The Godbolt Family

2009-10-02T11:27:00.000-07:00

6 month old comparison

2009-10-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been too long since I last posted anything. I usually email out some pictures to family and post many on Facebook for everyone to see. So much has gone on over the summer...too much to write about here. We spent a lot of time splashing in the kiddie pool outside during the hot summer months. Arden started crawling and is now venturing to take his first steps. He is a little over 9 months and weighs about 24/25 lbs (yes, I know, a big boy!). Leyona started pre-school at home this September and she loves it and is doing a great job! Josh is working 2 jobs now...one at a dentist's office Monday through Thursday and still overseeing/managing Coldstone Creamery on Friday's. That is going good so far. Other than that, just surviving my days of early motherhood by the grace of God and with some wonderful help and wisdom from my Mom and mother-in-law! Looking forward to Christmas and would start listening to christmas music now if I could! :)

2009-04-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

Well, its April 15th, and our little man is 4 months old! He is growing so fast and getting so big. He is somewhere near 17 lbs now! He has been sleeping through the night for a little over a week now...waking around 7 am each morning! The weather is finally warming up and in between rainy days we are able to play outside and enjoy the beautiful sun in South Carolina! The next big thing is Leyona's birthday...about a month from now...the big '3' !!!!

2009-03-01T15:28:00.000-08:00

Hmmmm, do they look alike?
(Leyona 8/9 weeks) & (Arden 8 weeks)

2009-03-01T15:19:00.001-08:00

some more pictures!

2009-03-01T14:24:00.000-08:00

Our little family! So, we have expanded...and now I find myself saying "kids" plural and its still a bit new. It was definitley an adjustment when Arden came along...but each day it gets easier and better as we get into a groove and a routine. Its a learn as you go thing...and I am thankful for all the wise advice of my family and friends to help us along the way. God has blessed our family abundantly...even over the last few months as Josh went from being layed off, to unemployment, and now to managing a Coldstone Creamery. We have never gone without and have always had enough or more than enough.

2009-03-01T14:17:00.000-08:00

The Beautiful Nona! Well, she is almost 3 years old...in 3 more months we will be celebrating her 3rd birthday. She is growing so fast, just like her new little brother. She has been a big helper since Arden joined our family...and has also dealt with a bit of jealousy. Its been tough dealing with that...but the more we let her help and give her our time and attention, the better she is. I am sure she is looking forward to the warm weather and playing outside, just as much as her Mama is!

2009-03-01T14:12:00.000-08:00

This is our little man Arden...about 9 weeks old in this picture. Right now he is almost 11 weeks old and will be 3 months old on March 15th! I cannot believe how fast the time has gone and how big he has gotten. You would think I was sneaking some miracle grow into him! He is smiling and trying his best to talk...he likes sitting up with some help and even standing a bit on his very strong legs. He is sleeping good since we moved him recently into his own room and into his crib...waking only once a night to eat which makes Mama very happy!

2008-12-26T10:40:00.001-08:00

For those who are interested I figured I would tell you about the experience of having a home birth with our new little man Arden.
The reason I chose to do a homebirth for our 2nd was because I was very unhappy about the hospital birth I had for Leyona. It went well, and I had no complications, but I despised everything about being in a hospital to give birth and for the recovery.
Giving birth is a very tiring and emotional accomplishment, and I found that doing it at home provided the best atmosphere to have a quiet and peaceful birth that could be enjoyed for what it is. Everything about this time around was different, including the length of the labor and birth and the speedy recovery I have been experiencing this week.
With all that said, here are a few details.
I started having regular contractions on Sunday evening around late afternoon/dinner time. They continued on at around 10 or 12 minutes apart, but with no great pattern to them. I went to bed and dozed on and off between contractions for short periods of time. I was keeping an eye on the clock though to see if they grew in intensity or frequency.
Then, around 1:30 am I awoke to a very painful contraction which caused my water to break. I quickly woke Josh up and asked for a towel and the phone to call my Midwife. She told me to call back when the contractions were 3 or 4 minutes apart, and in the meantime to have Josh set the pool up and fill it with hot water.
I ended up calling my Midwife back a few minutes later b/c the contractions grew to be 3 or 4 minutes apart and very intense. She said she was on her way!
When she arrived she checked over everything and helped prepare the room with a few last minute things. I ended up getting in the pool shortly after that to help ease the pain. That was around 3:30 am. Soon the contractions came quick and very intense, and before I knew it I felt the urge to push. My midwife checked me and I was 10 cm, so I went with the urges...and this little guy came out in just a few pushes!!!
Josh held me up so I would not spill the pool water, and my Midwife caught the baby in the water for me and handed him to me (since I was backwards and could not grab him myself). She immediately wrapped him up and I held him on me to keep him warm. A few minutes later, Josh cut the cord and then we began the getting out of the pool process. The rest I will leave out...
It was an awesome experience that I wish everyone could experience...but I know that it is not for everyone or for every birth situation. I will cherish it and retell it many times I am sure...

