Our First Week in AZ - Praise and Prayer Requests

It looks like we found a house! We signed the lease today and should move in on Wednesday or Thursday of this week. The Lord was definitely merciful and faithful to provide. Monday evening after we got here, we drove around to get the lay of the land and an idea of which neighborhoods would be most ideal. Tuesday morning we began calling places and quickly realized that with it being the moving season for the military population, houses that had been listed for months were flying off the market if they were newer and in one of the safer, more desirable locations. We decided to narrow our search to the southeast side of Tucson where a lot of other military families live. It is still relatively close to the base and within our price range, but farther away from the heavy crime areas that are right near the base.

Our first choice (based on the pictures on the MLS) was already rented, but we were able to get an appointment that afternoon to see our second choice. In the meantime we went to see one other house, but it backed up to a small shopping center that had a lot of vacancies and was in one of the neighborhoods that is closer to the base. One of my biggest criteria was whether I would feel safe in the house by myself when John is deployed, this house just didn't fit the bill. So we drove around a little more looking at some other neighborhoods and then went back to our hotel to wait for our appointment (no one else had called us back on any other houses). We decided that if the house met our needs we would say yes to it. With the rental market being what it is, we couldn't afford to wait for the "perfect" house and so we set a goal of good enough. Anyone who knows me knows that setting a goal of adequate or good enough is quite an accomplishment for my perfectionist self. The house absolutely was good enough, in truth it is more than adequate.

So we basically found our house our first full day in Tucson! It was actually hard to understand why it was still available, it was like the Lord had it waiting for us. The homeowners are upside down (as most everyone is in AZ), so that was concerning, but they have been successfully renting the house for many years. We were also able to get the homeowners to agree to a foreclosure clause requiring them to notify us within 5 days if they are in any stage of foreclosure and allowing us to break the lease without penalty in that case.

Since we found our house so quickly, I was able to begin working on my autobiography for our application for our new home study with Dillon Southwest. Since Joshua isn't yet home with us, we basically have to do a whole new home study in Arizona and then finalize the adoption here. Arizona law requires that the home study be certified by the court so we have to do almost everything all over again. The good news is that it costs 1/3 of what it costs in Maryland and you don't have to hire a lawyer to finalize the adoption; the county lawyer can represent us. I am hoping to have the application complete this week, so that I am free to focus on the house once we get our household goods delivered.

John is taking his certification exam to become a Family Nurse Practitioner as I write this, please be praying for his success. Update - he passed!!!! So proud of my hubby!

I have also been dealing with a very painful back injury and would love prayer for healing. I actually don't know when I injured it, maybe it was just a combination of all the bending and lifting with the move followed by the drive here. By our final day of driving I was in agony and it has only mildly improved since then. It hurts to bend over, it hurts to stand up, it hurts to sit down, and frequently spasms. I have 27 pound little boy to start picking up! I really want to be feeling better very soon!

No news to report on the adoption front. We are going on week 5 of waiting for EP approval, average is 4-6 weeks, so it could be any day now. After that it is another 1-3 weeks until travel call, though I am thinking 3 weeks is more likely based on the fact that the last group took at least 3 weeks and with an October ATK date, we are one of the last families in that group. I am feeling more ready everyday to meet our boy!!!!

We Are "Home"

2,400 miles later.... and we are "home," or at least at our temporary one at Davis Monthan AFB temporary lodging. It is actually super nice, much nicer than the temporary lodging facility at Eglin AFB (for my friends there who suffered through them)! John checked in at the housing office and unfortunately there is no availability for company grade officers (5 people ahead of us and no one moving out for 30-60 days). So it looks like it will be off-base housing for us. Please be praying we find a place quickly, specifically one in which the homeowner isn't in danger of foreclosure - there is a lot of that out here.

First impressions of AZ: 1) Love the mountains and the desert landscape - just beautiful, 2) A dry heat really does make a difference in how hot it feels (I really dislike humidity), 3) However, the sun is still blazing hot.

What I have learned already: 1) A dirt devil is not just a vacuum cleaner brand, 2) Out here sunglasses aren't just a fashionable accessory, 3) Driving through the crosswinds on the mountain roads should count as exercise, 4) Re-fuel whenever you can because it could be miles before you come across another gas station (thankfully I didn't have to learn this the hard way).

And the house hunt starts........NOW.

In a sun-scorched land...

As I find myself tempted to worry and fret over whether we will find a  house in time, especially with yesterday's great news creating an additional sense of urgency, I realized that I needed to arm myself with the Truth. So I began searching out Bible verses about God's provision and was led to this verse:

"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58:11

Hmmm, a "sun-scorched land," that sounds like Arizona to me :-) .

