Ella's First Holiday

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and while I know that everyone is way past that and on to the Christmas holiday, I'd like to do a little reflecting...

We started off the holiday on Wednesday night at Redemption World Outreach Center, our church. Brandon's parents, brother, and sister-in-law came down and we all attended together after eating at Chili's. The Berrys can put down some chips and salsa, y'all!

After church, we all headed "up the hill" to Hendersonville, NC (about an hour drive). We stayed up talking and playing until late and then settled down for bed. On Thursday, we woke up to Orange Sweet Rolls (a personal favorite of ours) and helped Denice get things ready for the big meal.

As you can see, Ella had on a personalized onesie made by her "Simply Sassy" mama...

She was "Berry Thankful" for a change of clothes after she drooled all over this after only half an hour of wearing it. I need to start making bibs, I guess! She was great with everybody. I am so thankful to have a child that doesn't mind being held by other people because she is a very loved little child and everybody wants a piece of her!

On Friday, we spent the morning packing and driving to Greensboro, NC to visit my parents and extended family. It was a great time of REST and MORE GOOD FOOD. Brandon got to meet my cousins (3 boys who are all pretty cool) and we were able to show Ella off to everyone. Here is Logan with Ella...He's the youngest of the 3 and a Sr. at Appalachian State University.

Back in the Saddle Again

Back in the saddle again!

Grammy and Pappy decided that they were feeling up to a little road trip, and came up to Greenville for a day. We ate, laughed, and enjoyed a little baby therapy.

Pappy was certainly having no problem picking up Ella even though he had had hip surgery two weeks before! It was amazing to see his recovery. He is feeling great, and has been a much better patient this time around than last time he had his hip replaced. We are glad for that because he and Grammy are moving up to Duke soon to get on the list for a double lung transplant, and we need him to be as healthy as possible so he can be a good support.

Speaking of Grammy, she sure did enjoy licking the whisk when Mommy made butter/sugar cookies...See?

Auntie Jodie brought my friend Avery over and this time, I had the better of her. I don't even think she knows what hit her. She probably thinks it was the giraffe on my new jungle gym, but it was....me! This is a picture right before I punched her. Ha! Score's tied, Smith!

Ella 1 Avery 1

I sure do love my Grammy and Pappy!

Weekend Fun

After a few weeks of travelling and being apart for the majority of the time, Brandon and I decided we owed it to ourselves to spend some quality time together last weekend. Brandon took a vacation day on Friday and we spent most of the day in our pajamas before hosting our newlywed couple, Jason and Yolanda, over for grilled porkchops and hang time. It was great getting to know them better and hearing about how wonderful life is as newlyweds!



On Saturday we woke up and donned our purple before heading over to Furman to watch our beloved Paladins take on the 2-time national champs, Appalachian State. While the guys battled hard and made for a good game, we were sad to see they came up short in the points category. But that's okay, cause we made some good memories at the game.





It was Ella's first Furman football game, and since we didn't have any Paladin gear for her yet, we dressed her in brown--she looked like a little football--with her purple Mary Jane socks. LOVE those things! She was, as always, rather adorable. We enjoyed walking around talking to people and tailgating before the game, and then found our way to our seats.

Throughout the game, we found good friends who had also come from afar to see the game...Danny Marshall and his girlfriend, Angela... Mivvi, my college roommate's little sister and also one of Brandon's FCA buddies, Erika, and Shelly, a former tennis standout.

We also saw Stacy Burr and the entire Earle family (Conner is one of Ella's suitors, and boy, is he a cutie!)

On Sunday, after Brandon played his violin at church, we met Danny, Angela, Craig and Brooke for lunch, and then headed to Anderson to celebrate Ashley Shockley's birthday at her lake house! We had such a good time. Rodney and Marla Johnson brought Ethan (another Ella admirer, I think) from Atlanta, and we ate some yummy food and laughed a lot. It is so wonderful to get some down time with people who we are always doing ministry with and working with.

Here are some fun folks at Ashley's house....

...And some beautiful ladies all in a row...

So Brandon and I enjoyed our time together immensly, and recuperated from the busy weekend by sleeping and playing with Ella most of Monday...then we got some Cracker Barrel therapy and called it a night.

