Something that I Like, My Jet Fuel Powered Baby and What We've Been Up to

I keep forgetting to post about this.  So, I'll post about it now before I forget about it again.  ; )  For Mother's Day, I put together a couple of mini brag books...one for my mom and one for Jason's mom.  They turned out to be really, really cute, I think (you can click on the photo for a closer look).  : )  You can purchase cute little chip board scrapbook kits with adorable Amy Butler papers and embellishments from K & C Company.  The kits come with everything that you need to put the books together...you just have to add photos and adhesive and your own creativity.  I wanted to share this because it was such a fun project to work on and I just love the result! 

Sorry that I have not posted for several days.  My daughter has certainly been keeping me on my toes.  I swear, she is powered by jet fuel.  I haven't taken a lot of pics this week but I hope to post a few new pics soon!  She does have a new saying as of this week that I would like to share:  "Mommy...let's GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!"  LOL.  It's so funny.  I love my BUSY, precious (did I mention BUSY?) baby girl.

We have been busy over here!  I have planted all of my annuals.  It took me two separate evenings to weed and plant the planting bed in our backyard.  The second night, I was planting after dark...LOL.  You do what you have to do when you have a busy toddler.  I wait until she is in bed before I plant.  I also planted our pots and I hung our hanging baskets.

We have a lot of odds and ends that we are working on in our basement.  Jason finished putting together our bookshelves.  Last night after Emma went to sleep, I arranged all of our books on the shelves and put our magazines into holders.  We purchased a tv for the mini family room/sitting area and we spent the afternoon and evening today routing our Directv wires to the new tv.  My sister stopped by with my nieces a couple of times in the past two days and Emma enjoyed visiting with her cousins.  They gave their slide to Emma and Emma was sooooooooooooo  excited to play with it...the slide made her week!

Have a great weekend, everyone!!

God bless,

Carpet, Dress Up, and One of the BEST Summer Recipes

Happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone!  We are going to my sister and BIL's house on Sunday for my BIL's birthday party.  But, we have no plans for Memorial Day as of yet.  We'll probably just grill and hang out.  : )

This past week, we installed new carpet in our stairway with my parents' help.  Emma loved having Grandpa and Grandma over for the afternoon!

 

 

 

 

Grandpa (my dad)giving us a hand.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emma entertained us by playing dress up. 

Remember this tutu from her adoption announcement?

 

 

 

Jason and my mom.

Jason looks so industrious in this photo.  ; )

Hey, check out that wild and crazy pillow.  It goes with the wildcrazyfunkyfun color scheme for the basement. 

I had a neutral, serene color scheme planned for the basement but I just could not make it work in my mind's eye.  You see,  one half of the main room will be a playroom and I was not sure about using a classic and serene color scheme/design scheme with a room that will be half filled with toys 99.99999% of the time.  And, it's just not really possible to put all of the toys "away" into bins or baskets in that room because the room will house Emma's play kitchen, her Bounce and Spin Zebra, etc. and those toys are too large to "put away".

So, the basics of the room will be neutral...neutral walls and couch color, brown/black leather chair, stained pine furniture...but, all of the accessories will be very bold.  There will be touches of black and I will enlarge and frame a few of our photos of the weekend market in Antigua.  The colors of the marketplace are the inspiration for the room. 

 

Emma definitely loves to dress up!!  Here she is in Papa's shoes. 

If you are playing dress up and if you can't find just the right hat...

Make your own!  Maybe even with a tambourine...  : )

Hmmmm...I wonder why the house is always messy???  Hee Hee  : D

"But MOMMY...I can't sit in the book basket unless I toss EVERY SINGLE book out FIRST!!!  DUH!!" 

LOL!  : D  That's my precious baby girl!

Okay, now for a recipe...

I think that I have posted this recipe to my blog each and every summer.  It is delicious and I have served it to company many times.

This would be perfect for Memorial Day.

