Home Sweet Hurt

All right, I’ll admit it. Having my very own blog has been a dream of mine for quite some time now. Joy the Baker, Pioneer Woman, Joanna Gaines, I want to be in the club! I tried to muster up the courage when we lived in Atlanta, telling all the stories from our little home off of 10th Ave, tales of my corporate job, and what life held for the newlywed Hurts. But I didn’t follow through with this little dream, and life became hectic as we moved, started new jobs, and began life in a new place once again. When I brought up my blogging dream to Jim the other day, he said, “well… why not now?” And later that day, he had purchased my blog – no turning back now! Jim has always encouraged me like that, even in my little dreams. I’ve decided that, instead of constantly making phone calls, calling on FaceTime, typing e-mails, sending texts and writing letters (yes, I do write letters, snail mail is my favorite), I would put some of life’s updates in one place. That way, no matter where Jim and I go, family, friends, and probably a few of you I’ve never met who care to tag along, can keep up with us! And I know what you’re thinking, and yes – I’ll probably still keep on making those phone calls, using FaceTime, typing e-mails, sending texts and writing letters. But hey, it’s all an excuse to start my own blog, so let me just be excited, ok!?

As many of you know, Jim and I made the move from Atlanta, GA to Laurel, MS this past summer because of Jim’s new job with Georgia Pacific (we’ll go ahead and start referencing as GP). We knew we would be moving to Mississippi for a few months, and were originally moving to Hattiesburg upon recommendation from the folks at GP. And yet we ended up in Laurel, 30 minutes north of Hattiesburg. How did that happen, you ask? Well, it involves HGTV, God’s providence, and Joanna Gaines’ Instagram account. But that is another story for another blog post, stay tuned!

The adjustment of living in a city of 5,000,000 to a town a little over 15,000 was a bit of an adjustment, as you can imagine. However, Jim and I have come to love small town living. We’re renting a loft apartment in downtown Laurel from the sweetest folks around, the Trests.

I tease Jim that we live in the Stars Hollow of the South (Gilmore Girls, anyone!?), but the fun, eccentric and sometimes quirky folks who make up this town is why we love it so much. Not to mention all the small town functions, like the Loblolly Festival, the lighting of the Christmas Tree, and our new, personal favorite, Pancake Day. Talk about charm!

As I mentioned before, Jim is an engineer with GP, and is truly enjoying his work. I’ve had the privilege of working a part-time job when I first moved to Laurel. However, I’ve found myself truly loving my work now as a full time administrative assistant/client advocate with Choices Clinic of Laurel. The story of how I came to this job is also another story for another time, so you’ll have to stay tuned for that, too.

Overall, Jim and I are enjoying life as small town southerners, working jobs we enjoy and finding ourselves in the midst of a loving and caring community. It’s my prayer that we will continue to serve faithfully in our callings, while continually listening to what or where God may be calling us. But for now, we find ourselves in a small town, where it truly feels like home. I know, Zac Brown Band said it first, but I can’t think of any words more fitting.