oodles of noodles

Alright friends and family, I took a break from blogging for a bit, but now I am BACK! I know, your ecstatic.

Please read this fast like on the opening of Glee. Or you can read it slow, its up to you I suppose :)

OK, here is what you missed at the homestead...

Chelsey (yes that is myself, yes Im referring to myself in the third person to make this sound like the run down in Glee, so let me start over)

Chelsey has been baking her buns off in the kitchen (no pun intended)

Plus...

oodles of spinach noodles that FAILED because they were too thick.

Charli went golfing for the first time and didn't complain once on 9 holes.

She also got a new toy that she has been pushing around the house

Chelsey's mother found this at a garage sale for $2.

Charli can also drink from a hose now, while only inhaling the water twice.

And James is trying to sell this,

which he wants you to buy.

And, thats what you missed at the Homestead.

Dear Readers,

Dear People that read my blog,

I am going to have to resign my postings of pictures of my baby girl for a while, due to me being paranoid about creeps on the internet. But, I will however send you picture updates via. If you would like picture updates by email because you do not have facebook (Grandma) or because you refuse to use it (Anna) let me know. My email is chelseybuttrey@yahoo.com. Otherwise you will just have to enjoy our family pics on facebook. Although, it is much more fun to share them on here. Maybe one day...

I will still share updates on what our family has been up to, so don't abandon me completely. Plus, once every blue moon there will be a picture or two.

That is all.

1st day back to work

Today was the first day that I went back to work after having Baby C. Im really looking forward to my new job. Its what I had been working toward those 4 long years of college. It was quite tuff leaving my little one at home, but she will be home most of the day with her wonderful daddy and a couple of hours of the day at a pretty great day care. Leaving her is much easier since I know she is in good hands.

My orientation was a little over 2 hours away. I had to leave my home at 5:30am in order to make it there by 8. And of course Baby C was up and eating a little before 4 am (thankfully my amazing husband took care of all the other feedings last night). Needless to say it was a long day, and Im pretty sure I had more coffee today than I have had in the past year. Its 8:30pm and as soon as Im done writing, Im headed to bed. I feel old.

My mother in-law came down to stay with us this week as well. What a blessing! She is helping the transition of me starting my new job a little easier by helping us out, while we get used to our new schedule for our family.

We went to Ks. this weekend so that Baby C could meet some friends and family. It was quite a weekend for her, meeting a new person every couple of hours, being passed around and showered with kisses all day and having alot of tummy troubles. Not to mention the 6 hour drive there and back. She slept almost all day today (except when I got home and played with her)! She had so much fun though! My parents had her grinning from ear to ear every time they picked her up.

Oh wait, that was them grinning from ear to ear every time they picked her up :)

My husband got her to smile her first real smile this weekend as well. It was sooo cute! I got a nice side pic of it on my mom's camera. She usually opened her mouth and squinted her eyes when she was trying to smile but, this time it was a full out grin. Too cute!

Tomorrow I have more training, Im not sure how much training I have to do. My boss said it would be less than normal due to the fact that I had done this work before. I can't wait to get started and be on my own! Working with children and their families is what I love doing! Im so glad God gave me this job :)

Finally here!

Our beautiful baby is finally here!

Baby C

arrived on Aug 23.

Isn't she gorgeous?

For those that are wanting to know... labor was great! I had contractions for 5 days. They broke my water on the 5th day, then I had her within 4 hours. It went smoothly.

Birth is such a beautiful thing.

Then it was time to go home.

Baby C's going home outfit.

Laying on the quilt I made her :)

Baby C's first time in a car seat.

For Baby C's first week we had our dear friend Shelby from Simply Shelby Photography take some pictures.

Baby C also got to take a picture with all of her cousins.

Yes, they are all boys.

Needless to say Baby C has had an eventful first couple weeks of her life. I have more pics to upload and more stories of her experiences to tell. But not today, I don't want to make this post too long.

It is absolutely mind blowing that we have a child now. It truly does change ones life, in greater ways then I could have ever imagined. I now have the joy of feeling a different kind of love that I have never felt before. I honestly don't know what I did before her. Everyday we wake up and she seems to have grown overnight. Its only been 2 weeks, and it is flying by way to fast. I only have 3 1/2 weeks left with her before I start my new job. It will be a bittersweet day. Ill have to get in plenty of picture time with her! Which means lots of scrapbooking :)

And now I will leave you all with our first family picture

34 Weeks!

By tomorrow I will be 35 weeks along in my pregnancy. It has been great so far! I am really feeling her start to tumble and try to get into the head down position which is really uncomfortable, but I love feeling her move! My doctor said everything was normal and looking great. We still have a few more weeks and the anticipation is killing us!

