Oh, Happy Day!

On Saturday, May 2nd, Rusty graduated with his Master of Arts in Christian Ministry from Harding University Graduate School of Religion. The HUGSR chapter of our lives began nearly 7 years ago -- in 2002 when we returned from our three years in Japan as AET's. We arrived in Memphis on a hot August day with no jobs and nearly no money, only knowing a few people. Seven years later, we are once more unemployed and poor (financially speaking), but rich in the relationships we have formed and the experiences we have had during our time there.

In the years since Rusty first began taking classes at HUGSR, we have gone on a Let's Start Talking campaign to Kampala, Uganda, spent two years working with a church in northern Mississippi, spent another year doing vocational ministry in Japan, joined the Angola team, gone on a month-long survey trip to Angola, and had two precious sons born to us. It has not always been an easy journey. We have moved several times, twice internationally, cared for a dying parent, struggled through the loss of Rusty's mom, as well as our home and life in Japan, been without a home of our own for months at a time, been unemployed or worked jobs that didn't pay much just to make ends meet, and experienced financial stress and uncertainty. And all of this in addition to the normal stresses of graduate school -- hundreds of pages of reading to do each week, exams to study for, papers to research and write.

Through all of it, even during the semesters when Rusty couldn't take classes for one reason or another, I don't think either of us ever doubted that he would one day finish. But I think we both began to wonder when that day would come, especially as the 2-3 years we thought it would take stretched into 7. Rusty found the work of grad school much more difficult than he had anticipated. Some people thrive on study; Rusty is not one of them. There were many times when he felt like a round peg trying to fit in a square hole, when he got discouraged and wondered if he was cut out for this. But he stayed the course and finished what he had started. Watching him walk across that stage to receive his diploma was one of the proudest moments of my life.

Rusty wasn't the only one to receive a degree on May 2nd. At the luncheon for the graduates and their families following the ceremony, I received my PHT (Putting Him Through). After seven years of working to help pay the bills, staying up until the wee hours of the morning proofreading papers, and listening to him gripe about how hard his classes were, I definitely feel like I earned it! Congratulations, Rusty! It has been a privilege and an honor to "put you through" grad school, and I am so very proud of your achievement.

Our family with my parents just after the ceremony

Rusty with teammate Danny Reese

A Day Out with Thomas

One of the things I am especially grateful for during this time of transition in our lives is all of the time Alex is getting to spend with his grandparents. I realize that once we are living overseas again, our times with them will be few and far between. I am glad that Alex has had several months to make special memories with his Nyanya and Babu, and also that he is old enough that he will remember them later on.

On the last Saturday in April, Nyanya and Babu took Alex on the ultimate "grandkid date" (at least in this 3-year old's mind). They bought tickets to "A Day Out with Thomas" at Greenfield Village. The highlight of the day was, of course, getting to ride Thomas, but there were also train tables and trains for the kids to play with, motorized cars to drive, and other activity centers and photo ops. Alex had a great time, and he still talks about it almost a month later.

Alex with his grandparents

Here comes Thomas!

Driving lessons

On the Road Again

We are leaving tomorrow for another trip and will be gone for two weeks (Rusty will be gone for three). It is our first time to travel as a family since Stephen's birth, and I find myself a little overwhelmed by the task of packing for the four of us for the next couple of weeks.

We are traveling for a combination of personal and Angola-related reasons. May 1-2, we will be in Memphis for Rusty's graduation ceremony. On May 3, we will be in Nashville to present to a missions committee at a church that may be interested in becoming our sponsoring congregation. May 5-8, we will be in L.A. to attend the Pepperdine Lectureships. Our team will be teaching a class about the work in Angola as well as hosting an informational breakfast. May 9, we will be in Abilene to attend my brother's graduation ceremony at ACU. The boys and I will be back in Detroit by May 13. Rusty is staying in Texas an extra week to attend a church planting conference with our team in Dallas.

The blog will be on hiatus for a couple of weeks. However, I promise lots of pictures and updates after we return. We look forward to seeing many of you during our travels these next two weeks!

Easter, 2009

Our Easter this year was pretty low-key. The main reason for that being that I had given birth just six days prior. I did help Alex dye some Easter eggs on Saturday. He did it mostly by himself, and he liked turning the eggs different colors, but he quickly lost interest when it came to decorating them with stickers. My mom says I need a daughter to do craft projects with. Well, maybe next time!

