Help! I need somebody! HELP! Not just anybody! (singing the Beatles)

Okay, I SERIOUSLY need some help with my blog! I've tried to figure this out on my own but am at a loss! How do I get the names of other blogger friends to show up on my main page so I'll have links to them and can go straight to their blogs? For example, on almost all of my friend's pages, there's a list of names off to the side of people who either subscribe to their blog or they subscribe to theirs (not sure which, but would like to be able to see who subscribes to my blog, too). Who out there has a nugget of computer-savvy wisdom to offer??

Social butterfly

Here's an update on my little Benito, the social butterfly. We've had lots of play dates and fun activities lately (which might explain why he's sick now - yuck!). Here are a few pictures of some of our get togethers. We were planning on going to the rockin' Flower Mound pumpkin patch we keep hearing so much about, but with Bennett having his first ear infection and the cooler weather (which I'm LOVING), it's time to slow down and regroup a bit first. So we'll settle for going to the pumpkin patch next year, when he might actually get something out of it and interact with the things to do and see. We'll hit it all big again next week at Fall Fest on Halloween, where my buddy will be appearing as "The Most Adorable Baby-Rooster You've Ever Seen or Could Ever Hope See in Your Whole Entire Life." (For those of you who think a rooster is quite a random Halloween costume, ordinarily I would tend to agree, except that when he was teeny tiny, I used to call him my "fat little bird," which I still call him occasionally. So it's personal, it fits, and it really is a SUPER cute costume!)

Bennett and Sage.
We went to the
zoo with the
Demaree ladies.











Bennett and Mr. Gorilla stared at each other for a while. We left when Mr. Gorilla started eating his boogars (how DO you spell boogars? I keep getting spell checked!)












The Swaynes came over with their baby boy, Lukas. Bennett kept hitting him on the head. Such a friendly child.














One of Bennett's friendly,
sharing moments.
Yay, son!






More random pictures that I like...




Bennett likes
to read books
up to 15-20
minutes a day
now! Makes
a teacher-mom
proud! :)













Another staring
contest.
Bennett won.
He makes
Dolly nervous.












He found Mommy's drink.

















Helping Mommy
unload the dishes.

Blessed be the Name

Oh, dear Lord You are GOOD to me!
The Lord in His wisdom and sovereignty gave me a message tonight at church that was tailor-made. I had chills and tingles all evening long, from the scriptures used, to the songs that were sung, to the message being preached. Don't you just LOVE it when He does this in His faithfulness for His children? Unbelievable how He provides for and comforts His children in the midst of storms and strife. Tonight was about the Lord's sovereignty and His omnipotence. About how He is God in heaven and He controls EVERY thing. He gives and takes away. A song was sung tonight which has been my favorite for a long time and I think will continue to be no matter how many times we sing it at church or I hear it on the radio. Bennett danced to this song when he was in my tummy, which was pretty amazing since he was a quiet baby in the womb for the most part. And, not coincidentally, his name means "blessed," as I most certainly feel I am. So here are the lyrics that I hold in my heart, which apply to just about any circumstance of life I will find myself in (or that anyone will)...

Blessed be Your Name,
when I'm found in the desert place.
When I walk through the wilderness,
Blessed be Your Name.

Blessed be Your Name,
when the sun's shining down on me.
When the world's all as it should be,
Blessed be Your Name.

Blessed be Your Name,
on a road marked with suffering.
Though there's pain in the offering,
Blessed be Your Name.

And another song, called Everlasting God

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord,
wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord.

You are the everlasting God,
the everlasting God.
You do not faint,
You won't grow weary.

You're the defender of the weak.
You comfort those in need.
You lift us up on wings like eagles.

Just so all of you reading know, this blog is not intended to evolve into a collection of sermons by yours truly. But how amazing to be spoken to by the Spirit of the Lord through His Word. At this time and place in my life, I can't help but share. Bear with me. Next time around I'll post some pictures, funny anecdotes, etc., that people are so entertained by in the blogging world :)

