The Zoo!

This past weekend, Andrew had a few jobs in Birmingham AL.  So Selah and I tagged along.  We shopped all day Friday and then went to the zoo on Saturday before heading home.

The zoo was, well... interesting.  Around noon Selah started getting hungry.  So... Andrew and I found a shady spot in the outdoor food court of the zoo and I put on my handy-dandy nursing wrap and started feeding Selah.  So far.. so good.  THEN - Selah decided she was done.  Kicking her legs like she was sprinting for the finish line I started to panic - in fear that she was going to expose me for all I was worth - I quickly asked Andrew to help me get her out from under the wrap.  You know... before I gave a peep show to the entire group of mentally challenged adults sitting about two feet from our table.  Smart Terra.. real smart.  Within a blink of an eye there went Selah.. and so did my wrap.  Andrew busted out laughing and my face turned about 50 shades of red. 

Let's just put it this way... I am glad that we live in Nashville and not Birmingham. 

Love/Hate Relationship...

Y'all -

It is official. Selah Grace and Ginger have entered into a love/hate relationship.

I cannot keep those two from harassing one another. Selah is usually the one instigating the harassment but Ginger just keeps coming back for more. They just won't learn!
I would like to say that it has been about two weeks since I have been noticing that Selah watches Ginger like a hawk. About a week ago, Selah would reach out to pet Ginger whenever she was close. It is not only petting anymore... it is full-blown torture.

Yesterday, while cooking dinner, I heard Ginger yelping... LOUDLY. I looked beyond the counter to see Selah Grace in her exersaucer leaning over with those two fat little hands tightly holding Ginger's lips for dear life. Ginger is curious and had jumped up to see what was going on. Selah then saw her opportunity and pounced with her cat-like reflexes. Ginger was pushing back from Selah with her two front paws… One on Selah's chest and the other on Selah's forehead. Selah WAS NOT letting go... but instead chuckling and squealing with delight.

Ginger had terror in her eyes. I hurried over to de-latch Selah from Ginger and once the two were separated Ginger started licking me in gratitude and Selah started crying. She is so dramatic. Her cries were so horror-filled... like I was chopping her arm off or something.

Not even 10 minutes later I heard Ginger whimper again and Selah squeal with delight. This time Selah was had Ginger by the face and was bringing her in for a big ole' open mouth kiss.

"SELAH!"...
"GINGER!"...

And on and on it went.

What am I going to do with those two!

Toby - SNEAK PEEK!

Check out my most recent shoot HERE of my baby brother who is a Senior in high school. 



I chuckle.

Oh. My. Goodness.  It is 70 degrees here today and I am LOVING IT!

The past two weeks have been like a whirlwind.. a crazy beautiful one.

This morning I woke up and the sun was shining through my window.  The beginning of spring evokes warm and exciting emotions in me that words just cannot express. As I slithered out of my warm bed, I slowly made my way into Selah's room.  The most amazing light fills her room in the morning and all of the shades of pink look so incredible and make my heart happy.  As I opened her closet, I got a whiff of baby powder which took me back to a couple of weeks ago. 

Let me just start by saying that Selah Grace has now learned how to pick up things, shake them, and throw them...

Word to the wise - do NOT leave an opened bottle of baby powder within your child's reach while changing their diaper.  Within a blink of an eye, she had successfully covered herself from head to toe with that fine white powder.  All I could see were her big blue eyes starting at me through a cloud of white smoke.  I have never laughed so hard in all of my life.

She mimicked my laughter with her little chuckle.  With every chuckle, the baby powder from her cheeks would land conveniently in her mouth.  The minute that baby powder would hit those little taste buds, her chuckle would change into an extremely sour face.  Then I would begin to laugh harder which in turn would make her chuckle harder... and on and on it went.  I thought I was going to die from laughter.  The transparency in her facial expressions reminded me of just how innocent and honest little children are.  What you see is what you get!

I blogged a little while ago that Andrew and I were doing the Daniel Fast.  We were searching for answers from God about several situations in our little life here in Tennessee.  I in particular was so hungry to get back to that transparent and honest place that I share with God.  To become like my daughter... to begin to chuckle again.  And I am happy to report that God did in fact answer my prayer! 

Right after our fast ended, I got a phone call.  It was a friend from church that had some information for me.  It was about a job opening about 1 mile away from my house and also it was part time.  It was PERFECT!  "God, are you answering my prayer??"  I had been waiting so long for this that I began to ignore the tugs at my heart and reassure myself that it was too good to be true. 

Well... to make a long story short, it turns out that this job is what God had for me.  I have more time with my baby at home, and I actually share daylight with the ones I love.  I chuckle, often.

Ya know, when God waits to answer a prayer of ours we become weary.  We become inpatient and worn and torn by our situation enough to question if God is really hearing us.  At the beginning of our fast, I remember weeping in my car - sitting in rush hour traffic - watching the sun come up in the morning and thinking, "God - are you hearing what I am saying?"  I wanted to hear him say - out loud, "I do. I am here.  Trust me - I am working on it.  Remember.. I created you.  I know YOUR heart."

Just when we think that God has forgotten about us, he reminds us that he knows us better than we know ourselves.  This would be my husband's explanation (he's a genius): "You know Terra.. It's like this... God will give in, eventually.  You just have to keep begging.  Take on the form of a gnat... get in his face.  Show him that you are not going to leave his presence until he physically does something about it."  God already knows what we need, but he calls us to be obedient and humble ourselves enough to stop and acknowledge him.

