Redeemed Daughter

Question of the Day

2011-03-28T13:59:00.002-04:00

Can my son wear a Peter Pan Collar shirt?

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? :)

Of course he can!

And while you are at it I would add a
sweet little monogram
in white to match so that he can wear it under any Jon Jon.

Happy Shopping!

Questions of the Day

2011-03-23T08:32:00.003-04:00

We were blessed with a child before most of our friends began thinking about having babies! So there are many days that my phone rings or I receive a Facebook message wanting advice on a certain child rearing subject. I thought that it might be helpful to share some of the answers here.

!!!Now, here comes the disclaimer!!!

I am NOT an expert in anything at all! But I do have 3 children and lots of opinions. :) I am happy to share the answers to the questions based on my opinions, scripture and advice I have been given by older women. So just read this BEFORE you believe this is the Gospel truth and if you don't do exactly as I say then you are a failure. Far from the truth my friend.

So here is today's question

Received last night during a stressful shopping trip.

1. Do your kids sometimes act as if they have never been in public? What do I do?

Ha! are you kidding me! All of the time. I think we sometimes think that as moms we will discipline our children for a time and then they will trust in Christ and be holy and never need to be corrected again. At least I think this way now and then!

Yes, my children seem to move along understanding the culture of our home and following us in obedience and then WHAM! this happens...

We are nearing the end of my husband's final semester as a PhD student so family meals are scattered at times because of schedules and spring sports. Last night we were determined to have a family meal at the table. It was delightful. The children were all gobbling up the dinner and the conversation was great and then right in the middle of dinner my 9 year old PASSED GAS at the table.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME???

He knows beyond a shadow of doubt that this is unacceptable at our table. Yet, he did it and without much remorse!

So the answer to the question is YES! My children need constant reminders of how to obey and what is expected of them. They need gentle reminders in most situations. And they need for me to follow through with discipline when I threaten it! I often feel that if I have told them once then they will always remember and obey perfectly. But we all need reminders of obedience and what is expected from us. So let us be reminded to continue with loving discipline of our children and to not grow weary.

Let us not lose heart in doing good,
for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
Galatians 6:9

The Six Second Kiss

2010-12-02T14:12:00.003-05:00

and more from Jani Ortlund today...

yay for the six second kiss!!

Loving Your Husband

2010-12-01T14:40:00.001-05:00

A few years ago, I hear Jani Ortlund speak at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where my husband is a PhD student. Her talk resonated in my heart and mind that night and still does especially in times like this...

See we in the West family are in what we call maintenance mode. game time. barely making it.

People, it is the END OF THE SEMESTER!

Ryan has papers due that are longer than anything I have ever written for any degree program all put together. The research is intense. His desk has about 220 books stacked on top of it. And after a near computer CRASH (noooooooo!!!!!!) He is completing the last paper of the semester!! WOOT!

So, during these times I am reminded of what the wise woman, Mrs Ortlund said... It went something like this...

When your husband is away, working late, in a meeting, in a class from NINE AM til NINE PM!!!, insert your husbands job/meetings here, where do you think he wants to be? He wants to be at HOME with you!

When it is dinner time and you are surrounded by little faces, where you do you think your tired and hungry husband would rather be? At HOME with you and your sweet children, of course!

SO will I slam down the casserole dish and tell my kids that my life would be so much easier if Daddy were home OR do I lead them to pray for him and understand that there is no place he would rather be than with us? BUT for now he is in class, working hard for the Lord, doing what God has given him to do!

So tonight when you and I are tempted to despair, pray for your husband.

Summer Reading

2009-09-07T14:33:00.003-04:00

This summer my son, David, was given a summer reading list from his school. We were so excited to receive the list and purchase the books! He took ALL of them on vacation with us for the month of June. He read as we traveled the South East of the US visiting our families and friends. He aslo kept a journal of the books that he read. At the top of the journal page he drew a picture of a scene from the book. At the bottom of the page he wrote a description of the book in a few sentences. It has been a true joy to see him complete this work. It was an adventure for our entire family. :)

One of the books he read, The Wind in the Willows, was particularly interesting. He read all of his other books on the list and then I handed him the Willows book. It was a daunting 300 plus pages. And remember, he is only seven years old.

he took the book and we encouraged him to read 10 pages in the morning and 10 pages at night before bed. He was on page 200 when Ryan my husband received his assignment for teaching a 7th grade online Literature class through Memoria Press. The list included The Wind in the Willows. We were a bit shocked and puzzled but David kept on reading.

When Ryan mentioned to the Headmistress that David had almost completed the book she was shocked! Ryan came home from work and asked David many questions about the book. I found a comprehension test online and gave it to David and he was able to answer every question correctly! He read a 7th grade book and comprehended it!

So thankful for his mind and ability! We love David and we have pushed him academically but we had no idea that he would be able to read this far in advance. Thankful that he took it and read it and did not complain. Thankful that we are able to help him along with all the things that he is learning and pursing! What a great time for us. And what a reminder that we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul and MIND, something I am afraid I can't say that I do well. So, I pray that I am diligent with my children to push them gently toward learning and loving the Lord with their MINDS.

Our House, Their Son, and His Job

2009-01-21T14:19:00.002-05:00

Our house, their son and his job... what in the world could these three topics possibly have in common? I think that more than anything they are teaching us to trust the Lord for all that He has for us.

The home that we still own in Georgia has been rented and we just found out yesterday that the girls that are renting it will be moving out in February. We have used all of our cash to own and rent 2 houses.

They found out that the tests that were done on their son had less than desirable results. How in the world will they handle a son that has been this sick for this long and now a new diagnosis?

And his job, or lack of job that he is qualified for, has been a stress on their family for almost 2 years.

We have all been friends since the early days of college. We all have children and jobs and homes and parents. But I don't think that we ever thought that we would be dealing with these hardships. What will we do and how will we react? Will we trust the Lord for our daily bread? Will we trust him that while He may not heal our physical bodies in this world? Or if the healing causes us just as much hardship as it does the child? Will we trust Him in the decisions for his future?

