Happy Mardi Gras!

This will be my last post about Mardi Gras (for this year at least). Matt & I went to two parades last night, Proteus and Orpheus (which I loved). Then this morning, we got up at 4:30 am, in order to order to claim our spot on St. Charles Avenue for the Zulu, Rex, Elks, and Crescent City parades. Once we got to St. Charles we found a good spot, set up our chairs, table and grill...and paraded all day long. It was wonderful (and our girls were on their best behavior)! I'm ready to go to sleep and wake up and it be next year so I can do it all again! The only sad part of Mardi Gras for me was that our family and friends weren't here to enjoy it all with us...maybe next year. And for those of you who wonder how Emma liked Mardi Gras...she liked the bands playing and would kick when she heard the drums. :)

Matt waiting on the Proteus parade on Lundi Gras

And I'm chillaxin' as well.

We found out these guys are called flambeauxs

Proteus

I thought this was a really pretty float

But this one was one of my fave's with fiberoptic lights

Salt 'N Peppa were celebrity monarchs...I caught some beads and stuffed animals they threw

I loved this float as well...it's a train!

And a dragon!

Anything goes during Mardi Gras!

Zulu...the first parade on Fat Tuesday

Zulu again

I caught a mask!

Here we are...having the time of our lives!

And Matt cooked some good chicken (and hotdogs) on the grill

Happy Mardi Gras!

A float during the Rex parade

And after Rex came the "truck parades"

And this is what was left over...

Krewe of Thoth parade!

So far, Thoth has been our favorite parade. It came in front of our house so we set up chairs and had a blast. As always, you can see more pictures here.

Me sitting in front of our house, staking out our spot for the parade. Like our new house color?

Matt put a bucket in the tree in front of our house to catch things, the funny part is he mis-spelled "something"

24 weeks and enjoying Mardi Gras in the fullest!

Our new lawn ornaments...the brass band that stayed in our yard during the entire parade.

Paulins Brothers Brass Band (who left their beer bottles & cans all over our yard)

It's Thoth!

King Thoth

"Throw me something, mister!"

All the people in our front yard

The view front our front porch

And then the parade ended...the people left...and all the trash remained.

And here's all the "throws" we caught...we did pretty well on this one!

Finally...Mardi Gras!!!

Here's a few pictures from our Mardi Gras experiences so far...you can see more pictures here.

Matt & I went to see Cowboy Mouth at Family Gras

It was cold and wet but we still had fun

This is the truck to look for so you know the parade is coming!

Krewe of Sparta parade

Having fun in the cold!

I really liked this one b/c it looked like a street car (trolley)

Can you see all the beads in the tree?

"Throw me something, Mister!"

All the kids have ladders they sit on top of to catch the throws...next year Matt has already promised that Emma will have one (even though she will only be 8 months old...haha)

Finally, some sunshine at the Carrollton parade!

Matt loves parades!

And I do too!

Nomtoc parade

And of course Matt loves to be in the middle of the crowd

Mardi Gras Madness!

(This picture is one I found online, but it's of a parade we went to, Krewe of Carrollton).
Okay, I still haven't found our camera cord to upload our Mardi Gras pictures, and we will have lots more pictures to take and post in the next few days. We are hitting up two parades tomorrow (NomToc and Endymion), two on Sunday (Thoth which comes in front of our house! and Bacchus), two on Monday (Proteus and Orpheus) and at least two on Tuesday (Zulu and Rex)...oh man, we are going to be all paraded out! Here's a little funny to keep you until I get the pictures up...and yes, people are THIS serious about Mardi Gras!

You Know You are a Mardi Gras Addict When...

Your first priority for buying a house is if it's on a parade route or not.

You know your choice of a mate is correct if they live on a parade route.

You choose your friends based on if they live on a parade route or not.

You marry into a family with a house on a parade route.

You can tell the day of week by which parade is rolling that day.

You know how many floats are in a parade, and when to leave so that you can catch all the other parades in the area on that same day.

You catch 6 or 7 parades in less then a twelve hour period and then go home and watch the television coverage and then get up in six hours to repeat this process..

You sleep out under some type of make shift tent at midnight in the pouring rain so you can have a prime spot for a parade that won't be there until that next afternoon.

