Some Cute Pics

Just hanging out....I think I caught him mid yawn.




Thought I would add some more pics from the past three weeks:)

Meet Owen Speirs

Wow! It's been way too long!

Well, Owen Speirs is here! He joined Craig and I on November 14 at 11:40 am and weighed in at 8 lbs 3 oz and was 20.5 inches long. What joy he has added to our family! The 12 hour delivery went quite well and Craig was a true champion in the delivery room! The nurses wanted to hire him as a coach:)

Since bringing Owen home we have had a lot of fun firsts! We've been peed and pooped on, spit up on (somehow Im the only victim of this), and definitely had diapers that have made us gag! We like to tag team diaper changing and have the process split up in to two very important jobs: Dueter patrol and the "changer". Dueter patrol may not seem all that important, but after seeing the impressive distance that Owen can shoot urine....its extremely important that we have the "Wee Block" up. We are still debating on Owen or Speirs and call him both right now...nothing like confusing your newborn.

On a more serious note. I know I won't ever fully understand in my flesh the sacrifice that God made in sending Jesus, His only Son, to die for us; however, I will say that I have been humbled through the birth of our own son. I can only imagine the pain that God must have felt in allowing Jesus to be nailed to the cross. But what love he showed for his people in his desire to see them redeemed through the blood.

Fall

I love Fall and all that comes with it! The changing temperatures and the beautiful leaves both give me the warm fuzzies. As a tribute to Fall, I thought I would show off the West pumpkin carving talent of 2007. Hopefully I will be able to post another creative idea from us at a little later date. Craig of course carved the UNC side while I carved the Wolfpack's block S on the opposing side:) We are a house divided!

Lifetime

So I decided to get a bit old skool on the pics after talking with my college roommate of four years, Megan annnnd I realized I only had maybe two really old photos and the rest of which came from my year spent with the beautiful girls of Lifetime. So here is a quick little tour down memory lane....

We were headed to California....she now lives there and works for FCA!

We are all excited for Elizabeth's arrival back in the US of A. She's been a missionary in Buenos Aires since Sept of 2007!! She should be home just in time for another little arrival:)!
Lifetime Girls on Barrymore Street or was it Court?:)


Annnnnd Im not quite sure......

Update

An update from Greensboro.

Speirs: We are now 33 weeks pregnant and looking forward to a great delivery and seeing our new addition! The crib is put together and the dresser is making its way there as we set up his little nook in our room! Seeing the crib in our room is a bit surreal, but exciting at the same time! Here are two of the sonogram pics from 18 weeks to hold us over for the next few...


Craig: Craig is still working with the church and at UPS. He is job hunting though so if you would keep that in your prayers as the early morning schedule has been really hard on him the past few months.

Britt: Let's see...I am extremely ready to be un-pregnant (with baby Speirs by my side of course) and have my body back. I love carrying our child but there is nothing like being able to sit up without having to roll to your side!!! We have been taking Birth and Baby class at the hospital and along with being really informative and helpful it is also HILARIOUS! Our teacher is so stinkin' funny and even if she's not trying to be funny...she is. Craig had the wonderful opportunity to get in the "empathy suit" which is basically really big boobs and a nice eight month belly. The men were also assigned to give the ladies 3 full body massages before class this coming week (you know, in prep for labor:))....so needless to say....Im enjoying the class!

Two Sundays ago, Craig and I got the opportunity to take some maternity shots with my wonderful friend Katherine Fallis, who in addition to being a great friend takes some pretty amazing pictures. Here is just one of them from the afternoon, there are a couple more to see on her blog www.katherinefallisphotography.blogspot.com . I will add some more when we get them but for now I just want you to go see how amazing her talent.

Rock the Block

Craig and I had a great time this past Friday night hanging out in downtown Winston! We went to "Rock the Block" with our friends the Wagoners and Schlesingers. After walking around a bit, watching some BMX, watching my pastor ride the mechanical bull and listening to some really bad music...we settled down near the Beach music stage where the music was great! Here are some pics from the night and a sweet little video of the Wagoner twins dancing.



Sorry this one is a little blurry....
but there is a nice view of Speirs!
(The elders wives of 1.21)











Here the boys are shakin' their booties

Teaching Preschool

So I officially began teaching 3 year olds at a preschool last Wednesday and needless to say it has been interesting! My coteacher, Stacey, and I have been entrusted with 13 little ones to care for (including wiping noses, asking a billion times "do you have to potty", encouraging them to "use their words", putting on band aids, and washing hands) and of course we must teach them as well.

Some of the funny/thought provoking questions and conversations I have had with the kids:

Avery: You have a baby in your belly?
Me: Yes I do, its a baby boy.
Avery (with a puzzled look as he rubs his belly): I dont have a baby in my belly.