1 John 5:14-15 tells us, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him." In the prophet Isaiah's time, the people grumbled that they had fasted, yet God did not answer in the way they wanted (Isaiah 58:3-4). Isaiah responded by proclaiming that the external show of fasting and prayer, without the proper heart attitude, was futile (Isaiah 58:5-9).

Lessons learned:  Never give Selah baby powder, pray without ceasing, continually humble myself, and chuckle as often as possible.


My husband is a hottie - SNEAK PEEK!

Y'all - My husband, Andrew, DOES NOT  like taking pictures.  And especially when he is the only one in the pictures.  BUT... he gave in and let me snap a few pictures of him today.  He is pretty cute and quite the charmer :)

Also.. he is the most goofy human being on this planet.  So getting a genuine smile or a serious face is rare. 

I'm am so proud that he was so patient and tried his best to wow me with his modelling skills.

I love you honey.



Like Mother, Like Daughter

 

This is a picture of Selah and I around the same age.  Do you seen any resemblance?   I see more of her Daddy than me in her.  But.... do not be mistaken... she has MY  personality!!  Poor Andrew - surrounded by three sassy women. ;)



Early talker?

She may be an early talker.. and a drama queen.



Amaya Renee - SNEAK PEEK!

Welcome to the world Amaya Renee! Isn't she a beauty?  Amaya's mom, Amanda, is one of my co-workers and this her fifth child!! BRAVE WOMAN! 

Amaya is the most alert 2 week old I have ever met!  She was wide awake almost the entire time I was taking her pictures.  Amanda kept trying to get her to sleep.  We tried feeding her, rocking her, paci.. nothing.  She was too interested in what was going on and did not want to be naked at all.  This is going to be one independent little girl!  :)

Beautiful and independent... watch out Amanda.. you may have trouble on your hands!! :)

I had so much fun taking these pictures.  Congrats on a beautiful baby girl!



3.5 months old!

Selah Grace is growing like a weed and sprouting rolls everywhere!

She can roll over, almost sit herself up, and opens her mouth very wide and sticks out her tongue when you are going in for a kiss.  It thrills my soul.  Andrew sticks out his tongue when trying to make her laugh and so like any young little learner.. she has started doing the same.  And she jabbers at anything that will listen... She is going to be quite the talker I have a feeling.  This morning while playing with her before her nap, I pulled out my camera to get some new pictures for the grandparents.

I only was able to take pictures for a couple of minutes before the tired monster stuck inside my sweet chubby little baby came out.  Enjoy :)

http://www.takenbyterra.com/

An update on life...

Hello all! 

I've posted pictures but I haven't had a chance to sit down and write in a while so I am taking that opportunity now in my spare time.  All ten minutes of it!  :)

Life has been anything but normal these days.  We are finally starting to get into a routine in the mornings and evenings.  Thank goodness for that - because I thought I was going to come out of my skin if I didn't get it together soon. 

Selah went for her two month check-up yesterday.  Her original check-up date was cancelled by the nasty weather the week before Christmas so we had to reschedule.  I am happy to report that she is now 12 lbs, 6.4 oz and 22 inches long.  She is in the 75th percentile for height and 90th percentile for weight.  The doctor said she is very healthy and has hit all of her milestones.  She is laughing (sort of- in her own little way), smiling a whole lot, she can hold her rattle, and she is cooing up a storm. 

She is tummy sleeper now and is successfully sleeping through the night!  YEAH!

So Selah is good.  Me on the other hand....  I am struggling a little bit trying to juggle everything in my life.  Baby, Husband, Work, Cooking, Cleaning, Laundry, Church, Friends, SLEEP... Being a working Mom is hard stuff y'all.  Being a working Mom who needs to look presentable EVERYDAY is even harder!  Also, our babysitter situation is not ideal and it is really stressing me out. 

So... Our church is being called to do a fast.  Different than a private fast.  As a church we are called to fast for 21 days.  You can choose which fast you do and how you go about it.  Andrew and I prayed and we decided that we would do the Daniel Fast.  We began our fast on Monday and I am already having a struggle.  As we walked through the grocery store buying our items for the next several weeks... it began to dawn on us what we were about to embark on as a family.  This fast requires lots of prep time in the kitchen and a very strict diet.  No chocolate, no cheese, no bread... my three main food groups!

As my alarm chirped out of control at 4:30am, I  was woken up from a dream about french toast and hash brown casserole.  Currently my stomach is growling at me as I scarf down fruit, nuts, and lots of veggies.  I fixed Cinnamon Apple Raisin Almond Oatmeal this morning.  Homemade! BUT - you can't have sugar with this fast.  Thank goodness for cinnamon.  I have to be super careful and eat little meals all day long since I am a nursing Mom.  Gotta get those calories!  Last night we had veggie burgers with homemade fries.  Yum. 

Preparing all this meatless food reminds me of the time my Mom got on this "we're going to be a healthy family" thing and made us eat Tofu spaghetti.  It was the grossest thing that has ever hit my taste buds. 

Andrew and I are really hoping to find some answers from God during this fast.  We are hoping to grow and learn from this as a couple and as individuals.  This may just be the hardest thing we have done so far.  I brought trail mix for a snack today and had to thumb through the M&M's to get to the nuts and raisins.  That is pure dedication folks.

Pray for us.  We may be cranky in a few days :)