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09/21/2004: "The Great and Fabulous Moving Saga, part Trois"

music: score from Star Wars IV: A New Hope
mood: delighted

Hmmm, where was I? Ah yes, resting peacefully at the motel. It is Thursday morning, September 2, and we are going to look at another house this morning. We stop by the property management place to apply for the home we liked yesterday. Our children are charming the receptionist while we fill out the forms and then head for the next appointment... (click on more to read more)

It is just afternoon when we arrive, and it is feeling hot outside, and as the air conditioning is off, inside as well. The agent is nice, and happy to show us around. The street is very narrow, scary to think of two cars trying to motor by in opposite directions. The home is nice, with a large back patio and master suite separate from the other bedrooms. The living room has a fireplace and a semi-divided area which could either be formal dining or for our purposes, a music room. Only three bedrooms, which did seem smaller but still workable given the other aspects of the home. It was priced the same as the home we had just applied for, which was just not cutting it for Richard. He said if they would drop the price to $800, he could see renting it, but not for the asking price.

The children were tired, hot and hungry by the time we left there. We went to a Burger King near Ginger's home for lunch and playtime, and the Property Management company called us back because they were having trouble verifying Richard's employment and salary. It turns out there is an automated system to set up a recording for those seeking the information and it involves entering many menus and entering PINs and if they mess it up, you have to go back and do it all again, because each code is good for one call/try only. Thankfully, it worked the first time. The receptionist calls us back to schedule a time to go over the lease and pick up the keys that afternoon. We have prayed about the home as a possible option and received the "go-ahead" to apply, but now we must be sure that we want to enter into a legal agreement for this home. I am particularly wary, (once mistaken, twice shy), but the Holy Spirit confirms for our family that we are making an acceptable decision to sign the lease.

By 4:30pm, we have a signed copy of the lease, keys/garage door opener in hand and phone numbers for utilities. We call as we drive to our new home, setting up the electricity, water and finding out that our phone number will not only be changed from the one we had in Phoenix before (and paid to keep on voicemail all summer), but not available until the following Wednesday night. *sigh* So not everything can be perfect!!

We arrived at our home, and walked around inside again, talking and planning. Richard led us in a special prayer to dedicate our home to the Lord. We debated spending the night there, but a friend's experience with no running water led us to decide that we were better off in the motel for one more night. For a celebratory dinner, we phoned in an order to Chino Bandido Takee Outee, a place that serves chinese, mexican and jamaican cuisine, and ate back at the motel. It felt really good to know that we had a place to go in the morning, one that we could call home.