Updates!

Oh it has been a crazy few weeks! Let's see if I can get you all caught up and then we can move on to new things! (Blogging regularly, for instance...and some exciting fundraisers - not for us this time!)

We packed and packed and packed through most of the beginning of December. Sadly, I was sick for most of that, and with everything else it was barely controlled chaos! Some days, it was just plain chaos.

We left on the 20th of December, with a trailer (and 12-seater van) full of Cogan paraphernalia. We made it to New Orleans.....at 1 a.m. on the 21st! We had to take the trailer back to the rental service early the next morning, so we had to have everything unpacked that night! We were completely unpacked by 4, and slept until 11 - when we woke up and the boys dropped the trailer off while the girls packed overnight bags to go to Kassi's Shriner's appointment in Shreveport (which happened to be at 9:30 on the 22nd)!!

We headed to Shreveport and made it just in time to get a couple of hours of sleep, and headed to Shriner's...

We did learn that Kassi will probably not be able to have her foot surgery and casting done there, which wasn't quite what we were hoping for, but we are trusting and knowing that there is an amazing plan behind all of the crazy, and we are going to do whatever it takes to get our girl walking!

After the appointment, we went off in search of lunch. We looked up places to eat in Shreveport and found this little place, which made us all smile - Mama's maiden name is Strawn and she is probably related somehow to the Strawns who owned this place!

We walked in, sat down, ordered....and the waitress came back a moment later and whispered something in Daddy's ear.

"The family who just left paid for your meal."

What a sweet sweet gift and a beautiful reminder of the amazing people that there are in this world, and the amazing God who made them! That was such a blessing to us and we are so grateful!!!

We came back to NOLA on Christmas Eve, and wound up having to move across the hall. So we moved everything over and had...no power until the 29th! Phew! 

Since then, we've been revisiting favorite spots, exploring New Orleans, and having fun together! 

If you look at the sidebar, you'll notice that Kassi's picture has changed. We took the others here in New Orleans while we were here last spring - just a couple of weeks before we knew that Kassi was a Cogan! Now, we all have matching pictures and we're so incredibly glad that she's here with us!! 

Yes - there have been rough days, but it has been a much easier transition than we were expecting. We're so thankful for this opportunity and so excited for the next few months!!! 

At Café Du Monde - seconds before everyone was covered in powdered sugar!

Doing schoolwork in the apartment.

Walking in the park on a gorgeous day!