Summer

What have I been doing all summer? A little bit of this

The coolest thing ever!

I think I have discovered the coolest thing ever! Messing around on my computer I have figured out how to create my blog in Word! This is awesome the coolest thing EVER!...

-Jen-

Finally DONE

After months and months of living in hotels and rental houses, we are finally done! I have to admitt we finished a few months ago but once we were in we had to furnish the place. Trying to buy ALL new furnishings is almost as hard as the remodel was. To many decisions! But I think it is beautiful, stunning, comfy, relaxing and homey! It screams our style, which is a little rustic a little traditional. It is A Little Bit of Southern Livin! The one thing we realized through this process is how different Shawn and I really are when it comes to style. I love pattern and movement, he loves anything with antlers and camo. So after much frustration and many weeks of no furniture because we could not agree we finally have a finished house!

But....when I say finished I really most mostly finished. Of coarse there is always the changing of the seasons that brings new ideas and projects. It is actually a recent project I did, refirbing a old chair, that gave me the vision for the curtains I want in my bedroom, and of coarse what I see in my head I dont see in any store! It has really been fun transforming our house into the home we always wanted!

To Split or Not To Split...

So if you have know me or have been reading this you know that our house flooded and we have two boys. As long as my kids have been alive they have shared rooms, they have laughed in the middle of the night, they have scared each other, slept together and snored together. Since our house flooded and we were forced to jump ship they have been sleeping in separate rooms in this roomy rental house they gave us, with very...small...beds...

So yesterday I casually asked them, "Hey guys, no need to answer right away, just think about it for a bit" Thinking I am crazy for thinking they actually like the sleeping arrangements they were forced into here, I say "When we move home do you want to split your rooms and each have your own space or do you want to keep bunking with a totally cool playroom?"

Faster than, oh I don't know something super fast they said and at the same time I must add "YES LETS  SPLIT" I was SHOCKED! My little boys, who are 9 and 6 (not really so little) want separate rooms. So now I am depressed and have to deal with splitting their rooms, but who gets the bigger room? The younger one still plays with all the toys so naturally he would get the bigger room, but the older one needs his space and has a desk so naturally he would get the bigger room....I am stuck, shocked, and depressed.

I have been dreaming of the day that they would want separate rooms, so that I can they can decorate their rooms and make them everything I want they want them to be. And now it's here and well WHOOSH went the air in my hot air balloon.

Wish me luck!

Yummy Yummy In My Tummy

So much has been going on this week!

The front door, so cool and just our style!

They stained the cedar and attached it to the ceiling! These guys are my heros!

We also have a fireplace again! Funny story actually, when we hired the contractor he priced the Austin Stone Veneer...no prob not to much...when we walked in last Friday he had actually installed REAL Austin Stone! We were so happy to see it, and then we found out it was cheaper and our check book started smiling too! But, and yes there are always buts...the cedar mantle we ordered is now to small so we are still waiting on the mantle, they are having to custom cut a piece of cedar for us, how cool a custom mantle!

And finally we have stairs again. For the last 6 weeks we have been missing the first three steps on our stair case. Our kids had to scale the wall just to get upstairs.

A little piece of heaven right in my very own kitchen! They look so good I could eat them!

A New Day A New Color

My Cabinets Before Staining


When I left my house last night our cabinets were plain, pretty but plain. No stain no color just wood. And today I arrive - TAADAA!!! Pretty! They are the most amazing chocolate color, they look like a big Hersey Bar I love them that much! After so much chaos in our lives, it is good to have something go so good!

Now on a lighter note, my kids are in about as much chaos as my house. It has been hard since the flood to balance kids, home, fixing my home, and so on and such. So unfortunatly the boys have taken a backseat to the house and all the insanity and now they are starting so let us know. Friday Robert got in trouble at school for singing "I'm a Barbie Girl", we had to laugh but then we had to punish which was having him go into the middle of the road and yell as loud as he could I'm A Barbie Girl. Hoolarious, we laughed so hard we cried. And Chance he is a whole other issue. We think his hormones are begining to do what hormones do best...RAGE!

Other than all that fun, nothing new here. God Bless and Goodnight!

It's Been a LONG Time

I Love Texture!


We Have Walls! God Bless the Walls!


Peek-A-Boo! I can see through my garage...



The stairs, also known as "The Death Trap"



Hey guys, I think we got robbed...

Hey there friends and family! It has been awhile! Most of you already know what has been taking up our time, but for those of you who dont (and for my friends who think I need to document the last few months of my life) let me fill you in.