So I decided that this will be my verse to return to every time I am tempted to worry and be fearful. My Heavenly Father knows all my needs and has promised to meet them "according to His  glorious riches in Christ Jesus" Philippians 4:19.

"Day by day, and with each passing moment, Strength I find to meet my trials here; Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment, I've no cause for worry or for fear." 
Lyrics by Lina Sandell

Less Than a Month Until the Big Move (to Tucson, AZ!)

I know I put the news on Facebook, but I don't think I posted it here yet. It is official we are moving to Tucson, AZ. I wonder how long I will live there before I don't have to think about how to spell Tucson ('c' before 's'). Based on how it's pronounced, don't you think it would make sense that the 's' would go before the 'c'? So it appears that 2-4 years of good hair days are in my future.

I have mixed feelings about the move. Part of me loves the adventure and the chance to explore a new area. I feel I haven't lived where I want to live yet (if that makes any sense). So who knows maybe Arizona is the place where we would want to live, though I am pretty sure that place is Colorado even though I have never been there, or maybe Texas :-)

The other part of me is so sad to say good-bye once again. Since we lived in the DC area before we lived in FL, this is the second time we are saying good-bye to many of our friends here. But what I didn't expect with us being in this area for only 2 years was to have to say good-bye to new friends. But we will have to and though it is hard, I wouldn't want to change a thing because we have met some truly wonderful people. It is especially sad to me to be saying good-bye to the friends I have met recently who have or are adopting from Korea because of the bond we share.

It is scary to think about starting over in a completely new area. I have been to Arizona only once before (a work trip to Phoenix), so I really don't know what it's like there. John grew up in New Mexico so he has a greater familiarity with the southwest and is excited about moving back west - he is not a fan of the east coast at all. Being a bit shy and awkward socially, it is also really intimidating to me to make new friends. I find the first year at a new place is often a very lonely time. What makes this upcoming move a bit more difficult for me is that we will be going through it at such a major transition point in our lives as we become parents for the first time. Since John's last 2 years of school have been absolutely crazy and we really haven't gotten to spend much time with each other, I am really hoping we can just use the time while we don't know many people to reconnect with each other. Plus it will make "cocooning" with Joshua during our transition time much easier with less pressure to see friends and family.

There is one really bright spot for me in all this - a true "God thing." When I first posted about our move, mentioning that Arizona was a possibility, Christy left me a comment that she may also be moving to AZ. Not too long after that Grace organized a group of adoptive families (and adoptive families-to-be) to go to the Lunar New Year celebration at KUMC in Virginia. When I found out Christy was going to be there, I had this feeling that I needed to go, that she was someone I was supposed to get to know. Well fast forward till now, and guess what, Christy and I will be living only an hour from each other in AZ! An hour may sound like a lot, but after living in the DC area, I can tell you it is nothing. It takes me an hour due to traffic to meet up with Christy right now. How amazing is this: 2 women connect through blogging, both love the Lord, both live in the DC area, both are adopting from Korea, both are military spouses, and both end up moving to AZ!!!! How cool is that! To know I will have a friend nearby is such a blessing and is really helping to make this move more bearable. I love that we will be able to go to the airport for each other to celebrate our children's homecoming, set up a weekly play date, and just be there to support one another.

I do have a prayer request. We don't have the time or the finances for a house hunting trip right now, so please be praying we find a house quickly once we get out there. The new base housing is very nice, so we put an application in. We are currently #17 out of 18 on the waitlist. Not sure what are chances are of being offered a house in time so please keep us in your prayers.

We Have a House!

We found a great house! We finally signed the lease yesterday after waiting for a few days to hear whether we were approved by the homeowner. We picked up the keys today. It has everything we were hoping for: wood floors in the living room, a fireplace, 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, den, sun room, fenced-in back yard, plenty of storage space in the basement, and a great location. We are inside the beltway, within 5 minutes of 495 and a metro station. John's commute should not ever be more than 30 minutes, and in the morning it should be far less.

We really like our landlord. He lives here in the area and spent a portion of his childhood in the house. The house belonged to his mother, but she is now living in an assisted living facility. He came in after his mother moved out and renovated most of the house. I like that this house was not a flip or an investment property for him. It makes us feel a lot more secure about the situation given all the foreclosures we hear about. Also, Montgomery county has a lot of protection for tenants, especially when compared to Florida. It is almost impossible to evict a tenant here and he is by law not allowed to place the house on the market during the 2 years of our lease.

We will probably stay with my cousin for a couple more days before moving in because the moving company isn't able to deliver our stuff until Thursday. We are very excited about the house and can't wait to get settled in. It has been difficult just waiting around. I think John and I both started to get very frustrated while we waited to hear whether or not we had the house. But God is faithful and He definitely provided for us. We are very thankful.