Thanksgiving, 2008

This Thanksgiving was a special one for me as I got to share it with both of my grandmothers. The last time I saw both of them together was nearly 10 years ago at our wedding (and both my grandfathers, too, although they have since passed on). My Dad's mom ("Nyanya") was here from Oregon for a 2-week visit. She left the day after Thanksgiving. My Mom's mom ("Grandmother") lives in southern Michigan, about a 2-hour drive from Livonia, so my parents brought her up here to celebrate Thanksgiving with us.

I am thankful for many things this year... a safe move... Rusty being almost done with grad school... a wonderful husband and precious son... a healthy pregnancy... caring and supportive parents. But this year, as we sat around the table and feasted on turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and sweet potato casserole, I was also thankful for my heritage of faith... for the godly women who raised both my parents to know the Lord, and in so doing impacted my life, my upbringing, my choices, and my own spiritual journey.

L to R: Grandmother, Mom, Dad, Laura, Alex. Seated: Nyanya. Not pictured: Rusty (behind the camera).

The Move to Michigan

Rusty and I were discussing our various moves the other night and trying to determine how many times we have moved since we have been married. By the most conservative standpoint, this move to Michigan was our eighth move in 9 1/2 years of marriage. That means we have averaged about one move a year in our married life. For the last four years, we have moved once every year, and it doesn't look like we'll be breaking that pattern in 2009!

As moves go, this one went very well. It was stressful, as moving always is, but we had no major catastrophes, and we actually spent very little money this time! Rusty took most everything in our apartment to our storage unit via multiple trips in our little trailer. Then, we packed the van and the trailer full of the things we would be taking to Michigan and began the journey north. We left the day before Thanksgiving, and arrived at my parents' house in time for the Thanksgiving feast on Thursday afternoon.

So, for the foreseeable future, the Campbell family will be living in Michigan with my parents while we continue to plan and prepare for Angola and seek out a congregation who will sponsor us in that work. We are thankful for their generosity during this time of transition for us.

And here's a picture of Alex "helping" with the packing. What is it about cardboard boxes and packing material that holds such fascination for a 2-year old?

Baby Dois: Sneak Peak #2

And here is the littlest Campbell at 19 weeks gestation (I am 22 weeks now). We are thankful that the ultrasound revealed a healthy, growing baby, and yes, definitely a boy! We are about 90% decided on a name. We have the first name picked out; we are still trying to settle on a middle name. However, as with Alex, we have decided to keep the name a secret until the baby is born. So he will continue to be known as Baby Dois for the time being.