The Unpacking

It has begun... the great unpacking. We have a newly renovated house (yeah!) on Post! There are boxes everywhere, and we are tripping over piles of stuff in our feeble attempts to make it feel like home. Our junk arrived last Wednesday. We quickly realized that we have more stuff than we have house. To be more specific, we lost a garage. We really didn't lose it; we just had one, and now we do not. Just stop and think for a second about what you keep in your garage or attic (which we cannot use either). Camping junk, Christmas decorations, bicycles, yard tools, regular tools, and about a zillion other things. Now picture all that in my living room. Because there is no where else to put it. Other than the middle of the driveway. That's where it sat for a few days. Then we went on a hot date to Home Depot and bought a shed. After putting that together (not good for the marriage) we filled it up. Now we are looking at dates for a yard sale. We are gonna be the most "simplified" and "clutter-free" family by the time the Army's finished with us! On a more pleasant note, the house is very nice... like new on the inside, and the closet space is good, too. We are right across the street from the pool on one side and right across from Elijah's school (we think) on the other side. It is nice to look out the window and see green trees and grass. It's refreshing to hear the thunder of an afternoon storm. And (love you, Amy!) I can drive off Post in about 10 minutes and be at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, AC Moore, and Joanns. Not to mention all the restaurants you can imagine or desire. We'll be broke in a month. Hopefully my next blog will be from home. My own computer. In a room I can actually walk into.

A House?

Could it be true? We have a house! We left Ft. Irwin knowing we were on a Waiting List for Housing at Bragg. Our spot on the list put us at mid-August for getting into on-post Housing. When Dan got to Bragg and checked into the Housing Office, they told him we had moved WAY up on the list, and that we could have a house in the next three days! Needless to say, after our lovely experience waiting for a house at Ft. Irwin (9 months!), we were excited! But, the Housing at Bragg is old and needs improving. There are lots of improvements being made, and there are lots of cute nice new homes, but none are available to us. So, Company Grade Officers get the old, in-need-of-repair homes.
The one they could give us had old carpet, old blinds, old flooring, old (1970) tile, broken bathroom fixtures, old cabinets, no ceiling fans, old metal closet doors, and a washer/dryer hookup in the middle of the kitchen. Please don't think we are snobby. Please don't think that we think we are "above" living there. We aren't. And, we were ready to take it. But, then the Housing dude told Dan that the other homes just like this one were being renovated. Completely updated and improved. Some (including the one next door) were already done. And, ours (if we took it) would not be. So, our HUGE monthly housing payment would pay for a run-down house that needed improvements. And, our neighbors would be paying that exact same amount for their newly renovated house. (That's the insanity of Housing!) Somehow, this didn't seem fair to us. Or the best use of a hard-earned dollar. SO... we went on yet another "list" for a renovated home. The wait? 10 weeks. Or more. That meant school would be starting, and we wouldn't have a house. We resigned ourselves to the wait.
The boy was fine with it all. He's been with grandparents since early June, and the thought of spending 9 more weeks at the farm was appealing to him! (I, however, began to sign him up left and right for every swimming lesson, art class, and VBS in a 100 mile radius!)
Then, just a few days after making this decision, the Housing dude called Dan. "It's good news, Captain Urquhart!" he said. And, boy was it! We could have a renovated house by July 11!! A renovated house that wasn't available earlier had just come open! (Thanks to some poor family who had to PCS sooner than planned.) So, we took it!!!! July 11 is a whole heck of a lot sooner than September 1! I am still holding my breath. Waiting for something bad to happen. I have issues like that. But, I am grateful. Very grateful.
I had just asked my "Iron Peaches" to pray for our situation. I actually asked them to pray that things would move faster. Way to go, my girls! Thanks.
If all goes as planned (I said I have issues), the movers will come on July 16. And, then the fun begins again. It's like Christmas... opening boxes and not knowing what you will find... But, I can tell you all about that another day!