Redeemed, Rooted and Rerouted: To a Deluxe Apartment in the Sky...

We've moved on up to a deluxe apartment in the sky...

Our own little version of house-hunters international finally came to end almost one whole month ago when we settled on one place. It wasn't our dream place. It wasn't the house with the yard and fruit trees on a cute little backstreet of Sofia, and there was no bathtub. But like all those international house-hunters, you learn you can't get everything you want and sometimes, you have to lay down all those crazy expectations. We did find a great place that we love and that already feels like home. We are on the fifth floor of a sixteen story concrete building. There is a beautiful park and playground outside that is always full of children riding bikes and playing. There is a great little store right at the bottom of our stairs full of fresh fruits, veggies and other daily necessities that makes life so much easier. We are within walking distance of the city center, metros, trams and buses that will take us wherever we need to go in the city. And the apartment itself is so lovely. We are so thrilled the Lord opened the door for us to live here in this great location, and we prayerfully wait to see how He is going to use us and grow us here in this new home.

The moving-in process was chaotic to say the least. If you've ever moved with kiddos, you know it's no easy feat. But moving internationally, with kids, is a special level of chaos that can only make you think of Dante's Inferno at every new box and every new bag of IKEA screws. We had some furniture and belongings shipped from SE Asia, we had 15 suitcases that we brought from the states full of winter boots, coats, homeschool materials, toys and every other thing we could throw in there including American candy for those hard days we knew were on the horizon. And then we descended on IKEA for beds and a few more odds and ends for our new home.

Brian and his helpers put together 4 beds, 3 wardrobes (because only American homes are blessed with closets), 1 loveseat, 1 ottoman, 1 coffee table, 1 tv stand, 2 bookshelves, and 2 chests of drawers.

1 truck load of boxes that was finally released from customs and delivered,

and with it all, this was our new circle of ... Well, this was our reality for several days.

And this.

Where does one put all of this trash? You sneak it through the halls, down the small elevator and to the small little dumpsters outside your building when no one is looking so you don't get yelled at for filling up the dumpster. Brian only got fussed at once, but it was a good verbal lashing. So after that, we made the kids take out the trash because we figured surely they wouldn't yell at the beautiful blonde children. Every time we left the building, we took a load down. We would run by the dumpster and do a dive and dump. Head down! Throw it in and run!

Once the dust and trash started to clear, the kids had fun playing with the boxes. They built houses, chairs, and spaceships with their new brown toys. We should've just skipped IKEA and let our children build our furniture out of all of that cardboard. I could've slept in a cardboard spaceship for a while. I was so tired I could've slept anywhere.

Today, almost a month later, the kids are playing in their rooms, there are pictures on the walls, our favorite cozy blankets are on our beds, and there is food in the fridge. Through the open windows, I can hear the traffic of Sofia and the sounds of children playing on the playground downstairs. And it truly feels like home. We are so thankful. And all of those things I wanted, like a yard... well, maybe I just don't need them. Maybe God has provided in other ways. Maybe this is where my kids will make some of the best memories of their childhood--not in a private fenced-in backyard, but in a public space where tons of kids come and go every day. Maybe I will make great mom friends here. Maybe God will open up doors for us to see families meet Him, right there, in that public space, with car horns and revving engines in the background. Maybe God will allow us to build deep and meaningful relationships with the neighbors in this giant concrete building. Maybe people will bow their heads in humble surrender right here on my new loveseat.

Maybe we don't get all we wanted or hoped for, but maybe this is the good God has for us and for this neighborhood to know Him for His glory.

And so today we thank God

for a great swing

that's so fun.

We thank Him for a tree to climb because our babies love climbing trees, and as silly as it may seem, it was one of my prayers. Give them a place to run and trees to climb.