You know where all the clean bath rooms are on the parade routes.

You purchase vehicles that are large enough to haul everyone to the parade.

You have your own potty john in the back of a pickup truck.

You carry all type of rain gear, jackets, and change of clothes just in case the weather changes while out that day.

You have memorized all the back streets behind the parades so that you can get from one parade to another without missing a float..

You know where there are spots to park next to parade that no one else does making it easier to get to the next parade.

You have each one of your family members trained to know what to pick up and load onto and into van/truck with the efficiency of a pit crew at a car race; to minimize the time it take to get to all the other parades.

You can pack up and set up in under one minute for the next parade.

You own a complete wardrobe of purple, green and gold clothes to last the entire Mardi Gras. Plus making sure it is both for summer or winter weather

You own a Purple Green and Gold Bathing Suit.

You remember people's names on specific floats so the next time you see the parade you will go holler for that krewe member to get some beads.

You know what parades throw what.

You have a Christmas Tree Decorated in Purple Green and Gold

You have your tree up through Fat Tuesday.

You eat at a bad restaurant 2 hours before a parade just so that you have a place to park in their parking lot, which just happens to be on a parade route.

You get a job with a company that has a business on a parade route.

*And let me tell you, Matt and I do have a purple, green, and gold Christmas tree decorated in our apartment! :)

Pictures to come...

I know you all are anxiously awaiting Mardi Gras/Carnival parade pictures...they will be up as soon as I can find the camera cord. And I might add some new "belly pictures" too. :)

10 Things about Emma/Pregnancy

I was tagged by Amy to tell ten things about Emma/being pregnant (since she's still in the oven). So, here you are...

1. Emma loves to kick every two-three hours, but her most active time is between 9-11 pm.
2. Matt and I were touching my belly yesterday and felt Emma's hand move!!!
3. I am 22 weeks, 4 days and loving this time in my pregnancy!
4. My belly has gotten HUGE in the past two weeks.
5. Matt and I like to read and sing to Emma before we go to sleep every night.
6. We have been reading Emma a different children's book every night.
7. I absolutely cannot wait to put some big bows in my little girls hair!
8. Emma was very secretive in her ultrasound and it took the doctor quite a lot of poking and prodding to get her to show off for us.
9. We are convinced that Emma will have dark hair and big brown eyes like her mommy.
10. Only 116 days until Emma's due date!

Okay, I'm tagging Courtney for this one...I want to hear all about how Noah is growing up!

oh joy.

It is cold and raining hard and I am sitting outside on our front porch because they are painting the inside of our house and the fumes are AWFUL! What fun.

Strength On Us

²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

³¹ but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:29-31

Thank you, Lord, for giving me a new strength today.

Macbook Air

Have you guys heard about the new Macbook Air? Oh man, my technology loving self is drooling over this! I want one. But I'll keep loving on my Macbook Pro for a while longer. :)

Belly pictures!

Many of you have been patiently waiting to see some "belly pictures". I am now 22 weeks and can't fit into any of my regular pants anymore. I am so glad that Target has cute maternity clothes (I bought an entire outfit on clearance for $9 yesterday)!

The never-ending story (of sickness)

Yes, Matt and I are still sick. Matt gets a little more grief than I do though, because his doctor told him today that he still has severe bronchitis, an upper respiratory infection, and a sinus infection. What does that mean? My poor little hubby got more penicillin shots in his butt and another antibiotic. And the doctor said if this doesn't work he has to go to the hospital and get a shot in his spinal cord! Ouch! Let's hope that doesn't have to happen.

And me, well, I just have a sinus infection. Doesn't seem too bad compared to my husband, but I'm a wimp. And I can't take antibiotics, so I'm stuck with Claritin and nasal spray. Let's hope that does the trick.

So, we'll just lay in bed and hack up our lungs for a while longer.

Babies, work, and Mardi Gras!

It's been a while since I've done a real update on our lives...