Aunt Pepper and Uncle John

We had a nice visit with our brother and sis-in-law, John and Pepper. They drove down on Friday night after a football game that John coached in, and made it to Greenville a little after midnight. Ella was certainly happy to see her favorite aunt and uncle...and I'm sure they're her favorite for other reasons besides they're her ONLY aunt and uncle! :)

John got to hang out with Brandon in Nicholtown as they did Adopt-A-Block, and Pepper and I did what we usually do when we get together...a favorite pastime, if you will...we went to Target! In fact, we actually went to Target TWICE! :)

Ah yeah...it's a good day! John and Pepper live in Boone, and while they know what it's like to live in a town with ski slopes and a better than good football team, they DON'T have the privelige of being able to hit up Target without driving AN HOUR down the road. No thanks. The closest Target to my house takes a driving time of approximately 4.5 minutes, depending on if I hit the lights just right. And, besides the unruly amount of handicapped parking spots, (I think there are something like 30 spots all at the front, which didn't make me too happy when I was 9 months pregnant trying to waddle my way up to the doors with an armload of returns from baby showers--and don't even get me started on Target's return policy and how difficult it is to exchange something without a receipt there. It's not my fault that my friends and family don't always follow gift-giving-in-the-21st-century ettiquite and enclose a gift receipt for easy returns/exchanges) I really make the most of the close proximity by frequenting it at least once, but mostly twice a week. Granted, now that I'm not 9 months pregnant and waddling anymore, I still don't like hauling an ever-increasing in size infant in her "metrolite" (aka...NOT so light) carrier past all of the empty handicapped spaces from my spot about a quarter mile away from the entrance. I practically don't need to work out on the days I go to Target for this very reason. But I digress...

So, we went to Target, twice, and I escaped with only a bag of Halloween candy (Get this...I had to hide it from MYSELF so I wouldn't eat it all before the trick-or-treaters started knocking at our door) and two crab cracker tools...all paid for by my oh-so-wonderful stash of Target gift cards. Pepper didn't come out so unscathed, but I think she had a pretty good time picking out fun things for the house, including some cool new dishes.

We also went to one of my favorite restaurants, PF Chang's, and split the Lettuce Wraps and Mongolian Beef...yeah, some of you feel the weight of that last mental pictures and your stomachs are growling as you read. Mmm, mm, mm, mmm, mmmmmm.......enough said.

As if that wasn't enough to tempt you and put extra weight on my hips, we stopped at Publix because they had KING CRAB LEGS on sale for only $7.99/lb. We brought home 5 pounds of those bad boys for our bad boys, the Berry Brothers...they made it home, threw the football in the backyard for old time's sake, and then we feasted. I'm pretty proud (and a little ashamed, too) to say that Pepper and I outate the boys on the crablegs. They wanted to fill up on the sides...corn and potatoes. No thanks, guys. Gimme the seafood.

Here's one of my favorite pics from the weekend...It's obvious that they are crazy about each other.

Our little Ghoul in her Halloween Outfits

Our friends Connie and Paul gave Ella some super fun hand-me-downs, including this adorable Halloween outfit. Check out the sweet Mary Jane Socks, given to us at a baby shower.

Her eyes match her little outfit, I think.All tuckered out, and she hasn't even gone Trick-Or-Treating yet!
Aunt Pepper gave us this cutie brown BabyGap Onesie and I found these Pumpkin Socks at Target!

I love this one...It just shows how HAPPY our little baby girl is!

Shannon and Skylar

My friend, Shannon Phelps, and I met a couple of years ago in Mt. Pleasant at a mutual friend's birthday party. We hit it off right away, and she asked me if I was into running...she wanted to try to start. So we started meeting after work for running sessions on Daniel Island, and before we knew it, we were tight friends...I guess having long periods of time when we needed to keep talking and listening to keep our minds off the heat or the pain of running paid off for us. Shannon really caught on quick and started training and participating in races, including half and full marathons!

Two years later, Shannon was a bridesmaid in my wedding. Two years after that, we both were pregnant, both expecting little girls.

Shannon's the one on the far right:

Since I've been in Charleston the last few days, I've been looking for ways to release some of the stress that comes with taking care of a sick family member...what better way to do it than to start running again! So, who did I call? You guessed it! My friend Shannon! It was her first run since having her daughter, Skylar. (Though you couldn't tell she had even had a baby...she looks great!)

