when life gives you lemons....

The past week has been totally crazy and different for James and I. We are in a situation that we never wanted to be in and that we have no clue how to handle. The company James works for got a job in Shreveport (4 hours away) and James was told he was going to be working there for a year!!!!! For about a month there has been talk about this job but nothing was for sure and we were hoping they wouldn't get the job so he could stay here, but that didn't happen. They did get the job and James was told Tuesday to go home and pack because he would be leaving in an hour to head to Shreveport and of course I was in an appointment and couldn't make it home in time to say goodbye before he left for the week.
I was a total mess. I spent most of last week crying, eating ice cream, and watching girlie movies. We have never been apart for longer than a few days and the thought of spending Monday-Friday away from the person I love more than anything else makes me feel like a lost puppy. I know that this situation will only make us stronger and will strengthen our marriage but man I have to say... This totally SUCKS!!!!
One good thing about this was Friday night when he got home!! Seeing my prince charming walk through the door was truly magical! We spent the weekend just relaxing and enjoying being together again.
The past week of my life has been one of the hardest weeks ever but now that I look back on it, I realize I should probably start looking at the good things about this. At least we get weekends together, we get to talk and FaceTime every night, we are going to get to save money, and we WILL come out of this situation stronger than ever. It won't be forever and we will just have to make our weekends together even more special. I know this is easier said than done but I am really trying to stop being such a baby about this, I am a strong woman and I can make it through this. But for now it's still girlie movies and books until my boo gets home Friday! (and maybe a little homework too)

So my new motto for the next year will be

...

When life gives you lemons... make lemonade =)

XOXO

our wedding day ... part II

The Reception!!!!

So after the hard part was finished (the ceremony), it was time for the party to start!!!!! I was extremely lucky with my reception hall because they were amazing! They wanted everything to be perfect for me and for me to be stress free!! And I have to stay I am so glad I didn't have anything to worry about! Once we arrived at the reception it was chaotic. James and I were getting pulled from one end of the room to another. We had to take pictures here and go visit this person here. The first two hours of the reception was absolutely crazy!!! But after all of the traditions were finished, it was time to have some fun.

First Dance as Mr. and Mrs. James Gautreaux!!!!

His Tabasco cake!!! So cute!

wedding party toast!

 When planning the wedding I was totally against shoving the cake in each others face! I thought it was so weird and I didn't want to get dirty but..... when we were about the cut the cake the photographer looked at me and said "Make it interesting" so I smushed the cake in his face!!! He was not expecting it at all and he ended up getting me in the end! I had cake shoved up my nose and all over my face but it was totally worth it and so much fun!!!

It started out okay!!!

and this is how it ended!!!

One tradition we have in Louisiana is the money dance. It is something I thought every wedding had but apparently it is just a southern thing! (Who would't want a money dance?!?) At the beginning James' line was a lot longer than mine and he was teasing me and saying more people loved him!! Well in the end I made more money than he did!! (HA-HA) It was such a fun time and we were able to thank everyone for coming and being so generous!




We spent the rest of the time dancing and having fun with our friends and family. It was such a special day and I am so grateful for everything everyone did for us to make our wedding day awesome.

The groomsmen attacked me!!!

Yep!!! That's my husband! HA-HA

one side of my family! (The Foret's)

Here are a few of the detailed pictures from our big day!!! 

May 28, 2011 was the absolute best day of my life! It was more than I could have ever imagined and I feel so blessed to have been surrounded by my friends and family and of course my HUSBAND!! 

XOXO

burrrrr.... it's cold outside

Today is the first really cold day of the season here in Louisiana!! The weather around here is so up and down, it never really stays cold for too long. So this morning when I woke up and it was 29 degrees I was soooo excited! (I know seems silly but I love wearing scarfs, hats and boots)

Good Morning from the Gautreaux's!!!!

Hope everyone has a great day!!

How cute is he in this hat?!?!

XOXO

our wedding day... part I

Almost eight months later and I am finally blogging about the best day of my life... MY WEDDING DAY!

After a year and a half of planning the day was finally here and I was so excited!
The morning of the wedding started off a little rough!! The night before the wedding, my grandfather had a huge crawfish boil for all of my family and we ended up having a few too many drinks and no getting home until around 2:30am!! Keep in mind I had to be up for 6:30am!!! It was definitely not the way I was planning  spending the night before I got married,but I am so glad we had that night! We hadn't seem some of the family in probably almost ten years, so it was fun to hang out with them! But let me tell you 6:30 came really fast and I was exhausted!! I couldn't believe I was that tired and a tad hungover on my wedding day!!!! But lucky I have the best friends/bridesmaids in the world and they showed up with burger king and a sprite!!! And within an hour I had totally forgotten about feeling sick and being tired. I was the bride and this was going to be the best day of my life.

