We are Home!!

Slowly but surly my home is becoming Nashville!! We have been in our new home 21/2 weeks! Today I ventured out to run a few errands from my long list and my goal was to try not to use the garmin that has saved me so many other times. I went and got new tires put on the car, bought our baby bedding, stopped at target, and finally ended up here at Panera where for the first time in two weeks I have Internet and I did it all on my own!! I am beginning to get to know the area pretty well.



I love my new home! Our new black leather couches are going to be delivered tomorrow. We will finally have a place to sit and relax. NASHVILLE IS HUGE there is no questioning that but I have found the areas that I like and that have everything a girl will need and that helps it feel smaller. We are looking forward to spending our first Sunday here together. We are hoping to visit one of the churches that several people have recommended. The neighborhood is great as Chris would say "everyone has a dog!" except us! : ( We have met several of our neighbors there is even a couple in there early thirties with a three month old little boy across the street! We are looking forward to Paxton and Us making tons for friends.



I do have a favor to ask everyone who reads this! As I sit and think of our future I am a little scared!! I know that January is forever away but the month is always on my mind because that is when I have to go back to school three days a week and my little man will have to be cared for my someone else. This scares me to death. People keep telling me to start searching for a place now because the good places have a waiting list. I know that I should I just do not want to stick him in a daycare I would rather someone come to my house and watch him!! So, I am asking you to please pray that God will send us a Godly person to watch our child!!

Our first Home!!

What is a home? Yesterday, for the first time I stepped into a house that was full of someone else things. There were pictures on the wall of another family, a little boys baby room all decorated with the name Benji on the wall, there were cats and dogs inside and out, and a sense of panic with boxes all in the house. This house was going to become my home on May 11th. We will have our pictures on the wall, soon there will be a baby boys room with the name Paxton on the wall, hopefully in the far future we will have a puppy in the back yard, and very soon their will be even more boxes. I am looking forward to making this house my home. The home that my baby boy will come home to, the home that we will have Thanksgiving dinner, and Christmas morning. I am looking forward to building many memories inside my home.

On the flip side of this all I am scared to death of my new home. I have moved several times in my lifetime so this is nothing new to me. This move is different though. I am going to a completely new city where I know very few people and the people that I do know live in a completely different part of Nashville. This is also the first move that I am completely away from any family. I have always lived with family or near family. Even hear in Cookeville I have been very blessed to have an Aunt and Uncle that live just down the road. I have been very blessed to always have family when I need them. Here in Nashville we have nobody and that scares me to death. Family is a huge part of my life and I love my family. Not to have my Mom there to come over so I can take a shower, not to have my Daddy just kills me because I see how much he loves my nephew Cade, for my sister not to be around for whatever I need them to do scares me to death, and finally not to have my great big but little brothers around just tears my heart because they will be the best uncles in the world. Needless to say I need my family and they are going to be several hours away!!

House full of Boxes

As I sit here in Chris's recliner looking around my home and I am reminded that my life is changing just before my eyes. Paxton seems to be more and more active every day and it is just a nice reminder that God is in control. My small apartment is beginning to be over taken by boxes.  I am excited about the future but sad that this chapter is coming to an end.  There have been so many changes in my life in the past two years.  I have started college, gotten married, moved to a new city, became an Aunt, buried two grandparents, made some incredible friends, and became pregnant.  These are just a few things that have molded me in the past years.  

Today I got a message from my sister of the cutest little baby in the world.  I can not believe that Cade is six months old.  He is becoming such a big boy.  I am looking forward to having Paxton and watching him and Cade grow up to be best friends!! 

