wait.

Seems like we are always 'waiting'...

We are still waiting on the guy who called us back about the perfect house... It seems he's having some issues, getting the old tenants out, and can't give us an exact move-in date. In the meantime, we came across another place, closer to where we are now, with a great big yard, partially fenced... in a lovely little village, with a sweet older couple as landlords. The downside, is that the rooms are so much smaller, limited storage, and there is only one bathroom (YIKES!).
We've been waiting this whole time, to find out, if we would even be considered for the other house, and the guy called tonight, to say 'Yes, we can have it'... but he isn't sure when we can move in... He's hoping next week. After his track record from the past few weeks, I would hate to hold my breath, and lose the smaller house.
I guess we are going to sleep on it... I have to let the older couple know on Thursday, one way or the other... Jon is going to have the housing office call the perfect house guy tomorrow, to find out what the deal is, and see if they can set up an inspection.
Right now, we are sitting in limbo, in the midst of boxes. Good thing I'm the manager of the Thrift shop on post... cause' I have a lot of crap to get rid of! We took 2 carloads in on Sunday, and that was just the first half of Leyton's room! I know... sad... really sad... After sorting through all the stuff that he had, and never played with, we've decided to implement the One Gift policy. From now on, on Birthdays, and Christmas, the kids will only be receiving one gift each from us, plus one gift that benefits the whole family. The kids get so much stuff from family and friends, its overwhelming, and goes unused... (Of course, clothes are always welcome, for those family members/friends out there reading! The kids go through those like crazy!) Seriously, Leyton received 5 easter baskets last year... Thats just insane.
Now that I've gotten totally off-track! Did I mention that we have a lot of stuff? Did I also mention that I hate moving? For those of you who don't know my history, I moved as a child a lot. Like, on average, every two years... I went to 5 different schools. I hate moving... It got to the point, where I didn't unpack everything, because I didn't want to have to repack it. It's pretty sad, that I've lived longer here in Germany, than I've ever lived anywhere in my life. Oh well... I guess I wouldn't be the well-traveled adventurer that I am now, if I'd never left small-town Ohio. But I really do hate moving, and I'm dreading this one, although, it will be to a house! and it will be nice to have a yard!
Okay... enough for tonight... I'll let you know what happens!