~Father's Day~

Wow...we have a lot of kids.

~After a wonderful morning at church, we took the traditional after church Father's Day photos with Tim & the kids.

Earlier that morning at 7ish Kaylea kept tapping me as I longed to sleep in & asked me to help her make Tim breakfast in bed. What would this world be like without daughters?...seriously. So sleepy-eyed I helped her throw in some (refrigerated dough cinnamon rolls). Kay made a pitcher of orange juice, plucked a bowl full of grapes & found a cute "Daddy" mug in our rental house & we were headed downstairs.

Why downstairs?...well Tim had slept most of the night in the basement with Jax -who wakes up still in the night-. I help the baby, he helps Jax. That's our new system. Yup he deserved a good Father's Day.

~Directly after church we went to visit with our Dad's. First Tim's then mine. They are both great in their own different ways. The best thing to us about both of them is how much they love our kids! Our kids run up to them knowing they'll always get a hug & playtime.

I'm so grateful to have a husband who adores his children as much as he does & makes time for them. But hey...they are pretty great.

Boogers & Yawns ...classic campbell.

*Scout Day Camp*

"Mom -it was like funner than Disneyland!"

That's what Spence told me after the 1st day of Scout Camp.

He went for 3 days & was gone from 2-11pm every day.

He had a blast doing things like archery, water balloon fights, crafts, b-b guns, swimming...etc.

I've had all these boys pictured as my "Bears" in Cub Scouts at one point in time. 
Good bunch of kids!

This was Spence's last shin dig in Cub Scouts. 
Now he's growin' up & moving on to Boy Scouts...

So 'long...It's been fun!

Soapbox Saturday: "Modest when it's the Hottest"

Yes it is 112 degrees this week....and not looking cooler anytime soon! Anyone would know, especially us Arizonan natives, that it is dang hot outside.

But it never ceases to amaze me each summer to witness the amount of clothing people wear shrinking drastically! And we know it happens long before the temperature even reaches the 100's...perhaps the second Winter is over.

From young, to mid, to teen, to (moms) much older girls displaying their:

*short shorts/skirts*

*sleeveless & see-through shirts*

*skimpy swimsuits*
*sliding up/down shirts*
*suctioning  (tight-fitting)

(like my "S" alliteration?)

~What's disheartening is that we see more & more of it even with the church-going crowd; People that know better. Or say they believe differently but don't show it. Even Moms that are letting their young girls think it's okay to show off their body. ..And then of course by the time they're teenagers, well.. it's already engraved in their brains. If they don't learn young, the mom's can't expect their daughters to all of the sudden just figure it out. And then down the road the parents just can't seem to figure out {insert sarcasm} how their daughter has immorality issues or why she wants to date the "bad boys" etc. etc. *The worst is when the moms, these daughters ultimate examples, come out in their seasonal cleavage-showing swimsuits. And are the Dad's really okay with it when they know the way other boys/men can think when looking at their wives and daughters? I think the Father really has to step up and preside in this situation to protect his precious girls.

~I think maybe a lot of people might do it just because it's the fad/trend whatever. Because everyone wears it...Really?...We care that much to fit in to a disgusting world? Is that our goal? Or maybe it's that we've just become so accustomed to seeing it or wearing it that we tend to tune it out or become numb to it.

To stand out we just can't fit in. 

Makes me think of this quote along my sidebar that I love:

"Women of God can never be like

Women of the World...

The world has enough women who are TOUGH;

we need women who areTENDER.

There are enough women who are COARSE;

we need women who are KIND.

There are enough women who are RUDE;

we need women who areREFINED.

We have enough women of Fame and Fortune;

we need morewomen of FAITH.

We have enough GREED;

we need moreGOODNESS.

~We have enough VANITY;

we need more VIRTUE.~

We have enough POPULARITY;

we need more PURITY."

