Moving On

We are moving...we just have no idea where to! UGH!! We will not be far from where we are now- same huge city, same side of the water, same continent. Since our ministry focus is the urban poor we want to move closer to those areas. It has been so tricky because we send our kids to regular public school - a rare choice among those in our boat. So, the lower we move, the more we are potentially distancing ourselves from quality education.

We have been dragging our feet a little because of this big dilemma. My wonderful husband has done tons of research via the internet (ain't it grand!!) and found two quality schools in very close proximity to our focus area! This is great news. So, today some sweet friends offered to help us scope out the area. The husband drove Justin and I around in their car while the wife watched the kids.

We were so disappointed not to find a single thing to rent! We loved the area, the schools, the buildings... but there was not one single flat like we were hoping to find. We have too many kids for this city! Everyone usually has one maybe two kids if they really want a big family. So the only flat size they make is a 2 or 3 bedroom. The parents have a bedroom, the kids have a bedroom, and the third bedroom is the sitting/TV room. The living room/ dining room is usually kept pristine and ready for guests at all times. Meaning that few people use that room on a daily basis. Most of my friends even keep the door shut. This makes Justin crazy since it is usually the biggest room in the house, and to only use it occasionally is crazy.

The kids have all been in the same room for almost 2 years now, and I think that Noah is about to blow a gasket. He loves to play with little men (army, Lego, Star Wars, sports figurines, you name it). He sets up intricate battles and games. No sooner has he prepared to play (quite a process) than one of his sisters comes storming through making his life miserable! He has been a good sport, and we have tried to be creative in giving him space to play. But it really does come down to needing an extra room. I don't want a big place or even a fancy place, just a few more walls really!

These days they usually make the top flat two floors. The top one being small with weird angles because it is the roof floor (attic). But for us, that would be perfect. We found quite a few of these, but they are all for sale, not rent! UGH! So sad! Back to square one!