Five Rooms I Love - Bedrooms For Girls

Can I go ahead and state the obvious to those who know me that I absolutely love love love designing girls rooms!! I never had the real chance to tell my parents what I wanted and I always dreamed of having a little girl to share that chance with, but until then I find joy in designing rooms that are both classy and functional for my friends and family that ask for help. I love my five rooms posts, but this is by far one of my favorites.

This room is so calm. The colors make room for the girl to express herself and have other things in her room besides just the typical pink found in all girls rooms. This room can also grow from toddler all the way to teen because it isn't "themed" or too typical. I love the chair that allows the child to sit and read or watch television. I wish the person who posted these designer ideas would have shared a picture of the whole room because I bet it is adorable. If I can find the photos, I will post (I promise!)

This was the room that my husband chose when we were looking for my top five. When we were expecting Ace and were told in the early months that he looked like a girl, we started trying to find rooms that would fit both of our tastes. DJ's biggest complaint was that everything was so PINK, that there was no added color. What if your little girl didn't like pink? or even started not liking it because her room was so full of it? So we decided to try to build a room where pink didn't take over the world or the space. Every little girl dreams of a princess room, but every dream looks different. The pattern and dimension on this wall makes it look girly, but the blue-teal makes it easy for her to have a room that fits her...and the lime green is my favorite color in the whole room! It adds just enough to make this room beautiful and easy to grow with her as she ages :)

Here comes the girly girl in me that absolutely LOVES this room... the pink is subtle, the crown on the canopy says it all, and the white bed with all the small details just speaks volumes. I could see my future daugher sleeping in something like this with just a little more pink... and remember ladies, SMALL details make a BIG impression!

I chose this room for how functional it looks. I bet you didn't notice by first glance all the little spaces that added storage. There are bins on every side of this bed (purchased on www.ikea.com ) I love the stool at the end of the bed and it gives me the assumption that this room is for a small girl which tickles me because she truly will get to use this room until she's a teenager who decides all black suits her better! ha!! Yellow is also such a girly, flirty color and adds some dimension to a space. The wall to wall bookshelves are perfect because all the breakables can be seen and put away and she can display anything she wants - if she likes movies, it's perfect for DVDS, or books if she likes to read, or barbies if she likes to collect - then mom can come in and put them all back in their place easily... doesn't that sound lovely, moms?

And last, but not least, this is the only theme room I could find that I even liked at all. I hate themes! When I first had Blaze, his room was FULL of Winnie The Pooh! I thought it was so cute and then after nights sitting there staring at the walls with a screaming baby, I realized that themes get really old, really quick. This ladybug room, however, is far from corny. I personally think it's adorable, but probably won't be appreciated once the girl hits pre-teen. I posted this room of all the themes I had it narrowed down to for my close friend, Jessica Glanton. She is pregnant with her third child, a little girl named Mia ... but they call her Mia Bug and her room is all ladybugs. I thought she would absolutely love this room! I love all the green and other neutrals and for a woman who may be having a girl and not wanting alot of pink, ladybugs or some type of animal print would be a good fit.

I hope you all are enjoying the "five rooms" posts. Which rooms would you like to see next? Leave a comment and whoever posts first, gets to choose the next post!! :)

New Facebook Page and Details

My new Facebook page is over at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.104171726344642.12741.100002554457059#!/profile.php?id=100002554457059

I chose to close my other Facebook page because of some issues that had come about after my miscarriage. This FB page is under construction and I am not ready to jump back into the whole world yet so I am not accepting friend requests or doing any posting. I just wanted to post it here so that when I am ready, you all can find it easily.

I also wanted to give details on my new adventure of Interior Design. I have started online courses through the Art Institute and I will be working towards my BS in Interior Design with a minor in Architecture. I will be posting design ideas and room photos on my Facebook page and also here, with of course more detail here on the blog.