Margaret D. Nadauld ~General Conference 2000

It's just sad to me. Perhaps there are even those who need someone like a Church Leader stating such words like "do not walk around half naked" for the light to come on in their heads!? ...or maybe they can just justify it since they haven't "heard" it lately. C'mon we all have brains with memories & should be using them. Seriously though, we have ALL been given AGENCY, COMMON SENSE, and in our Church we have WONDERFUL things like the "Strength of Youth" Pamphlet-a guideline for youth going over our standards from music to clothing etc. We know what our bodies are made for & it's certainly not to show them off!

~I don't have ALL the answers,

BUT I do know that modesty is one of them!~

*Ok

Getting

DOWN

from my 

SOAPBOX 

now...

{P.S. Don't look at the Birthday Post below. My son decided to rebel against my Modesty preaching. What can I say...He was HOT. :)}

Soapbox Saturday....{tomorrow}

Tomorrow I'm beginning what I call "Soapbox Saturday"
.....cuz I'm dorky like that.
This somewhat un-opinionated Mama can be quite the contrary at times.

Stay Tuned....

Jax Turns 2!

So I guess I just like celebrating Birthdays in May & June. 
Just a week and a day after Ryler was born, May 21st, my sweet lil' Jaxson turned 2!
He enjoyed this yummy thing at Grandma's House.

Chocolate, Bubbles...& playing w/ Uncle Phylip ~what more could a kid want?

Back at home, amidst the packing chaos, we still managed to CELEBRATE with a few Gifts & Goodies!

Some Things we'll want to Remember
About Jax @ 2 Years Old:

*Drinks his sippy cup with no hands, simply just tips his head back..

*Wants to interlock fingers when holding your hand.

*Thinks squirt guns, balloons & BUBBLES are the best things ever!

*Has the cutest dimple on his right cheek!

*Displays classic OCD traits. He amuses us yet drives us crazy as he does things like:  *lines up all the shampoo bottles in a perfect row *makes sure doors/cupboards are always shut *every crumb or dot or flake of anything has to be vanished immediately

*He adds the "ee" sound at most words creating his own adorable language

  ex. buggy (bug) moony (moon) toesie (toes) diapie (diaper) etc...

*Will come hold my legs, then say "Uppie" & reach so I'll pick him up.

*Has knatted hair in back resembling rats nest (campbell genes)

*...Beautiful round blue eyes with long dark eye lashes

*...Fair white skin-burns easily, allergic to most sunblock (curtis genes)

*Calls any Motherly figure in his life "Mom" -aunts, grandmas etc.

*Loves to HELP do chores-sweeping, mopping & unloading dishwasher.

*Cuddles up to Ryler each time he sees him and kisses all over him

...sometimes squeezes Ry too tight & has been known to poke an eyeball or two.

*Has a Love/Hate Relationship with the dog -Snuggling one minute & then hurting each other the next

*Often puts both fingers in his nose or ears & just stares at you with a serious face.

*Is enamored by puzzles/video games= "Angry Birds" & "StarFall"on Dad's Ipad

*Has his Dad wrapped around his finger & can talk him into giving treats in place of a meal.

*Knows when his Mom needs a hug, will snuggle with me & pat my face.

*Has way too much energy.
...& loves to climb/jump off of high, dangerous places.

*Enjoys drawing pictures with markers while sitting next to Kaylea-he is very detail oriented.

*...Also enjoys coloring on walls & his body

*Can recognize EVERY ABC & knows each of their sounds!

*Spots the alphabet letters in street-signs & Breaks pretzels into pieces to form ABC's.

*Does the classic "I'm trying not to smile face"

*Gets gassy in the middle of night if he has milk after 7pm

*Watches shows like "Caillou" & Movie "Letter Factory" religiously

*His newborn black hair has since changed to strawberry blonde

*Can throw a ball better than his Mom...has an "arm on him"

*Loves wrestling with brothers/Dad -Usually wins by sitting on their faces.

*He waves & says "Bye" to everyone & everything...from toys to the grocery clerk to his plate at dinner.

{-He needs closure to things. So on that note...}

Good Bye.

These Days...

Our Family is just plain tired.

No Really. I mean it...

The End.

