SOMEDAY....

It's Mother's Day Weekend and it's usually a doosey for me, but this year I can feel a huge difference and can feel the growth I have had in this area in my life. It has simply been me turning over my desires to the Lord. I have also had to change my mindset about the situation too and realize that God holds all things in His hands. Even my desires for children. He wants no harm for me. I am trusting his word. Jeremiah 29:11, heard so many times says that 'He knows the plans he has for me. Plans to PROSPER ME. Plans for GOOD and not for Evil'. I know that in his time he will provide.

For the past 5 years, John and I have been ready to start our family together. However, sometimes God's plans aren't the same as ours and I have certainly found out that it is He who is in control. I've had to simply quit listening to the enemy's words telling me that it will never happen and that God is withholding from me. He truly desires to still, kill and destroy our hope. But I'm grateful that my HOPE can be placed in one that loves me and wants what is best for me.

This year John decided to throw in a few 'Someday You'll Be A Mother' presents. It was really great to be able to be excited about what God has in store rather than dwelling on what we don't have. John has always been the one to remind me of that. I think after 5 years it's finally sinking in! So we enjoyed each other and went to two new exciting places we had never been before!

On Friday night John planned for us to go see 'The Wizard of Oz' Broadway show in Raleigh. One I had not been to Raleigh except during my senior year of high school to visit a prospective college. Two - I had never seen a musical production except for the ones that were done in high school. It was really GREAT! The most impressive part was the real dog that played TOTO! I was a little bummed that I couldn't take pictures, but it was good to just sit back, relax and sing all the songs in my head as they sang. OK, well I whispered them..hehe!

On Saturday, we loaded up the jeep and headed down to Carolina Beach. John has just been 'itching' to get himself on the part of the island where he could drive his jeep on the actual beach. We decided to head on down and see it for ourselves.

It was a BEAUTIFUL day full of sun and seafood! We had a great time and got to catch up with Mere and Eric who are about to celebrate their one year wedding anniversary!

On Sunday we enjoyed our morning at church and took a long motorcycle ride - my ' someday you'll be a dad' present to john. We ate dinner with the ladies in my life who have been my "mothers".

Overall it was the best Mother's Day I can remember in years!

Here's to SOMEDAY.....

Here Comes the Bride

This past week I had the opportunity to take some bridal shots for a friend. It was so much fun and I was excited about the outcome. I LOVE pictures. Anyone who knows me could tell you that. Maybe I could do something on the side with this? Madi will be heading down the aisle in just a few weeks. She's going to be a beautiful bride!

Life is Sweet

Last week John and I took a vacation! It was amazing....Since our huge transition to the Fayettenam area we have had so many things going on. John has had a new job, new responsibilities and something new every week to wrestle with, pray about and overcome. It's been a roller coaster to say the least since we took off from the Western part of North Carolina to the Eastern part. While I feel God has stretched us and grown us in ways we have never experienced, I must admit we were a bit exhausted from it all and knew we needed to get away for refreshed minds, bodies, and attitudes!

The Cruise was an amazing way to rejuvenate bodies, minds, and spirits! And plain and simply it was precious to have my husband all to myself with no cellphone, no church responsibilities, no computer...NOTHING but us! I loved it!

We headed down to Jacksonville, Florida early Monday morning following Easter. I had to drive because John has stayed at the church till 1:00 AM getting things ready for his one week off. He finally finished packing close to 2:00 AM and was in the bed. He was still exhausted when I woke him at 5:30 so the "steering wheel Nazi" as I call him, (yes I realize this is politically incorrect...I've learned that the hard way..another story for another time though :) )..... gave over his post and allowed me to drive most of the way through till Georgia.

We arrived at Jacksonville and saw the FASCINATION ship! The excitement finally rose within us both as we realized we were finally THERE! We enjoyed our first few hours on the boat, just roaming around and enjoying the new scenery. It was our first cruise...it was probably obvious. There were probably 2nd timers on the boat making fun of us..but we really didn't care. One of my favorite parts was the towel animals they left every night in our room. This one we called Lily for our cat at home...we added the whiskers and of course, John with his "take things apart and put them together mind" knows exactly how to make this for our guests!