Steak with Baby Lettuce Salad, Grilled Mushrooms, Blue Cheese and Garlic Bread Croutons

This recipe serves 4 people or two people with lots of salad leftover.

Ingredients:

* Steaks (2 - 4, the cut of your choice)

* 1 bag of Dole spring mix or baby lettuce (fresh spinach works too)

* 1/2 pound of button mushrooms

* 2 - 4 slices of garlic buttered Texas Toast (I just use the frozen kind)

* Crumbled blue cheese (you could use feta cheese or chunks of romano cheese in a pinch...but the salad is the tastiest with blue cheese, I think)

* Balsamic vinegar

* Extra virgin olive oil

* 1 clove of minced garlic

* Cracked black pepper

* Dash of ground mustard

Instructions:

Whisk the dressing:  1 part vinegar to 2 parts oil.  Add pepper to taste, garlic and ground mustard.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  Season the steaks with salt and pepper or with steak seasoning.  Skewer the mushrooms.  Grill the steaks and the mushrooms and when the steak and mushrooms are almost done, add the bread to the grill and grill on both sides.  Remove all of the food from the grill and set aside to rest.  Re whisk the dressing.  Toss the lettuce and blue cheese in a large salad bowl.  Cut each slice of garlic bread into about 6 pieces and add to the salad bowl.  Remove the mushrooms from the skewers and add to the salad (I leave them whole...and they should still be warm but not hot).  Add the dressing to the salad bowl (just enough to coat) and toss.  Serve the salad with the steaks.  You can either serve the steaks on the side or you can slice the steak and add it to the salad.

God bless,

My Deepest Condolences

My deepest and most heartfelt sympathies and prayers go out to Steven Curtis Chapman and to his entire family. 

We were shocked and saddened to hear about the tragic accidental death of Steven's youngest daughter Maria.  We cannot imagine the pain that his family must be experiencing.

Steven has been a source of inspiration to us and to many...his passion for adoption is inspiring and we feel a sort of kinship with him and with his family.

May the Lord bring the Chapman family peace and comfort...may the Lord help to ease their aching hearts and may they have everything that they need for each new day.

God bless,

A Product Review, a Recipe, and an Anniversary

Okay, it might seem a little bit weird to post about this but have you tried this stuff?  It's V-Fusion by V8.  It is 100% juice, it has no added sugar, it's rich in vitamins A, C and E and get this...one serving (8 oz. for adults and I'm assuming 4 to 6 oz. for kids) contains a whole serving of BOTH fruits AND vegetables.  Cool, huh? 

It comes in a variety of flavors and it tastes really good too...it's not too sweet, it's just right.

Emma only gets one serving of juice per day and we have started to give this to her instead of regular apple juice.  She loves it!  When she sees it, she puts down whatever she is doing and runs for it...LOL. 

Okay, enough of the product suggestions.  : )  Recipe time...  Yay!  : D

We had a wonderful meal this evening.  I will definitely be making it again soon!  Here is the recipe for the chicken that we made...

Grilled Greek Honey Lemon Chicken

Ingredients:

*  8 - 10 chicken thighs (you could use other chicken pieces...we just happen to really like thighs and they fit nicely into a large Ziploc bag for marinating)

*  2 lemons

*  at least 1 teaspoon dried oregano

*  1 Tablespoon dried parsley

*  4 garlic cloves, minced

*  1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil

*  a few shakes of all purpose chicken seasoning (I like McCormick's Montreal Chicken Seasoning for this recipe because it has a slight citrus flavor in the background)

*  honey

Instructions:

Cut the lemons in half and juice them.  Put the juice into a gallon Ziploc bag.  Cut the juiced lemons up into maybe 6 pieces per lemon and put the pieces into the bag.  Add the oregano, parsley, garlic, oil and chicken seasoning into the bag.  Add the chicken pieces and toss the chicken around inside of the bag.  Refrigerate the chicken overnight and flip/turn/lightly squish the bag once in a while.  When you are ready to eat, remove the chicken from the marinade (discard the marinade) and grill the chicken.  During the last 10 - 15 minutes or so of grilling, drizzle the chicken generously with honey (watch the chicken carefully for flare ups).  We served the chicken with homemade humus (I will post that recipe another time) and pita bread.  REALLY yummy!!

