Here we go again!!!

We had an ultrasound appointment today and I almost missed it! Due to a long story which I'll get into later, I made it to the Dr.'s office 9 minutes past my scheduled appointment, and was told, "You just made it! I was about to have to cancel your ultrasound!" There were 5 scheduled in a row, so the poor Ultrasound Tech was swamped and couldn't afford to get off schedule.

It's a good thing that we made it, though, because we had a great time seeing our DAUGHTER for the first time!

Ella's gonna have a little sister! I was thinking about this, and although I didn't have sisters (or brothers for that matter!), I can imagine what their relationship might be like through the years and what we will have to do with all this estrogen! Poor Brandon, he's really outnumbered now! But he's a proud papa, and we figure with as good as Ella has turned out, we're glad to welcome another girl into our lives.

Sisters can wear matching monogrammed dresses and hair bows on holidays and Daddy won't think they're sissys.

Sisters can play house together and dolls and dress up and all sorts of things that girls just LOVE to do. They will always have a friend to play with right under the same roof!

Sisters can giggle, laugh, and tell each other secrets. Especially after bedtime when the lights are out...instant slumber party every night!

Sisters can trade and borrow each other's clothes...though I've seen this become the source of many arguments for my friends who have sisters.

Sisters can look out for each other through school and be there for one another when trouble with boys or friends happens.

(I'm hoping) Sisters can assist each other on many game-winning goals on the soccer field!

Sisters can both be daddy's girls.

Sisters can both be mom's friend (when they get older, probably).

Your turn! What else can sisters do?

This and That...

My sister-in-law told me I need to update my blog (granted, until this week, her last entry was at the beginning of September, so thank you for pointing out my kettle's blackness, pot). So, since she is the younger, yet probably wiser of the two of us, how can I refuse?

So what's been happening in the Berry household lately?

-We spent a weekend in Boone visiting John and Pepper, along with B's parents. We enjoyed the nice weather, carving pumpkins, and eating at one of their favorite spots...it may be our final trip up there for a while because they are moving to Fayettville, NC to take a new associate pastor position at this church. Our pumpkin made it all of 5 days before having to get chunked in the garbage because of the unseasonably warm weather we had here in October.

-It finally got cooler, and we're really loving the fall colors. I can't help but say out loud, "oh, that one's pretty" everytime I'm out and about. I really need to get our family out there for pics before they all fall to the ground (the leaves, I mean).

-The 2nd Trimester of the pregnancy has been sooooo much better! I've been told by a couple of people that it's a boy cause my butt's getting bigger (thanks so much for noticing) and others think it's a girl for various reasons. We find out on 11/11 who's right. I'll let you know. Either way, I'm feeling a lot better and am glad that I haven't traded my morning sickness for heartburn right away like I did with Ella.

-I had a great weekend for one of my friend's birthday at her parent's lake house. We had a big party on Friday night, then kicked everyone out by 2am, and then four of us girls enjoyed hanging out in our pajamas all the next day. So wonderful! Ella was visiting Nissi and Papa John until Sunday, so Brandon and I spent Saturday night on a great date! We went here and here. Then we came home to a warm fire and some Russian Tea.

-Apostle Ron has been doing an awesome series about a Fatherless Generation. Check it and the new RWOC website out here.

RWOC Find Your Place

-Ella was the most adorable monkey for Halloween. We had a great time. On the Wednesday before Halloween, Brandon and I dressed up for Scream Arena (youth group) as an oven with a bun in it (me) and a chef "bun maker" (him). We used it to announce to the kids our own bun in the oven, and they all were super excited. On Friday, Ella got dressed up and we went to two houses next to us. Our neighbors, Bob and Sue, had a special bag of candy for me....er, her. Then we had Rodney, Marla and their son, Ethan over for burgers and a friendly game of Phase 10 (which I won).