Oh, Lord. We trust you. We pray that you will cause us to persevere until the end. We pray that you will provide our daily bread and that if you choose not to provide the way that we think is best then you are still providing for us. We pray for healing. We pray for provision for a job that is fulfilling and a calling that is sure. Oh, Lord, we trust you.

Verdict on the Dinner A'Fare

2008-05-27T17:50:00.001-04:00

Sally, Repeat After Me

2008-05-11T22:17:00.003-04:00

Tonight, as storms that began their raging in the plains finally made it to the east coast, I had 2 scared children.

David and Sally were in their beds in the room that they share and nearing that sweet moment of drifting off when lightning and thunder began to rumble in Brunswick again. Last night as they raged my children were sleeping and thankfully the storms did not wake them. But tonight they were not asleep so the lightning shinning in their room equalled a scary moment for them.

Ryan and I went to their room to talk with them and encourage them to trust the Lord. We sang songs with them and then scripture that I have been teaching David this year in kindergarten began to come to my mind.

I shared with them that when we are afraid we put our trust in God, Psalm 56:3. And to pray that the Lord would keep them from all evil and that He would keep their life, Psalm 121:7.

They responded well to the truth of the scripture. And for that I am very thankful. They were calmed and quieted and resting.

BUT then I realized that Sally left her night night in the living room and I went to take it to her. I reached their bedroom door and I heard David saying to Sally, "The Lord." and she would repeat, "The Lord." until they had quoted Psalm 121:7 together. David was leading his sister into godliness not tempting her to sin by continuing in his unbelief.

God is faithful and every word of God proves true and He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him, Proverbs 30:5

why do all of your shirts have a stain on them?

2008-04-19T00:09:00.003-04:00

this is the question that i am often asked by my concerned husband. often the question is asked at the wrong time, for example, like when we are about to leave for a date or for Sunday night church so most times it ends in a huffy trip back to the closet so that i can look and pray for a shirt without a stain. will there be one in there? that doesn't need to be ironed? I am always hoping for the best!

This past week our family took a trip to see my husband's parents. As we were leaving and packing our car, someone, not sure who, made Sally an ice cream cone. It was just hot enough outside to melt it a good bit. And she is just not fast enough to keep up with the melt to lick ratio! We were loading the car and I stepped inside to grab a wet towel so that I could clean her up reminding myself to be ever so careful NOT to let her touch me while covered with chocolate ice cream.

I reached down to clean her hands and I thought that i was free and clear but when i stood up i realized there was a small chocolate handprint right on the front of my semi-new shirt. (my husband says that all of my shirts are semi-new because of this very problem)

So today the shirt lies in the trash along with 2 others that i finally gave up because of stains and such. my husband tried to coach me to keep it, to wear it under something else, to wear it when i knew that i would paint or do something crafty but no i threw it away.

and tonight i drove to Target to buy another shirt knowing full well that this shirt would probably end up in the trash sooner or later. realizing that this time is not a time for me merely to survive through... you know, when sally is a grown up my shirts wont be stained, when John is done with mashed sweet potatoes I will surely be free from stains, I am trusting that this is what the Lord has for me. I am trusting Him that He will provide what I need and that it is okay to let go of a semi-new stained- beyond -washing shirt. Trusting the Lord that this is what he had for me for this day and that I am in the time that He has for me and I will NOT always look forward to a better time to come. So trust Him that this is the time that He has for you.

And, as always, thanks to Annie Laurie for spurring me on to write... and for teaching about new technologies every time we talk... ALCW- He is Risen!! He is Risen Indeed!!

GO! GO! Power Rangers

2008-02-21T14:24:00.002-05:00

Not sure if you have heard the news or not but a new Power Ranger season debuted this week. Jungle Fury Power Rangers are all the rage at our house but there is only one problem... we don't have cable. Kind of hard to see your most favorite show ever when there is no juice flowing from the cable outlet to the TV.

We often can remedy this situation by watching shows on the internet at sites like abc.com and disney.com. So David was excited to look on disney.com and find that Power Rangers would debut on the net. He was so excited that he forgot to check the time and the date! He heard the commercial and thought that the first show wold air on Monday... well he did not pay attention to which Monday! It was Monday the 18th not Monday the 12th like he believed in his little heart. He was very sad to have to wait until the next week but a trip to the grandparent's house made it easier. When we returned Sunday he could hardly wait for the 18th.

So on Monday he sat down at the computer and clicked on disney to find out that the show was NOT on their site! YIKES! another very sad time for him.

BUT that was okay UNTIL we went to our neighbors house to play and Tiffany, the mom exclaimed, "David! Guess what we watch last night!!!??? The new jungle fury Power Rangers!!! It was so awesome!!! " And I could instantly see the tears in his eyes. David began to cry knowing that he had missed out on the first episode. Tiffany was heartbroken to find out she had hurt his feelings so she insisted that David come over on Wednesday to watch the show that they had graciously recorded on their dvr and all the boys could eat popcorn and watch the show. Well, that was a great idea UNTIL her youngest son had to go the doctor unexpectedly and they did not come home until after 5 pm and David had to go to the assisted living home with his dad to minister to the residents there. Whoo! Not a fun time at the West home. Many tears and much sadness.

And then came the best part. Ryan and I were able to see that this was so upsetting to David. That this was a great desire of his heart and that he wanted to see this new show so badly. He had waited days for it to air and at this moment he is still waiting.

Ryan really took care of him and did not get mad at him for being so upset with wanting to see a show about something so trivial. But he shepherded him through the moment realizing that we often have great desires to see things come about in our lives. David was in the right places at the right times waiting on the show to appear but it was not there. He made all the effort for this to happen and it was not happening. It was a great time to share with him that just because we want something so badly, the Lord may have other things for us. Things that are better and that He is working out for our good. Was it okay for David to be sad about missing Jungle Fury Power Rangers? Yes. Was it so hard that he does not have cable? Yes. And was it so difficult because he wanted this so badly and it was not coming about in his timing? Yes.

What we had to do was understand his pain yet not coddle him in this time. We had to help him know that there will be many things that he will want and he will think they are the best thing for him in his life at that time. Yet, the Lord and his timing will bring about good things for David at the time that He has appointed. We must teach him to trust the Lord in all things. We must teach him that he can trust Him for all good things in His life in His timing.

