And let the Craziness Begin..or Maybe Continue

The boys got up early this morning, and I quickly went around trying to prepare for the movers to come. Yet, when they arrived at 9am I realized that I was no where close to ready for the team of movers that besieged our apartment. They had workers literally in every room. I first went around with the supervisor and his assistant and went through what stayed and went in each room. The assistant would then mark the door, item, etc with a sticker for the workers. I also had to indicate where in the new house it needed to go.

It is not until they box up your stuff that you realize how much stuff you actually own. Now remember that we have no furniture from the old place coming with us. Yet, we still managed to pack half a small truck full. They were extremely fast, sometimes faster than us, as they ended up packing up the paint and Spackle that Dustin wanted left out. It was in a box and in the truck before we even thought to say something. The move was chaotic and a little stressful for me, but was going smoothly. We had the boys staged with our ayi (we paid to have her come watch the boy in all the chaos) in front of the TV with one of their favorite movies (Ice Age). Yet, when they got down to the last things in the house it was clear the boys were really getting agitated. It was close to lunch and Josh was hungry, and he completely lost it when they unhooked his booster seat from his chair and began to put it into a box. He literally ran across the room sobbing "cha" (his way of saying the word chair). We quickly scooped him up and tried to sooth him, but it was no use. So, Hong Li and I bundled up the now both sobbing boys (they tend to both cry when one or the other is crying) and headed to the clubhouse and the indoor park (it was raining pretty good today and cold). This seemed to do the trick. We ran into a lot of Danny's friends and classmates which was nice for him as he missed them being home sick all week.

Dustin stayed behind and did the final walk through with the supervisor to make sure nothing was missed. We then grabbed some McDonalds and headed over to the new house. If we thought the pack up was chaotic, the move in was even crazier. There were again people everywhere. This time they were unpacking our things, or at least the things they put in their plastic containers. I was running from one room to another trying to help direct where things went and where boxes should go. Finally, we were madly trying to unpack as fast as we could so they could have their plastic containers back. I had every counter in every bathroom, and kitchen covered and much of the floor space in Josh's room covered in boxes.

After the movers left, I worked to get the beds made up for the boys so they could take naps, and then my ayi and I began working again. I put things away and Hong Li worked on cleaning the incredibly dirty floors. Dustin and Tom went to buy us our new ride (or my new ride I should say) a new scooter (I promise pictures soon).

We made some good headway, and after thanking Hong Li for all her help during our crazy day, we crashed on our new sofa and relaxed watching, yes, you guessed it, Ice Age.

One Year Anniversary of Moving to China

So as we sit in our apartment tonight, I cannot believe that it was just a year ago that we moved here to Shanghai and that tomorrow we move again from this apartment we have called home, to a house that will be our new home here in Shanghai.

So much has changed since we first stepped off the plane. We have already said good-bye to three great families that we have been close to here as they took new assignments abroad and back home. The boys have also changed drastically. Danny arrived more as a toddler as he was still in pull-ups, and Josh was still really a baby. Now Danny has grown into a little boy who when I look at him now looks more like 7 than 4 and Josh is no longer a baby but a toddler heading into little boyhood himself. Dustin and I have successfully plowed through numerous ups and downs here and I believe have kept our family firmly grounded and closely knit together. This being mostly to God's wonderful grace and blessings, than anything that we could have done.

The time has gone so quickly, and now we have graduated into the role of those that welcome the newcomers. They are really easy to spot--they are the ones that look a little (or a lot) uneasy, a little (or a lot) lost, and have the look of complete relief when you talk with them and give them encouragement and support. I have been amazed at the steady stream of people that have moved home or abroad and how many have moved in. It does not matter the time, they are constantly moving in and moving out. It makes life interesting here, but it is also what makes everyone so supportive, welcoming and close knit. We have such an awesome community here and we are so blessed in so many ways.

Day Two of the Move-In

This morning, I headed over and did as much of the cleaning of the kitchen and the cabinets as I could accomplish. My ayi came directly to our new house and helped while Dustin played with the boys outside. The man arrived to put our furniture together, and finally our landlord, our agent and one of the workers here at our new community arrived. The man working on the furniture worked steadily from the time he arrived until 12:30 to put the sofas, chairs and Danny's bed together. Our landlord walked around with our agent and the worker, working on the things we had specified the day before. Much of this was not actually fixing it, but rather discussing the issue and to me felt like renegotiating whether it was going to be done. The funniest moment was when the worker was actually fixing the light in our upstairs hall bath. He was almost done and was working with the lightbulb and then going to put on the cover when the landlord begins flipping the light switch up and down. I thought she is either definitely crazy or just does not care or think of others at all (probably the latter one). I am shocked the worker did not tell her to quit it, or worse.