-We stood in line today for an hour and a half to vote. I was glad that my last name no longer starts with an M, but a B because the A-K line at our polls went MUCH faster than the L-Z line. With a 15 month old in tow, every minute counts.

-My Mom went back into the hospital for a week, and is getting closer to being on the list for a double lung transplant. Please pray for a miracle. Also pray for her doctors to find the right anti-rejection medicine for her so she can actually get on the list!

-We are getting ready to go on our first cruise! I'm looking forward to endless food options, snorkeling, white sandy beaches, clear water, and a chance to REST. I'm not looking forward to missing Ella for almost a week. But I think I'll manage. The grandparents get to divide her time between them.

A Look Back and Forward

10 Years Ago:
October 1998

I was a Sophomore at Furman University in the midst of soccer season. I was enjoying being a member of my sorority and hating Chemistry class. I was finally dating a boy I'd had a crush for a long time, and who eventually broke my heart. (Don't worry, I got over it). My grandmother came down from Philly to watch me play soccer and help me pomp our float for Homecoming. She's so fun. I still have the picture of me, her and Mom on the Furman Mall.


5 Years Ago:
October 2003

I was living in Mt. Pleasant and working for the Charleston Battery Pro soccer team. I was a member at Seacoast Church and was preparing to go on my first mission trip to Sri Lanka. I had no idea what was in store for me. I would soon quit my job, go into full time ministry and the whole course of my life would change as a result of that trip. I was living with my buddies, Claire and Carrie (*and our surrogate roomie, Nate, who didn't spend the night but was there probably more than Claire was! We all loved having him around). I was kinda hanging out with a guy who was in med school. That ended without any hearts being broken.


1 Year Ago:
October 2007

I was a new mama to Ella, learning all the in's and out's of taking care of an infant. I was married to the man of my dreams, Brandon, and living in Greer, SC in our new home! I was struggling with the big changes in my life...I went from full time graduate school and part-time employment to being a stay-at-home mom with the sole responsibilty most of the day to develop a world-changer.


I was also spending a lot of time in Charleston and Columbia due to my mom's illness...we thought we had lost her at MUSC, and she was blind, paralyzed and in a coma for 2 weeks...But God.... I remember staying with the Nortrups and getting treated so well, running with my old running buddy Shannon Phelps for the first time with our babies in strollers to get my mind off things, my Aunt Rosemary and Uncle Chip driving through the night to be there for us, and the look of shock on every doctor's and nurse's face when they walked in to see my mom completely healed and discharged after only 2.5 weeks. A complete miracle.

1 Year from Now:
October 2009

I'll be the mother of a 2 year old and a 6 month old (some of you may have just heard/read that for the first time), probably working hard to get my pre-baby body to emerge again, and still trying to figure out how to handle 2. Brandon will be further along with seeing his vision for Revolution Youth Ministry taking over for the Kingdom of God! Mom will have new lungs thanks to a transplant at the Cleveland Clinic and will be recovering so well the doctors and nurses will all be shocked again.


5 Things On My To-Do List Today:

1: Spend some time in the Word after Ella goes down for a nap
2: Run errands to Target, Grocery Store, Etc...
3: Laundry and Ironing
4: Pick up Pooh, Rock and Amanda for church
5: Work in the soundbooth while for the youth service tonight



5 Places I've Lived:

1: Greenville/Greer, SC
2: Pasadena, CA
3: Mt. Pleasant, SC
4: Columbia, SC
5: Philadelphia, PA

5 Things I Love about this season:

1: Pumpkin Spice
2: Football
3: Cool enough weather to turn off the AC and throw open the windows
4: Leaves changing colors
5: Thanksgiving

Tag, you're it! Share a little about yourself!

I don't even know what to title this...

I don't know if typing this will do justice to the actual events that took place, but I'm going for it anyway.

