so, mid-April, yeah? haven't written since February? slacking over here. sorry 'bout it.

since we're in the ninth month of this pregnancy, it's probably pretty clear what we've been up to and that we've been busy. I know I never finished updating you all about Michigan at Christmastime, so here it is (a short version), if anyone is even remotely interested anymore..

^when the belly and I felt so big and now I realize we were hardly big at all. (;

there was a lot of ice and below zero temps. beautiful, like I said before, though freeeeeezing. then we both stood in an absolutely beautiful wedding in Ann Arbor. the one where our good friends promised each other life long love and both thanked one another for marrying them at the end of their hand written vows (the sweetest thing). still so honored to have been a part of that day. 

then there was this blizzard on the way home from the wedding, we couldn't see any lanes on the highway, and it was so late and tired out. heavenly protection is the only way we can explain getting back safe (that, and my husband is a champ). and I don't say blizzard lightly. almost two feet of snow. that whole polar vortex and what not. so pretty the next day though!

the days following got very cold again but lastly, we decided to brave that ice and snow and drive back to New Orleans. most stressful drive adding hours to our travels (that last photo is us stopped in traffic for an hour because of an icy accident) but again, Jesus protects and he was faithful in that.

so there you have it. I'll be back tomorrow. I mean it this time.

love..

watch: Saving Mr. Banks (I knew I'd probably like this since Mary Poppins is a favorite, but I loooved this so much! I want to buy you all a copy). // also just finished Twin Peaks. what even?!

listen: Satellite | Dave Matthews Band (mostly because my belly dances when that one plays).

read: Igniting Faith in Forty Days | Steve and Wendy Backlund // a negativity fast/positivity feast I've been doing for Lent. not necessarily succeeding every day, but it has been encouraging and motivating and is more than worth a read.

"Abundant gratefulness: a flourishing soul. Even if circumstances haven't changed, thankfulness will alter perspective from doubt to faith."

we interrupt this Michigan updating with a little something special.

yesterday we had the pleasure of having our friend Trevor over to do something I thought I didn't want to do. (: I'll be honest. I usually don't like the thought of maternity photos very much. I love seeing everyone else's though, so hopefully I'm not making you feel bad if you're really into that sort of thing. they just really aren't very.. me. but Trevor had some really great and different ideas and I'm really glad he talked me into having these done. I know I will be so so glad we have these to look back on.

a couple of things.. first of all, if you're in Louisiana and need photos for anything.. give this guy all of your monies. I mean it. or if you want to fly him somewhere because you don't live here, I'm sure he'd go for that too. both of those.. totally worth it.

also, if you're lucky, his lovely wife will tag along. she has an even more lovely heart and will be sure to make you laugh. they make you feel comfortable and will capture the real you. you're destined to have genuine smiles in your photos. not the fake kind. (; his work is absolutely beautiful.

it was a little last minute, so I didn't have time to think about what I was going to wear or try to coordinate anything. but I kind of love that. I feel like I didn't try too hard to find the perfect outfits or make my hair too fancy. this is us. right now. and that is how I want to remember this time. I remember people asking if I was going to make Chad take out his lip ring or take off his glasses for our wedding. but I always wondered why I should make him be something he normally isn't. I want to remember things as they are. in that very moment. that's one of the best things about looking at old photos. (I do, however, wish that I had something more exciting and aesthetically pleasing to make for lunch, but we really need to grocery shop, ha. so chicken salad sandwiches we ate. it's whatever.)

counting these at thirty week photos, too. a few days short of thirty weeks.. crazy!

visit trevormark.co to see the rest (you'll find all of his contact information there too). I'm having a really hard time picking my favorites. he even makes our house look really cool.. such talent. thank you so much Trevor!

love..

flashback to Michigan.

some of our phone photos from our time in Michigan before Romania, and some from sisterlove's phone too.

+

fruit of the spirit: faithfulness.

..courtesy of my New Orleans friend, Nathan. super grateful for this guy because he not only teaches us about God centered relationships and being a great parent, but also because he lets me hang out with his amazing wife. a lot. they are a big part of the church we've been attending and Emily has been such a blessing to get to know during this big move in an unfamiliar city. & I needed a little help on turning faithfulness into words this week, so here he is to talk about it.

Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find? – Proverbs 20:6

So what is faithfulness? It’s simply a person who is loyal, dependable, trustworthy, and honest. And sadly, I think this is one of most absent fruit in the life of most Christians in my generation. Time and time again, I see my friends commit to doing something and never act upon that commitment or see them find themselves so afraid of commitment that they run away as quickly as possible. When I became a Christian, it was one of the things that probably changed the quickest. Prior to being a Christ follower, I wasn’t a person of my word and could care less about faithfulness. Now, as a Christian, I want to be a person of my word. I desire for my yes to be yes and my no to be no. 

At the end of the day, a person either chooses to live a life of selfishness or a life of faithfulness. You can choose to be faithful to your marriage or you can choose to be selfish in your marriage. We can choose to be faithful in our job or we can choose to be selfish in our job. We can choose to be faithful in our relationships or we can choose to be selfish in our relationships. Your love of self will quickly harm anything of value in your life. Love is meant to be shared, not squandered. 

Here are some lessons that I’ve learned on my journey with faithfulness: 

1) Remember Christ’s faithfulness to me. 

I think it’s helpful when talking about faithfulness to begin with discussing the faithfulness of God. We are ultimately dependent on His faithfulness for our salvation (1 Corinthians 1:8-9), for Him to forgive us of our sinfulness (1 John 1:9), and for eternal life (Hebrews 10:23). We are dependent on Him to deliver us from temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). We are dependent on Him to deliver us through the difficult times of suffering (1 Peter 4:19). Luckily, God isn’t like us in that he doesn’t change (Malachi 3:6). He’s ever constant. We can trust in His faithfulness because He is faithful in all of his promises (Psalm 145:13)! 

When I’m reminded of the faithfulness of Christ to me, I am able to remember my faithfulness to others. 

2) Remember the why of my commitment. 

When we commit to a person or project, we always remember the what – I’m doing x to accomplish y. But my one time choice of commitment is not enough. I have to renew that commitment. I have to find myself continually coming back to the why rather than the what of that commitment. I have to come back and remember why I’m faithful to my spouse. I have to come back and remember why I’m faithful to my church. In the difficult times, if I don’t have a why, I’ll find myself abandoning the commitment altogether. 

3) Remember that a no is better than an abandoned yes. 

There is a fine balance between committing to everything that comes your way and committing to nothing. If you commit to everything, you will quickly burnout and the important things that you committed to will all suffer in quality. If you commit to nothing, you will find yourself years later filled with regret after an unaccomplished and uncommitted life. 

In the process, remember the importance of saying say no to the unimportant, but do not negate the necessary. While in the process, also remember to keep an ear tuned to God to direct your steps. 

4) Remember to commit to things that add value to your life. 

It’s okay to be a little selfish and some commitments are rewarding. A 25th wedding anniversary is a rewarding time. Celebrate! You enjoy spending time with underprivileged children and giving them hope of a better future. Engage! You enjoy playing weekend basketball with friends - suit up and enjoy your friendships and the friendly competition. It’s perfectly okay to enjoy your commitments. 

5) Remember to commit to the things that matter. 

God, Marriage, Family, Church – these are things that have everlasting significance. These things matter. The birthday party for your cousin’s bratty children – not so much. If you are going to commit, make sure the things that you commit to are quality commitments.

'Your love of self will quickly harm anything of value in your life.' wise words. & really glad he mentioned psalm 145:13. such a great reminder to be faithful to God..

'..the Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.'

so what does faithfulness mean to you? feel free to chime in.

also, read from others in the fruit of the spirit series:

| out loud in my head | the rabbit hole chronicles | a joyful journal |

| by feet or heart | the ever-changing thought | broken rubies | apopiptolepis |

mardi gras in the big easy {2012}.

I've been trying to figure out a good way to tell you all about our first ever Mardi Gras experience here in the Crescent City. The whole week I have been hesitating and trying to figure out if I liked it or if I didn't like it.

I think I narrowed it down. To both.