This isn't the best picture of us, but here we are before our run!









And here are our precious little girls...Ella and Skylar, playing after the run. They are two and a half weeks apart. Shannon got to stay for dinner with the Northrups and we all caught up and played with the babies!

It's Been A Doozy of a Week...

Hey y'all. Thanks for all of your love, concern and prayers as we have been in Charleston at MUSC with Mom. For those who haven't yet been updated, Mom went into the ICU on Friday, September 28 for shortness of breath...she got some tests and some rest, and was getting discharged on Monday when something went wrong. An air bubble got into her system and traveled to her brain, resulting in stroke-like symptoms and major swelling. It was touch and go on monday...very scary for all of us, but she made it through. Praise God.

She was put into a drug-induced coma for a couple of days and has come out of that, and off the respirator as well. She was put into her own room on Monday night and will continue with therapy and dr. care for a while.

We have been in Charleston since Monday, October 1, staying with the Northrups here in Mt. Pleasant, which has been a blessing from God.

Please continue to pray for Mom's FULL recovery, for wisdom for the next few weeks on what to do, and for continued endurance for Dad, Brandon and I as we care for her in the hospital.

Thanks.

Here is a picture of Ella with Pappy. She has been a champ throughout this whole process...being in an unfamiliar environment and all...I really couldn't have asked for a better baby...Pappy's been a champ, too! Please continue to keep him in your prayers.

little booger

Even with our cool new camera, the world of good photography seems to elude me. I'll get there, though. I guess I should have fired up the nasal aspirator before I fired up the camera. HA! Despite my inability to forsee the big ole booger in my lil booger's cute little button nose, I still think she shows out pretty well...

Ella Bella Berry Boo!

I've started talking a lot more in baby talk over the last 7 weeks. we all have, actually. it's kind of funny, but a lot of fun, too! Here are some pics of Ella Bella Berry Boo growing up...enjoy!

Ella loves her Binky. She can suck on that thing all day long. But we don't let her too much.

This is what she looks like

when we take it from her.-->

Feeding time photo shoot.

Nicole Berry, MA!

In other news...

I turned in my last assignment for my last class at Fuller Theological Seminary. I officially am a Master of Cross Cultural Studies with an emphasis on Leadership Development. Anyone hiring?

The funny thing is that when I first thought about committing to two years worth of studies and debt in the tens of thousands of dollars I had big plans to be an overseas missionary or something adventurous like that. I didn't even know Brandon when I began researching schools. I was just a single gal living in Charleston and working as an administrative assistant to the missions director at my church. Now, with the diploma in the mail, I have a husband, a daughter, a home (and, subsequently, a mortgage), a job at a marketing firm, a lot of travel under my belt, and no idea what how God's going to use this degree in my life! (But I know it won't be wasted).

I WILL miss:
learning new ideas and concepts that will help me in ministry and life, learning from and alongside some of the best and brightest from all over the world, having an excuse to get out of stuff ("Sorry, I'd love to, but I really have to study")--not that I ever used that with you...

I will NOT miss:
writing papers, reading a lot of books that are not exactly page-turners, paying tuition fees (and hidden costs that just 'pop up'), writing papers, climbing the stairs in the smelly library at FTS, writing papers, staying up late to study, having something hanging over my head ("I know I should be studying right now, but I'd rather...), making sure I'm using correct Turabian style formatting, and...writing papers.

I'd like to publically thank everyone who has supported me during this process...my old boss who encouraged me to go to school, my parents who let me move all the way to California (and told Brandon he could take me out there as his wife!), everyone who financially supported us while we lived and ministered in Los Angeles while studying (including the Johnstons and the Yingers--two families who gave a scholarship to Fuller which I was awarded for my second year tuition), my co-hort (10 other gals who became my buddies during the first year) and other Fuller peeps--some of whom I expect will be lifelong friends, many of my professors (including one of my favorites, Bobby Clinton), and my precious hubby who not only worked right alongside me, but encouraged me to do my best in my classes, wouldn't let me give up, prayed for me every day, sacrificed his own educational dreams to do the right thing when we were deciding about moving back to South Carolina, and reminded me to finish well.

Peace in Pasadena,
Nicole Berry, MA