January 12th, 2016

Between driving across Kaiserslautern for E’s school four times a day and preparing to move, the past week has been somewhat of a blur. We have been slowly packing up again and moving boxes to the new house in preparation for moving day THIS Friday. We are far from being ready. Its crazy how much we “moved into” our temporary quarters the past two months!

Last weekend, we took a couple of loads of boxes to our new home and started feeling a little uneasy about our plans. We thought the house was beautiful but the lack of a yard and proximity towards the street concerned us. When we decided to move forward with the house back in December, our housing options were pretty limited. Feeling the urgency with school for E, we decided to make the best decision we could with what we had. We were grateful for Heir Schmidt and his kindness and figured that if it just didn’t work, we could always look for something else.

THEN…

On Monday morning (yesterday), hubby called me and told me of a house that just became available. It was located in the same village but had a large yard, a fence and sat back a little ways from the street. Since I was leaving E’s school, I decided to drive over and take a look. I was amazed to see how extensive the yard was and imagined the boys kicking balls, playing and having friends over. The house itself was smaller but seemed to have potential. After talking it over and seeking guidance about the possibility of switching our housing this close to our move-in date, we decided to give it a shot. I contacted the landlord and asked to take a look. We set up an appointment at 11am and started to pray for wisdom and discernment. Even lil S joined us as we prayed, asking for clarity and the ability to make a fast decision…not our forte.

A couple met us at the house. They too impressed us with their kindness. They raised a son who now studies in Austria. The house was built in 1965 and was actually the childhood home of the wife. As in all homes, there were pros and cons. The layout made good use of the smaller space and the yard was even bigger than we imagined. It lacked the beauty and character of Heir Schmidt’s house and had incredibly small bathrooms. A bachelor had lived in the home and left it needing some TLC and a deep cleaning. But, the landlords were open to allowing us to paint and helping make improvements where needed.

There were SO many factors up in the air. Yet, we both felt that this “new” house was a better fit for our family. In a HIGHLY UNUSUAL manner, we made a quick decision by a simple nod to each other and signed a new contract. We are the couple that takes FOREVER to pick a campsite for a few nights so this was HUGE for us!

After leaving the house, we both felt shocked that we went for it but also relieved that we did. We spent the rest of the day driving all around Kaiserslautern and the surrounding villages taking care of the myriad of details involved in the housing process. Amazingly, pieces fell into place and we were able to move forward. We scheduled a face to face meeting with our previous landlord, Heir Schmidt, to give our thirty day notice and explain our decision. This was, by far, the hardest piece. We felt horrible canceling our contract, especially so close to our move-in date. Neither one of us wanted to lose having him as our landlord or by any means communicate displeasure. We also felt bad about him losing tenants and expected income. Though our decision was not personal, it still put a knot in our throats. We have only known Heir Schmidt for a few weeks. Yet, he has quickly become dear to us.

He was disappointed and sad, yet incredibly gracious and honest. He told us that he understood the benefit of having a yard for the boys and not being so close to the street. Hubby met with him again today and he continues to impress us with his kindness. Its our hope that a friendship may grow and deepen between us all. We plan to have dinner together once we are settled into our new home.

So now we have one day to do a deep clean before the movers come on Thursday and we move in on Friday. Where’s my cleaning crew??!! Ugh! The amount of work that needs to be done in the next two days is overwhelming to say the least. However, I’m hopeful and see the good in it all.

I better get to bed! Here are a few pictures of the yard that will hopefully motivate us tomorrow us as we scrub like we have never scrubbed before! Auf Wiedersehen!