perfect in weakness

This blog may not make much sense to many of you, but thank you in advance for reading and caring :)
I have been at a crossroads in life for a while now - months and months in fact - just waiting for God's timing and for Him to speak to me as He does so faithfully. I've been pushing and struggling and questioning and accepting and swallowing more than I thought possible for a VERY long time. There are so many factors involved in this, some extremely painful and others full of miraculous joy. I've been hearing the same messages of faith and spiritual growth from several different arenas and am attempting to soak it all in and make it part of the image of Christ that He intends me to be. The Lord has revealed specifically applicable and important messages that pertain to my personal circumstances over and over again for the past several months. I'm in the middle of a season of stretching and growth and warfare that sometimes feels will break me. I can practically document the growth God is blessing me with (even when I don't feel very blessed and a lot of times the Lord's definition of blessing looks and sounds different from my own). The Lord's strength in my weakness has NEVER been made so apparent in my life as it is now. I don't know if any of you can relate or have ever been here, but I'm in the middle of spiritual warfare - a battle that I don't even completely understand and can only let the Spirit lead me through. I'm leaning so heavily on the Lord and cry out with thanks that He is my rock, He is holy, and He cannot be shaken. I am praying fervently for God's continued protection and His strength and His armor (which "coincidentally" Rick has been preaching about for a few weeks now). For those of you who understand parts of this, I appreciate your prayers and your support. For those of you who don't, thanks so very much for the friend you are to me. Come what may, my friends are another one of those many-splendored blessings in my life and you give me strength.
I declare that I will continue to draw my sword and immerse myself in my Lord and continue to fight and grow and pursue His will.
Scriptures that have proven powerful and effective in my recent and on-going journey:

"The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." --2 Chronicles 16:9

"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith."
--1 Peter 5:8-9

"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."
--1 Corinthians 13:1-7

"Don't let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good."
--Romans 12:21

"As a Father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how weak we are, He remembers that we are dust."
--Psalm 103:13-14

"No power in the sky above or in the earth below - indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."
--Romans 8:39

100 things

I'm not planning on blogging every day or claiming to have remotely enough to interest myself or others with that frequency, but bear with me since this is all new to me and still lots of fun! I'm stealing a post I saw from Haley's blog, 100 things about me you may not know. So here goes....
1. My favorite color is violet.
2. I've lived in 7 different cities in Texas.
3. All of my extended family (minus an aunt and two cousins) live within an hour of my house.
4. My favorite holiday is Christmas.
5. On Christmas at Granny's we have a kickball tournament: adults vs. kids
6. I LOVE red hair.
7. I bite my nails.
8. I pop/play with my ear when I'm tired.
9. I LOVE to swim but don't go underwater because I got a double ear infection years ago and it
messed up my ears a little.
10.I have to wash my hair everyday or it's beyond gross.
11.I like dressing up fancy.
12.I played the flute for 6 years before I started singing and planned on playing professionally.
13.I started out as a music major at Harding.
14.One dream of mine is to either adopt or foster children all our lives.
15.Another dream of mine is to record my music in a professional studio.
16.I write my own music on guitar and piano and play it occasionally for my family.
17.I have the itch to have another baby.
18.Michael and I want to have 4 kids or maybe more.
19.I love drawing and wish I'd taken more lessons.
20.The cello is the most beautiful instrument EVER and someday I WILL learn to play it.
21.I stole a little stuffed bunny when I was 6 years old and got caught - got the spanking of my
life.
22.I've never broken a bone.
23.I'd never had stitches until a year ago when I sliced my hand using a knife to open a
cinnamon roll can - ridiculous.
24.I was a blue belt in Tae Kwon Do a LOOONG time ago.
25.I was fat when I was younger - lost 30 lbs. my senior year of high school.
26.Milk is my favorite beverage.
27.I'm not all that fond of chocolate.
28.My greatest fear growing up was that I'd never be married.
29.I've been married a bit over 4 years.
30.I didn't enjoy being pregnant all that much the first time - I was impatient - but I think I'll
really enjoy it the next time around since I know what to expect.
31.My hair keeps getting darker and darker...sigh.
32.I'm not as naturally social or as much of an extrovert as I used to be.
33.I want to go to Greece and see the things Michael saw the whole semester he lived there.
34.I don't really like TV or being hooked on TV shows.
35.I love watching animated Disney movies.
36.Pride and Prejudice is hands down my favorite book of all time.
37.I love decorating and cleaning our home and making it feel nice.
38.I don't think I'm a very good host in my home when others come over - it stresses me out.
39.I care too much about what other people think.
40.I LOVE thunderstorms.
41.I'd like to live in a big city and be a "city girl".
42.I am extremely offended by Oprah Winfrey and her luke-warm, vague, paganistic views on
life and spirituality and her free-love acceptance of all practices and beliefs in our worldly
culture (oh, don't get me started!! It's a soap-box a mile high!)
43.I am no longer a customer of HomeDepot due to our recent paint problems. Lowe's is my
new home improvement best friend.
44.I want a new used car but recognize that this will not become a reality for several years.
45.I love our house.
46.I have finally come to the point in my life where I actually ENJOY exercising.
47.My mom is my best friend.
48.I like teaching little kids, though when I was little I insisted I would never be a teacher.
49.I had a black lab named Pete and a poodle named Pierre (the French form of Peter) when I
was little.
50.My parents are really cool.
51.All four of my grandparents were still alive until my PawPaw died this summer.
52.My favorite flower is the white rose.
53.I don't like lipstick or lipgloss. It feels gross.
54.I'm very particular about the way my socks feel on my feet.
55.My teeth are crooked because I stopped wearing my retainer.
56.I collect cute earrings and bracelets.
57.I love the smell of a candle but always forget to light them.
58.I'd much rather be cold than hot - you can always put on more clothes but can only take so
many off!
59.My favorite season is fall.
60.I'm no good at math.
61.I'm a pretty good writer.
62.I'd like to write a novel someday.
63.I LOVE to read.
64.I'm a good speller.
65.I edit Michael's papers for school (he's getting his masters at UNT).
66.I'd much rather fly than drive.
67.I have to eat my steak with ketchup.
68.I now eat baked potatoes with plain yogurt instead of sour cream - much healthier and
tastes almost the same.
69.I hate the zoo (but will sacrifice so my son can go - in cooler weather it's not so bad).
70.I hate ice skating.
71.I love roller skating.
72.I wish I had a bicycle, though I'm not sure I'd actually use it :)
73.I want to be a missionary in China someday.
74.I'm not a big fan of the outdoors.
75.I prefer vegetables over fruits.
76.I'm trying to eat healthier.
77.I work 2 days a week and stay home with Bennett the rest of the week.
78.I type fast.
79.I'd like to work for the State Board of Education someday and try to make a difference.
80.I like shoes but don't have a ton of them.
81.Jazzercise helped me lose all of my pregnancy weight.
82.I listen to KLTY.
83.I'm conservative with my money.
84.I really like cheesecake.
85.I really like banana pudding.
86.I like food too much.
87.My parents are fantastic grandparents.
88.I'm having SERIOUS trouble thinking of anything else to write.
89.My favorite teacher ever was my 6th grade English teacher, Mrs. Benton.
90.I'm a planner and organizer.
91.I have awesome friends.
92.I want to visit California, New York City, and Montana - never been.
93.I highly recommend cruises for vacation.
94.This is getting REALLY old - if I'd known it would take this long I wouldn't have done it.
95.I like my church.
96.I write in a journal (have since 6th grade).
97.I'm in an AWESOME Bible study right now: Beth Moore study on Daniel
98.I'm a Texan through and through.
99.I'd like to live somewhere I've never lived someday, just to see what it's like.
100.My eyes were blue until I was 5 years old - at some point they turned green - not sure
when.

