Big News at the St. Martin's!!

Well, big news for us anyway!! We have made the very difficult decision to move out of our compound and be closer to school. This is what has been occupying my thoughts over these past few weeks. I know if we were in the states and had the opportunity to move closer to the children's school it would not require much thinking, but here, it is a much bigger dilemna. We have had to seriously weigh the pros and the cons of both places and try to keep what is best for our family at the center of the debate. After much thought and prayer, yesterday, we came to the conclusion that moving is the best thing for all of us right now (it also helped that our manager called during our discussion and told us they were turning the water off for 2 hours in the middle of the afternoon!!)!

So, last Friday I went and looked at 5 houses in, what we have dubbed with our neighbors, the OC! These houses are reminiscent of home...big kitchens, open spaces, fenced in backyards, and we can walk to the school!! We did look at some homes in this area when we were here for our look and see, but at the time it was too new. Now they have a pizza place, a coffee shop, a pet shop, a gym, a very nice swimming pool, a golf course, and two convenience stores (one happens to sell my favorite coffeemate - the first time I have ever seen it in China - must be a sign!!). There are also many expats that live out there so the kids will have plenty of playmates. Unfortunately, our dearest friends are not out there, so when we do move, it will be bittersweet.

We are currently negotiating for this house...

It is brand new and we will be able to pick out all of the furniture and window treatments, which here in China is a big deal!! We can actually go for the warm, cozy look, instead of the stale, modern look that is very common here! The house also has a water purifying system for the entire house which means that we can safely use the water out of all of the taps - yeah, no more bottled water for brushing teeth!! It is a three story house. There is a beautiful kitchen and open dining and living area on the first floor. There is also an office, which we will turn into a playroom, along with a full bath. On the second floor we will have three bedrooms and two full baths - I am so excited we will all be sleeping on the same floor again and the master suite is wonderful! The third floor is designated as a guest suite with another bedroom and bath and TONS of storage!! We also have a great deck and a teeny fenced in back yard!!

We realize that we will most likely have issues with this new house, but we are hoping that the owners will be a bit more cooperative than our current management. If all goes well, we hope to be in the new house before the kids and I come back for Christmas!!