Be A Turtle

    I am usually a winter girl. I love Christmas, sledding, snow, hot cocoa, sweaters, soup, more snow.  But lately, for some reason, I cannot wait for warmer weather. I'm dreaming up my garden, thinking about house projects, and waiting to put away my bulky winter boots. Gasp!.... I am a boot lover. Maybe even a boot-aholic. Kyle jokes that the first time he took me to Shoe Carnival I leaped out of the Explorer exclaiming "Oh look at all the boots! Red, brown, black!" and I was at the door before he could lock the vehicle. Well for some reason I'm in this organizing mindset and my boots are just taking up too much room. Hmm. Maybe that is why my 65 pound dog is getting on my nerves daily. He just doesn't stay where I put him and takes up too much space....

Here's Archer, our 8 month old German Shepherd getting into some kind of mischief. 

 Today as I'm daydreaming about sunshine and hummingbirds, I am getting eager to go on a hiking trip. Yes, I know. Why on earth do I like these hiking trips? It pours down rain, I get blisters on my feet, my backpack  gives me a skin burn, and at some point I probably will get eaten by a bear because I am slower than Kyle.

(also because I have a slight urge to pet them. TN trip-bear cub)

I guess it's my love for nature, the chance that I might see an animal in the wild, and the opportunity for Kyle to listen to me talk for days and days without escape as we are walking along the trails.
   But I have realized at this point, I might as well get a scooter because there is no way physically I am going to make it on any type of hike. Exercise has not been on my Top 20 list of things to do this past year. So, I found myself googling "how to train for a hiking trip." I chose the website with the tip "Be a Turtle." It says start slow and build gradually. I figured a turtle is a good starting pace for me. Also, turtles are cute. I have printed out their sample schedule and one of these days I'm going to start. First up is a pack carrying only water and a safety whistle and first aid kit for 1/2 a mile. I'll let you know how it goes.

This trip was awesome and so painful at the same time. Motivation to prep.
(notice my safety whistle on my chest strap) 

TN on our first hiking trip during a break from the torrential rain. Motivation to prep. 

And just for fun. Let's all take a moment and remember the beard days. Fun.

My Smiling Sister

    I can still remember her big grin as we were climbing on our swing set, barefoot, singing out songs we learned from our Raffi videos. She was the happy sibling, much prettier than her freckle faced older sister, and with a heart of gold.  She went along with every imaginary game I made up for us to play. She was always picking flowers, drawing pictures, and looking for ways to charm our parents. My younger brother and I rolled our eyes as she did something else to "brown nose" up to mom or dad. She wasn't perfect by any means. I remember her getting in trouble for writing on her shoes and how many times did we hear, "Cathy! Be quiet, your voice carries through this whole house!". But, compared to my back talking, and my brother being a mischievous boy, I would say she was the sweet one.

    As we got older, I don't think she fought with mom as much as I did. A teenage girl and her mom can be a scary thing. My siblings say they were better behaved than I was because they watched and learned from the things I did. That may be true, but I believe their personalities had a lot to do with that also. I'm more prone to making the world revolve around me, but my sister has always been a people pleaser and still is today. 

  My little sister is now dealing with medical problems and I am asking for prayers. She is 23, previously completely healthy, and for months now has been having trouble breathing. Without going into details, she is now to the point where she is on oxygen full time to help her shortness of breath. She is still working as an RN and pushes herself through each day but is exhausted and unable to do anything without taking breaks and resting. This includes everyday tasks such as cooking, cleaning, walking to the mail box, and even talking on the phone while standing up. She has had test after test done, she goes to doctors each week and they seem to have another "guess" at her diagnosis only to have the tests eliminate that diagnosis. She and her husband have been through weeks of waiting, not knowing, seeing no end to the testing, thinking they have an answer and then back to square one.    

    I know that God takes us through life seeing what He sees and knowing what He knows. We only see what our eyes can take in right now. How many times has God saved us from dangers we do not know? I trust that God sees the end of this, even though right now we cannot see where this is going. I believe that God heals. I am asking you to pray for God's will to be done in this and that if a healing is what He has planned that He will give it at the right time. I pray that the doctors have clarity, that Cathy's spirit be lifted, and that we all have patience as we wait for the answer that will come. 

The Police Life So Far

Being a police wife is not exactly what I expected. I have a lot of alone time. It's finally sinking in that we will probably be on opposite schedules for most of our careers. I'm not sure why that didn't occur to me originally, but that part feels like I'm an "army wife" all over again. Oh army life, how I miss you sometimes. But I am adjusting to our schedule and sometimes I actually prefer it.  We always make a point each week to hang out together even if it's just meeting for lunch.

Does he get his own car to take home? This is sometimes followed by questions about laws, speeding tickets, doughnuts, and other questions that sometimes I have no idea about, because I"m new to this still. I barely know what he does during the day. Sometimes he comes home and says he got into a fight and needs to wash the blood off his uniform. Sometimes he says he rescued a puppy from an abandoned building. Most of the time he just says he was busy and I have no idea what he did all day. Some days it's best not to ask. Also something I learned from the army. Some stories are not meant for my sensitive heart or my not so strong stomach. (And I dig in teeth all day, I know.)   

Do I worry about Kyle? I learned a long time ago that it doesn't do any good. Kyle has drilled it into my head for years. No news is good news. I really can thank my army time for preparing me for police life. If he does gets hurt, I will find out quickly and someone will help me get to him. No amount of worrying will stop him from getting injured or worse. Prayer, now that is a different story. I have bathed him in prayer through deployments and I will continue to pray for his safety through his daily shifts. That is what police wives do. 

