Introducing Titus Harding West

I was all too anxious this go around, so I am so thankful that Titus is here and healthy and that I made it one more time through labor and delivery. That's a lot of work! Here are a few pics of our newest addition. When he came out, I must have been hallucinating or something because I said, "he's so small!" while the nurses- who have seen a lot more babies than I, were exclaiming that's a BIG boy! My jaw dropped when I found out he was 9 lbs and 22 inches long! He outweighed his big brothers both by almost a pound and was 1 to 1.5 inches bigger than them too.  

Speirs and Wyatt are excited about being big brothers again and for the first time.  Speirs eyes literally lit up when he came back to meet Titus late Friday night and Wyatt was intrigued for about 15 seconds and then went back to his own little world:) 

May 25, 2012 what a day!

He's here!

And Happy.

I certainly am.

We are finally home.

Laying on the really cute blanket my mom made

Anxious

Just a bit anxious today. Perhaps its the almost 38 week pregnancy emotions? I'm thankful for the reminder that God's ways are "inscrutable" and that "from him and through him and to him are ALL things"- even labor and delivery and the child being knit together within me.   

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

Phil 4:4-6

"Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 'For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?' Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?' For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen"

Romans 11:33-36

"Broken Homes in the Bible" by Richard Pratt Jr.

I stumbled across this article that is certainly worth your time reading if you so choose. It seems fitting to post during this time when Craig and I are celebrating five years of marriage.

"No family is “fine,” “without problems,” or “great” until someone destroys it. Every home is broken from the day it begins."

"He can turn mourning into dancing; He can create praise out of despair. He can bind the wounds of the brokenhearted and set free those imprisoned in darkness. God can restore families and use the tragedies that so deeply hurt us now to move us forward in the purposes for which He created us. So call out to Him as your Father, and pray for His mercy on you and your home. Trust in His love for you and never give up. Our Father sent His only Son to die and rise again to forgive our sins and heal our shame. He is our hope in all the brokenness we face in our lives."

The Union- Celebrating 5 Years

The Real Marriage Conference was amazing and refreshing and I am so thankful that my dad and mom were willing and able to keep the boys while we traveled to Anderson, SC.  

On May 19, 2007, I never could have imagined that my union with Craig could be what it is today, almost five years later.  Although we wanted to get married, we didn't really know how difficult it could be.  We simply knew that we wanted something different from the divorce and decay of marriages around us-and we didn't have a clue as to how to get there- even as believers.  We were selfish.  It was tumultuous. It was lonely at times. Until we heard Tim Keller's sermons on marriage, we had absolutely no clue what we were doing or where we were going. Until we experienced gospel community and accountability we were left on our own.

I do not take for granted that first year of marriage, we learned a lot. Our days look different now, though.  Sure we still have squabbles- we are human and sinners and selfish.  But it is clinging to the Word, repenting, forgiving and letting go of the "me" that grows us.  God has been so incredibly gracious to our family.  At the Real Marriage conference (and daily) we heard stories of adultery, emotional absence and role confusion that were  absolutely running marriages into the ground-or that were already there. It broke my heart and breaks my heart to hear of severed marriages. Let me be clear in saying that Craig and I are not above those things. We are not above that demise and to think we were would be absolute folly.  

We have to create war with the sin in our life, and the little foxes that ruin the vineyard of our marriage are no different. We have to be intentional about the time we have together, invest, sacrifice, serve, love, and forgive. 

"We do not forgive our spouses because they are good or deserving, but rather because God is good and deserving." Real Marriage

"As an act of worship, we must respond to our sinful spouses as God has responded to our sin-with forgiveness. " Real Marriage

I am so grateful for five years of marriage, a loving husband, God's perfect design for marriage, forgiveness and mercy, and the strong desire given us by the Holy Spirit to make war with the sin in our life.  To God be the Glory!

Soon.

The task of putting together a clear paragraph has seemed altogether daunting lately. And although I have felt pretty great for the third trimester, writing just hasn't been on the list of to do's. In all honesty this isn't because I lead such a crazy, busy life. Crazy, maybe, but not so busy that I don't have the time to do the things I choose. I have had much to be thankful for and desired to share with those who read, namely God's grace in my marriage and life, thoughts about mothering my boys, friendship- the true, deep down in your soul friendship- get lost Facebook, joining a new body of believers at Christ Church Greensboro, raising our children to love and serve the Lord, the nomadic lifestyle of our family and God's direction and guidance there, the value and infinite importance of Gospel community via small groups AND I've taken some pictures along the way to make all of that not so boring.  Perhaps you'll join me along the way as I process my thoughts on life, real soon ya'll:).

