Eventful Saturday

Today was a productive & busy Saturday! I went out to lunch with some of my teacher friends...always an interesting get together. It was nice to a) eat in a room outside of Chapman's Retreat and b) not sit in chairs made for 6 year olds. We went to Jason's Deli (mainly for the free soft serve ice cream...) and had a cone contest. Johnell & I are really good at putting some soft serve on a cone! Too bad I'm allergic to milk..not a good idea. Afterwards we all went to the Parent Teacher Store to spend the rest of our school money. It is so fun to spend money when it is not mine! I stocked up.

I also took some of my first visitors to the house! We have working plumbing and electricity. Here are some pictures:

Yay for appliances!

...and lights!

oh yeah, and granite!

This is for Caron..do you love our polka dots?

Master bath...so excited about this!

Okay, so this is not of the house. We played Twister in my class this week and I think this picture is really fun. Watching 6 year olds balance was hilarious! They loved it!

Okay...back to our house. Our fireplace is now painted!

And this picture is just because it makes me happy. Here is Hudson saying, "No Mama, I promise I did not eat a dryer sheet!" Haha...goofiest dog ever. It was about this time 1 year ago that this "little" guy walked into my life. He went from being a dumpster diver to an inside dog who loves...vegetables, dryer sheets, cheese, little dog toys, his "big" brother Jack, and his squeeky soccer ball. Our life would be pretty boring without him!

Dr. Pepper

I have a classroom full of kids that can sometimes drive me crazy...but the funny things they say totally make teaching 1st grade worth it! (And those great girls I work with too...they're pretty neat)

Well, yesterday some of the boys in the class seemed to have lost their minds and I made them move their clip to yellow. For one of these kiddos, this has a been a pattern for about 10 days now..yikes! Well, during recess, I made him sit out and write an apology letter for his behavior in class and this is what I got:

Dear Mrs. May,
I am very sorry for being on yellow again. It's just all the Dr. Pepper!

Hahaha. He told me a couple days ago that his mom had been buying Dr. Pepper and he was drinking a lot of it so he thinks that is why he has been getting in trouble. Too funny. It was hard to be mad at him after that note:)

Tag, you're it!

I've been tagged by Amanda...so here it goes:)

25 Random Things About Me

25. I love my middle name, Cheney. It is my mom's maiden name and I have always loved it because it is different.
24. I was set on going to Clemson until the middle of my senior year in high school. I have never regretted going to Ole Miss because I met my hubby, some of my best friends, and I got to live in a cute small town.
23. For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to have a big family. I blame that on being an only child.
22. I get over-heated a lot. I passed out in a shower at a NYC hotel in high school because I got too hot.
21. I have a BIG soft spot for animals. I would rescue every dog if I could. Everytime an animal dies in a movie, I am hysterical.
20. I treat my chihuahua like a human. He is spoiled rotten.
19. The room I grew up in is painted hot pink and orange. It makes me very happy.
18. Ben & I have together for over 4 years...I really can't remember what life was like before him! He is the only guy I've ever loved...well, besides my daddy:)
17. I am allergic to milk. However, I love all milk products. Ironic.
16. When I was in high school, I hiked up to the top of a mountain in British Columbia in 7 days. It was the hardest thing I 've ever done in my life...but so much fun!
15. I've been to Mexico, Poland, and Peru on mission trips. Each one changed me.
14. I bite my nails to the point where they hurt.
13. I have a long big toe that my husband lovingly (or maybe not..) makes fun of:)
12. Ben taught me how to burp...and now regrets it. Haha..
11. I'm really weird with water. If I drink it out of the bottle, it must be room temperature. However, if it is tap water, it must be ice cold.
10. I love to watch Law & Order: SVU before I go to bed which makes me have creepy dreams.
9. I have music ADD. When I am listening to music in the car, I never finish the song.
8. Cookbooks are my favorite. I love looking through them.
7. I've sung the National Anthem at a few Braves games....(with my high school choir)
6. I've sung in rodeos & at the Macon Cherry Blossom Festival. Yeehaw!
5. I'm really only competitive when I play games with Ben. I just really love to beat him!
4. If I lived in L.A I would definitely be a professional celebrity stalker.
3. I'm a daydreamer.
2. I learned to surf in high school.
1. I only wear 2 rings. I wear my wedding ring(duh) and my great-grandmother's pearl ring that my Nana gave to me when I was 13.

A year in pictures..

I've been thinking about how much has happened in the past year...and I have come to realize that this has been the best year ever! So much has happened since I started my senior year (part deux) at Ole Miss.



Here is the family picture from Christmas 2007 at Nana's in Louisiana. We had 2 very cute babies with us last Christmas and we had so much fun!



My fabulous friend Claire took our engagement pictures at Rowan Oak in Oxford. So fun! Look at her website...she is AWESOME!!

This striking young man waltzed into my life in the beginning of February 2008. He was one of the neighborhood strays and was so pitiful. He had an embedded collar, mange, and was so skinny. However, I am a softy and he was too sweet to pass up. This is one of my first pictures with Hudson Hill May:)

Who would have thought on one of my pointless drives around the back roads of Mississippi that I would meet this (un)lovable guy?! Meet Lloyd.

