Christmas

I am looking forward to seeing everyone at Christmas, as is Grandpa. Mary and I, will be preparing a Christmas goose, turkey and prime rib for dinner. We are going to try and eat around 3 or so which will give us some time to digest before going bowling later that evening. Hope to see you there!

Pam

Just letting everyone know that Pam is in the hospital with spinal meningitis, talked to her today, said its viral, not bacterial, which is better. Hopefully she will be home soon, Pam we love you and get well soon, remember you have the campbell blood to fight this infection off.

Boy, Garden and Fabulous Weather

Jackie told me it was 28 degrees in Oklahoma, so I thought I would post pics of the boy in the garden this morning. He's munching on spinach, which he will not eat at at table. I suppose eating what you pick is more fun. The garden is dying down for our one month of winter. The green beans are barely producing, while the collards, beets, turnips, carrots, kohlrabi and spinach are still doing fine. I am ready for spring (January) :)

Female Sentiment

I look at the females that I have grown up around and I think to myself what a mix of vibrant strong unique individuals. What have we learned from each other and what more will we teach one another??

How to love, be true to ourselves, be accepting of our children, gracious of our parents, loving to our sisters and admiring of our friends.
Here’s to the women we know … ~ laugh often, live well and love more… And to the empowering women ~ may we know them, love them and be them!

Saturday Mornings

Saturday mornings mean big breakfasts and bike rides at our house. In this pic, the boy is helping Nate make breakfast (eggs and bacon)still in his jammies. As you can see our house is 50s retro -- metal cabinets, tiled floors, and my favorite cement block ceiling and walls. It is definitely not going anywhere. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Christmas details

Sorry I got so excited about the names I left out details. We though $30 would be the dollar amount and no particular theme! Also Aunt Christi wanted to put the names of all the little ones mainly for the aunts and uncles. We have Jaden, Nick, Sam, Tannah, Tahlan, Madison, Abby, Dillon and I think thats it!

Camping in November

This weekend was spent freezing our butts off at Green Leaf State Park.... It was beautiful and serene...but temperatures dropped to 31 degrees. Our tent offered little comfort and sleeping bags even less... Investing in some insulated outdoor camping gear soon. We had a good time....Brian made bean-less chili and boys fished on the lake and rode bikes around camp. We enjoyed being out in the clean crisp air away from the hustle and bustle of T-Town. Winter is definitly creeping in, not sure if we are ready...and praying it is not like last year!

Christmas is coming!

Gift Giver Recipient
Becky Jenny
Wendy Mary
Nate Katie
Colby Uncle Gregg
Aunt Jenny Wendy
Uncle John Uncle Rick
Uncle Rick Aunt Christi
Michael Aunt Susie
Holly Curt
Jason Colby
Shawn Michael
Jackie Brent
Uncle Gregg Shawn
Aunt Christi Aunt Jenny
Jenny Scott
Brian Becky
Mary Uncle John
Curt Nate
Katie Jackie
Brent Jason
Aunt Susie Holly
Scott Brian

***Official List everyone get excited!!!!

Where are the rest of the family, Becky worked hard on this,everyone should try to join in.I know she sent out alot of emails to join. Mary you need to do your profile, I know you have been busy with Mandys wedding,but after this week try to get it done. Becky you did a great job, had to have Jackie and Katie help me alittle.Hopefully the rest of the family will join in.

Halloween

The boy and his pumpkin

Half is enough for me

I have wanted a pony for some time now. Perhaps it is in an effort to relive my childhood, or maybe just another animal to add to the roster. Jaden’s pony originally inspired the idea with his discontent toward everything but the feed bucket. How horrible for a kid to go through childhood and never experience the joy a pony can bring. After scanning the online classifieds for weeks I finally found him- red and white with blue eyes just like me. Two years old and not yet soured there was only one alteration to make since stallions can be unpredictable. Then the phone call….The owner told me he had cryptorchidism. Apparently quite common in ponies, this situation arises when one testical refuses to drop. Thinking this was a sign that maybe this isn’t the pony I was supposed to pick I drove everyone crazy showing pictures of other prospects. Mary told me, “all of your animals have always been strange. Why stop now?” She was right, with my man hating dog, bipolar bird, and cat that likes to take showers with me, a one balled pony would be an excellent addition to this animal freak show. Ironically his registered name is “Half is enough” a reference to his color pattern originally, but one that serves a dual purpose now. I can’t wait to bring my pony home and start working with him. My goal is to start teaching him to drive by summer so Gramp and I can go on buggy rides. I was originally going to name him Abraham and call him Abe for short, but since it means “father of many” I decided against it. Now I am stuck on Axel, in part because he reminds me of Axel Rose the lead singer of Guns and Roses and because of the cart he will pull some day. I am open to suggestions :)

Hey Becky, we had game night last night, I think everyone had a great time. Katie had all kinds of food, and it was alot of fun. Of course your dad and Uncle Gregg didn't want to play, but they did, and I think they had the most fun.The teams were Rick, Gregg, Shawn- Janet, Iris,Susan,Kate-Jennifer,Christi,Joann. The winning team was Janets, we came in second, and your dads team 3rd.Wish you could of been there,Jen and Brian had a couple of catering, and never heard from a few , but it was fun. Give Sam a hug, and can't wait to see him in his Halloween costume.