Onward...  : )

My baby is really growing up.  She is changing so quickly and she brings SO MUCH JOY into our lives.  I thought that I would give you an update.  : ) 

Emma seems to be learning a new word everyday.  She says so many things.  A few of her newest words...  "Party", "Mommy" (instead of mama), "chicken", "there she is", "tummy", "sorry", "tummy" and "Dora".

She wears size 18 - 24 mos clothes.  She wears a size 5 shoe...we have a tough time keeping her in clothes.  I am guessing that she is around 25 pounds. 

She can do a somersault (I mentioned that in my last post).

She can count to three. 

She is my gatherer, organizer girl...she would rather line crayons up than color with them. 

She tries to sing along with almost every song. 

She loves Jack's Big Music Show, Yo Gabba Gabba, The Backyardigans and The Teletubbies. 

She loves purses, hats and shoes. 

She loves kisses, cuddles and hugs.

She is a tough cookie but she also has a very fragile and sensitive side.

She has a very sensitive tummy and she doesn't do well with certain types of motion or long drives (Michelle, remember that first stroller ride that we took with you in Antigua?  Well, now I understand why Emma was the way that she was.  If I would have understood her tummy/reflux troubles better at that time, I never would have strolled her over cobblestone).

Her favorite toys are stuffed animals, dolls, balls, blocks, pretend food and her shopping cart.

Her favorite books are "Moo Baa La La La", "Snuggle Puppy", "Where is Baby's Belly Button?", "I Love You, Goodnight" and picture books. 

She loves anything silly and she loves it when we make her stuffed animals "come to life".

She LOVES being outside and exploring.

She loves swinging and stroller rides. 

Reflux/feeding issues/food aversions/vomiting...they are definitely still a part of our lives, unfortunately.  : ( 

Because of the reflux, she is still not a great eater but she gets by.  She usually eats one good meal per day and then snacks for the other two meals.  She will eat Yobaby, wheat bread, crackers, graham cookies, chicken, dry Multi Grain Cheerios, tortillas, cheeseburger, pizza and sometimes  cheese, noodles or pancake.  She likes peaches, oranges, pears and bananas.  She will eat carrots and sweet potatoes right out of the can.  She does NOT like sweets and she has texture issues...thick foods like pudding, frosting, etc. will make her vomit.  She vomits for various reasons (99% food related) about once or twice per week.  It's tough...for us and for her.  You'd think that for as many times as she has vomited, I would be used to it.  Ha.  I have never gotten used to it.  Please pray for her regarding this (and for us).

The photo on the right was taken in Antigua, Guatemala on our pick up trip. 

Yesterday marked the ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY of the day that I picked up Emma from her foster family for the last time.  This past week, Jason and I have reflected on that day and on our *very* eventful pick up trip (you can read about it in my "Pre Blogger Archives" in the left column).  What an incredible journey.  It is THRILLING to have Emma, our precious daughter, as a part of our lives.  I try to soak up each and everyday with her.  Thank You, God for the blessing of Emma Grace.

Before I sign off for tonight...  We have been making several trips to Ikea to pick up items for our basement.  I am going in a *very* different design direction for our basement.  I am a bit nervous but I'm very excited too!!  I will post pics in the next few weeks.  : )

God bless.

Mother's Day: Part 2, Somersaults, Etc.

I was a wee bit spoiled this Mother's Day.  : D 

At this present time, we have SIX DOZEN roses in our house!  Can you stand it? 

