A different view....

I'm sleeping.....do we have to do this right now?

Lots of hair on his head.

Holding his ears.... "I'm not listening"...his daddy was telling him to roll over. We talked to him for the first time about obedience!

Look at my guns!!!

Those are some long fingers.





His arm was down inbetween his little legs.

Apparently he's all bunched up because his legs are so long. Should feel good to get those legs out of a bunch & stretch them out.

I can hardly wait to see him in person!

We keep growing & growing.....

Little John Channing is growing & so is mommy. I feel the differences almost daily in his movements. I love feeling him be active & alert in his small little space. Next week we get to see him again when we have our 3D/4D ultrasound. I can hardly wait. It's been 1o weeks since my last ultrasound. Can't wait to lay eyes on him again & see his little features.

Here's some pics of the three of us!

Baby Berry Update....

I am completely behind but LOVING every moment of it. I've had so many intentions of getting on here & updating this blog. So much to share and so much to say but just not enough time to do that and accomplish all else that there is to do! I am going to do it this week though. I want to get this storybook that I do mostly for myself updated.

Our sweet baby berry is growing and I am embracing and loving every moment of it. The joy I get to experience with my husband is priceless. I almost smile now, with only a twinge of pain in my heart as I think and marvel about the Lords plan and the perfection of it. I have truly known the pain that Hannah wept to her husband and then wept before the Lord in her deep anguish. After she poured her heart out to God 1 Samuel 1:20 (NIV) says "So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son." Oh that "in the course of time part" is so precious to me now. As I sit and listen to others wallow in the minor inconveniences of pregnancy, I try to embrace them and appreciate them because I have longed for them so. Time.....when combined with the hand of the Lord, how it can grow us and change us and how grateful I am for that. I have been blessed with a very easy pregnancy. No morning sickness. I've only been nauseous 3 times and simply needed a little extra sleep here and there.

Baby Berry is growing over time as well. He is now at an amazing 25 weeks. Below are some precious pics of his progress.

Our 6 week little "pacman" is what we called this. I still remember the moment that sweet shot came up on the screen. I had the sweetest tears that I simply could not hold back. I loved this baby from the moment I saw it.

Our 8 week little alien baby. Not the cutest sight to most eyes, but growing and forming into just what it's called to be.

At week 12 we went to get a baby berry checkup and came back with a pounding 150 bpm heartbeat recorded for our happy happy hearts. A dear friend from high school had suggested to me that we record it with an piece from Build a Bear & have it made into a sweet creation that we would always have. We had "Fresca" made. Fresca was the character developed by Papa John, John's father, when the boys were little. John still gets the most precious grin when he recalls the times his dad would sit by his bed and they would embark on an adventure with Fresca in the forest. We listen to the little heartbeat all the time. I wonder just how long those batteries will last?

At week 18 we went in to see this sweet profile.

And then the reveal of the "boy parts" that are growing on this baby! A Baby Boy!

The long legs that now tap the walls of my uterus, letting me know "I'm still here mom!" Such a precious shot. I love how much they look like his daddy's legs. They have exactly the same knees with the extra little "bulge" of muscle on the side.



This was captured at the end of my sweet little man's show he gave us while we watched him play. Baby Berry flipped from his back to his belly, extended those long legs and put his butt up in the air and then finished off his "act" by flipping back over and yawning really big with his hand up to his mouth! This is the shot of the yawn. What I would have given for a video of his performance for us. I'm sure it was the first of many. He is after all the son of John Berry and anyone who knows my husband knows he loves to make a group of people laugh.

I can hardly wait to hold this little man and give him all the love I have for him in my heart. But a little more time is required before those moments come outwardly. For now I will pray for all the desires I have for him and trust God with the rest of his growth and development.

Savannah......

Vacation is so heavenly. I'm not sure you quite understand the work of a pastor unless you are married to one or closely related to one, but not much is discussed in our home that doesn't have something to do with church. A youth program, the next worship set, a new song he wants to try, a student or leader or meeting or ........you get it right?

When we go on vacation, we don't talk about ANY of our responsibilities and it is so awesome. Now please don't get me wrong. We love what we do, but we love to be just a little less consumed by work at times too. I feel as if I make a list of things I want to talk to John about because by the time he gets home from the office or a meeting or whatever his day has held for him, he is completely out of words. He typically just wants to hang out and be still. So on vacation, I get ready with all I want to talk to him about because he's ALL MINE & I love it!