So, here we are on Thursday after the first 2 Mondays of thinking this show would air and he still hasn't seen it. Maybe today will be the day or maybe we will have another lesson in trusting the Lord for his timing.

sally is two!

2008-01-29T20:27:00.000-05:00

what an interesting year it has been! didn't she just turn one last week!!! Last year at sally's second birthday I was 6 weeks prego with our third child. i was beginning the feelings of morning sickness and trying to supress the need to vomit every time i stood up. but we had the lady bug party anyway! :)

this year was a much different year. we were so excited to see our daughter turn two! she has been such a blessing. there are so many times that she truly brightens up our lives. she has a great disposition and lots of laughs to share.

this year we had a monkey party!!! she went around telling everyone "I have a muuunkee party." It was great! We had a fun time. I found the pic of the cake on the internet and copied it. I made a pound cake because they hold up so well with lots of icing. i also made all of the icing from scratch. it was so very good! :) all of the recipes are from my pastor's wife, let me know if you need a copy! we also had big fun tissue flowers... not sure why i made those but i thought they were really so cute. and they were so colorful.

ryan's parents and grandparents came over and we had a nice time with them. Lots of BBQ was to be had for the men in the family. It was enjoyable.

we got her a pottery barn anywhere chair with her name on it to match david's.

enjoy the pics and guess what...

I am NOT prego this time around!

David is SIX!!!

2008-01-01T09:36:00.000-05:00

New Years Eve is never a dull night for us. We always have a party, although, the past themes have included farms, super heroes, spiderman, and pirates... not my general choice for the a themed party with adults but you see it is a given that the party will surround the birthday of our first child, David, who came into the world at 11:07 pm on the 31st. Yep, he came right before the New Year. The nurses even changed shifts in the middle of the c-section. ( I am sure they had places to be so they could celebrate with friends.)

I can't believe that I am a mom of a SIX year old! I still feel like I am 18 and in college on most days. It is hard to believe that I spent most of yesterday helping him wait for his friends to come over for a party. I spent the rest of the time transforming the dining room into a Star Wars theme and making a light saber cake.

It was a great party with lots of fun for all. So much fun with the making of the light sabers that we forgot to open the gifts that people brought until the very end and to give them their treats as they were leaving. I think the treats were the sabers! Somehow the cups with candy and stickers were not as much fun! :)

As we begin 2008 I am in shock that I have a six year old and that I have been married for almost eight years. I am also so thankful for all that the Lord has done in our lives. If I think back on the past few years and all that we have done I know that if I would have been told that we do the things that we have done I would not have believed it! Or I would have cried and not wanted to endure most of it. :) But I know that God is working all things for our good and His glory. He is taking us thru these times so that we can know Him better and glorify Him.

So I am thankful to the Lord for the New Year. I am thankful for our son and his 6 year old Star Wars party and I am excited to see what is next. I know that I would like to know what this year holds for us but I also know that I want to be faithful to see the days come one at a time. I don't need to see the future but I do know that I am excited about this year and God's unfailing love as we begin 2008.

2007-11-26T11:23:00.000-05:00

http://www.mikehuckabee.com/_images/banners/banner_forpresidentblue.pnghttp://www.MikeHuckabee.com/

Our traditions...

2007-11-21T13:16:00.000-05:00

I love to try and have traditions in our family. One thing that we have enjoyed over the past few years has been to take a creative dessert to Thanksgiving with our extended families. Last year we made sugar cookies and decorated them with Fall colored icing. They were a great hit and the family loved them.

This year we are taking Pilgrim Hats. We found the recipe on Family Fun Magazine's website. It was fun to make them and to lick our fingers!

Here is the recipe (really we didn't cook anything so I guess it is more of an assembly)

You need a package of Keebler Fudge Stripe Cookies, a bag of marshmallows, yellow icing, and wax paper for allowing to dry.

1. Dip large marshmallows in melted chocolate.

2. Place marshmallows on top of fudge stripe cookie

3. add a buckle to the hat with yellow icing when the chocolate dries.

4. transfer off of wax paper when dry.

5. add joke below to card and place in front of platter.

This is David's fave holiday joke:

Why did the Pilgrim's pants always fall down?

Because they wear their belt buckle on their hats!

Happy Thanksgiving from

Ryan, Danielle, David, Sally and John

Good Books

2007-09-06T15:05:00.000-04:00

Here are some good books that I have read lately. I don't have time to give all of the details for the reasons that I love them but I wanted to pass on the titles and some thoughts...
Can you see that I have a baby coming in a few days? I am trying to get all of the blogging in that I have missed all summer. :)
And one of the main reasons that I wanted to share more books is because the last time I was in Tennessee to visit my parents my mom had the book Elizabeth Prentiss, by Sharon James. It shocked me to see it in the kitchen. So I asked her where she got it and how she heard about it. Her response was that my aunt Mary Sue had heard about it on my blog and bought for them to read as sisters... I love it! :)

1. Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God by Noel Piper. A must read. Very easy and quick. All chapters are about different women so this is easy to put down and not be lost when you pick it up again. Our women's group study will go thru this beginning at the end of this month.

2. The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. I know that most of you have probably already read this but I had not. I bought it while on vacation and could not put it down. I was so struck when the Ten Boom family was taken to a concentration camp and her father was told that he could be released if he would change his ways. And his response was you can let me go but I will do it again. (Referring to housing Jews during the Holocaust.) They were not Jews themselves but Dutch Reformed.

3. Free Grace and Dying Love by Susannah Spurgeon. A small book of devotionals that are excellent. So encouraging and thoughtful. The end of the book has a biography of Mrs Spurgeon. She led an amazing life. She was very sick at times yet she set up book funds for poor pastors and ministered to her husband and twin sons thoughtfully. This is a very fast and enjoyable read.

I Failed!

