Beautiful Inside & Out

Belle has such a tender heart. This is something she was born with (I'm convinced they come to us hard wired) We can encourage certain behavior, but certain things are inherent. Belle's compassion and love for everyone is inherent.

Recently, we spent 4 days in Cedar City, UT at The Shakespeare Festival, which turns into a Campbell family reunion every year. Saturday night we were all getting ready to go over to the the Green Show and someone drew my attention to my Belle. She was leading a blind, elderly man through the pool area over to a seat in the sunshine. She took his arm leading him through the gate to the perfect seat. I stood there for a moment realizing that I just witnessed her sweet spirit in action. These are things you can not teach, but when they happen as a parent you become so proud. It was a small action that probably meant a lot to the man in a world that sees his blindness as a handicap, something that makes him different. Belle did not find him scary or uncomfortable, but someone who needed her help.

She is the peacemaker in the family and wants everyone to be happy. Tonight at dinner, Annie got excused from the table due to her attitude (another post) and Belle crosses her arms and announces to the table, "if Annie can't eat, I won't eat". We told Annie she could come back if she apologized and I think Belle was more than happy she did because that meant her hunger strike would be over.

She is kind and her tender heart is one to be praised and emulated. I've brought the incident with the blind man up a couple of times and she just shrugs as if saying "of course, Mom, I would do that". It just comes so natural to her, so she truly is a beautiful person inside and out.

Nature Mimics Life

He's my pigeon...

The other morning I was sitting on a patio in Arizona drinking my coffee watching two pigeons on a wall. Suddenly, I realized those pigeons are Cam and I, which made me giggle...

There are certain things hubs is not fond of doing. One of them being moving furniture. Every time we move furniture together, we fight...well, to be more accurate, he moves furniture around the room while I give orders, trying every position in the room. I'm not very good at visualizing, so I have to see the furniture in its place.

He HATES moving furniture and whenever I suggest it, he runs and hides. By the way, it's the cheapest way to redecorate your house. While he is moving furniture around the room, I remind him of that and point to the fact that I am not buying new furniture like I wanted to!

Enters the pigeon couple...
those two pigeons on the wall were definitely a couple (one was bigger than the other. That's how I know). I watched the larger pigeon (let's call it the husband) hop from the wife (smaller one) to a place near a branch with a twig in his mouth several times...can you see where this leading?

She is sitting in one place watching her partner hop around with this twig in his mouth as if he is moving furniture. I can hear him saying, "do you like it here" and her responding "no, let's try it over there". He'd hop back to her with the twig in his mouth and then hop away to a nearby branch and back again. He must have done this a dozen times before he dropped the twig and flew off leaving the "wife" pigeon wondering what happened...

I was cracking up because those two pigeons reminded me of our situation every time I ask Cam to move furniture...he "hops" around the room while I make suggestions eventually leaving me alone in the room exactly the way it was before we started our project. Those were Cam and I's equivalent in the pigeon world.

Of course, I tell Cam about our pigeon "family", which sends him into hysterics because he knows exactly what I'm talking about. Later that day, we were back on the patio watching those same pigeons quiet and "sleeping" next to each other on that same place on the wall. They had made up just like we do every time we move furniture, especially if I can put something on an angle...

Thank you to that pigeon couple for showing me that all species have their "furniture" moving moments...

A Phone Call

My mom and I are very close. We talk almost every morning on my way to work. Growing up she was my mom, now she is one of my closest friends. We love to shop together and can be out all day and not even realize time has passed. My dad keeps trying to convince us shopping is not a hobby or a sport. The way my mom and I do it, it is. We talk while we shop and sometimes we have our best talks looking for a great pair of shoes (on sale, of course). I love her tons and can't imagine losing her.

Last night, I got a phone call pretty late from my dad. This alarmed me even before he said "hello" because my parents never call that late as they have usually gone to bed. He told me she was in the ER, couldn't breath, blood pressure was sky high, and was in a lot of pain. His voice was shaky and I knew he was concerned. The very worst thing about the situation is that I was in TX and they were in an ER in AL. All I wanted to do was be with her, no matter what the problem was.