First, our sweet little Emma. She has been kicking a lot lately. I first felt her kick on December 27th (the same day as the ultrasound) but this past week she has been kicking every 2-3 hours. Right now it is such a fun, wonderful feeling to know that she is kicking inside of me. I know the uncomfortable jabbing is coming though. :) I went to my OB on Wednesday and all is going well. I measured at 21 1/2 weeks, which is good since I was 21 weeks 1 day. Matt & I love hearing her heart beat. And Matt has felt her kick a few times and loves it. Right now it all seems so wonderful and surreal. I can't imagine that in 4 1/2 more months, I will be a mother. How crazy is that?!

Work is going well. I think things really do get better after the six month mark (we are at seven months now). We are just chugging along day by day but enjoying the fun moments we have with the girls (which have seemed to be more lately). Sure we will have our bad days, but the good ones now outweigh the bad ones.

Matt is still getting over his "holiday illnesses". He is now having a really hard time sleeping at night. He has not been able to get a good nights rest at all the past couple weeks. And then he is just so exhausted during the day that he crashes. Hopefully he will get better soon and if not I'm going to force him to go back to the doctor.

Hope you all are recovering from the holidays and getting back into the routine of things. Here in New Orleans, we are getting geared up for Mardi Gras. People take down their Christmas decorations and immediately put up Mardi Gras decorations. Parades have already started and Mardi Gras isn't until February 5th. Matt and I are extremely excited to be "locals" during this Mardi Gras season and be experiencing all the fun things that go on. Most of the world doesn't realize that Mardi Gras is more than beads and boobs on Bourbon Street. Most locals don't even head down in that area for Mardi Gras. All the real fun is Uptown (where we live)! I will be sure to post pictures and update when we begin to experience all the excitement.

Cutesy baby stuff

I have just discovered some great websites with the cutest baby stuff...yes, I'm fully in baby mode and it's not going to stop! Check these websites out.

Tender Cargo
Bambini Bliss
Bazzle Baby
Trendy and Little

Nursery bedding!

Matt & I caved in and bought the nursery bedding for Emma. I found this set (Tropical Punch by Cocalo) online last week and fell in love with it (partly because it is pink and orange and partly because it has cute animals), but the only downfall was that Target and Babies R Us only carried it online. Well, Matt and I stopped in Burlington Coat Factory yesterday to see what baby stuff they had and guess what we saw?! The bedding! It was just as beautiful as I imagined it to be! We were excited but left Burlington and continued on our day. Well, last night Matt & I ate at Applebee's and I was paying and found a coupon in my wallet for 20% off at Burlington! And the coupon expired January 6th! So what did Matt and I do? We went right over to Burlington and bought the bedding set and saved about $35. Holla! Don't be too disappointed though, there are still plenty of accessories that you all can add to Emma's nursery! :) Right now I'm registered at Target and Babies R Us, but plan to register at Burlington soon. Here is what the bedding set looks like. Isn't it just precious?!

A New Year

It is hard to believe that it is 2008. 2007 held many changes for Matt and I. 2007 is the year that Matt and I picked up and left every ounce of security we had behind. We left our comfortable lives, our family, our friends, and moved to New Orleans. We have moved to a new country--a new culture, new food, new ways of speaking, new ways of dealing with life. While 2007 was a very difficult year for Matt and I, I am thankful that through the fire and trials, I know that God has been molding us into the people He created us to be.

I am looking forward to 2008. Mostly I am looking forward to our family growing and sharing in the joys and trials of parenthood. May 2008 cannot come soon enough! I am also looking forward to reading more this year. I have so many books sitting on my shelf that I would love to read but just don't take the time to. This morning I picked up Desiring God (John Piper) and began to read it. This is a book that I have been wanting to read for a long time, but never got around to. I have only read the preface and the first chapter, but am so glad to have begun this book. One of the main themes in this book is finding joy in God. This is something that I want to pursue this year. The past six months have been so rough that I have forgotten to find that true joy in God and His sovereignty. I thirst for that joy.

While I am looking forward to this year, I am also fearful. Matt and I honestly do not know what our future holds. Will we continue on in this stressful job? Will I go to seminary? Should we move back to the Carolinas? If not, how can we afford to live in New Orleans? There are many, many questions that I would love to know the answers to. Right now, only God knows the answer to these questions. And we have to trust in Him that He will continue to hold us in His hand and protect us and guide us. Please Lord, continue to watch over us and guide us in Your ways.

2008, here I come!