Our lovenest

This is our new little lovenest (as Matt calls it). It's a 2 bedroom/1 bathroom apartment on Magazine Street. We are in the upstairs apartment on the right.

The view from our front balcony (to the right)

The view from our front balcony (to the left)

There is a nursing home right across the street

Our living room

Our front door

Emma's bedroom

Emma's closet (full of pink!)

Matt's & my bedroom

The kitchen (with NO counter space)

My favorite part of the house, the built in china cabinet in the kitchen

The backdoor (to a porch)

And our tiny little bathroom

So, there you have it! That's our little lovenest that will be Emma's first home. We will be moving in mid-March.

Wonderful Will!

I decided to dedicate an entire post to our sweet nephew, Will (Michael and Amy's son). We were so glad to spend some time with him this weekend and he is just too cute!

Shower time!

After a wonderful weekend in South Carolina, I have tons of blogging to catch up on! And lots of pictures to share!

These are pictures from my Mardi Gras Baby Shower. It was so much fun and Kelly and Jenn did such a great job planning it all! Thanks to everyone who came and showered my sweet Emma with lots of wonderful things!

The King Cake that Kelly & Jenn made...it was wonderful!

The diaper cake that Kelly & Jenn made. Happy Mardi Gras!

Aunt Debby & Mrs. Parks

Courtney hanging out with Logan

Winthrop (and Alpha Omega) girls

Wonderful friends

Anita, Sweet Mattison, Kaley, & me (I love these girls!)

It's play time for Logan!

The two preggo girls...me & Courtney

My mom gave me a bunch of things from when I was a little girl...so sweet!

One of my favorite books (I have quite a few!)

My favorite outfit that Emma received, from Grandmommy and Granddaddy Parks

It's Pooh and Tigger

It's Jenn and Logan

Anita counting her bracelets

She won!

Precious

Doublooms

Cute box!

Aunt Debby and Will

Will and Logan had a great time playing with eachother!

*Most of the above pictures are courtesy of Courtney...thanks!

*The pictures below are courtesy of Jocelyn and Erin...thanks again!

Presents!

A happy mom-to-be!

My baby bump

All the yummy food

Tam Tam holding the diaper crawfish that Paul made

Happy Mardi Gras from Erin and Joce!

Baby icecubes...Jocelyn's baby was born first.

I picked this outfit for the cutest baby outfit game

Tam Tam and Erin

Yes, it's a girl!

Get ready!

South Carolina, here we come!

For better or for worse.

In sickness and in health. I truly meant those vows when I said them two years and eight months ago. And I am holding steady in those vows. As most of you know, Matt has been sick with one thing or another since Christmas. It has been a really rough few months for us. But it all came down yesterday. Matt had been throwing up for a couple days and yesterday it got dramatically worse. He was throwing up every thirty minutes and could not keep one sip of water down. By last night he was completely dehydrated. Around 8:30pm, I came down to check on Matt (I had been working since 6 am by myself with the girls) and he stated he needed to go to urgent care. At that point, I knew it was bad, because throughout our marriage I have asked him a million times if I needed to take him to urgent care or the ER and he usually refuses (stubborn man!). I called our supervisor and we figured out how to get someone to come watch the girls while I took care of Matt. Well, one of the problems in New Orleans (especially since the Storm) is the lack of healthcare. We found out that none of the Urgent Care facilities stay open past 7 pm, so that took us to the ER. We arrived at the ER about 9:30 pm. We got called back to the exam room about 12:30 am and finally saw the doctor about 2:30 am. The doctor took one look at Matt and said "oh, you look really bad". My poor husband, he really did look pathetic. The doctor spent about 2 minutes examining Matt and decided he had a stomach virus. So, they started an IV and pumped the boy full of fluids and medicines. They drugged him up pretty well and he slept from about 3:30-7:15am when they gave him a few prescriptions and let us go home. I spent the night changing positions and trying to sleep in a wooden hospital chair (not so comfy for a woman who is 26 weeks pregnant). Next time I think I'll bring a pillow and blanket. We arrived home and were supposed to work today, but were fortunate enough that our supervisor found coverage and we just crashed. Matt is feeling much better. He still has some stomach pain, but the nausea is gone and he is just sleeping it out (with the help of some strong meds). Hopefully Matt will be feeling completely better by Thursday at 6 am when we fly back to SC. We need this vacation now more than ever!

Exhaustion.

Why am I working six sixteen hour days in a row? Oh man. Three more to go and then we'll be in the Carolinas. Thursday can't come soon enough!

Blessings

Matt & I have found an affordable apartment here and are meeting with the lady to put down our deposit in a little less than an hour. The apartment is a block away from where we live right now. It's an upstairs shotgun style apartment with 2 bedrooms/1 bathroom. We are quite excited to be staying here in New Orleans as well as the uptown area (we LOVE our neighborhood)!

Also, Matt has a job interview at St. George's Episcopal School on Monday at 2 pm for a position as a two year old teacher. We have no idea what the salary is and if there are benefits. Pray that if this is not the right position that God will lead us to others. If this doesn't work out, Matt will continue pursuing working in the school system. That is a sure job for him because they are desperate for teachers. We just don't know when he would be able to start that. So, keep praying that the right doors are opened and closed.

My ultrasound went well yesterday. The reason I had another one was because my placenta was so low during the last one and that could cause some concern. This ultrasound turned out great! My placenta is higher and Emma is extremely healthy. I'll try to post those pictures soon (I've got to scan them first).

This time next week Matt & I will be back in South Carolina!!! We are so excited for this break and time to spend with family and friends.

That's all for now. :)

Quick update

I am 26 weeks today. :)

Matt & I went to our first childbirth class last night. It was fun.

I'm having another ultrasound tomorrow. Happy Valentine's Day to me!

Matt & I are pursuing all options to stay here in New Orleans. We have found some affordable apartments. Now Matt just needs a job.

Keep praying.

Changes.

I have debated on writing this post or not. In the end, I have decided to write this so that you all can support Matt & I with your prayers.

There are big changes coming up in our near future. Matt and I have resigned from our job and our last day will be March 12th. We have given this job our all and know it was right for us to be here, yet it has taken a huge toll on our emotional health and physical health. It is just so challenging to work with teenage girls for 16 hours a day and go to bed knowing you have to wake up and do it all over again. We have learned and grown a lot during these past 8 months and are thankful for this experience. We spent a lot of time thinking and praying about this decision and truly feel a peace about leaving. Many of you are asking the question, so...what's next? At this point, we truly are unsure of the plans God has for our future. We love New Orleans with all of our hearts and truly desire to stay here, but we're not sure how that will be possible financially. Housing is very expensive here and with me being 5 months pregnant, I cannot look for another full-time job. We would have to live off of Matt's paycheck and maybe a little help from me. It just won't work here in New Orleans. We are considering moving back to South Carolina as it seems more feasible for us financially. All of this is up in the air right now...moving, job opportunities, insurance, housing, etc. While we are fearful of the future, we know that God has us in the palm of His hand and has the perfect plan for our lives. We are comforted by His promises.

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:8)

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62:1-2)