Making progress!
A shot of me (and David below) on the precipice of our deck, before we install the rails.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Deck Work, Part Two
More photos of our deck in progress:
Making progress!
A shot of me (and David below) on the precipice of our deck, before we install the rails.
Making progress! A shot of me (and David below) on the precipice of our deck, before we install the rails.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Deck Work, Part One
We've been wanting to replace our back deck for some time so it would be safer and more functional, and now that we'll be moving, we really want to finish the project ASAP so our house is rentable.
David has been working hard on it, and my parents have put in some serious time and elbow grease also, and it's almost done! It makes me a little sad that we won't be here for the next 2 years to enjoy it, because it is really shaping up to be a nice deck. We still need to finish the railing, so I'll post more pictures of the finished product, but below are some pictures in the thick of the work.
The deck work begins.
"Heck on ankles" is David's new nickname for Peter. It would have been cankles, but his cankles have melted away with all the climbing and trouble-causing he's been up to.
Watching other people work on the deck is hard work, too.
Poppi makes some serious progress on the deck.
Grammy demonstrates her skills with power tools.
David has been working hard on it, and my parents have put in some serious time and elbow grease also, and it's almost done! It makes me a little sad that we won't be here for the next 2 years to enjoy it, because it is really shaping up to be a nice deck. We still need to finish the railing, so I'll post more pictures of the finished product, but below are some pictures in the thick of the work.
The deck work begins. 
"Heck on ankles" is David's new nickname for Peter. It would have been cankles, but his cankles have melted away with all the climbing and trouble-causing he's been up to.
Watching other people work on the deck is hard work, too.
Poppi makes some serious progress on the deck.
Grammy demonstrates her skills with power tools.Out to the Ball Game
David, his dad, Jack, and Thomas took in a baseball game at Dodger stadium last Friday. They had a great time! They had excellent seats, and the boys did well all the way through the game (and got to go onto the field to watch the fireworks!). They had a late night, and were pretty tired the next day, but they thoroughly enjoyed the adventure.
Here are some pictures:
David, Jack, and Thomas pose for a pre-game shot. Jack is in mid "Charge!" (practicing for the game and all).
Apparently this is what Thomas does when you say "Smile!".
Thomas was all done with his ice cream cone, so Grandpa go to hold it :).
Grandpa and the boys on the field for the fireworks show.
Here are some pictures:
Jack is defiitely ready to head to the game.
David, Jack, and Thomas pose for a pre-game shot. Jack is in mid "Charge!" (practicing for the game and all).
Apparently this is what Thomas does when you say "Smile!".
Thomas was all done with his ice cream cone, so Grandpa go to hold it :).Grandpa and the boys on the field for the fireworks show. Thursday, August 13, 2009
Flying by the seats of our pants
I'm not sure how else to explain the generally atmosphere of our house lately! We found out last month that David would be starting a 2-year apprenticeship with his work this October, and that we'd be whisked to different parts of the country every 6 months during those 2 years.
We did a good job drafting a "to do" list as soon as we found out, but these next couple of months are going to be pretty crazy trying to get everything done. We've decided to rent out our house, partly for the benefit of the extra income we'll receive, but also so that we have someone staying here looking after the place (hopefully! we could get tenants from you-know-where, but I'm trying to stay optimistic). The thought of leaving it totally vacant for 2 years really doesn't sit well with me.
So, now that we've decided to rent it, a whole cascade of "to dos" has fallen into place. There are certain repairs that must be completed, general organizing and tidying to make it look decent when it's shown to potential tenants, etc. Fortuntately, we've decided to use a property management company, so they'll handle all of the paperwork and tenant screening and maintenance issues while we're gone. That is a huge peace of mind. But, the fact still remains that there is a lot to do (in addition to ordinary mom/wife stuff!).
Although we have a lot to do before October, I think it's definitely do-able. I felt overwhelmed earlier this week, but I'm trying to change my outlook and focus on getting stuff done without being too stressed. When I'm stressed, it feels like the whole household is stressed, and I really don't want to affect the boys' well-being too much. After all, these next 2 months will be their last months in our home, in Ramona (possibly even in all of California) for the next 2 years, and I really don't want them to remember this time as a super stressful period where all I did was run around like a headless chicken (or, as David likes to describe me when I get crazy, a frantic squirrel. Augh -- perish the thought of being compared to a squirrel!).