Savannah was the destination that John chose for us this year. We considered a cruise but then after finding that we were expecting our little bundle of joy we decided to still go away but on a little less expensive outing. This was probably smart considering that I am at the very end of my first trimester and absolutely exhausted at times. It was nice to not deal with waves and motion sickness. Savannah was the perfect choice. It was beautiful, calm, cool and had some awesome food (something else a pregnant lady loves!)!

The view from our room.

We enjoyed a couple of days at Tybee Island, walked down on the river and had a fun historic carriage ride one night. I think our favorite place by far was Paula Deen's. We went back and forth with whether or not it was worth it for us to wait in line at 8:00 AM to make a reservation for dinner but after many people had suggested it, we went for it & it was so worth it. Fried chicken, ribs, beef stew, mashed potatoes, collards, black eyed peas....O' the list went on and on! What's not to love about that menu?

Our Carriage Ride- Luke was the one who did all the work!

Paula's Buffet Ya'll!

Celebrate...

Spring Break hit with a big 1st birthday celebration for the youngest Berry girl Allie! As soon as school was out on Friday we hit the road to Greenville, SC to celebrate with Brandon & Nicole & the girls. We don't get to see them nearly as much as we would like & usually when we do it's a short and sweet visit before we run back up the road 5 hours to home. We made the most of our time on Saturday by taking the girls out for an Aunt & Uncle date to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. I feel certain that those girls put away a huge pancake each! That afternoon we enjoyed a birthday party that included homemade cupcakes, homemade hats, a tutu & the cutest little onesie!

Allie didn't hesitate once that cupcake was put in front on her. She dove right in & seemed to love every minute of it!

We headed home Saturday afternoon to be home with our Liberty family for church on Sunday to celebrate Easter & an empty tomb! After church a group of us gathered at Lesley's for a wonderful Easter lunch. Anticipation was high as two of the three ladies were about to get their husbands home after a 361 day deployment. Both friends have two kids & have done a terrific job being strong without their husbands for the past year! Sweet Lesley will get her husband home for a week for R&R next week & then he'll be back in August!These ladies are some my dearest friends. I'm so grateful for them and the encouragement they bring to me!

Left to Right: Me of course,Lesley, Alison, Tara

I'm Lovin It!

John and I are having the best time soaking up every moment of this phase of life. Each day we just smile at one another in a different way than we have ever been able to before.

A few weeks ago we were able to celebrate with the Berry Family. What a great time we had at Firebird's Restaurant in Charlotte. Ella ran right up into my arms, threw her hands in the air & squealed "YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A BABY!" She quickly made her way down me & proclaimed "It's gonna be a boy!" So precious. So priceless. We enjoyed a wonderful time to just see our family and share our joy. Before leaving sweet Ella put her hand on my stomach and continued showing her sweet love towards our tiny baby. Her words will forever be etched in my mind; "Baby I speak blessing over you." The most sincere prayer and blessing. My awesome sister brought me my first collection of gifts.

We also got the opportunity to share with my my family and celebrate birthdays & future birthdays at PF Chang's. Nana & Wanda both reacted just as I guessed they would. Wanda looked at me & yelled "SHUT UP! ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Nana- "PRAISE GOD!" I'm not sure Nana has come down to earth yet!

Last week we were able to see Baby Berry. John was able to go with me to the doctor and he was so excited. As the image of our sweet 'strawberry' came up on the screen, his grin was wide as can be. I loved watching him and how happy he was.

Both of us had a very unexpected surprise when the most incredible sound came into our ears for the first time. A strong and healthy heartbeat! It's like nothing I've heard before. It sounded as if this sweet baby had just ran a marathon. 160 Beats Per Minute. It was a moment that will remain with me forever! I'll be so happy when our little "strawberry" looks less like an alien & more like a baby. We go back for another look in the first week of the second trimester. Can't believe how close we are to the 2nd trimester. Just 3 more weeks! I'm so thankful for this gift. I wake myself up at times in the night and find that I am in the midst of giving God praise even in my sleep!

This phase of life....so different....& we are LOVIN it!

Miracle

According to Dictionary.com the following are definitions 1 and 2 for a MIRACLE.

1-an effect or extraordinary event in the physical world that surpasses all known human or natural powers and is ascribed to a supernatural cause.

2-such an effect or event manifesting or considered as a work of

God.

In simpliest terms, these definitions explain exactly what you are about

to see........

You've just set your eyes on the very first picture of Baby Berry! An amazing combination of both John and I that is growing and forming in my womb! It's an amazing miracle!

Some of you may know the journey that we have been on for the la

st SIX years! O what a journey! It's amazing to consider all that God has taught us through this amazing journey. It has been one of the most difficult situations I have ever encountered, but one of the most growing situations. I've learned so much about myself, John & mostly God and his faithfulness.

