Drum Roll Please.....

It's a....

BOY!

We opened up the velvety red box first thing Christmas morning & were all very surprised! I'm so glad we waited & all opened together. It was so fun to do it that way!! Yes I am in complete shock. Yes I thought it was bound to be a girl. ...I mean this is Kaylea's profile to a "t".

Here's lookin' at you kid...
{Check out his cute left eyeball looking right at me!}

It is finally sinking in that it really is a boy. There is no mistaking Campbell boy parts. 

My sons are not shy as far as that's concerned. 

*I shared my news with a friend of mine yesterday. She has 7 kids-5 of whom are boys. As we talked about the fact that we were both shocked I was having another boy, she shared with me some powerful thoughts that gave me goosebumps. She said after having 5 boys in a row & wondering why as well, she prayerfully came to the realization that these boys coming to earth will be facing so much in these last days. With the ridiculous bombardment of pornography & filth, these boys must rise above & become righteous men as they are missionaries, husbands & fathers. They need to be able to prepare this world for the Savior's coming. She said to me "I know Heavenly Father is sending these boys to righteous families that He knows will prepare them..." She then said: "When I came to realize this, I gladly took on the challenge."

*In this moment I was excited in a brand new way for our little boy! I am grateful for friends who are in tune with the spirit.~

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok so now here's the REST OF THE STORY:

It's really 2 BOYS!!

Our first boy addition also came Christmas morning & his name is Beamer.

~A dream come true for this little girl.~
That smile makes all the puppy poop worth it.
(good thing I'm over my pregnancy nausea!)

These kids were also in shock with the news of the boy & that this is really their dog.
Thus...the no-tooth smile.

Jax & Beamer are so sweet...

Hoping you had a Very Merry Christmas as well. :)

Christmas This Year....{by me.}

The stockings are hung,
Carols to the elderly we have sung.

The kids were in School Performances, 

 the Town Parade, 

Piano Recital 

& The Nutcracker 

not Jaxson, but Daylan, Kaylea and Spencer.

Teacher's gifts have been given

wrapped in bows and in ribbon.

Now if only I could get my shopping finished

...do the laundry & wash the dinner dishes.

I should be wrapping, but instead I lay here in bed
Dreaming of a clean house & no pain in my head.

Christmas lights are in our lawn; only half are working now,

...but to my kids it seems like the greatest display somehow.

I'm coughing & sneezing-going through boxes of tissues

Helping sick babies in the night with all of their issues.

Our Christmas cards are not all yet mailed,

My friends & family probably think that this year I bailed.

The tree is already wilting

& the star on top is tilting.

I pass our Nativity in the hall
& for a moment I stop and recall;

...That the reason I'm doing all this
is to celebrate this birthday of His.

Today at church with my half of a voice, I tried to sing Christmas hymns
Only to get out a few notes & tears around my eyes rims.

This year I feel as if I'm barely making it by
but I'll keep on trying to remember why-

That it's NOT about how many or how great of gifts I will buy,
But what I do to serve others & show my love to our King on High.

by

My horse pills..

My sweet husband usually does the Costco trips for me which is very helpful! I had recently put on the list- Prenatal vitamins since I was about out. I even showed him what the bottle looked like beforehand so he would get the right kind...Very Important because this certain kind does not make me nauseous..

So he comes back with a different looking bottle. Smaller & kinda similar but definitely different. I look at the label & it says it has some fancy fish oil -healthy heart stuff in it. He decided to get me THAT kind instead.

I call them my horse pills. They are huge.

~Maybe he's affected because of his mom's heart attack this year & wants to protect mine & our growing baby's hearts. (aw-sweet...)

Or maybe, he just wasn't paying attention when he grabbed it...The most likely of the two.

~Family Pictures~

~Family Pictures are always so stressful as it is...

But on top of that I had just found out I was pregnant & trying to hide it. I was feeling fat, sick and bloated that day. But no one could know.
And there were seriously millions of mosquitos biting us as we had these taken even amongst the gobs of bug repellant we had and were putting on.