Yep, he is pretty much the coolest llama ever. I seriously want one of these guys.

I lived in a place where you could not go through Spring without eating some of these yummy creatures.

My mom came to Oxford for one of my showers! It was Double Decker on the Square & we had the pleasure to listening to my best friend's husband play with his band!

I spent my last semester student teaching 4th graders in Oxford. Kylan, Sha'Quavious, and Marcel were some of my faves:) They were pretty impressed when they found out their white student teacher could do Soulja Boy with them!

After 5 very fun years in a very small town in Mississippi, I finally graduated. The 3 Musketeers survived the School of Education.

Ben and I found this cute little house in June & signed a lease! The summer included lots of wedding gifts...woohoo!

Phil & Alex got married one month before us. We're growing up!

My cousin Blakely had a baby shower at my house in GA. She had sweet Ashton a few weeks after our wedding.

This was the summer we had our Cheney family reunion in the north Georgia mountains. About 70 people came...lots of yummy food & lots of good company! Here we are with Papa & Carol and the rest of the bunch. Please notice that one of the babies is upside down...only Scott...

The weekend after our reunion, we had another reunion of sorts. Our wedding! It was such a fun weekend and I wish I could go back in time and do it all again! We just celebrated our 6 month anniversary and it is hard to believe how fast the time does go by. I hope 2009 is as great as 2008 was!

prayer

If you have not read this blog, you need to. This family has been on my heart a lot lately. After you read their story, you will understand why. I have always believed in the power of prayer & have seen some amazing things happen because of this.

Neat story...my Nana has been part of a church family for a long time. Because she has been so sick lately and unable to walk much, she has spent her Sundays watching church on tv. Well when she went in the hospital on Jan. 2, she was put on her church prayer list. I make lists of prayer requests in my journal...but apparently I am way behind on the times. My 80 year old Nana got a beeper from a deacon at her church and anytime someone prays for her, they call the beeper and it beeps! My mom said that within the first hour they had it, it beeped almost 100 times! Amazing! It is such a great feeling knowing that people all over are praying for my sweet Nana. And my goodness...has it worked:) They are thinking she will leave the hospital sometime this week! God is good!

Anyways, read about the Riggs family & keep their sweet little girl in your prayers.

Brr...

I thought that I just moved 3 hours north of Atlanta, but I must have been mistaken. School was cancelled on Friday because it was simply "too cold." Never heard of such a thing, but I am not one to complain! It was 10 degrees when I went to bed the other night. Absolutely terrible! I sure do hate the cold but I love a good 4 day weekend! :)

In other news, we have cabinets & granite countertops! Now our house is really starting to look like a house. We only have a month and week til we move in--I can't wait! Apparently we also got a new mini-bulldozer. It's parked in the driveway. Pretty sweet!

I wish I had this fireplace right now. Our current fireplace is not up to code and our landlord said it probably burn the house down. Neat.

Louisiana

My weekend in Baton Rouge was actually really great. My Nana is the most stubborn woman ever and is proving that all she wants is to leave that hospital! She has been so funny and my mom and her sisters have kept a journal of all their funny stories this past week. Even at her worst, she is still strong enough to give everyone around her a little laugh. It was a much needed visit! I got to see the whole fam...including this sweet little girl & almost big sister!

OH...and we found out we are closing on our house February 27. Woohoo!!!

Leavin'....

on a jet plane! (Okay, well in a Nissan Pathfinder) Tonight 3/4 of our little family will be venturing to Tiger Country. For those of you who are confused, that would be Baton Rouge. We are going to see my sweet Nana for the weekend because she has been in the hospital for a little while now. I've had an unbelievable amount of sweet emails, phone calls, & text messages..so thank you to everyone who has been praying for Nana and our family. It really does mean so much!

Some funny "Louisiana family" stories are sure to come by the end of the weekend.. :)

Casa de la May

I went by our house today & took a few pictures. There were lots of workers there walking on stilts, finishing the drywall, & listening to very loud mexican music. A good time was had by all. Here is the front...finally have my porch!!

Here is the back side!

Our master closet...which is the size of our current living room:)

They said we should close sometime around Feb. 20...so exciting! Hope everyone has had a great 2009 so far!

New Year, New Blog

I have decided to give this whole "blog" thing a try. I figured I would ring in the new year by trying out something new! 2008 was a pretty crazy & exciting year...LOTS of new things!

*In May, Ben and I both graduated from Ole Miss--finally:)
*In June we came up to Franklin, found our little bungalow, and signed our lease!
*In July, we got married, honeymooned, and moved to Tennessee. I am exhausted just thinking about that month!
*In August I was welcomed in to the real world by accepting a job teaching 1st grade.
*In October we started building a house here in Franklin.

So in 2008 I got a college degree, a new hubby, a new city, a new home, a new car (yes!), a new job, etc. I can't wait to see what all 2009 brings...it is sure to be an exciting year!