I started thinking about how much I depend on her and how I would never be ready for anything bad to happen to either one of my parents. Being an only child makes us a very tight knit threesome. Sometimes a little too close, but that's another blog. The good news is my mom is fine. She was diagnosed with plurisy (an inflammation/infection of the chest wall lining). She was treated in the ER and sent home, but for a few moments I was looking at plane tickets to see how soon I could be in AL.

I talked to her this morning and she is still in pain, but we are all grateful it wasn't something life threatening. I prayed without ceasing until my dad called with the diagnosis and I knew she wasn't in grave danger. And because I don't tell her nearly enough, thank you mom for loving me and being my biggest fan. I love you, Mom!

A Girl and Her Dad

I am self-proclaimed daddy's girl. When I was growing up, my dad was always there and although I am a parent now, he's still always there. Don't get me wrong, my mom is great too, but I'll save her for the next post.

My dad was at every practice, every game, every riding lesson. He went on every field trip and chaperoned every church camp the youth group went on. Now, that I'm a parent of a tween I understand the need to be with her as much as possible.

My dad is an amazing guy who will stop at nothing to protect his family. He loves his grandkids and his son-in-law, which makes my life so much sweeter.

I used to think he was perfect. My dad could do no wrong in my eyes. Of course, as I got older I realized he wasn't perfect, but he did an excellent job as a parent. I followed him around the house "helping" with projects just to be near him. Anyone who knows my dad knows he's got a great sense of humor and is very loud and outgoing. He yells a lot, but even when he was yelling I never doubted how much he loved me!

So, today and everyday, I am thankful for Tom Hoffman and even at 34 I'm a daddy's girl. Sometimes I don't tell him enough how much I love him and my mom, so I love you, Dad and I miss living close by, but you're always with me no matter where I am because a daughter's love spans time and miles.

We Don't Do This Enough

Back in November, my hubby and I took a trip to Denver, CO. It was a business/vacation trip and we had a blast. Sometimes, I forget how much fun we have together when everyday life consumes us. Not only did we get to spend time together, but we had an opportunity to see several great friends from the past.

It snowed and I couldn't have been happier. I LOVE snow. I probably love it because I don't have to live in it, but nevertheless I love it. Denver is one of the prettiest states I've ever been to and it's even more striking with snow on everything. The snow gave us a chance to act like kids. There were snowballs to be thrown and angels to be made. And we laughed!

One of the many things I love about my hubby is that we can be silly and ridiculous with each other. He laughs at my jokes and I appreciate his sense of humor. And trips like this one are important for us as a married couple to remind us of the incredible relationship we have. Plus, I love staying in hotels!

In closing, we need to take more trips like this one. Our children were at home with my mother-in-law enjoying McDonalds for every meal, so while we may have talked about the kids once or twice, it was about us and I didn't feel guilty for one second for being away. We talked to them everyday and of course, they were too busy to stay on the phone (a good thing).


And now that the kids are older, we plan on doing this more often because afterall, it's going to be the two of us before long. So, my advice to every married couple: go on vacation and trips with your spouse because it's important to remember who you are as a couple! And I love being the other half of this twosome.

Happy Birthday, Son!

Our baby is 6 years old today and I have loved every single moment of his wonderful life. He was our "surprise" and I know the very moment he was conceived :) We were always planning to have a 3rd baby, but maybe not so close to when daddy was taking his first set of medical boards (whoops) and when his big sister was only 15 months old, and when I had just claimed my body as my own after his 15 month old sister decided she would stop nursing.

After the shock and awe, we were so happy our family of 4 was about to become a family of 5, especially since my ob/gyn had told me I would probably never have any more children (that's another blog). Apparently, God's plan trumped my ob's medical diagnosis for He is good! At the beginning of the pregnancy, there was more than once we thought we would lose that little guy and I did my best to keep him exactly where he belonged. And then towards the end of my pregnancy, Charlie thought it was time to meet the family and we prolonged that as long as possible. At almost 6 weeks premature, Tristan Charles Pico came into the world on February 13 at 8:13 PM weighing in at 7 pounds and 20 inches. Yes, this was a premature baby.