Just wanted to fill you all in! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week!! Also, I know I said the blog was under construction, but I still haven't finished the plans to the blog designer because I was trying to decide on the design.. so keep waiting!

Health Update

We have talked to the doctor and he says everything is back to normal and it is okay to start trying to have a baby again when we are ready. We are still discussing our Fertility Medication options, but as of now, it doesn't hurt to just try naturally! I am having a successful cycle which is great considering it was only been just over a month. Other than that, we will be seeing the doctor on Tuesday to make sure there is no cancer, no cysts, and no more infection. I am in pain today (first AF since miscarriage) and my emotions have gone crazy including two anxiety attacks and one total mental breakdown that lasted an hour, but I am finding my "new normal" and moving on.

In other news, when you start deciding you want to have a baby, that seems to be all you think or talk about so we have come up with a list of names... and baby has a nickname if she is a girl. We have a favorite show called "America's Best Dance Crew" and there was a 15 year old bubbly little girl that reminded me so much of myself - and she was our favorite from the start. After weeks of watching her dance, we finally heard that instead of revealing her real name, she just goes back her nickname "ChaChee" and for some strange reason of all names, that is what we decided on. So if we have a girl, her name (not real name people!) will be CHACHEE! :)

For boys, we have decided on Vadon, Roman, or Madden for first name and we still do not agree on a middle name although I have ALWAYS wanted to name my little boy Tyse and I think it goes perfect for Blaze and Ace. As for girls, the list is alot longer - we like Lyndee, Sydney, Willow, Brynleigh, Macey, Journee, Kylee, Natalee, and we are searching for a name that starts with D if anyone has a suggestion. For middle names, I love Claire and Elizabeth but we also love family names and Cherry was my grandmother's last name so we consider that too. I would love to have twins and if we did, if they are girl/girl or boy/girl they will be named Sam and Sarah after my amazing grandparents :)

We also need help with doggy names so leave us a comment with some boy and girl dog names you think would fit with our family - because we are in the adoption process, just waiting to find the perfect dog for our life :)

Five Rooms I Love - Offices

I love the way this room is functional but has a very comfy chair to just escape in. I want my office (in the near future hopefully - hint, hint hubby!) to have a spot for me to curl up in and just pray if that's all I can do to relax for that day.
I love this room because it has major style. Why does functional have to be so unstylish? I love the art on the walls and the color that is added also.

This room is BIG and the windows are amazing! A home office needs to allow you to do many things... even if you don't work from home, you need somewhere to pay bills and keep up with your paperwork and keep up with your family, help your kids do homework, etc... I just love this functional space. The wall to wall shelving is AMAZING. I'm wondering if this was handmade or purchased. Also, I have to mention the rug, what a beauty!

This was listed as a shared space between husband and wife. I would get alot of work done with a TV right there in front of me, but I wonder how good that is for your eyes. I could see me using this space to catch up on my soaps all while paying my bills online. This office speaks "Ashley" :) I want this!!

And this one was the most modern is why I chose this one to add to the list. The tree was handpainted and has five birds hanging out which represent every person in this woman's family. She hand painted the tree and it took TWO WEEKS all by herself! The other thing that made me love this office was the minimalistic desk space. Some people just have too much "stuff!"

I will continue to post the "five rooms I love" posts because a) I love lists and b) I love rooms!! Have a blessed Thursday! :)

Coming Soon!

Coming up soon will be "day in the life of..." posts that started as an idea over at Kelly's Korner blog. Her blog is www.kellyskornerblog.com for those that are not familiar with her (and if you aren't, you should! She is a rocking mom and wife that blogs about everything and anything in between!) She has started the day in the life posts which shows a typical day in different people's lives. Her life is different than mine because she has an infant and toddler at home and she starts at 545 am! I am lucky to hit the floor at 9 am!! Anyways, she is chronicling a whole week but I will probably just do 1-2 days. It may be boring for some, but I think it will be fun to look back years from now and see what life was like as a stay at home mom! If you plan to participate as well, please leave me a comment and let me know so I can read too! :)

Something To Think About: Gay Marriage and Adoption

I love engaging myself in good debates about things of this world in today's society. I wanted to ask you all a question and see if anyone had a good but respectful response. I am open to all answers as I find myself becoming more open minded everyday...


