Today was a very productive and busy day… needless to say, we have a decent idea of where major things are around here, excluding downtown.

First, we went on a run at Ascarate Park. Parks in Illinois have a lot, like, a lot of green. Not so much here. We ran on the trail around the lake, which seems to be roughly 1.5 miles.

We came back to the hotel to shower, eat breakfast and get ready to go see a house. It was the first house we viewed, and we made a decision before going that if it was what we wanted at a decent price, then we would go for it. We had viewed it on the approved housing site the Army provides, and we really liked what we saw.

We were the first to view it this morning, and while we were there a couple other people came to see it, too. It’s a great house, about 1200 square feet, with three bedrooms and two baths. The kitchen is huge, with a window over the sink into the backyard, lots of counter space, and every appliance we were looking for. There’s also a laundry/utility room off the kitchen with washer and dryer hookups. The three bedrooms are a decent size, and the master is very large. It looks like it was two rooms at one point. There is a full bath from the hallway and off the master bedroom is a bathroom with a shower.

The backyard has a large tree (yes, in El Paso!) , a patio and even a grill. It’s all fenced in, too.  There is no garage, but we have space for two vehicles, I think.

We told the property manager that we were very interested and she directed us to fill out the application at the office. We found our way to the office, and filled out the application. The receptionist ran it through, and as she was showing it to the owner, the other man who was looking at the house walked into the office. The owner chuckled and told him that “he lost”. We got it! We paid our deposit today and he said he will have the house ready by Friday. It’s perfect, because that’s when our goods are supposed to get here. Our rent will be a fourth of our take-home pay, and that’s just Aaron’s income right now. Dave Ramsey would be proud!

After visiting the leasing office, we went into post so Aaron could begin inprocessing. He went and filled out some paperwork, which surprisingly didn’t take too long, and we drove around post. After we [finally] found our way out (the gates we wanted to go through were closed, and the map that we have sucks) we drove past the house again and around the neighborhood. That was a huge deal to us when looking at the house because I want to feel safe if he deploys, and when I run.

Transmountain Road is only a little north of where the house is, so we took that and saw some amazing views. The road goes through the Franklin Mountains.

We drove back east towards El Paso and stopped at the mall. We didn’t buy anything, but just walked around and looked at all the stores that we don’t have back in Illinois except for a few hours away (Forever 21, Coach, Guess, Michael Kors). Not that I would really shop at any of those except for Forever 21, but it’s cool to know they’re here.

We made the mistake of checking out Peter Piper Pizza for dinner.. we walked out right away because it’s like Chuck E Cheese. Uhhh, no thank you. So we went to the Pizza Hut right next to the hotel.

As far as eating goes, it’s difficult to eat healthy all the time. All we have is a microwave and fridge until Friday. We’ve been getting water to drink (my mouth feels dry alllll the time it seems) and not getting appetizers or dessert. We’ve also been working out everyday. I can’t wait to move in so I can start cooking with our GAS stove! I hate hate hate electric stoves and if I can help it, will never use one again.

We also went to Target and wandered around the home section to get some ideas of things we need and want. We’ll be making that list tonight!

Today was a great day. We are now relaxing in our room and will be attending church in the morning. The events with the house today reiterated to me for the millionth time that God really is in the details, and He truly does go before us.

I’m definitely more excited today about what the Lord has for us here in the coming months (and maybe years…).