I received TWO dozen roses from my brother in honor of my first Mother's Day with Emma at home.  I also received FOUR DOZEN roses from Jason...two dozen pink roses and two dozen white roses.  Ooooolala!  And, it didn't end there...

 

I also received a beautiful hydrangea plant from my sister and her family.

Flowers, flowers and MORE flowers! 

I have flowers in the kitchen, in the dining room and on the sofa table in my living room!  SPOILED, I tell ya.

 

 

I also received this super YUMMY smelling stuff from B&BW along with the lotion and the spray... 

Hello Sugar smells like lemon meringue pie...LOVE it!

I loved all of my gifts.  The best gift of all was...

 

 

 

 

 

Having my baby girl home for Mother's Day!  We had a great day together!

A few more Mother's Day pics...

 

 

 

 

 

Look at how SERIOUS she looks.  : )

My sister brought a bunch of flowers and plants for my parents' flower beds and before dinner she had an impromptu planting session. 

My mom gave Emma a small rake so that she could help.  Emma?  She was equal to the task!!  ; )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Such a good helper!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a wonderful Mother's Day.  I hope that you did too.  I am so blessed to be Emma's mother!

Onto other topics...  : )

 

 

 

 

Why was Emma so happy when this photo was taken (on the day before Mother's Day)?

 

 

 

 

 

She was so happy because she was about to take her LAST dose of her medication for latent TB!!  (If you are not aware of this, Emma tested borderline positive for latent TB when we had her tested when she came to the U.S.  That means that she did not have TB...she was not contagious and her chest X-ray was clear.  It means that she was exposed to some who had active TB at some point when she was in Guatemala).  Emma has received medication every morning for NINE MONTHS to help to ensure that she will never develop active TB.  It has been a bummer because when she would wake up in the morning, we could not give her breakfast right away...we had to give her the meds first and then we had to wait for an hour before we could feed her breakfast.  So, we are now very happy to have Emma on a NEW breakfast schedule...YIPPEE!!

One more thing before I sign off for the night...  Do you know what Emma did today?  She did a SOMERSAULT!  Not just one...not just two...THREE somersaults!  All by herself.  She has been trying to do them for some time but she has never been able to push herself over by pushing with her feet...I have always helped her to complete her somersaults.  But today, she did three of them all by herself!!  She is really somethin' else.  ; )

A quick note to my mom who left me a comment on my message board...  Mom, why would you think that you ever had something to do with Mother's Day sadness?  It was never about you and it was never about anything that you did or did not do.  You silly goose!  ; P  (Look, I even posted this info to my blog...it's a permanent record...so, if you ever doubt what I said, you can simply come back here and read it again...hee hee)  We sure had a fun BBQ at your house.  Hope that you enjoy the latest pics!!  : )

God bless,

Mother's Day: Part 1

I think that if something truly wonderful happens in your life...maybe even a miracle...you can't truly appreciate the magnificent and life changing affects of the miracle unless or until you are able to look back at your life and soak in exactly what life was like before the miracle took hold.  So, look back and revisit the pain and then allow your heart to be filled with gratitude, deep appreciation and the understanding that can come from struggle.

This is me, looking back...

For many, many years, I did not really care for Mother's Day.  For many years, Mother's Day simply reminded me of what I was not...  A Mother. 

How I felt on Mother's Day was often dependent upon how I was feeling about infertility at that moment in time.  On some Mother's Days I would feel numb or indifferent.  On other Mother's Days I would feel fairly content.  And, sometimes, the sadness and emptiness would bring me to tears. 

Jason and I struggled with infertility for approximately 10 years before Emma came into our lives.  For many years, we endured surgeries, extended periods of bed rest, a myriad of tests, infertility treatments, uncertainty, pain, sadness, emptiness, confusion, frustration and even fear.  And, there was an eventual emergency hysterectomy in 2004...the day after Thanksgiving...devastating. 