Okay, so I didn't narrow it down. But I can say, when we went to see a couple parades on Monday, we did have fun. Seth's mom was in town (hi, Paula!) and she wanted to experience the events too. Side note: I love moms. We've had two here in the last two weeks and even though our apartment is even more full, it has been a blessing for sure. I like watching how much they care for their children even after they've grown and started their own lives. I really can't wait to be a mom someday. Emphasis on the someday.

We started with a trip on the street car down St. Charles as far as it would take us. Once we couldn't go any farther, we went for a stroll to find a place to watch the parades. First, we had to stop for some cotton candy from this guy. Tina is slowly introducing me to her favorite 'carnival' treats. Of course, I have had cotton candy before, but apparently, that's the only treat I have. I had no idea there are so many.

The street was FILLED with people and tents and food and probably lots of other things I'd rather not know about. I knew this was a big deal, but I still don't think I was prepared for all of the preparation everyone went through to get ready. At this point we had missed an earlier parade, so the garbage was already starting to pile up (one of the things that I didn't really like about the whole day).

The many outfits we saw were.. interesting.

 

If you can't tell, that cooler contained crawfish. Living ones. One of the men at this 'camp' would grab one and let it pinch his ear for everyone that would stop along the way. They were cooking them in the huge pot you can see in the photo above.

After passing through crowds, and seeing probably the biggest group of people doing the cupid shuffle I've ever seen, we found a little restaurant and decided to stop there. Turns out it was a perfect spot to see the parades and also stay out of the craziness for a bit. We enjoyed drinks and hors d'oeuvres while watching the first of two parades.

(My camera died on our way there so all of these photos are from my phone. Hopefully you can tell what everything is. That is a really big fish.) Then we thought we would get a little closer. Which brought some of us home with battle wounds from flying beads. I'm not even joking, Tina had a small cut on her nose. There was a really fun group of people next to us and one of the women left with a huge welt on her forehead.

Fair warning: they don't mess around with the beads here, people.

So, the second parade was apparently founded by Harry Connick Jr. a while back in an effort to get both men AND women involved. There is so much to learn.

photo one: Bret Michaels.
two: Harry Connick Jr., Mariska Hargitay, and Hillary Swank.
three: Cyndi Lauper (looking.. 'tired')
{I know. you're not convinced. you can't really tell, just trust me.}

So it was pretty entertaining, really. We laughed a lot at how aggressive the bead throwers were and how desperate everyone was to catch beads.

The trees on St. Charles look like this all year. But right now they're just a little extra festive.

That next photo is when we started feeling a little.. heavy. Sure it was a good time, but some people were having TOO much fun. The city was trashed. And hearing about how Mardi Gras was originally a family thing, and how the locals take pride in their family parades and celebrations, it was sad to see what us humans have made it. And how terrible we can treat the beautiful earth that God has blessed us with. We heard that the main reason New Orleans has an 'out of control' reputation is because of all the people that come to visit. As Chad said, 'we are a messy people.'

All of the festivities were happening at least three weeks prior to that. There were over sixty parades. So every weekend, there were multiple parades and after, the streets looked like there was a nuclear fallout (<--a little bit dramatic).

Needless to say, we were all satisfied with one night of that.

I'm sure we'll go out once next year, but I'd rather not feed into the craziness that the true locals don't really like. At least from what we have heard. We also heard many of them get out of town during Mardi Gras. I hope to continue learning more about the origins of all of the festivities during our time here so we can celebrate accordingly. (:

{note: no unnecessary showing of inappropriate skin occurred to acquire these beads. (: no really, they were just throwing them out to everyone.}

wednesday without words: 'happy birthday, gideon' edition.

february fifteenth: phone.

visit my friend to see her wednesday without words post and the rest of her beautiful blog. this new friend, too.

my practical valentine.

