FoUr MoNtHs

At his 4 month check up Channing weighed 16.4 pounds (75%) and was almost 28 inches long  (75%). Obviously he has no trouble eating. Dr. Hodges said he looks wonderful. He was a champ taking his shots and barely even cried. He's now rolling over, when he takes a notion to. He's not really a fan of being on his tummy. He prefers sitting. As soon as he wakes he begins trying to lift the upper part of his body on his own. He's now loving oatmeal and bananas. Tonight we will be trying sweet potatoes with our oatmeal. I'm so thankful for this little blessing. John and I love every minute with him.

Unwelcome Guest...

My little fella woke up from his nap on Wednesday afternoon and sounded much different than usual. It wasn't the normal "mama come get me" cry, but an "I really am not feeling so hot" cry. It's so funny how you get to know your child like that. Anyway, I hopped off the treadmill & ran in to see what was going on & found my little guy with a 101 fever. We headed down to our wonderful pediatrician where they tested him for RSV & the flu. AND the FLU has set up camp in my little fella.

Last night as we fought a temperature that just wouldn't retreat, I was overwhelmed with how God must have felt. Channing's illness is nothing compared to what God watched Jesus go through & if it were at all possible I would take that flu for him in an instant. What amazing love God has for us that he could watch his son endure so much pain in order to keep my nasty heart from hell. I'm so unworthy of that kind of sacrifice but so grateful that he loves me so. I love how the Lord constantly uses this little fella to draw me closer to him. He is definitely one of the most wonderful gifts I've ever received. Jesus & Channing, that is!

Happy Love Day!

Life is flying by....

Well it's hard to believe our little Channing will be four months old next week and little is beginning to only be an adjective that is appropriate for his age. I feel like life is moving quicker than I am able to keep up with at times. I find myself forgetting everything around me, and all that needs done, once we are all home and I just soak up all the family time we get to have. John is gone most nights of the week right now with so much going on at church so on Tuesday, Friday & Saturday I embrace every moment with my two fellas.

We have so much to celebrate with all that God is allowing us to be part of. Liberty just had the first Sunday of two services! 170 at the first service & 350+ at the second service made for an amazing day. That doesn't include any children either! It has been amazing to see this church double in attendance in such a short amount of time. We feel so blessed to serve at Liberty. We just love our church family & thank God often for allowing us to have Channing here in this area where so many other children are running around and where so many love him. When I take him to the nursery on Wednesday nights after the youth band finishes it is so fun to hear the chorus of ladies & children yell "CHANNING" as he enters the room. Isn't it neat to see how loved you feel when others love your children? Someone could say absolutely nothing to me at all or as an after thought, which happens often, but they speak to Channing and oohhh & ahh over him & I feel loved just the same.

As our boy grows, it's fun to see his little personality coming through. He LOVES music. He has from day one. It's always been very soothing to him, calming him in a matter of seconds whether a song from mommy's lips, daddy's lips or Pandora radio. I guess it comes quite naturally with mommy loving to sing & daddy being so talented with instruments and singing. Last week at church as the last song of the worship set came to a close & his daddy stopped singing, Channing let the whole church know what he thought of that. His SCREAMS filled the sanctuary as soon as John sung the last note!

Ready for a Sunday Afternoon Walk.

Helping Momma cook dinner!

Sweet Smiles.

So happy he is smiling here. This day will be remembered always as a day that  held the hardest time I've ever had as a mother. Channing had started teething this week. He has two teeth trying to come in. If you look closely you can see the tears in his eyes because crying is what he had spent most of his day doing. :( We had been shopping with his Mimi and without going into all the details I'll just say I'm glad the day is done.

My big boy sitting up. He hates laying down now &  most of the time refuses to try & roll over but has the sitting up thing down most of the time. One of those things that helps you realize EVERY kid is different.

He LOVES the hairdryer after his bath.

He loves his new swing. Can't wait for SPRING!

He's Yours Lord

This past Sunday we were able to publicly share our decision to dedicate our little blessing to the Lord; to say that our goal as the parents of little John Channing is to raise him to the best of our ability in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and according to his God's Word. It was another opportunity to share that he's ours for a short time & ultimately he is the Lord's.

In my current Bible Study I recently read a story that really is thought provoking for parents, and such a reminder of the overwhelming responsibility to be a good steward of the little life that has been placed in our hands.

An excerpt from It's Always Something by Gilda Radner: (Taken from Breaking Free by Beth Moore):  **This is an edited version in my own words to make it shorter for here.