We got a fair amount done before lunch, and decided to head back to the apartment for the boys to nap. Dustin had to leave for a meeting at 3:30 and would be gone for dinner. I was so incredibly grateful that my friends were bringing us dinner. It was great to head to the house and not have to think about what we would eat.

As the boys slept, I tried to get things organized for the movers to come in the morning. We then just relaxed before the big move.

More fun with a foriegn language

Hello blog world!

It's been a very long time since I have wrote anything, and since I've got 30 minutes to kill before the calls start for the evening, I thought I'd give it a shot.

As you all know, I've been working to learn the Chinese language. There are times I make great progress, and then there are weeks on end that I seem to go backwards.

A few weeks ago, I had a major breakthrough. This is one of those moments when you not only understand a lot more, but you also understand how they think.

This, again, has to do with time. In Chinese, when you say ahead physically, it is qianmian. Behind you is houmian.

Now, if you want to say the future you say yihou, but if you want to say the past you say yiqian.

The character qian (前）and hou (后）are the same in both words.

In my world, you stand looking forward at the future. In China, you stand looking forward at the past. Amazing.

This small difference makes things a whole lot clearer. Chinese people rarely plan... as if they don't see any point in looking "down the road". Well, if you grew up from the very first part of your ability to think with the orientation that you can only see the past, I can see why planning would appear to be meaningless.

I think I have also told you that they see time rolling down a hill, right? You see, to say morning you say shangwu and to say afternoon is xiawu. Shang (上) means above or up and Xia (下) means below or down. So, you start your day up high and end it low.

Jackie does much better at giving details of day to day life. She can explain the fun I had today dealing with the move. I cannot believe that we have been here a year. Parts of it seem like we have been here 20, others seems like yesterday.

Like I was told during my first few days here, you have Shanghigh and Shanglow days. That's all part of it.

And the Move-in Begins and so Does the CRAZINESS

The contract on the new house we are renting specified we got the keys three days before the term began, but we asked and were granted the right to get the keys four days in advance. I asked for this so I could go in and clean the house on Thursday before our funiture was to be set up on Friday (they were to deliver it on Thursday) and before the offcial movers came on Saturday.

Dustin and I arrived at the house early Thursday for what is suppose to be the walk through. We brought the kids with and our ayi all to the house thinking it would be a quick walk through and I could get started cleaning. Oh were we ever wrong. When we first walked in we noticed a few things. The paint colors we picked were great, but the other walls that were suppose to be patched and painted (their were hooks in a lot of places) had not been completed. Nor had anything else we had pointed out the last time we went through with our agent.

Our landlord is quite the interesting character. She is Shanghaiese and owns a couple of properties in the city--which makes her in the upper class of Chinese in regards to wealth. Many Chinese still just own one change of clothes and dream of owning a bicycle of their own. She apparently paid someone to do the walls and they only did the paint chips we had given, non of the other walls. She was visibly upset screaming into her cell phone in the aggitated Chinese that we have become accustome to hear. She then got off the phone and went around and started yanking them off the walls leaving holes in the walls.

The rest of the walk through took until 12:30. Of course during the walk through IKEA's delivery group brought our funiture in. It was quite the household of people and activity.

We decided it was best to leave, eat lunch and then have me come back to clean on my own. We had now a very short time to do this as at 3:30 we had a meeting with the clubhouse of where we were moving from (the SRC) to try and keep some sort of membership with them. It is a huge part the expatriate community here and most families gather here, their kids do sports here and use their pools. I really wanted this membership, and the contract we signed with our new landlord included it. She just was not able to get it herself. We are hoping they will allow us to get one even though she is the one paying for it. Our landlord already tried to talk us out of this agreement this afternoon, but we simply said it is part of the contract and we want it.