In November we were told that we had a 22% chance of getting pregnant and conceiving on our own. I came home about as down as I could be. In the journal that I keep, written to our future MSC (Many Small Children), I wrote the most sincere prayer I could possibly write asking God to take my 22% & make it a 100% by the power that I know he has! 3 months later I took a test and was overwhelmed by what appeared!

So here we are.....8 weeks in and SO EXCITED WE CAN HARDLY STAND IT & God receives all the glory for the JOY that overflows in our heart!

So Far Behind... Am I ahead?

Well the silly saying goes...I was so far behind that I thought I was ahead. That's me!

Lately it's been one thing right after another for us.We've gone days without seeing each other and then only seeing each other to work on the next project for youth group or home. I feel as though we haven't really stopped since Thanksgiving. Guess that would be the reason for not posting in such a VERY LONG.

So a recap of the last 4 months of our lives & all the fun adventures involved. There's never a dull, quiet moment.

Thanksgiving was hosted by the fabulous Nicole Berry who had the joys of cooking her very first turkey! Of course the moments were documented for enjoyment for years to come. We had a lovely time sharing with the Berry/Malseed family. Ella, right in the midst of potty training, made sure to let us know that she had pee pee in the potty as we all shared our moments of gratitude for the past year. She took all of us from tears of gratitude for God allowing Chris to enjoy one more Thanksgiving to tears of laughter! She definitely has a way with making everyone so happy.

Christmas was actually at our home. My family came and shared with us on Christmas Eve and was immediately followed by the Berry Clan who hung out for a few days. The boys highlight of Christmas was new shotguns. I do believe their favorite part was taking a day and going shooting.

The week following Christmas we went skiing in West Virginia with John and Denice. It was a great time to get away for a couple of days and just enjoy the snow and wonderful beauty of the mountains. It's been strange being here in Fayetteville with little to no snow all winter long, so it was nice to see the snow pouring down as we entered West Virginia. It was some of the best skiing conditions we've ever experienced. It was a great way to close out our 2009. An amazing year with many new adventures.

Patiently Waiting....

A new club started this past week to celebrate the time that God has me in, along with a wonderful group of ladies. The idea is a spin off of a group from my awesome sister-in-law who has had a wonderful group of ladies surround her. I love you sis!

We called our group Patiently Waiting because each of us are waiting on something particular...from a husband to come home from overseas or for a new addition to our family. Of the nine ladies pictured, only 2 of us have our husbands home right now. One, possibly two, are pregnant. And one is continuing to wait patiently for the Lord to open her womb. Each have at least two kids & some have as many as 4 kids! They are a precious group of women!






I am in a Bible Study with a group of ladies who, for the most part, are military wives. Well, come to think of it they are all military wives. They are amazing women who sacrifice just as much as their husbands. I have had the privilege of getting to know each of them and seeing the real sacrifices of a military wife. They amaze me with their ability to remain strong for their children as they take on the role of Mom & Dad for as much as a YEAR! ONE ENTIRE YEAR. Some of them go even longer. I can't even begin to imagine that type of lifestyle, but these ladies are so strong and courageous.


We centered our theme around Thanksgiving. I made a Maple Glazed Stuffing & Roast Pork. We also had a fresh salad with a homemade Italian dressing, homemade cranberry sauce, quick creamy corn, Pierogi Casserole, Brie with Apricot topping, buttery rolls, & herbed broccoli. For dessert we had fudge brownies, Turtle Pumpkin Pie, & Death by Chocolate Cake!

We have already scheduled our next one & it's gonna be a dessert theme! Better start dieting to prepare for that one!

I feel so blessed to have such an awesome group of ladies to spend time with!

Blessing During Recession.....Part II

Saying goodbye brought so many emotions with it and at the end of Wednesday I felt completely drained. I had no clue what the next day was going to bring for me because I was going straight into KINDERGARTEN the very next morning! Pray for MSC (Many Small Children) and the Lord tends to have a sense of humor with how he provides!

When I originally interviewed at Highland Elementary, I thought I was interviewing for a new Third Grade position that was opening up. While that was true, there were also 2 kindergarten positions open and a Fourth grade position open. When he came back offering me one of the kindergarten positions. I wasn't the least bit timid about it. I knew I could do it. I had spent my ENTIRE college career preparing to be a kindergarten teaching. A high school internship, 2 college internships & student teaching were spent in kindergarten. I had experienced by far the best kindergarten teacher on the planet during student teaching. Patsy Alley was amazing at making kinders do exactly what she wanted them to in the most creative ways that they enjoyed. I learned so much from her and knew I simply needed to drag it from the dusty shelf I had left it on 6 years ago.

