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!

My favorite gas station.

Andrew and I live conveniently next to I-40. Convenient meaning that we can just hop on and head into town. Not so convenient when you can hear the hum of the traffic and the "d-d-d-d-d-d" of the semi's when they hit they're engine brakes in the middle of the night.

Now, when you live next to the interstate there are going to be an abundance of gas stations around.

A couple of months ago, on Good Friday, I was heading into work but needed to get some gas... so I pulled into the station nearest the on-ramp of the interstate. Usually, if I am getting gas in the morning that means that I am past empty and I was a major procrastinator the day before. I zipped into the station, got my gas, and then headed into the store to get a small coffee and a blueberry muffin (yum!).

As I approached the counter I noticed that there were two middle-eastern men standing behind the counter whispering and pointing at me. I took notice but kept working my away around the small store searching for the biggest blueberry muffin I could find. Once I had my goodies in tow, I made my way for the counter. One of the men was older than the other and quickly left the counter to go and sit in front of a little television in the back. The man at the counter smiled politely and started ringing up my muffin and coffee.

Once my items were rung up, in the bag, and in my hand... I started to turn around to leave. "Thank you!" the man at the counter said very joyfully. The utter excitement in his voice caught me off guard. "Well, Thank YOU!" I chirped back. His face then lit up as he leaned forward and waved me closer toward him... like he had a secret to tell me. I very reluctantly leaned forward.

He then, with the most excited whisper I have ever heard, asked me if I celebrated Easter. This question also caught me off guard. "Why, yes. I do!" I gathered from the excitement in his voice accompanied with the glimmer in his eye, this man was not talking about multi-colored eggs and a furry rodent that wears a seersucker suit with suspenders.

"You mean to tell me that you believe that Jesus is alive?", he began to raise his voice and his face became serious as waited for my response.

"Yes sir, I do." I stood there studying his face. All of the sudden he bursted into laughter. "ME TOO!!!" He was shouting at this point! I bursted out laughing and then he started shouting, "JESUS IS ALIVE... HE REALLY IS!!!" Then I heard sarcastic laughter coming from the old man sitting in front of the television. Once the young man behind the counter heard the mocking laughter, he whipped his head around and looked at the old man. "What are you going to do? Fire me!! I am your son, but I am also his Son. I will be taken care of!"

I'm pretty sure my jaw was resting on the floor at this point. What faith this young man had! Conviction overwhelmed me as my lack of enthusiasm for this very matter was on the back burner compared to my enthusiasm for this massive muffin I was about to dive into. I thanked the man and then headed out for my car. As I was headed out, I could hear him greeting people as they walked into the store... proclaiming the good news.

This morning was rushed due to my procrastination last night. As I started my car, it began to ding at me. Time to go and get some gas. As I pumped my gas, I leaned my left shoulder up against my car, semi-patiently waiting for my car to gobble up just enough gas to get me to work. Shortly after I began, I felt a little hand patting on my rear end. Shocked, I turned around to see this little girl with big ole brown eyes smiling at me. "Excuse me miss, but do you think I could touch your tummy?" Chuckling, I nodded my head and she lifted up her little hand toward my baby bump.

She was about 5 years old with little blond ringlets. As she rubbed me down, she told me that today was her last day of pre-k and her teacher is pregnant. This teacher told her class that if you rub a tummy that carries a baby it will bring you good luck... And she was needed some luck for kindergarten next year. "I saw you and I thought, oh my goodness I HAVE to rub her tummy!", she said with the cutest little Tennessee accent.

At about this point, her Dad peeks around the other side of the gas pump to see his little girl rubbing down some pregnant stranger. "OH MY! I am so sorry. Here lately she has been chasing down pregnant women everywhere we go to rub their bellies."

I reassured him that it was fine but he just rolled his eyes and seemed very annoyed. On his way to come and pry her off of me, the baby kicked her little hand. The next thing I know she had her face smashed up against me with her little arms pulling me closer. "She is kicking me in the face!!! Oh boy!! I am going to be extra lucky today!" I could not contain my laughter. The harder I laughed, the harder my baby would kick, and the harder I was then being squeezed by this adorable 5 year old. Finally, she let go of me. Looking up at me, she said, "You have a miracle in there!" She smiled and then walked back to her car.

What a way to start off the morning! This gas station is something special. I ought to make this procrastination thing a habit. :)

It's a ____!

Well, ladies and gentlemen. Today has been quite interesting. It all started with my iPhone flat lining last night. Very sad. Thank goodness I keep a lot of my old stuff because I would have been without a phone today if I had not held onto my old phone. And trust me when I say that today was a day that I could not have gone without my phone!!

This morning was normal and simply uneventful. The clock struck 12pm and I was headed out of the office for lunch. I had to go to the bank and then stopped at sonic to grab a small slush... you know, the norm. Then it hit... PAIN!!

It all happened so fast that it is hard to remember every detail. I just remember pulling back up to work at 12:40pm, reaching across the seat to grab my purse, and kicking the door open with my opposite leg. It was like one fluid motion... once my foot hit the ground and as I then swung my body out of the car my legs gave out and this ENORMOUS pain engulfed the right side of my body! Toward the concrete/gravel parking lot my body went.

I work with about 40 women and one man, so I was instantly surrounded by squealing and squawking women. They helped me inside, propped my feet up, and forced me to call Andrew. I really didn't want to because I knew that this is what I would hear on the other line.. "What happened? Did you call the doctor? Do we HAVE to go to the emergency room?" My prediction was right and that was what I heard on the other line. Andrew happened to be on my side of town so he came to pick me up (after I threatened to stab him if he didn't) and we headed out to our hospital. Then I called the doctor. My doctor just happened to not be in the office today but my nurse was.

Sweet Jeannie answered the phone in the thickest southern Tennessee accent you have ever heard... "Terra honey, what's wrong baby?"

When I had my miscarriage, Jeannie called me every on the hour to make sure I was OK. She has a special place in my heart. But hearing that voice accompanied with my pain almost made me break down into tears.

I explained what was going on and she scheduled me an immediate ultrasound. Then it hit me... I was about to meet my baby. When we arrived, the ultrasound tech called me back. The same ultrasound tech that we saw the first time with our first little one.

To make an already long story short... The ultrasound was amazing. The pain subsided and the tech took an hour out of her day to show us our baby. There really are no words to explain the joy that filled that room. There was SO MUCH laughter... just like I always imagined it. Our baby is perfect. Perfect little heart, perfect little brain, 10 fingers, 10 toes, and a wicked smile. Our little mover and shaker smiled at us for a lot of the ultrasound. It was perfect.

So here I am to introduce you to our...

LITTLE GIRL!!

Little feet.

Her profile.



This is right before she flashes us a big smile.



Now she is hiding... she has quite the personality.

Still hiding...

And there's that big smile... How cute is she!!!! She is 11 ounces and SUPER active. I had to roll all over the ultrasound table to get her to cooperate.