I arrived back at the house to clean and the landlord and the representative from our realtor office were still there. I began cleaning while they were talking back and forth. I got some of the drawers done in the kitchen when the agent says the landlord wants me to leave. I of course say "excuse me? Are you kidding me?" We have an agreement. The agent explains the landlord wants to wait until we know about the membership at SRC before she allows me in. I try and argue my way through it based on the agreement we have with the landlord and the fact that she already accepted our money for the coming month. I did not get anywhere. I said I would have to call Dustin to get me, but then decided I would walk as I did not want to wait with the landlord. I was so furious about being kicked out that I did not want to spend another minute with her. I made it to the front door, and the landlord is looking all contrite, but turns out she still wants me to leave, but she is saying she will drive me. As I realize that it is raining out and I do not have an umbrella, I agree to have her drive me. Yet as we begin driving, I tell her to take me to Starbucks instead of home, as I do not want her to know where we live, or somehow try and be a part of the meeting later today with SRC.

So now we are driving in her car with the agent in the back seat. I am praying that she takes me to Starbucks and not somewhere else. The agent is first trying to translate the landlord's conversation with me. As we are heading out of the subdivision to Starbucks, the agent is telling me that the landlord said she has a friend that has a membership at the SRC already and is moving. We could have this membership. I kindly remind them, as kindly as I can that the new rules under the new management is that the memberships are not transferable. The agent visibly shows an "ah shoot" face. The landlord continues to try and talk to me and I completely shut her down with the statement that we will wait to see what management tells Dustin and I at the meeting at 3:30.

So we now turn the corner (remember our new house and old apartment are only 5 minutes by car and Starbucks is located between the two) and the agent gets a phone call. Meanwhile, we are on a fairly busy street and the landlord is trying to talk to me, in Chinese, still about the membership (she clearly is wishing that she did not agree to pay for it--it is not cheap, but we increased the rent and she will get the money back, so we do not feel bad about it).

As she is trying to talk to me, she is slowing down in the lane of traffic. By the end of what she trying to say, we are practically stopped. She is able to convey to me that she wants to wait with me at Starbucks until Dustin arrives. This is crazy I thought, as she just kicked me out of the house I was suppose to have rights to today, and she thinks I am going to sit and have small talk with her for over an hour? CRAZY. So, I tell her that I am just picking up the coffee and heading back to check on the boys. She of course counters with that she will drive me home. As I am at a total loss of how to get out of this offer without completely being rude, I agree. Through this crazy conversation I somehow manage to get her to resume normal speed and enter the parking lot of Starbucks.

While in Starbucks waiting on my coffee, I text Dustin in as a discreet of way as possible, as I know they are staring at me in the store. I tell him of being kicked out and that I was on my way home. He and Tom were out buying our outdoor table set that we will use in the dining room until our furniture that we are having made is finished.

I head back to the car and start praying as we enter the community that she one does not ask to come up and wait at our place, and two that she does not ask to come to the meeting with the SRC. Of course, we are almost to our house when my phone rings and it is Dustin. I kindly tell him that I am on my way home to the apartment, and that I would have to call him back "Lindsay". I of course had to say the Lindsay part twice, but he finally got it that I did not want them to know it was him on the phone, as our crazy landlord would probably take my phone from me to talk to him. She finally pulled into our parking lot and I could not get out of the car fast enough.

After cooling off from that adventure, Dustin and I went to meet the management for SRC. We were very happy to hear that the changes they are making are tied with not wanting to deal with the landlords and not with the expatriate. They said we would have no problem keeping a membership. We then headed back to tell the news to the landlord and our agent. After all the craziness of the day, our new landlord accepted it quite well. She said she would have the cash for us on Sunday morning. We left to head home, with nothing at the house clean, but happy to have the SRC membership.

One sick boy, Moving, and the God's Amazing Support through it All

This week is our crazy week which is jammed packed with preparing to move and moving. Adding into it Dustin's busy schedule and now a sick boy. Wow!


Danny woke early on Monday morning at around 3am. He seemed warm, but went back to bed and from his wake up time at 5:30 until 8:15 when he left for school he was my normal happy4 year old. I ran to the store with Josh and my friend Lindsay to buy some groceries before the crazy week really began. We got home and I laid down for a nap because I am still quite fatigued and my condition is still acting up from my two weeks without Hong Li, our ayi. I laid there for a little while until Dustin came in and said Danny had been sent home from school with a rash and a fever. Dustin mentioned that he had been running around, so he might just be over heated. I took his temperature and found it was at 102.7F. I looked at his throat and saw white spots. I quickly called the doctor to find that they were booked until Tuesday at 10am.


