The plant incident

Our friend's whose house we have been staying at these past two weeks while they were on vacation, have a lot of plants. Campbell found two different ones that she particularly liked to get into. We had many many many "Campbell - No!" and "we don't eat dirt" conversations over our time here. One day it got really quiet and all the sudden I thought, "oh no! what's she into?" The answer to that question was of course a plant. My Mom always told me when I have kids there will be times that I could either get mad or get my camera - so I got my camera to document. Then I told Campbell "no" and tried to get some of the dirt out of her mouth thus creating the meltdown. Here's my little dirt lover...

Caught in the act!

The evidenceAfter the meltdown

I think its safe to say we wont have any big potted plants inside our house for awhile.

Angelica, NY

Angelica, NY is a small neighboring town to Houghton - the town we live in. Our good friend's the Wade's live in Angelica and we really love the town so I decided to take some pictures of it today as we walked around for the Lavender Festival. This first view is from the Wade's back yard. The rest of the pictures are on main street in town.

Happy 4th of July!

We've had a fun day so far! Ryan being here has been a wonderful gift for our family - Campbell keeps wanting to go to Uncle Ryan instead of Jeff or I which is fun! They read lots of books together and Campbell cuddled Uncle Ryan last night. :) Today we spent the afternoon at Angelica's Lavender festival. It was great! Small Americana town at it's best. I've got lots of pictures to post but for now I thought I'd just share the ones of us from today! Blessings!

Uncle Ryan is coming to visit!!!

Campbell, Jeff & I are so excited because our dear friend Ryan Holt (who Jeff worked with the last 3 years at Geneva) is coming up to NY for the July 4th weekend! Yay! It just wouldn't be a holiday without some family to celebrate with, and we consider Ryan to be family. To celebrate this weekend I'm going to make homemade apple pie and potato salad to go with our meals. Should be tasty! We hope you all have a great weekend!

for fun

swinging in the Wade's back yard - we've been house sitting for them!
waiting for Daddy to come home from work...
walking and almost running at times and doing a great job at it! keeping me busy!
pushing the stroller with her teddy bear in it - very very cute! :)
I tucked in her dress so she could climb the stairs - it makes me laugh that it stayed that way!

Birthday Pictures

We had a great day with Jeff on his birthday! The morning started off with a present from Campbell & I - some fishing stuff to be used soon hopefully!

Campbell & I went in to have lunch with Jeff at Subway (one of two restaurants in Houghton).
And we stayed to be at Jeff's office birthday party! A great group of people we're excited to get to know. They made him a cake and a funny gift and everything!
blurry but cute - a family picture in Jeff's office!
The staff made Jeff put this hat on because it's his birthday and the moment he did Campbell started bawling! We think it scared her - so after we comforted her, took the hat off to show her it was still Daddy, everything was ok! :) Good excuse to take the hat off ;)!
As you can see - Campbell wasn't so sure about things at first. It took her a little while to get comfortable here which was a bit unusual for her but she eventually warmed up and then took off and we didn't hold her for a good 20 min. or so till the rest of the party ended!
Jeff's colleagues decorated his office!
This is a picture of Jeff's office building. He lives in the basement but has windows! It's not a great picture because I took it from my car window as we were leaving to go home but I wanted you all to see where he is now. We'll post more pictures of Houghton in a few weeks.
After work our friends Sharra and John (wonderful people!) invited us over for dinner. We brought cake and ice cream and celebrated together. It was really nice. They have a 5 1/2 mo. old daughter and a dog so Campbell was in heaven! :)
I made Jeff's cake - yellow cake with chocolate frosting - his favorite!
It was a full and fun day!

so happy!

I took these the last day we were in PA before heading up to NY to house sit. How cute is this little princess? :) She LOVES soft squishy things like stuffed animals, down comforters, etc. She flops onto our bed and just squishes into it and hugs the blankets and giggles. Its a fun game to play and I love it because she gets so happy.
Eating her snack in style...
My little sweet pea - the best thing in the world! :)

11 Months Old!

Campbell Ann turned 11 months old on Tuesday! She's growing big and moving everywhere and teething like crazy. Here's a little run down on miss Campbell:

• She started walking fully about one week ago and is now almost running.
• Campbell is eating all table food now. Her favorites are: cottage cheese, green beans, yogurt, banana's, graham crackers, cheerios, any fruit really (pears, peaches, mandarin oranges, apples, etc.) noodles, etc. She also loves sweet stuff - no surprise there because Jeff and I both have major sweet tooth's. Particularly she loves ice cream and smoothies (she drinks from a straw really well and got a hold of my blended lemonade one day -that's how we know she likes smoothies!).
  
