Here is the latest picture of our house!

Jeff and I went to the Satterfield and Dempsey Jewelers open house on Saturday night. My best friend Jennifer is the assistant manager there so we were happy when we got the invitation, not to mention, they had a 50% off discount during the open house! Jeff ot me this gorgeous necklace for practically nothing! Once I get it (I have to wait until Christmas) I will post a picture of it.

Jeff and I went to Atlanta for a private unveiling of the new Saturn Astra. We were invited with about 20 other Georgians for the driving experience. We got to drive 3 Astras and 3 of their competitors. The 3 Astras we drove were a base model sedan, loaded sedan and a loaded stick shift coupe. We also drove a Honda Civic (which drove the worse), a VW Rabbit and a Mazda 3.

It was a very nice setup with a dinner and everything. My favorite part, of course, was that we drove on a private track and we could drive the cars any way we wanted! We did drive the crap out of them...burning rubber and testing the brakes and all. It felt like we were race car drivers. The only bad part of the whole evening was the drive back to Warner Robins that night to get up early and go to work...yuck!

(Sorry the pictures are fuzzy, I couldn't have the flash on while we were driving the track, they don't want the flash to mess with the driver's eyes)

So December 8th was my step-dad's birthday and he passed away on Feb 10, 2005. I am still pretty upset, I guess you never really get over the death of a loved one...especially when they a re a parent to you. Berley was the greatest man that ever lived. He took my brother and I in when we were young and raised us as his own. I remember him teaching me how to drive, comforting me when the house burned to the ground, taking me to breakfast to TeeGee's (the most God awful restaurant in LaVergne but we went because he liked to show u off to all his friends), taking pictures with me for my proms, buying me my first car and being there at my wedding even though he was so ill. I will always treasure these memories I have with my "Berley bean".

The Measure of a Man

The measure of a man's life is the love's found
To see that love, just take a look around
We love this man- Mr. Berley Holmes
He's at peace now, he's finally gone home

What defines a man is not material gain
It's the hearts he's touched and the good that remains
Berley has given back in so many ways
The good he's done has ensured brighter days

So we'll mourn this loss and we'll miss our friend
But the memories of Berley will never end
God comforted him and helped him pass
He embraced this man as he breathed his last

We all feel the loss and the pain cuts deep
But soon time will heal and we'll no longer weep
By the love of God and His divine grace
We know Berley is in a much better place

We'll think of a memory or hear a certain song
We'll know it's his way of saying "so-long"
And a smile will creep upon our face
For the memories of Berley that time won't erase

Jeff and I met brother in Atlanta for a NAGA competition (mixed martial arts). It was his first competition and he did really well. I had no idea what was going on but I was cheering him on and quickly caught on to the lingo. I was yelling "Do your triangle" even though I had no idea what that meant! I did realize, a little to late, that sitting on the sidelines can be dangerous...while waiting for brother's match to start I was practically sitting on the mat while 2 others were fighting and before I knew it one guy was getting slammed right on me! It hurt and I was a little bruised but I survived. Here are some pictures of my not-so-baby brother winning his match. Don't mention it to him though, he later learned that he lost the match because they ran over in time. He was not so happy, but I was so proud of him!


Here he is getting ready to start...


pinning the opponent...


the opponent doing his "triangle"


when brother broke the antagonist's foot, ouch!


brother winning!

I know, I know...I haven't posted anything new in 5 months. We have really been busy, I swear! I graduated from college while Jeff was deployed but am going back in January. Jeff came home in October from his 4th deployment. He also re-enlisted in the Air Force for another 6 years, military life seems to agree with us just fine. Jen moved out in August and got an apartment about 1 mile away form us. She is really doing well working full time and going to school. I am so proud of her decision to leave a terrible marriage. We also started building our new house just 3 doors down form Kris and Michelle (our good friends). Thanksgiving was wonderful, we went back to TN to have two wonderful dinners with my family and Jeff's family. Lincoln is growing so much, he definitely looks like a Campbell boy! For Christmas we are going to TN for a little over a week which will be nice. We seem to be so rushed when we go home to visit. Here are some much needed pictures on us in the last 5 months. I will try to keep everyone updated on us and the house building process more often than twice a year!


At mom's for Thanksgiving.


Lincoln throwing a ball at me...


The Campbell's 1st trip to Waffle House...ever!


Jeff and I out for a friend's birthday


Jen and I at the last home game of the year.


Here is our home, sort of.