"I'll take it from here. Thanks for trusting me"

This has been one whirlwind day, and I really should be spending time on homework but I just can't wait to share with everyone what happened.  We woke up early today (well...I woke us up early, sorry hun!) and we went into Bellingham to see our new apartment around 9:30am.  If you have never signed an apartment lease without first seeing it, let me tell you....your nerves go crazy.  I tried not to show it, but I was very nervous while signing that 12 month lease. Will it be big enough? Will it be clean? Will Kaylee like it?  Can we really afford it?  We signed, got the keys, and then went to take a look.  When we first walked up to the entrance we started to get a bit nervous because it looked a little beat up.  However, most apartments are so I wasn't worried, yet.  Then we walked in and Jon and I both became upset.  Jon was visibly irritated and dissappointed.  I tried to keep my spirits up and reminded him that I could make this a nice place for us and the issues we see now were just cosmetic.  A home is what you make of it, and the love you share inside of it anyway, right?  Well, the apartment itself was not clean.  The floors were very dirty and honestly we thought we would have to spend the entire next day cleaning.  I was heartbroken because I found this place after spending 3 hours each night for about 2 weeks.  I made the decision that we should go with it, and it is an affordable housing complex.  When I saw how dirty it was I thought that perhaps this is what affordable housing might be like, maybe WE are supposed to clean it before we move in? 

Although we were dissappointed, we accepted the fact that this was our new home and we would do our best with it, even if it meant cleaning for the next couple of days.  We knew that we had a roof over our head and we accepted what we had been given.  Then we walked back to the car and the leasing agent, Jessica, who I had worked with over the phone for a few weeks came out to talk to us.  She stated that she had rented out so many units this month that she had not personally inspected this one yet.  "How did it look?" she asked.  I replied, "We are going to have to do lots of cleaning honestly."  She then asked if one of us could come back with her to the unit so she could see it.  I stayed in the car with Kaylee while she watched Veggie Tales.  Jon and Jessica went back to the unit and she was shocked at what she saw.  She appologized for the condition of the apartment and began taking notes as to what needed to be changed.  She had a legal tablet in her hand and every single line on it was filled with something that either needed to be cleaned or replaced.  Included on the list was: deep cleaning of bathrooms and kitchen, new vinyl flooring throughout every room that had it, repositioning the toilet (apparently it was crooked?), a new heating unit in the kitchen, new countertops in the kitchen, and much more.  She immediately sent her maintenance and cleaning personnel to our unit to fix everything. The flooring guys will be there tomorrow. 

I'm amazed, and feel so very blessed.  We had accepted our apartment for what it was, what we thought was the best we could do.  God had bigger plans.  I honestly feel that our willingness to accept any roof over our head that we could get was trippled in blessings by Him once He knew we trusted Him.  I knew it was not the best it could be, but I knew God was taking care of us and it would get better.  It's almost like I felt Him saying "I'll take it from here, thank's for trusting me".   I know we have many people in our lives who doubt the faith that Jon and I have.  They wonder how we can pack up and move across the country based on faith that our God, whom they can't see or touch, will take care of us.  For those who we love dearly that doubt, I hope the blessings we encounter continue to affirm the promises God has already set out for us to discover.  The scarriest thing in life you can do is trust someone else with everything that is dear to your heart, but I know I can't trust anyone else with this much of my life.  No one is built to take care of it all but God, and I sure am glad of that fact!  

Also, before we even arrived at Jon's parent's house yesterday there was a voicemail on our phone.  A legal services company had called to schedule an interview with me on Friday.  It's a receptionist position that I applied for about 2 weeks ago, and I have an interview scheduled in downtown Bellingham tomorrow at 2pm.  I'm excited and nervous.  I know they will probably say I am overqualified but I hope that they see my heart and know that I just need a job so that we can take care of our family.  I'll let everyone know how that goes. 

Kaylee did okay today, but she is still confused. I can't wait until our apartment is set up and she understands this is her new home. She keeps asking to go home and every day she goes through the list of her daycare classmates and says "Jaymen in class? Kiki (Nikki) in class? Jenny in class? etc.  It breaks my heart to see that she understands they are not with her, but I just have to remember it will be okay. 
For now, tonight everyone.  We love you all!!