Hospital Visit

Yesterday I came home from classes not feeling so well.  My back was hurting a little and I had some bad sinus issues so I took some Tylenol cold and sinus for the first time this entire pregnancy.  Thinking that the tylenol would help with my back pain and the sinus part would also go away.  As the night went on my pain kept getting worse and worse.  I went upstairs about 9:30 to see if I could just sleep the pain away...yeah right!!  Chris came upstairs to check on me about a hour later and by this time I was in tears and thought I was going to die.  We called our doctor's office in Chattanooga and they told us to go to the ER.  That is where the fun began.  If you ever do not want to wait in the ER just tell them that you are pregnant and are having extreme pains they will get you right in.  They admitted me into the Labor and Delivery part of the hospital and hooked me up to all those fun monitors.  Paxton heart beat was as strong as ever staying in the 150.  They ran several test and quickly ruled out that I was in labor which was a huge relief.  Not knowing what was going on they gave me some pain medicine which toke about an hour to kick in.  We ended up spending the night in the post pardon area.  This morning they did an ultrasound and took pictures of everything inside me.  After all this they believe that it was a kidney infection...they will not know until the test comes back.  Needless to say we are home now and I am doing much better.  The pain is still there just not as bad.  We just want to thank God that Paxton was not trying to make his grand arrival this early.  

Cart wheels..

This morning started off a little crazy.  I have been in a first grade classroom this semester teaching reading and writing.  This has been my first real experience in a classroom teaching.  I have truly enjoyed my experience.  I come home every day with a new story about what my kids did today.  Chris does a great job at listening to all of them most of the time.  I am very sad that next week is going to be my last one in the classroom.  I had my formal observation today.  The kids were extremely good considering they were going on a field trip at 10:30.  I am just glad that part is over and I can enjoy my last week with them.  I also turned in what I felt like was my "Baby" for the semester.  In my preschool curriculum class we were required to have a thematic unit.  I did my over the circus.  For those of you who are unsure what this is it is basically lesson on math, science, social studies, dramatic play, sensory, music, movement, and art all related to a circus.  We were required to have several lesson plans for each lesson.  Let's just say this is something that can not be done over night.  Thankfully I was responsible and had the majority of it done before today.  I did do some last minute work on it before I turned it in but I had it turned in on time.  If you read this before Sat. please try to remember me on Sat I am taking one of my Praxis exams.  Which are teat I have to pass to be certified to teach and they are very expensive so I need to pass them the first time. :)

Anyways, thanks for listening to be rant about my day!! Oh yeah, I am pretty sure Paxton was doing cart wheels the whole time I was relaxing and watching Grey's Anatomy.

23 weeks and Very Busy!

We are over half way in the pregnancy. As someone said to me today "you only have the three hottest months in the year to go." Thank you for that reminder. Paxton Michael will be here before we know. Before his grand arrival we have tons and I mean tons to get done. We have three weeks left in the semester!! We close on our home April 30th!! Chris graduates May 9th!! We moved May 11th!! BUSY!! So as I sit here waisting time on the computer my darling husband tapes our first box together and begins the packing process. This is something I am not looking forward to.

Paxton is kicking and moving like crazy! Chris gets a little weirded out when I ask him to put his hand on my stomach so he can feel him move.

Paxton Michael Berry

How we announced to our families that we were having a baby!

The Original Christmas Gift

On this very special Christmas, we remember the child that God sent to us to be our savior. This child became the ultimate gift of sacrifice and love. On this Christmas in 2008, God has given another child. This child however, will be for us to love and sacrifice for. Cara and I have been blessed beyond measure, for God is in the process of fulfilling the deepest desire of our hearts. If we have learned anything through the past year, it is how that God is in control and that he loves us very much. It is often very hard to understand how God’s timing and plans work, but we know that he loves us very much and is intimately involved with every aspect of our lives. If you haven’t figured it out by now, God has given life within Cara. With a since of great blessing, we are excited as we can so easily see God’s hand in our life.

We want you to know that we love you and appreciate what you have meant to us in our lives. We also want you to know how important your encouragement and love will be during this new chapter in our lives. We are excited about seeing God mold us into the parents he wants us to be, and to see him work within our child’s life. We are also excited for all of the aunts, uncles, and grandparents and the opportunities they will have to be apart of our child’s life and to help mold he/she into the person that he/she will become. We look forward to the plans God has for us and love you all very much!