2007-09-05T15:25:00.000-04:00

I am expecting my third child on Monday by scheduled c-section. I am a little anxious about the process of knowing when this child will arrive. But I am thankful that I do know the time and the place!
As we have prepared for the arrival of the next West child, we have completed many projects around the house. You see, we went on vacation at the beginning of August and while we were away we began to discuss how we could make our home look better and be more beautiful. We knew that when we arrived home we would have 30 days to complete these jobs. Here is a small list of the goals: paint our kitchen cabinets, take down a chain link fence, replace fence with a picket fence, re-do flower beds, make new flower bed, order new twin beds for David and Sally, switch rooms with them, and POTTY TRAIN SALLY.
Many of you know that we used the book Toilet Training in a Day, to potty train David. He was a champ. I read the book and told him what it said and he did it!!! It was great. He was trained in a day, had a few accidents that week and we have never looked back! Wonderful experience. He was 22 months old at the time.
Well, Sally was 19 months old and we decided it was time to try, right? She is old enough and girls train faster, right??? and we have another child on the way, so we don't need 2 in diapers, right???
NO! I re-read the book and did all of the little things needed to teach her and encourage her to potty train. And she looked at me like I was speaking another language! She just turned her head to the side and did what I said for the most part... and then she had an accident. So I repeated the process to her and she tried and then she had an accident. This is how it went all day long! She could have cared less! She had accident after accident. When it was time for her nap, I put her down and I sat on the couch and CRIED!
It was awful. I tried to think of things to blame it on, like Ryan called 2 times while I was trying to teach her, she is teething, she... she...
Well, really all I could chalk it up to was that she was too young. It just wasn't time. And she did not have to accomplish this for me to be a successful mom.
It was a complete day of pouting for me. I had the worst attitude. It was terrible! I felt like such a complete failure. Many of our friends call us for advice on how to potty train, how to get your child on a schedule, how to discipline and the list goes on. Most of the advice we pass on is from faithful older parents that we trust who use Godly wisdom and instruction to train their children. BUT now I have to tell others that I FAILED!
I must say that this has been a true lesson in seeing the pride of my own heart. I am so humbled by the fact that I tried something with my child and it was an utter failure and that it is okay. She is normal and loving and whinny and all girl but she is just not potty trained. And that is okay. I had to repent and pray that I would have a humble heart when it comes to children. I know that I don't have all of the answers. I am supposed to look to older women and seek their advice, be faithful with what Christ has given me and realize that I will fail.

A Great Purchase for Boys ( and their Dad!)

2007-06-06T12:58:00.000-04:00

Hey guys! I just found out about this book and I wanted to pass on the good news. As many of you know we have a 5 year old boy that is all boy so I am always looking for things to keep him from breaking windows just to see what happens to the glass.
Just yesterday he found an old disposable camera and he used a screwdriver and a hammer to completely demolish it. There are pieces of it here and there in the yard and in the house. But he was very excited to see the wires and the batteries and the "lecticity" that the film that unrolls!! ( I guess the film will never be developed :))
So all of that to say i think that this book is a GREAT find. And I am not the only one! Dr Mohler reviewed the book a few weeks ago and so did Dr. VanNeste http://childrenshourbooks.blogspot.com/ from Union Universtiy on his children's book blog.
Buy it for your boys, young and old. I did and I think it will be a great addition to our collection!

Mother's Day

2007-05-10T16:43:00.000-04:00

As we approach the day that Mother's are celebrated I was sobered by the thoughts of many of my peers and friends as they wrote about life and suffering as a mother.
You can see those stories here http://www.girltalk.blogs.com and herehttp://www.lisaelaine.wordpress.com. One other recommendation that I have is the sermon from John Piper entitled To Be a Mother is a Call to Suffer.
And another sobering thought is that my family and I are in the midst of packing to attend a funeral. One of Ryan's best friends from childhood is Luke. His sister, Kelly, died yesterday of unknown causes. She was at home with their youngest child, a daughter, and planning to leave for a baseball game. She never made it to the came and her husband, Lee called their home to find out what was going on. Their young daughter answered and she told him that her mother was on the floor and she could not get her to wake up.
So we do see that God numbers our days. That he knows when our children and mothers and fathers will be born and when they will die. We are to live everyday in the light of eternity praying for His return.
Life is not easy and especially not easy when you lose someone tragically. But we know that God is in control of all things and He is working them out for our good and His glory.

Sally's Party

2007-03-07T14:57:00.000-05:00

I know that I posted a pic of Sally on her birthday but I never put up a picture of her cake or party and I said that I would. So for those of you who asked... here it is.

Encouragement

2007-03-07T14:37:00.000-05:00

What do we do to encourage one another?? How do we take part in the building up of the saints? Where can we find help and hopeful words? I think the answer is simple. We can find these things in the Word and in the words of our friends and family who are in the Word.

Who has been an encouragement to you this week or in the last few weeks? I can think of many of you who have faithfully prayed for me because you know that morning (all day) sickness is especially hard for me. You have called or emailed with thoughtful words and help for my soul. I appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers.

I can also think of the books that I read. These books written by faithful men and women who have gone before me in life and in faith have strengthened me.

I am thankful for the Word of God. I have been so sick lately that I would often eat and go straight from the dinner table to the couch. Ryan was faithful during this hard time to read the Word out loud to our family and I was able to listen from the couch too sick to hold my head up and read for myself.

I am also thankful for the hopeful words from Ryan. This weekend he shared with me that he was so encouraged to take part in the Sabbath. He told me of how his life almost seems despairing on Saturday and then Sunday comes and the Word is preached and his soul feels revived and refreshed. I was so thankful for this reminder of God's grace to us thru His preached Word. It was an encouragement to me to hear that the Word is fresh to him and it is changing his life as he sits under it.

Today I was also encouraged to hear of a good family friends recovery in the hospital. We thought that he was facing eternity just days ago and now he seems to be recovering well. But we know that his eternity would be spent in Hell so I am encouraged that the Lord spared his life so that we might share the Gospel with him.

A few days ago I was so discouraged about my situation of all day sickness. Now it seems to have passed and I have tried to think all day of encouraging things in the Lord that will allow my delight to be in Him and not my temporary circumstances. I am thankful for the things mentioned above. I am thankful for these things...

PS If you would like a good laugh you should read my husbands blog : www.redeemedson.blogspot.com

SALLY IS ONE!!!