Back in December we were finally blessed with our first home, we spent three months getting settled in, decorating, cleaning up the yard, all the fun things you do when you buy your first home. Then....on March 4th what we now call "The Great Poop Flood of 2010" happened. I will spare you all the dirty details and let you use your imagination....the city sewer mainline, yes I said sewer, backup up right in front of our tap causing all the nasty stinky sewage of my wonderfully delightful neighboorhood to back up into my house. We woke up to 5'' of raw sewage in every crevis of our BRAND NEW HOUSE. There was so much our poor chichuaua was swimming, literally. After several hours of standing in my entryway with the front door open sweeping sewage out my front door the flood subsided and we were left with well... a leather couch and recliner. We made the death call to our insurance company to file a claim and after deciding that yes we do have coverage they send a restoration company came out and completely demoed the inside of our house leaving only our master bathtub behind. And on that day we began the rebuilding of our dream home. It has been one disaster after another ranging from the insurance company agreeing to pay then refusing to pay, then deciding once again to pay, having to many contractors lined up and no money, then money and no contractors. And now it is all coming together. As of today we have walls again, sheetrock and texture and as of 4pm we now have cabinets, vanieties, linen closets and closet shelving (which is a big thank you to my wonderful husband). We have worked our butts off during this whole thing. I can actually say with assurance that I am a professional insulator! I am also a professional mortor remover and chip hammer user. I can rip sheetrock out with the best. And Shawn he is a jack of all trades, he is an electrician who can frame, sheetrock, plumb and install custom shelving. Oh and a tree trimmer!

And where are we living you might ask? We were in a hotel for about a month but now we are in a townhouse in Saginaw. It is dirty and the rental furniture sucks but hey its free so we cant complain to much.

I am going to keep updating as things are happening and also will post pictures of everything along the way. It has been a long month and a half but we are here, strong and relying on God! Hope you enjoyed the crap story that is our life right now!

The Most Amazing Year

We heard a sermon yesterday that was about closure. How we all need closure and that is exactly what I have been doing, seeking closure from 2009. In so many ways this was the best year! Just to reflect a bit, we got to work with the youth at NWBC and build relationships with many of the teens there, Robert started school, I was reunited with my dad and was able to care for him and show him the most amazing love - Gods love, I was able to see him called home by the Lord and sat by his side as he went on. I learned the power of forgivness, not just the Im sorry kind but the forgivness that God showed us when he sent his son to die on the cross for me. I have made friends whose friendships will last a lifetime, I discovered that my task here is to serve people, our family took a leap of faith and left the only church we have ever attended so follow God, we were blessed with a house this year! Yes finally after 10 long years, 7 of which has been spent in a 1000 sq ft duplex with two growing boys and two dogs we bought our own home in Azle Texas! 1736 sq ft on .33 acres. What I learned yesterday from the sermon is no matter how good or bad there year was, its over and New Years is just that a NEW YEAR to see where the Lord wants me to go next. Not a year to say remember when or I cant believe, but a year to be excited for no matter the ups and downs it brings. To the friends who helped us and endured with us THANK YOU SO MUCH!

To All The Moms Out There

So today I snapped! Robert has his chair turned all the way around during breakfast and when he went to put his milk cup down missed the table and dumped an entire glass of milk on the floor. Now if you have kids who drink from regular cups and they drink milk I am sure you can appreciate my irritation with this, as milk is hard to clean up! Sure you can soak it up with a rag or papertowel but its the streaks that get me, milk leaves a permanate film and forget mopping it up then the film get on the mop and streaks the whole floor. Maybe its just me or my milk but as soon as I heard it hit the floor I just snapped! And now for the millionth time I have secretly promised myself that I am going to be a better mom, less controlling and less inclined to freak over spilled milk, but come on, I will do the same thing again and again. Sometimes I wish I could wiggle my nose and turn myself into SUPER NICE AND ULTRA COOL MOM completer with cape and knee high boots. Oh well, another day another spill.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all my friends and family! I love this time of year! Today has been such a FANTABULOUS day! Roberts team won 6-4 and he got to run the ball almost making a touch down!! Yeah Robert!! Chances team did not do so well but.....oh well we win some we lose some.And crazy thing I have been nominated for the Equipment Manager for the organization. Wow what an honor. Our church is having a harvest carnival tonight at 6pm so bring your kids and come on! It should be exciting this year. NE ways check out the picts below to see Roberts team.