Project Simplify-Week 1 Kid's Stuff

So I've channeled my nesting energy and taken up Simple Mom's Project Simplify for the month of March. For four weeks, I will be tackling various projects around the house that always seem to slip through the cracks and go undone. Simple Mom has once again given me the motivation I need and the focus for a few hot spots in our home. Week one was to take on the "kid's stuff." This was quite timely, since toys, books, and puzzles had gotten out of control and the dresser was bursting with clothes that needed to be stored for Titus. I got a little bit of a late start since a finished product should have been posted two nights ago, but with potty training it was impossible to begin before Wednesday. The past few days have been spent creating a toy, book, and puzzle rotation-along with storing and organizing clothes. Thankfully, I had taken the time a few months ago to donate a bunch of toys, so this go around was about creating order and a manageable rotation.

Before: The Madness

After: Rearranged, organized, cleaned. BIG thanks to Craig who took on the weight of helping me rearrange.

Before: Closet with Toys-overflowing baskets and such

After: Toys pulled from the basket and stored away for the rotation- this had made clean up much easier

Now Im on to Week 2 and the kitchen pantry, fridge, and cabinets. Since, we live in a small home this doesn't seem like too crazy of a task!

Give Them Grace

It was my goal this year to read loads of books both fiction and non fiction, and I must say that 2012 has started off stellar. I received quite a few books for Christmas which has helped propel me up to this point. I have loved them all.

So far Kisses from Katie, Night, To Kill a Mockingbird, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Real Marriage, Future Men and The Help have all been read; however, the one that has been picked up and put down, pause, and repeat has been Give them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick. Give Them Grace is a parenting book that has challenged me to the core, so much that I've literally had to put it down and walk away and read something else, on numerous occasions.

You see I'm a control freak at heart and comfort is what I think is good for my soul. Reading through simply the introduction and chapter one left me reeling and thinking, so what can I do? You know, the checklist for "Christian" Parenting, could somebody give me that? Oh, and be sure to include the additions that tell me what to do with kids that flail, scream, and wail in public, because that's embarrassing. That's what I want, and probably what most moms want, although we would never be able to follow all the rules. Our mindset (because its what we've been taught and seen used over and over again), as Fitzpatrick says in her book is, "good parenting in, good children out." Every parenting book is a list of rules that I will ultimately fail to fulfill. In all honesty, I don't want to raise moralist little boys who can say all the right things and do all the right things without having a heart transformation-but my actions don't always reflect that attitude. Any one feel like me? "JUST OBEY"-followed by pleading in my mind that it would work out.

"We simply don't believe that God is good enough to entrust with our children's souls or that he's wise enough to know what will make us ultimately happy and satisfied. We have far too high a view of our ability to shape our children and far too low a view of God's love and trustworthiness (Fitzpatrick 57)"

smack.in.the.face.

After many attempts at getting through even the beginning, God in his grace toward me has broken through. I am reading with a glad heart and willing Spirit, slowly. It's a paradigm shift in parenting that goes from law crushing to grace giving... and pretty mind blowing. By "tethering every aspect of parenting to the gospel message" and "applying the truths of the incarnation, sinless life, substitutionary death, bodily resurrection, ascension, reign, and return of the Lord Jesus Christ" we begin to get at what it means for us to nurture our children in the Lord. By lavishing them with the grace of Jesus, that believers have been shown, our children will understand more and more of their need for a Savior. Children are rule breakers at heart, and so are adults-we don't need more law, we need more grace. Thankfully that is found in Jesus-when I don't pour on grace, discipline in love, show patience and kindness and my children don't obey or share and choose to hit-He came. He died. He rose.

"When in great relief from excruciating agony of soul he declared, "It is finished," it really was. This is the message that we and our children need to hear over and over again (Fitzpatrick 81)."

Amen and Amen. Thank you Elyse Fitzpatrick for your amazing book and thank you Jesus.