I've joined the bloggers

I have decided to join the network of blogging. Lots of other stay at home moms do this stuff so I figure I can do it too for a while and see if I like it. Most of you reading this should already know my history, my family, my basic likes/dislikes, etc., so I won't bore you with such information. I will begin with something OH so exciting to the Campbell household this week. We FINALLY got our new bedroom furniture on Wednesday! The whole process of re-doing our bedroom has been nothing short of a nightmare. It started with $100 and 10 hours work worth of Venetian Plaster paint (DON'T do it!! I'm seriously considering putting a "jeers" in the FW Star Telegram about the Home Depot we went to!), the last can of which was totally the wrong shade as the rest of the room. A few days ago my mom and I re-did the entire room with normal paint in a gold shade...much less work, much less money, and ALL the same color - thank you Lowe's! The following day, after having made 4 phone calls harrassing the people we bought our furniture from, we finally had all but the bed delivered (5 weeks late, but here at last!). So now, minus the beautiful headboard and footboard (which will be delivered in another week), I am sitting here in our newly remodeled bedroom, enjoyed the aesthetically pleasing attributes it has to offer...patting myself on the back for the 4 years of patient endurance I've exercised with white, bare walls and 25 year old chipped, faded, fake furniture. It was WORTH it!! If I can figure out how to attach a picture, I will. Bennett (my 10 month old) suddenly finds himself spending a LOT more time in this strange new room since mommy loves to sit and sigh and enjoy the newness of it all. (Kudos to Crysty Kimberlin for inspiring me to sit down with Michael and have a heart to heart about our ghetto-fabulous room that is now nothing more than a memory).