• Campbell is a climber like I'm sure all kids are. She tries to climb on everything from bookshelves to toys to stairs and is getting quite good at it!
• Toys she loves are one that make music or that she can push around. Since we've been house sitting for our friends this week she has loved pushing a toy baby stroller around with her teddy bear in it, my little ponies, and playing the piano and dancing! It's incredibly cute - she dances almost anytime she hears music!
• Campbell has 5 teeth in and one more about to pop through any day.
  
• Campbell knows how to show you where her nose is, and her teeth - we're working on ears and eyes now. She can give high 5's and gives lots of hugs and a few kisses. She's a cuddler!
  
• Campbell is also very strong willed and stubourn. I could tell her no 15 times and pull her away from something and she'll continue to go after it - even if she's throwing a tantrum (which she just started really doing). Jeff and I are already learning what it means to be firm and patient to win these battles with her.
• Campbell LOVES people! She's a social kid that likes attention and steels the show at the store, in the office, etc. I swear she's happier when we're out of the house rather than when it's the 2 of us.
• Campbell still loves her blanket and teddy bear and a new friend as of 3 weeks ago - a cute dog stuffed animal. She sleeps with them every night and wants them when she's just tired or when she plays. They are starting to go with us everywhere!
  

It is getting so hard to get a picture of her sitting still! These were the best I could do after about 15 minutes of trying! :)

Happy Birthday to Jeff!

Just a quick note to let everyone know that today was Jeff's birthday! He turned 30 today... :)
We were able to celebrate with some friends here in NY that we've known since our days at George Fox. I made a cake and Campbell and I were able to have lunch with Jeff today as well as go to his office party! A very fun and full day.

Happy Birthday Jeff! We LOVE you so much!

Yep - we're trying to buy a house!

That's right! We're in the process of trying to buy a house...this one! It's very close to Houghton's campus and fits our needs really well. It's been a bit scary to enter the world of home ownership and all that it entails, but mostly we're really excited at the prospect of living in a space larger than a college campus apartment! Please pray for us as we walk through this process. Specifically we'd ask prayer for - 

• a quick timeline (that things get processed within days vs. weeks) 
• for temporary housing for the next two months as closing happens 
• a good inspection 
• the apraisal will go well
•  for the transision that the family moving out is going through
  
• for our transition as everything is feeling very out of place and temporary and potentially will feel that way through August (meaning we will have been doing the transition period for almost 4 months which is hard on our family)
• safe travel as we move

Thank you! We value your prayers and we'll keep you updated!

Geneva family

Our group of friends at Geneva tends to have BBQ's all summer and mostly at Ryan's house since his back yard is basically the sports fields of the local high school. We had a BBQ last weekend becasue our good friends Steve & Laura Hanson were in town visiting. Last year they took positions at LCC International University in Lithuania and we have missed them! A great reason to all get together...

Campbell getting in a little Uncle Ryan time

hanging out talking in between sand volleyball games

what we love to do - just hang out with each other! Christy was here for the BBQ and fit right in! 

Lyndsay is a fellow Resident Director at Geneva with me and Campbell has always taken to her. Lyndsay and Campbell were crawling and playing in the yard together - very fun!

Daddy & Campbell

Campbell was really interested in Toby's (our friend's the Jensen's little boy) golf set. So Uncle Ryan helped her play with it for awhile...

and so did Uncle Taylor! Jeff and I feel so blessed to have such incredible friends in our life - friends that love Campbell so deeply. She's a very well taken care of, very loved little girl.

Joanna or Aunt Jo as we call her :), Campbell & I. Jo takes care of both of us a ton and in ways that I can never thank her enough for. Truly, the Lord has shown me His love through this amazing woman who just gives and gives. Thank you Jo. So very very much! 

Our group of friends - how we will miss you so much!

Jeff & Celisse - Celisse was Jeff's graduate assistant in the Student Programs and Leadership office this past year at Geneva. They totally get each other and really laugh together - Celisse was a total answer to prayer for Jeff & the office! 

Our friends from afar - Steve & Laura - I got to spend some good time with them in pockets throughout the week. It was great to catch up, although I feel like I could spend a ton more time listening to their story. Love you two! Thanks for making the trip over to see us!!!

