Wanting the with-ness of God

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

The Lord provided coctail shrimp at half off from Whole Foods. Don't dis the farm raised- they are fabu! He also provided Home Alone II on network TV from 8:30-10:00. It was such a delight. Please don't try to deny that you like Home Alone. It was so great. AND, the Lord provided the most AMAZING family for me to babysit for. They gave me a most amazing gift cert to Neroli Spa and Apothacary for a mommy-to-be 60min massage plus gratuity! Unreal. I am beside myself over it.

I better capitalize on my mood of thanksgiving and write a bit about where I'm at.

Immanuel is God with us. I wonder who else out there could stand a little "with-ness" from Christ Himself over the next few days. I don't know about you, but I never want my wonder of the nearness of God to wane. I pray that the unfathomable never grows reasonable to me. May miracles make me marvel! Oh, that we would become like little children. Children see glory in the ordinary. I so want that. I've walked with Jesus long enough to know that I don't have to be on the proverbial mountain top to sense His nearness and see His glory. Sometimes, it seems, His nearness is realized in the daily-ness of life. I love that wherever He is, glory is, no matter the landscape.

Lord,

Open our eyes to the reality of You! Show us who You are in the midst of the seemingly mundane! Shatter every false picture, and bring to life, for our hearts, the very real, living, vibrant and most glorious Savior that Your Word reveals. You are life. May we wrap ourselves around You this Christmas, even as you draw near unto us.

Amen!

baby jackson

My cousin Emily has the sweetest little boy named Jackson. I pulled these pics off facebook. He totally made me o.k. with the idea of having a boy, should that be the case (i don't know YET). Grace was all about him. I can't wait to see what she will be like as a big sister. I'm sure she will be such a good helper with the new baby.



Grace was loving him!




Oh, Lord. Am I going to have a boy or a girl?



He was so stinkin cute!

ones what didn't make the card

I really believe that my child is the cutest kid on planet earth. Every parent really believes this, I know. Last week I took some pics of Grace for our Christmas card. So as not to spoil the delight of receiving your card (joy that it will be) I decided to post "ones what didn't make the card". If the Lord ever decides that I will write vocationally I already feel sorry for my editor...

These were taken on normal film. Like the kind that comes in rolls. The lady in the CVS had mercy on me and actually printed these in 15 minutes while I waited rather than the one hour. I had to go to CVS because Target no longer has the capability to print regular film. Seriously??? I distinctly remember the time I went into blockbuster to rent a movie and was dismayed to find that they no longer rented VHS tapes. Seriously??? I marched solemnly out and returned to my parents house to plead the case of finally breaking down and purchasing a DVD player. I fear the purchase of a digital camera is likewise in order.

Enjoy the sweetness!

Trans Fats

Here is some of what we consumed today!

gimme some more gobble

Here are more pictures of Gobble Games 08.

Here is the carnival come to town.



Carrie Anne (CA) and Cousin Pascal gearing up to take blue to victory.




Zee Haus Frau (Sister Liz) and Cousin Monique. Can you tell we are all related?



Brother in law Matt, Dad, Brother Scott, Me, and Cousin Emily.



GO TEAM BLACK!!! The juicy maternity crop pants pulled through! I'd like to give them another shout out!

gobble wha?

So here are some pics. Sigh!

The yams were scandalous ya'll, that's all I have to say. Pastor's Wife was not consulted prior to the installation of the yam toss. Teams were complete with Dirty Turkey jerseys and mascots. I was a proud member of the black team. For one of the "events" you had to do a relay on a real stinkin' track. Throat burn anyone? The baton was, of course, a turkey baster filled with paint in each team's color. The gel set was a concern, but I managed to be victorious over any acrylic paint seepage. My team, for relay and all other gobble game events consisted of the following participants: yours truly aka. the Preggers, a nursing mom, a pleurisy ridden strep carrying overworked Emory grad student, an insulin dependent diabetic and a nicotine addict. Nice. We lost hard, ya'll.

Not featured:

Trivia night under the influence of turkey dinner, pie, and gasp, merlot (not me on the last one).

The gilded turkey prize trophy. Unmatched. It looked like an antique santa gone terribly wrong.

VICTORY!! The black team was able to pull out the (borrowed? yeah...) shopping cart race. Note the plethora of pics.

At the close of the weekend we were told to "leave our jersey" for next year. Humm... We shall see...

Enjoy.

in need of shocking news

So I must admit a "lull" post baby news announcement. Please, please believe me when I say that all my hope was NOT tied up in having another baby. That is not it, praise His name. No, I think this is more of the normal routine post announce boredom that likely surfaces for most expectant moms. Also, please do not assume that the next six month will be one run-on of baby related ramblings. I am very aware of the non-gestating community and realize the distaste of perpetual prego-talk. I won't go there.

It's not as if nothing is happening in the lives of the Campbell Crazies. There is the day in and day out reality of being awoken to a 3 and half year old in mismatched tights, sparkle wings and tutus (note prior to 7am). Coffee, waffles, find the phone, find the keys, feed the dog, shower, re-apply the face, sort through the purse pit to find a necessary Target receipt that has painfully been used as a gum receptacle, fill the tank, make the drs. apt, pray among heaps of laundry despite the relentless re-loading, drying and folding.... you get the idea.

Add to that, ministry of every variety. Oh how I love Him. I love praying boldly after leaving community group when my car is still freezing cold and I see the moon piercing the sky and I sense His presence and approval. Those five minutes are mighty effective. Add to that, God at work in me. Creating life. Body, soul, spirit. Oh the depths of the riches of the knowledge and wisdom. There is none like Him. We so don't get it. Add to that the nurture and care of my daughter. Imparting the beauty and love of Christ one Bible story at a time, one bedtime prayer session at a time. Add to that the sweetness of marriage and its refining fires. The agent of sanctification in order to make the mystery of Christ and His gospel known. Just those things....And yet, I "feel" the lull.

All amid Pottery Barn magazines, trash that needs taking out, roots that are showing without a bank account to support their being highlighted. It is all the crazieness and the complexity and the simplicity that makes up our lives. I'd imagine yours is much the same just with different titles.

Maybe my malaise is due to the deficency of COMMENTS on my blog. I must not write well enough to generate any feedback. I really need to get some pictures up asap. Our digital camera has been broken for months now and the iphone just isn't cutting it. Mark wants to get a new 35 mm digital camera. Indeed. Anyways, he took all the pics from Thanksgiving festivities and so I will have to email them to myself so that I can post them.

More later...