Meanwhile, Tim's sister Tracey was very patient with us as my kids ran around being crazy & snapped a couple great shots.

We pretended like we hadn't just been yelling at the kids to behave & that mosquitos weren't biting our arms and necks off. We smiled, Tracey did her magic and here you go Project Family Pictures=DONE!

Whew!...Checked off my list once again.

Now I just gotta finish getting 'em addressed & in the mail.

*I don't remember Christmas being this much work! ...must be pregnancy.

Now that my nausea is officially gone...

...I hope to get caught up on this stinkin' blog. Posts really ARE coming! ...i think. 

{* I never posted about Kaylea's birthday from September, or Halloween in October, And then just forget about Thanksgiving, Family Reunions, Kids Performances ....I'm so behind!}

Remember: "I'm a day late, A dollar short BUT I always seem to get there!"

Blog posts really help me keep my sanity. It's rewarding to see all the hard work of Motherhood pay off in the smiles on my kids faces as they experience the joys of Life!

The Pecans Party

We attended & help throw The Pecans party this fall. {A local housing development in the midst of  a beautiful pecan grove.} Kaylea wanted to show her support by actually wearing the emblem on her cheek. -A BIG Thanks to her Aunt Heidi who shared her talent & for hours and hours painted people's faces with practically any design imaginable. 

The Kids had FUN in the Petting Zoo:

And on the Big Bouncer Slide:

And just hanging out with some of their favorite people:

Thanksgiving Day

We had our 1st Thanksgiving Dinner of the day at my Parents with all my siblings {but Tom & Joze.}

I could take one of Mom's homemade rolls right about now. ...and thanks to my 3 sissies for helping me peel all those hard boiled eggs to make these scrumptious deviled eggs. (They looked all the prettier on Granny Mattie's deviled egg plate she gave me.)

The kids played with cousins Ethan & Carson 

that they hadn't seen in a while.

Then it was over to the McCleve's for our next Family Dinner.

~How we wish sweet Emmie could have been there this year.~ 

This year her Dad Jason gave the Thanksgiving Dinner prayer that left us all in tears. As we said Amen our only desire was to have Emmie there for them. The food sat on the counter for a while as we had to wait for our appetites to reappear. Our hearts break as we see them suffer through these 1sts without her. We all went around the table saying what we were thankful for. Another time that put me in tears.

We mainly ate dessert here since our bellies were beginning to bulge...

The guys played pool

The girls gabbed & held the babies

(i think carrie was making a funny in this one)

Lace & Ash caught up on their sleep...(how does Ash lay in those weird positions?)

The 4 younger boys playin' ball in the backyard.

The 3 little ones chillin' as they check out the magic of a cell phone.

~Another wonderfully, long Family Fun filled day.~

Stephenson Family Reunion {...*Video link now working*}

Add Family from AZ/CA + Grandpa's Stories + Tamales 
= And you've got a Stephenson Family Reunion.

~This year we were in my Aunt Sandy & Uncle Toby's home in beautiful Queen Creek. Just look at the views...That's why I love living here. Add horses to the mix & the kiddies were in heaven!

It was great weather out & we had lots of delicious food!

My CUTE lil' Sissies & Cousins

~We watched a video presentation that I had made for the occasion. The background music was a song that my Mom had written words to over the years. (With the help of Brittany's friend, him & his family put it to music in their family's studio.) It is beautiful and tells the story of my Grandpa Ed's little brother who died at the age of 4. This was a very tragic event in their lives and something my Grannie Mattie never talked about because it hurt so much. They were not members of the church & did not believe that families were eternal, thus the incredible turmoil and heartache. Years later, my Grandpa heard that because of Jesus Christ he could one day see his brother Dannie again. This, along with a deep love for my Grandma Pauline converted him to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints-to which I am forever grateful.

*Here is the Video I made about that very story:  
(Words/Music-by Kathy Curtis & Nate Noble)

~There are 3 voices singing this song. One represents Grannie Mattie's (Dannie's Mother), one is Dannie singing from Heaven & the other is my Mom singing from Earth explaining that there is meaning behind it all & we must learn it and share its message.