Changes!

Jarrod and I have had some changes in our life recently and I have been terrible at keeping up with our blog. In hopes that I'll write more, I have moved our family blog to Blogger - which is where www.leannethewalker.com is also hosted. Hopefully now I will have no excuse not to update regularly!

Here is what has been going on over the past few weeks with the Louisiana Johnstons!

On April 23rd, Jarrod, Courtney, and I were in a relatively serious accident. I say relatively serious because the airbags went off, the car is undriveable, and we were scared. However, we are all absolutely fine. We are sore, bruised, and still a little shaken, but absolutely fine.

My sweet husband planned a surprise with my sister for my birthday and wouldn't tell me a thing about it. We packed up the car with snacks at about 4pm and started driving west. We have dear friends in Baton Rouge; I figured that is where we were going. It was dreary and raining - the worst driving combination. At 4:15pm when we hit the highway headed out of town, rush hour traffic was just beginning. Traffic would cruise along - slow to a crawl - cruise along, lather rinse repeat.

Before we were even out of our town, traffic slowed very suddenly. Jarrod was driving at a reasonable speed and at a very safe distance. Nevertheless, he hit the brakes, just like everyone else. Nothing terribly unusual in driving during rush hour. The car in front of us swerved off the road to the left to avoid hitting the car in front of her. She was tailgating, but it seemed everything would be fine. These things happen all the time.

Suddenly the car in front of us decided to come back on the road. She swerved back onto the highway from the grassy median and spun out. We braced, knowing the impact was coming. Her car was perpendicular to the highway across both lanes. Thankfully we had slowed considerably from our highway speed by the time we hit her. Airbags went off. Windshield shattered. Lots of screaming. (mostly from my husband) ;-)

Of course there were lots of cars everywhere. We were terrified someone would hit us from behind and honestly, it is a miracle no one did. While our plans were canceled and my car is a mess, the most important people to me, my sister and husband, were fine. Scared and sore, but fine. The state trooper finally made his way to us two hours later (there were at least two other much more serious accidents on the highway within an hour of ours) and said that the woman we hit was issued a reckless endangerment citation and as far as he could see, we were "just driving." That provided some peace to my sweet and worried husband.

We also learned a very powerful lesson on Friday afternoon. We are all relatively new to this area of the country. We do not have family down here except for each other. However, we had calls, texts, and voice messages from countless people starting about 5 minutes after the crash. People wanted to come and sit with us while we waited. Friends wanted to cook us dinner, lend us a car, and kiss our first child (in many many years). In the midst of this terrible inconvenience, we were shown love and community.

After several weeks of working with insurance, on May 7th we purchased a new-to-us car. We went to a dealership, cash in hand, and after some negotiation, we left with Stella - a silver 2004 Honda Accord. She drives great, is very smooth, and we both love driving her. The best part is that we didn't go into debt to get her!

The same day that we bought Stella, we also heard that our application for a new condo was accepted. On June 19th we will be moving across town into a condo. We are renting a gorgeous two bedroom condo on the bayou. We will have a deck, stairs, and lots of natural light. While we aren't excited about physically moving, we are really excited about our new place. It is in a great location and is even less per month than we are paying now.

In the midst of these super exciting changes, we also went on a tour of the Abita Brewery with some dear friends, had an incredible time at a crawfish boil, and worked hard.

We have some exciting/different changes occurring with our jobs as well. My job really kicks into high gear on Monday when my summer staff arrives. Our first summer group (of 90 people!) arrives on May 30th, so the staff is really hitting the ground running. I'm excited about the summer, but also very anxious. I am ready to have the staff here so that we can start preparing together.

Jarrod is getting two new bosses in June. Our dear pastors are leaving for a new church and opportunity. We are excited about our new pastors, but change is always challenging. It is going to be an action-packed summer full of change, busy-ness, and fun. Check back often to read more about our favorite recipes, see pictures of our new condo, and hear about our adventures as we draw nearer to our 1st wedding anniversary!