2007-01-26T17:47:00.000-05:00

Our daughter, Sally is one TODAY! I can't believe that is has been only a year. Sometimes is seems that it has been much longer and other times I think that she has grown too quickly! She still seems like such a baby to me. Tomorrow she will eat her first cake (actually a cupcake). We are having a ladybug themed party.
She has been such a blessing to us in such hard times. We had such a difficult year last year and the Lord allowed us to have Sally and enjoy her as a blessing and not a hardship.
Praise to the Lord for Sally Elisabeth!

Read the following quote from Carolyn Mahaney,
As mothers, we have a choice. We can either resent the challenges and demands that accompany motherhood and persist in our selfishness, or we can draw from God's grace and receive His help to cheerfully lay down our lives for our children. Let us choose the latter.

Also, for you ladies with girls or hope for a girl, isn't her dress too cute. It has a birthday cake and balloons smocked in the neck. Her bloomers have a cake with one candle, too!

Check out this blog

2007-01-19T09:23:00.000-05:00

I think you should all read my husband's blog :

www.redeemedson.blogspot.com

If I were smart enough I would post it as a link on the side of my page but after many attempts to do so I have failed!! :) So add his to your favorites.

My husband is the one on the left holding the cup, not to be mistaken with the crazy man on the right!

Children are a blessing from the Lord

2007-01-18T09:29:00.000-05:00

We are excited to share the news with you... We are expecting our 3rd child sometime in September!!
I am just a few weeks along but we have never been good at keeping the news of pregnancy to ourselves! Ryan is really excited and so is David. They daily chant, "We want a BOY!" while marching around the house. Ryan is scared that David will leave for college and family and he will be stuck in a house full of girls! :)
And of course, Sally has no idea what is going on! She will be one on January 26 so she is a bit young to understand the chants and excitement.
WARNING: When morning sickness sets in there will be fewer and fewer blogs!

(Ryan made the sign!)

Have you seen her? Tell me have you seen her?

2007-01-05T08:57:00.000-05:00

Here are some pics of our little girl, Sally Beth, posted on my brother's blog. Take a look. My dad, mom and brother came to Brunswick for Christmas with us. It was nice to eat lots of seafood and spend time on the beach. The weather was a bit rainy but we managed! Hope that you all enjoy!

http://erichenley.wordpress.com

Happy New Year!

2007-01-02T14:36:00.000-05:00

The new year is always a fun time for the West family. There is never a dull moment and that is not due to the fact that a new year is ringing in but due to our son's birthday. You see he was born on December 31, 2001 at 11:07 p.m. Yes! That is right! He was our big tax break for the year and he squeaked that in by 53 minutes!! I was in the OR while he was being delievered by c-section and the shift changed at 11p.m and all of the nurses walked right out and the new shift walked in and he was born a few minutes later.

We had a great time this year. I had more goals in celebrating his birthday this time around. I wanted to make more memories, to make this a special time of worship (of God, not of David!), and to enjoy our son and all that God had given us thru him during the last five years.

David wanted to have a Pirate themed birthday party. We used much of the Pirates of the Caribeean themed plates and cups although he has never seen the movie. I also made a Pirate cake for him. He LOVED it!! We got a great pic of his face when he saw it for the first time. We played pin the X on the treasure chest, we made hook hands and we hunted for buried treasure with clues leading to a treasure chest hidden in David's closet. We had clues for outside but it rained! I painted a styrofoam cooler gold and filled it with Rolos, Kisses, Gold Coins, and fake jewelry. We also ate gummy worms and gold fish and black licorice and drank black cherry Koolaid.
I made part of David's costume ( part was from grandparents) for the party and all of the kids came dressed as pirates or princesses. It was great! I really went the extra mile to have a great and memorable party. I did not throw an expensive party but I tried to put a ton of thought into every aspect.

We also have spent so much time teaching David about the gospel and what it means to be a Christian. We do that normally but I feel a real need to share with him more and more. To think that he is 5 blows me away. It is easy to think of him as a baby but I also know that he is growing everyday and I want him to grow in grace and knowledge and learn to worship in spirit and truth.

We praise God for the gifts of our children. Even though I complain about being a mom sometimes and how hard it is, and it is hard, I am so thankful for my kidos!

What are you reading?

2006-11-30T19:30:00.000-05:00

Tell me ladies ( and I heard today from a great resource, thanks Jolie!) that some men are reading this too, what are you reading these day? Thanks to Ryan, Ben and Brad for reading or having this blog read to you. And please note Ryan and Brad this is not a forum for you to slam one another ! :)

So what are you reading? I am about to order More Love to Thee by Sharon James. It is a new book about the life of Elizabeth Prentiss, Sally's namesake. She, Prentiss, was an amazing woman of faith and I can't wait to read this. Also, I will be participating in the Girl Talk blog, http://girltalk.blog.com, about this book.

I am also reading A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot about the life of Amy Carmichael. I tried to read Suzanne's copy in college but I was so immature I put it aside as boring! Now that I have seen just a minute part of what her life was like I am now hanging on every word.

Tell me girls... what books and blogs and journals are you reading?

Please respond on this site so that everyone can see. I have this set so that you can all respond and read what the others think.

On the move again

2006-11-27T14:38:00.000-05:00

Yes, you heard it right!!! The West family is on the move again and on the road too! We are packing up to move to Brunswick, Georgia in two weeks.
We have fielded so many questions like, " Are you ready to move?" "Have you started to pack?" The answer to those respectively is yes and no. We are ready to move and being this exciting time in our lives and the other answer is NO!!! Actually I am hosting a baby shower in my home tomorrow so no packing will begin until this is over.
We have moved 8 times in the lat 6 years so I feel like we are gifted in the boxing, packing, and moving areas. For those of you that are skeptical of the actual number I listed above I am going to now list them in chronological order.
1. To Louisville for Seminary
2. To our second apartment in Louisville due to a crazy neighbor that we were too immature to confront.
3. To our third apartment in Louisville for $100 less rent and to live next door to Taylor and Anna.
4. To Bolivar, Selmer, Murfreesboro and Warwick all in a single trip to prepare for the mission field.
5. To Calcutta, India for the Work
6. To Bolivar after our work was cut short by my illness and brain malfunctions which still occur so regularly but that is another blog.
7. To Somerset to a tiny cabin until our house was built.
8. To our new house in Somerset.

and exciting number 9 is to Brunswick to a little beach cottage for Ryan to begin work at Redeemer Presbyterian as Minister of Mercy and Evangelism.

Hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving. We had a great time in Nashville with family.
My team won the annual family game and Ryan dominated Ping Pong. And we started a new tradition of making fun cookies to take to the family dinner. They were loved!

And then there were 2

2006-11-10T23:55:00.000-05:00

One of our friends was at our home tonight and I braved the question that I had been longing to ask since we had known him and his family. He and his wife have two sweet children and they live across the street from us. Their kids are great! They love to play on the community play set in the lot across from us. And I must admitt that our son David has probably taught them more than they would like for them to know about swords and knights and launching secret attacks.
Back to the story... Tonight I asked Ron to tell me about the story of how they adopted Katie and Ben. I know that I can never retell this story like he told it tonight but I do know that we have to tell stories like this and remember them as a testimony to the Lord.
He began to tell us of the first child they were to adopt. They planned to adopt a child conceived out of wedlock and the mother decided to keep the child the day of the birth. You can imagine that they were heart broken. Next they applied with a local agency and were chosen 3 more times based on a letter they wrote to the birth mother and yet every mother chose to keep their child... months of heartache followed.
During this time people would approach them from the community and ask them for their number because so and so had a friend that knew so and so that had a friend, you know the story. Well, none of the cases ever led to a child UNTIL a lady approached Ron with the same old story but she called back 3 months later and asked if was still serious. Then she called back six months later and informed him that the baby was due any day!!!! Can you imagine his excitement??? and his terror???
He went to his lawyer and social services and completed the paper work and asked them NOT to share this with his wife. They were very confused but knew of their past and agreed not to share with her. He said he would ask her to sign papers and she would and she never asked questions.

Tracy was employed at a local department store and Ron knew that Katie,their new baby girl, was soon to come to their home if the birth mother did not change here mind. And it looked like she was not going to change her mind. So he went to her boss and told her to schedule her to be off on Friday, the day they were to officially have Katie as their daughter. He made her boss promise not to tell Tracy and she promised!

All this time Ron knew where Katie was staying with a foster family until she was to be united with them he told us through tears at our table. He said he would drive by there daily.
Well, on Thursday before the Friday that Katie would join the family Ron received a call from Tracy and she was frantic. He rushed to her work to find her, in his words, white and in shock.

She had just received a call from the adoption agency that they had been chosen to take a newborn baby boy. And she had accepted!!!

So now it was Ron's turn to be in SHOCK!!!

He then told her the story of Katie and how he had kept it a secret from her to protect her heart from disappointment. What joy and excitement for this family. What had once been one joy had just become two by the grace of God. Isn't that wonderful??? Isn't God Amazing??

Thank you Lord for rescuing Katie and Ben. Thank Lord for placing them with parents who love and trust and serve you. Thank you Lord allowing them to be adopted. We thank you Lord for Ron, Tracy, Katie, and Ben.

As the waters cover the sea

2006-10-29T15:28:00.000-05:00

Cassie has water!!!

Ladies, please read her comment below (the name is anonymous at the top but she signs the bottom of the comment section with her name) from the oh, so short blog on her life. I enjoy reading what all of you are thinking and I am glad to know that we are all staying in touch a little better with this fun blog. I am so glad that God is teching us all and that we are learning more of Him through others. Cassie, we rejoice with you that your water has been restored to your home but more than that we rejoice that you have living water and you are sharing the well...

She said, "Jesus is all I need."

2006-10-27T21:04:00.000-04:00

When I update this blog I send out an email to let my friends know so that they can read what I have written and tell me what they think. Well, today I got an interesting reply from my friend, Cassie, who is serving the Lord alongside her husband on the mission field in Peru. She made an interesting comment. She said something to the effect that it was good for her to hear the real, daily stories about being a mom and a wife here in the states. She said that is good to read these things and not to just hear I went to the store and fed the kids but to know the hard times and the funny little stories.

Well, the funny thing is that my husband just returned from a mission trip to serve with Brad and Cassie and he has been telling me the stories of their daily life. I often wonder what it is like there for them and what they are experiencing every day. My husband got just a taste of their lives when he was there for a brief weeklong experience.
I know that she would never gripe about these things but Girls listen up here are some things that she does in her daily life... Think about it and let me know if you are man enough, or should I say woman enough to handle it?? :)

1. They lived there for several months without a kitchen sink.
2. They have no running water in their house due to repairs that began in MARCH! and note this is OCTOBER!!
3. She walks to get water from a hose a few blocks from their home and fills several 5 gallon jugs for their daily water.

I am sure that there are other hardships and I am not writing this to complain about her life but to allow us a glimpse of what she is doing to lay down her life daily. Is this life easy for them? NO. Are they always glad that they are there working? I am sure that the answer varies. I am sure it would be much easier to be there with more ammenities. Does she wish for an easier life? Maybe, I don't know but I do know this she is serving the Lord in a way that most of us will never experience. She is serving the Lord in many ways just through her daily living. Her sacrifice of praise is walking and filling up water jugs so that her family has water.

We have the Cademon's Call CD with the song on it Jesus is All I Need. One day we were driving down the road singing away and my son, David, said, " Mama is that true? Is Jesus really all that we need?"

And when I think of Cassie, I think yes, David, Jesus is all that we need.

No Mom Jeans!

2006-10-24T16:01:00.000-04:00

Okay ladies, I did something I never thought that I would do again... I went to the Buckle to buy jeans. It was very interesting experience. First, I feel that I must share with you my last experience there and then I will share with you the one that I had yesterday.

In 2004 I went to the Buckle to purchase a pair of jeans. I went in with much confidence knowing exactly the size and brand for which I was searching. I asked the store clerk, who I am sure was no more than 18 for my size and brand and she had such a look of confusion on her face. She had never heard of my brand. She was very polite and insisted that she could help me find a replacement.

