1,987,200 Seconds

23 days

552 hours.

33,120 minutes

or

1,987,200 seconds.

Any way you look at it, its been a long time since my last post. 

In the last 552 hours, I have...

Had the last day of the 2012/2013 school year.

Watched (and cried, of course) as Nick graduated.

Moved.

(and all that happened in a three day period)

Cleaned, organized, and closed up my classroom.

Helped friends move.

Cleaned, organized, and opened up our new home.

Cleaned the old apartment for final inspection.

(no wonder I am feeling worn out)

And said goodbye to Carl!

It was not how we had planned, but God is in control. And His plan is always better than our plan. On Friday, June 7, we received heartbreaking news that doctors were only giving Carl's mom a few days to two weeks (just two days shy of our scheduled departure) to live. Twelve hours later, Carl left for the airport.

We didn't know, but God did!

Knowing the dog-eat-dog world of airlines, I feared the worse- forfeiting Carl's original already-paid-for-ticket and paying for a brand new one! Yikes! But after 

 being on hold for over an hour, and in discussions for 30 minutes, it all worked out, for a small fee, of course.

Before leaving the school (our internet and phone service had not yet been transferred so all these calls had been made from school ), I realized I had not been to my mailbox in over a week. Inside was a note from friends left a week earlier, AND the exact amount the airline charged Carl for changing his flight. 

So before we knew, He knew....and He provided.

Thirteen days later, Carl's mom is still holding on. Earlier this week, we had the opportunity to Skype with her and  other family members. Her victory is near and she is ready! Sad for us, but not for her!

The kids and I leave Sunday morning. Approximately 36 hours later, we will be reunited with Carl.

And
I
am
ready!

The entrance to our gated community!

Our new street!

Our entrance/patio/garage!

The view from the front door- living room, dining room, and kitchen.
Steps go down to a basement, which we use as the tv room.
Behind the kitchen in an enclosed porch with the washer, dryer, and stove.

Steps going up to the bedrooms.

Traditionally, Taiwanese kitchens do not have a stove.
The school provides us with  one brought over from the states.
We decided to put it on the back porch to keep it from heating up the
entire house when in use. That allowed us to "harvest" the
cabinet next to the fridge from a house about to be demolished!

Looking up from the kitchen!
 There is a total of five levels in our house- lot's and lot's of steps!

 Looking down from the third floor. Jake is looking up!