With Danny being sick and having a doctor's appointment in the morning, I contacted my bible study group to let them know what was going on and why I would not be able to join them. Then I set out to explain to Danny why he was not going to be going to his friend Jule's (pronounced Ula) birthday party. After lots of tears, we were able to come up with a pizza and movie night to make our sick guy feel a little better.


The next day at the doctor's appointment was told the dreaded news--they suspect hand foot and mouth disease, which means no school until it clears up--probably a week says the doctor. So now, I have to prepare for a move and have two boys home through it all.


That afternoon, while Josh was playing quietly in the playroom while Danny slept I was sitting there thinking of how fatigued I was and this was after I took a nap myself earlier. Dustin was out that night on a business meeting, and it is in those moments that I can feel so overwhelmed by everything. Yet, I was reminding myself of the truths that this is my new normal and that God sees me through each and every step and provides all that my family and I need. It was at this moment that the phone rang.

It was one of the women in my Bible study on the phone. She explained they had organized at the bible study this morning to bring us meals at the end of this week and through the begining of the next. I was speechless. God is so awesome in how he can answer us so quickly. He was saying, yes Jackie I do meet your every need and hear your every call, and using the wonderful women in my study group to do so.


It reminds me of Isaiah 40: 28-31--"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth Does not become weary and tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to te weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, And vigorous young men stumble badly, Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary." So I am so grateful that God is so amazing and he uses every means possible to support us through this life. What peace that brings...We may make it through this week after all. :)

Great time with friends and shopping at IKEA

In one week from today we will be moving into our house in Ranch Sante Fe (a nearby subdivision of homes rather than apartments) and also celebrating our 1 year anniversary here. I cannot believe it has gone this fast and how much this city has changed for us over the past year. Since our new home will be unfurnished we took a trip to get some mattresses and sofas ordered from IKEA. IKEA on a weekday is hard to get to due to traffic, but is usually not too crazy. IKEA on a Saturday is a different story. Traffic was great and I was hopeful the store would not be to bad. Dustin went on a Saturday once before we moved here and said literally there were so many people that you could only move as an entire group throughout the flow of the store. This is mostly due to the large group of people that come to sightsee rather than purchase. Thankfully, there were only a few hundred thousand in the store due to the holiday and people not returning to the city yet. They were still stopping in the middle of the asle taking pictures of each other like they were in Disneyland, but for the most part we got through to the check out with little headache.

The headache came when I went to get the kids some hotdogs from the restaurant in the store. They are inexpensive and a fair number of Chinese buy them too. That is where the headache came in. I went to get into line (always have to use that term loosely in China) and a grown man looked at me with Josh in the cart and Danny holding my hand and sprinted, I mean literally sprinted to get in front of me. Now this would not be such a big deal except the rest of the group he was with apparently do not sprint. One of course had no problem cutting right in front of me, and then there were the two ladies that decided that they needed to be so close to me it would have been considered indecent touching. She was of couse shouting up her order and handing money over the top of me. So needless to say, I was biting my tongue--okay, I was muttering under my breath or at least just muttering about the rudeness of people. We got to the table and ate and had Dustin go back and get the ice cream cones. He returned to tell me that someone actually backed into the line and stole an ice cream cone (they cost 1 yuan which is 15 cents). Pretty crazy stuff.

We got home and prepared for our friends from Germany to come over for dinner. There daughter Jule (prounced ula) is in Danny's class at school, and Monika is the other room/PTA mom with me. They also have a little boy Mathis that is just a little older than Josh. We had a really great time and it was the perfect ending to our crazy trip to IKEA. Next we will see how the delivery and set up company does--they are having to bring it one day and set it up the following day. Should be interesting.

The Dragon Dance and the point of exhaustion

With our week off (Dustin still had to work on and off throughout the days) for Chinese New Year we wanted to see a few things around town since we were not leaving on a trip. (About half the expat community leaves, and based on the traffic level a good 80% of Chinese people leave the city as well).

Monday, even though the weather was not ideal--drizzly and cool, we trooped down to Xintandi area of Shanghai and met Lindsay and Joel and their children to watch the dragon dance. We came in at the tail end of it, but it was almost perfect timing as they were going into each restaurant (Xintandi is a swanky pedestrian area filled with restaurants). There were a group of men holding sections of the dragon up on sticks and one man holding a ball on a stick that the dragon chased or followed. There were also two traditional Chinese Lions that were made up of two men each. They did a dance at the entrance of the restaurants to the music made by men drumming on a gong. Then the dragon went in and then they all came out. This was repeated over at each restaurant. This is why it was good we came at the tail end. We saw two restaurants like this and then they went to an area with a canopy and did a more formal dance.

