Missing the Casa?

This Saturday we are moving out of our apartment and into a house. When Nicole and I got married in 2004 I would not have figured that it would take over 6 years to get into a house. But it did. I would not have imagined the circumstances that would lead to us getting this house those 6 years ago either. I was lying in bed one day recently thinking to myself this is going to be weird not living here in a few weeks. How strange. For the last year I have been looking forward to the day that we would be moving out of the apartment we have lived in for roughly 5 years. The loud children outside. The neighbors above our apartment that do not know how to walk without sounding like a herd of elephants. The twenty-somethings behind us that loudly get drunk two or three times a week (usually until 2 in the morning). Why on earth would I miss this place? Good question. I guess it is just that I have become familiar with it. I know that when I park and lock my car (and it makes the honk sound) that my cat will probably be in the window waiting for me to get home. This apartment was home for Nicole and I during some very good and some very bad times. It is amazing how much good and bad can get packed into 5 years. It was during these 5 years that the Lord gave Nicole and I a shared passion for people who are not born again (see John 3:3). It was during this time that we worked with the High School group at church and were blessed with the opportunity to invest in the lives of young people. We also got to go on our first overseas mission trip. We had the blessing of teaching at the same school for a year (we even had classrooms right next to each other). We had the blessing of owning 2 lizards (veiled chameleons) and a cat (our first pets).  We were close to In 'n Out (though it might possibly be the world's slowest In 'n Out as far as their service speed goes).  We could walk to the gym where we would work out (Bally's). There were the not so great times as well while we lived at the Casa de Jerardo. Family members who have passed away. Jobs snatched away from both of us on the same day. Financial troubles. The aforementioned problems of noise. Though I am very grateful to be leaving the "Casa" as we have come to term our apartment dwelling place, there is a small part of me that will miss it. Onward and upward!
-Fei Cheng