Happy Birthday...

HAPPY 31st BIRTHDAY to my precious JBERRY! Though I wasn't even born, I was so blessed 31 years ago and had no idea. John has been one of the biggest blessings of my life! He has taught me so much about life. There are so many things that I love about John, but here are a few.... 

He LOVES JESUS! This is a picture of him leading our students in worship. Can I just tell you that he has taught me so much about the Lord & how he loves. I have personally seen him grown in his own walk with the Lord. Not to many years ago John wouldn't have  gotten on a stage to lead others in worship before our King & now he loves it. His heart and passion is to encourage families to take up a responsibility for the spiritual growth of their children. John has a passion that isn't like everyone elses. He has an ability to follow the leadership of the holy spirit and doesn't feel the need to have the approval of people over the approval of Christ. Man, I adore that about him!

He LOVES life & never takes anything too seriously! I'm still taking lessons in that area. If I get too serious, I'm likely to see a silly face like the one up above. SCARY, huh?

 He LOVES me. He has shown me an unconditional love like I've never experienced in my life on this earth and it has really helped me have a better understand of just how much greater the love of the Lord is for me. I feel so blessed to have called him husband for almost 8 years. 

He LOVES this boy! Man, does he love being a daddy. I will never, ever, ever forget the joy on this mans face on the day that I was blessed to tell him that he was going to be a daddy. And then the look on his face when he helped our doctor deliver Channing. I seriously thought the man was going to turn cartwheels right in the delivery room. And then the last Saturday when Channing said "DADA", the look on his face was once again priceless. I'm so glad that he's Channing's daddy because he has so many amazing qualities, gifts & talents to share with him. I can't wait to share the joy of growing our family together throughout the years.

So, Happy Birthday my precious JBerry. I LOVE YOU so much. You are so much more wonderful than I could ever write on this blog or on a thousand blogs! I love each and every day with you.

Our 7 Month Old Fella

Mother's Day

It's by far been one of the most difficult things to encounter. Unless you have experienced the unfulfilled desire to have children you wouldn't understand, so do not even attempt to tell the 2.1 million women out there facing infertility that you do. To have a doctor look at you and say in so many words, " YOU DON'T STAND A CHANCE" is heart breaking. It leaves you with this emptiness that cannot be explained. It makes Mother's Day one of the hardest days to get out of bed, not shed tears & hold on to hope.


BUT,.... ( oh, thank you JESUS for the BUT),


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Jesus'  word is true! His promises are relevant for our lives. I have my Ephesians 3:20 (Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!). My life has been blessed & it will never be the same. I remember the exact moment that picture above was taken. I had him in my arms for the first time. HE WAS MY BABY! The one I prayed for & dreamed of for many, many years. I am not so far removed from the pain and heartache of want, that I do not have compassion for ladies out there who are still in their season of WANT. But I hope to encourage you, that it is just that. A SEASON. And just as we see them change before our eyes on earth, they change in our lives as well. Oh, how grateful I am for a new season.


I am so blessed to be Channing's mommy. And I have hope that there will be more Berry babies. I'm excited to be celebrating this first Mother's day with my sweet son & my amazing husband. Don't think for a minute there won't still be tears. But tears of joy! What a testimony the Lord has given us & don't you think for one minute that I don't  share it with  whoever the Lord puts before me! I want to encourage those that the Lord places in my path that may be hurting, that the Lord is good! In his perfect timing, he brings everything together!


Happy Mother's Day to you & if you are still waiting to celebrate, then celebrate your "someday Mother's Day" as my sweet hubby used to call it. Someday, some way, the Lord will make good his promise! 

Things Channing is doing these days...

 

 feeding himself avocado...

 playing with his reflection in the windows...

 watching the helicopter's fly over our house...

 working on standing on his own, after being helped up..

bath's in the sink...

and asking for more!

work..

I've always heard that saying "anything worth having, is worth working for." I'm thinking it's true when it comes to our recent vacation project. I know that it seems like an oxymoron, right? Vacation project? Really? But, yes! In the Berry household it's amazing what gets done when JBerry is home on vacation. We did go away & seek some rest in Boone, but who really sleeps well away from home? And the Berry's, what can I say? We LOVE sleep! So we headed home Wednesday, spent most of Thursday chillaxin' while it rained & tornado watches loomed over us. But once the sun came out in the afternoon, we started on an unfinished project.

Last summer we had created this....

After one summer, we decided it still was enough room. You barely have room for a table & a space to hang out. It still just wasn't the space we wanted. So after much thought, we decided to uncover the cement slab & use the almost 80 stones to create a larger space to enjoy.

So for the past few weekends we had done different parts. Making a design, cleaning out the grass from the space, removing the sand we had brought in to build up the extra part of the patio & then leveling it all out with leveling sand to create the new groundwork for our new game plan.

After days of planning, work & use of our muscles, we now have this:

We are so excited! We have eaten all of our meals out here & even enjoyed a little movie on the laptop one night after Channing went to bed. We are constantly thanking God for our outdoor space. It's a sweet blessing. The greatest part is that we were blessed with every part & it really didn't cost us anything. We decided to spend a small portion of our tax check on the new large table that we found at a closeout store for a really good deal & will probably sell the small table in a community yardsale that's coming up! I just love the small things that bless our lives! After almost 8 years of marriage we have figured out the things that bring us both joy & rest and  are worth an investment.

Even if it means using our vacation time to get them done.