I then remembered that I purchased my last pair of jeans from there in 1998!!! No wonder she had no idea what I was talking about she was in elementary school then! I purchased the last pair in Memphis with Ashley and Jon on an adventure when we skipped class before our trip to Costa Rica. I loved those jeans and wore them until they had holes everywhere and were very inappropriate for a seminary student's wife! :)

So I tried the sizes and styles that she recommended while I was laughing hysterically. I could not believe that some of the zippers were literally 2 inches long... that was a problem for me. Way too ultra low! I came out of the dressing room and told her I wold not be purchasing these jeans and that she was forcing me to shop for mom jeans at places like Eddie Bauer! She kind of turned her head to the side and just looked at me.

Yesterday I ventured into the Buckle again becasue my brother assured me that I could find jeans there and that I would like them. I took his advice and boldly went where most moms don't go... at least to purchase jeans for themselves.

The clerk this time was older, probably the manager, and he helped me with several pairs.

And HALLELUJAH!!!! I actually found a pair on the third try that covered all that needed to be covered, met the approval of my husband, and cost less than $100!!! It was a grand day!!!

I know that this entry to my blog means nothing in the light of eternity but we had a crazy weekend at our house. And my friends Ben and Jolie said to me a few weeks ago why aren't you blogging?? And they answered the question for me. You blog about what is on your mind and what you are learning but I don't have that freedom right now. One day I will and that day is coming soon but right now it is all too fresh.

So until then I have some cool jeans!

One Life to LIVE

2006-09-30T19:48:00.000-04:00

My blogs have been few this past month as we have endured much in our family and church life. While enduring much we have seen the Lord work in ways that we were not aware that we would ever see. We have seen Him point out our own sin and the sin of others, thus living in the world and working in the church! It has been such a painful process to go through but we will persevere by God's grace.
I am not sure that I will ever be able to put into words what God is teaching me through this time but one thing that I have learned is this...

I have ONE LIFE

I have one life and I am almost 30 years old. I have one life to teach my children about the goodness and greatness of the one true and living God. I have one life to serve the church with my whole heart and learn to worship on this earth because this is just a glimpse of the the new earth. I have one life to give all that I have to loving my husband and serve him. I have ONE LIFE. I have one life to give for the service of the kingdom of Christ in His army.

I am yours Lord. Here is my One Life. Teach me to make it count for your glory.

Where O, where have your little posts been?

2006-09-08T14:45:00.000-04:00

Sorry ladies!!! I am not so blog smart! You have been commmenting your little hearts out and I have not been posting them to the blog because my settings were not what I thought they were! Oops! I apologize! Please continue to read and post away and I will try to continue to write thoughtful blogs! :) I appreciate all that you have said! Keep posting!

After Eve

2006-09-01T19:52:00.000-04:00

Ladies,

I think that we should all attend this event. Check out the web-site at

www.aftereve.org

Home Alone!

2006-09-01T19:26:00.000-04:00

My husband is out tonight enjoying one of his many manly adventures and I am at home with the children after a long and I repeat long day!

It has been an adventure to remain calm at all times and not allow my temper to shoot through the roof. Here are some of the examples of why I had to remind myself and renew my mind that God is in control of all things and He knew that I would be with my children today and I would feel like I was losing my mind...Yet I can call on Him to renew my strength!!! :)

1. We went to the church office to pick up a list from my husband and while waiting for an extended period of time in line in the bank drive-thru with a screaming and whining baby he left for the hospital to make his weekly visits! So he was not there when we got to the church! yikes!
2. My son ran around as if I have never disciplined him ever in his whole entire life! I just looked at him in shock as he screeched around the office area... As did the secretaries and other staff wives that were there for visits. Sometimes I think to myself, "Is that my child??" :0 Who is his mother? And why doesn't she do something about him? Then I realize I am her!!!
3. When we came home I wanted a fun snack and so did my son so I made Butterfinger milkshakes! He was so excited and I must admit that I was too until he dropped his whole shake on the kitchen floor and just stood there screaming as he looked at his huge accident! I think that much of it was caused by the blue scooped gloves he was wearing! The shake just slipped right out of his hand!
4. My 7 month old daughter is teething so she whines and fusses all day long. I had forgotten how hard teething was, for me not for her!
5. And as I am writing this my son just said, "Mom, you have blonde hair but it's black in the middle!"

And then my lovely husband comes home for a few minutes before he is off to his fun times and I have to make a choice. Do I whine and manipulate him to stay at home with me? Or do I allow him to leave with a happy heart knowing that he needs time to refresh and relax? Should I wallow in self pity or should I glory in my job as a wife and a mom and grow up and take care of them without always expecting a long and relaxing break?
I must admit that I battle with the options above and I pray that by God's grace alone that I can make it while Home ALONE! :)

Make it on my own, my own way...

2006-08-18T14:57:00.001-04:00

Here is a quote from Christina Aguilera that a friend of mine passed to me and asked me what I think of her comments and how I would respond to them.

"I think there was something that was instilled in me in a really,really young age, probably far before I was even ten years old, just witnessing a lot of the abuse that had happened in my household when Iwas a child. I think that whole experience, instead of making me wantto repeat that cycle or cower down to a man and whatnot, it made mereally feel this sense of power to never ever want to feel helpless toa man, to never ever want to need to ask anyone for anything. I wasgoing to make do on my own in my own way, and I think really thatwhole experience really pushed me and drove me to be where I'm attoday, I really really do. I think a lot of the experiences and a lotof the hard times that I've gone through in growing up have helped to instill in me a drive to thrive off of the bad instead of stopping me and cowering down to anybody or anything."(source: http://www.christina-a.net/)

I think that these comments are all to characteristic of not only superstars but also of the girls and ladies that we are sitting beside in our churches today. There are so many women who have been hurt and abused and neglected by others so their response is to withdraw and decide that they will make it all on their own and that they don't need anyone else to help them. Oh, how this is not true.

The Lord has created us to be women and that is a good thing. We are created in such a way to be a help mate to our husbands ( Genesis 2). We are to compliment all that God has created our husbands to do and therefore we fulfill our roles as women. Just as we have very specific roles as women and we can fulfill them in a way that glorifies the Lord!

