My friend, Amy, and I are off to Memphis... let the first real day of shopping for the new house begin! Yipee!!!!!!!

New Kitchen....the before

Well the remodeling is in full swing at our new "old" house. Contractors, painters and electricians are all working daily. We have begun the painting of the den, all antique white, with the exception of the beams which are staying dark.
This house was built in 1850's and we just love it. It actually was an alf-alfa farm during the civil war and provided the feed to the donkeys in the south. It has a great history with even a secret room that was used for the underground railroad. As many of you know we were about to begin building a house and even had the lot and contractor all ready when this house became available we actually couldn't pass it up. We still have our lots and our house plan so who knows what will happen someday.

Here is the kitchen. This room is under major renovation right now. We are going to choose the counter tops in the next week. I am thinking of using white moon quartzite on the island (looks like marble but is very tough) and either black honed granite or black soapstone on the actual counter tops. Does anyone have any suggestions?

The cabinets are going to be a creamy white and the island a rubbed black. The floor is staying (wide plank walnut) and the walls are going to be palladian blue by Benjamin Moore. I am going to have a farmhouse sink in the island and a 6 burner cook top. We are also tearing the ceiling out and raising it about 18 inches. Can't wait to hear any ideas that you may have:)

Hugs,

Chesnye

Does Anyone Know What Fabric This is?

I have had this fabric sample for a long time and I'm wondering is anyone knows who the designer is. I really want to use it but I can't find any information on it.

Thanks so much!

Hugs,

Chesnye

Our New Family Room..... the before

Well, here is our new house story. We have been working with an extremely talented architect in Memphis for the past 2 years. We finally finished our plan and started the waiting game for the contractor that we wanted. Our start date was set for June of this year. At the beginning of June our time was set back to September/October. We started thinking that we should maybe wait until the Spring because the thought of an open basement all winter long was not appealing. The last of September we heard about this home. It was a Wednesday. We saw it on Thursday. Another bid was placed on Friday. We bought it on Monday. WOW! We love it!!!! I have always wanted an old home but in our town they do not become available very often. So now to the fun part... the restoration has begun. The house was built in the 1850's and has beautiful pine floors throughout. That is with the exception of Walnut in the addition that was built in 1968. My first project is the Family Room. I am going to include some pictures and would love to hear your ideas. (In these pictures the old owners had still not removed all their items.) I have 2 ways that I am leaning...the first way is leaving the paneling but painting the ceiling and fireplace a creamy white and having a Bohemian theme, the second is painting the whole room creamy white except for the dark beams. I can't wait to hear your thoughts. Enjoy the before pictures:)

A little side note... the paneling is 3/4 inch tongue and groove wal-nut. Very expensive. OH MY!!!!

Introducing.........

Our new home:)

We have lots going on with no time to share; I'll be back soon!

Out of Sorts!!!

We have been traveling quite a bit these last couple of months and I have been excited to get back to our routine. Now that we are home it seems that my email has been hacked into!! MSN has not been very helpful since you can't even talk to a person, and to make matters worse it is my only email account that I have had for almost 10 years!!! If anyone has any ideas on how to retrieve my contact information please let me know. I would be forever grateful!!!!

I had to include a cute summer photo of my sweet girl gettin' pampered a little :) I think I need some of that!

Wordless Wednesday

Prayers for my sweet friend

Please pray for my sweet friend and her family as they welcomed their sleeping baby into this world tonight at 10:30.

Hugs,

Chesnye

Baseball Tournaments 2009

Clark played his last baseball game of the season and we were off for 2 weeks of family fun! Will Henry enjoyed the season, but he really loved the cupcakes for one of Clark's teammate's birthday. Poor Daddy, the other two always want to be right in the middle of the game so each inning they were waiting for him in the dugout or on the side. We had such a fun season!!!

I am slowly trying to organize lots of photos so stay tuned for some more posts!

hugs,

Chesnye

House Guests 2009

We have had such a busy summer that has been full of lots of baseball. I just wanted to share this picture from our tournament last weekend. I have three very special neighbors that grew up next door to me at my parents home in OKC and they visit us every summer. This summer they decided to make shirts for Clark's baseball tournament. We took this picture after the four games that day in 100 degree heat. I have lots to blog about and I hope to catch up soon.