A young lady had a dog that was expecting puppies within a few weeks. The dog just happened to get in the way of the lawnmower and her back legs were cut off. The vet gave the family two option after seeing that no damage had been done to the puppies she carried. They could sew the dog up with no difficulty expected in her ability to deliver the puppies or they could put her to sleep. The family decided to sew her up.
So the vet sewed up her backside and over the next week the dog learned to walk. She didn't spend any time worrying, she just learned to walk by taking two steps in front and flipping  up her backside, and then taking two steps and flipping up her backside again. She gave birth to six little puppies, all in perfect health. She nursed them and weaned them. And when they learned to walk, they all walked just like her....two steps forward and flipping their backside.

It's cute but after a quick giggle & some thought you realize the depth of the story. Our children, just like those puppies will mock exactly what they see us doing. No matter how far we have come in our walks with the Lord, we all have areas of bondage where we struggle to remain free. Any idols we have enslave us & enslaved parents teach their children how to live in bondage even with the best of intentions to do otherwise.


NEVER would I want to pass on my "JUNK" to this little fella. He makes me want to be a better me. The responsibility of his sweet little life pushes me to want to be a better follower of Christ, a healthier eater, better at exercising regularly....the list continues forever because I know whatever he sees me doing, is what he is going to imitate. I know that despite my best of intentions, I am going to fail. There are areas where I will not succeed, but I want nothing more than to honor God with this precious gift that he's blessed me with.

 Train up a child in the way they should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

It's a wonderful life....

This past month has been a whirlwind of excitement & unbelievable blessings! WE have enjoyed every moment of it.

It was so wonderful to celebrate the birth of our Savior together as a family of 3! What joy it brought us to have our son here and to think about Mary & Joseph and the joy they felt on that first Christmas morning. Having a child definitely brings a new perspective to your heart as you are able to empathize in a more personal way with what they must have felt and experienced. As we sat as a family on Christmas morning and read that precious story from the Word, it was totally different as we held our own son. What a gift Jesus was to us. What a sacrifice Mary, Joseph & God himself endured by sending Jesus to us. We are so blessed! I can hardly wait until Channing accepts Jesus as his Savior. I've prayed for that moment for months now...from the moment I found out he was growing within me. I've been reading Mary Beth Chapman's book "Choosing to SEE" & I've been overwhelmed by the godly children she & Steven Curtis Chapman have raised. I've been praying specifically for things I plead God will bless my children with and salvation is the most important thing I could hope they would receive.

Our sweet little bundle is growing and changing every single day. The transformation is amazing. He's plumping up week by week...our little chunky monkey! He's sleeping all night in his own big boy bed and loving every minute of it. He wakes up so happy in the mornings & I am so grateful that God has blessed us with a little one who loves his sleep. He's such a blessing to us and each day as I place him in his bed and close out of day, I thank God for this gift. As we head into a new year I know God has amazing plans in store for us. We hold to that promise from Jeremiah 29:11 knowing his plans for us are for our good!




Channing's first snow!

Happy New Year from the Berry Family!

2 months old

We've had such a wonderful time growing into a family of 3! This week Channing turned 2 months old. It's so much fun to watch him change & grow. He's such a blessing & we feel so honored that God would give him to us. He teaches us so much & pushes us to pursue Christ more so that he will have the example to follow as he grows & matures.

This week we visited with friends & family and enjoyed some exciting new things around the house.

2 month old little fella

Channing & Mimi in her office at High Point Regional Hospital

This week we visited High Point where Mimi (Wanda) works! It was a fun day of lunch and roaming around her office showing little Chan Man to everyone. High Point is known for its furniture...Channing might need a dresser this big for his clothes that Mimi buys him!

Michele & Cole with us at our Happy Heart Christmas Party.

Channing and Cole are one month apart and sure to be great buddies!
Channing & Cole weigh almost the same thing..around 12 pounds! 2 very cute little fellas!

Daddy picked up Channing's first swingset that was given to us by a sweet family we met here in Spring Lake. Also The Berry's, they are being relocated by the military. Can't wait for our little fella to play on this. We plan to add a little toddler swing to it!

sweet sleep

Sucking his little thumb

Smiley boy
Our talking boy

playtime with Mommy

We had lunch with our sweet Lesley! She loved feeding Channing & loving on him & Mommy loved having a HOT meal.

week 7

He's getting to be such a big boy!

Dressed and Ready to go decorate the church for Christmas.

Mrs. Shelly kept Channing in the nursery for an hour on Wednesday night while mommy helped daddy outside with the bonfire. Mrs. Shelly is the wonderful mommy of 4 & I would trust her with my baby boy anytime!

Friday, John's day off, was family day! We went Christmas shopping most of the day. Channing was nice & snug in his cozy carseat sleepingbag!

a little photoshoot....