And this also includes single ladies!! I have several single friends right now who are embracing their God given role as a woman and they are serving their chuch wholeheartedly and working with other families to serve them while earnestly waiting for their own family or faithfully praying that the Lord would direct them to the next area of service in His church enabling them to fulfill their role as a single.

So to think that as a woman we are created to go at this life alone is a farce. We are created to be a helpmate by God the Creator. We are able to complete this role as a married woman through faithfully loving our husband and children and serving the church or as a single woman by faithfully loving the church and serving a family in the church as your own.

I pray that we are able to embrace the call to be true women. It is a blessing for sure!

Passionate About Peanut Butter

2006-08-15T11:58:00.000-04:00

What are you passionate about? What are the things that you long for? What are the things that fill up your sould to overflowing, that make you think with so much excitement and anticipation and excitement that they might couse you to throw up???

In Junior High School I had a Youth Minister that later became my Campus Minister, then the man who performed my wedding ceremony and now a man that we call friend and he would often ask us, "What are you passionate about? Please be passionate about something?? Most people are at least passionate about the kind of peanut butter they chose! Be passionate about something!!" I am sure at the time I was really and truthfully passionate about a 9th grade boy across the room!

But during the last two years as our family has endured many changes that have happened to us and ones that we have not chosen I have begun to pray the prayer, "God make me passionate! Give me a passion! Please Lord show me a passion like one I have never known before."

My husband and I and our at the time 2 yr old left for the mission field feeling that this was our passion for life. That God had set us on this path and that we would serve Him there for our short term with full intentions of extending for career, yet we were forced to return to the states by our sending agency due to unexpected illness. My unexpected illness. And that is a blog for another day. But we had always been so passionate for missions. And not that this has changed in our hearts, but we know that for now we are not going to be on the field but we will be serving the church in America.

So my prayer began in earnest, God give me a passion. And thankfully over this year, He has faithfully answered this prayer and He has begun to make me more passionate about His Word. I realize that I am nothing without it and that I can not sustain my life on my own without His sustaining grace. I am in need of the Word of Life.

I was recently talking to my friend, Lisa, and she said that a lady friend of hers rises before her children in the morning not out of the triteness of discipline but out of the shear desperation for the Word. Oh, that it may be with me. Oh, that I may be desperate and not just saying that I am disciplined.

While reading the Word, also, God has kindled in my heart the growing love for the fact that I am a woman! Imagine that! He created me to be a woman, to fulfill certain roles, and to glory in Him as I am going about doing just that and now my life seems more blessed.... Can that be? The more that I fulfill my role, the more my husband is able to fulfill his and therefore the more I am able to fulfill mine??? Yes, Lord! It can be because you created it that way.

I think I am blogging on about 10 different subjects in one. Forgive me please. Remember my first questions? I am passionate for the Lord and His Word, my husband and my children, serving the women in my church, and understanding more about what it is to be a Redeemed Daughter. All this spills ou of me as I continue to gush! I can't contain it because it is not from me, it is from the Lord. Thank you Lord for your Word, your will and your created order.

Sally, you are ruining my life!

2006-08-12T11:41:00.000-04:00

The other day my 4 year old was gleefully playing with his 6 month old sister as he normally does. He had 2 different little homemade masks in his hands and he was holding one in front of his face and then the other and Sister was laughing hysterically. While my son was not paying close attention she caught hold of the mask closest to her. He went to raise it back in front of his face and it ripped! Horrors! So the next words that I hear from his mouth, "Sally, you are ruining my life!"

I must admit before entering the room to offer godly counsel I had to laugh and compose myself and wonder how many times between today and the rest of my life would I hear that statement. We often times see the small interruptions in our lives as ruining them. All that it took to repair the homemade mask was a small amount of glue and it was as good as new. But for the moment David could not see that his sister had not ruined his life, she just joined in the fun and accidentially torn the mask.

It is such an easy lesson to teach to my 4 year old but what about when it happens to me?

This lovely Saturday morning everyone was resting, the baby had already eaten and gone back down for a quick nap, and my son was sitting on the bed beside me watching cartoons. I was enjoying the morning dozing off into those extra moments of sleep that all moms can only dream about! When I noticed my son beginning to lean over and whisper things like, "Are you going to sleep forever? Mom, look at the commercial! Hey! Mom! Can we get the extra fruity crazy cereal next time we are at the grocery?"

So, I in the most terrible way slammed back the covers ( if covers can be slammed!) and I marched down to the basement where my husband was relaxing and I began to rant to him about how angry I was that David was interrupting my life! That our son talks too much! That he always wants me to listen to him! That he is so consummed with commercialism!

My husband just starred at me as he is famous for doing because he is the one that never jumps to conclusions, I am. He is the one who always thinks before he speaks, I am not. He allowed me to finish my statements and then watched me march back upstairs without a word. I wonder if he had to regain his composure before he came to offer me godly counsel? I wonder if he thought how many more times will I hear her say things like this before I go to eternity?

All in all, my selfishness and love for control is something that I must approach the throne of grace about so that I do not continually live in this sin. I can not help my 4 year old to understand the concepts of the grace he must offer his sister because of the grace that is offered to us by Christ alone if I am slamming covers and ranting about how David is ruining my life!

I confess that I must be about the confession and repentance of my sin in order to teach and nurture my children in the same way. Because often the sin we see in them is the sin that is prevelant in us.

My first blog!

2006-08-11T14:40:00.000-04:00

Today is a new day in my life! I am posting my first blog ever! I thought that I would allow this era to pass me by but after some threats over email from my most technologically savvy friend (ALCW) I decided to join the blogging world. Yet, I knew that I did not want my time to be in vain so I have thought for many days how I would spend my blog time... So here it goes... thoughts on what it means to be a Redeemed Daughter of the King. I wish that I could say that I was the the brilliant lady who came up with this concept but alas I am not. I must give all credit to Susan Hunt, the brilliant author who has begun, whether she is aware of it or not,(and I am quite sure that she is not!) to spiritually mother me through her books like The True Woman and Leadership for Women in the Church.
What an exciting day! But for now I must go and tend to my children. Have a blessed day.