Alex Meets an "Old" Friend

Last week, Roxanna and Baby Sophie came to Portland to visit. It was fun getting Alex and Sophie together again after so many months. The picture below was taken at Holiday Fair at Cascade. They also went to the Harvest Party at Metro Church sporting their darling Halloween costumes. Click here to visit Roxanna's blog and see more pictures of the two of them together!

Alex Pulls Up!

So proud of himself!

Pumpkin Carving

We carved our pumpkins last Friday afternoon after school. Jessica, a classmate of Robbie and Johnny's, held Alex so I could take a few pictures.

Rusty thought his pumpkin had great acoustical qualities!

Ronda asked us to get her the weirdest looking pumpkin we could find. So we got one that was covered with warts!

The finished product. The big one is Rusty's, the medium-sized one is mine, and the little one is Alex's. Note the single tooth carved into the smile!

From the top: Robbie's, Ronda's, and Johnny's. Johnny actually carved his name into his pumpkin. Quite an intricate design.

Alex Visits the Pumpkin Patch

We went to the Pumpkin Patch hosted by the Vancouver Church of Christ to pick out our Halloween pumpkins. It was a perfect fall day, warm and sunny. Alex helped us choose a pumpkin for each member of the family, including a small one for himself! But I think Mama will have to help him carve it! He loved sitting on the hay bales and playing with the bright orange pumpkins.

Alex also tried hay for the first time! After much deliberation, he determined that he would leave the hay to the horses and stick to foods like sweet potatoes and applesauce. But it sure was fun to play in.

I love fall! And I love watching my baby explore and learn about the world around him!

Mary E. Campbell

Mary E. Campbell, born September 17th, 1942 of Aaron B. Stanes and Luella M. Falk, went to Heaven at 12:37 a.m. in her home, Oct. 3, 2006. With her son, daughter, three grandchildren, and daughter-in-law at her side, she went peacefully after suffering from a glioblastoma multiforme brain tumor found June 28, 2006.

Mary's passion, besides her family and her faith, was teaching. She became part of the Portland public school system in 1981. She was a well-known substitute teacher in many school districts throughout Oregon. She touched the lives of many children, especially those with special needs or those that just needed a hug. She was always willing to help in any way she could, whether with food, money, clothing, shelter, or spiritual uplifting.

Mary was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Johnny R. Campbell. She is survived by her daughter, Ronda Stefan; her son, Rusty Campbell and daughter-in-law, Laura Campbell; and her three grandsons, Robbie Stefan, Johnny Stefan and Alexander Campbell, all of Portland. She is also survived by four brothers, Ronald Starnes of Lewiston, Idaho; Kenneth Starnes of Manson, Manitoba; Lyle Starnes of Dechard, Tenn.; and Willis Starnes of Irving, Texas.

Services were held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, 2006 in the Eastside Church of Christ, 9030 N.E. Glisan Street, Portland.

Donations in Mary's honor should be made to Columbia Christian Academy or the Johnny and Mary Campbell Endowment Fund for Handicapped Students at Cascade College.

(The above obituary was written by Ronda and appeared in the Oregonian on Friday, October 6th.)

Seven Months Old

I am seven months old and just as cute as can be. I weigh 20.5 pounds (nearly triple my birth weight) and am 27 inches long. I am in the 95th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. My mommy and daddy can't believe how big I am getting. Our shipment with my 6-9 month size clothes got here just in time. I was about to bust out the seams on all my 3-6 month clothes!

I love trying new foods, playing with my rubber duckies in the bath, watching "Sesame Street," and cheering for my cousins at their soccer games. They are the star players on their team. I want to be just like Robbie and Johnny when I get big. I can push up into a crawling position now, and I know I am supposed to be able to go places on my hands and knees, but I am having a hard time figuring out how to coordinate everything. Sometimes I get really frustrated, so I just start yelling. Then my mommy or daddy comes and rescues me.

Alex Meets Miss Earline

This dear lady, from the church Rusty used to work for in Mississippi, was in Oregon recently visiting her cousin who lives in the area. We met up for lunch one day at Beaches, a restaurant on the Columbia River. Earline enjoyed the distinctive honor of being the first person from "down South" to hold and play with our little munchkin. So good to see you, Earline!

Six Months Old

August 28th was my six-month birthday! Can you believe I am half a year old already? I am enjoying being outdoors in the summer weather, going on walks, and playing in the grass. This month, my major achievements were learning to sit up by myself and starting to eat big people's food! I have had rice cereal, bananas, peaches, applesauce, pears, mashed potatoes, and avocado. Sometimes, my mommy will give me a piece of apple or a carrot to gnaw on. She even let me try Grandma's homemade peach icecream one day! I have yet to meet a food that I don't like!

Alex Sits!