I'm excited about going on this 2-year adventure, but it's a little unsettling to be doing so much seatpants flying. We don't know where we're going for David's first rotation, and we likely won't find out until early September. We don't know exactly when we have to leave (there's been talk of the rotation starting Oct. 1st, but our travel dates aren't set). Being that we don't know where we're going, I have no way of looking into possible charter schools or homeschool groups for Jack. I'm not too concerned, since I figure our "worst" case scenario is that I homeschool for the next 2 years. Mentally, I'm prepared for that to happen, but I may or may not need to order homeschooling resources and such, depending on where we'll be. All of this together wreaks havoc on my usual ability to control situations. As the mater familias and most often parent-on-the-spot with the kids, I'm used to controlling almost everything about the day -- what we eat, when we eat, where we go, timeouts to control unruly behavior, etc. I try to give the kids choices when appropriate, of course, but I always retain veto power. Controlling things has become one of my specialties :).
And now, I don't think I've ever felt like circumstances were so out of control! Especially factoring in the miscarriage last month, it has been (and continues to be) a good opportunity for me to practice relinquishing control gracefully. I'm sure God has lots of adventures and opportunities in store for all of us over the next 2 years, and I'm going to do my best to use those opportunties to become a better Catholic, wife, and mother. At least, that's the idea -- God help me actually do it!
We did a good job drafting a "to do" list as soon as we found out, but these next couple of months are going to be pretty crazy trying to get everything done. We've decided to rent out our house, partly for the benefit of the extra income we'll receive, but also so that we have someone staying here looking after the place (hopefully! we could get tenants from you-know-where, but I'm trying to stay optimistic). The thought of leaving it totally vacant for 2 years really doesn't sit well with me.
So, now that we've decided to rent it, a whole cascade of "to dos" has fallen into place. There are certain repairs that must be completed, general organizing and tidying to make it look decent when it's shown to potential tenants, etc. Fortuntately, we've decided to use a property management company, so they'll handle all of the paperwork and tenant screening and maintenance issues while we're gone. That is a huge peace of mind. But, the fact still remains that there is a lot to do (in addition to ordinary mom/wife stuff!).
Although we have a lot to do before October, I think it's definitely do-able. I felt overwhelmed earlier this week, but I'm trying to change my outlook and focus on getting stuff done without being too stressed. When I'm stressed, it feels like the whole household is stressed, and I really don't want to affect the boys' well-being too much. After all, these next 2 months will be their last months in our home, in Ramona (possibly even in all of California) for the next 2 years, and I really don't want them to remember this time as a super stressful period where all I did was run around like a headless chicken (or, as David likes to describe me when I get crazy, a frantic squirrel. Augh -- perish the thought of being compared to a squirrel!).
I'm excited about going on this 2-year adventure, but it's a little unsettling to be doing so much seatpants flying. We don't know where we're going for David's first rotation, and we likely won't find out until early September. We don't know exactly when we have to leave (there's been talk of the rotation starting Oct. 1st, but our travel dates aren't set). Being that we don't know where we're going, I have no way of looking into possible charter schools or homeschool groups for Jack. I'm not too concerned, since I figure our "worst" case scenario is that I homeschool for the next 2 years. Mentally, I'm prepared for that to happen, but I may or may not need to order homeschooling resources and such, depending on where we'll be. All of this together wreaks havoc on my usual ability to control situations. As the mater familias and most often parent-on-the-spot with the kids, I'm used to controlling almost everything about the day -- what we eat, when we eat, where we go, timeouts to control unruly behavior, etc. I try to give the kids choices when appropriate, of course, but I always retain veto power. Controlling things has become one of my specialties :).
And now, I don't think I've ever felt like circumstances were so out of control! Especially factoring in the miscarriage last month, it has been (and continues to be) a good opportunity for me to practice relinquishing control gracefully. I'm sure God has lots of adventures and opportunities in store for all of us over the next 2 years, and I'm going to do my best to use those opportunties to become a better Catholic, wife, and mother. At least, that's the idea -- God help me actually do it!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Saying goodbye
When we found out we were pregnant with our fourth child last month, I remember thinking to myself "Wow, four children! I'm going really going to have to rely on the grace of God."
Of course we were excited and happy to be expecting another child, but a small part of me thought about some of the more crazy, hectic days with just three boys, when we already felt like we were at maximum parental capacity -- and now we would be adding a fourth on top of that?! I figured the grace of God had gotten me this far ... I would just have to do an even better job of making enough time for prayer and relying on His grace.
