Horse Whisperer

Miss Millie had the great privilege of taking horse riding lessons this summer. They ended the year with a horse show a couple weeks ago. Needless to say, we have discovered that Emelia has been gifted by God in her ability to ride and relate with this special creature. She can walk over to a group of horses and the run up to her to say "Hi" immediately. Emelia told us a few years ago that God told her in a dream that we would buy her a horse. She was totally serious and we can't wait to see How the Lord fulfills this dream! Stay tuned for more pics from the horse show!

Feisty!

Ted and I are constantly trying to convince each other that when one of the girls is acting feisty it is most certainly due to the other persons genes. Well, one day I (mama bear) got tired of looking at this overgrown, crooked tree in our front yard and I had to take action. I was sitting at the computer checking emails and looked at the clock when the wily idea came into my head. Hannah was asleep and 45 minutes until Emelia came home... that should be enough time. Now where are Ted's saws?
Now, doesn't that look much better? Don't get me wrong, I love trees, but it was just a bit too jungly looking for me. Ted came home and just shook his head (with a smile on his face). So, I guess I can't blame all of the girls feisty-ness on Mr. Ted! And don't worry Dad, I promise I was really careful!

Potty Princess... All By Myself

Well, you may or may not know that we have been having serious potty training troubles at the West home. Either mommy is totally deficient, totally impatient, or our little princess is very strong willed. I think it is a combination of the three. So, about two months ago I said, "forget it" and just decided to drop the whole issue. Then, our of the blue, last Monday Hannah woke up and decided to potty train herself. Yes, all by herself! I guess it makes sense since she is so extremely independent. She just hopped up on the potty and announced that she went! She has been doing this everyday for the past week. I am still in shock and thinking that she is going to change her mind again any moment. But I think that she has discovered that big girl underware are quite comfortable... a great improvement over diapers and pull ups. She gets either 3 chocolate chips or a big fluffy marshmallow as a reward each time she goes. She usually chooses the big fluffy marshmallow! She also informed me that she wanted to do a star chart. When she gets two whole weeks with dry days all day she will finally get her Dora backpack that she piked out at Wal-Mart. So, here she is with her big girl panties, hew new Dora shoes and of course her crown! Way to go Hannah!

Hannah B

Here is our littlest princess, Miss B. I asked her if she wanted to take pictures on the way home from dropping Emelia off for her first day of school and she said yes! (Can you believe that?) Hannah was planning on going to preschool this fall, but stubbornly refuses to potty train. I've tried any and all ideas and schemes to convince her. I've even considered hiring someone to do the dirty job for me, but so far no takers... So, we are unofficially doing home-preschool (you can't go to preschool unless you wear big-girl underwear...). She loves to do "worksheets" at home and doesn't seem to care too much about not going to preschool. I'm not too worked up about it either since she is only three, and it also means less running for me. We discovered story time at the library last week and she had a blast. She kept turning around and saying in a loud voice to me, "Mommy, look at that girl... she has Dora shoes!" Hannah loves shoes, purses and Dora... a total girl.

Which brings me to a new thought, I just love girls and I am so blessed to have two of them. You may think I am crazy to say this, but I'd have 10 more. Yes, they are emotional, and sometimes irrational (do they get that from me?), but they are also so sweet and precious. I am reading a book right now called Captivating by John and Stasi Eldgredge. The authors are exploring the "mystery of the feminine heart". They say we have "missed the heart of a woman". Their theory is that women have three needs: to be romanced, to play an irreplaceable role in a great adventure, and to unveil beauty. But we have all been in some way wounded and attacked by the Enemy of our souls. We try to fill our needs through people and things. The journey we must embark on is to call out to our Creator and see how He longs to fill these desires, heal our wounds and help to free us to be the Captivating, beautiful women that He knows we are. I pray that my girls will grow up to know for themselves how captivating they are to not only us as parents, but to the Living God. And it has been good for me to work on peeling the grime of the world off of my self and throw away the lies to see that I too am precious to the Heart of God. So, if you are reading this today and are a woman, I leave you this verse in closing... "The King's daughter is all glorious within; Her clothing is interwoven with gold." Psalm 45:13. Hear these words from your Creator and know the truth that will set your feminine heart free.