Thursday, October 30, 2014

pumpkins.

We continued our annual pumpkin pickin' tradition on Sunday after church, and this year was a little different than the years before.Trent came with us this go 'round, the pumpkins were all huge, and it was over eighty degrees at the end of October. Whew! That last part may not sound like a big deal to you, but for a pregnant girl who opted to skip lunch until after the outing, it was, indeed, a big deal. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and although Teesh didn't have to actually push me in the wheelbarrow with our pumpkins back to our car, I did have to sit down a few times to keep from falling over. Silly, Anna, when are you going to finally admit that pregnancy does actually change what you do + the way you do them? If our son is as stubborn as his mommy is, we're going to have our hands full.

My baby daddy insisted that we stop and eat at Coach House so I could fill my belly with some good, southern home cookin', and that certainly helped restore some strength. That's Teesh for you, folks, always running to my rescue. Despite the hunger + the heat, we still had a great time keeping tradition alive, and we can't wait for our little pumpkin to pose with all the other pumpkins in the patch this time next year!


Tuesday, October 28, 2014

a present for daddy.

The daddy-to-be got a gift at Braxton's shower, too, and Mimi + NikNik + Cannie Ree wanted to make sure he is fully prepared for what he's gotten himself into.


...Drum roll please...


An apron complete with goggles + gloves + a face mask + a diaper + butt paste + a trash bag + hand sanitizer + a bottle + Carolina Panthers gear for his soon-to-be little Panthers fan that will be joining us just in time for the Super Bowl. He's good to go, folks!

Monday, October 27, 2014

a shower for braxton | round four.

The sun was shining, the sky was cloudless, and Mama B had no idea just how many blessings would be added to her list of reasons to be thankful when she first woke up to begin her day. Mimi, Aunt NikNik, and Aunt Cannie Ree worked hard for months to plan this perfectly perfect shower for me + my baby boy, and I don't remember a time all day long when there wasn't a smile on my face. We were surrounded by so many of the most supportive people in our lives, and I was lovin' all the lovin' my little one was getting.

Not only was it a wonderful time of being showered with love + goodies, but the afternoon that followed was wonderful as well. Teesh and I worked in the nursery for the rest of the day trying to organize + further prepare, and we were so giddy to see it really start to come together. We can't wait to show off the finished product to everyone soon! But first, here are scenes from the baby brunch that left me speechless for so many reasons.


Eighty-two days + counting!

Friday, October 24, 2014

one foot in front of the other.

When I graduated from Clemson University in August of 2010 with a degree in Therapeutic Recreation, I was certain that I was ready to take on the world, especially after graduating early and devoting an entire summer to working for a physical rehabilitation center in Pomona, California called Outdoor Adventures. You can imagine my surprise when I came home, after living out my dream on the west coast for four month that the only jobs available for my degree were to be an activities director for a nursing home. Although I respect those who do that for a living, I was not convinced that I was the best one to fulfill that role. I opted to look elsewhere after spending two months job-searching like a mad woman and realized that I was not going to find a job doing what I thought I was supposed to do. I needed to look elsewhere. I applied for a preschool teaching position at a nearby child development center, got the job, and spent the next three and a half years loving every child who came into my classroom like he or she was my own.

About a year a half ago, I began to feel like my time at City Kids was coming to an end, and even though the thought of leaving my kiddos was heartbreaking, I was fearful of what would come next because I legitimately had no idea what path I would be led down. I began to pray specifically that my Father would take away my desire to control everything while He taught me to trust in His guidance, a prayer that has always been hardest to pray. I have always been a girl who loves to pray, even when I was little, but many of my prayers seemed to have something in common: me bringing my plans to the Lord and asking Him to bless them. I was well aware of this habit He had been trying for years to break me of, so ignorance was not an option. For the very first time in my whole life, I wholeheartedly placed my hands before the Creator of my every moment and asked Him to fill them with His plans, His good and perfect will for my life. That might not sound scary to most of you, but for me, it was submitting to uncertainty, something my little need-to-plan-everything self was doing for the very first time.

His providence and provision throughout the entire process of discerning,  researching, applying, getting accepted into, and completing graduate school has been abundant in mercy, and it’s really hard to wrap my mind around the fact that only nine months after beginning the program for Biblical Counseling at Bob Jones University, my school is almost done. The perfect timing of the Almighty God has left me breathless more times than I can begin to count since January, and I know He’s not done yet. December is quickly approaching, and although my stress levels have been higher than normal since beginning this program, I am unbelievably thankful for the opportunity I have been granted to constantly study the Word of God as He grows my faith in Him. I have made incredible, God-fearing friends who genuinely delight in praying for the requests I bring to them, something I have never known before. Not only that, but I have also learned under the teaching of the most brilliant scholars of the Bible I've ever met, been introduced to solid biblical literature I never knew existed, and received countless challenges to live a holy life that is pleasing to God that are hard to swallow and even harder to digest.

