Moving Day....6th time is a charm!

Yes, 6th time...in the last 3 years! I should be total pro by this point and yet I still have trouble getting everything together. This move did take a little different spin though, knowing that I will be moving to Ethiopia just 6 months from now. Since I just moved literally around the corner, I'm a little embarrassed to say that it still took 3 hours to get it all over here...maybe because the truck held a slight resemblance to this...



As soon as I walked in the new apartment with my first load, I was greeted by a HUGE roach crawling across my wall. Um....not cool. Of course, my neighbors got to know me really quickly as I let out a blood-curdling scream. I should probably explain that I have a bit of an irrational fear of roaches. Not sure why...maybe because my dad used to catch them when I was little, chase me around the house, and then throw the live bug on me. Thank goodness my friend Toni's husband was helping me move and was immediately recruited to take care of the intruder...he was laughing hysterically the entire time. I found absolutely no humor in the situation! I guess having roaches is the payoff for getting a 1st-floor apartment. All I can say though is that the exterminator will have me as a new best friend very soon. :)

Other than the bug trauma, the move went really well! The Lodge apartment management has been wonderful and so accommodating! They actually agreed to pay for the entire move - moving company, utility transfer fees and slashed $100 off my rent each month!! I was shocked! I shouldn't have been, considering I have been praying the last 2 weeks for my monthly expenses to somehow be reduced so I could better prepare for Ethiopia....never expected my prayer to be answered this way though! It's sad that I still act so shocked when the Lord comes up with a totally brilliant way of answering my requests...His way is ALWAYS so much better than mine!

My next goal is to get everything set up in the apartment in the next few weeks, and not months. I have a bad track record of completely unpacking before about 4 months of living somewhere. Thanks Toni for all your help (and dragging Doug along too!)...Couldn't have done it without y'all!!