utilities not included

We signed the rental agreement for our apartment yesterday. Woohoo! While reading through the papers, Joel and I noticed that the utilities included listed only water. We asked about it, and he told us that utilities weren't included (except water). When I talked to his wife about the apartment initially, she told me that utilities were included. When we went to see the place, we double-checked with him to ensure that utilities were, in fact, included. He confirmed. My thoughts are that they're both on the older side, and we know that he's hard of hearing. Probably just didn't understand what we were asking. We still love the apartment, though, and it's still a good deal for the place. I'm still looking forward to moving there. Mom, Julie, Vit and I (and possibly Anna/Ella [look for your invitations soon, if you're reading]) will be heading to IKEA during the week after Christmas to get all the furnishings we'll still need at our new apartment. I'm so looking forward to living there; it's so beautiful and nice. Oh, also--while we were there yesterday, I noticed that there are these really nice regressed lights over the kitchen; they light it really nicely, and it looks wonderful. : ) Ooh! And a pre-thanks to Jamie, who's coming to our current apartment to help me pack on Friday afternoon. : )

Funny thing happened this morning... Joel and I were to light the Advent candle, introduce ourselves and be personable and warm, and read a Scripture. Well, we were supposed to read 1 John 4:7-12, but the flow sheet said 1 John 5:7-12. So we read from chapter 5. Yeah. Not exactly fitting with the theme of the Love candle. BUT! What we read was just exactly what our new friend, Rebecca, needed to hear! She had been recalling those verses on her way to church this morning and praying for some confirmation of the sound theology of The Journey. There it was! So we read the right verses this morning, even though they weren't what we'd all been planning on. It works. : )

It's been a nice weekend. And we're moving to Grafton next weekend.

Lastly, I'm going to try to be a substitute teacher for Douglas Elementary. I heard through the grapevine (my mom) that they're looking for substitutes right now. Here's hoping it works out! Thanks for the idea, Mom. : )