Jens husband Brian fixed us such a nice dinner when the Calif. girls flew in, they thought it was great.Talk to you later.
love Aunt Christi

I'm his puppet and he plays me well.

These are pictures from when Beck, Nate, and Sam were here last. Sam can get me to do absolutely anything. He knows this, and uses it very well! Wish he was closer! Hope everyone is having a good week, hope to see you this weekend for GAME NIGHT! Get excited!

He Almost Says Hi

And then he turns into a flying dinosaur. The intended message was "Have a great week." I got my first major paper back of the semester with an A, makes my little obsessive self feel a little better about life.

Gramma

The humanness of death…life isn’t forever…I stare at the wall…I hear her voice . I am fine sometimes….then I get in my car. I would always call grandma when I was driving alone in my car. Who am I going to call now for those notable conversations – who knows me and accepts like she did?? She was always so happy when we called… she gave loving advice with soft laughter ...and sometimes biting sarcasm if she didn’t agree with what you were saying… but it was engaging and wonderful and now it’s gone! I feel very alone now…. “Don’t be sad,’” grandpa told me; 'but it’s okay grandpa, to be sad and cry for her', I don’t want to pretend; it’s barely been a month. I drive by the hospital on my way home each day and my stomach knots up into a hollow ache. I wish that hospital didn’t exist. Regret, grief, longing, missed . I loved to be in the same room with her ~ she made everyone feel at ease. She constantly reminded us to look for the good in others and overlook the bad; and in so many respects she was right. I try every day.

Remember Me
To the living, I am gone,

To the sorrowful, I will never return,

To the angry, I was cheated,

But to the happy, I am at peace,

And to the faithful, I have never left.

I cannot speak, but I can listen.

I cannot be seen, but I can be heard.

So as you stand upon a shore gazing at a beautiful sea--

As you look upon a flower and admire it's simplicity--

Remember Me.

Remember me in your heart.

Your thoughts, and your memories,

Of the times we loved,

The times we cried,

The times we fought,

The times we laughed.

For if you always think of me,

I will never have gone.

Rowdy Pumpkin Face

So I took my kiddo to the annual Cubscout “mom & me” campout. Maybe it was a 45 minute drive from Tulsa to the hills outside of Sand Springs. It was a very pretty drive; a warm and airy countryside welcomed us to our destination. After arrival, we sat up our eight-man tent…or should I say, I set up our tent while Jaden ran laps around the campsite with three other wolf cubs. I was very happy to discover that this year’s tarantula inhabitants were nowhere to be found. Walking, hiking, crafts and then to the bb gun range. All the boys were excited to prove their rifle range ability. Jaden however had a complete meltdown after the targets were picked up; he had apparently been shooting at the wrong target and when the paper evidence was gathered Jaden’s had no bullet holes - he desperately tried to convince his partner that his target was in fact Jaden’s and to trade. He finally snapped out of his sulking attitude and showed excellent marksmanship on the archery range. The rest of the time we traipsed about the grounds, sat around campfires, roasted marshmallows and sang all sorts of fun songs about peeing in the woods. He had a great time and I enjoyed watching his eyes light up when something fun was happening. But then again at our time of departure, we needed to pack up and take down the tent - I did all the work; Jaden conveniently disappeared to the restroom... then I would catch a glimpses of him playing chase with some other rowdies among the trees. Some of the more elitist mothers had their husbands drive out to the campsite to take down their tents, to save them from I don't know what… I find this phenomenon entertaining. While I appreciate the chivalry, I am amused at these women that can’t do things for themselves. My son is by far one of the LOUDEST cubs in the pack, but also one of the sweetest...

Directions For Blogging

Hi All,

I realize I kind of left of everyone hanging, wondering how this works.

To post: In the upper right hand corner, you'll see two buttons, create blog and sign in. Click sign in and enter whatever lovely name and password you created. That will take you the dashboard page, where you will see a button saying new post. Click away.

Tricks to posting: Blogger is pretty friendly and will let you post pictures, videos, links, etc. The seventh button with black film strips allows you to post video. The sixth button allows you to post photos. You can add photos from your computer or the web. Choose where you would like to browse, upload, and choose your format and you're done.

I've had a nasty week of homework and grading, but hope to get a video of the boy up here next week. Fill me in on your lives, people!

Oh, and it's a special day -- Dad's birthday!

Baby Scarecrows

We stuffed the boy's baby clothes and the neighbor girls painted the faces. Happy Almost Halloween!

Hope everyone has a good week and I hope you post a pic or write a post. :)

Email Address

Hey Becky,

Thanks for the invite. Here are the emails I have for Scott and Peggy.

shusters22@netzero.com- Scott
momemjess@hotmail.com - Peggy

An Invite

Hi All,

Hopefully, you have received my invite by now. I am hoping to create a blog space for the Campbell family. I live far away from everyone and would love a space where we post pics, write to one another, comment, etc. As soon as everyone accepts the invite, I can close the blog to authors only. Of course, the authors would be all of you.

I pilfered email addresses from Aunt Christi's forward, so I am missing some people. If you have email addresses for Pam and fam, Michael, Scott and fam, Uncle Johnny, Penny and fam, Colby, Mike Ford or anyone else I am leaving out, please let me know.

Love you all and hope to see you here.