We first contacted Sheppard AFB in January about moving in a little earlier, March instead of May. After several weeks and phone calls we got a call from the housing office about two weeks ago, asking if we could be here on March 1st (4 days later). They couldn't guarantee a house for us, but we needed to get here. If they didn't we would stay in their temporary housing for a couple weeks until one came available.
We had four days. It was a whirlwind of activity. Canceling gym memberships, lessons, changing OB appointments, returning my harp, etc. Peter rented a UHAUL and they only had their largest size available, the 26' long one. Then we had the bright idea of trying to find furniture on craigslist to take with us. Until then , the only piece of furniture we owned was a bed. And we already had the truck. I was glued to craigslist for 2 days, barely missing some great deals. But we also found some great ones, like a couch, a dining room table, a washer and dryer, and office furniture for Peter's study. Peter went around on Saturday (day 3) and picked everything up, loading the truck like a puzzle fits together. Day four, we said goodbye to friends in CO and headed to Texas. What a fast and smooth four days.
We met with the housing office first thing in the morning. They told us the good news, they had ONE house available. The only thing was it was a big house with four bedrooms. "Is that a problem?" No, not at all. We went to look at it. The house itself is wonderful. It is on a quiet little street at the back of the subdivision with grey brick exterior and a little garden. It is HUGE and has a 2 car garage and even with all the furniture we bought, we can't yet fill it. We signed the lease and by 5:00pm we could start moving in. We figured out what each room would be and Peter started unloading unloading the smaller boxes from the truck. And that night we were able to sleep in our very own home, in the "we-just-moved-in style". And we met one of our neighbors that night who turns out to be a Christian. We might already have some friends!
What a wonderful gift and blessing to have this house and be able to move in and when I'm not so close to my due date too. We are so thankful. We'll be here for about 1.5 years while Peter goes through the 2nd and 3rd training schools. So if you ever want to come visit... you are always welcome! The Wisconsin address that you all have will stay as our permanent address, but you can also mail things directly to our house here:
Peter and Angela Sailhamer
1711 Knobb Hill
Sheppard AFB, TX 76311
Congrats! Your place looks WONDERFUL! I hope God blesses you with many new friends to entertain in it! And I sure hope we get to use a guest room one day!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your new home! And speaking of Texas, we just watched "The Sons of Katie Elder" on Friday evening (a great John Wayne Western), and these lines came back to me:
ReplyDelete"Texas is a woman, she used to say, a big, wild, beautiful woman. You raise a kid to where he's got some size, and there's Texas whispering in his ear and smiling, saying, 'Come and have some fun.'
'It's hard enough to raise children,' she'd say. 'But when you've got to fight Texas,
a mother hasn't a chance.'"
Oh, well, you are going to raise your child in Wisconsin and, besides, you're going to have a girl! (That's how we are voting!) But enjoy your days in Texas and watch every great Western movie you can while you are there! (Don't forget "Giant"!)
Thanks for the update!
Janet and crew