So my girls and I spent the morning getting our hair and makeup done and just joking around! it was really nice to have that time with them because it kept me calm, cool, and collected!! But then I looked at the clock and realized we were running late!!!! That is when panic set in!!! And on top of that we had forgotten to pick up my bouquet at the florist!!! (Let's just say i was having a nervous breakdown at that point) but in the end we got to my aunts house just in time to get ready and head to the church!!!!

Once we left my aunts it really set in that this was my wedding day! In about an hour I was going to be marrying my best friend and the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I sat next to my BFF and MOH and every time I would look at her I would tear up! She has been there through the good and the bad of the last 15 years and I was so happy to have her there on the best day of my life! 

When we got to the church they hid us in a little room so no one could see us. While we were in the room James had his best man bring me a letter he had written that morning and lets just say the tears where flowing at that point. I just kept thinking how amazing of a man he was and how lucky I was to have him in my life!

After all the guest had arrived we were finally able to start. I was so nervous and couldn't wait until I could walk down the aisle! It was the day I had been dreaming about since I was a little girl! Before the wedding my grandmother told me to just look around and take everything in when those doors opened and just be in the moment, I have to say that was great advice. Everything is such a blur of those few minutes of walking down the aisle and I am glad I just soaked it all up! There were so many people and I could just feel the love and happiness everyone had for us and then I looked at my groom and saw his smiling face; I will never forget that beautiful moment of pure happiness. Most of the ceremony itself is a complete blur to me. I felt like it went by so fast and all I wanted to do was stare at my soon to be husband.

           

There was moment I do remember, before the wedding I had asked my step-cousins to sing for the wedding. Well i guess I was just so excited but I really can't remember them singing until this moment. Its like my ears were shut and then they opened and I thought I was hearing angels singing. Their voices were so beautiful and I looked and James and said "That's Claire and Rachel singing and just started crying" It was such a beautiful moment and I feel so blessed to have had them be apart of my special day. 

One thing I was worried about was the veil. When picking a dress and veil, I wanted something that was just in the back. I hate when I see brides with their veils messed up in every picture because someone didn't fix it and I didn't want to worry about it. BUT little did I know my groom loves it when the bride has her veil covering her face!!!! When he said that I was in complete shock!!!! Luckily for me this was before I had bought anything, so I had to change directions and start looking for something totally different. I realized that most of this day was about what I wanted, so I decided to surprise him with the one thing he said he liked(I told him I hated the veil in front of the face, so he wasn't expecting for the doors to open and for me to be standing there with it over my face!) . But let me just say I made my grandfather practice over and over to make sure i wouldn’t look silly with a huge bulge of veil on top of my head!!!! I also gave my maid of honor permission to walk up at any point of the ceremony and fix it if she noticed!  The look on his face when those doors opened was something I will not forget. He was truly surprised at what he saw and that just made my heart melt!!! When it was just him and I in the limo after the ceremony he told me how happy he was that I had done that for him even though I didn't like it, but I have to say i ended up loving it and the way I looked on that day!

  Another thing I was worried about was the "kiss"! I know I sound silly but I have seen so many couples that just over-do it or under-do it and I wanted ours to be perfect! But let me tell you, it was more than perfect, it was magical! I am assuming it was magical for him too beings as he went in for another one right after! HA-HA

kiss #1

...

kiss #2

So as you can see my wedding day was absolutely fabulous and everything I wanted it to be!!!! I was surrounded by my family and friends and of course my HUSBAND!!!!! (still feels totally weird saying that!)

Here are a few more of my favorite pictures =)

Mr. and Mrs. James Gautreaux!!!!!

Our A-Mazing wedding party!!

such a sweet moment!!!!

My family

I couldn't stop smiling and looking at him! 

His family

my Maw-Maw
LOVE her so much!!!!

this is the school that we met at in Kindergarten

my girlies

I could probably write a million other stories about the ceremony and I definitely have a ton of other pictures, but these are a few of my favorites that I wanted to share!!!

Coming Soon...

our wedding day part II and Honeymoon!!!

XOXO

Pictures taken by:

http://amandacausey.com/