Moving Update

Okay, so here's the deal...

We found a place to live. I think I mentioned it before. Our friends live in a four-plex (like four houses in one) on the other side of town. While we wanted a single family home with a yard and a mailbox on the street in front of the house, it was not to be. But we didn't want to live in an apartment anymore. This is a happy medium. One of the chunks of house is opening up. The house is an upgrade on a number of fronts; two bathrooms (right now we have one), a garage, washer/dryer hookups, a big kitchen, better storage, etc. The best part, though, is that we'd be living next to our great new friends, who have a daughter Ben's age, lead a Bible study, and are all-around wonderful people. The owner is fantastic, and while it's not ideal, it's a great compromise. And did I mention that we'd be getting all this for $200 less than what we pay now for our Black Hole? You can see why I was excited.

We found out about this about a month ago, which was perfect timing. Our lease here is up September 30, and if we were to move out we'd need to give 30-day notice, which would have fallen around September 1. The hitch was that the date that the current tenants were moving remained a mystery. They're moving into a 3-bedroom unit in another fourplex the next street over, and they're doing some remodeling before-hand. So everything hinged on the remodel of the 3-bedroom being finished. With Sept. 1 quickly approaching, we were getting nervous because the tenants and the property manager had no estimated timeline for us. They could be done in two weeks, two months--no idea. So we waited. A couple of days before the deadline, we met the tenants, and they said they would be done with the remodel in a couple of days and would be moving within a week or so. Excited, we gave our 30-day notice.

About a week later, the property manager told us that the tile guys had not finished in the remodel and that there was still no approximate date for the move. Crap. We gave our notice, and now it looks like the new place would not be ready Sept. 30. The property manager told us she'd let us know when she knew something. So we waited some more.

As of a few days ago, the tile guys still weren't done, no one had moved anywhere, and no one seemed to know when anything was going to happen. In the meantime it was obvious we wouldn't be able to move into the new place on the 30th, but we'd already given our notice. Matt and I discussed all of our options. The Gibbses (our friends and hopefully new neighbors) graciously offered for us to stay with them in the interim. Four adults and two toddlers in a two-bedroom? While we were overwhelmed and grateful at their sweet offer, we had a few other options that may be better. While we gave our notice on the 1st, we didn't sign the paper they subsequently gave us to make it official. So legally, according to Matt anyway, we haven't given our notice. So we're going to talk to them this weekend about staying a little longer. Our rent will go up $200 a month for not having a lease, but at this point we really don't have any other viable options.

On Wednesday the property manager called and said we could move in four weeks, possibly sooner. So now at least we have a timeline. It's later than we wanted, BUT at least we know what the crap is going on. Sigh.

Some other hitches: Four weeks from Wednesday is my birthday. We were going to maybe have a party that weekend and play hooky and go to Disneyland on the actual day of my birth. With the move and all of the car crap we've ended up with, all we can really afford to do to celebrate my birthday is, well, move, which isn't the most fun birthday I've ever had, but at least I will be celebrating somewhere else besides The Black Hole. We've also just found out that my uncle is getting married at Lake Havasu that weekend. My family, which is spread all over the country now, will all be there, including a couple of uncles and my aunt, none of whom I've seen in a long time, two of whom have never met Ben. Plus, I've never been to Lake Havasu and I've always wanted to. I reeeeeeeally want to go. Can we afford it? Not really. Do we have the time? Not really. Is it at all a viable option? Not really. Does that make me sad? Yep.

So to sum up: we finally get to move, but at the same time as my uncle's wedding in Lake Havasu, my theoretical birthday party, and my theoretical birthday Disneyland trip. And we might be homeless for two weeks. Or just be paying through the nose with my birthday money to live in a place we hate.

I'm going to think of the positives, though.

1. We finally get to move.
2. We'll get to live by our friends.
3. We'll have a better home that is cheaper.
4. Ben will have a playmate.
5. My uncle is getting married.
6. At the end of this month I will be getting my first paycheck in two months. Which means that while we have to fork out a bunch of money, we will actually have it to fork out.
7. While it is not likely that I will be able to go on a mini vacation and see my uncle get married, I think my faraway family members that I haven't seen in years will be coming to California after, so I will probably get to see them then.
8. We can probably stay in our current place for those two extra weeks, so we will not be homeless.
9. We both have jobs.
10. We finally get to move.

So that's where we're at with moving. I will let you know if and when anything changes. For now, please pray that everything goes more smoothly from here on out, and if possible, that we could maybe move at least the weekend before my birthday, if not sooner, so that we can save as much time and money as possible.