With that said, I do want to say that I did not live for ten years in a constant state of  infertility crisis.  I was able to come to a point, with God's help, of tenuous acceptance of the fact that I might not ever have a child (additional infertility treatments and adoption were out of our reach financially) and I was able to continue to live my life in general contentment while loving and trusting God.  Acceptance further strengthened my relationship with God and helped me to weather a few pretty difficult storms.  My motto became...if the Lord allows me to have a child, I will serve Him...and, if He does not allow a child in my life, I will serve Him still. 

I was then challenged a bit when I was faced with a hysterectomy.  I thought that I had dealt fully with the fact that I might never have a biological child...however, what I figured out was that I HAD dealt with the probability of never having a biological child...HOWEVER, I STILL had the thought in the back of my mind that POSSIBLY by a miracle of God, I would at some point become pregnant...without additional treatments or any additional sort of medical intervention.  So, when I was faced with the fact that the only chance that I had left of conceiving was about to be taken away by a hysterectomy, I was faced with yet another wave of sadness and grief.  *sigh* 

Yes, it was a tough ten years.  And, Mother's Days were often difficult...some of them more difficult than others.  It was tough to go to church on Mother's Day Sunday when the mothers were called to the front for a special prayer or for carnations.  It was tough.  It was tough to attend Mother's Day events without a child.  It was tough at times to see all of the joy around me when I was experiencing sadness.

I have a cousin who also struggled with infertility for many years.  She eventually did become a mother.  Long before Jason and I began our adoption process, my cousin and I were chatting about infertility after her first child had come into her life.  She said that having a child in her life lessened the pain and the sadness that she felt while she was experiencing infertility and she also said that having a child did fill the hole in her life that was empty for so long.  But, she also said that having a child did not completely eradicate all of the pain and the sadness that was caused by infertility...the memories were still there.  At the time that she told me this, I frankly could not fully understand what she was talking about.  But, I now understand what she was trying to say.  Now that Emma is home, I do not think of infertility everyday.  I do not even think about it every two or three days.  But, I DO still think about it...the pain, the heartache...for me, it hasn't totally left...and, I'm not sure if it ever will fully...and, in some ways, I hope that it doesn't completely leave me...  From now on, while attending Mother's Day church services, I will be looking around the sanctuary, wondering how many women are suffering pain in their hearts...I will be wondering how many of them are experiencing a deep sadness.  If I had the pain of infertility completely taken from me, maybe I would not even think to wonder about that at all...or to pray.

If you are reading my blog, and if you are struggling with infertility or if you have struggled with it, I just want you to know that I understand your pain...I understand the struggle.  My pain may be different from your pain...but, pain is pain.  I understand the confusion, I understand the sadness.  I get it.  And, having a child in my life, one of my greatest joys, has not fully erased the memory of the heartache that I experienced before her miraculous arrival.  And, as I struggle to think of myself as "one of them" (someone with a child/kids)...please know that I also see myself as "one of you" (one who has struggled with infertility) because we have shared many of the same struggles and challenges.  So, on this Mother's Day, please know that I am thinking of you.  I get it.  I understand.  I do.

God bless, Tera

Puppies, Library Books and Mother's Day

"Puppy, puppy, puppy...PUPPY!!!!!!!!!!"  That is what my dear one shouts when she sees a dog, a squirrel, a rabbit, a kitty...well, you get the picture.  : )  It's adorable and pretty hilarious too.  : )  Jason took Emma on a short outing this week to the library to pick up a book for himself that he had put on hold.  We have not taken Emma to a library yet for any length of time because  1. If we check out paper books for her, she will most likely tear them up.  2.  I'm not wild about her getting board books from the library because they are mostly "read" by toddlers...and, toddlers put things in their mouths and I just don't want the shared germs.  : /  (That's not a first time mom thing  ; )  ...we really do need to at least try to keep Emma well because of her reflux/food aversions/feeding issues).  Well, when Jason took Emma to the library this week, he couldn't resist taking her into the children's section.  And, what did she immediately spot?  PUPPY books!!!!  Jason said that she went crazy when she saw them so he checked a few of them out just for her.  : ) 

"Wow, Papa!!  A puppy book just for ME!!  Oh thank you...I just LOVE IT!! 