*RYLER 1 month*

~It's been a long, crazy month for us.~

 It began with a Birth, Then A Death, 5 Graduations-3 High School, 1 Kindergarten, 1 College, A Baptism, Priesthood Ordination, Scout Camp, Celebrated our other 3 Boys Birthdays, our 12th Wedding Anniversary, Moved out of our House, moved into a Rental & began building our New House! {That's not even mentioning the usual things like Dental/Doctor Visits (shots included), Kids Activities like Hip Hop/ Piano /Guitar Lessons, other Family B-days, Friends Play-Dates/Parties, blah blah blah......}

*Throw in a little Post-Partum, C-section healing, Terrible 2's, Tantrums & Arguing Children, Barking/Peeing/Biting Dog & a Colicky Baby and you can get an idea of what it has been like. I'm realizing how precious sleep and alone time is (usually only occurs when going to the bathroom) & how much of my stuff is boxed away & missing for 5 months!!! 
Existing with half a brain & half 10% of my stuff is overwhelming.

There have been lots of tears, but also smiles
as I looked into the eyes of this baby boy.

taken June 13th-his 1 month Bday

~ Grandma Porter~

93 years old she would have been on June 3rd.
Just 5 days earlier on a Sunday evening she passed away peacefully in her own bed.
She was surrounded by her children, grandchildren & great-grandchildren.
What a perfect time & way to go. It was a beautiful evening out.
Her 3 daughters each held on to her as she went.
She was ready to go...

{The night before she passed away, we brought over Ryler so she could meet him before she left...Although miserable & tired, she still showed her usual excitement as Tim held Ry up to see her.}

That next afternoon after leaving Hospice she came home to be in her own bed. Tim placed a small picture she had of her father on her pillow & told her he was waiting for her.{Her father had died young leaving a wife & 6 daughters behind. I'm sure he was anxious to see her.}

*Her parents, some siblings, grandson Russ & husband Hal all awaited her Heavenly arrival.
We said Good-Bye just as they were greeting her.

Grandma & Jaxson on his Blessing Day~2009

Grandma Porter was known to most for 2 things.

Even in her 90's: 

1) she always had on an outfit that you'd never seen before, complete with matching accessories & shoes. Her make up was of course always done too..complete with lipstick & a SMILE.

2) she had her house decorated to the max- there wasn't an inch that was ignored. From floral arrangements, to photos, to porcelain dolls or teddy bears. (the great-grandkids recently counted 350 teddy bears!) You'd have to see it to believe it.

And she loved it that way. Especially her dolls. 

*I found out a secret the day she passed away that I never knew. Tim's Mom told me that the night that Tim proposed to me, that her & Grandma Porter spied on us. Tim had a candlelight dinner set up for me on her back patio that overlooked the lake. The two of them lay on their stomachs & watched through the bottom of the blinds. {Picture this tiny 81 year old woman on her belly trying to catch a glimpse of the moment.} This brought a smile to our faces as we remembered the night & imagined her doing this.*

Grandma Porter in that very spot 2010

~Her funeral was the day after her 93rd Birthday, Saturday June 4th.~

It was a beautiful service filled with memories, testimony & song.

Kaylea holding her program. 
(Kaylea inherited her nails from her Great Grandma.)

Some of the Great-Grandkids sang: "Families Can Be Together Forever" at the Gravesite.

Here are Grandma's 4 Children surrounding her.

{Debbie, Carolyn, Lanny, Kathy}

Till We Meet Again...

Getting sentimental again...

Me & my Phylie back in the day

In 1997, my lil' bro Phylip was starting Preschool when 

I was graduating High School.

Now just recently in 2011, my lil' Daylan graduated Kindergarten & Phylip graduated High School.

Now he's:

 All grown up.

Talented.

Handsome.

Obedient.

Fun Loving.

and just plain Awesome.

Not to mention a great Uncle!

Phyl & baby Spencer

Phyl & baby Ryler

It just happens to be his 18th Birthday today!

Happy Birthday Phylip!

We love you.