They delivered that little guy by c-section and as I listened for his cry, I knew something was wrong when he finally did cry. The NICU team at Brookwood Hospital in Birmingham, AL were there to take over. They gave me a quick look at my son, but had to take him because he was having trouble breathing on his own. Daddy was torn, but with my blessing he rushed off to the NICU with our baby leaving me alone, scared and wondering what was happening just 2 floors down. 45 minutes later, I was still alone in recovery begging the nurse to call and check on my son. If my legs hadn't still been numb from epidural, I would have gotten up out of that hospital bed and found him!

Finally, daddy walked in followed by the NICU doctor both men looking somber. I remember Dr. DiCarlo standing at the foot of my bed with his hand holding my foot explaining to me that our son was having trouble breathing on his own and it looked like his lungs were wet. They were helping him breathe and were already giving him IV medications. "Will he be ok?" was my only question and his answer was we are doing everything we can and the next 24 hours will be important. I cried as the doctor left the room and my husband folded me into his arm. He held me as I cried and cried thinking this was all my fault. I was his mother and I had let him down. I thought about what I could have done differently and the answer was nothing.



I wanted to see him. I had to get to him and the nurse tells me "not tonight". WHAT???? You do not tell a mother who has waited months and months to meet her child "no", so my hubby fixed it. Being in the medical profession sometimes has its perks and this was one of those times. He got permission for me and my hospital bed to be wheeled down to the NICU and I could visit Charlie for a few minutes. I couldn't hold him and all I could really do was touch his little hand. I fell in love at that moment and we fought together. He made it through that night, but not without some difficulty and as I visited him the next day, they had place a second IV in his head and was still "hooked up", so I couldn't hold him. I did not hold that baby for 2 days and when I finally got him in my arms, he was home. I couldn't hold him too long and I still hadn't been able to nurse him, which is something I actually looked forward to with all my babies. And when the nurses tried to bottle feed him, he would stop breathing and turn blue. Again, not something a mother is prepared to watch her child go through.




When I was discharged on day 4, I didn't go home with a baby. I went home with a double breast pump, a tired husband, and no baby. I got up every 3 hours throughout the night to pump, which I would deliver to the hospital the next morning at 7:00 am (after the docs rounded), so the nurses could feed him in the wee hours of the night/morning. During the day, I would make the trip to the hospital to nurse him myself every 3 hours. I only did this thanks to a mother-in-law and one of my very best friends who happened to be my neighbor who drove me to the hospital to hold/feed my baby. And daddy would take a pumped bottle to the hospital for his last feeding at 10:00 pm and spend some quality father/son time together.


On day 10, Charlie came home to 2 very excited sisters, one very thankful mom, 2 helpful grandparents, and one very relieved daddy! After the girls held him and I knew Grandma would be holding him for the next 2 hours, I slept such a peaceful sleep because God had answered many prayers and brought our son home healthy (he had a few issues, but nothing we couldn't handle).

And that is how Tristan Charles Pico made our family of 4 a family of 5, a very blessed family of 5. He is an amazing, funny, bright, loving little boy who keeps all of us guessing what will come next. It is never a dull moment and I am still thankful for day 10 when Charlie made our family whole. God blessed us with a happy ending, or maybe I should call it a beginning. He watched over our family in its greatest time of need and in what sometimes felt like my darkest hour. So, today I have a healthy boy who is turning 6 and we would like to wish him the Happiest Birthday and say, "We love you, son"!

PS: Isn't it ironic that Cam's mom used to call her little brother "son" and from almost day 1 our little Isabelle called Charlie "son"? It must be genetic, but that nickname has definitely stuck and seems very fitting to the only boy in a house of girls! Lucky Son, is all I have to say :)

Son's 1st Birthday!

Happy 6th Birthday, Son!!!