Update Timeline

Wow how the months fly by!  I (Carissa) am obviously not a committed blogger, and have a hard time regularly updating this world about our lives as we journey together.  Stephen and I have been whisked through quite the season of change since my last post in November.  Here is a mini timeline update of our journey:

--December 2012, I graduated with a B.S. in Psychology.  I also stayed in South Carolina for Christmas with Stephen's family to share in some of their traditions.  For New Years my family took a polar plunge in our backyard pool at the stroke of midnight.

My parents are the best in the world!

Our Christmas card for 2012 (The Almost-Crowleys).

Our Christmas Morning.

1st (and last) Annual New Years Polar Plunge!

--January-February, extreme crunch time for wedding planning!  Every weekend was filled with some meeting or celebration from showers to catering plans.  I also served as a semester missionary at our BCM (until May).  It was so great to pour into a ministry that poured into me.

--March, wedding month!  We celebrated the start of our marriage with a beautiful ceremony and reception.  I'm pretty sure we were the happiest people in the world at that very moment.  It was the hottest day of the month (upper 80s), but we still had a blast.  We followed our wedding with a relaxing honeymoon to Key West, FL where we ate great food, kayaked while watching the Blue Angels practice, got sunburned, saw Ernest Hemingway's home (and the 6-toed cats), and overall had a wonderful vacation.

See those smiles?

The start of our journey!

In the garden at our B+B in Key West.

The Southernmost Point.

--April-July, I got accepted to attend New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS)!!  Also, that summer Stephen felt called by God to apply to attend NOBTS.  Right before we moved he got his acceptance letter as well to study Worship Ministries.  These months were spent celebrating and saying goodbye.  We packed, we cleaned, we cried, we laughed, we doubted, and we praised the Lord.  So many emotions packed into such a short time, but we knew that New Orleans is what God had for us during this season of our new life together.

--July-September (now), we made the journey.  We packed our little home with the help of my mom, then loaded up what few things we have on this earth in the u-haul with the much appreciated help of Stephen's brother, and continually trusted God.  We arrived safely to the great big city of New Orleans.  The humidity can be sliced like butter, but the people here are nice.  Within a week we both had jobs because of God's great provision, and are now getting settled in.  I am working toward my M.A. in Family and Marriage Counseling, and Stephen is working toward his M.Div. in Worship Ministry.  We have also met some wonderful people, including three great couples that we have become very close to and who are like family now.

We have also started attending a phenomenal church (First Baptist Church in Kenner) where we really see God moving and using the people there for ministry.  We are planning to join in a few weeks and begin serving the body of Christ in ways God has equipped us to.

Our truck must have known our destination!

I wore this for most of the journey.

The door to our new home!

Our first meal: shrimp alfredo, yum!

In the French Quarter by the Mississippi.

That time I exploded a casserole dish. :[

Our splurge, a smart TV!

Corey and Stephanie

James and Rachel

Anne Marie and Brandon

So that is a very condensed view of how busy we have been.  However, it is no excuse not to blog and keep y'all updated about God's provision and his calling on our lives.  If I state it here I may stick to it, but my plan is to update the blog at least every other week.  We want to share our lives with you, so you know how to pray for us and encourage us.

--Carissa