Here is my week 34 photo, I have expanded quite a bit, but I still wish there was a little bit more room for her.



We are slowly getting all of our baby stuff together. Not really sure how much or what we need specifically but we are trying lol. The baby showers are a great bonus though! Here is a few pics from the one that was thrown for me in Kansas (where my side of the family is).

A few gifts :)



This beautiful one my cousin made me



And we played a few games




Also I got the top to my quilt done!! Now Im going to take it to a quilt shope here in town to get it quilted. I can't wait!




P.S. We got a new puppy.



His name is Titus.

Until next time, Ill be in the AC.

Been a while...

I haven't posted anything in quite a while.

MrB and I haven't been doing much of anything.

We got all of our Christmas decorations out



Went camping



Saw family



Got a German Shepard



Went to a dear friends wedding



Saved my sister from stampeding horses



Last but not least, tried to take a picture where my handsome husband wasn't making faces.



That we did not succeed at!

What are you doing for Christmas?

Brick Roads

Then mental health center that I work for has sent me to Little Rock, Ar. for a couple of days to attend a conference. This is my first time here and my what a big town it is! It boggles my mind at it massiveness. I have been to bigger cities with my parents before and them driving. Its a completely different experience on my own.


There are so many beautiful things here. I went to the Old Union Train station today. There were brick roads every once in a while, old buildings with beautiful architecture and a nice atmosphere.



I ate at a place called Mimi's Cafe. Oh man was that some good food!! They brought out 3 different types of bread before my dinner, which were amazing. Then when my order came (I ordered country fried steak) there were two country fried steaks and a mound of mash potatoes plus veggies. Reasonably priced and alot of food! I took literally half the food with me back to my hotel. But, not sure what Im going to do with it because it can't sit in my car for 8 hours during my meetings tomorrow or 3 more hours in the car with me on the way home. hmm...



Next trip to Little Rock, I am going to try and come a few days early and explore. There is not much to do when it is dark by the time the meetings are over. Except find a Target and get Christmas shopping done!

And finally, I would like to thank my TomTom, because without it, I would probably have ended up in Utah or on coming traffic.

Thank you TomTom, thank you.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I hope this makes you laugh as much as I did!

That is my handsome husband, our dog Butch and me :)

Merry Christmas!

Trains

I was driving home from work the yesterday and discovered one of my favorite scenes.

I looked out to my left and was racing a train next to me. I was going just a little bit faster which humored me.

Seeing a train and racing it while I am driving is one of my favorite things. Especially while the sun was setting behind the woods, that was beyond the train.

I would have taken a picture for you but it was hard enough to drive 70 mph while staring out the side of my window :)

and I can't find my camera :(

4 loads of laundry down, 5 to go

I know, I know, how could just my husband and me have that much laundry!?

We went on a four day camping/hunting trip with some new friends that we have made here in Arkansas. I had about 4 loads to do before we left but I figured I would wait till we got back to do them. Added on top with sleeping bags, blankets and everything else we took that smells like camp fire.

This was a much needed trip for the both of us. Since we moved here I was working many different hours during the week. We saw each other at various times throughout the week. (Sometimes only on his lunch break). My husband has been planning this 4 day get away for a few months and it finally arrived! Its great how God works. Instead of me going back to a job where our schedules are conflicting, tomorrow I start my new job where we will get to have evenings together now.

Our camping trip was great. We had four days out in the wilderness, getting up before the sun, hunting, coming back to some amazing grub and enjoying each others company. I also had many first time experiences this weekend.

Experience #1 I went hunting all by myself (I normally sit with MrB). I know it doesn't sound like much of a feat but, its quite scary walking into the woods alone, getting lost on the way to my stand, knowing there are wild hogs, alligators, king snakes, rattles snakes and coyotes roaming around, waiting to eat me. Then I finally found my stand!! After 30 min. What victory that was!!! While sitting in my stand 14 feet above the ground in a tree, I spent time with my Lord and what a calming peace He has created in the woods.

