To work or not work... that is the question.

Are you a stay at home Mom?  Do you work part-time? Do you work full-time?  Do these questions make your head spin?

Well, to be perfectly honest with you... these questions have been the cause of a nasty headache the past few months for me.

Sometimes I wish I were a boy.. better yet a dog! 

Ok, not really. 

I love being a female, a woman who God created just right.  With small pinky fingers and two nasty cowlicks, one on each side of my forehead.  I will be addressing that with my creator one day, take my word for it. :)

Type A personality that I am, I remember making lists of all the important events that were going to take place in my life when I was about 16 years old.  Who was my husband going to be.. or so I thought.  The age I would be and the theme of my wedding when it happened.  What my first child's name would be and at what age I would start having kids.  I just always figured I would marry a man named Derrick.  I always landed on the letter "D" when twisting off the stem of my apple.  Derrick always sounded like a solid name.

God probably smiled and thought, "Oh Terra, I have some very different plans for your life.  Some things will happen due to circumstances from choices you will make and other events I will put in place.  You are going to marry a curly headed man named Andrew.  And trust me, I created him for you.  He will be able to handle your dramatic personality."  I am such a dreamer and I over-analyze everything.  It is my God-given personality, but I think it drives Andrew bonkers sometimes!  Because that is my personality, it is hard for me to make really important life decisions that I know will effect others.  It's sometimes even hard for me to make a decision about dinner because I want to make sure that Andrew's opinion is considered and valued.

Friends and family usually have no problem throwing their opinion out there.  That becomes increasingly obvious when major life decisions are in question... having a baby, becoming a stay at home Mom vs becoming a working mom, etc.

My plans for having babies on my time frame really went out the window when I received some medical news.  It was not pleasant when the doctor looked at me and said, "You may only have about five years to have kids... so you may want to start if that is what you want."  If that is what I want???  DUH!  Haven't you read the list I made?  You know, the one I made with all the dates, ages, and events when I was 16? Yep, babies - right under marriage.

So here I am with a big decision... to work or not work.  Now, this topic of conversation can be very touchy/controversial and is really different for each family and each circumstance.  I am not here to say that one is wrong or one is more holy than the other.  That is SO not my place.  I think both are equally as difficult and challenging.  Face it, no matter how you spend your day, in the workplace or not, being a Mom requires time, energy, and a whole lot of love.  

Since Selah Grace will be here in 3 months, Andrew and I are faced with this decision.  Finances do have a major role in this decision.  If financial obligations were not such an issue, I do not think that this decision would be such a heavy burden on my heart.  In fact, I know exactly what I would do.  But what does God want me to do?

I want to be a wise godly woman.  A woman that Andrew is proud to call his own.  One that Selah Grace will love, respect, and admire for the life decisions I make.  I know that this decision will effect Andrew and Selah so I need to make sure that I am on my knees, seeking the Lord about this.  Yesterday my knees were a bit sore and my heart a little bitter.  "God where are you?  I would like an answer please!"  I know that if God tells me to stay home, then he will provide financially.  It's not about that.  It is more about God giving me a peace about my decision one way or the other.  Andrew and I know what we would prefer but we are just waiting on God to confirm our decision through prayer, scripture, and through his people. 

As our family and friends, I am coming to you asking for your prayers about this.  I am so torn and am really needed some peace about what God would have me do.  I have heard a lot of your opinions, which have been very helpful, but we just really need your prayers. 

Growing!

I am 6 months pregnant and growing, growing, growing!  Below is the latest belly bump picture.  Andrew felt a little left out so he decided that he should take one as well.  I look like a black and white oompa loompa and he just looks like a creeper...

I have only gained about 6 lbs in 6 months.  I have been trying to do a really good job of not over-eating.  I did splurge the other day and ate an ENTIRE box of mac and cheese. Oh, the CRAVINGS!  I was so hungry, basically foaming at the mouth, that I almost didn't even take the time to put the cheesy pasta from heaven in a bowl.  I almost stuck my face straight into the saucepan. 

Andrew and I went to go and register for all kinds of baby goodness on Saturday.  You know, you sure do learn a whole lot about your spouse when you are having a baby with them.  I am not sure if it was comforting or just plain weird that my husband knew what "nipple shields" were and then proceeded to loudly ask me while registering if I needed any.  If you could have only been a fly on the wall during our registering process at Babies R Us and Target.  We are first time parents and it is pretty obvious... even though I will say we are pretty knowledgeable about most things because we have friends that have babies.  I am guessing that's where he picked up on the "nipple shield" thing...

I gave up control of the almighty registry gun while in Target.  We had been shopping all day, I was hungry, it was SO hot outside... so I caved and let the wild man loose.  I am still not sure what all made it onto our Target registry, but I am sure that it is all pretty cute.  Andrew was shooting like crazy.  It is so funny to see him comparing products and mulling it over.  He is going to be a great Dad.

