Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to give a quick update from South Carolina.....

Yes, we are in South Carolina, so that means that Raegan is out of the hospital. Praise the Lord! Some of you may not know that Friday the 18th, we took her to the ER because she was breathing really fast(she has RSV). They admitted her that night thinking it was pneumonia, put her on oxygen, and sent us in an ambulance to Children's Hospital. The radiologists at Children's determined that it was bronchiolitis, not pneumonia, but her oxygen saturation was still low, so we had to stay in the hospital until Sunday afternoon. She is a lot better, but still on the mend. Thank you for all your prayers. I really believe that the Lord healed her. And we are so grateful, because when the doc tells you that your three month old has pneumonia, when they stick her with ivs, and put her on oxygen, it is pretty scary. Because of this, I missed Arnold's graduation. :( Thank goodness his family was in town. I will try to post pictures later. So, Raegan is better, Arnold is officially officially officialy Dr., and me, Peyton, and Raegan are in SC visiting family. We had a great Christmas, got a lot of wonderful gifts, and are having a great time! I hope you and your family had a great Christmas too!

Sick Baby

I have a sick baby at home. We found out on Wednesday that Raegan has RSV. We are having to do breathing treatments for her and really monitor her breathing, etc. Please say a prayer for her healing!

Rain Rain Go Away!

We had an interesting weather experience this weekend. It's been raining cats and dogs in New Orleans the whole month of December. This Saturday was no exception as it poured rain for hours and hours. The ground is already soggy from so much rain, and it began to flood. Arnold left the house right before it started raining, and when he tried to come back a few hours later, he was stuck! All the streets around our apartment were flooded. After riding around for about an hour, he finally found a dry spot to leave the car three blocks or so from our apartment, and then he began to walk back. His jeans were soaked almost up to his knees. I was so thankful that I was not out in the weather with the girls. What would I have done? Arnold said the animals were starting to line up two by two at the Winn-Dixie down the street. Ha!

It's Friday!

Here are some random things about this Friday, and well, just some random things........

1. It is cold today! BBBBBBRRRRR!!!!
2. I went to daycare to check on Raegan and stopped in Peyton's class on the way. They were eating cupcakes. Peyton had her back to me at the table, and she wouldn't even hardly acknowledge me. I guess she didn't want me to take her home or feared that I would take her cupcake from her. That girl loves to eat!
3. Speaking of Raegan, she is refusing to take her bottle again.
4. I have not done one minute of Christmas shopping, but I probably won't go tonight because it's too cold!
5. My apartment has smelled like a wet dog most recently and I can't figure out why.
6. Tonight would be a great night to snuggle up on the couch, drink some hot chocolate and watch a Christmas movie.

Instant Cappuccino

When I was young, I was a morning person. As I became a teenager, I developed into a night owl. Now I just want sleep. I just want to go to bed early and wake up late. When you have young kids though, that doesn't happen. Sure you can go to bed early with the kids, but then nothing gets done, laundry, etc. I have to work too, so this creates a dilemma. I decided the other week that I need something to help me in the mornings. I don't want to drink a ton of caffeine because I am still nursing, but I need something to help. I think I may have found an alternative....instant caramel cappuccino from Community Coffee (I think CC is a New Orleans brand). I know there's instant coffee involved, so I'm hoping there's a little bit of caffeine, but not enough to make me go crazy. It doesn't say in the ingredient list that there's any caffeine, so I'm assuming maybe it's not too much?? Maybe it's psychological that I feel better after drinking it, but either way, it's a nice treat in the mornings.

Christmas Parties

Arnold and I hired a babysitter the other night and left the house, by ourselves, with no kids. WOW! We went to a Christmas party for his work and enjoyed a great party with awesome catered food...crabs, shrimp, catfish, gumbo, jambalaya. We actually had to drive an hour or so north across the lake for the party, right out of the city limits to a little town called Folsolm. I actually saw stars in the sky! And it was cold! I LOVE Christmas parties...the food, decorations, the music, games, Christmas sweaters, and rockin around the Christmas tree. Do you love Christmas parties?

