Reflecting on the most recent Journey....

The journey to parenthood has been long, hard at times, and down right frustrating at other times. But what GREAT JOY there is when the Lord's timing is perfect. It's amazing to think back about where I was with my Savior & where I am now because of this journey I have been on.

Waiting on the Lord is difficult. It calls you to a place within yourself that is uncomfortable & opposite than that of your flesh. It calls you to relinquish the control you believe you have but never really had if you read the scriptures, and into a place of faith- believing a God that you cannot see.

Isaiah 64:4 says " For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait on him!"

NOW, I feel that joy of the wait almost being over, but through the wait I was less than a humble and trusting servant of Christ. There were many walls and hurts that he broke down within me during this wait. A tremendous amount of selfishness and pride and that spirit of " I DESERVE THIS".

See what this journey did for me was remind me that I DESERVE NOTHING. There is no sense of entitlement in the family of God. It's all blessing. Blessings poured out on us by a loving God. Blessings that we are called to give back to him to glorify & honor him.

As I see the end of this journey coming in the next few weeks I feel blessed that he would choose to work on me. That my Savior would want nothing more than to strip me of all that held me captive. Galatians 5:1 says " It is for FREEDOM that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then and do not let yourself be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." I was burdened with many yokes of slavery and through the journey I have been able to see the Lord remove the yokes I allowed to hold me captive and I now can walk in the freedom of Matthew 11: 30 knowing his "yoke is easy and his burden is light."Great joy comes from trusting that he has our plans perfected in his timing!

I don't know what you are waiting on. We all seem to wait on something throughout the seasons of life, but trust that there is great joy in the journey of waiting. Especially when we are waiting on HIM!

Such a precious family....

John and I have been blessed with a precious church family. We are so blessed with people who love us and have been an active part of praying for this season of our lives to come to pass. Over the past 34 weeks they have been so excited to celebrate with us.

This past weekend we had a baby shower at church to celebrate the arrival of little John Channing. We were blessed with many of our large gifts & a tremendous amount of everything else that he needs to be comfortable, overly comfortable, as he begins his life.

This picture doesn't do all their gifts justice. It filled the ENTIRE car!

That carload includes our pack & play, highchair, toddler car seat (that is not a typo...seriously we have both car seats now!), a diaper cake, books, pacifiers, bibs, socks, bath toys, childproofing kit, kitchen accessories that help with his stuff, a hand knitted blanket, diaper caddy, sleepers, giftcards for Walmart, Target, Babies R US & CRACKER BARREL for those nights I don't want to cook. We received a precious check for his first deposit into his savings account- how thoughtful & so greatly appreciated!

John could not WAIT to put things together.

Overall lots of families showered us with love & precious fits that would help us transition into this new season of life. Its so nice & so exciting to be loved! Above all, I'm so grateful that God has placed us here for this season. I'm thankful that Channing will be brought into a place where he is loved by so many as their very own. It amazes me how many people seem just as excited as me to see this precious boy. Just another reminder that GOD'S plans are perfect!

Faithful....

Ever just need to be reminded that God is faithful & true, just like he says? I had been in that spot for a few days. After looking at the budget & really seeing what a sacrifice it was going to be for me to stay home with my sweet Channing, I was overwhelmed with anxiousness & doubt. Not a great place to be in at 33 weeks preggo when you have plenty of other things to dwell on. Why is it that it always seems to happen? Over & over we need reminded of God's promises & that they aren't just words but TRUTH.



On Wednesday he reminded me again through precious students, their families & our loving volunteers. I had no idea that the evening was anything more than praising our heavenly father & it was just that & so much more precious to me as my heart sang his praises after seeing this:

That my friends is over 1,200 diapers ( yes, I added it up!), 12 large packs of wipes & a collection of butt cremes, outfits & toys! God was whispering in my ear " See daughter, I have it all under control. I've placed you here for such a time as this."

I love his gentle reminders that everything will be ok & that we his 'dumb sheep' need to just trust him. Thank you FUEL families! We are so grateful!

Psalm 56:10 'For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens. your FAITHFULNESS reaches to the clouds.'

Channing's Room

We have been working & working to make a room for our new addition. It's something we have talked about for years so we were ready to dive in & now here we are 8 weeks away and we have mostly completed our project. There are a few more little projects to do, but I've got to be in the right mood to fight with the alignment of the vinyl letters :) It would have been absolutely impossible to get all this finished without my AMAZING, STUD of a husband! I'm so grateful for him & his many talents & gifts he's been blessed with!

Channing's room was the guest room. It's at the front of the house facing the street so it has great afternoon sun but the curtains & blinds can be closed to create the coziest little space & I just love it!

The cozy room at night time.

The daylight view.

A-mazing rocker that my hubby & friends from school who gave me gift cards helped purchased! It's so comfy & is complete with our first selection of books from mommy's collection. John read him 2 books last night. Daddy has already asked to be in charge of night time rocks to put Channing to bed. He can hardly wait! Gotta love a guy who's gonna be an incredible daddy!

This little guy is on one of the shelves over the rocker. John has had him since he was a little boy & he has been a constant laugh throughout our marriage because John will put him in place all over the house to 'surprise' me. One day I came into Channing's room to find him resting there.



Love this verse. It was a long project but we persevered it & looks awesome in the room! On the table is his baby book with some pages already filled out & many more memories to be recorded. Also a special frame made by Aunt Coley filled with his first profile ultrasound picture.

Love our furniture which was a gift from my Aunt.

Fresca, complete with Channing's heartbeat recorded in his hand, is waiting for a sweet little boy to drag him around!

Some of this will change as we get our changing pad and move the monitors to the rooms they will be in. To the left, on the dresser, is a tree trunk filled with stuffed animals just his size to play with.

To the left of the little rocker is his closet which is already filling up with cute, cute clothes!

Can't wait to get all these cute little outfits on him. Praying his legs will fit!!!

So ready for our little bundle of joy to come join us! He's must know it, because he's been fighting like crazy the last few days trying to get out of his cramped up space.....8 weeks to go!

7 Years of Bliss.....

The past 7 years have flown by with so many adventures. Looking back, God has taught us so much through one another and through the journey. I feel so blessed to have such a fabulous companion to walk through life with.I can't imagine life without John & all that we are blessed to do together. But this year was so different for us. With 10 weeks until Channing's arrival we wanted to do some pictures of us as a couple so we called up our friend Brenna from B. Whitson Photography & went for a shoot at Bass Lake in Blowing Rock, NC. We wanted some pics of where it all began. I LOVE them & have only put up a few of my favorites. Hope you enjoy as much as we did!

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!