I'm not trying to start a debate but I am just wondering as Christians - what is more important to us?... to continue to be against gay marriage and have less families able to adopt children or support gay marriage and allow them to adopt children which may bring the adortion rate down?

I found some facts about domestic violence that made me think that maybe if we legalized gay marriage we would have more happy children and a much lesser divorce rate although I know there are cons and it is considered sinful - as are millions of other things that don't involve the best interest of a child. There are only 8 domestic violence cases in the US between gay couples while there are over 100,000 cases PER DAY for other couples.

Please be respectful if you have a comment, it is just something on my heart tonight. I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts and comments, but I am a lover not a fighter and I do not tolerate hatred amongst my family and friends.

My Week In Pictures!

One thing I absolutely love about being a mom to boys is being on the ballfield. Anyone who knows me personally knows that I grew up near the fields because my father played softball twice a week and every single weekend my whole childhood. I have been to almost every single ballfield in the south and spent most of my weekends living in hotels to support my dad and his team. When I found out Blaze was a boy, I remember being so happy to have another reason to live on the field.. after all, I don't do dirt any other way.

I could say alot of things about Blaze and how amazing he is on the field. He always listens and has such a heart for his friends that play too. I think he has learned so much from playing ball - but not just about the sport, also about life. He has improved so much since he started playing three years ago... and that is all thanks to the wonderful man in this picture, Mickey Griffin. Mickey has been Blaze's coach for the last three years. He is also Blaze's football coach and will be Blaze's basketball coach as well if we are not relocated before the season starts. He is a wonferful man of God, an amazing father, and a great rolemodel for all the children he works with. Everyone who knows him talks about how great of a person he is both on and off the field. He loves these kids so much more than just a coach does - He made a heartfelt speech during the trophy awards about how he misses them and prays for them and loves them and wants the best for them both on and off the field. It takes a man of God to be able to be such a good role model and pour out his feelings emotionally. He is always so upbeat and positive and even though Friday's loss was our first loss in TWO YEARS (that is a big deal for a bunch of first graders!) he took it with grace and was very humble. I don't know if he will ever read my blog, but if he does, I just want to say thank you and tell him that we love and appreciate him and pray for him too. My kids will look back and see what a great coach they had and he laid the groundwork for them to be great ballplayers! Maybe when they make it pro, they can buy him a car or mansion to make up for it! ha!!

Blaze's team went un-defeated 10-0 however during tournaments, they lost their 1st game by 2 points. My son learned how to eat humble pie and it was a good lesson to learn. After winning every game, he cried for a good two hours over his loss. His really close friend, Hayden, was on the other team so he was happy it was her team instead of another that he didn't know. We are proud of her and her team for coming back and doing so good. We love you, Hayden!
This is the group of wild and crazy kids we took to see Cars 2 on Friday night. I also have to mention we had an infant and a 2 year old with us also - and just 3 moms! They did an amazing job and even the baby never made a sound through the whole thing. I made treat bags for all the kids to share after the movie and although it was late, we managed to snap this one picture.

My husband is in Nashville on business and thanks to some friends, I got to go stay the night down there Friday night kid free :) I love my kids, but I love my husband and we barely get the chance to even hug each other at night before bed muchless spend a night together or go out to dinner. Needless to say, he was very busy so I headed home and just happened to stop by my favorite store in the whole world, Coach. They had some awesome deals going on and I walked away with two much needed purses - but I had to promise not to buy another purse all year first! I also got the boys some things from the Nike outlet and then headed home!

