the new grube home

After being on the waiting list since August, and having arrived to Fort Bliss 3 whole months ago, I'd like to introduce you to our new home. It's lovely. And exactly what we wanted. I can't wait for you to come visit.

A little background: When arriving to a new army post and desiring to live in one of the government houses, it's important to get on the waiting list and... wait. Some posts are faster than others, but Fort Bliss is not one of these. But Fort Bliss is one of the few posts that has brand new housing for our rank. So nice!

God has been amazing in providing us a temporary house to stay in (a.k.a. house-sit) within the same neighborhood, allowing us to build some close friends that will soon become our for-real neighbors. And as I've lived in this borrowed house of ours, I've been able to do alot of observing and a lot of praying. It usually went something like this:

"Dear Lord, Thank you for providing a wonderful place for us to use that keeps us close to Jim's work and in a safe neighborhood (on post). But I'd really like to see my stuff again so we'd really like a home very soon. Preferably by the end of March, since that's when the owners of this house return. And... since we're talking of preferences, if you really wanted to know, God, I'd love for it to be one of the single story homes. And with a red front door... But I really would be happy with anything."

So, last week the lady from the Housing office called with the good news. And oh, by the way, she said, since she knew we were having a baby, she got me a one story home. She thought that would just be better.

I was floored.

I had to fight the tears. But, I was more floored when I hopped in my car in my pajamas with my mom on the phone and drove past our new address and screamed. Because, wouldn't you know, it had a red door.

Really, we just wanted a house. But God thought He'd give us that extra treat.

So here's our new neighborhood, that looks very southwest, I think:
And here's my favorite plant that's in the front yard:
And you'll notice by "yard", I mean rocks. The whole front yard is rocks. And half of the backyard is gravel. Gotta love living in a desert.

Wondering how I got these pictures without someone calling the MPs (military police)? Well, I parked down the street a bit and tried to look nonchalant with the camera behind my back. But I think I left subtle behind when I decided to peek in the backyard. No worries, it later became obvious the house was empty, so I quickly became "that girl" that was peeking in all the windows.

And there you have it. In exactly 6 days we will be the proud renters of a government house, all our own. And in exactly 7 days, all of our stuff will be dropped off by the movers - after nine months of storage. And in exactly 8 days, we should have the coveted internet in our very own home. I can't wait.

So, seriously, when can you come? We're going to have a killer housewarming party.