I look forward to bringing my newborn baby boy to campus so that he can meet all those who have prayed over him for so long, sit through chapel (where he was always squirmiest), and hear the voices that he heard the whole time he was in the womb singing hymns of praise to the One who created him. This past year has been the best year of my life, but I know that I am only being prepared for the next best years that are to follow. Sure, I've cried a lot because of various situations, and my heart has broken more times than ever before, but I rejoice because my tears indicate that I am continually learning of the Father’s heart for His creation, we who are constantly running away from the God who never stops pursuing us. Though I am aware that what comes next will be the most heart-wrenching and difficult thing I have ever done, I find comfort in the arms of the Wonderful Counselor who whispers over and over to me that I don’t have to be perfect. The perfect wife, the perfect mom, the perfect counselor, the perfect follower of Christ. I will fail, and I know that when those times come, it will hurt, but thanks be to the Father that He still loves me on my worst days. In His perfect love, He has clothed me in the righteousness of His Son, Jesus Christ, and that beautiful, sure foundation will forever push me to seek harder after Him, to want to know Him more, to demonstrate a life of forgiveness, to shed joyful tears. To tell the world what He has done for me.

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
-Micah 6:8

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

coming home.

Last Friday night, the whole Bargeron family went to the homecoming game at Hillcrest High School to support our sweet Bailey as she walked across the field with Uncle Shawn as a member of the ladies' homecoming court. We hooted + holler for her, along with doing some hootin' + hollerin' for the Rams. It had been eight years since Teesh + I had been to a football game at our alma mater, and I'm pretty sure our team scored more points in the first half of this single game than they did the whole time we were in high school. We relived our homecomings, reminiscing about all the way things have changed since then. It was nice to be back under the lights of our old stomping grounds, indeed.

Go Rams!


Also, here's a sneak peak at how much has changed in ten years:

Homecoming 2004 + Homecoming 2014

The babies on the left have grown into the adults on the right who are having a baby in just three months. Crazy!

Monday, October 20, 2014

a shower for braxton | round three.

'Twas a beautiful, sun-shiney day in mid-October celebrating our sweet baby boy with more of the most precious people in our lives. More goodies were checked off of our need-to-get-before-January list of baby supplies, and Mama B's heart continued in its nearly-about-to-pop routine. It's hard to believe that we've already had three showers hosted for us, and our nursery reminds us of all the outpouring of blessings we've received every time we find ourselves wandering in there (which is a whole lot of blessings + wandering).

Our little guy will be here before we know it, and thanks to our wonderful family + friends, we'll be just about as prepared as we can get. Only ninety days until we get to put it all to good use!


Thursday, October 16, 2014

second trimester progress | farewell to thee!

That's right, folks, we are officially in our last days of our second trimester! In just two days, we will be in our third trimester + final thirteen-ish weeks of pregnancy with our first child. WOW! In about three months, the Bargerons will have a new member in their family, and I can't wait to hold our little beastie boy in my arms for the very first time. I've had many "mommy" moments over the past several weeks as I think about what it will be like to rock our baby boy while I sing him lullabies, watch daddy grow + mature in ways I've never seen before, somehow function off little-to-no sleep for extended periods of time, tell our son how much I love him while I gently kiss his forehead (just like his daddy has always done to me), and so much more. The tears have been coming in abundance, and while you may attribute them to pregnancy hormones, I know they come from an excitement + a joy + a longing to love in ways I never thought possible. To be a mommy will certainly be one of the greatest gift I've ever received, and I am so thankful to be walking through this journey hand-in-hand with a man who supports + loves me more than any other person ever has or will.

In July, we shared scenes from Mama B's growth during the first trimester, and just last month, we shared scenes during weeks fourteen through twenty of the second trimester. Today, we are proud to show how much growth Mama B has made since then. Ladies + gentlemen, here are snapshots of the belly that keeps getting bigger + bigger during weeks twenty-one through twenty-six:

Tuesday, September 9th
Week 21 + Day 3
Baby B is the length of a carrot.
*We celebrated date night a day early this week in honor of our eleventh anniversary!

Wednesday, September 17th
Week 22 + Day 4
Baby B is the weight of a spaghetti squash.

Wednesday, September 24th
Week 23 + Day 4
Baby B is the size of a papaya.

Wednesday, October 1st
Week 24 + Day 4
Baby B is the size of an ear of corn.

Wednesday, October 8th
Week 25 + Day 4
Baby B is the size of an eggplant.

Wednesday, October 15th
Week 26 + Day 4
Baby B is the size of a zucchini.

With only 94 days until Braxton's expected due date, Mama B's bump is really popping out now! We've reached the point in pregnancy where people look at my belly before they look me in the eye, and it's quite entertaining to watch their reactions. He's the star of the show already, and I loooove it!

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

falling for Greenville.


I fell for Greenville a long time ago, but every time I walk its streets, I fall all over again. My city is so beautiful, especially on a rainy day.
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