That night we went to dinner, but John couldn't handle being up any longer. Earlier in the day he had felt a migraine coming and it came at full strength around dinner time. We finally had to just go in for an early night. It was nice to get some much needed rest. However, John got the rest and I was WIDE awake through a HORRIBLE storm on the first night. I literally thought it might be the end of our days. I could hear the waves crashing against the front of the boat and the lighting was putting on a show outside our window. I had to continually tell myself that I was hanging out in a rocking chair so that the movement didn't make me sick...John slept through the entire storm and had no memory of it the next morning.

Our FUN DAY at SEA was spent in the sunshine! We got a little roasted as we typically do on the first day because we are so anxious for sun and we don't put on enough sunscreen. That night was the Captains Dinner and I was a night lobster red in my black dress. It went well with our prime rib and lobster dinner which was scrumptious, but the best part was the melting chocolate cake! It was so amazing. We made friends with our waitress Anise and she gave me the recipe. I can't wait to make the delicious dessert at home.

Our first stop on the ship was Key West, Florida. We enjoyed the Southern Most Point of the United States with dolphin watching, kayaking, and snorkeling. I haven't gotten the underwater camera developed yet. I haven't had film developed in forever... Once of the best part was the Key Lime Pie!

Nassau, Bahamas.

Nassau was beautiful! It was my favorite stop of the two.The turquoise blue water was unbelievable. Of course I took tons of pictures but there just isn't enough room for them all!

Atlantis is a resort on Paradise Island. We went over to the island with a couple we met on the boat, Candace and Trey. They only live about 45 minutes from us. It was alot of fun going over and looking at the aquariums and amazing sites of Atlantis. We wanted to get information about how much it would cost to visit Atlantis again sometime ..... bad idea. The cheapest room was $350.00 a night! YEAH RIGHT..not on a pastor and teacher salary. The suite that connects the two towers is $25,000! Anybody want to send us?

Overall, we were extremely happy with our cruise! We definitely want to go on another one. It was a great time to be reminded that all the hard work is worth these times together.

BERRY Precious Nieces!

This last few weekends we have been so blessed to spend time with newest niece Allie Elizabeth and our 19 month old niece Ella. Such precious times......

Ella has received such undivided attention for the last 19 months of her life. There are not words to describe her sweet personality and how it makes me feel when I hear her say my name. I love her so much and I just couldn't imagine what it was going to be like to add Allie to those that I allow to dip into my love well. But as soon as I laid my eyes on her, I loved her just as much. In all these pics, Allie is not even ONE week old! Anyone on this Earth would have to admit that my brother-in-law and sister-in-law make some beautiful babies!

The boys worked on a chair covering project our first weekend we visited and Nicole and I had our own little project. A pedicure!!

Having two weekends with our Brother and Sister has been amazing. Makes us miss them so much more....and of course we miss the girls!!! Counting down till our next visit!

ALLIE ELIZABETH BERRY

Allie Elizabeth Berry....our new niece born April 6, 2009!

Mrs. Berry. wika wika .......

There are some things that REALLY get you and you NEVER forget it. This will be one of those things.......

Recently my sweet Shaquira wrote a rap for me:

I love her smile. She's so funny! Definitely my class clown at times. A precious jewel!

Fatherless Generation

We've all been told that we are seeing a Fatherless Generation grow up. This week I had an eye opening experience to just how "starving" they are for a male role model in their lives. The reality of a "Fatherless Generation" hit me in the face at school this week.

This picture is of Nigiel. Nigiel is being raised by a single mom. Dad is in prison for dealing drugs and Nigiel takes the man's role in his home for his Mom and his two sisters. He takes it serious. You can't see it in the picture below, but the string around his neck is attached to a picture of his family that he carries proudly. He is never in class without it. Nigiel is what most people, who have no clue, would call a 'street kid'. This past week I had an awesome experience with him that showed me just how much he craves male attention along with all his other male peers.