Ace also received a trophy for the end of his season. He was so happy he lost his game because that meant he got his trophy for the season! His coach's name is Billy Dale. Billy used to work with DJ and his daughter, Ava, also went to preschool with Ace. We were lucky that he was such a great coach and was so dedicated to the children. It takes alot of patience to teach 8 pre-schoolers to love and appreciate the game. Ace was not ummmm as athletically inclined as his brother. When he found out there was no hitting or wrestling involved in the game, he said he'd rather play football. Again, this is why I love having boys :)

Finally, I wanted to share with you where I spend alot of time blogging. When we bought this house last fall, I just knew many days and nights would be spent watching my kiddos play in the pool and I was so right! They have not wanted to get out of the water all day - even when it gets dark. We have had such horrible storms that we haven't been able to enjoy it as much, but they have had the chance to have some friends over and stuff - and I have such an easy time writing when I am out in the fresh air listening to my babies laugh and have fun.

I am so incredibly blessed to call stay at home mom and wife as my job title. I cannot imagine missing any of these moments with my family. I am so blessed to have a husband who would sacrifice and work hard so that I can stay at home and be the mom they need and deserve. I cannot express enough how thankful I feel for being here everyday for every nap and every step and every meal and every moment :)

If you don't laugh at this, I will give you a dollar :)

I'm perfect.

Don't let the post title fool you, I don't think I am perfect. I just wanted to get the point across that things sometimes seem as they aren't. I want to share with my blog friends because I love you and you all have poured out love and respect to me for the posts I have written so far. I have gotten numerous calls, messages, and e-mails from women, mothers, and even fathers who have thanked me for being so raw and honest about what happened to my family when we lost our child. In today's society, miscarriage is seen as some thing where first you were pregnant and then you weren't. There was no labor, no birth, no child, it was just a "miscarriage". The word just makes me sick. To me, the only word is death. I lost a child that was conceived out of love and given to me by God.

Six months ago, I was approached by a friend who told me that was a small town website that anyone could post anything on and someone had gotten on there and called me horrible names, used my full name, and made comments I would not speak even about my worst enemy. They made comments about me being a gold digger, acting like a brat, appearing "perfect". It hurt not only me but also my family and my close friends. It is so easy to write words, but the pain of those words is permanent. I know you are probably wondering what one story has to do with the other - well it is to drive home the point that sometimes things are nothing as they seem.

I have been very happily married to my husband for 8 years and he is my best friend, BUT there was a time in my relationship where I moved out, filed divorce papers, spent hours dividing up my assets, and couldn't stand to even be in the same room with my husband.

We are very lucky that my husband has a great job and we have the material things we always dreamed of, BUT we got married at the tender age of 19 and always struggled just to put food on the table. I recall a day when it was snowing outside, Blaze was an infant, and we had no heat because we could not pay the bill. We had to go next door and beg our neighbor to let him come sleep at their house just so he wouldn't get sick.

I have two wonderful little boys that are the center of my world, BUT I have been struggling with infertility, unexplained uterine bleeding, endometriosis, endometrial hyperplasia, bowel complications, iron deficiency anemia, and continous infections. I have four precious babies, the last at 14 weeks gestation. My heart aches at every single baby shower, every birthday party, every pregnancy announcement. Sometimes I choose to avoid my friends and family altogether because of the jealousy and bitterness.

I have people who help around the house (maid, gardener, nanny..etc.), BUT the people working for me were hired when I was too sick to do my jobs on my own. When you are a mom and you cannot even care for your children, your home, or your husband, you lose your self worth. I remember laying the bed staring around me realizing my house was a mess, my kids had nobody taking care of them, and the laundry was piled all around me. It's a bitter pill to swallow that you realize you cannot care for yourself let alone anyone else.

The point is - my life is not perfect... Yes, I have all the things I could ever dream of, but I am still human. I won't even begin to pour out the hurt, grief, and anger I still carry from my childhood and the lasting effect those things had on my life. I want you all to know that I am normal just like you and I share my story, my pictures, my life to help and encourage others. I hope you all enjoy my blog as much as I do writing.