Once Saturday was over, we had successfully registered at Babies R Us and Target. (Click on the store to see our registry)

Also, Selah Grace's bedding FINALLY came in the mail on Friday.  It is so pretty!  I just love walking into her room and seeing her crib with her pretty little bedding just sitting there waiting for her.  

Getting ready...

Yesterday was bad.  I felt like someone had put my body in a blender.  So bad.

Now, I have been really careful to not be a "complainer" during this pregnancy because it just drives me CRAZY when I hear women just go on and on and on.  AND I am sooo happy that I am pregnant! But y'all, yesterday was bad. 

I am pretty sure that I had a 24 hour stomach bug.  I have not been sick since I could feel Selah Grace moving around inside of me.  Let's just say, that is not a fun experience.  Every time I would feel the need to "empty my stomach", she would start kicking me.  It definitely made it more painful.  She is still feet down and very VERY low which is causing some pretty bad back and pelvis pain.  At one point yesterday, she kicked me so hard that I thought she was going to plop right out of me.

Soo... I stayed home from work.  I did get a few things done around the house.  Mostly, I worked on the nursery.  My Grandparents bought Selah Grace's bedding and it should be arriving today!! I am SUPER excited!  It is sweet and dainty just like her name.  Now let's hope that her physical characteristics are sweet and dainty as well :) If she is bigger than 7 lbs by 38 weeks then I am requesting to be put to sleep during labor...

Last week, I received a few gifts for Selah Grace from some friends.  I love seeing these little outfits.  They are so cute!

Thanks Megan!!

Thanks Shana!!

I also think that I am going to put a bed crown above Selah's crib.  Her crib is in the corner right now, so I would need one that hangs down from the ceiling... I am not finding those so easily.  Here is one that is too cute, and Andrew could make it.  I may have to design my own if I can't find what I need.

Her nursery is coming together, slowly but surely.  I think that Andrew and I are going to go and register this weekend.  I'll post the links to our registries once they are done.  My family has been asking about them.

By the way, Ginger was no help to me yesterday.  She kept dragging herself by my stretchy leggings and chewing on anything she could sink her pearly whites into.  I think I finally wore her out.. she found a sunny spot and parked it.

Babies, babies, and more babies!

Our dear friends, Chris and Lisa, welcomed their brand new beautiful baby girl, Kaylee Wynterlyn, into the world on Monday night around 5:30pm.  She is a big baby, weighing over 8 lbs. She is just the cutest little chuck I have ever laid eyes on!  With a full head of jet black hair, Kaylee definitely has her daddy's nose and her mommy's lips and forehead. At least that is what I think :)


I remember when Lisa told us that she was expecting... I couldn't believe my ears!  I knew they were trying but they were still very hesitant about starting a family.  They have been married for about 10 yrs and were really used to being just the two of them.  Now 9 months later, it is the three of them!  We are so happy for you two!!!

oh snap... my house has just been hit by lightning.

Yes, it is true. My house was just hit by lightning about an hour ago. My heart is still racing and it smells like burnt toast in here.

So... normal day... Church, home-cooked white chicken chili, then Andrew heads off to go and finish up a couple of odd jobs on the other side of town.

Once Andrew is gone I get a burst of energy, also known as "nesting, and I start to pull the sheets off the bed, do the laundry, clean the bathrooms, and do the dishes. Not all at once... just bouncing from one to the other when I need a change of pace. I turned on the movie, "Beautician and the beast" for background noise and started "nesting".

In our master bedroom we have a skylight... which is really nice when you can see the stars at night but really annoying when it is 6 am on a Saturday morning or when it is 100 degrees outside in the middle of June. I heard a few sprinkles on the skylight and looked up, confused, because it was still sunny outside. I walked downstairs to check the weather but there seemed to be no rain in the area. I opened the front door and saw a little dark cloud just above our town home and just blew it off. I'm from Texas... no big deal.

So to give you a visual... I was standing at the bottom of our stairs beside the love seat... watching the TV. Then, I heard the loudest CCCRRRRAAACCCCCKKKKK! Simultaneously, I looked upstairs to see my entire master bedroom light up like the 4rth of July. The next thing I know, Ginger had jumped from the big couch, onto the coffee table, onto the ottoman, onto the love seat, and then onto me. I was mid "duck and cover" when she buried her little claws into my neck. After the sheer panic had left my body I thought, "OMGoodness... did lightning just hit my house?"

I ran upstairs to check for damage and there was nothing. No electronics were zapped or on fire so I made my way downstairs to see where we had been hit. Just when I came around the corner at the bottom of the stairs I heard Ginger crying and saw big clouds of black smoke in my kitchen. Like an idiot, I ran right into the kitchen to see what was on fire. I could not for the life of me find the fire! Then I opened up the back door to see smoke coming up from underneath the house.

So here I am, completely freaking out!!! 5 1/2 months pregnant, with a puppy, my husband is gone... is not answering his phone... AND we live in a town home complex with a bunch of 80 year olds. PERFECT.