Since Ella's turned one and is at the top of the weight limit for her infant carrier/carseat, I have been on a hunt for a safe, somewhat stylish, gender neutral, and cost-friendly carseat for my now-toddler. I've been on review websites, manufacturer websites, and store websites....I've talked to moms (who pretty much all say theirs is fine...i guess I never got to ask anyone who was actually in a car accident and had a testimony that yes, their carseat actually kept their kid from injury), and peered in the windows of cars in many, many parking lots trying to figure out which new throne my daughter would be sitting in as Rhonda the Honda whisks her around town.

As her appetite keeps growing, I began to think that 20 lbs is really more of a "driver's license weight" (you know what I'm talking about ladies) and that I really needed to make a decision and a purchase before the aforementioned infant carrier was no longer safe. So on a recent trip to Target, I decided that I was not only going to pick up diapers, but that I was also going to finalize my deciison and purchase Ella's new carseat.

With Ella in the front of the cart, diapers on the bottom under the big basket, I finally picked an Easyflo Triumph Advance seat with chocolate and sage upholstry. It basically looks like a Lazyboy for kids in the car. All the research had led me to this because of its side impact testing/ratings, and the other mom reviews which say it's great. Plus I liked the colors and the price was in my range, and they didn't have these colors at BabiesRUS. So I find the box and heave it up, resting it on the top of the big basket...cause it clearly doesn't fit inside the basket. Then I try to manuever my way through Target with one hand on the handle and the other on the top of the box, straining to get a glimpse around the side to make sure a crash into an unexpecting shopper or clothes rack or display case wasn't imminent. I finally made it to the front, and it looked like everyone in the store beat me to the lines. So I waited patiently as Ella rummaged through my purse.

Upon completeing my purchase, I knew I had to hurry because I was supposed to meet my mother-in-law to drop Ella off for the night in less than 10 minutes. So I pop the trunk and put the diapers in, and then realize quickly that the humongous box that the carseat is in won't really fit in the trunk becuase of all the other stuff in there. No problem, I'll put it in the back seat. I opened the door carefully as not to hit the other car that parked WAY too close, and tried to heave the box up and in. No dice. I adjusted the angle and tried again. Nope. At this point I think I was beginning to breathe a little heavier. Once I accepted the fact that the big box wasn't going in the back seat because the door opening was too small, I decided to regroup again and try the front seat. It's usually a little bigger. I moved the box, closed the back door, opened the front door, and pulled the box up to the front. I moved the seat and tried to make as much space as possible for this monster of a box. (You would think by now that I would have doubts that the actual seat may not fit in my car, either!) I tried, I tried...I thought I could get it... I think if Ella could talk in sentences that made sense, she's say, "Mommy, I know this game... The big square doesn't fit in the little triangle hole." I really wish I could get the video surveillance of the entire scene. It would probably be worth some money.

At this point I'm sure I was late to meet Denice, so I decided to grab my keys, open the box, take out the carseat and put it in the backseat, and then fold up the demon of a box and put it in the trunk. I got Ella in her old seat, made sure all of the things she took out of my purse were back in, and drove to meet Grandma. When I got there, I figured, "well, since the chair's already out of the box, I may as well set it up in her car so she can use it."

I pulled the seat over to her car and read on the attached literature "6 easy steps to installation". This can't be hard. They've got the LATCH system. 20 minutes later I finally had it hooked in there, facing the rear for added safety and by then I was sweating and breathing hard. A quick review of the instructions reminded me to make sure the LATCH strap was NOT twisted. Ooops. Mine wasn't only twisted but also in the wrong place! Ahhh, screw it. I took the whole thing out, grabbed my old trusty infant carseat and base and 2 minutes later they were on their way.

I guess I'll have to get Brandon to figure it out. Until then, It looks like a full-scale piece of furniture in our living room!

A New Fall Tradition...

My friend, Kelsey, gave us a great idea to go up to Hendersonville and pick our own HoneyCrisp apples at Sky Top Orchard. I had never been apple pickin' before, and for some reason even through he grew up about 10 minutes from this little gem of a place, Brandon hadn't thought about it as a family outing destination. But he was happy to take his girls up and we had an awesome day.