Experience #2 I maintained a fire yesterday after I got back hunting, around 10am, and for the rest of the day. Let me tell you, it was a blazin too! I didn't go hunting this morning but stayed back to help prepare breakfast for the others that went hunting. And yes, I started a fire all by myself. When it did start going out, God sent a breeze and it began to roar again.

Experience #3 We camped with a few older couples. The women were amazing cooks! Monday night I volunteered to make some homemade stroganoff which I haven't done before (camping also was another challenge, not all of the accommodations one is used to in a kitchen). The ladies were such a help. The stroganoff was a-mazing. One of the ladies is going to start giving me cooking lessons. Ill be able to make the good southern dishes in no time! I also got a couple of good desert recipes. They are super easy! I'll be sure to post them after I make them.

All in all, it was a magnificent weekend. My husband and I are going to try and plan a quick weekend camping trip every other month for our own sanity and romance. It was a great last, long getaway. When I start my new job tomorrow, Ill be on a six month probation with no annual leave. But I will get holidays off and weekends now :)

I was spoiled with yummy camp food every night these past 4 days, I want to make my handsome husband something yummy tonight again!

Happy cooking!

A blessing

My husband and I took a huge leap of faith in August. He took a job as an Associate Pastor and we made a 7 hour move away from our families. I had assumed with graduating with my B.A. in May that I would have had a job within a few days. Our reliance was completely on God to meet all of our needs, and he did. Within three weeks of moving here I still did not have a job. I needed something in the mean time because we could not live off what we had saved up for to long. I ended up getting a job at a restaurant which I have had alot of experience working in and do enjoy it. But, I was just so ready to take that next step in my life and use the education that I have work so hard for. Going to school full time, being married, working full time and being a youth pastors wife can get quite exhausting. Three months into us living here I am still working at the restaurant.

I worked at a school in our last location and loved it! But, I wanted to work in more of a psychology relm because that is what my degree is in. There was an opening at a mental health center in a town 25 minutes away. The job was working in one of the schools in the six countys that they serve. To make a long story short, three interviews later God blessed me with this job today. Not only that but the county that I will be working in is the county that I live in!

I was coming to terms with the fact that I might be working in a restaurant for a few more years. And, I was ok with that, the people were great and our bills were being paid. God had other plans.

He is sooo good.

"Delight yourself also in the Lord and he shall give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 34:4

What a great God we serve!

Cold Hot Tea

I tried out a new flavor of tea today. It was just regular green tea with some pineapple extract in it. The aroma was magnificent and the taste was quite soothing. Although, I have let my hot tea get cold. But, Im finding that it taste very good cold as well. Unfortunately, the aroma is gone along with the soothing effect. In my opinion Tea is always better hot, there is so much more to experience.

My husband is a youth pastor, and has been at this church for only a little over two months. I feel that it is important for me to become part of leading the group as well. It is quite hard getting established with young adults. Every new youth group we must start from the beginning forming relationships with them. It gets rather discouraging in the beginning because not many of them are ready to open up in front of the new leaders or their peers. We realize that it takes time to form special bonds with them in order for them to feel comfortable and share their stories and knowledge (especially the shy ones).

Last night I felt the ice was starting to break. Some of the youth had retold what we have been discussing for past few weeks! I know it doesn't seem like much but when every week you talk and they stare at you as if you have a booger on your face the whole time, you feel like you are getting no where. When they give you a sign that they have been paying attention and start involving themselves, well, the feeling is quite like climbing mount everest. I think, I have not done that but Im sure its the same feeling. I think every youth pastor and their spouse go through this when moving to a different church. The kids have to be around you and feel you out before they are able to open up. But, when that first sign of ice breaking occurs, great things begin to happen.

God is good.

Mud Bugs

thefreedictionary.com definition of a mud bug: see crayfish
Crayfish:1. Any of various freshwater crustaceans of the genera Cambarus and Astacus, resembling a lobster but considerably smaller. Also called mudbug; also called regionally crawdad

Yes, a crawdad is called a mud bug here in southern Arkansas. These little crawdads arn't found just in ponds and streams here. They also live in the ground because of how much rain we get. And, when it rains they dig their way to the surface leaving this



and not just in a few places but the whole yard, leaving a muddy mess and destroying the plush grass that we still have



I suppose we get our revenge at the next crawdad boil.