On Sunday, we all went to church, Stephen for the first time. He was six days old. Everyone was surprised to see me there, and to be honest, I probably would not have gone had it not been Easter Sunday. The most special part of the service for me was that my dad was able to pray over Stephen. It's something he does for every new baby on their first Sunday at church. I don't think any of us expected that someday he would be able to do this for one of his grandkids. It will always be a precious memory of the events surrounding Stephen's arrival.


After the service, there was an Easter egg hunt for all the kids, and Alex had a great time with that. Then it was home for a yummy Easter lunch -- Mom's awesome chicken tetrazzini and homemade pies for dessert.

Family of Four

Here's the first picture we have of our family of four. My dad took this picture of us in the hospital on the day Stephen was born.

Things continue to go well. My recovery has been quicker this time than the last time (maybe that has to do with the fact that I had a quicker and easier labor and delivery). In fact, the thing that is bothering me most right now is my back. Pregnancy really messes with your posture! Stephen is also doing well and (so far) appears to be a pretty laid back baby. We took him to the doctor today to have him evaluated for jaundice. His levels are pretty high, so the doctor said if they go any higher, he will have to go under the lights. We will go back on Monday to have him checked out again.

Pictures of Stephen

About 4 hours old -- being weighed and measured

Getting his first bath -- he wasn't too happy about it!

Nyanya and Babu and their two grandsons

The L&D nurse who actually delivered Stephen

The other L&D nurse who was in the room when Stephen was born.

Both of the nurses were absolutely amazing and really kept their cool during the quick delivery! They told me later that I hold the record for the fastest delivery (so far) at this hospital. It's only been open a couple of weeks -- still, it would probably be difficult to break my record. They said I checked in at the front at 9:04, and Stephen was born at 9:12. I'm just glad they decided to bypass triage and took me straight to my room. I still find it hard to believe that my first labor lasted nearly 64 hours, and this one was only 4. I guess I am trying to set a record either way!

Stephen, Rusty, and I came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. Alex has been enjoying having us all at home. So far, he seems very excited about his "baby brudder" and keeps saying, "He's so cute!" We'll see how it goes from here!

Baby Dois is Here!

Baby Dois, henceforth to be known as Stephen Thomas Campbell, arrived at about 9:15 this morning. He weighed 8 lbs. 5 oz. and was 20 3/4 inches long. He is healthy and perfect and already nursing like a champ.

In comparison to my labor with Alex, which went on for almost 3 days, this one was a piece of cake! In fact, we barely made it to the hospital in time. They were just getting us settled in our room, and they told me to go change into a gown in the bathroom. I sat down to use the toilet, and all of a sudden, I realized I was pushing. I yelled out, "I'm pushing!" Rusty and two L&D nurses managed to get me to the bed, and Stephen was born with the very next contraction, before the doctor on duty even had a chance to get there. No time for a labor check, IV, nothing. I'm just glad we left the house when we did, or he would have been born in the car!

Pictures will follow soon. Thanks to everyone who prayed for a short and easy delivery for me -- I'd say God really answered your prayers!

Waiting

So much of our life right now seems to be about waiting. Waiting for Baby Dois to make his appearance... waiting for spring to come and the weather to warm up... waiting on God to provide a sponsoring church and the funds we need to go to Angola. This last is probably the hardest right now. I mean, I know I'm eventually going to have this baby. He'll come when he is ready, and I won't be pregnant forever. (Right?) And I know spring is just around the corner. I guess that's the hard part about waiting for all the pieces to come together for Angola -- we don't know how much longer we will have to wait.

We continue to pray, prepare, present to churches, network with an ever-growing list of contacts, and pray some more. Most churches we send our materials to say they just can't commit to taking on a new missionary right now, often because their funds are already committed to other missionaries or ministries, or because of budget cutbacks, a building project, or the "current economic situation." Others agree to take up a one-time contribution for us, which is certainly appreciated and helpful, especially right now with all of our preparation expenses, but won't sustain us long-term on the field. And then, there are those few churches who are actually in a position to be either a sponsoring congregation or to give monthly towards our salary or work-fund for the next few years. So we make our pitch to the missions committee... and then we wait.

