Lawn Mowing

Daddy taught Rachel how to mow the lawn tonight! Her first driving lesson! Wow! Big lawn! She did a good job, and I think she had as much fun as her daddy!

The Egg Hunt

The Egg Hunt was delayed one week because of illness. These pictures did not come out in the order I wanted them to, but I'm too tired and my connection is too slow to redo - so here we go!

Uncle Mark hid the big kids' eggs this year! I'm pretty sure I still have some chocolate filled eggs hiding in some deep dark corners of the yard! Here's Emily reaching for one!

Lilly on the easy hunt. Uncle Mark - hiding those terribly hard to find eggs!
Bret and Moriah on the hunt.
Rachel looking high! She found one!

Bret - looking low! He found one too!
The cousins - this should have been our first picture - oh well!
Josiah on his first egg hunt!
This is really a picture of the lilac! Isn't it beautiful!
Nadalee finds an egg!

Maiah on the run!

Frisbee's New Game

Frisbee plays soccer! Kick the ball and he hits

it back to you! He's always nosing the ball to

the nearest person in sight, eager to play. We

thought about using him as a goalie, but he

won't stay put long enough!

Rachel

What's Irrigation?

Easter Sunday was very quiet here. Garret's ear infections and Lilly's cold kept most everyone away. After a relaxing afternoon, I noticed the orchard slowly filling up with water! Excitedly, I ran to report this to Wade. He was doing some irrigating of his own in our new vegetable garden. After a brief explanation of the irrigation I was speaking of, Wade called for the kids to put on their mud boots and come outside.
Wade explained to our city kids exactly what irrigation was and why it was needed, then we turned them loose! What a perfect ending to a very peaceful day!

Good Friday

I woke with these words on my mind. . .something written more than 700 years before the birth of our Savior.

Isaiah 53:5

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

In two days we will be celebrating His resurrection, but today we remember that He gave His life, and His blood for our sins.

Try to make time to read the whole chapter. The kids and I always work on memorizing this at Christmas, how even more fitting it is for us to read and reflect on this today.

Fun with Frisbee

We kids have been playing with Frisbee all morning!
Throwing, running, petting, and scratching. He loves
it, and so do we! The cat completely ignores him, and
he doesn't bother her either. That's a relief!

Frisbee catching a ball
"Here it comes boy!"
Bret petting Frisbee
After a about 7 or so throws, Frisbee lies down
his official resting spot to pant and be scratched.

Rachel

Frisbee

We are now owners of a dog! I know many of you find this shocking, but we always said we'd only have a dog if we moved to the country. Well, true to our word we now have Frisbee. Frisbee is a Border Collie, he comes to us from a little ways north. Frisbee was rescued from the shelter by his previous owners. They are a delightful Christian couple. We were so glad to meet them, and even happier that they were willing to allow us ownership of their dog. He's extremely well behaved. For now he's living in this fenced area of our back yard. There is plenty of room for him to chase a ball back here. As he gets used to this place we will allow him more freedom. Come visit Frisbee anytime. He's delightful, you're sure to fall in love with him just as we did!

Life on the Farm

This picture is from Saturday. Wade and I took a break from unpacking and decided to get the kids and take a walk. One problem, where are the kids? We looked under the trees here and there, and finally heard them coming. What a surprise to see them using this old cart. Rachel and Bret are towing Garret and Lilly! They were having so much fun, it blessed us to see them playing together!

The boys are bored, and really need to start school, but when I mention shooting guns - they are outside in a flash. Can this be counted as P.E.? Seriously, it's back to school tomorrow and I'm so glad! Ok, I just noticed Bret is wearing the same shirt in both pictures. Come to think of it I think he wears this shirt every day, Garret too. It's been nice to not have a much laundry to do, but maybe I should help them unpack their clothes tomorrow!
Please pray for Garret, he has a dr. appt. tomorrow. Not sure what all is wrong - most likely pink eye. We hope not an ear infection. As I look at this picture I think I should grab all the goggles and give them a good scrubbing!

The Ultimate Scavenger Hunt

(This will be most interesting to those who geocached with us in February. Pictures of this great day can be found on the Campbell's blog)

Imagine someone has hidden something somewhere in the world. There is only one way to find it. You must acquire two 9 digit codes. But you are in luck. Thanks to 24 confidential satellites and millions of global positioning systems all over the planet, it will not be difficult to quickly locate this object. That's right, thousands of people take out their G.P.S.'s every day and go off on what may turnout to be a wild goose chase. They call it Geocaching. Once they find the treasure they have been seeking, they have a few choices to make. The first is what they most wish to take away with them. The second is what they have in their possession that they are most willing to part with. When the swap has been made, it's either back to the car or on to look for more caches.

