Change of plans

I would like to thank everyone for their ideas on keeping a cleaner house. It's given me a good idea of some areas where I can do a little better with only a little bit more effort. And it will come in handy because....
We're moving. Soon. To Washington.
It turns out that Kevin's job that was going to end in July is ending in January. And while we were contemplating staying here so I could do my student teaching, it just didn't make economical sense to stay in Boise, keep paying rent every month, and start paying childcare just so I could complete a 3-month unpaid internship that doesn't technically have to be completed until 2012.
So after Christmas we'll pack up and go live with Kevin's parents in their basement. I know some in-law basements are scary, dark, spidery storage units safeguarding boxes of dusty school projects, books no one will ever read, and musty Christmas decorations. But not this one. Kevin's parents' basement is an actual apartment with a bedroom, bathroom, and sitting room. It has a big sliding glass door and even its own garage. We will still share the kitchen upstairs, which is why I'm a bit nervous about my cleaning skills. Kevin's mom keeps an immaculate house, and I... don't. I don't want to drive her nuts, so I'll really be working on this.
Somehow this move doesn't stress me out as much as student teaching (or at least the idea of it) did. I'll have to cancel my student teaching appointment, and there's a slight possibility I may be able to do it in Washington. This could turn out to be wonderful, because since there are more Asians in the area (not hard to do, seeing how Boise has essentially none), there may be an opportunity for me to teach Chinese. Yay!
The weather won't be as dreadfully cold as it's been here, and so when it's not drizzling, Penny and I can go on walks again.
It will be really nice for Penny to get to know her A-ma and A-gong. She's a sweetie, and she's starting to notice what's going on around her a lot more and starting to share her personality more. They'll get to know her, and she will learn more Chinese than she probably would otherwise. This will be one of the highlights.
I will miss Boise. We've made some good friends in our ward here, and I've just started a new calling with the Young Women. I was looking forward to getting to know them better.
It's always hard to change plans, but we both feel really good about the steps we're about to take. We've been blessed by listening to the Holy Ghost and trying to follow the Lord's commandments. We've been living frugally, working on a food storage, and putting some money away in savings. We could theoretically stay here until I'm through with my student teaching, but again, it just doesn't make sense to blow our savings on an unpaid internship that doesn't immediately need to be done. I'd been excited for my student teaching, but as I tried to get the details worked out, nothing seemed to fall into place. As more and more challenges arose, I found myself dreading it. And now that we've made the decision to move, I feel like I can do this. It does involve more work and a little more frantic scrambling to get things done, but it feels right. And with God's help, we can do anything.
Even learn to keep a kitchen clean.