New home!

Exciting news! God has been exceedingly gracious to us and allowed all of our paperwork to be completed! What this means:

- Mrs. A can stay here in Okinawa with Mr. A with full acknowledgment and approval from both the military and from the Japanese government.
- Mrs. A can get a legitimate drivers license and not be restricted to using just an international driving permit.
- Mr. and Mrs. A get to move out of the bachelor's quarters into a real home!

We weren't completely sure whether we preferred to live on base or off base, so we looked at both options prior to making a decision.

Out of the six off-base homes (apartments, single family homes, and duplexes) that we looked at, here was the run down:
- House #1: close to base, single family home with a yard, but had really low ceilings and seemed somewhat run down
- House #2: within walking distance of church, tall ceilings, wood floors, gorgeous balcony with a view of a lush, green valley, but somewhat odd floor plan and looked like the energy bill could possibly be outrageous.
- House #3: absolutely gorgeous apartment on the 8th floor overlooking a lush, green valley and the ocean, wrap around deck which had doors that opened to a glorious breeze, but a good 45 minute to an hour commute to work, and pretty expensive.
- House #4: Attractive apartment with balcony, but somewhat odd construction, with the top two feet of the walls being plain concrete, and one room with a large concrete 'beam' running the length of it, also a good 45 minute commute to work.
- House #5: Two story single-family home with tons of space, small yard, right off base, but over-budget and smelled a little like smoke.
- House #6: 2 car garage, beautiful floors, gas stove, two balconies (one off the living area and one off the master bedroom), and five minutes from one of the bases. Also a five minute walk to a small beach and close to many good restaurants on the sea wall.

Out of all of these choices, House #6 was the most appealing, probably because it was built in American style and because it was pretty close to Brent's work. I also love love love gas stoves. However, from the first model they showed me to the second model, they changed the layout of the kitchen to a layout I didn't prefer, and they changed the cabinetry and island from an attractive warm wood with nice handles to cheap cabinetry. They also changed the bathroom styling to be less attractive.

After we looked at these six options, we were told that there were two options open in on-base housing. The deal with on-base housing is that they promise to show you at least two units, although they may not be able to offer you both units at the same time. Once they show you a unit, you have 24 hours to either accept or decline the option. If you decline two options, you're placed on a 90 day probation list, and they won't offer you another home on-base until that period is over.

We were able to look at both options the same day: one in a large apartment-style building, and one town home. Both options are about a five minute drive to work for Mr. A, which is awesome. The tower option was somewhat less than thrilling, despite having two balconies (again, one off the living/dining area and one off the master bedroom). It had tile floors and generally looked and felt dingy. The kitchen was also very small. However, it did have something that none of the apartments off-base had: a DISHWASHER! Seriously, how is it that two people create so many dishes? One of the many mysteries in life.

The second option was a town house. As soon as we walked in, our decision was made to live here. It had gorgeous 'wood' floors, a small yard both in front and in back (big enough to enjoy, have a small cook out, plant a little, but not so big that it's overwhelming), a big kitchen, a DISHWASHER!, and plenty of space. In fact, this home is just like House #6 out in town, but about doubled in size. The only things it lacks is an actual garage, balconies, and a gas stove (all of which would be nice, but not nearly as nice as having enough space to actually have people over).

So, we're moving!

In fact, we signed all the paperwork on Friday and move in this Monday and Tuesday. Yep, things move FAST once the ball gets rolling o_O. So we are now in a packing frenzy! So far, we've got about 18 boxes packed, and somehow there's still more left to do. And the majority of it is kitchen stuff. We cannot WAIT to get a real kitchen to use all of it! I've already bought canned pumpkin and cooking pumpkins in preparation for this moment. Also, apparently the commissary runs out of pumpkin if you don't act fast.

Anyhow, we are so thankful that the Lord has provided so well for us! Hopefully you'll hear about various events where we get to open up our new home to people here on-island :) Also, there are two extra bedrooms, so please come visit!