Aislin: Where did your baby come from?
Me: God gave him to me.
Aislin: Why?
M: Because he wanted to...
A: Why did he give you a boy?
Aislin is all girl so her statement was quite cute.

Aislin: What's that around your neck
Me: Its a cross
A: Whats a cross mean?
M: Its where Jesus died for you and me
A: Why did he do that?
M: Good question...because he loves us sooo much.
A: Why did he have to die?

At this point I began thinking....how do you explain this type of theology to a three year old in such a way that they can understand........much less a 23, 33, or 43 year old.

M: Because he was perfect but he paid the punishment for all the things we do bad so we can still go meet God in Heaven.

Aislin is my inquisitive student who loves to ask questions as you can tell. But at this point she gave me a funny look and dropped the subject. Exactly. It's so insane yet so beautiful that Christ would die for us!

I have been having so much fun hanging out with these beautiful children and looking forward to Speirs' arrival!! 10 more weeks left!

Owen Speirs

Speirs is kicking around like crazy these days and loves to spend time in my ribs which isnt the most comfortable...but how exciting! Our time as a family of two is getting short! Our doctors appointments are every two weeks which makes time go by fast. I love going and hearing his little heart beat and anticipating his arrival. He should be here around Thanksgiving so we will be setting up some new traditions this year and staying in Greensboro for turkey day.

People ask me if Im getting anxious or scared of labor and I would have to say absolutely not. I think Im more anxious about not being completely informed on the decisions that Craig and I will have to make during our time in the hospital. So I have been reading the Birth Book and we have decided to deliver as naturally as we possibly can in the hospital for the health of Speirs and the experience. I am excited about how Craig will be able to play an active role in the delivery of our son.

Baptism

Craig was baptized yesterday down at the Yaaaaaadkin River along with Pastor Stephen and Bobby. The first baptisms of 1.21:) It was an exciting afternoon to say the least.


It was a bit rocky out in the river as you might be able to gather from the guys walking around.

Faith

Being in Greensboro has taught me a lot and put some action behind my words of faith. After much prayer and consideration, we decided on December 27, 2007 that we should move from Raleigh to Greensboro to help plant Passion and on the 31^st we were settled in to our new apartment an hour and a half from what I had known for the past 5 years.

Most of the money we had saved was shot on little moving expenses and just getting settled. We found out that I had a job lined up at Page High School and couldn’t have been more excited; however, I waited about a month before I could officially start (by the way you don’t get a pay check unless you are actually working). Craig on the other hand had a more difficult time finding a job, despite his hard work ethic. So it was really easy to feel like maybe we had made the wrong decision because things weren’t working out financially. It seemed like great jobs were being lined up in front of Craig’s face and then each one falling through; however, in March he began working for UPS after waiting months for an opening. The big disappointment however, came in May when I found out that my school would not be renewing my contract for the upcoming year. Much to the opposition of many of my colleagues and those in the educational field, I shared with the administration that I was pregnant and due in November. My thoughts were that if I shared with them and was honest about the situation and what my plans were as a mother, they would be willing to work with me. NOT SO. I was only an interim teacher meaning they don’t have to work with you on anything. This was just another blow that left my head spinning.

….All that to say that over the past eight months my faith has been refined and tested. I am not one that is great with having faith, although I like to talk like I do. My husband however, has been blessed to have amazing faith and has taught me so much over the past year and a half. I know that God is at work here in Greensboro and in Winston…not to mention in the West home. I am drawn to repentance daily when I think upon my lack of faith but how Jesus has already provided everything that this heart will ever need. So as we walk through this time of financial ‘hardship’ I am able to see God prove himself over and over and over again, even though he gave all the proof I will ever need on the cross.

Life Together

With much reluctance, we have started a West Family Blog:) I have no clue what I am doing...since...well...I don't blog. But I will begin by catching everyone up on what has been going on for the past year and a half (don't worry, I will spare you all of the details).

Married in May of 2007.
I (Brittany) graduated in December from NCSU.
Craig and I made a move in faith to Greensboro, NC to help plant PASSION church with our good friends and now family Stephen and Brooke Wagoner.
I began working at Page High School as a Biology teacher, which proved to be extremely challenging but it was a place where I learned a lot about myself and have met some amazing people.
Craig began working with UPS in March in addition to helping with the church. Although, waking up at 330 in the morning hasn't been the most delightful or enjoyable thing in the world for him, he's making it happen-He likes to say "he's livin the dream..." HA.
Also in March we found out that we are expecting! What a joyous and exciting moment in our marriage! The West name will live on in our son Owen Speirs West (but we'll be calling him Speirs). We will get to officially meet him around November 21.

Those are pretty much the "biggies" worth mentioning of life together thus far. Although, we have had plenty of fun little adventures along the way!