A Few of My Favorite Things

Not only is this the last week of school for the students at Asuncion Christian Academy, it's Brandon's last week teaching here and our last week living in the apartments on campus.

This is the last blog post I'll write sitting at this desk.

Tomorrow I'll walk to "our" grocery store for the last time.

Thursday I'll take Brandon breakfast one final time before he packs up his office.

It's the "ending of an era" so to speak and I have to admit that I'm a bit anxious about all of the upcoming changes. We're BOTH excited to get off campus and away from the "school drama" (can I get an "amen" from all you fellow educators?). But rather than dwell on what's been wrong, or fret over the unknown of what's to come, this week's blog post is a celebration of the things that we've enjoyed (and will miss) as we move to a new home a few miles away.

#1: Laundromat

Okay, it's not an official laundromat, but the little alcove by our front door that boasts three washers and three dryers has made laundry day a breeze. Rather than having to do four or five loads back to back to back, I can do three at a time and be done with all our laundry in record time.

#2: Oversized Oven

It's a little thing, but I have really enjoyed having six burners on the stove (not that I've ever used all six at the same time) and extra room in the oven. Most stoves (including the one in our new place) have four burners and are considerably smaller width-wise, too. I'll miss not being able to cook two things in the oven at a time.

#3: Huge Backyard

Not officially our backyard, it has been wonderful having the soccer field just steps away from our front door. Bailey loves to run around in the grass, chasing soccer balls and helping Daddy collect the wiffle-ball golf balls he's hit. It's also been nice being so close to school; you don't have to pack a lunch and if you forget something at home . . . no big deal!

#4: Ropero (a.k.a. Wardrobe/Closet)

Each of the rooms in our current apartment have one of these in them (Bailey's actually is four-doors wide). And since we have a third bedroom, Brandon and I have separated our clothes; mine are in the master bedroom and his are in the spare room. The new house has one ropero in the master bedroom that is shorter (without the top cabinets) and narrower AND we'll have to share.

#5: DVD Max

I had to steal this picture from their website, but this is a place we visit regularly, at least once a week. The movies titles are all in Spanish and aren't usually word for word translations of the English titles so there have been a few times we ended up with the "wrong" movie, but it's been nice having a rental spot just up the street when we need a movie fix.

#6: Parque de Salud

Though we haven't visited the park as often as we should, it was nice knowing that a great park was just up the street should the notion strike for an afternoon outing. In addition to the 1 km trail, there is also a play area that Bailey has warmed up to and would enjoy more and more as she gets older and grows into the "big kid" toys.

And these are a few of my favorite things . . .