Living Room & Load Bearing Wall... HELP!

Hi to everyone and thanks ahead of time for any help you can give me.

My husband and I bought an old 1850 farm house and had to knock down a big part of it due to major structural issues. We were able to keep the main original structure, but because of the structure of the foundation (new and old) we have the old part of the house two steps lower than the rest of the house. So, when you enter the house the living room is first and then you walk up two stairs into the kitchen. There is also a load bearing wall in between the living room and kitchen that currently has a closet behind it. It just feels out of place and it makes the space look smaller. Not to mention, the wall ends right next to one of the windows and the door to the closet and the window are really close creating an odd meeting of the beautiful molding my husband created. I also have an issue with the way one goes from the entry way, into the living room and then into the kitchen. Right now it feels as though there is an invisible corridor limiting how I can lay my living room out. I would also like to have a fireplace in here somehow - not sure if that would help with the load bearing wall or not. I would really like to open the room up but I don't know how to do so when the wall is load bearing. Any thoughts or ideas on how I can do this and have a pleasant transition from the living room into the kitchen area? I am attaching photos (please don't mind my kids watching tv) and a drawing that I have done in a layout program (it's not perfect but the measurements are pretty close). I haven't wanted to do anything with the space until I know for sure how it will be laid out. We have only painted so it is very blah.

Any help would be VERY appreciated.