so i hear

she's doing it. she's crawling. it must be from watching her cousin do it. she's doing it just like him. one arm tucked under her body, the other up and moving.....at least that's what i hear.

i didn't actually see it last night because i ran up the stairs to get the video camera. i stood there taping, waiting for her to do it, only to have the battery flash at me. i put the camera down and ran back up the stairs to get the power cord.

by the time i was ready, she was done, wanting to get up.

i tried to explain to matt that i'm not supposed to miss things like that, being a stay-at-home mom, it's my job to be there for her firsts...i'll try to get over it.

my life has changed once again.

happy thanksgiving...

we went up to tadmor with the godshall side of the family.

some of my favorite moments:

isaiah finally getting to wrestle his cousin.

watching the babies lay head to head and explore each other's face.

alaythia on daddy in her new backpack.

alaythia and papa snuggle on a walk through the woods.
for more pictures of our november click here.

becoming godshall

it's something that my kids will never do, 'become' a godshall. they were born godshall. but me, about six and a half years ago, i 'became' godshall. and now there is another woman, of this generation, embarking on this journey. hallie now begins her journey of becoming godshall.

here's just a little about what i've learned in my journey:

1 - say your last name, then spell it. no one will ever guess right.

2 - if you have to give up the name you've always had, it's a good one to do it for.

3 - learn where it came from, everyone will ask.

4 - get the pronunciation right. not god-shawl, not god-shell, not good shall. it's god-shall. and after all, and i quote, 'you will be teaching (my) kids how to say their name, so you better say it right yourself.'

5 - as a godshall you inherit a long legacy of many generations of christ followers. this was new for me...i love it.

6 - when we gather, family pictures will take first priority. and no, you can never have to many.

in the spirit of thankfulness

i've written two posts and they are sitting as drafts. a little gun-shy? maybe. timing? for sure.

in the spirit of thankfulness here are a few things i am thankful for in no special order:

1 - alaythia grace's face. you need a reality check? you need to forget the worries of the day? take one look my friend. you'll be changed.
2 - my mini van. say what you will about mini van's. they're made for mom's and they make your life easy. i've been without mine for a week, just got it back. my love is renewed.
3 - google. answers your questions, provides email, organizes your life with the calendar, promotes creativity in blogger, keeps you connected with reader. brilliant.
4 - t.v. shows on internet. i may not be able to afford tivo, but who needs it when you can watch every episode online?
5 - belly laughs. during snuggle time this morning alaythia was laughing so hard grandpa heard it through the wall.
6 - home community. our annual thanksgiving feast is tomorrow. over 40 people, many of whom i haven't seen i a while, will be here. we will toast to the king.

my life in piles

i went to our storage unit recently to drop off all the infant stuff we're no longer using. i finally admitted to myself today that i hate going to our storage unit. it's probably not for the reasons you're thinking...dirty, out of the way, cold. no, it's for another reason.

i hate going and seeing all my stuff in boxes, in piles, with dust piled on top.

i love my parents house. it's big, it's beautiful. we have everything and more we could ever want or need. we're living the high life here. there's many things we have here that we will never have when we live on our own. their appliances are upgraded, their furniture is big and comfortable. the carpet is clean, the bathrooms are a plenty...the cable we've come very accustomed to. but when i go to the storage unit i remember that i'm in transition, the house i live in really isn't mine, although it feels like it most of the time. i remember what my house looks like, even in piles of boxes.

if i had a day when i was caught up on my life and my kids were taken care of...i would go to the storage unit. i would open every box and remember. i would throw away stuff that i don't want any more, because my taste has changed in 2 years, and i would repack other stuff that i once thought wasn't that important, but now cherish.

Say What?! Wednesday

isaiah's favorite game right now is kerplunk. after all the marbles have fallen he counts each marble to see who the winner is. after this particular game instead of counting his marbles, he was putting each marble into every cup he could find around the room. i said, 'count your marbles isaiah, come on!' he said, 'don't say that, i am coming on!'

'isaiah, mommy is ......'

a lot of times, growing up, we would have a devotion before school. a nugget of truth to take with us into the day. most of the time i was so stressed out about being late to school that i didn't really listen to what it was my dad was trying to impart. but there is one devotion that i remember to this day.

it was a devotion about jellyfish, dolphins and sharks. the gist was jellyfish get pushed around, even eaten. sharks are bullies and predators. dolphins are neither of these. they actually ram into sharks with their noses, protecting themselves and sometimes others from predators. don't be a shark or jellyfish, be a dolphin. simple enough. out of all the morning devotions don't ask me why that one stands out. but it does.

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fast forward many years, or rewind two from the present. matt and i are sitting with baby isaiah in front of the t.v. one evening. what ever we were watching prompted me to impart my wisdom about dolphins and sharks to matt. he thought i was blowing smoke. i knew i was right and so i got fired up real quick, telling him all about the devotional i heard when i was young. i challenged him to call my brothers, call my dad. dolphins do ram sharks and sharks flee. in a moment of - no doubt - frustration matt turned to baby isaiah and said in a severely sarcastic tone, 'isaiah...mommy's a marine biologist!'

that story has been told a number of times -- making it a legend of recent. rosemary, my sister-in-law, particularly loves the 'mommy is a marine biologist' story. every once in a while she'll bring it up out of no where, laughing the entire time. i think she loves it so much, partly because she doesn't believe the facts either, and because she loves that reserved, polite matt was sarcastic and put me in my place.

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a couple days ago while driving in the car with the kids isaiah said, 'look mommy! there is the sun!' i quickly said, 'don't look at it!' he loves to point out and look at the moon. i didn't want him to do the same with the sun.

'why?'
'well, because it will burn your eyes.'
'why?'
'it's hot.'
'why?'

in an effort to bring God into every why question i said, 'well, God made it that way.'

'why?'
'he made the sun to be hot so that it would warm the earth.'
'why did God say that?'
'well, he knew that was best for us.'

and that was the end of the conversation. a couple days later when we all were in the car isaiah said to matt, 'daddy, did you know that God said not to look at the sun because it will burn your eyes!'

really isaiah? really? that's what you got out of our conversation and that's what you're going to tell your theologian dad??!!

matt looks to me in question. i try to justify and explain. matt chuckles and makes some remark about my theology under his breath. i know i'm out of my league. in an effort to even the playing ground i make some remark about taking care of his children all day....

matt slowly turns around, looks at isaiah and says, 'isaiah, mommy is a geologist.'