The sun was directly overhead on the mid-February day. The parking lot at Caswell State Park was empty and quiet except for the birds chirping in the dense trees surrounding the area. Unexpectedly, three cars pulled in and parked. Out hopped 14 kids of various ages and five adults who were obviously their parents. The kids ran about, talking and playing and looking here, there and everywhere. They climbed up on stumps and jumped around on trees that leaned out over the freezing river that flowed nearby. When their parents called they scurried up the muddy bank to the picnic tables. Sitting under a huge tree, everyone ate a healthy lunch of Doritos, soda, hot dogs and cookies. Then it was time for what everyone had been waiting for. The global positioning system was strapped on the arm of one of the younger boys. Everyone gathered at the beginning of the path leading off into the woods. Off they went, the hunt was on! Most of the adults lagged behind with the little kids, but that didn't matter. The older children took the lead. Uh oh! A fork in the road! Never fear the GPS led them left. Soon they found themselves walking along the river, then they turned back into the woods. Then, oh no! They had run right into a swamp! Nothing to do but turn back and find another way! They turned and trudged back. At last they got to the fork in the road. This time they turned the right way. The path began sloping upward. Stinging nettle lined each side. Mosquitoes buzzed. They looked down and saw the swamp. Some of the kids started poking each other. It was getting hot. Finally, someone called for a rest. There was still .40 miles to go. After unsuccessfully trying a shortcut, the whole party moved forward again. down the trail. Fifteen minutes passed. They were almost there. Suddenly, the arrow on the GPS turned sharply to the right, into the thick trees and dangerous stinging nettle. Impossible! They would have to back track again! At last, they found the right path. Abruptly, the distance from the cache turned to yards, then feet. The kids and their dads began searching in a small clearing to their left. Suddenly, the boy with the GPS shouted, "I found it!" He raised a rather slimy container filled with cheap toys and trinkets. The exchanges were made including a pencil for a marble, and a sticker for a key chain. Two more caches were found there that day, including one behind a bench, and another behind a log. Altogether it was a fantastic geocaching day!

Geocaching is really very simple once you get the hang of it. First, log on to geocaching.com and create an account. Now pick a geocache. They are categorized by three terms. Size, terrain, and difficulty to find. If you wish, you can see a map of the area. Get the coordinates, and print the page. Ordinarily, there are hints to decrypt. Pick several close by! Bring water and a snack and go have fun!

by Rachel

All Boxed In

We've arrived! We began moving in one week ago. We still have boxes all around us, but fewer every day! The kids will not be starting school on Monday as planned. I probably need two more days to get things in order. I don't think they'll mind having a couple of extra days off. At least not until June hits and we're still cracking the books! Here it is! Our new home. At night Wade and I sit on the porch swing, sip hot cocoa and enjoy the night life! Toads croaking, owls screeching and those little white lights in the sky!
My girls enjoying the hammock in the back yard.

Two weeks ago the almond trees looked like this. Currently, the green leaves are shooting through. We're enjoying the process up close and personal as we wander through the orchard.

Wade- a new toy! I've never seen him so anxious to mow the lawn, or do it so fast!

Mary left several pots here for us to enjoy. I see these two out my kitchen window. If I can be half the gardener Mary is I'll be happy. I'm enjoying everything she did here to make this home so special!

Hanging Out

We're still living in the city. Things haven't gone smoothly with our loan, nor our buyers loan. It's only worked to our advantage. On Friday Wade started the process over. We locked at a lower rate and our paperwork will be ready tomorrow. However, our buyers decided to stay with the loan company we were both originally with - of course there was no word today. It's been this way all along. We are waiting on the Lord, knowing His timing is perfect. On Thursday - when we knew things were really not happening I was reminded of this verse "The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps." Thank you Lord for moving us in your time not ours. Thank you for the lower interest rate! It helps so much.

I thought about sending pictures of our current house. If we don't move soon I will. We've memorized where all the boxes are so we're not tripping on them anymore! Now that closets are empty I've been able to hide more boxes in them. Unfortunately there is still more to pack!