Third period is the most sacred time of my day- "Planning Period!" No children. No one yelling my name or asking me a question immediately after I closed my mouth from giving the answer they so desperately need me to repeat. I could go on and on about how wonderful it is, but that has nothing to do with the current story... John and I typically talk during my 3rd period. On Monday we were closing out our conversation and a student entered my room early. He realized I was talking to "MR. Berry", as they call him, and asked for the phone.That can be pretty scary, but he was very mature and knew exactly what he wanted. He was looking for a lunch date! He asked John when he planned to come to the school and how soon he could come and eat lunch with him. He and John continued their conversation and Nigiel hung up the phone....

His first response was... "Mrs. Berry, he sounds BIG! I'm not acting up in your class no more!"..all I could do was laugh. He and John had set a date for Friday.

The rest of the week Nigiel was on cloud 9! He could hardly wait to eat lunch with some man he had never even met before. Not only did the buzz continue from Nigiel, but many of his closest friends began asking if they could sit with Mr. Berry at lunch too.

John showed up on Friday and just the presence of a male in my classroom changed the entire feeling. He immediately began speaking to the kids, not knowing which ones are a pain in my neck daily or sweet angelic voices in my ear. It was amazing to see their responses.

Lunch was great and Nigiel was so happy. He barley ate his lunch because he was so excited about his guest.

Justin pulled me over to his table during lunch. Here's what our conversation sounded like:

"Mrs. Berry is that your husband?"

"Yep!"

"When can I get an appointment with him for lunch?"..

The buzz of John's visit hasn't stopped. I wish he could come every week, but I just can't expect that of him, nor can he squeeze it into his busy schedule every week. But there are thousands of men in this town that could give away 30 min. a week, or even a month to some boys who could seriously be impacted by their time.

FUEL

Tonight John unwrapped his vision for the youth ministry at Liberty Baptist Church in Spring Lake.

Within each of us, when we accept Christ, a spark is set within our hearts. The world and all that is within it would do anything and everything to extinguish that spark within our hearts. As we encounter intimacy and growth with Christ, our spark becomes a burning fire. John had an awesome visual for the spark and then the flame that's fueled by our relationships with reading God's Word, prayer, worship, and relationships with others,.

As a follower of Christ we are to help others FUEL their fire so that it continues to burn with passion. A passion for a deeper understanding of our loving Savior and his desires for our lives.

What or who helps FUEL your fire? Have you thanked God for them lately or better yet shared with them that they help FUEL your fire?

What things keep your fire from burning to it's fullest capacity?

John challenged the kids with this very question. After small groups, they came out to a big bonfire and threw those things in the fire, praying that God would remove them and allow their fire to be FUELED it's fullest capacity!

At Liberty, we are praying to be that FUEL. To join together with parents & volunteers to keep the FUEL on the fire within the hearts of students.

2009....

We entered the new year with so many new aspects of life that we just weren't sure what the next few months would be like. Not only was I about to start my first Middle School position, but we were in a whole new world as far as ministry was concerned and were experiencing the strains of not knowing if we could handle the pressure of 2 mortgages.

For weeks we went through people looking at the house, making low offers that we just couldn't afford to accept. We would just look at each other and not know how the end was going to turn out, but had faith enough to know God would provide. God had a plan and before we ever had to make 2 payments He amazingly provided a woman and 2 kids who needed a place to stay desperately. We actually knew her and trusted the idea of the set up! What a relief!

Early into getting my feet wet with Middle School, I realized how difficult it was going to be. A group of 99 kids that had no idea who I was, why their other teacher left and they had expectations for me to keep everything just as she had it! It was hard. I was dealing with inner city "street" kids for the first time in my life. It was heart breaking to hear some of the stories that they tell about not knowing their parents, of parents in prison for drugs, and on and on. But I have grown to love them. There is never a dull day! I don't have pictures of every class, but here's a couple of my classes. Some days 45 minutes just isn't enough and some days one more minute and I might strangle half of them! In my 2 short months there I've had kids arrested for marijuana and tazed for beating kids up! It's just a different world than Boone or Wilkesboro!

