trent turns seven!

Last Tuesday, our favorite little guy turned seven, and the whole family was there to celebrate! Making memories with our Trent is the best, y'all.

third.

Scenes from our third anniversary as Mr. + Mrs. Troy J. Bargeron.

I fell in love with a boy who used to stand on a pitcher's mound, and I'm still in love with that same boy today. It doesn't get much better than an evening spent in the presence of baseball + the one who made it my favorite sport. This game, in particular, was the best one yet, because there were three Bargerons celebrating three years as a family while looking forward to many more fun family adventures together!

love from Haiti.

When TJ got home from spending a week in Haiti, I was blown away by all the pictures + video messages the kiddos had made for me while the team was there. He, also, said that every morning, nearly every kiddo asked where "Banana" was, because they thought I would surely be there by now. One of my precious older girls, Vanessa, approached Teesh when the team first arrived and very boldly + confidently told him that she had a dream that I would not be coming on this trip because I was pregnant. He played it off well in the moment (side note: I have NO idea how he did it!) + throughout the week as everyone (team members AND kiddos) drilled him on when we were going to have a baby. He told Vanessa just as they were about to depart from Port-de-Paix that she was right, and that Banana was, in fact, pregnant! Teesh said that she was so excited + screamed + jumped up and down.

As much as I wish I could have been there to tell the kiddos + Pastor Andy + Ma Pas our great news, I am so thankful that Teesh had the opportunity to share those irreplaceable moments with each of them. It won't be long before Mama B + Baby B will be back in Haiti, and I can't wait for the day that our precious bundle of joy meets the kiddos + staff who have become so much like family that my heart literally aches to be away from them.

Here is a little sneak peak of Vanessa sharing her dream with me alongside Fredliene!

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

-Jesus Christ (John 14:18) 

groupies at the obgyn.

On July 7th, 2014, I had my 12-week check-up for Mommy + Baby B. TJ was in Haiti, so we made a girls morning + afternoon of it that included a trip to the doctor's office + a yummy lunch at McAlister's. Mommy + Grandma + GiGi + Mimi were all so excited to see sweet Baby B + hear the precious sound of his/her heartbeat. Everything was right along schedule, and the doctor said that B is growing just as he/she should be! We took a picture of the ultrasound + recorded the heartbeat so that Daddy could see + hear it when he got home, too, and he was on cloud nine!

At lunch, we talked about all-things baby, and all the grandmommies-to-be confessed that they didn't know how they were going to wait another nine days before spilling the news now that they'd really experienced Baby B for the first time! It filled my heart with so much joy to hear them chat about planning baby showers + their gender predictions + how much they can't wait to start spoiling him/her. It was the perfect morning, weather and all, and I can hardly way for our next outing. Next time, Auntie Mel + Aunt Nik Nik + Aunt Cannie Ree will most definitely join in on the fun, and that will only add to the blessings!

"Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that supposed to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing."

-Toni Morrison

our family is growing!

I, also, may not have been completely honest about why this Father's Day cookout was better than any other Father's Day in the history of all Father's Days. After we ate and chatted for a while, it was time to take our traditional group picture. We took the normal one first (which you saw here), and then we took one more "just to be safe" where we pulled the same scheme on the rest of the family as we did on Auntie Mel. Silly me was so nervous + excited that I forgot to reset the camera to take more than just one picture on self-timer, but I'm thankful we at least got the initial reaction (don't worry, I'm not quite as mad at myself as I was, though it's still pretty close). Mommy + Angie + Savannah + Candie reacted immediately, and the rest of the family chuckled because they thought I was just pranking them when I yelled out "Say 'Anna's pregnant!'" 

The next half-hour was filled with countless tears + plenty of questions + confessions of how we'd been telling little lies here and there over the previous four weeks + the biggest smiles I'd ever seen. I intentionally looked at everyone's face when I first turned around to show them B's ultrasound, and every eye was huge + every mouth was wide open. I've never been surrounded by so much joy in all my life! We made the transition inside so everyone could watch a little movie I put together of me telling Teesh for the first time on May 14, 2014. Then, we all just hung around and enjoyed the blissful dream we all felt like we had entered into.

Baby B is already loved so unbelievably much, and it makes me giddy to no end that in just six months, we will have a new, precious baby in the family. Two kids will become parents, parents will become grandparents, grandparents will become great-grandparents, brothers and sisters will become uncles and aunts. Oh goodness, how much fun will that be!

auntie mel.

So I may not have been perfectly honest last month about why this hike was better than all the rest. The truth is, while Melanie and I were taking our usual on-the-trail picture, we added a new catch-phrase after the usual "Say cheese!" After we took our before-the-big-news picture, Teesh then said, "Okay, now say 'Anna's pregnant!'" Her mouth dropped open, and she immediately burst into the most joyful tears I'd ever seen her cry. I loved this day so, so much, and I'll never, ever forget sharing this once-in-a-lifetime moment with my sisterfriend, better known now as Auntie Mel.

"Being an aunt is a double blessing. You love like a parent and act like a friend."

-Anonymous

first trimester progress.

