Housing Assignment, again.

New Orleans to Traci: Those plans we made? Scratch that.

Yep, we received a letter in the mail yesterday from the housing department saying that a 3-bedroom apartment had come available and that we could move in in July. Sigh.

Jackie has been saying for some time now, "Don't bother making plans," and I'm starting to believe he's right. But that hasn't stopped my mind from being thrown into high gear thinking about what I'll do with this apartment. The letter came with a floorplan to scale so I'll have to rework the furniture layout that I'd planned when we were hoping an apartment in the Oaks. Yes. I did plan a furniture layout. I measured and drew and even colored it all in! Everyone thought I was crazy but, hey, there is no other way I can prepare. There is nothing to be done right now (except worry, of course) so I need some outlet for my thoughts or I might very well explode.

Things to think about right now include:

-What will we do with all of our large furniture? It's not all going to fit into a 10.5' x 14.5' living room!

-Can I get a new loveseat instead of our couch? Can I get a red one? = )

-How I would love a stacked washer and dryer since space is limited; I could used the extra space for a water cooler!

-Where are we going to buy a water cooler?

-We need a bed. And a chest of drawers and dresser. I've found a black bed that I like online, so I'm imagining that one. But how will we buy a bed?!

-We need rugs for Keeleigh and Jathan's bedrooms. And for mind and Jackie's, too, I suppose.

-The plumbing below the sinks are exposed so I want to cover that up. I've found a curtain that I think would work at Walmart that is also a very cute print which would coordinate with decorative items I already have. I want to get it and some towels and a rug to go in the half-bath. (Yea! Two toilets!)

All that and a million other things. More "real" things about finances and serious subjects that I try not to think about.

Oh and a very serious subject...Will my baker's rack fit in the new apartment? Because I love displaying my Longaberger pottery so much. When I got all of that pottery I didn't even have a house; it was the first items in my "hope chest." It represented home and still does for me. Will it have a place in my new home?

It's a silly thing to think about, I'm sure. But it's not the first silly think I've thought about and I'm sure it won't be the last.

Housing Assignment

The moral of the story is: If you're going to pray for something, be really specific.

The story is: Earlier this week we received a letter via email from the housing department at NOBTS and it caught me completely off guard. All this time I have been thinking there are three possibilites...the three bedroom apartment that I didn't like, the two bedroom apartment that was much better, and the four bedroom apartment that I LOVED. It was the four bedroom that I'd been praying for and it was the words "four bedroom" that stood out like a sore (really sore) thumb in the letter we received.

Apparently many people have applied to NOBTS--many more than they expected--and all of the family apartments are full. They are trying to accomodate as many as possible, however, and are offering the apartment usually inhabited by four single students to families. There are four bedrooms, two full baths, a living room, and a kitchen. There is a coin-operated laundry nearby. These apartments come fully furnished so we would not be able to bring our own furniture. This housing will only be temporary; when something opens up (in a few months or a semester?) we will be assigned to the three bedroom apartment building that I definitely did not want.

This is what the email said and when I read it I flipped out. I don't know why exactly, it's just not what I was expecting. I had waited for 3 months to find out where we were going to be living and the last thing I wanted to hear was, "We don't have room for you." Honestly, my first thoughts were so selfish! I wanted to say, "Aren't I sacrificing enough? Can't I get something that I want?" As if my sacrifice is anything compared to what Jesus gave. Even still it's what I felt along with a feeling of utter deflation.

I think a lot of how I felt had to do with the fact that this week was my last week of work. I am now officially a stay-at-home-mom. I thought that I was ready and really I am, I just wasn't fully prepared to say goodbye to everyone. I started getting kind of emotional Monday and it just spiralled down from there! Tuesday Dan, Metha, Jackie, and I (and Jathan, of course) went to Red Lobster for my going away and it was Tuesday afternoon that we got the letter so it was just a crazy, momentous day chock full of endings and beginnings. Looking back and moving forward. Sigh.

Now that it's a few days later and I've had time to think things over I realize that it's not that bad. It's not what I expected but hey, I'm always saying how people should relax and go with the flow! Today I got a chance to look over the floorplan of the temporary apartment we will be staying in (in a little over a month's time...eek!) and daydreamed about how to make it more homey. A slip-cover here, a curtain there and it'll be perfect in no time. = )

But, like I said, if you're going to pray for something, say a four-bedroom apartment, be really specific. You might even want to include an address or something, because God has a real sense of humor. Though I'm still not laughing, God.

St. Joseph's Day Parade

One of the fun things, I suppose, about New Orleans is that there's something going on. When we visited in March we played tourists after visiting the seminary on Thursday and Friday. That Saturday as we were walking around the French Quarter we happened upon a parade.





Actually we weren't sure what it was at first--all of a sudden there were just tons of guys in tuxedos carrying flower arrangements!

We soon figured out that it was the St. Joseph's Day Parade, however. "It's fixin' to get wild," one man told us. "Hmmmm," we thought. But it didn't get too wild, at least not while we were there. Keeleigh did go a little crazy racing full-grown women for beads! (Don't worry, there was no nudity involved.)

Keeleigh ended up getting a balloon hat, lots of candy, several beads, and a rose! She was thrilled and would've stayed longer had I not dragged her out of the street.

Jathan enjoyed the spoils, too!

Yep, I doubt life in New Orleans ever gets too dull.