June 25, 2009

We have now moved into a Residence Inn in the town next to Ventura. This is allowing all of us to be together, sleep in good beds, have a pool and some meals provided, and let the wonderful Swan family who has been housing us this last week have their home back. We are so very, very thankful for all that they did to keep us sane - and that was so much!

We are currently in the process of making a list for our insurance of every single little thing we owned, which is quite a challange when it no longer exists. If any of you happen to have photos of us in any of our homes and it wouldn't be too hard to email/mail them, that would be very helpful. Or if you just have wonderful photographic memories of really strange items you remember, that's good too!

In the next 2-3 weeks, we will be moving into a 2 bedroom condo that our wonderful realtor found for us. This will allow us to take the time to search for the right home to purchase/rent. It will be fun putting girls in one bedroom, boys in the other, and Gary and I are hoping for a hide-a-bed for the wonderful living room. We will also be receiving a refridgerator from someone so we can cook there. Please pray for us as the condo does have a gas stove, and we're all feeling a bit jumpy around stoves right now - argh! However, we are so very thankful to have a place to live and breathe and call home for the next couple of months.

We did get a storage unit for the few things we were able to pull out of the house, but even the smell attached to everything in the home may deter us from keeping more than a little bit of it.

So, how are we all doing? Well... It really hit Isaac this a.m., so he and I have been talking through his feelings quite a bit. Tati and Caleb are really taking a lot of it in stride - just fits their personalities. Bea has had a few really rough days (every single thing of hers was absolutely gone), but today she was full of giggles and energy, so that was simply wonderful! Last night Debora (very close friend) took Bea and Caleb to Target to get a couple of games and a journal for Bea, which seems to have offered her a real turning point.

Our landlord/adopted Grampa & Gramma for our kids gave us back all the days of rent we had left and our security deposit. That was simply wonderful. He has also helped us with much of our clean up and just being a comforting presence through the painful pieces. We just couldn't be more thankful that God has orchestrated even this so beautifully.

Another adopted Gramma from our neighborhood made some sweet blankets and pillows for the kids that will be uniquely theirs. This too brought smiles and comfort.

Gary and I just continue to move forward and praise the Lord for our noisy, silly kids swarming around us every step of the way. There is nothing like family. This we know.

Our love and blessings to all of you! Every note, prayer, gift, etc brings great joy!

Andersons