Part of my Geneva family - Joanna Sprague and Sara Jensen with Sara's two kids Toby & Zoe.

Fun with Aunt Jo - how we love her! :)

A great day of friends. It makes my heart happy to look at these pictures. I feel truly blessed to be in places where Jeff & I have found true community. To be known by others is such a gift and to share life day in and day out is what it's all about. I have learned so much from these amazing people. It's been a privilege to live life with them.

Lesley got married on Saturday the 6th and Campbell, Jeff & I flew out (to different states) on Sunday at 6am. Jeff had to get back to work and I had to get to school for classes. My best friend Christy flew in to PA the same day to help me watch Campbell for the week while I was in school. Such a HUGE blessing! Christy took great care of Campbell and great care of me as well. Thank you my friend - I just couldn't have done it without you!

me and my best friend 

two red heads - they loved each other! Aunt Christy kept Campbell busy and she LOVED it!

Who doesn't love ice cream?

Campbell had her first bite of ice cream and LOVED it. I think she would have eaten half the cone if we would've let her! 

Jeff drove down for the weekend and these two had a great time together as they always do! :)

One morning before class Christy, Campbell & I went to the Coffee shop and got a smoothie - Campbell also loved this. It's just fun that she can drink from a straw so well. How cute are those cheeks?

Aunt Christy & miss Campbell - they look a like don't they? People kept thinking that Christy was Campbell's mom all week!

Helping make dinner. 

Christy helped me in so many ways. One way was helping transition Campbell into eating mainly table food. She's doing really well to! This is a great new thing for us - it's making grocery shopping a little less expensive. 

A small Campbell update - she's been sleeping through the night for the past month, is flexing with the traveling and driving trips really really well, has three teeth coming in which will be a total of 5 now and she's walking in small spurts from the couch to the coffee table and then to her toys, etc. Pretty fun!

I don't actually have many pictures from the wedding day but here are a few...

Mom & Lesley - both so beautiful!

Jeff with the sweetest little girl on the planet! She was so excited to see him after being apart for the week. Doesn't she look so cute? Campbell was the flower girl at the wedding. Jeff pulled her down the aisle in a red wagon while she chewed on fake rose petals. 

Playing with Great Grandpa H before pictures

Lesley & Ryan getting pictures taken with the parents. They got married in the church we grew up in - Salem 1st Free Methodist. It was really special because my brother Kyle is an Associate pastor there so he officiated, my brother Troy played the music and I got to stand up with Lesley as the matron of honor. Very special moment for the Welstad siblings.

Beautiful flowers! Our friend Gabby is seriously talented and has done the flowers for all my siblings weddings as well as my own. She makes everything look so gorgeous!

Rehearsal dinner was awesome! Ryan's parents went all out and made it very special for everyone! flowers, name cards, awesome food, a great slide show, and wonderful kindness - Ryan's family is just wonderful. 

The bride and goom with a gift from Ryan's parents

okay - skipping back to wedding day pictures - 

Campbell and I all ready for the big event!

My grandparents - Granny & Papa with their first great grandchild! :) Granny & Campbell share the same birthday.

The beautiful bride...

The day was wonderful! Congrats Lesley & Ryan! We're so excited for you as you start this journey together. Love you!

The last few weeks

Sorry for the silence lately! We've been doing a lot and traveling a lot so time at the computer has been limited. Here's some of what we've been doing lately: 

My sister Lesley got married on June 6th so the week before Campbell and I flew across the country to Oregon to be with the Welstad's for the week and Jeff headed up to New York to start his new job at Houghton College. My cousin Alex and I were the maid and matron of honor so we planned the bachelorette party that started with dinner at PF Changs and ended at my Aunts house with games, chocolate dipped strawberries, lots of presents and a slumber party! 

My wonderful cousins Lauren & Alex, me, my sister and beautiful bride to be Lesley, and my two wonderful sister in laws Trisha and Christina (pregnant with baby Addison!!! Yay! ) We had fun spending time together.

sisters :)

One day Aunt Lesley and Campbell were dressed alike, so we took a picture! :) 

Friday we spent a lot of the day decorating the gym at church for the reception. My brother Troy was on "fun uncle" duty and pulled Campbell and Troy & Trisha's niece Maddie around in the wagon. They wanted to do it over and over and over!