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.-Philippians 4:6-7

Year 3

I decided to open up my blog and start writing again. I looked back and realized that our first year of marriage I blogged quite a bit, but last year I didn't share near enough. It is said that the second year of marriage is the hardest. For us, it was settling into marriage combined with police academy and probation,  fighting about trash cans and money, and balancing a changing atmosphere at my job. Easy? I think not. Worst year of my life? Most definitely not. We have had a great year with a lot of give and take. I am so proud of Kyle completing all his training with flying colors.
 So in year 3 of the Campbell's totally awesome life, I'm going to try to be better at writing and sharing my thoughts with you. To hold you over, I'll share this cutie patootie picture of us we took in our backyard this winter.

Why My Husband Rocks

Today is my husband's birthday so I thought I'd share just a few of my favorite things about him, and why I think he's the cat's pajamas.

In no particular order....

Kyle is patient. Thank goodness, because I can be annoying. He will shake his head yes when he reads this. 

He is a great listener. He can listen (tune me out) while I talk for hours. Although I'm sure it helps that he has damaged hearing in one ear.

 If I'm ever in a survival type situation, I'm sticking close to Kyle. If we were to be stranded on an island, he would have us a shelter made, food, and water set up before the end of the day and would make it seem like an adventure just so I didn't panic. 

He is not afraid of mice.

He takes care of our yard, our dogs, our cars, our bills, and never hardly ever says anything about money when I go shopping. 

He is persistent and doesn't easily give up on things. He has been trying to get me to go to a scary movie with him for 6 years. Still not happening.

He has a great smile and especially a great laugh. When he was deployed, the few times he called I tried to tell him the funniest thing I could think of just to hear him laugh.  It's what I missed the most and the main reason I'll get hearing aids when I"m old. 

My list could go on and on and on, but I will cease there. 

So thankful to share my life with such an amazing man. Happy Birthday, Kyle. 

1st Grade Triumph

* I wrote this blog 2 weeks ago, Oct 7, 2012 and didn't get it posted before my vacation so it's a little late, but here it is:

As a Onelife KIDS 1st grade small group leader, our Sundays are full of energy, questions, dancing,  learning, and loose teeth. Sometimes we have good Sundays and sometimes we have great Sundays. Today was a GREAT Sunday. This is why I love serving in KIDS......

We started a new month, which means a new memory verse to dive into. (1 Timothy 4:12) After an awesome worship time and learning about Timothy's story from the stage, we went back to our small groups to discuss how God made each of us to have a unique story, just like Timothy. At the end of our group time, we all read the memory verse together and had a chance to practice looking up the verse in our bible. One boy was really eager to learn how to look up verses. I took some time to show him in detail how to look up the chapter and verse. I gave him a few other verses to try. After a few practices, he found it with no help and jumped up with both arms in the air, a look of triumph on his face, and shouted "I did it! I know how to look up memory verses in the bible!"  When his parents came to pick him up, he excitedly told them how he was learning to look up verses. 

I love how excited our kids get with everything. I love seeing them grasp a new concept, sharing what they learn, or to see them jumping for joy, making up their own moves, worshipping without a care to what those around them are doing. Our children worship extravagantly, hunger to learn more, and have an unyielding faith that I myself strive to have. They are not "worshippers in waiting" they are "worshippers now" so be sure to take the time to encourage them in their faith and lead them to worship now right where they are.

Our memory verse this month is 1 Timothy 4:12 "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young. Set an example for the believers in what you say and in how you live." 

Using our unique skills

 Today at One Life Church our lesson in KIDS was about the importance of using our unique talents and gifts to work together and do God's work.  (1 Corinthians 12:12-21, 25-27) We talked about how Paul and Timothy worked together to help teach the church in Corinth how important each person's skills and gifts are in serving God. 

It is obvious to Kyle and I, that God designed each of us specifically for each other. When we were first dating, I told my brother and sister that Kyle was as goofy as I was, but they did not believe me. Then one day Kyle was there at my parent's house and started acting his "guard down" kind of normal. I don't remember the specifics, but I"m sure there was embarrassing dancing or weird singing involved.  They looked at me and laughed, knowing that our weirdness was going to work well together. But it's not just the goofy things. Kyle organizes our paperwork in cute little labeled files in our filing cabinet. I couldn't even tell you where I keep (I mean Kyle keeps) my social security card. The list goes on and on. God designed us each uniquely so that our marriage can not just "work", but so that we could experience the best of what God has for us and that we may together work for Him.

It doesn't apply to only marriages, but also to friendships, families, co-workers, life groups, and teams.

It is easy to spot gifts and talents in others. We can easily see when our friends are good listeners, or always have the right words to say. My husband is very level headed, trustworthy, and does not get easily stressed in any situation. My sister is a giver. She rarely thinks of herself and is always taking the backseat so those she loves can be lifted up. My brother is very kind hearted, learns quickly, and thinks carefully about how his actions affects others. For me, it's easy to see where my weaknesses are: I'm easily stressed, anxious, prone to self attention, and put my foot in my mouth constantly. But God gives each of us gifts according to His will and it is important to find that skill, that passion and act upon it.      1 Corinthians 12:7-11

  What gift, big or small, are you holding back on? Do you see an untapped skill or gift in someone else you could encourage?