I learned today that a woman read my blog and decided not to have an abortion. She contacted me via e-mail and told me that my story hurt her heart in ways that she didn't think it could. She may still choose adoption and if she does, I will update her story but please pray for her on this journey and praise God that a child's life was saved even if it meant I had to share my story of loss.

My next posts will be some of my favorite So You Think You Can Dance routines from the last few years I have been watching it.... and I encourage you all to leave me comments so I know somebody is actually listening.. that makes it all so worth it. Also, please become a follower using the "follow me" button. Once my blog designer is finished with the design, this blog will be private so if you are reading and we do not know it, you will no longer be able to read the blog.

Fly High, Little One...

I’m sitting here mystified and numbed with pain
To lose someone so close, yet so far away.
Some say you can’t lose something you never had
If that’s true than how can I feel this sad?

I felt more close to you, my child
More than anyone else around me
Because I felt you so deep within me.
So small no eye could see
Yet so full of life was felt already.

Disbelief and uncertainty consume my brain
As the tears fall like rain,
Heart pounding hard, feels like thunder
The sorrow and anguish down under just can’t be explained.

Was I being punished for a sin I committed?
Was I to learn something from this and just didn’t get it?
Please God answer me… what did I do to deserve this?
Does he know how much I love him?
Cuz it’s your job now to tell him!
I already miss him… I’d do anything to kiss him…
To hold him and embrace the mere presence of him.

I can only hope for one of these days
he comes back to me, this time to stay.
To find it deep within his heart
To give me the chance for a brand new start..

Designer Saturday: Functionality and Feel Of Master Bedroom

First things first, here is my new furniture! This picture does not give it justice at all.

I absolutely love the rich color of the wood, not to mention I upgraded to a king.. :)

As most of you know, my heart dreams of becoming an interior designer. Living in a small town doesn't really give me that opportunity, but after I found out we could possibly be relocating to a bigger town, I started drawing up designs and dreams if it ever becomes a reality for me. Today I wanted to talk about the "feel of a master bedroom." This is a statement that Candice Olsen often makes on HGTV. You want your master to function the way you need it - some use their master just for sleep, others to relax, other describe it as a "romance cave." (hehe, that last one I made up!) so mainly I wanted to talk about the feel of a space. The picture above shows a room that is so functional. The pros are that it looks spacious and comfortable and that there is no "junk". The cons are that they have large pictures of children above their bed. If you could have ONE place in your house that is kind of a space just for you and your significant other, this is the place. I recommend putting up pictures only of you and your spouse and make this the place that reminds you of your relationship, your love, your dedication, etc.. 

When I started designing my master bedroom, this is the picture that I used to decide what I wanted my master bedroom to look and feel like. I am working on the sand colored walls and also a nice, clean, sleek sofa for the end of the bed. My new bedroom furniture was delivered last week and can I mention it is so nice to have a king size bed! I will be posting once a week about design ideas and tips so if you would like to continue to read my blog, make sure you click the follower button on the left!

One Month

It has been one month since we lost our baby and not a day goes by that I don't do the normal "what if's". You try to find a new normal after you have lost a child. I have had 3 miscarriages prior to this miscarriage and I truly understand that every miscarriage is different, but the real struggle was the labor and actually having to see the baby that just shakes your world as you know it.

Some of you have asked a few questions that I wanted to try to answer. The first was how we actually found out the sex of the baby. We did not know the sex of the baby so we chose to have testing done to find out and also to test for chromosome abnormalities. A few people asked how I got so sick so quick. Without being too graphic, I did not pass my afterbirth until two days later and I was at home alone so I decided to bag it up and take it straight to the hospital as well. They did testing there to learn that I had a staph infection and we are not sure whether I had it before or after. I had a urinary tract infection one month prior to this and any and all meds were just not clearing it up. I haven't been very healthy for about two years especially after my 3rd miscarriage last November where I bled for 60 days straight after and had many other complications. We believe that there was some negligence on part of our medical staff because of things they said and did prior to the loss of our child, but we have since contact a lawyer and a specialist and plan to pursue legal action if necessary. The last question seems to be either can we get pregnant again or will we try again and the answer is YES. We were given the okay to try again as of June 19th. We do plan to try again with no meds and we are also looking into fostering and adoption.