Mama says that I can only look at the special puppy books with her or with you, Papa because I'm supposed to be extra gentle with pages...we're just borrowing the books...they're not for keeps!!"

  

BESOS for the puppies!

"I like to read with natural light."

"Puppies, puppies...PUPPIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Before I sign off, I would like to say "Happy Mother's Day" to all of you!  I'm not sure if I will squeeze in another blog post before the weekend is over...we'll see! 

Emma Grace, I love you.  You are a treasure and my dream come true.  Having you for a daughter is beyond my wildest dreams.  I love you.  You will always be my baby girl.

God bless,

{ Here I am!! }

You found me!!  : D  Welcome to A Little Bit of TLC aka Guatemama...BLOGGER style!  : )

I have a lot of tweaking and such to do but I'm up and running.  I posted the final post from my previous blog below (just in case you missed it *wink and smile*).  And, don't worry, my old posts can be found archived in the left column...the older posts will be very generic looking and they will open in a new page...but, they're accessible, at least.  : )

I hope that you will be able to get used to my new blog...I hope that it won't be too difficult to navigate. 

Don't forget to bookmark me and change your old links!  : ) 

Oops!  Edited to say...  Thanks so much, Pam for your Live Writer help!  : D

Edited one more time to remind you that I/we have a new email address. I will not be accessing my old address any longer.  If you sent me an email in the past two weeks, you will need to resend.  Sorry.  : (  Here is the new address placed in a text .gif

God bless,

{ Snippety, Snip, Snip!! }

Sorry for the lack of regular posts. I am working on a few projects...on and off of the computer. My bloggy might undergo a few serious changes over the next few weeks...so, keep your eyes peeled. : )

Before I delve any further into this post, please make a note that our email address has CHANGED. I had to change it...we were receiving too much spam. : / Also, because my hard drive crashed, I lost all of the emails and email addresses in Outlook. : / So, if you have emailed us within the past 2 weeks and I/we have not responded, please resend your email! Here is our new email address: jason and tera and then at and then dot and then com. : )

Onward... : )

My baby girl received her very FIRST haircut this past week!

I was concerned that she would be scared but the salon had a Backyardigans DVD (Emma LOVES the Backyardigans).

So, she sat pretty contently. : ) She got a little bit concerned when the stylist wanted to blow her hair dry but she was a very good sport!

After her hair was dry, the stylist put in an adorable partial french braid on the top of Emma's head and put her flower clip back in her hair...ADORABLE! Here is a "before shot"!!

 

 

 

 

 

Holding a little Scooby Doo toy. I love how she is sticking out her bottom lip in this picture. : )

 

 

 

 

 

Sitting very still!! Good girl!!

An after shot!!

You can see her darling little partial french braid.

 

 

 

She is as sweet as she is beautiful!! : )

I just love my sweet baby girl!!

 

 

 

God bless,

{ Testing Live Writer }

I have heard soooooooooo much (so much) about Windows Live Writer so I have decided to try it out.

Also, I'm going to give Blogger a shot. I have used it before (years ago) when I first started blogging but I did not like it at all. : / However, that was before I knew a lot about design (not that I know a ton now...hee hee) and it was also before all of the Blogger upgrades and Live Writer.

I have been doing my own thing for so long with my blog...creating blog pages, archiving myself, etc. I have been toying for a long time with trying a blogging service again but, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go the Blogger route AGAIN and I thought of using Word Press but I felt limited by it in some ways and I wasn't sure if I could handle all of the ins and outs. I'm not sure why, but I am reallllly nervous about using a blogging service again...maybe I'm a control freak (?)

God bless.