I LOVED it! I realized quickly that the pace of my day was going to be much different, but it was FUN! I really had missed the aspects of school that elementary teachers get to enjoy. These past few days reminded me of why I became a teacher.

I chose a spider theme for my first two days to go with the Halloween week. I'll have to continue to be creative in those ways too because I have a sweet baby who can't celebrate any holidays.

Spiders it was. I hung a HUGE spider on the corner of the board. Kinders are the most observant kids ever. They had hardly walked in the room and welcomed their new teacher ( I had met them the week before during a day long visit),that their little voices said "MRS. BERRY! There's a spider over our board. Who put that spider there??? " I love their excitement...so refreshing.

We graphed whether we like or dislike spiders and then wrote about it! What fun is learning about spiders if it doesn't involve food? So we made spiders from marshmallows & pretzels. They didn't stand a chance with hungry little kiddos. I did manage to get a picture before they were consumed!

I even found these awesome cupcakes to go with our theme!!!

The kids loved them:)

Yesterday afternoon the entire school focused on Kindergarten. Everyone lined the hallways & each kindergarten class prepared themselves with their themed hats. Our theme was scarecrows. They kids loved that I joined in with them!

A new adventure with a tremendous amount of fun to come!

Blessing During Recession..

Just like our God always does, he has shown out this last month! It's amazing to see how he loves us through his blessings.



Through many doctors visits in the hopes of having the MSC (Many Small Children) we hope to have, the final prescription from my doctor alongside very EXPENSIVE fertility meds was LESS STRESS!



"Really", I responded? "Do you know that I am a teacher of 120 lovely middle schoolers AND a pastor's wife?" To which he responded, "Really Pepper. If you want those MSC, you are going to have to lessen your stress so the percentage of your possibilities for children will increase." How very discouraging to hear that you have slim chances of having the babies you so desperately desire, but with alot of help and encouragement from my husband, many tears & many prayers I am trusting the Lord for the percentage that the doctors say is void from our lives!



The very week following my appointment I was approached by someone at church that asked me if I might consider moving schools? I can only imagine my facial expressions, knowing in my mind what the doctor had just told me. And with that question from her, the Lord began opening up the opportunity for me to interview with another school. That week I approached my principal at the middle school in every attempt to be professional about this possibility & told him that I was considering this opportunity. Interviewed that very week on Thursday. Accepted a position on Friday! I followed with my 30 days notice & started the long awaited change.



It was, despite the quickness in the decisions from day to day, one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. I love my kids at the Middle School. Saying goodbye to them, I knew was going to be one of the hardest things to do. But, I had to decide to take care of my body & my health in order to fulfill dreams that I've had since I was a very little girl.



So after a almost an entire month, my principal gave me the letter that would inform my children that I would be leaving. We gathered them together to break the news. Having all 240 of their eyes looking at me and having no idea what was about to hit them was terrible. We shed tears. We shared germy hugs. And we made it through that terrible Friday. With 3 days left together, I had no idea what to expect, but I was showered with love from my kiddos. I have never received so many gifts. It was like Christmas in October! Flowers, cards, letters smeared with thank yous from students and parents, candy, bible covers, pictures, ornaments, food, lunch..... It was endless. I felt so loved and cared for. I left them with a challenge to love Ms. Vaughan, a first year teacher who had been in kindergarten, with all their might.

Very delayed update...

Summer has come & gone & so has my free time that I typically use to update our blog.

August brought with it a visit to Greenville, SC & we were able to spend some time at the youth conference that B Berry puts on with his REVOLUTION ministry.

A new school year has started and I have enjoyed my team at Max Abbot greatly. They are great group of women. So sweet & enjoyable. I am very sad that I will be leaving them soon. More to come on that.

In September John & Denice came down for a weekend visit. We found a restaurant that we thought fit us well! We enjoyed a motorcycle ride to Raleigh and we visited some of the museums there. It was a great weekend to visit with one another.

John and I recently enjoyed a Barbeque Festival in Lexington, NC. We met Donald and Wanda and enjoyed a few hours together before going to Greensboro for a birthday party. Eric, John's college roommate, turned 30 and we ventured up to celebrate with some friends! Eric almost won the t-shirt contest with his Goodwill REBA find!

So far this fall season has been great for us. We have definetly missed the fall leaves of Boone, but have enjoyed the warmer days. Hard to believe we've been here in Spring Lake for ONE YEAR on November 1st. Time flies when you're doing what God has before you!