Look at me! Look at me! I can sit up all by myself!

Feelin' Peachy

Last Thursday, Mary, Ronda, Rusty, Alex and I went out to Sauvie Island and picked peaches. Over 400 pounds of sweet, juicy Veterans peaches. What did we do with that many peaches, you ask? Well, we ate some (delicious made into a pie, or just sliced with vanilla ice cream!), we gave some away, and we canned the rest. You see, every year, Mary cans this special variety of peach. And, since Mary's home-canned peaches are among Rusty's favorite foods, I asked her to teach me how to make them.

Even after eating some of the peaches and giving some away, there were still a lot of peaches left to can! So, Mary and I called in the troops. Pictured below are Alex and me with my friend Chalon, also a dedicated home canner, and in the background, Mary and her long-time friend Judy.

The peaches had to be peeled, then sliced or halved, then packed into jars. After that, we poured syrup over them, capped the jars, and put them into the canner for a 25-minute hot water bath. With two canners going at once, the kitchen heated up quick! The old adage that many hands make light work certainly held true in this case, though, and we enjoyed some sweet fellowship while we peached!

At final count, we had no less than 49 quart jars of peaches! That should keep Rusty happy for awhile, dontcha think? We also made several batches of peach jam and peach syrup (can't wait to try it on pancakes!). Home canning really is a lost art in these days of packaged and processed everything. I'm glad I learned how to do it, and I certainly feel like a domestic diva after this week! In all honesty, though, I don't care if I don't see another peach for a long, long time!

Wiggin' Out!

Mary, Rusty's mom, has been undergoing radiation therapy for the past several weeks as part of her treatment. As you may know, one of the many unpleasant side effects of radiation is hair loss. But thanks to the generosity of the American Cancer Society, Mary was able to get two wigs and several hats and turbans, all for free. She is pictured here trying on a wig that Ronda picked out just for fun. (Don't worry, the wigs she went home with were much more conservative!) I can't even begin to imagine what she must be going through right now, and yet through it all, she still manages to have fun and keep a positive outlook. And yes, good sport that she is, she did give me permission to post this picture of her on our blog!

Alex Plays His Piano

This wonderful toy was a gift to Alex from his Auntie Ronda (who dotes on him as only an aunt can do). He loves to sit in it and play with all the toys and make it light up and play music. He especially loves to play for an audience -- Mama, Daddy, Grandma, or whoever else happens to be in the room at the moment. I think we have a little performer on our hands!

Alex Visits "Mama Mzazi"

Alex loves to visit his "Mama Mzazi" (great- grandma Nadine, my grandma). She will be 80 years old this year, and her eyesight is failing, but she holds Alex and he talks to her and tells her all the things he has been doing. We try to go out and see her at least once a week. Last week, we walked around Huntington Terrace, her retirement home, and she showed him off to all her friends and the staff there. Alex loves to meet new people, and is proving to be quite the ham. Hmmmm, wonder who he gets that from?

Five Months Old

5 Months Old
Originally uploaded by rustyandlaura.

I was five months old on July 28th, the day we arrived in Portland. I am getting very big and heavy and will soon outgrow my 3-6 month size clothes! I am rolling over and learning to sit up like a big boy. My recent discoveries include my feet (they sure are fun toys!) and my vocal cords (I can scream really loud when I want to!). My mommy says she thinks I will get my first tooth soon. This teething business is no fun at all! Until next month...

Alex Meets "The Fam"

Well, hello from Portland, Oregon! We arrived here safely last Friday. Alex did great on the 11 1/2 hour plane ride from Seoul to LA. I think he was just about the best behaved baby on the whole flight (and there were lots of babies)! While most of the other kids were screaming and crying, he snoozed peacefully in his carseat, and when he wasn't sleeping, he was trying to make friends with the other passengers. He travels so well -- I knew he would make a great TCK (must get that from his mommy)! Oh, and by the way, no one even asked us any questions about his chicken pox, which were still healing when we made our trip.

Since we arrived, Alex has enjoyed meeting relatives on both sides of the family, and of course they have all enjoyed showering him with attention. Here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure:

With Daddy, Grandma, Auntie Ronda, and cousins Johnny and Robbie

With Great-Uncle Jim and Great-Aunt Mary Jane Campbell

With Great-Uncle Dennis and Great-Aunt Diana Campbell

Cousin Johnny introduces Alex to the PlayStation

Alex Goes to Korea

We spent yesterday sightseeing in Seoul. We went to Namsan Park, on a huge hill. We took a cable car up to the park, then walked around for a bit and had lunch. The Seoul Tower is on top of the hill, and we rode the elevator up to the top for a great view of the city.

We also walked down Insa Dong, a great little street with lots of souvenir and antique shops. Then we went to Gyeongbokgung Palace. Alex did great the whole day. He enjoyed riding in his stroller and all the attention he got from people we passed by.

