It's been awhile!

Dear Family & Friends,
It's been awhile since our last update! We've been busy enjoying time with love ones.
I have five months to cover, so I better get started!
In November my sweet and energetic friend Niloofar came for a visit. I was so glad have her company & her encouragement to exercise and get some baby weight off. I only wish that she could have stayed longer!

Shorty after that, we were able to see The David Crowder Band in their final tour and were joined by family and friends as we gathered for Thanksgiving.

Our tickets. What a fun and worship filled night!

My mom cooked amazingly tasty food as always!

Wes in his Thanksgiving bib! We are SO thankful for him :)

Fun at a park after getting stuffed. Thanks Mom for capturing this fun time!

After that it was two trips to Florida in one month!

The first was for my dear friend Natalie baby shower (Sweet Hannah Elizabeth Moss was born on Feb. 10th, 9.7 pounds!) and a baby dedication for Wesley at my dad's church.

Natalie opening presents. I think Wes was the only boy there in the midst of all that pink girly stuff!

Me (Stephanie), Wes' Grandma Karen, Will (holding Wes), Uncle Sean & Grandpa Doug at the service.

Will, Wes, Grandma Therese and Grandpa Doug.

We also had an early celebration for Will, who turned 23 last year on December 12th.

A little surprise after blowing out the candles.

After about two weeks back in Virginia for Will to take his final exams, we went back to Florida to spend Christmas with some of our family.

We built a gingerbread house. Left to Right: Whitney, Rachel, Stephanie and Kristen.

Wes with hi Papa.

Mimi!

Grandpa Gary feeding Wes.

Grandma Terri.

Aunt Lindsey! She delivered Wesley's adorable cousin Kaitlyn on March 7th.

 While in Florida we also celebrated my dad's birthday at a park, had a family photo taken by my sweet friend and her hubby who run Jessica Gunn Photography and of course celebrated JESUS' Birthday!!
A few days after we got back to Virgina, we welcomed Will's sister Michelle and our nephew Sam for a weekend. It was the first time we had seen him since he was 9 months old.

Cousins

Wes and his Aunt Michelle!

After that we were off to PA to celebrate Christmas with my mom.

Hi Gram!

And that brings us to the new year which I will write about in another blog! :0)

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. -2 Thess 5:16-18
God Bless,
The Speights

Back to Virginia!

Two weeks ago we were able to take a trip back to Florida. We had a wonderful time introducing Wesley to William’s family and some of our friends from Tampa. 

Now we’re back! And what a time it’s been! Last Wednesday we attended a seminar on campus about church planting. We met a wonderful couple there that invited us to help at their church plant near Kansas City, Missouri next summer. We are definitely looking into this opportunity to serve in the growing of God’s Kingdom.

This past Saturday we were able to help out a local church by inviting people in the neighborhood to their fall festival and we got to pray with some of them. What a blessing! Afterwards we enjoyed popcorn, snow cones and sweet fellowship during the fair.

On Sunday, we were able to visit the young married couples Sunday school class at our church for the first time. We enjoyed meeting everyone there and are excited to make new friends.

This week I (Stephanie) enjoyed getting to know some of the women from our new church home through attending a bible study on Tuesday that focuses on seeing Jesus in the Old Testament and MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) today. I was grateful for the chance to here wisdom from experienced moms and relate to mothers at the same stage as me!

On Tuesday, I was also able to join William in his Modern Evangelize class where his professor encouraged us to reach out to others through growing friendships. We are excited to put these principles into action through Lighthouse Ministries this weekend.

William has been having fun playing hockey in his spare time at the rink on campus and taking Wesley and I to local parks to admire the fall leaves.

We’ve been able to make some friends here in Lynchburg, which helps make it feel more like home. We will be hosting a couple from William’s class tomorrow night and enjoying the company of Miss Emma on Sunday (a sweet widow from our church who has been investing in us). We are hoping to spend time this year helping her around her home and yard and of course, hearing all about her days as a missionary in Australia. 

We have some trips coming up to Kentucky and North Carolina. In Louisville, William’s beautiful cousin Kelli is expecting and we’re hoping to see her and her family before their baby comes in December (and after too!). And my dear friend Natalie is expecting in January so we will be going to watch their little one for a few nights so that they can get some sleep.