We started off with a few pictures. Ella had on a new pair of shoes and was looking especially cute. Somehow she just knew to stand up tall for Daddy to take her picture by this growth chart. Maybe we'll get a new pic every year. Right now, it looks like she's about 2.5 feet tall.


She was really an angel the whole time. She loved riding on Daddy's shoulders and checking the place out.

But I think her favorite part was sampling the merchandise! I know that this is probably making many mommies gasp ("choking hazard, choking hazard"), but she got a hold of this apple and went to town on it. She ate the entire thing bite by bite (with mommy and daddy ready to jump in if any choking occured). When we got nervous and tried to take it away from her, she screamed to the treetops and made it quite clear that she wasn't done yet.
She ended up finishing off about 1.5 apples before we finally pulled the plug.

The only thing that we could find to distract her was a delicious just-made apple cider doughnut which the three of of split.

We got some beautiful apples and then headed down the road to the Wrinkled Egg, which is a cutie little gift shop that we pass every time we go to the Berry's house but have never actually checked out. It was wonderful to just have time to enjoy perusing the stores.

Afterwards, we went down the road to Saluda where we ate at the Green River BBQ Pit. Brandon had gotten it in his head that morning when we had discussed the possiblity of going up to Hendersonville, and it was indescribably wonderful to watch the satisfaction on his face when his craving came to fruition. We had an awesome dinner there and then stopped at Cold Stone Creamery when we made it back to Greer. Ella enjoyed her first Cold Stone experience immensly, but unfortunately I didn't think to bring the camera in to capture the moment.

The next evening, I tried my hand at my first Apple Crisp, and by golly...it turned out to be pretty good if I do say so myself.

I would like to officially say that this trip got me into the Fall Mood and I am excited that my favorite season is once again on its way.

Feeding Time At The Berry Zoo!

Here are a couple of priceless pics of Ella enjoying mealtime!

Saving a little for a snack later...

You know that wasn't the last time we've seen that corn...

Sketti!

Birthday Recap

Baby girl sure did enjoy her first birthday party. We had both sets of grandparents, Papaw (her great grandfather), Uncle John & Aunt Pepper, Marla & Ethan, and Jodie & Avery over to celebrate with us. It was a laid back afternoon which I was thankful for because we were all exhausted from the Youth Conference that had just finished the night before.

Ella was the epitome of a cute birthday girl all day. We loved seeing her in this precious dress given to us by Brooke and Craig Caudill. In fact, I themed the entire party around it! Publix decorated the cakes to match the dress, and we had hot pink, green and white accessories.

Thanks to everyone who came, who sent love or gifts, and who just love our baby girl every day! We look forward to the next year of her life.

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Anniversary, Preparing for One and Other Happenings

Yesterday we celebrated our 3rd anniversary. On Monday, as I was going into B's office at the church for a meeting, I was telling the sweet lady who takes care of the front desk that we were about to be married 3 years. She said, "Oh, isn't that great?! On Thursday me and my husband will celebrate 38 years!" Wow. I look forward to celebrating our 38th anniversary together.

Life has gone by quickly since we've said "I do." 3 moves, a Masters degree, 2 new ministry positions for Brandon, and a baby...we're really on quite an adventure. And there's no one I'd rather be on this adventure with than my precious, and extremely wonderful Brandon. God truly knew best when He put the two of us together.

Also...Y'all, can you believe Ella is about to turn 1 already? Where has the time gone? I always felt like the saying, "they grow up so fast" was a cliche but now I know better! We have so thoroughly enjoyed being her parents...she is just a absolute joy to be around. I am planning a small party for family and close friends and designed this invitation:

The colors of the invitation are from a beautiful dress that Brooke and Craig Caudill gave us a couple of weeks ago that I will have Ella wear for the celebration and some 12 month pictures. It's so cute that I can't wait to put it on her, but I also want to debut it on a special occasion! Oh, the joys of having a daughter! I am also going to take the invitation to Publix where they will decorate a beautiful cake for Ella's party AS WELL AS throw in a FREE cake for her to smash.