Waiting is... agonizing, discouraging, demoralizing, frustrating. It is also faith-building. Throughout this whole process, I am trying to remember that. I know there have been other missionaries who have looked for support a lot longer than we have been looking, and they eventually found what they needed and went. I know that when God calls, he also enables. I know that God's timing is perfect and that I don't always see the big picture or understand why things happen (or don't happen) the way I think they should. I hope that in years to come, I can look back on this time in my life and see it as a time when my faith in God's providence and in his timing was really strengthened.

A few weeks ago, I saw the movie "Fireproof," a wonderful movie on the importance of commitment in marriage, even (or especially) when times are tough. There was a song in the movie called "While I'm Waiting," that really touched my heart and encouraged my soul during my own season of waiting. I'm posting links to the music video on Youtube and to the lyrics below. If you haven't yet seen the movie, then I highly recommend that you go rent it and watch it with your spouse (if you have one) tonight!

"While I'm Waiting" music video
"While I'm Waiting" lyrics

March 2009 Newsletter

Our most recent family newsletter has been uploaded to Googlepages and is available for viewing. Click here to download. In the interest of keeping family, friends, and other interested parties up-to-date on our journey towards life and ministry in Angola, our newsletter will now be a quarterly publication.

If you would like to receive our newsletter via email, please contact us at rustyandlaura AT gmail DOT com. We would be happy to add you to our mailing list.

Getting Ready for Baby Dois

With 15 days to go until my official due date, we have been busily preparing for the arrival of Baby Dois. The cradle has been assembled and is standing in our room... baby clothes and blankets have been laundered, folded, and put away... diapers have been purchased... the infant car seat has been installed in our van. We also attended our last Bradley method childbirth class last week; and on Sunday, we took our hospital tour. And of course, there have been the doctor's appointments, which always seem to take the better part of a morning, or an afternoon.

So, pretty much the only baby-related thing left on my "to do" list is to pack my hospital bag. There are some other things I am hoping to take care of before he decides to make his appearance, though... before I am consumed by nursing and newborn care once again, and the fog of those early weeks postpartum descends on my brain. Everyone assumes that I want him to be "early," and I do, but now that the threat of induction is past, I wouldn't mind if he waited until after the first to decide to be born!

Alex has been eager to help as we prepare to welcome his little brother. Here is a picture of him and Rusty putting together the cradle:


And of course, after it was all put together, he had to try it out! He doesn't exactly fit in it quite the way he used to. Nothing like a picture like this to make you realize how much your "baby" has grown in three years:

Almost 37 Weeks

I will be 37 weeks pregnant tomorrow. This is another big milestone, because it is considered "full-term." So, it is pretty much a waiting game at this point. Will Baby Dois be early, as Alex was? Or will he decide to stay where it is warm and comfy a few days longer?

I continue to feel fine, although I tire easily and find it more difficult to sleep comfortably at night. I have been having some issues with low amniotic fluid volume, so they will be monitoring that from here on out. This means I have to go into the office twice a week for an ultrasound and a non-stress test. I have also been given orders to rest as much as possible and drink lots and lots of fluids. There was talk last week of inducing labor if fluid levels continue to drop. I do not want to see it come to that, so I have been downing the water and the Gatorade -- and running to the bathroom every 20 minutes or so! Today when I went in, my fluid level had jumped from a 6.7 all the way up to an 11, putting me back in the normal range. My doc is happy -- and so am I.

Please pray for a healthy conclusion to this pregnancy and a safe and short delivery of Baby Dois!

Three Years Old

Alex celebrated his third birthday during our recent trip to Arkansas for a team meeting. It is funny to think that for every single birthday he has had so far in his young life, including his actual "birth" day, he has been in a different city -- born in Mito, Japan; first birthday in Portland, OR; second birthday in Memphis, TN; third birthday in Little Rock, AR (and I guess we should count Livonia, MI too, since that is where he had his party). It is a testimony, I suppose, to the fact that we are truly global nomads. I wonder where we will be for #4?

Anyway, back to the birthday boy. His Aunt Teague made him a caterpillar cake out of cupcakes, which turned out super cute (see pics below)! Alex enjoyed everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to him, and blowing out candles for the second time. He also had a few presents to open. It is fun to watch him really get into the whole birthday thing -- he seems to really understand what it is all about now.

Happy Third, my sweet boy! I have been so blessed to be your mama these last 3 years.