We have a prayer request. Please pray that we find a source of income soon. Past this month, we’re not sure what’s going to happen but we are trusting in God’s timing. William has had one interview and possibly a job as a ref at the ice rink. I’ll be looking into helping in an infant room at a daycare at a local church so I can work and keep Wes with me. 

Love,

The Speights

Wesley's Arrival!

Hello! We're finally back! As you've probably seen on Fb, we've had a very exciting week. Little Wesley arrived at 5:01 pm on August 19th. Weighing in at 7 lbs 11 oz and 53 cm. He is such a blessing from the Lord and I'm trying to soak up every moment of motherhood that I can but the time keeps flying by. I can't believe he's over a week already!

The week leading up to Wes' due date we felt very anxious awaiting his arrival.  The morning of the 18th, William had orientation at LU. I dropped him off and made it back to our apartment. I had barely got the door shut when my water broke and I headed back to Liberty. Wes was born about 36 hrs later and yes, I got an epidural lol.

We finally have internet (for now at least)!

William traveled back to Florida this past weekend to celebrate his graduation from USF with friends and family! He really enjoyed his time catching up with everyone and had lots of good conversations. We are so proud!

Wesley is due sometime between the 19th and the 23rd, but we're praying that it's any day now! He's been busy kicking (mainly around 2 a.m.) and growing! Last week we got to see an ultrasound of him and they estimated that he weighed somewhere around 8 1/2 pounds, give or take a pound....I'm hoping it's take! We are so excited to meet our little bundle of joy and anxiously awaiting God's perfect timing for his arrival. We are also super excited because William has 3 cousins and a sister expecting! This means more cousins for our little guy and we are so happy for them! My dear friend Natalie also just found out she's having a girl.

William has been getting all set up at Liberty and getting to know his way around campus. Today we checked out a museum dedicated to LU's founder Jerry Falwell. Today would be his birthday were he still with us. We also got to check out where William's classes will be held and he's busy getting ahead on his reading. While there, I discovered that LU offers a B.S. in Women's Ministry and I'm excited to look further into this opportunity. I've always had a heart for working with women in whatever field my husband goes into and know this degree would be a great start to that track.

Also, William is looking into a job as a substitute teacher. As Lynchburg is located at the heart of four counties, he's got plenty of opportunities. I'm planning on joining him in this sometime after Wes is at least six months old.

Prayer requests: That we would find the church God is calling us to, that William would be able to find a job quickly and that both mom and baby are kept safe through delivery!


Thanks for reading :)
The Speights

Our move to Lynchburg!

Woooo! Excuse me while I catch my breath.

I’m exhausted, and I wasn’t even the one moving furniture up a flight of stairs! A big thank you to my hubby William, my father and my brother Matthew for helping with the move.

I’m excited to begin nesting!

God has blessed our move here in so many ways and confirmed over and over that this is His will for our family. We are so excited to start a new chapter here in Virginia. Of course, I’m missing loved ones though!

We found out on our first visit that William was offered a full scholarship to Liberty University. This is a huge financial blessing as well as a way for him to attend school without owing time to the military afterwards. Unless we feel that God wants him to continue onto Chaplaincy.

My mother is staying here with me in Lynchburg until William can return at the end of July. I’m missing him a lot, but I know how important it is for him to finish his degree and for me to get set up with a doctor. William is busy with school and work. He graduates on August 6^th at @ 2 pm in the St Pete Times Forum. All are welcome to attend and cheer him on!

Praise reports:

Our apartment is starting to look more like a home and not a storage unit, Praise God!

William’s nephew, Samuel, turned one today! I can’t believe how time flies!

Prayer Requests:

That Wesley would not come early (i.e. before William gets back) and that everything would go smoothly with my transition to a new doctor.

We have a skype account and would love to hear from you! “wspeight88”

Love,

Stephanie

Taste and see that the Lord is good.
      Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
 Fear the Lord, you his godly people,
      for those who fear him will have all they need.

                                            -Psalm 34:8-9

Our reason for blogging.

Hello there! We're so glad you decided to stop by our blog. We created this account to easily keep loved ones updated on our adventures here in Virginia. We'll be updating as often as we can and letting you know who is posting.