Oh, The Joys of Life!!!

...and the saga begins.

Let's see...Saturday evening we drove to Burch's. I had laundry to do and so we spent the night since church was in the morning. When we returned home, I went to the freezer to pull something out, and...the ice cubes were melted and my meat was not frozen anymore!!! Great, so I opened the fridge, and it was barely cool. There wasn't much we could do late Sunday night, so we hoped for the best and went to bed. The next morning, we called Burch's and cried "HELP!!!" They so graciously came over with a cooler and ice. Philip and Michael loaded the fridge onto our trailer for a trip back into Irapuato and Home Depot. Collette stayed with me and the kids. We cooked up all the meat and sorted through the food items. After that, Collette was looking for other things to do. So, having tons of things that needed done (but not knowing where to start myself), I gave her the job of making me a kitchen curtain! Very important, you know! (Ha!) Below is the finished project ~ she did an awesome job! This picture also shows our water filtering system. This was a gift from my in-laws. It works great and is such a blessing!


Okay...back to my story. We had a "guarantee" on our fridge, but Home Depot said it would take 12 days for someone to look/fix it. Michael was like, "We kind of need one now." They wouldn't give his money back, but decided they could give him store credit if he wanted something else. And so, we now have a washer! It equaled the same exact price of the refrigerator. Great plan, except we still didn't have a fridge. Michael and Philip then had to drive all the way to Leon to the Home Depot there to find a fridge just like we had before. Fortunately, they had one left for the same price as before. Now we're working on Refrigerator #2 and once more, hoping for the best! So far, so good!



I thought I would share some other pictures with you too...I'm not sure if I have mentioned the cement walls before. This is not a problem, except I'm used to drywall where I can pound a nail in and hang a picture, or curtains, or... anyway, it's not quite that easy now! You have to use a special drill and bit and then put a plastic "jigger" or wood piece in to have something to attach your screw or nail to. All that being said, we have no blinds or curtains up (except the kitchen now - I cheated with a tension rod). Above all, we kind of need some privacy sometimes and also when the sun beats in, it's kind of nice to block it out a little. We tried hanging sheets with duck tape, but that lasted about 5 minutes!! My next solution...copy paper taped to the windows!!! It doesn't look fancy, but hey, it works for now!!! Until we get all the proper equipment to install such things as blinds and curtains, this will do! (I also think I'll need to install some motivation in my husband for his help...!!!)

The living room window (with the unfinished trim above).

Our bedroom window with a little screen left open so the air can blow...(and the finished trim).

Tidbits From Our House

Sorry for the lack of posting this past week. We've been moving into our house and didn't get our internet set up until Thursday.

A few interesting tidbits from this past week:

1) We actually moved into our house on Tuesday, but in order to sleep there that night, we needed to buy a mattress and box spring. No problem. Michael and Philip went into town and returned with what we needed. My fellow missionary friend (who prefers to remain anonymous ~ Ha!Ha!) helped me set up our bed, put on sheets, etc... That night when we finally crawled into bed, we realized something was dreadfully wrong! After all the traveling we have done, this bed had to be the WORST we have ever slept on. Needless to say, we tossed and turned all night long! The next day, Philip came over to help us and Michael mentioned that we should probably take the mattress back, it was soooo horrible... when they actually got looking at the bed, they realized the box springs were upside down!!!! What a difference!

2) We decided to borrow a small refrigerator from our landlords until we came out to Texas in May and then we were going to buy one in the states. (They're typically much larger for about the same price.) Anyway, we brought it in, plugged it in...and after a whole night, it was no where close to being cold! So, we decided it was important to go ahead and buy a refrigerator down here. (Buying ice daily for a little cooler would start getting old, quick!!) We went shopping on Wednesday and was able to find a 15/16 cubit ft., Whirlpool refrigerator for around $380.00. That's a very good price down here and we even saved on paying duty at the border...

3) In the midst of all this, we basically have no furniture. We sold everything so we could actually move here in "one piece"! This means, we have been eating our meals on the floor. This was also getting a little old, so on Friday we went shopping for a table and chairs. Collette Burch went with us into Leon, and we drove around to all these little places that sold rustic furniture. It was fun ~ and I just loved the country looking wood stuff! Once again, we feel the Lord led us to a good deal, and we found a rustic looking wood table with six chairs for around $390.00! A very good deal down here (or in the States if you compare it to Amish furniture). It is very beautiful and has a carved inset with glass over it! It goes perfectly with our house!!