So who do I call next... my mom.

She of course tells me to call 911. I did and 5 minutes later I heard sirens. Ginger was in full-on panic mode at this point. She and I both were shaking standing in the 100 degree weather outside of the house. Two fire trucks pulled up and ran up to me with an oxygen mask. I must have looked SUPER freaked out. I pointed to the back of the house and only got out, "it's under the house" and they were off. I ran back there with them to see smoke coming out of the basement door. They opened the door and then yelled, "we got fire!"

Gearing up, they whipped the water hose around the house and sprayed down the entire basement.

Apparently, the lightning hit the deck, went into the dryer vent at the base of the deck, and then caught the insulation under the house on fire. The combination of finding it so fast, calling 911, and the fire department only being about 1 mile away, the fire was put out in a matter of minutes and there was virtually no harm done. Just a whole lot of smoke.

The firemen were baffled at how nothing in the house was ruined and they could not figure out how there was a fire in the basement but no where else. I knew that it was by the grace of God! My neighbors were running (more like walking... they are 80 yr olds, remember) to our house, wanting the juicy details. They were not surprised to hear that lightning had struck our house, because all of them were wondering if their house had been the one hit when they heard it.

The only thing that was ruined were the speakers on our living room TV. And of course, my pride... the entire Hermitage fire department has now seen my underwear drawer. That's what I get for doing laundry when lightning strikes my house. I can guarantee that I will NEVER let that happen again!

Andrew finally got home when the firemen were loading everything up. Poor thing, he was freaking out because all he heard was me screaming on the other line of the phone. And he was drenched from head to toe because he had been pressure washing... www.middletennesseepressurewashing.com :)

Andrew, Ginger, Selah, and I are all doing fine. I did inhale a whole lot of smoke though. They told me to just take it easy. And of course, I did take pictures.... I needed proof. :)

Whew! What a day!

BBQ with friends

Thursday night, Andrew, Ginger, and I were invited to a cook-out. It ended up being a cook-in due to the bird's nest in the grill at Brittany and Tommy's house... but don't you worry...Brittany knows how to broil one mean hamburger!

We had hamburgers, chips, salsa, guac, etc... It's making me hungry just thinking about it! Shana brought brownies. She makes awesome brownies. And Brittany had ice cream for the dogs. I did not have any idea that such a thing existed. Let's just say that I will be getting some during my next visit to the grocery store.

Ginger was TERRIFIED of Brittany and Tommy's dogs. She stuck right by Andrew the entire night. And it is pretty obvious that she was born to be a lap dog. She sat in each of the men's lap before the night was over. What a flirt!

It was a great start to the summer and all of the fun we are going to have!

Her name!

We have officially decided on a name...


Isn't it beautiful?

We knew right off the bat that we wanted her middle name to be Grace. When it came to her first name, we threw around a ton of ideas and finally landed on Selah. I not only love that Selah is a unique name but more importantly I LOVE the meaning of it.

Selah - (Hebrew) to Pause and reflect. Selah is a word used frequently in the Hebrew Bible, often in the Psalms, and is a difficult concept to translate. It is probably either a liturgico-musical mark or an instruction on the reading of the text, something like "stop and listen". "Let those with eyes see and with ears hear" is most concise. "Selah" can also be used to indicate that there is to be a musical interlude at that point in the Psalm. The Psalms were sung accompanied by musical instruments and there are references to this in many chapters. Thirty-one of the thirty-nine psalms with the caption "To the choir-master" include the word "Selah". Selah notes a break in the song and as such is similar in purpose to Amen in that it stresses the importance of the preceding passage. Alternatively, Selah may mean "forever", as it does in some places in the liturgy. Another interpretation claims that Selah comes from the primary Hebrew root word [calah] which means "to hang", and by implication to measure (weigh). Also "Selah" is the name of a city from the time of David and Soloman.

We hope and pray that by giving our little girl this name we will remember to stop, be still, and know that He is God. What a neat legacy we can place on our child by naming her Selah. Now, let's just hope that Andrew and I do a good job pointing her heavenward!

We can't wait to meet you Selah Grace!

My need for creativity...

I was born with a super creative mind and an imagination that gets the best of me sometimes.

This combined with the website listed below could become dangerous. I. am. in. love.

Etsy.com

If you are a creative person and love to create things then you will love this website.

How neat are these wall decals?? So cute..

Memorial Day Weekend

My brother came down this weekend to visit Andrew, Ginger, and I. We relaxed, got some baby furniture (THANKS MOM AND DAD!), went to the Nashville Zoo, and ate some yummy food. I hope you and yours had a great holiday weekend.


Ginger and I went for a walk...

Andrew and Travis made friends with a goat..

The goat fell in love with Travis...

We got caught in a rainstorm with one umbrella...


Travis went baby shopping with us...

The belly is growing y'all...

Andrew and Ginger putting the crib together...

It is getting there...

Almost there...

DONE!

Thanks Shana for the picture frame!