it just keeps getting better

* wrecked my car into a parked car
* had to get new brakes
* have spiders and crickets in my house
* still have only one bathroom for 6 people!
* still get my panties and socks out of a cardboard box
* use throw away baking dishes for cooking--everyday--

BUT--THE PEOPLE OF ST. JOE ARE AWESOME! I really do like it here!

celebrating

a good hair appointment! nothing like a fresh cut and color to perk a girl up

i also got to catch up with tammy and mollie, my good friends from high school, who i hadn't seen in 6+ years. it was fun to hang out and still feel so comfortable after all these years.

real ministry

michael preached 4 awesome sermons one weekend, participated as pastor in his first funeral, is starting two new classes next week and announced our first small group is forming. i start teaching in mid-october and we had a wonderful couple call and ask to be discipled. this is the real stuff! it feels great to be doing--and enjoying--what we have worked, trained and prayed to do--and getting paid to do it!

kiddie corner

harrison started cub scouts--there is a dad/son cake bake coming up. they have to make an edible cake themselves! hcc is also eating cafeteria food! big year for us at the campbell household. if you recall he never once at a tray lunch last year. we are moving right along!

tatiana (and aleksandra) start art classes next week and are both doing well and loving school. tatiana is "reading" books she brings home (that she has memorized at school) and is so proud of herself. she also rode a big rollercoaster (only kid brave enough) with her papa on our recent minnesota trip. bob said she looked petrified but when some lady commented she looked nervous she barked back "I'M NOT SCARED". you go girl!

aleksandra is in a boy underwear phase. yes, you read that right...she wants to wear boy underwear?? please pray this is just a phase and she is enamored with the fact they make scooby doo underwear for boys which is better than princess in her book!

brennan is just the comedian of the bunch. he has the most animated faces and is into big brother worship. he insists we call him harrison when the real harrison is at school. my mom dubbed him H2. he puts on his clothes, sits in his seat, plays with his toys etc... of course no matter how hard we try to put everything back just so--real harrison always knows--OCD.

does st. joe blow?

that is what lots have asked given our recent trials. well my friends those trials continue but to answer the question.....st joe does NOT blow. we are actually liking it despite the housing nightmare that continues.

since the last post we have had raw sewage back up in our store room---STINKY! the toilet, washer, sink and bathroom downstairs all had to be shut off. back to the wash and fold! we have the blockage fixed and the toilet and washer back running but still no sink or tub down there. someday.....

the lack of square footage and all kids all the time was really getting to me. we finally have all four in school 3 days a week so we had our first date day today. whew! i was losing my mind there at the end!

celebrating

september! it is cooler, school is in, i finally have high speed internet and i found a baskin robbins tonight! life could be a whole lot worse!

tragedy in sc

pray for our good friend tim from missio dei in asheville. he coaches high school soccer in spartenburg, sc and he and one of his kids were struck by lightening last week. tim is recovering but the kid passed away. it has been very difficult for tim and bonnie both physically and emotionally. alex was 18 and the president of the senior class at their school. tim is not back to work yet so pray for his healing on all levels.

ministry

continue to celebrate missio dei's progress as they move to weekly worship and deal with growing numbers and growing needs to minister to. we miss kurt and shannon and the comforts of our church family there.

we are excited about all that is happening here at wyatt park christian. michael has been meeting with leaders and sharing his vision for an outward focused christianity and has been well received. he is preaching 4 services next week so pray that his message will touch the lives of those who hear and god will be glorified.

i am beginning a women's breakfast study in october. a group of about 8 of us will meet twice a month and myself and our youth director (another jessica!) will lead them through the book of mark to give a foundational understanding of the kingdom, who jesus was and what he came for. i am looking forward to studying these truths again for myself and building some new relationships.

housing

we continue to anxiously await our house in nc to sell so we can move and get settled into something here. we have decided to let the stately old house in the central part of town go and join the white flight to the newer section of town (actually all of st. joe is white). there are more families with kids out there and many of the friends we are making are there as well. it is the easier life with newer homes more suited to our needs. i am all about easier these days! i hope i am all "sacrifice for the faith" and "given only what i can handle"d up for the next few decades.

people

i continue to be amazed by the great people we meet. i stopped by to take a tub of baskin robbins to a lady who has helped us so much since we have been here and she gets the kids out of the car, takes them to jump on the trampoline, play hopscotch and lets them play with a cat and dog. they were so excited and so worn out that no one has even gotten up once at bed time tonight--now that is a saint for you! (and the only reason i can update my blog!)

we are still getting home-made cakes and goodies each week. michael and harrison were invited to the yankees/royals game tonight so they were so excited.

work

i have settled on 3 days a week for this season. i have found there are no other woman in our church (any age) who don't work outside the home so all our ministry takes place evenings and weekends. the kids are all 4 in school M,W and F so those are my work days which i think will allow for a happy balance for now. we are about to undergo some changes but my position will be able to flex with these changes as i understand it today.

tapestry

i wrote in a blog back in the summer about how we are weaving quite a tapestry with our lives and i am looking forward to seeing what is being added in this season (it is NOT a bat!). i have been reflecting on all that got us to this point-both the good choices and those with negative consequences-all of which were necessary. i am just anxious to see what is being woven here. i had lunch with a new friend who just reiterated that she is so sure god has brought us to this place and this specific time and hearing that felt peacefully true---despite all the challenges.

keeping on keeping on.....