Clearing the Cobwebs

It's my last day of my vacation week.  I've had a terrific, relaxing week at home. I finished enough cleaning and organizing to feel at ease with the house. My dining room is full of things to send off to Goodwill or to throw away. I have a long list of things I didn't get done but I'm just focusing on the tasks I did complete. Besides clearing the cobwebs,  I got to spend a little girl time with my sister in law who came and stayed with us. Kyle was off a few days so we got to spend some quality time. We also attended Guns & Hoses with my father in law.

Can you see where Kyle gets that handsome smile? (and his mischievous ways)

 I caught a cold half way through and spent one whole day in bed and on the couch feeling not so great. I'm glad I got that full day of rest, even if I did go through a whole box of tissues. The day I had my cold, I had plans to visit my family, so I decided to make the drive today instead. It turned out to be a great day riding 4 wheelers and catching up.

 My parents on the trail with us. Aren't they just the cutest?

 This is Achilles, my brother's dog. We take him with us on every trip.  He loves, loves, loves to run and swim through the backwaters.

 My brother and I. We are hoping to get more trail cleaned out and will try to camp out here this summer.

The blue sky against the wheat fields made for a beautiful day to ride. This is where I get my pretty face. :)

My darling little family minus my sister, who was working.

I'm so glad I was able to take vacation time to relax and gear up for summer. We get so wound up tight, busy, and float along through the weeks without taking time to just enjoy where we are in life. It's so important to take that time, even just a day and clear the cobwebs in our mind.  I'm happy to say I feel refreshed and ready to get back in the groove.

Spring Photo Shoot

I love our backyard. When we bought our house, I instantly started dreaming up all the parties I could host there. Bonfires, sledding parties, picnics, camp outs, and slip-n-slides, oh my. I love the view of the pond, It is adjacent to our neighbors back yards so it feels secluded and peaceful. 

     Last fall I decided to take our tri-pod out there and take some family photos in the backyard just for fun. We grabbed my great grandma's quilt, a hay bale, and the neighbor's pond made the perfect backdrop. 

We decided to continue the backyard photo fun in the winter when the snow was beautiful on the trees. This photo looks like it is photo shopped. I promise it isn't, because I barely know how to rotate a photo. 

This morning we were cleaning up the backyard from our bonfire party last night and the weather was so amazing. We took the opportunity to snap a few spring pictures. This backdrop is the north side opposite of the pond. I had hung some old windows in our trees for a fun party backdrop at the bonfire last night. Here is a group picture from the bonfire last night! We had an awesome time hanging with some of our favorite people. Good friends are a treasure. 

Since the windows were still out there this morning, I couldn't resist.  I think they turned out pretty cute.  

Now maybe I can update some of the empty photo frames that I have hanging on my wall. :)   Stay tuned for our summer backyard photos! 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

        It seems impossible for me to eat a chocolate chip cookie without thinking of my mom. When I was growing up it was her go-to pick me up. Of course, my mom did retail therapy, phone chats with my grandma, and long nights working in her garden to clear her head. But there were times when only a made from scratch, fresh out of the oven, chocolate chip cookie would do. My siblings and I would find her in the kitchen with a towel on her shoulder, barefoot, singing along to oldies on the radio. We would go play and wait until she called us in to lick the dough from the beaters. My mom never measured slowly or precisely. She just scooped the measuring cup in and did her best guess. Who knows what a "dash or sprinkle" really is anyway, right?  My mom is a teacher by profession and our cooking lessons started at a young age. It was extra practice for fractions and reading as we were instructions on how to follow recipe directions. Through our kitchen time, we also learned how to be creative with substitutions because sometimes you assume you have chocolate chips only to find a leftover chocolate bunny from Easter is all you have in the pantry. 

       When I think of chocolate chip cookies, I don't think about the raw egg dough I got to eat, I think of the  forgiving mom who let us get a special treat even if we had been misbehaving that day. I don't think of the imperfect measurements or if it is made with chocolate chips or chunks, I think of how I was taught to be flexible, improvise, and use the resources on hand. I received valuable coaching during these flour-faced sessions, and I thank God for chocolate chip cookies. There are that sweet little reminder of my mom's love.                    

       

      I have only had a smart phone for 6 months. I have had people exclaim "Don't you just love it?!", or "Could you ever go back to your old phone?!" Well, I can honestly say that I could. I love my smart phone, I love using it for pictures and to check my social media. I do. But, I find that checking my phone has become a quick addiction. I look at it while I'm in line at the bathroom at church, I check it during dinner dates with my husband, I look at it at long red lights when I'm driving. It's distracting. How can I invest in the people I love and the people in my community if I don't even see them? I don't want to be remembered as always being distracted or that I didn't value those around me. I want to be remembered by my love and for investing and pouring into the lives of my friends and family. I want them to see "chocolate chip cookies" and thank God for giving us that relationship. 