O Christmas Tree

In the top picture, Peyton's puppy had obviously been bad, so she put it in time out. Apparently, Mary, Joseph, and Belle were acting up too, so Peyton also put them in time out. You can't turn your back on Mary and Joseph for a second, and they're acting up!Peyton standing by the tree.

Apparently Cinderella(in the blue) and Belle(in yellow) showed up for the birth of Jesus. They must have come with the shepherds.
Our Charlie Brown tree.Raegan was all slobber and smiles.And last but not least, we were able to trade in this cutting edge piece of 19 inch technology (tv with a vcr combo!) for a new tv. My dad bought us a tv for Christmas and we got it early. Arnold was able to watch the Saints play on the new tv and he was very happy!

Pros and Cons

As we settle into our new place, I'm discovering some things I like about it and some things I don't. Overall though, I am pleased. Now if I could only get everything unpacked...

I like....

INSULATION!!!! I finally live in a place that has insulation. That means the place is not 1500 years old. I like insulation.

carpet. I know wood floors, etc. are all the rage these days, but give me good old carpet. It's warm. Your feet aren't black after you walk across it (and who has time to mop every day?). And you can sit or lay down on it and not have to worry about getting dirty and black. It also absorbs sound...good news for our neighbors.

walk in closets. I've never had a walk in closet in my life. I love it!

being one block away from the grocery store (I know Arnold will come to appreciate this. Especially when I say, "I forgot ____, can you run and pick this up.") and right in the center of town...store, malls, Starbucks, restaurants all within a few minutes.

I don't like....

stairs. If we ever buy a house, I will do whatever it takes to not have to run up and down stairs. I had only lived in our new place one day when I decided this.

an electric stove. For the past five years, I've had a gas stove. Of course when we first got married, I didn't even know how to turn the thing on, but since that time I've come to love a gas stove. It heats up so quick! And when you have a two year old screaming, "I hun-gy!!", you come to appreciate a quick cooking stove.

our hot water heater. I could bake a cake in the time it takes for our hot water to heat up.

Are there things you like or don't like about your place?

Thanksgiving Pictures

Peyton patiently waiting on her turkey.
Raegan with her little blue jeans on.

Peyton and her cousin Katelyn. Katelyn is five, and Peyton is two. They had a great time together.

We are Moved

I know it has been a long time since I've blogged, but there's a good reason for it...CHAOS! That's my life right now. Let's see, where to start............ Last week, we really got serious packing up our house. But then we weren't able to get the key, so everywhere you turned, there was a cardboard box or a pile of mess staring you in the face. Everytime I start packing up and moving, I always think to myself, "We have WAY too much stuff, and I am going to get rid of half of this junk." But then I never do. Well, we decided to go to Monroe for Thanksgiving to spend time with Arnold's family. And honestly, I was so thankful to get away from the mess that was my apartment. It was stressing me out. This past Sunday, we went and got the U-Haul truck. They gave us a 14 foot truck instead of the 24 foot. I knew that thing looked incredibly small. Luckily, when we took it back up there ten minutes after we had gotten home with it, we called and they had a 24 foot available. But they gave us a free day for all our troubles. That was a blessing. Yesterday, we were up early in the morning to finish loading it up and then we began unpacking at our new place. And now the new place is a wreck, and I'm stressing out again. :) I can't stand living with so much disorganizization. I'm not sure if that's how you spell that word, but I am so tired that I can't think straight. Raegan doesn't seem to be bothered, but Peyton had 2 or 3 meltdowns this morning. It's obviously stressing her out too...hhmmm....I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. ;)

I would love to post pictures. I have a ton to post, but I can't find the cord to my camera. I think it is seriously lost. Well, I'll post a picture of the outside of our apartment complex. I found these picture on their website.

By the way, it's DECEMBER 1st! Can you believe it???