(If anyone is interested, there is a great documentary out about homebirth vs hospital...it is called "The Business of Being Born"...available on Netflix...I highly recommend it even if you think you would never do home birth or birthing center)

Our Newest Addition

2008-12-26T10:32:00.000-08:00

I am sure everyone has heard by now that our little man arrived at 4:00 am on December 15th, 2008. We are very excited that he is here with us and to finally have met him and given him a name. Arden Caleb Josiah Godbolt was 8 lbs 6 oz at birth and 21.5 inches. He is a beautiful, healthy baby boy and we are enjoying him very much.

2008-12-12T11:11:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update...I am feeling pretty good. Some nights I sleep good, some I do not. But, overall, I am good for being 4 days away from my due date. Josh's parents and brother are coming in this afternoon to hopefully be here for the arrival of our baby boy...unless this guy hangs in really late! (hoping not). I hope to atleast enjoy a few days with his family before the big day arrives. I will be sure to let everyone know as soon as 'the boy' gets here...I know you are anxious to hear a name and so are we since we have not decided on one just yet. Blessings...

Belly Update!

2008-12-12T11:07:00.001-08:00

39 Weeks on 12/9...feeling pretty good but about ready to be done waddling around :)

Belly Update

2008-11-20T11:09:00.000-08:00

Getting bigger, and bigger and bigger!

Our "Big" little girl!

2008-10-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

Well, we have been potty training for almost 2 weeks now, and that is going well. We also switched her tonight to her "Big Girl Bed" and that went great. She fell right asleep and we only had to adjust her and the covers a bit when we checked on her. She is growing up too fast!

32 Weeks

2008-10-24T18:43:00.000-07:00

Just showing off the growth of the belly...

2008-10-07T17:17:00.000-07:00

Leyona Rue...she is almost 2 1/2 and definitley giving us a run for our money. She is a smart little cookie though. We look forward to her having a little brother this Christmas...

2008-10-07T17:06:00.000-07:00

More pictures taken by my friend Kimmie...

2008-10-07T16:42:00.000-07:00

Another belly update! 30 weeks...

Belly Picture...20 Weeks!

2008-08-07T11:32:00.001-07:00

Just another update on the growing belly!

Exciting News!! A BABY BOY on the way!

2008-08-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

We found out at our last ultrasound that we are having a boy!!!! We were so excited that God anwered our prayers and is blessing us with our desire for a boy. I'm not sure if we will have any more, so I am happy for now with the idea of 'one of each'. The name will be kept a surprise until he is born...but here are some pictures to enjoy.

My Dear Ramey...

2008-08-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

My dear Ramey went to be with Jesus the week of July 9th. I am sad because I will miss her and for John and Judah and her family who will miss her dearly...but I am rejoicing because I know where she is and I know I will see her again someday...She is using her beautiful voice to sing to Jesus face to face now.

My dear friend Ramey Alana Reeves

2008-07-02T18:53:00.000-07:00

This is my friend Ramey and her family...husband John and son Judah. Some of you may have heard us share about her in the last few months, and some of you may not have heard. She is battling the aftermath of two major brain tumors. One was discovered in January and removed (leaving a small % of tumor behind). It then grew back and the 2nd one was removed a month or so ago. She is now at a local hospital and has not really woken up completely since the 2nd surgery in which the Dr. claimed 99.9% of the tumor was removed. He was actually surprised that he was able to remove almost all (could have been all but I do not think they can claim 100% removal for liability). Anyways...I am just writing to share my sadness but also to share some of her amazing story.

Ramey was the 1st person I met when we went to visit our church here in Charleston. We clicked right away and ended up hanging out and becoming good friends. I have only known her for about a year now, but I have learned how amazing of a person she is. She loves the Lord and is blessed with a beautiful singing voice which she blesses us with on Sunday's as part of the church worship team. She is creative, vibrant and beautiful inside and out. She is spunky and spontaneous, yet careful and thoughtful. I miss her liveliness and charisma recently as she rests and recovers from this surgery.