Wordless Wednesday

A little vacation

My sweet hubby and I are going to be in Palm Springs for the next few days. I hope to have fun memories to share when we return home. Please say a special prayer that my parents and grandmother have a nice visit here with my peeps and that we all remain healthy. I hate being away from my peeps if they are ill.

Hugs,

Chesnye

Easter Memories

My favorite holiday has always been Easter for as long as I can remember. It seems like a magical time to me. New hope, new beginnings, and of course all of my favorite colors! I had always wanted to get married in April or have a baby in April. Since I was a teacher in my previous life the summer was the wedding time. And baby planning is left up to the great Gift Giver himself. But this Easter was one of the most special. We actually joined the new church that I had posted about previously. It feels like we have finally come "home".

Our day started with an Easter egg hunt very early in the morning. Well, actually we first had to explore our baskets and eat a little candy while Daddy was taking a shower so he could wake-up. My sweet hubby is NOT a morning person.

Once Clark found his eggs he was so good to help Will Henry.

Bella Ruth is not a morning person either, but the idea of candy got her motivated. :-)

The Easter bunny brought the sweetest dolls in their baskets. They look like each of the peeps and have their name and a special bible verse on their tummy. I just happen to know that he got them from www.babybeblessed.com . Bella Ruth and Will Henry have not put their baby dolls down since Easter morning. And Clark loves to sleep with his.

Waiting for Daddy so they can hunt eggs. THis is one of the many funny faces from our little man. His Ninna says that his Daddy had lots of funny faces growing up.

We went to my in-laws for a late egg hunt with their cousins and dinner. Bella Ruth was pretty tired by this time. But lots of fun was still had!

The peeps loved the bubbles that the Easter bunny left for them. We ended up in the neighbors yard blowing bubbles for a long time.

The last picture of the day. These are all of the cousins on my husbands side. We live within 1 mile of each other so the peeps see each other lots.

We went to the Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday night. It was just breathe-taking, beautiful and moving. Yes, I was confirmed into the Catholic church at this time. We are very excited and are enjoying this journey as a family. I hope that each of you had a special Easter too.

Will Henry's 2nd birthday

I'm so far behind on posting but I thought I would share some pictures from Will Henry's 2nd birthday. We had an intimate party with just a few of his cousins. The birthday boy was very happy with the food, cake and fun! I think he is like his big sister... he LOVES getting attention.

Happy Birthday Little Man!

We Love You to the moon and back... a million times!!

I forgot to mention that this was his party at his Ninna and Granddad's.

Happy Easter to all of our friends and family!

Hugs,

Chesnye

Prayer Request

I have a quick prayer request for anyone and everyone that is reading my blog. There is a sweet, strong Mama in blogland that needs all of the prayers that her darling baby Stellan can get! Please visit her wonderful site here. www.mycharmingkids.net

As soon as I figure out how to add a button to my blog I will!

Gotta go to bed because my baby boy has decided that is nice to wake up around 5:30 for the last few mornings.

Hugs, Chesnye

A Little Update

I received the prettiest dresses in the mail a few days ago. Yes, they were from Lori. I can't wait for the summer weather so Bella Ruth can wear them. If you haven't visited Charlotte English Boutique then you need to. Fast. She is taking orders for the Azalea Ruffle Dress now. This is one of the dresses I ordered and it is beautiful!!!

Will Henry and I are flying to OKC this afternoon for my great uncle's funeral. He was probably one of the nicest and most Godly men I have known. He was so much like his father, my PaPa Will (who Will Henry is named after). I can't wait to celebrate this wonderful person that I have had the honor of being close to my entire life. Please say an extra prayer for our family as my Uncle Don will be greatly missed.

Praise God

Today is a very exciting day for me. My BFF since college is going to have an ultrasound to check on her new baby. Her HgC level was at 16,000 at only 4 weeks pregnant. She is a twin, and her Mama had another set of twins 18 months after Rhea and Will were born. To top this off, she only took the pregnancy test because she was calling the infertility doctor to set up her next treatment! She has been dealing with infertility for almost 4 years. Guess who is going to the doctor with her.....Me!! I can't wait for 11:00 to get here.

I'll post an update when we get back.