We have been enjoying wonderful Korean food. We had bulgogi (Korean barbeque) on Monday night, and last night we tried stewed chicken with ginseng. Delicious! Korean food is much spicier than Japanese food.

It has been good to rest and relax for a bit before we continue our journey to Portland.

Our Spotted Leopard

This is for everyone out there who asked to see pictures of Alex with the chicken pox. Poor fella! These were taken last Thursday. He looks much better this week, I promise.

Update

Our precious boy has a full-blown case of the chicken pox! I thought he was going to escape with just a light case, but that was not to be. Poor fella has them everywhere, and I do mean everywhere! Thankfully, he does not seem too bothered by them, and he is too young to really scratch himself. The doctor gave us some anti-viral medicine, which he has been taking without a fuss. The hardest part of all of this is getting him to lie still long enough for me to rub the cream on all his spots. Maybe I should be glad he is not rolling over yet! Hopefully, he will be mostly scabbed over by Monday.

We are still planning to leave Japan on Monday, July 24th. Stupid travel agency wanted to charge us 50% to change our tickets. Not an option. So, we are going. Alex will be wearing long pants, long sleeves, and a hat, and we are just going to pray no one says anything. If anyone does ask, though, we also have a doctor's note, thanks to Rusty's Uncle Willie, who is a pediatrician.

From Japan, we will fly to Seoul, Korea, where we will stay two nights. Then, on Wednesday, July 26th, we fly to LA. From LA, we are renting a car and driving to Portland. Believe it or not, it was cheaper to do that than to fly all the way to Portland! We are hoping to arrive in Portland by July 28th.

We are almost finished packing the shipment. After that, all that remains is to pack our bags for the plane, and clean the house. Jennifer, the young woman who is replacing Rusty will be moving in here after we leave, so we don't have to empty out the house. A lot of the furniture and other items will be staying for her to use. We are so thankful that things worked out this way -- it certainly has made everything easier on us.

Tomorrow, some friends are throwing us a goodbye party. Sunday, we will say our goodbyes to Taga church. And on Monday, we will begin our journey across the Pacific. It all still seems a little unreal to me. Things have happened so quickly that I have not really had much time to process everything. But, ready or not, we will be getting on a plane in less than 72 hours!

A Special Treat

The Brass
Originally uploaded by rustyandlaura.

In the midst of all the craziness that has been our life since the end of June, my sweet husband still found a way to fulfill a desire I've had since we came back to Japan a year ago. What a great guy!

When we lived in Mito, my favorite restaurant was called "The Brass." Since we have been back, I have wanted to eat there again, but what with one thing and another, we just never made it. When we realized we were going to be leaving Japan unexpectedly, I resigned myself to the fact that we would probably not have the time to make it back there. But Rusty found a way to make it happen, and we had lunch there last Friday.

The Brass 2
Originally uploaded by rustyandlaura.

The Brass is a "yakiniku" restaurant, which means that the meat comes to your table raw and you cook it yourself on a grill that is set into the center of the table. Everything about this restaurant is simple, but classy, from the decor, to the food presentation, to the food itself. You choose what kind of meat you want (I had chicken and sausage; Rusty had beef and sausage), but your meal also comes with a green salad, onion soup, rice, a dipping sauce for the meat, and to finish, a glass of juice, tea, or coffee. We had a great time, the food was delicious, and it was a nice break from all the stresses of packing and getting ready to leave.

The Art of Packing

Packing
Originally uploaded by rustyandlaura.

If there's one thing we global nomads are good at, it's packing. We may not be so good at settling down in one place, putting down roots, getting "real" jobs, or being the all-American family with a house in Suburbia, 2 cars, and 1.6 kids. But by golly, we are sure good at packing! As you can see, Alex is getting an early start in learning the fine art of packing. Don't worry, we took him out of the box before we taped it up!

After packing and moving several times since we got married, I am happy to report that Rusty and I have finally figured out a "packing system" that keeps us out of each other's hair and the arguments to a minimum! Basically, Rusty does the majority of the actual packing. Since he used to work for a moving company, he knows all the tricks of the trade -- how to maximize space, how to protect fragile and breakable items, and how to do it all relatively quickly. He also does most of the research and makes most of of the arrangements for things like tickets and our shipment. My jobs are to sort and pile, clean, do laundry, cook, and try to keep our household running as normally as possible right up until the end. This time around, of course, I have the added responsibility of taking care of Alex.

As I type this, we are at the tail end of packing the boxes for our shipment, which is scheduled for pick-up this coming Friday. And, just in case you are wondering, we are leaving Japan with much less than we brought -- final box count is still unknown, but it looks like it will be somewhere around 25.