We left from this and travel to a different location for dinner, called Blue Frog. We eat there regularly as it is western food and has a great kids area. The kids all enjoyed having a kids only table and then going to play while the adults visited. It was a great day and we were all glad to see the festivities.

Tuesday we relaxed and Wednesday I woke up and was completely exhausted. My cleaning the house for a week and a half and taking care of the kids got my condition flared up. Dustin was so sweet and had me stay in bed. He even took them to the clubhouse where I was to meet my girlfriends for lunch and let our kids play together. He stayed while they played and then called me over for lunch. I was completely wiped out, but went over to eat. When we got home I crawled back into bed and stayed there until 4 that night.

We all went to bed early that night, only to be awoken at 11:30 by fireworks so loud, if I did not know better I would have thought the city was being bombed. It lasted well into the night and then again early the next morning. Amazingly the kids slept through it all. Thankgoodness. We saw in the paper the next day an explanation for the loudness of the fireworks. Fireworks are set off for 19 days straight and each day has a different meaning. Apparently, the third day is for wealth and prosperity (hence, main reason for the amount of fireworks--everyone wants more money) and the loudness is in an attempt to wake the wealth god to seek your fortune. Also, it starts before 12 because apparently the early bird gets the worm. Our neighbor that was shaking the city at 11:30 should apparently become extremely wealthy this year as he was early and extremely loud. If only it was this simple, right?

We (every expat we have run into) is in agreement that we are tired of the fireworks. If this puts into perspective how it has been here (day and night)--I absolutely love fireworks, and I am sick of them.

On a sad note, I heard from my ayi and her mother passed away on the 8th. I am so grateful that she was able to spend time with her mother during her last few days. She said she would see us on Monday, and for that I am so grateful. She is such an enormous help to me.

Our First Chinese New Year

Our celebration began with getting Danny dressed in traditional Chinese clothes for his party at school. This was actually closed off to parents because the teachers are going to sing traditional songs and dance. It was a lot of fun for Danny and they gave each student a Chinese Tiger as 2010 is the year of the Tiger.

Saturday which was Chinese New Year's eve was a lot of fun. We went over to our friends' Lindsay and Joel's house for a party. It was great to get together with friends and have the kids all play while we visited. Later Joel had bought a bunch of fireworks and put on a show about as good as at least our home towns if not Indianapolis' show. The kids really enjoyed it as did the adults. We left around 10 and got home to watch more outside our window. Someone was setting them off in the grassy area behind our apartment building. This was not allowed, but no security person stopped them. As this was going on, you could hear more going off in the distance all around us. We got the boys to bed and got ready ourselves and then the real displays began. At about 11:30 we saw out our bedroom window the show that everyone described to us. Fireworks just filled the sky from every direction and as far as you could see. The closest display easily rivaled what Chicago or NY would put on for the 4th. As I watched them though, I could not help but sing some patriotic songs and pray that God may continue to bless our nation. While I know the Chinese invented them, I cannot separate them from the meaning of the beginning of our great nation.

The fireworks continued throughout the night and were still going off in the morning. I got to check my e-mail, drink my coffee and watch fireworks off our balcony. Pretty cool!

Cake Factory Field Trip and the Superbowl Game

Danny's second field trip this year was to a cake factory. We were (okay I was, because I tried to put a happy, everything is fine face for Danny) worried though that we would not be able to go because the Wednesday before our ayi received news that her mother fell and was not doing well. We wanted her to go but were also left with the delima of what to do with Josh during the field trip. Here your ayi is your babysitter/daycare place, as since there are ayis that are reasonable, such services are unavailable here. Thankfully she called on Thursday, after a mass scramble to find an alternative, and said her mother was doing better and would come on Friday.

Our ayi arrived to tell me that her mother was doing worse, but said she could stay for the morning field trip. We agreed she should leave as soon as we got back. Danny and Iraced to school and stopped by the store in the club to buy some Teddy Grahams. He had been wanting them for weeks, and I thought it woud be a great thing to bring as our snack on the bus. He was so excited by the idea. (Isn't it wonderful how the small things excite our little ones!)

