NOLA here we come!

For those of you who have ever been to New Orleans or especially if you are from New Orleans...it's easy to understand. For others, not so much. Nathan and I are picking up and moving to NOLA (New Orleans, LA...) and we couldn't be more excited about the journey ahead. Here's a little back story to catch you up to where we are now:
Nathan had his "dream" home built right before we began dating, so naturally after we were married, we moved right in with no questions asked from me. IT was his dream home after all... Well we began going to a bible study where we were reading a book called "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. To sum it up shortly, the book is a big slap in the face for lukewarm Christians who go through life inviting Jesus along only when it's convenient. Hmmm, that sounded familiar...it was ME! Nathan and I began a spiritual journey with each other and God, which led to a deeper relationship and a wake up call that we were going through life only concerned about ourselves and not really caring what God's will was. We realized we had a huge house, huge mortgage payment, huge debt, and a huge hole in our hearts because we knew we were being so selfish. So...we made the decision to put our house on the market. We wanted to get rid of all that wasted space and free up some money which would go elsewhere to people who needed it. It wasn't an easy decision, especially for Nathan. But he came to me and said, "This house doesn't matter at all...the only one that matters is the one in heaven". I couldn't have asked for a better way to say it, plain & simple.
The journey has been tuff, we just made the 5 month mark of being on the market and haven't had one offer yet. We just drastically lowered the price and are praying that whatever is meant to happen will...soon!
So during this time we've tossed around a couple of ideas as to where we wanted to go once our house sold. During a trip in Hammond, LA where my parents live, we made a visit to "the city" (aka New Orleans) which is about an hour away. We would go every time we made a visit, because we loved it so much. On this particular day, I'm not sure who said it first but the idea of spending a year in the French Quarter was brought up. Well Nathan begins daydreaming about selling his art at Jackson Square (where all the local street artists sell their stuff). I began daydreaming about living close to my parents again and all the volunteer opportunities in the city. Next thing we know, we're seriously discussing this move. That night I started looking at rental properties...just for fun, ya know? A few weeks later, we visited again but this time we went to look at apartments! We originally planned on just browsing, but before you know it we found a quaint little duplex that we absolutely fell in love with.

Here is our empty living room and my mom & I sitting on a mattress in the kitchen, haha


This is our guest room, open to anyone who wants to come visit!


This is our street!

New Orleans is a city unlike any other. The people who live there or who are from anywhere around there are SO proud of their city, especially after Hurricane Katrina. We feel a sense of family because we all went through a similar loss. Still to this day it's the question of any new friendship..."Did you lose your house?" or "How high did your water get?" My answer is, "I lost my entire town". The town I grew up in, Buras, which is 60 miles south of New Orleans was entirely wiped out by the hurricane. I can count on one hand the number of houses that were salvagable. I had friends still living in FEMA trailers over a year after the storm. But all that's part of history now and people are still rebuilding their lives day by day. But throughout the city you can feel a sense of hope. People visit here to feel the vibe of the city, hear the music, and see the sights. We chose the French Quarter specifically because it's the heart of the city. To me, it wouldn't be a true New Orleans experience unless we were in the Quarter. I look forward to walking and biking everywhere, but I'm NOT looking forward to finding a parking spot for our car! And then losing that spot once a week for street cleaning! Ahh but there must be compromise in everything, right? The famous Clover Grill is one block away, which may be a bad thing for my thighs. I'm excited to try all the restaurants and we are still in search of a good sushi place...oh and did I mention I intend on finding a gym? haha.

Sooo the end of the story is, no we haven't sold our house yet but we are going to slowly move our stuff out until we are completely moved out probably around June. Hopefully someone will be interested in the house by then! Our friends Josh & Stephanie told us about a great church in New Orleans called Vintage NOLA. It was created in 2007 and is predominantly young married couples and people our age who love God and the city! So we're REALLY excited about becoming a part of that church and meeting new people. There are TONS of volunteer & mission opportunities for us, which will be our main focus during the next year. And of course, Nathan got his permit to sell art at the Square so he'll be painting his little heart out! We know God will use us no matter where we are, but we have a feeling He's going to do big things in us and with us throughout this journey. We will miss our friends & family in Deer Park SO MUCH, but they are all excited for us to experience something new. After a year is up, we'll just have to see where we stand and what we want to do at that point. How exciting! We would love everyone to pray with us throughout this move and with selling our house, and also continuously over the next year that God would show us the best opportunities to do His work and glorify Him. Thanks to everyone who is showing support, even though many still don't understand it...haha. We love you all!