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10:24-25

P.S. I must add that I was making a new strawberry cake while writing this post, and I just looked over at an ingredient that I forgot to put it. So I don't think strawberry cake is going to be "my thing" like my mom and chocolate chip cookies. Better stick to what mom taught me. :)

Weekend With The Campbells

This weekend proved to be a classic Campbell adventure. And true to our adventures, it was not exactly... ahem, classy or glamorous I should say.. 

It started on Friday. We were both sitting on the couch when our German Shepherd, Archer, looks at Kyle and all of a sudden, poos all over the carpet in an obvious I'm sick kind of way.

Oh. Maybe I should have put a warning....*this blog may not be appropriate to read over dinner. There.      Now, back to our story. There is a lot of commotion that follows. We are shuffling Archer outside, grabbing paper towels. "No, not that rag, get an old one. Bring me some soap." Kyle is gagging, I'm telling Kyle to, I believe my lady mouth says, "suck it up and quit gagging." We clean it all up, and since we are heading to IL, we nix the plan to bring the diarrhea dog with us, and we leave him in the backyard. The rest of the day goes a little better. I get my hair done, we go target shooting, and stop for a quick chat with my family. 

First time with my new gun. I love it. 

Isn't my firearms instructor seriously handsome?!

After our quick trip to IL, we start clearing out our spare room to move our bed in and make room for our new master bedroom makeover. Hopefully our new bed and mattress are delivered soon!  Just like a typical wife/husband effort to clean, organize, and move heavy furniture. It goes very smooth with a lot of smiling, laughing, and please & thank you's . If you did not catch the sarcasm in that last sentence, then you must not be married. After a few grouchy comments, one big give away pile, and dividing the work (aka: putting ourselves in timeout) we complete our task. Phew! 

Saturday turns out to be a pretty good day. We take a trip to the zoo to buy memberships and enjoy the weather. Remember that blog about training for a hiking trip? The zoo is going to my perfect weekend workout space. Anyone want to join?

Saturday I do 5 loads of laundry. On the last load, I wash a big blanket that I have washed a few times before. The washer does not spin or drain. It's about midnight and time to change the clocks forward for spring. Kyle gets home and works on the washing machine but we are too tired so we just leave it for the next day. 

Early Sunday morning, I slowly awaken to a smell. At first I think maybe Lola didn't go out the night before and had left us a smelly present by the back door. She has done that before when we forget to let her out. Then I remember the washing machine and I groggily decide maybe it is the water sitting in the washer all night producing the sour smell. I fall back asleep hoping Kyle will wake up soon and go take care of it. Around 7am, we both start to wake up and the smell is undeniable and rank. Kyle cautiously walks around to see Archer sitting in the most poo I've ever seen in one place, outside of the rhino exhibit at the zoo. He gets Archer out, who spins around, runs into the living room, (yes leaving poo pawprints) swinging his tail (yes leaving poo tailprints), and finally Kyle gets him outside. 

Okay, now I'm awake. Forget the time change, forget the fact that my bed head is sticking up everywhere, and I have dark circles under my eyes. The disgusting scene before me has my full attention. I help Kyle carry the huge kennel outside. This time we are both gagging and I am certain I am going to throw up. My Friday "suck it up" comment is running through my head. Ugh. Humility lesson again. Kyle showers while attempt to clean the floor and the wall and the carpet and the other wall, and anywhere else that was in the line of fire. I clean and mop and I still feel like I need another round of bleach. Thank God Kyle was home to help me! 

After everything calms down, we throw on a smile and head to church still unsure on how we are going to clean Archer. I must say we remained relatively calm through the event. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or we just felt bad for our doggie. 

Following church, Kyle has to head to work so we rush through dog bath outside, hose down style.  I'm so glad that it was in the 60's this weekend! Archer is clean enough and seems to be acting normal so we bring him back indoors. He settles back down and sits with me in the laundry room as I wait through an entire cycle trying to determine what the problem is. As I'm sitting there, ants start crawling on me. Three ants to be exact. And so the war on ants begins again. On the bright side, that means that spring is coming soon! 

At the end of the day our dog is clean, our house is clean, our marriage survived a poo attack, and we have determined volunteering to shovel at the zoo is not for us.  

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