Other happenings around the Berry household include a new ministry that I have started in our neighborhood called Boot Camp Fitness. I figured that I need to work out at least a couple days a week. We live in a big neighborhood and there are a lot of people who are home during the day. I see them when I take Ella running in the jogging stroller, but I have had a hard time getting to know them. So I decided to hit two birds with one stone. I passed out flyers, hung signs, got in with the HOA president who gave me a hearty endorsement via email and on the neighborhood newsletter and hoped that at least one person would come and take advantage of what I thought was a good opportunity to gain health and build community.

The first day we had 2 adults and one kid (who came with Mom), the next we had 9 adults! woohoo! Today we worked out our legs with 7 ladies. I'm excited about this opportunity to love on my neighbors and pray that it will be a blessing to them as well.

Thoughts on Last Week...

First of all, I just wanted to say how encouraged I am when I hear from long-lost friends and family and they know what's going on in our lives because they say they read our blog on a somewhat regular basis. That's so awesome, and I'm thankful that you would take the time to do that. If that is you, feel free to comment (you don't have to be a member of blogger to do so) on any of the posts periodically or email me here to let us know what's going on in your lives. It's sometimes funny to get in a conversation with people who know about what's happening in our lives and we know nothing about what is happening in theirs!



Anyway, that being said, I'd like to share with y'all about something that our family has been going through this last week. Some of you had seen a short-lived previous post of Ella in her "I'm gonna be a big sister!" shirt, and may be wondering why it isn't there anymore. We found out on Sunday, June 22 that we were expecting another baby...and couldn't be happier. After a few pregnancy tests, we felt like it was official.



Romans 12:15 tells us to "rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." We have always believed in sharing both good and bad news with our friends and family because 1) we have been so blessed to be surrounded by people who love us and support us through prayer and encouragement and 2) we just want to be real...and this is a way to show ourselves to be just that...real people with real triumphs and real let-downs. We shared our rejoicing over new life and expectation for what was to come. Now we share our hopeful frustration...



On Friday, June 27 we woke up and I found out that I was bleeding pretty heavily. We called the doctor and got in to see them as soon as possible. They did ultrasounds and blood tests and later confirmed what we already suspected, that a miscarriage was happening.



We have had a mixture of emotions:



On one hand, we understand that the statistics say pregnancies spontaneously end almost half the time. We know that so many miracles have to happen to have a normal, healthy pregnancy and deliver a normal, healthy baby. On the other, we serve a God of miracles, who we believe made our bodies to reproduce normal, healthy babies. We see His hand in everything. We know that He is the author and sustainer of abundant life. We have seen how prayer changes things and how He has given us authority through Christ over things in our world. We are in the midst of learning how to have heaven on earth. Our faith has been growing to believe God for crazy things, and we've seen them happen on many occasions.



So when this happened, we were confused. We had prayed, we had believed for this baby and for a healthy pregnancy. But it wasn't what happened. In the midst of this we are confused, but we are realizing that it's not always for us to understand, but to trust. God didn't bring this about, but He knew about it and has been close to us throughout bringing comfort. Of course, we're disappointed, but we also have a residing peace inside of us. We rejoice in trials...that God would allow us to go through them so that we may be made mature and complete...not lacking anything. Like Job, we have been found worthy of a test, and pray that we make it through it bringing glory to God.

We're even more thankful for the perfect angel that graces the posts of our blog and the days of our life. In the midst of this, we are reminded what a miracle she is...a precious gift from our Heavenly Father. Let us fall more in love with You through this, Father. Let our lives be for your glory and your fame, Lord.