Shortly into January we were blessed to see snow again! It even got us out of school for 2 days. I never imagined I would have a snow day here! It was so cool to hear some of my students talk about how they had never played in snow like that before! I couldn't believe it. We stayed in for a few days, because we learned quickly that people here have no idea how to drive with white stuff on the roads.

John has stayed very busy with both worship and youth ministries to be responsible for. I have been the proudest wife watching him grow and really love serving with a group of people who have a passion for God! It has been so cool to see how God is using him to lead worship. He's really loving it and he's doing such an awesome job! We have missed the close relationships we had with our students in Boone. It's so hard to leave kids that you've invested in for so many years. But God is beginning to allow us to develope relationships with the students here. I'm excited about a few trips that we have coming up that will allow us time with them one on one without so many "church" responsibilites.

In February we got away for just John and Pepper time! It was so awesome to set aside that time for us. John surprised me with a night at the Westin Poinsett, the place we stayed on our wedding night and we went to hear Apostle Ron and Hope Carpenter from Redemption for their marriage conference. It was also a fun time with B & Coley! We haven't had time with just them since the summer. We were able to see how much Ella has grown and Allie too! She's about to come into this world in April and we are so excited to get to see her.

Here's some cute Berry Family pics:

Recap on the end of 2008!

The past four months have passed like a whirlwind. I'm amazed that God has brought us through so much transition so peacefully and with such amazing provision.

In October we decided it was time to take a huge leap of faith and accept a position in Spring Lake with http://www.libertybaptistchurch.com. I was able to blog about our first nights here. It was adventurous to say the least. I was very uncertain about our decision as we traveled down in an RV for who knew how long. Living day in and day out in a little 28 foot RV would challenge any persons sanity not to mention a marriage! But by God's grace we made it through sane and stronger. It is definitely something we will NEVER..I repeat...NEVER forget. It is also something I really would not ever want to do again!

We were in the process of trying to sell a home in Boone and find a home in Spring Lake. It's a great time to buy a house, but a terrible time to sell and we had no idea how God was going to work this one out, but of course he came through once again. One day in November I receive a call from a school in Fayetteville that wanted me to interview for a position in 6th grade. Anyone who knows my teaching history knows that last year I taught 5th grade and was less than enthused with the attitude that seems to develop in those preteen years. I was less than thrilled about the idea of a 6th grade room but went to interview. After talking with all 4 principals I decided that I should just take the position. 45 min. classes, teaching Comm Skills and Social Studies (both non test areas for the state of NC), and 2 planning periods! Why not....sounded like a breeze compared to Elementary Schools where I had to teach everything!! It was going to be a challenge, but more to come on that. After receiving the job that put us having 2 incomes and what we needed to live and pay two mortgages (not recommended by the way) and before Christmas we had an offer on a home in Spring Lake and a home in Boone! We were completely trusting that God had brought us here for his Divine purpose and would work it all out.

One week before Christmas we closed on the home in Spring Lake and headed to Boone to pack up all our belongings and empty our wonderful home at 400 Knollwood. That was a bittersweet time. Being in the mountains and back in what felt like our home made it difficult to leave and difficult to want to pack up. We were blessed by our new church with the ability to hire a moving company and I highly recommend it to anyone moving! It was so much work to pack it in boxes but to not have to load it and move it was HUGE! You don't realize how much stuff you have until you box it all up and begin to collect it together! I never imagined we would fill up this big truck when it arrived, but when the last pieces were being put in, they were running out of room! AND WE DON'T EVEN HAVE KIDS!

We love our new home. It's the first time we have lived in a neighborhood where we could really see our neighbors and their houses are close enough to ours that we know where our yards meet. We really don't see our neighbors much though because they are all military families and I think some of them are gone.

The holidays were wonderful with our families. But we were so exhausted, that we really didn't take that many pictures; Unheard of in the Berry home! But here are a few snippets of precious Ella! We're never short on pics of her!

2008 closed with amazing provision from God. We could hardly wait at that point to see how we would adjust to a new home, new church, new friendships, and for me a new classroom!