Mardi Gras

Okay I must admit that Mardi Gras is nothing like my preconceived notions thought it was.  It's way more family oriented to start with.  The crazy stuff happens in the French Quarter mostly. Over the course of February there are over 60 parades in the city of New Orleans, most of which are completely family friendly. There are millions of beads everywhere: on trees, in streets, etc. It is like a kids dream. It is really like a local national holiday(s). The schools are closed for a few days, most businesses shut down, I'm not even sure if the mail ran or not....It's big, I'm telling you. 

Mom, Dad & Jo came into town this past weekend for a couple of days and we had a blast. (pictures to come as soon as they email me some :)  They arrived Fri. morning and we braved the French Quarter about 11am for some poboys. There were a lot of people already in the area and also some people witnessing.  I've seen some very interesting witnessing techniques over the past few days and have even wondered what Gospel they are spreading.  On Friday we saw some guys on a corner handing out stuff, I took one to see what they were sharing, it was completely evangelical, I agreed with everything on the tract.  However, on the news, they showed all these people on the infamous Bourbon Street with huge signs. Some of them read: "Why do you love the devil?" including a laundry list of sins. Another sign said Roman Catholicism is of the devil and the like. My favorite was this guy, supposedly witnessing, who had "repent you swine" on his hat.  Effective witnessing? I think not. 

Update.....finally!

Actually the reason I haven't updated in a while is cause not too much has been going on! The only highlight I can think of is Keith's mom (Mema) coming to visit for a week.  We had lots of fun with her.  We got to hang out and eat, what more could we ask for? 

Around the time that Mema started her visit, Madison decided she was going to start waking up at 6:15 every morning and she hasn't quit :( Therefore, around 8:30 or so she goes down for a nap, it's kinda crazy.  

Other 2 items of note.  1) I decided to join the local MOPS at church and I am loving it. It's twice a month and I love the fellowship and learning time.  Most recently we had a woman talk to us about praying with and for your child.  It was awesome! 2) I got to go to our church's women's retreat.  It was totally worth it! We had so much fun and learned a lot from our speaker who was a very spunky elderly professor. 

The kid loves cups. I don't know why. I actually had to go ask for another cup at this restaurant because she started screaming when I took it out of her hands....

More to come soon...