4) We also found wood/wire light fixtures that are just what I wanted for dirt cheap. Will post pictures of them after they are installed.

Here's a picture of half the kitchen ~ painted, but not decorated.

...and a close up of the painting job (and a wreath to add some excitement! Ha!)

Hopefully I'll have more pictures coming as we continue to unpack and set up housekeeping! Until then...

Highlights

Well, not too much been going on here. Monday, we finished the paper work for House #4 and received our keys. Let the fun begin!

Tuesday, we bought some paint and started on the beautiful trim work :-) Got back to Burch's in time to listen to IHC online.

Wednesday and Thursday we spent getting ready for Thursday night (see below) and we also listened to almost all of IHC online. It was very good!

Here in the Salamanca church, we changed the Thursday night prayer meeting service to Bible Study night. Philip took the men, Collete had the ladies and Michael was in charge of the kids. He was a nervous wreck about speaking in Spanish and all that...but, he did a good job! I just played the piano for the songs and tried to keep my kids in line! Ha! Ha! Kyle was SOOOOO wound up...I'm looking for church seats that have seat belts attached to them...let me know if you see any!

Oh well...Friday and Saturday are dedicated to painting. I hope we get most of it done and can move in the beginning of next week.

Refreshments after church.

House Decision!

Well, we have made our choice. We feel like House #4 is our best option! We are very excited and can't wait to move in! We made our deposit, but still have to wait on one more signature - and that should happen sometime next week. Meantime, we're allowed to go in and paint (that blue-trim around the ceiling) and start setting up! Will post pictures when we start working on the place.

Thank the Lord, the actual amount of our rent is a little cheaper than what was advertised in the paper!

Thanks also for all your comments...I have enjoyed them!

House #5,6,7,8

House #5...was okay, but too many steps for kids and not worth taking pictures of.

House #6

The same lady who was a realtor on #5, showed us this absolutely beautiful house next. It used to be a 'hacienda'. It was totally made out of stone and wood. I love country decorating, and this would be a dream to work with, but of course, it was way too expensive! Check out these pictures.

The entry/living room.

The kitchen.

The bathroom.

Part of the bedroom. Partial stone wall and wooden beams for the ceiling.

And then Kyle wanted his picture taken.

House #7...another house from the lady realtor, but even more steps than #5. I can just imagine hauling all our goods up these steps. We wouldn't even be able to fit our trailer up the narrow street to get to the steps!! I wasn't in the mood to take pictures there either!

And for the real winner...

House #8

We realized right away that this place would NOT work (without a lot of hard work), but I knew all my blog readers would enjoy the colorful photo shoot!!!

The entry/living room.

The above picture is the kitchen!

A bedroom...(nice mattress)!!

Maybe a laundry area??!!

Yep, it was ALL BRIGHT BLUE!! ...and of course, the only house that had a bathtub!

Anyway, todays findings brought us right back to yesterday's conclusion. Is it #3 or #4? Keep posted for more details.

House #4

House #4

...A very nice place with very nice people who own it. Right now, this might be our no.1 choice, but there still are a few drawbacks.

*It is out in the country > meaning it takes 10-15 to get into town.
*I really din't care for the small town we went through before we got there.
*The property is totally surrounded by a fence and electronic gate.
*There would be room inside or outside for the kids to play.
*A lot more kitchen space > but I would need to get my own stove and refrigerator.
*Big bedrooms with large closets in each.
*2 bathrooms.
*Hook-up for washer/dryer.
*We would need to buy all of the lighting fixtures.
*And I would love to paint the bright blue color, something else!!
*Telephone and Internet connection is available!
*And believe it or not, ALL of the rooms in this house have the domed brick ceilings. Awesome!!
*Last, but not least, the price is right!

Another problem, the land-owner is leaving for Germany on Friday and won't be back until November. So, if we would like this place, we kind of need to know in the next two days. Would you help us pray that we would know what to do? Should we continue to look, or just pick one of these places?

Anyway...I can hardly keep my eyes open, so I'm headed for bed...