Now, sadly, I find myself having to rely on the grace of God for a very different purpose than I had imagined for this littlest Campbell. We lost our baby to miscarriage last week, and now I'm missing that tiny baby terribly, and everything I had hoped and looked forward to with the baby, and I'm trying so hard to rely on His grace (and the wonderful support of David and our family) to soldier on.
It was such a short pregnancy -- we had just found out I was pregnant on July 4th -- but I was already very excited about it, and the baby had a definite place in our family. I imagined a little brother or sister for the boys, another warm newborn to snuggle, another child to find the perfect name for, a close cousin to Kim and Michael's baby Matthew. I suppose I am grieving not just the loss of a 7-week-old fetus, but the loss of a future I had begun imagining and looking forward to with this new child.
There have been some very touching and beautiful moments that this miscarriage has brought about, and I am grateful for those. For instance, when I was trying to explain to Jack and Thomas what was happening, and the fact that the baby in my tummy had died, they tried so hard to cheer me up. They told me that we would see the baby again in heaven, and then the baby would get to come back to earth when Jesus comes again.
And, I look at Jack, Thomas, and Peter and am even more grateful for their good health and their presence in my lives. I'm blessed to have any children at all, let alone three!
I'm also grateful that, God willing, we will be able to have another child some day. I look forward to experiencing that joy of pregnancy again -- of that special secret knowledge that I'm carrying a tiny person inside me, before I'm showing and the whole world knows it. I'm even looking forward (this is going to sound crazy) to the sickness and tiredness of the first trimester, because I'll know that they are there for a good reason, that they are the product of the healthy growth and development of my child. I am grateful that, hopefully at least once more, I get to experience the thrill of taking a pregnancy test and having that little positive sign slowly materialize.
Finally, I am grateful that I had the privilege of carrying a new person, even if it was for just 7 short weeks. I'm so grateful that I got to see its little heart beating away, and that I had the ultrasound person print up a picture of our little peanut. And I'm grateful for our faith and our belief that our child is a little saint now, praying for us, and while we won't be together in this life, we will in the next.
Of course we were excited and happy to be expecting another child, but a small part of me thought about some of the more crazy, hectic days with just three boys, when we already felt like we were at maximum parental capacity -- and now we would be adding a fourth on top of that?! I figured the grace of God had gotten me this far ... I would just have to do an even better job of making enough time for prayer and relying on His grace.
Now, sadly, I find myself having to rely on the grace of God for a very different purpose than I had imagined for this littlest Campbell. We lost our baby to miscarriage last week, and now I'm missing that tiny baby terribly, and everything I had hoped and looked forward to with the baby, and I'm trying so hard to rely on His grace (and the wonderful support of David and our family) to soldier on.
It was such a short pregnancy -- we had just found out I was pregnant on July 4th -- but I was already very excited about it, and the baby had a definite place in our family. I imagined a little brother or sister for the boys, another warm newborn to snuggle, another child to find the perfect name for, a close cousin to Kim and Michael's baby Matthew. I suppose I am grieving not just the loss of a 7-week-old fetus, but the loss of a future I had begun imagining and looking forward to with this new child.
There have been some very touching and beautiful moments that this miscarriage has brought about, and I am grateful for those. For instance, when I was trying to explain to Jack and Thomas what was happening, and the fact that the baby in my tummy had died, they tried so hard to cheer me up. They told me that we would see the baby again in heaven, and then the baby would get to come back to earth when Jesus comes again.
And, I look at Jack, Thomas, and Peter and am even more grateful for their good health and their presence in my lives. I'm blessed to have any children at all, let alone three!
I'm also grateful that, God willing, we will be able to have another child some day. I look forward to experiencing that joy of pregnancy again -- of that special secret knowledge that I'm carrying a tiny person inside me, before I'm showing and the whole world knows it. I'm even looking forward (this is going to sound crazy) to the sickness and tiredness of the first trimester, because I'll know that they are there for a good reason, that they are the product of the healthy growth and development of my child. I am grateful that, hopefully at least once more, I get to experience the thrill of taking a pregnancy test and having that little positive sign slowly materialize.
Finally, I am grateful that I had the privilege of carrying a new person, even if it was for just 7 short weeks. I'm so grateful that I got to see its little heart beating away, and that I had the ultrasound person print up a picture of our little peanut. And I'm grateful for our faith and our belief that our child is a little saint now, praying for us, and while we won't be together in this life, we will in the next.
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