We are not sure what God has in mind for her...whether to keep her here and perform a healing miracle or to take her home to be closer to Him. It is a very dificult thing to consider the latter...but yet we know that God is sovereign and has his purpose in everything. We know that we are not spared pain and haeartache just because we call ourselves christians, we just have an assurance that there is more to this life which is here and gone compared to eternity.

I know this much, Ramey has touched the hearts and lives of many people....family, friends, and even strangers. She has especially touched our hearts in this difficult time she has been going through as she has not stopped giving God all the glory and praise despite the pain and fear of maybe not winning this battle against the cancer. If our only purpose is to worship the Lord and give Him all the glory, then I can confidently say that Ramey has done that in her life and in her struggle against this physical illness.

"Ramey, I love you and we are praying for a miracle because we want you here with us. I am selfish, I admit, in saying that I want you here with me...with us....with your family. I want you to sing more songs, paint more paintings, take more pictures and drink more tea...heaven will be there forever....it can wait a bit longer for you!"

Belly

2008-07-02T18:50:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to post a pic for you all to see of my growing belly... its not very big yet, but I am only 16 weeks along (15 in the picture). I have an appointment for a scan on July 29th, hoping to find out the sex of the baby (i'm a planner...like to have colors and clothes all ready).

2008-06-19T11:50:00.000-07:00

We have a good friend who is a great photographer.

We recently had her take some family photos...

Zoom Photography <----Check her site out to see more.

In Our Free Time...

2008-06-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

Since we moved here, we have really been enjoying

the Charleston area. There are a lot of local parks

which are nice for Leyona and us, and there is also

the downtown Charleston area which is only a few

minutes drive from where we are in James Island.

We also have the beach just a short drive east of us...

On the weekends we will usually do one of these fun

things with our little monkey.

When we are at home we enjoy our screen porch,

which you have to have down here...

and when the bugs are not bad we enjoy sitting

out on the patio while Leyona splashes in her pool.

2008-06-17T16:51:00.000-07:00

Our 'Big' little girl

We went out to dinner last night and they offered Leyona some chopsticks. At first, I didn't think she would be able to use them (they were the kind with the rubber-band up top for help). But she insisted on trying and ate her plate of rice and broccoli with them. We were very proud of her and could not believe she could use them so well.

2008-06-15T11:12:00.000-07:00

What have i been doing for the past 12 years? Well, i'll tell ya. I graduated high school in 1996...which was a very joyous moment because i did not care for my school or most of the people in it. Then i tried out community college, which i did for a few years but never did get one of those nifty degrees...but i'm doing just fine without for now. I studied art, art history, graphics and photography. I ended up really loving photography, and i continue to experiment and learn as i move along. after college...well, i hit some rough patches in my life. I wasn't really close to my family at the time, and i was making a lot of choices that lead from one miserable drama to another. all along, i was searching for purpose in my life and finding nothing but frustration.

that all came to a head around the end of 1999...i hit my rock bottom...and reluctantly went to church hoping for something...i ended up rededicating my life to God and realizing He had a plan for my life that i had been working against for a long time. Thats when my whole life changed...i soon met Josh who is now my husband of 4 years this year (June 2008). That was a little rocky...like learning to drive a 5-speed...but we got the hang of it after a few years of still doing some growing up. We married in June of 2004 and began our life together...always looking to see what God's plan is for our lives.

We are still figuring things out as we go...but for now we are called to live, love, learn, grow and navigate these waters called 'parenthood'. We gave birth to Leyona in May of 2006...and she has brought great joy to our lives. And now, we are anticipating with a new joy, our 2nd child who is due this December (16th/17th). I don't know where this road leads....or how long we will be on it...but I know who is in the driver seat and that alone gives me peace enough to feel safe and secure on this ride called 'life'.

"I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly" -Jesus

Father's Day

2008-06-15T08:31:00.000-07:00

Well, its Father's Day today. Just wanted to share with everyone how blessed I am to have a great Father. He has taught me many great things and instilled great values in me since I was young. I am very thankful for him and I am glad to be living so close to him even now and sharing the delight of grandchildren with him.

2008-06-14T17:03:00.000-07:00

This is my first blog. I will attempt to journal here and keep family and friends updated on the every day and week to week details of our life as a family, for those who like the small details. More to come later...