The cake factory was a lot of fun. They showed us a short film in Chinese about frosting a cake. Then we were ushered into a little holding room where we were blasted with air. After this "cleaning", we traveled down a long hallway and watched the workers making cakes. Once we reached the second floor the kids were handed smocks so they could decorate their own cake. If only I had a video camera to tape Danny and his friend Tayton's facial expressions when they were handed the pink smock. I quickly tried to console both of them and we actually got them to put them on.

Decorating the cake was great. They were given little cakes on top of a lazy susan cake platter. Watching the four and three year olds decorate was so neat. They really got into it and were quite proud of their creations. After working on the cakes the kids were able to play in a really neat area that had a indoor jungle gym and lots of fun toys. We then boarded the buses and headed back home. Our ayi left and we prayed that all would be okay. She was already planning on being gone for Chinese New Year, but this added an extra week to her leave. I pray I will make it through without her. With my condition, I just cannot do a lot anymore.

The superbowl was Monday and as the Colts were playing the Saints we had to be there. Drew Brees for the Saints played at Purdue while Dustin and I were at school, so we were looking forward to seeing the home town play his team.

We originally planned going to a bar/restaurant further from our house, but were blessed that one right down the street from our house was opening up for the game. It was a great time, except to have to watch the Colts lose. The bar/restaurant is run by local expats, and have a very kid friendly atmosphere of no smoking if kids are present. As the superbowl for us was on at 7am, they served a breakfast. They had a great corner with a giant sofa and tables that we took over. They were extremely sweet and while they did not have coffee to serve (my drink of choice with breakfast) she later made a coffee run across the street to Starbucks for anyone who wanted something. The kids were great and went between watching, eating, coloring and playing with the small toys we had brought with us. So, while we were sad walking home that the Colts lost, we were so happy that we were able to watch it here.

We Thought We Were in Control

Life in China is quite fascinating, as there are so many stresses that one would not imagine here. It begins with those that you would not even realize would be a big issue like trying to find cleaning agents that work, safe to have around children, and are for the purpose you want (the best is how on the foreign imports they put the Chinese label on top of the English directions, so you have to guess at what needs to be done) and then there are the massive stresses like our spouses jobs, their travel, fitting into not only a different culture, but melding an extremely international culture together.

Yet from these stresses and the crazy life we live here, flows such a beautiful blessing from God. Our growth in our faith and our understanding. We are clearly shown over and over here that we are not the ones in control. God is in control. Our job is to Trust him in all things. That when things do not go as planned (which is like a daily thing here--whether it is in our lives or our friends' lives) there is a plan and this change will be okay. It may not be what we want, but it will be okay.

What has brought this to the top of my mind today is that we are in the process of moving to a house in a neighboring community. It was actually cheaper to rent than our current apartment. We have paid three months rent, ordered some furniture to be built, and just got word last night that the landlord will be unable to secure the membership to the club where we currently live. This was part of the our contract with her, but it looks like it will be impossible to acquire.

So, where we were plugging along thinking everything was in control, now the insane part of life here pops out again. The club here is the place that I spend most of my time at, between the school activities, the parks and the pools (I still have not gotten to the gym here) and meeting friends here, it is also where Danny takes soccer lessons. The new management is trying to enforce a rule that they will not sell memberships to you if you live in the neighboring communities. They also are not allowing the lifetime memberships to be transferrable. This is quite crazy in that they literally are cutting off a huge part of the people that pay money on a daily basis at their club (Most people I know live in the neighboring communities). These people unlike us may have a membership for a little while longer, but when they go to renew it or transfer to the next expatriate in their company they will run into problems. It baffels Dustin and I why any company would want less money coming in. Dustin is going to sit down with them tomorrow and see if we can come up with some solution.

Yet, even if they do not, Dustin and Iare going to continue in our process to move (we could try and use the clause in the contract to get out of the lease and get the rent already paid back, but then we would have to see if our current place has been rented out yet and what new price she would be trying to charge us). We decided that in a house, we can get a jungle gym for the kids to play on and build a sand box just like we have in the US. Our new place does have a clubhouse and pool, it is just not as fancy or offer nearly as much to its members. I spoke with my friend Lindsay and she suggested we put the boys in soccer at the British school (also just down the road). So, in the end, while it is not what we necessarily wanted, it is something that we are going to accept and realize that it will be okay. We will figure out and adjust to the change. God is in control (thankgoodness) and this brings me such peace.