Today our little clan [sans Tina, who was at work :( ] went to the mall together. Cute, right?
Hub and I browsed JCPenny and Macy's (because we had gift cards) and picked out a valentine for each other. Really we picked our own, but it was fun to be together. He needed a belt because his recently kicked the bucket (which means free leather scraps for ali, yay!), so that's what he picked and I found myself a new scarf. We'll probably go back with the rest of the gift card money for a duvet cover we've been meaning to purchase. We thought of that just as we were getting home. Whoopsy.
{oh and those Macy's gift cards.. wedding gifts. haha. bout time.}

Also today, it was cold. Michigan people, I don't want to hear it.
I KNOW what cold really is.
But a high of 54 and lots of wind makes for a chilly Louisiana. Seeing all of the people that were out for parades and Mardi Gras celebrations.. I mean you would have thought it was going to snow, ha. They were so bundled up! It did actually feel cool here, though I didn't mind one bit. But we did have to layer up a little.. for 54 degrees. And my face felt a little wind burnt. Wow. Things have changed. (:
Just thought I'd give you something to giggle about.

Welp, I'm very behind on our photo project so here are three days worth:

february ninth: front door.

{ali's, carl's [yay, carl joined in! our participants are scattered.. :) ]}

february tenth: self portrait.

{chad's, ali's}

february eleventh: something that makes you happy.

{ali's, chad's}

I hope you're having a great weekend so far. I hear the roads have been a tad nasty up north. Drive careful, Michigan. And enjoy the beauty of the snow, even if just for a second, for me.

I know I've posted this a few times already, it's just sitting really well with me lately..

'to learn how to be grateful and happy, whether hands full or hands empty. that is a secret worth spending a life on learning.' ann voskamp.

january differences.

Hello friends and family, hope your Monday has been a good one. We've been settling back in to city-life after being in Michigan for two and a half weeks And I've been struggling to update this internet space of ours. It seems I've been struck with a case of homesickness with a dash of culture shock; which is weird because I didn't feel such an insecurity before our Christmas trip. God is up to teaching me many things as a result and is speaking to Chad to encourage me through it. Hub still isn't working so I am very grateful that he's been close for comfort. I'm really okay, it's all just still an adjustment for me still I think. Thank you to those who have sent little text messages of encouragement and prayer. I'm grateful for your thoughtfulness.

Just thought I would give a little update on the month of January so far. It is so different here in the south. We've actually had a couple days where we felt too hot while sitting on the balcony. Before you respond with disgust and jealousy, know I didn't enjoy it. :) I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I miss the snow (WHAT). I know. But just as I tell you in Michigan to be joyful in all circumstances and embrace the cold, snowy weather, I too am learning to be joyful in the south. It's a journey. Bear with me. <--Yes I did google that phrase just to make sure I had the correct spelling.

{a not so great phone photo, sorry bout it}

Unfortunately we couldn't see as many people as we would have liked to during our Michigan stay but I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that we did get to see. Thanks for pouring into our lives and making sure we could schedule a hang out. The effort is appreciated and we love you all. Hopefully next time we can see some more familiar faces (Jen Ingram, I still didn't get to see you! I'm really glad you have family down here. :)) We were able to see lots of family though, and had great days laughing with and chasing (pretty sure their all time favorite is chasing) our nieces around the house, which I'm convinced was really good for our hearts. Lisamom wanted a new photo for her wall so my dad came over one day and got this great shot.

This family blesses me more than I can even begin to tell you. I am a super blessed wife. I think I have THE best in laws in the entire world. Not to mention an amazing husband. And how is it that those two girls just keep getting cuter?! You say one day that they couldn't get any more beautiful and then BAM, they throw out some more cute the next time you see them. Here's their pretty mommy.

Right, so January. In the south. Look at all of this yummy fruit (that actually tastes good)! I'm not used to that in the winter.

The weekend we got back, the Lions were here. That's all I really have to say about that. Here's a blimp. (:

I've also been working a little bit on some more things to come for the etsy shop. The motivation hasn't been up to par but I'll get back in the swing of things I'm sure. Take a look though, I posted a couple new jewelry pieces the other day and should have a few more treasures up this week.

We've also been spending time with new friends; another thing I'm very grateful for down here. I went out with Emily and Gideon (or Gidebop, as I like to call him sometimes) to take some photos for his birthday invitations. This little man is going to be one in a month and his super great mommy is throwing him the ultimate sock monkey party! He is always so happy and knows how to snatch your heart right up. I'll leave you with his adorable little face.

Keep choosing joy, friends and family. ali