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.

mini vacay

Sometimes I have to ask demand my husband to take a break. There's so much to do that he could work through all four weeks of vacation time that he gets & never get away, but that's one of the many reasons that God gave him ME! So, after the amazing services on Sunday we were loaded up & headed out on a little vacay.

EASTER SUNDAY



our sweet little bunny

First stop: Greenville, SC for some EASTER dinner with the Berry family!

The Berry family has to be quite intentional for us to all be able to get together. John, with his plethora of responsibilities, very rarely will agree to a 4.5 hour drive on a Sunday. However, after talking to my sister on Thursday of last week and finding out that everyone was going to be together for Easter dinner except this Berry trio, I was so happy that to hear John say, "LET'S go!" It was so nice. I've dreamed for 3 years of cousin time & though Channing has only gotten 4 opportunities for it, I've been so grateful to finally have a sweet addition to bring to the gatherings. We had a wonderful visit with our family.

 bath time!

 allie going in for the takedown

ella & channing playing

Second Stop: the beautiful mountains of Boone, NC

a beautiful view

The next morning we headed up the mountains. Channing is a champ when it comes to the car riding part of traveling. He only wanted one rest break & I really think that was so HE could get behind the steering wheel...he really is alot like his daddy.



Channing in the driver's seat

Jenny & Adam always welcome us into their home with open arms! We love them. They are special, special friends to us.

Now, the sleeping somewhere else part of traveling...not really his thing. He's a homebody in that aspect. The first night in Boone something did NOT settle well with his tummy & our sweet fella threw up over & over again, until we almost went to the ER. I'm so grateful that the Lord has blessed me with amazing friends here in Fayetteville that are always willing to help this new momma out & to use their previous nurse training  from before they were mama's! It's crazy, but I have like 5 friends who are or have been nurses! WHAT A BLESSING! Karisa, Hillary & Marcy were more than willing to answer my questions & tell me what to look for before we went to the ER which was the COMPLETE opposite of the nurseline the pediatrician has us call. These ladies bless my life so much! With their encouragement, we waited it out & overnight he improved greatly. After resting, nursing & having a wet diaper we knew that he would be fine. He woke the next morning smiley & happy!

DAY TWO: VISTING WITH FRIENDS & GRANDFATHER MNT.

  Marsha & Tyce ..... Marsha was my waiting partner in this whole baby thing. Both of us had difficulties conceiving. There were many days that we shed tears together, prayed together & encouraged one another that the Lord would be faithful to provide & JUST LOOK!!!!  Both of these boys are  a testement to the faithfulness of an amazing God. I miss Marsha so much & love when I have the opportunity to catch up with her! I also got to spend some time with my dear friend Lara ( we didn't get a picture). Lara is about to have baby number 2!

One of the wonderful parts of April is dollar days at Grandfather mountain. Despite the fact that we have lived in Spring Lake for over 2 years, we have not yet changed our drivers lisence. With all the endorsements John has, it would cost $250....CRAZY! But one advantage is $1 to get into Grandfather Mountain! I don't feel as bad because we do still own a home in Boone, NC! So technically, we are still residents, right?

 It was a whooping 58 degrees on top of Grandfather mountain that day! Channing didn't really care for the wind that was whipping up there, but as soon as it would die down he would lift his head & check out the view. It was a little surreal being up there with our sweet boy. We used to visit Grandfather Mountain so much & dream about the day we would hike with our kiddos up there!

Watching the otters together.

Lunch with Joe:

Joe is such a special man to John & myself. He helped us for years while we were in Boone & even now talk through ministry things. He has two kids in college & we tried to glean as much as we could from him at lunch about what he did to be successful as a parent & what he wishes he would have done. We feel like being a parent & being in ministry can be a bit tricky. Some succeed & some fail miserably. We really are trying to be very mindful of our desire for Channing to grow towards Christ, not away from Christ due to his father's position in ministry. 

We came home after a few days away & began work on our vacation project. I know, sounds crazy. More to come on that later!



He's got the whole world in his hands

I have a children's worship cd that I listen to with Channing in the car. Today 'He's got the whole world in his hands' came on & one verse said "He's got the wind & the rain, in his hands. He's got the wind & the rain, in his hands..." You get the picture, but it was so true this past weekend in our area. Approximately 280 tornadoes have been reported from the storms on Saturday.

This a picture that was taken of the tornado that hit the town just 10 miles from us!

It left the Lowes hardware (pictured above) destroyed along with handful of other places and people homes. Our neighbor walked out of the rubble pictured above without a scratch! Isn't that amazing?

 There was another tornado that touched down right on base, just 10 more miles from us in the other direction & yet one more storm that touch down about 10 more miles on another side of us and left a huge path of destruction. We were left with 24 hours or so of no power & a sweet baby boy who needed breathing treatments. But even in the midst of our need, God provided. My sweet friend Michele gave us a car adaptor and we were able to give him his treatments when we were without power.

On Sunday morning, John went to the church to see if there was power for services & left our sweet puppy outside because he was gonna be back within the hour. Channing & I were upstairs finally sleeping & had no idea that our sweet puppy girl was outside being attacked by two stray pitbulls!! Our neighbor, same one who walked out of Lowes alive, came over with his gun & saved her life! He literally pulled her head out of the dogs mouth. She's alive, sore & needed 3 staples for her wound.

And our sweetest little blessing.....

you would just never guess that he's on four different medications, eye drops, & taking a breathing treatment every four hours for severe allergies, congestion & viral pinkeye!

Gosh darn it, WE ARE BLESSED! Despite all the unexpected medical bills, vet bills, spoiled groceries & the inconvenience of no electricity....WE ARE BLESSED.  God never ceases to be amazing in his ability to provide. I know he's got the whole world in his hands. I know he's covering us. So I'll continue to focus on that truth & refuse to allow the enemy to get the best of me.

 My God has the WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS!

Family love.

Channing got some sweet lovin' from his cousins Allie & Ella & Aunt Coley & Uncle Brandon a few weeks ago in Charlotte while we celebrated little Allie Berry's 2nd birthday! We are so stinkin' excited about RWOC-Charlotte because we know God is gonna do big things through B & Coley, but also because they will be CLOSER & we will hopefully get more family time! I love those sweet Berry girl faces! Can't wait to love on them more.

where has time gone....

My sweet boy is six months old. My how quickly the time with him has passed. If only it would slow down and be as slow as the years seemed that I waited for him. He's such a joy. He draws attention wherever we go. He gives the sweetest hugs and has eyes that draw you in. His little personality is already coming out and I feel certain that this child is going to stretch me in who I am and how I think things have to be, but its something that I am so excited about. He is and continues to teach me everyday about relinquishing control. His slobbery kisses are priceless. I love that when we take naps together, I always wake up & he's touching my arm or face with his precious little hand. I love that when we are away from each other, he smiles with joy when I return. His smile melts my heart and I love every minute of being his mommy.

THE END.