A Thomas Birthday Party

We had Alex' 3-year old birthday party on Monday. He has recently developed an obsession with the Thomas and friends trains, and he told me several weeks ago that he wanted a Thomas the Tank Engine cake. That made the theme an easy decision! We decided to have the party at the church and invited all the kids in his Sunday School class. Including Alex, there were eight children. It was a bit chaotic in the beginning, and there were some tears and some trouble with sharing... but we were able to move past all that eventually, and by the end, everyone was all smiles. A big thank you to my mom for all of her help with the food and the decorations! I don't think I could have pulled it off without her.

Here is the cake... and please pardon the fact that it is sitting on top of the washing machine. This was to keep it cool, and also out of Alex' sight until the party. It was a lot of work, and I stayed up until 1:00 the night before decorating it (Rusty helped, too), but I'm really pleased with how it turned out. I got most of my ideas from this website, so if you are looking for some "do-it-yourself" ideas for birthday cakes, give it a try.

The kids' table was set up with wooden tracks and trains and also some coloring sheets and crayons. Just something for them to do in the beginning before the organized games.

Playing "Pin the Number on Thomas." We also played "Musical Train" and a bean bag toss game.

Time to eat! We had macaroni and cheese, mini pigs-in-a-blanket, and fruit kabobs (If I were to do it again, however, I would skip the skewers and just make a fruit platter -- skewers are a bad idea with 2-4 year olds! I don't know what I was thinking!)

The birthday boy as we were singing "Happy Birthday" to him. The cake was a big hit with all the kids, and they loved that I let them choose their piece. Most chose based on what kind of candy was on top of the car.

Alex opening his presents. Thank you to everyone for coming and for the great gifts! We had fun and hope you did, too!

Pregnancy Updates

When I was pregnant with Alex, we were very diligent about taking pictures of my growing belly every four weeks or so. I am embarrassed to admit that just last week, we took our second round of belly shots. At this rate, we'll be lucky to have three sets of pictures to document this pregnancy.

In the picture below (taken on Valentine's Day), I am just over 32 weeks pregnant. I am now almost 34 weeks, and I feel HUGE! It's hard to believe I still have a few weeks of growing to do. My doctor, however, tells me that I am measuring small, but it's not anything she is overly concerned about. It's kind of funny because when I was pregnant in Japan, I measured ahead of schedule pretty much the entire time... but I chalked that up to the difference between Japanese babies and Western babies. My weight gain so far has been pretty consistent with what I gained with Alex -- less than 25 pounds as of last week's checkup.

This pregnancy has progressed uneventfully so far, and for that we are thankful. I must confess, though, that I am enjoying the experience of being pregnant less than I did the first time around. I still marvel at the miracle that is growing within, but the usual aches and pains seem to be more pronounced, diminishing the enjoyment factor somewhat. I am also experiencing some pregnancy symptoms that I escaped the first time around -- like painful varicose veins in one leg, UGH. Also, Baby Dois seems much more active in utero than I ever remember Alex being, making me wonder just what we are in for with this child!

As far as birth plans, God has blessed us with a really great doctor. She is a family friend and a member at the Livonia church. She seems totally on board with my desire to have a natural birth with as few interventions as possible. So, although I toyed with the idea of trying to find a midwife and checking out a couple of birthing centers in the area, I have decided to stay with her, which means I will be delivering at a hospital. The labor and delivery unit at this particular hospital is pretty much brand new (in fact, it hasn't even opened yet), with labor tubs in every room -- yay!

Rusty and I have also been taking Bradley Method childbirth classes, which have been so informative and helpful. Most people look at me kind of funny when I tell them we are taking childbirth classes -- kind of like, "It's your second baby. Didn't you learn everything you needed to know the first time around?" But since we were living in Japan, we didn't have the opportunity to take classes (in English), and there are a lot of things that I wish we would have known (like some of the relaxation techniques and coaching methods) that I feel like would have made a real difference in my long and difficult labor. My doctor keeps telling me that this second labor will go so fast and be so easy. I hope she is right. Of course, as I've stated before, fast and easy are relative terms in my book!

32 weeks and growing

His Latest Talent

Last fall, Alex finally figured out how to ride a trike. We took these videos in Memphis about a month before we left, but I am just now getting them off the camcorder and uploaded to Youtube. We brought his trike with us to Detroit, and when the weather is decent, he rides it around the neighborhood.

More Snow Pics

You'll have to forgive all the pictures of us frolicking in the snow. Not being native Michiganders, it is still a bit of a novelty for us... although I have to admit that the warmer temperatures earlier this week were a nice break. More snow is forecast for tomorrow, though!

