A Photographer's Dream and Bride's Fairytale Wedding

Prayer Request
A blogger friend and follower is going through some medical problems. She needs your prayers. Julianna is in the hospital for pneumonia and a whole slew of other symptoms like coughing up blood, pulse is very weak, blood pressure is out of whack and she blackouts within a drop of hat.  Doctors are currently treating her pneumonia, but are still searching what could be causing the other symptoms.  I'm sure Julianna  could use some encouraging words because she misses her little boy so bad.  Personally, I know how it feels to be separated from your children for any long period of time.  I remember when mom was in the hospital, I wouldn't have seen Katie for 2-3 days.  She was in good hands with Doug's parents, but you get really depressed and think your going crazy unless you at least speak to them for a short moment.  I can't imagine the stress of it all, having your child watch you being hauled away in an ambulance and your baby is crying from being scared.  Plus, you're concerned as well because paramedics can't get a pulse.  Please remember her and her family in your prayers.

D started back to work this week.  She's happy being surrounded around her colleagues, but it will probably be a little overwhelming at times.  I pray God will give her strength and energy to make it this week. 

This prayer sounds so minimal and insignificant after reading the top two requests, but I'll be needing your prayers in the next few days.  If you've been keeping up with my posts, I've been an emotional rollercoaster.  Katie will be starting school soon and will be gone all day, 5 days out of the week.  Sure she was in pre-school last year to give us a short example of what was to come.  Like any mom, you have so many emotions flowing.  You're excited for your child growing up and experiencing so many new things, but in the same breath you hate to see them growing up.  I want them to have a full happy life, but in the same sense I want them to stay babies.  Someone whom I can hold, rock, snuggle and love on.  I love my hugs and kisses!  

My sister and niece are trying to survive wedding arrangements.  This wedding is being planned well in advance (2 years), but it's because Lord willing, the wedding will take place in a chapel on the Berry College Campus at Frost Chapel in Rome, Georgia.  Anxiety and nerves are already high, they need your prayers and lots of valium.  (Just kidding)  Leslie and Chase want to wait two years because Lord willing, she'll graduate nursing school the December before the set date, which is May.  They are still working on an actual day, but it will be most definitely be in the month of May. 

Now to the Fairytale . . .

The Wedding of the Year - Chase & Leslie
Nothing is set in stone, but they have less than two years to get everything together.  Immediate members of both Chase and Leslie's families went on a short trip to Rome, Georgia last weekend, to view the Berry College Campus.  Just to make sure this is the right place for them.  All I've ever heard out of Leslie's mouth, since she's been engaged, was how much she would LOVE to be married at the Oak Hill Plantation.  Since she wants a wedding in May, her outside plantation wedding went to the Frost Chapel.  From what I understand, the Old Mill Water Wheel and Swan Lake are not too far from the chapel.  I've never heard of this place until Leslie filled me in.  Then, I got to see her pictures on Facebook from their little weekend away.  I'm in LOVE!  It's a photographers dream along with any bride-to-be.  You talk about fairytale in the middle of nowhere.  Berry has a very cherished treasure hidden and only 2 hours away from us.  Yay!  I told Leslie that after seeing those pictures, I'm so excited.  It will be great because by that time, Colton will be 3 years old and Katie almost 7 years.  This would be a perfect place for me to put my creative hat on and have fun taken photos.  I LOVE the Swan Lake.  Below, I added some photos that I found off the web, including Charis Photography website. 

Frost Chapel at Twilight

Inside Frost Chapel

Oak Hill Plantation
This is the Berry Plantation featured on the movie (Carmichael), "Sweet Home Alabama."
Originally, Leslie and Chase wanted the wedding to be held on the grounds of the Oak Hill Plantation, but weddings in the South in the month of May are normally very wet. 

Frost Chapel, Berry College

Chase & Leslie hope to be able to wed here, but we'll see if the date is available

Inside Frost Chapel

I love the stone walls, arched windows and stained glass

Old Mill Water Wheel - not far from chapel

Would make a beautiful background.  Leslie told me deer were everywhere when they were there

Swan Lake - not far from chapel

Swan Lake with stone bridge in background - I LOVE IT!

Isn't this so beautiful?

Oak Hill Plantation (Carmichael Plantation from "Sweet Home Alabama" movie)

Colton and Katie Story

I have a sweet story that I had to post for Colton. I was sitting in the floor trying to play with him, but he didn't seem interested in the toys I was playing with. All of the sudden, I noticed he was doing something to my hair. As I slowly peered around, he had a brush in his hand. He was brushing my hair. It's obvious that he's been watching me and Katie brushing each others hair. I thought that was so sweet, he knew what to do with the brush. When I asked him what he was doing, I could see his little smile behind his passy.  He is such a sweetheart. 

We received a letter from Katie's new teacher, Mrs. M. I thought it was very sweet that she wrote two separate letters. One for Katie and one for us parents. At CCPS all of the Kindergarten classes have themes. Seeing some of the rooms first hand last Spring, I can tell you that some teachers take it to the extreme. Well, Katie's room is "Clifford the Big Red Dog." I think Katie liked the fact she'll be in Clifford's room. Apparently, there's a Clifford dog painted on the hallway wall, right outside the classroom door. He is there to welcome all the students. Mrs. M enclosed a coloring page of Clifford for Katie to color. I figured she would just color the dog red and maybe some other color for the background, but Katie did a great job. She drew a yellow sun with orange rays, green grass with pink daisies. Of course, she wrote her name in pink, her favorite color. I'll have to take a picture of it to add to her digital art file. I'm hoping in the next couple of years to make her an art collage of all of her best pieces into one big wall art frame.

Thursday, I'm suppose to meet with Mrs. M and have a lot of my questions answered and get some unfinished business done. I don't know if Doug's going to be able to make it with me. He's been working ALOT because they are shipping a rocket.

Friday, me, the kids and maybe Millard and Peggy are going to the Open House at school. Katie is so excited. I made the mistake of telling her today about the Open House. Now, she wants to go to school tomorrow. Ugh! She misses school so much, but I can't get it through her head that a lot of her old friends will not be there.

I know Katie's ready for school because she's at the point where she is bored all the time.  With the temps hovering around 100 degrees, we can't go outside to play.  She's almost finished her workbook that we started in April, but she's at the point where she's getting tired of it.  I gave her the water paints a few weeks ago, she doesn't like to paint as much as draw or color.  I showed her how to trace, but that didn't last long.  I've had some time to do short crafts with her out of cheap paper plates.  There's just so many episodes of Hannah Montana and Phineas and Ferb.  We are ready to go to school.