I am so lucky that I have had so many friends to help me get through all of this and carry me along the way. I have people writing me everyday telling me how my story touched their life. I encourage you to make a donation in Allie's honor if you are lead to do so. Thank you for everything and as long as I have people reading, I will continue to share my story...

I will eventually be sharing a picture of our baby. This picture is very graphic in nature. I will simply post a link to the photo and those of you who have asked to see her and pray for her and spend time seeing her can choose to look at the photo or print. Please do not share this photo with anyone else without my permission. I will edit this post with the link when I have finished.

Boys, Prayers, Baseball, and Storms!

My husband met a family while working in Pikeville that have a 4 year old son

suffering from Brain and Spine Cancer. Please pray for comfort and recovery for

Justin Tollett. I cannot imagine and what he and his family is going through.

I met these little boys via an adoption and fostering website. I have been extensively

researching what life would be like IF Dj and I decided adoption or fostering

would fit in with our family plan. If we did decide to go this direction, we would be looking

for older children and possibly siblings. I didn't expect to fall in love just through pictures

but those faces are just too much for one mommy's heart to handle - how cute are they?

Please pray that no matter they end up, they get a good loving forever home

and that they are not split up. The oldest, Tommy, is very protective over his brothers

and it would be a tragedy for someone to adopt them and not him.

This is Ace's first year playing baseball and his dad's work actually was the sponsor.

How cute are these kids too? I love to see them be so funny out on the field.
We have had HORRIBLE storms in Tennessee this week and we are under tornado watch tonight until 8pm. Ace has his last game and then I am supposed to drive 2 hours to Nashville to spend a little time with husband and then drive back home - I know, i'm the best wife ever :)

SYTYC..dance,dance,dance...

I just cannot get enough of this show! If you are not watching, you are missing out. It comes on Wednesday 8/7 and Thursday 9/8 on Fox if you would like to check it out! Go Chris!!!

Throughout the weekend, I will be posting some youtube videos of my favorite dances from past seasons. What are your favorites?

We're remodeling!

The blog that is! If you haven't checked out http://www.sweetiebabysblogdesign.com/ you really should! She is reasonably priced and did my first design and now - number two! I was ready for something different and unique and I plan to start blogging everyday (Lord willing!) so I contacted her today to get something started for us! Keep looking for updates!! And, by the way, I have blogged a few times today to try to get caught up since I took a month away after the loss of our child (the month anniversary is today, rest in peace sweet Allie!) and I hope you all are enjoying getting caught up on our lives! More to come!! :)

Wrestlemania 2011

My dad and Ace were like best buds through the whole thing!
Blaze was acting like another wrestler..just being silly!

This is what 80,000 people looks like.. it was crazy!

This is the Atlanta Georgia Dome... and it was packed from end to end!

Blaze had lots of fun too!!

Wrestlemania was awesome! I was really feeling bad the whole time we were there (morning sickness although I didn't know I was pregnant - thought I had the "flu"), so we didn't do as much as I would have liked, but we tried to do the best we could. We did alot of other things while in Georgia (more posts to come), but we went there for one big reason and this was it. My dad has been waiting 27 years to see a Wrestlemania live and to see his face light up being there was something I will never forget and worth every penny of the trip! We weren't in the best seats (seats sold out in 7 minutes ya'll!) but we still got a great view of all the people coming in from their walk out... and it was something that bonded all of us for life - and something my kids will never be able to forget as well.