We are officially past the first trimester and into the second trimester! That means that Baby B is fourteen weeks along with only twenty-six weeks to go. Daddy + Mommy are so excited to be one-third of the way through our first pregnancy, but we're already starting to ask ourselves how it's possible to savor every single moment and still wonder where the time is going. B will be here before we know it!

We started taking pictures of mommy's bump when B was seven weeks, and we immediately made it a tradition to take the pictures every Wednesday. Why, you ask? Well, that's the day of the week that we found out we were expecting! On May 14, 2014, when we were just four weeks along, Wednesdays became our favorite day of week.

Here are the past seven weeks of this blissful season called pregnancy:

Wednesday, June 4th

Week 7 + Day 4

Baby B is the size of a blueberry.

Wednesday, June 11th

Week 8 + Day 4

Baby B is the size of a raspberry.

Wednesday, June 18th

Week 9 + Day 4

Baby B is the size of a grape.

Wednesday, June 25th

Week 10 + Day 4

Baby B is the size of a prune.

Wednesday, July 2nd

Week 11 + Day 4

Baby B is the size of a lime.

Wednesday, July 9th

Week 12 + Day 4

Baby B is the size of a plum.

Wednesday, July 16th

Week 13 + Day 4

Baby B is the size of a peach.

"You never understand life until it grows inside of you."

-Sandra C. Kassis

baby b.

Scenes from our first family photoshoot when Baby B was only eight weeks along.

"May the Lord make your love increase + overflow for each other + everyone else, just as ours does for you. May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless + holy in the presence of our God + Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones."

-1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

an ultra sound, indeed.

On June 5th, 2014 we saw our sweet baby for the first time + heard the most beautiful sound we had ever heard before: our baby's heartbeat. The ultrasound technician giggled when she came back to the waiting room to get us and saw my huge smile when she called my name. After giggling for a few seconds, she turned to me and said, "You're not excited or anything, are you?" She rejoiced with us when Baby B came onto the screen, and it was all I could do not to pass out from the thrill of holding Teesh's hand as we beheld our teeny-tiny miracle.

Who would've thought that nearly eleven years ago when two freshmen in high school started dating that they'd end up engaged + married + expecting their first child together? This life of mine is a dream come true, and I can assure you that I will never, ever stop thanking our God for how He has blessed us with immeasurably more than we could have ever thought possible.

Say it with me now:

THE BARGERONS ARE HAVING A BABY!

unified gaze.

Three years ago from this very moment, I was waking up for the last time as Miss Anna Michelle Henderson. Only six hours later, I would become Mrs. Anna H. Bargeron, wife of Mr. Troy J. Bargeron. I remember the details of that cool day in July so vividly as if it happened yesterday, and a day has not passed since when I haven't thanked God for all the beauty it beheld + has produced. As daddy and I walked down the aisle, all eyes were on me, and my eyes immediately fixed on Teesh who was waiting on me at the end. After a few seconds, my eyes could no longer see anyone or anything because of the tears consuming them. When we got halfway down, however, my eyes finally reconnected with TJ's, and that's where they remained for the next half an hour.

Our eyes have been locked on each other ever since. And as our eyes + hearts have become united, it has been so incredible to lock our eyes on + unite our heart with the Creator of them both. He is still writing our story, and we eagerly await all He has for us in the coming days as we humbly give thanks for all He has for us right now. Adventuring through this life with the best man the Lord has ever made has been a tremendously beautiful journey so far with an exponential amount of blessings, and He is not finished with us yet.

And, speaking of the Father not being finished with us yet, what better day than this special day is there to make this exciting announcement that we + our families + closest friends have been itching to make public for weeks now? Ladies + gentlemen, it gives us unspeakable joy to say that...

Baby Bargeron is expected to be here

January 2015!

We have been praying over our babies since our wedding day, and it has been such a precious, precious gift to touch my belly these past nine weeks and pray over his/her actual heartbeat + listen to Teesh talk to our baby as he lays his head on my belly + respond to Teesh's "I love y'all" with "We love you, too." There is life growing inside of me in a way that I've never known, and it motivates me to chase harder after the heart of Christ than I ever have before. TJ and I will continue to keep our eyes locked on each other as we lock our unified gaze on our Redeemer as our sweet baby continues to grow.

Would you join us in prayer, not only for Baby B, but also for us as we prepare to be parents? Pray that we would be mesmerized by the goodness + faithfulness + sovereignty of God as we continue to aim to keep our gaze fixed on Him throughout this lifelong season that we are being developed for: being daddy + mommy! Pray, too, that Baby B would be strengthened day-by-day until we meet him/her in only six months. We can't wait to meet the most beautiful work of our beautiful Creator that our eyes have ever seen, and we can't wait for you to meet him/her either!

my man.

Oh, you know, just taking a moment to show my Teesh off to the whole world. I sure do love my man + all the memories we are blessed to make together!

our entertainment.

Trent did a fabulous job of keeping everyone entertained, and there is plenty of proof of that claim. Pops + Uncle TJ were champs for throwing him up over + over again, and little man's favorite question to ask during all the fun was "Anna, did you get that on your camera?" It's like he knows me or something.

There's nothing quite like being a kid at the lake. And for that beautiful afternoon, we all were.