House #3

This house is brand new and absolutely gorgeous! A few small quirks, but definitely a possibility.

House #3

It is located along the "Panaramica" and so it has a beautiful view. It is very close to down-town - Michael could basically walk to school in around 15 minutes and I would only be 5 min. away from a mall and large supermarket! It is totally surrounded by a gate, with only 6 or so other houses inside. A stove and refrigerator would be included. The entry room ceiling is in the shape of a dome, laid with brick ~ beautiful!!!

The negative: two small bedrooms. The kids' room is shaped really funny and so it would be hard to fit a crib and a single bed into it. Also the kids wouldn't have much opportunity for a good play place. The price is just a little more than what we wanted to pay...but it is a good price for a new house in that area.

House #2

House #2

...is not worth mentioning! I didn't even take pictures (although I should have). You'all would have loved them!! It kind of felt like a dungeon! No joke! You walked in the front door, which was right off the road, and immediately had to walk down a huge flight of steps. There were two small bedrooms and a small bathroom on this floor. Then you walked down a concrete winding staircase and arrived in the living room and kitchen (if you could call it that)! It was one of the most interesting places I have ever seen ~ but not what we were looking for!! Oh, and the parking was right on the street. That means "side-swipe" zone!

House #1

We went looking for a house again today. We were able to go through 4 of them. I tried to take some pictures not only for our reference, but also for your curiosity's sake. If you have any opinions, we would be glad to hear them!!!

House #1

This is actually a very large house inside. It has a garage, 3 large bedrooms, 3 baths, large living room/dining room, a place for laundry hook-up...and a DISGUSTING kitchen!!! What you see below is what you get. The only cupboards were below the sink...

The over-all space of the house would be nice after doing months of deputation, but it would take forever to clean it! Ugh...not my favorite hobby!!

This house had a nice staircase/stairwell going to the bottom level. Probably not ideal for small kids. On the brighter side, it was in a very nice community and pretty close in town for Michael's commute to school.

House Shopping

Today we went to Guanajuato to start our search for a house. When we first came into town, we went through some colonias and found the house below right away. Unfortunately, it is VERY small!

We spent the rest of the afternoon with a newspaper in our hands, driving around this large city. We did find an empty house, found out who it belonged to, went to where the guy worked...only to find that he's out of town until next week. Other than that, not very many prospects. We do have a few numbers to call out of the paper, so hopefully we'll be able to make a little more headway. Please keep us in your prayers that we would find the house that's right for us, with the right price and reasonably soon!!

Below are various pictures of Guanajuato.

Travel Update II

Well, we've made it safely to Salamanca, Mexico. We had no problems at the border and after waiting through the migration process, we have our visas and vehicle permit for 180 days.

PRAISE THE LORD!!

Driving through the mountains...

This picture holds no real significance, but we were traveling around 70 mph, and I snapped the picture out the window. I was just impressed with the clarity, given the circumstances.

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While we were still in Texas, the kids were able to play at the playground on the RGBI campus. Thus, the following pictures!

Travel Update I

Yesterday was a long travel day for the kids and I...but, we have arrived in Texas safe and sound! Michael and Philip got in around 4 a.m...now they're trying to catch up on some sleep before we head into Mexico.

The boys and I with my Mom & Dad at the airport.

Kyle..."flying high"!

"Aunt Collette" and Taylor.

(although, I think I heard Kyle call her "mam-maw")

Kyle was all tuckered out after the long trip!

Mommy & Taylor "chillin' " here in South Texas!

We're Finally Moving!

We can hardly believe it...the "BIG WEEK" has finally arrived! Monday was spent packing our truck and trailer, trying to cram in everything we could! Today around 10:30, Michael and Philip Burch left for the long drive to Texas. They are stopping in Knoxville, TN tonight for a quick sleep and heading out early in the morning. Tomorrow, Collette Burch, the kids and I are flying to Texas. If everything goes as planned, we should meet up with the guys late Wednesday night. (Well, they'll probably come in while we're sleeping!) We will spend Thursday and Friday in Texas, re-packing some stuff and probably buying a few other essentials and then Saturday morning, we will head for the border and pray for an uneventful crossing! We would appreciate your prayers as we make this journey.

THANKS!!!!!!!!!!!

p.s. Pictures will be coming at a later date.