Deep breath! We just got a telephone call letting us know that the closing on our Louisiana Road Home Grant is going to happen next week!!! We are thrilled. We have been really stressing over this, the house, the massive amount of debt because of Katrina, it’s been taking it’s toll on all of us. Mostly my husband, I know he must feel like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. I am still amazed at how much we have been through in our first 2 years of marriage.

Ok, so we won’t actually get the money next week, it will be sent directly to our mortgage company, who will then hold it in an escrow account. An inspector will be sent to our home to see how far we are and how much the first disbursement will be once we copy every single solitary receipt. Because we’re about 2/3 complete, we hope to receive a good chunk of it to help pay the 2nd and 3rd mortgages that helped us get this far in the rebuild. BUT, we’ve heard there is a $7500 cap per disbursement, don’t know if that’s true or not though. We’ll see I guess, but we’re hoping it’s not true. We’re just excited to be moving through the process, not very many down here have. Last I heard only 250 people have received money, so we are still pretty close to the top of the list.

And then once we get some money work can begin around here again, there is sooooo much to do. We’ve resolved to hire out the rest of the rebuild. We’re burned out, we don’t want to do any more of it ourselves. We got it this far, and we’re done.

We’ve been feeling incredibly stuck, wondering what our lives would be like if we didn’t live in this house anymore, or if Katrina hadn’t come here. We want, and more importantly, need, to move on to the next phase of our lives. We’re ready.