Game Day

So the boys both had games today, Robert's team lost by 1 touchdown (s0 close) nothing exciting to report in that game. Chance's game just ended and it was fantastic. Unfortunatly we are still on a losing streak today making it 3 in a row, but we got on the board this time! Final score 24 -18. Chance made 3 tackles and twice he was right on top of the player who fumbled the ball and almost got it!! Exciting stuff today in the Campbell house!

Hello Again!

It has been so long since I have logged on to my blog! By now everyone who looks at this knows the events of the last several months so no need to go into depressing accounts of what it has been like. All that matters now is that it was amazing, its done and time to move on. The sun is finally shining and the weather is perfect for football. Yes football, last blog it was baseball...oh the craziness of our life!! Robert is in flag AND IN KINDERGARTEN and Chance is a junior. They are both doing well at it. Today we went and picked out our pumpkins and carved them.(They look quite nice if I do say so myself) Halloween is right around the corner and then, Turkey Day and of coarse my personal fav Christmas and another Campbell Christmas on Smith Mountain. Today was such a perfect day and the boys and I had so much fun!

Big Changes

So lots has been going on in the last month. Chance made the All-Stars and we are still in, HOORAY! They are doing great! I have FINALLY joined the minivan mom club, about three weeks ago we bought a 2004 Chev Venture, so cool. It has so much room and makes family outings much easier. We have been spending lots of time in the pool so are this summer, and in just a few short weeks Robert has learned how to swim under water. He still has to stay in the shallow end but is doing really well. Hopefully by the end of summer he will be even better.

My new totally cool minivan!

Poor Chance, got a black eye last night!

Our Kids Are AWSOME!

This baseball season has been so exciting, Chance moved from center to catcher and has made the ALL STAR team, and Robert moved from outfield to catcher to follow in Chance's footsteps. It looks as though baseball wont be over for us for awhile longer, we are expected to run through July and possibly August if we do really good. It has been fast and exciting this year! Both of the boys did really well and we are very proud. The tournaments begin June 8th so if anyone would like to come please let me know, Chance would love the support! Charme and Kim came to watch Robert play last night and he sucked up the attention. Please wish us well and pray for our sanity during the summer months to come as we will be spending most of our nights and weekends on the baseball field in the lovely Texas sun!


Baseball Ready!

Happy to be playin!


Runnin to first!


The ALL STAR Catcher!

Eat, Sleep, Play Baseball

Ok, so that time of year for us is full swing now. Baseball practice 4 days a week between both the boys. The games are mostly during the week, and well much like sport seasons in the past Chance is ready and playing like the stud he is and Robert......well......he is Robert. He would rather be riding a bull or sheep then throwing a ball, but he has improved from last year which is exciting to watch. With all the baseball going on we dont have much time to do anything else exciting enough to post. God bless to all my friends and family!

OMG!!! Are they cute or what??!!

Chances 1st Game

We won! It was so exciting, the team came together and played great. The final score was 11 - 9. Roberts first game is April 7th at 6pm at the Lake Worth Field, so we'll see how they do. Hopefully he will continueto play well! Chances next game is the same day, same time, same field. Please come and cheer my kids on!

And the craziness begins......

It's that of year again for us, go go go. The boys started baseball last week, they practice three days a week including Saturday afternoons. It is so much fun though. They both have improved so much from last year, Chance is hitting almost all the pitches thrown at him and catching everything that comes his way and Robert, well...he catches the balls if they are rolling on the ground and his off the T most of the time. We are just glad that his attention span is longer this year. It's gonna be a long but fun run! Keep checking and I will post game days and scores for anyone who wants to cheer them on or keep up! Love to All!

The Newest Family Member

Last weekend we added to our family! We have been looking for the perfect addition to the Campbell Klan and we found her. We got a new puppy, and after a full week we could not come up with a name so her name is Jane Doe, isnt she soooo cute! She loves her momma and hates Robert....jelousy. But realy she is very good, so small and funny! I just wanted to share her with all of you.

And finally the boys and girls in this house is equal! (Does it matter if I am counting the girl dogs?)

He Got It!

I just had to share this with all our friends! Robert and I have been working since the beginning of the school year on this page, he has never gotten it right all by his self, his mind just wasnt ready yet. But we have kept working on it and today he sat down and knew exactly how each dot was to be connected! He was so excited, and so was I! I have had such an amazing time being able to teach him and see him grow mentally it is awsome!