These pictures were taken last month after a Really Big Snowfall!

Alex really wanted to "plow" the snow with his dump truck!

Trying to catch snowflakes on our tongues

Making a snow angel

This picture gives you an idea of how deep the snow was.

I'm ready to go in and have my hot chocolate now!

DC Trip

At the beginning of January, we made the trip out east to our nation's capital. The main purpose of our trip was to pay a surprise visit to Rusty's sister, Ronda, who was there visiting her boyfriend's family for two weeks. Since neither Rusty or I had ever been to DC before, we went into town one day with Ronda and Mark to see some of the sights. We didn't have a lot of time, so we just found a place to park near the Reflecting Pool, and walked to the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the World War II Memorial, and the Washington Monument. From there, we headed over to catch a glimpse of the White House, then grabbed a hot dog on the way back to the car. It was neat to see, in person, some of the things that, up until now, I have only seen in books and on TV.

Our family in front of Abraham Lincoln's statue

In front of the Washington Monument

Alex chasing pigeons -- the fattest, laziest pigeons I have ever seen! They didn't even fly away when he ran at them, just sort of waddled out of his path.

Alex and Auntie Ronda

We also traveled down to Virginia to spend a couple of days with my oldest friend, Michelle, and her husband, David. Rusty was able to do a presentation to their church on Sunday about Angola, and we enjoyed some time to just visit with them and catch up on their lives. (I am embarrassed to say that the camera didn't make it out of the bag the entire time we were there, so I have no pictures of our time with Michelle and David!)

On our way back to Detroit, we stopped in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania -- another place neither of us had ever been. We picked up a map at the visitor's center and did the self-paced auto tour. Seeing all the monuments and the battlefields which look much the same as they did in the 1860's was inspiring and thought-provoking. Then we stopped and got a bite to eat at a restaurant downtown before heading home.

Alex in front of one of the Gettysburg Monuments

Merry Christmas, 2008

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It was somewhat bittersweet for me since I couldn't help but think that this may be our last holiday season in the United States for quite some time. Still, I was determined to enjoy it and to help Alex enjoy it, too. He really got into opening presents this year, which was fun for all of us to watch. My brother Matt was home from ACU for almost a month, and we enjoyed our time with him... and playing his X-box until it died (sorry, man). After Christmas was over, we made our traditional trip to the Henry Ford Museum to see the holiday model train display -- always a hit with Alex. On New Year's Eve, we watched "It's a Wonderful Life" (Matt had never seen it!) and then had some time to reflect and pray together as a family as we welcomed in the new year.

Christmas morning -- traditional family pic in front of the tree

Alex and Uncle Matt playing a duet

Driving the Thomas train at the Henry Ford Museum

More hands-on fun at the museum

Guitar Hero fun -- even Mom got in on the action!

On New Year's Eve, we let Alex tear down and eat the gingerbread house.

Christmas Prep

We really enjoyed being at my parents' house for the entire holiday season this year. For me, half the fun (or more) of Christmas is all the preparations that go on in the weeks leading up to it. I got to help my mom with all her Christmas baking -- the famous Stephens' cookie trays -- yum, yum! And Alex was old enough this year to participate in some of the special Christmas preparations, like:

decorating the Christmas tree...

watching the train go around and around...

decorating sugar cookies (and sampling all the candy sprinkles)...

helping Mommy decorate a gingerbread house...

...and making pinecone ornaments.

Coming soon... Christmas pictures, our trip to D.C., and pregnancy updates. Oh, and I may throw in more snow pictures, too! Check back soon.

Fun in the Snow

My humblest apologies to all our loyal blog readers for not updating in over a month. I have several posts in the works, so check back over the next few days for some Campbell family news and goings-on.

For the first time in my life, I am living in a place that gets lots of snow in the winter. So far, it has been fun, although since we have all been battling the sickies, we have not been able to get out and enjoy playing in it as much as we would like. These pictures were taken in December -- in the weeks leading up to Christmas, we got a lot of snow. So, we had a white Christmas this year, which was fun. (As I type this, Michigan is in the middle of an arctic freeze -- we had several more inches of snow earlier in the week, and now the temps are in the single and negative digits. Brrrr!)

Teaching Alex how to make a snowball -- or trying, anyway. All of the snow we have had so far has been dry and powdery, so snowballs and snowmen have been hard to make.

Alex and Uncle Matt