On May 5th we received a notice from our landlord that he wanted the apartment back. We had signed a 30 month contract and after a year we were finally getting settled. As in there might have still been a box that needed to be unpacked...
After about ten minutes of shocked silence I began to imagine the next few months; looking for a new apartment or house, rearranging and redecorating, packing and moving and unpacking. And I realized that with this forced move, most of it I would love doing! After all, the possibility was there that we would be able to find something better and more suited to our growing family. With two toddlers running around, the apartment was starting to feel very small.
So armed with my trusty iPhone camera, one day after we dropped Lucas off at school, Elena and I went driving around our neighborhood looking for For Rent signs. We were hoping to find something in the same neighborhood so that Lucas could continue going to his preschool. With only one car it would be optimal if it was within walking distance.
Here are a few of the houses we saw that day.
We decided to look for a house because we would probably be able to find more space for the same price as a much smaller apartment. So armed with a page full of numbers, David began to call realtors and set up viewings. Some were out before we even saw them because of the price or because the owner wanted a commercial renter rather than a residential renter. I had such fun seeing all the different houses, but after David and I saw the one, we both had the same reaction - it was perfect.
Then began the usual rigmarole of documents and paperwork and seemingly miles of red tape. At one point it seemed the odds were against us and we had to sit back and just trust that God had the right place out there for us and if this wasn't it, we would have to wait on his timing and guiding.
With that little reminder to keep our focus and faith in God, it all came together. The documents were sorted out, contracts signed, keys received, movers hired.
In our seven years of marriage, David and I have now moved six times, and this was the biggest move, with the shortest distance! In the past year of living in Mogi we had fully furnished our little apartment so we had to move everything. We even took the kitchen cabinets! (see why here)
For those of you who haven't seen the house, it is one of the six pictured above. Take a guess which one we rented and I'll be back in a few days with photos of our new house. (in the empty "before" state, as it's not ready for "after" photos yet!)
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