UPDATE: We saw 2 heartbeats today!!! We can't wait to see these little angels in October!!!!

Meeting the Bishop (and a prayer request)

Meeting the Bishop.

My RCIA class and their sponsors.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to have the chance to meet the Bishop. It was the Rite of Election service for the Catholic churches in our area. The service was beautiful. After the service there was a small reception and that is where we actually had a chance to meet the Bishop and talk to him. Lucky for me my sponsor, Julie, just walked right up and introduced us. (hi julie!) She even remembered her camera. (I need to do a post on my faith journey sometime soon.)

I also have another prayer request for my prayer warriors: Please pray for this sweet family as they are taking their precious baby girl, Gracie, off of ECMO today. I have followed this story for a few weeks and her family are such strong Christians. Please pray for her Mommy, Daddy, brothers and sister to have peace, grace and courage as they send Gracie home to Jesus. Their blog is http://www.thegledhillfamily.blogspot.com/ .

Warm and Cozy

Tonight, while we were at mass, there was a soft snow falling. It was so warm and cozy just knowing what waited for us outside the door. But please, let us miss no more school!

Our ice skating adventure

Bella Ruth and Mama taking a break.

The peeps with a beautiful ice sculpture.

Will Henry loved watching all of action. Next year he can ice skate with us.

Making the loop with "little" Will as my kiddos call him.

Kelly and Bella Ruth.

Clark and Will making their way around the rink.

We went ice skating in OKC over our break and had a fun, fun time. Lucky for me we met one of my best friends and her son Will. My peeps LOVE Will! And Kelly was a life saver with Bella Ruth. I took the boys and she took Bella Ruth around the rink a million times. At least it felt like a million times. After we skated an artist was making ice sculptures. It was a blast, we can't wait to go back next year.

A Blessing

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him"

1 Samuel 1:27

My dear, sweet friend and her husband were given a baby girl last night. This is such a special couple that has been through such trials to build their family. After years of infertility they were blessed with twins, Laura and Anna, who were born sleeping in April 2005. I still remember the phone call with this news. I was in San Diego with my sweet hubby and I had to sneak in the bathroom since it was only 6am Cali time. Oh the tears, prayers and questions. After this I tried my best to help her "find" a baby. I even enlisted my sweet friend (Hi Tracey) in my quest. Valerie listened to Tracey, took her advice, and applied to every agency possible. But during this time my dear friend Kelly and I found a baby for her in the Fall of 2007, but the birth grandmother intervened and so those dreams ended after a month of correspondence and legal paperwork. Then last Thursday they met with a birth mother. On Sunday she started finding her prayer warriors at church. Tuesday sweet baby Elizabeth "Beth" Marie was born; 2 beautiful pictures were "texted" of the baby and the baby with Valerie. And then this morning I got a phone call so different than before, "It's official. The birth mother signed the papers this morning." Oh the tears that flowed. The happy tears. And they still seem to flow tonight.

Charlotte English Boutique

If you haven't had a chance yet, you must visit this delightful store. I have already made one order and I'm thinking about a second one!

www.charlotteenglishboutique.com

Cora Paige

One of the things that I have loved the most about my blog is finding an AWESOME network of Christain mothers. Each time I see a prayer request on a blog I feel that we need to spread the word and find as many prayer warriors as possible. Please join me in praying for this sweet family as their baby daughter just joined our Jesus yesterday morning. You can visit their family blog at http://www.themcclenahans.blogspot.com/

Hugs,

Chesnye

More Holiday ReCap

I found these pictures on my computer this evening. I still have more holiday photographs to download from another camera. More on that later.

These were the best pictures I have from Christmas Eve. It's not easy to get 5 excited children to pose for a picture.

And Clark kept closing his eyes. That silly boy!!

This is Christmas Day with the well-loved scooters from Jojo and Papa or Poppy as Bella Ruth calls my Dad.

That's my girl playing football with all of the men!!! My Mom has a picture of my on my 4th Christmas playing football with my cousins. I had a football helmet on, where as she has a football.

My nephew Hugh loved his big wheel as much as his Daddy loved his many years ago.

Scooter riding some more. And more closed eyes!

Will Henry playing Peek-a-boo in my parents bedroom door. He had such a great time.