Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from the Campbell Clan!

Shutterfly

My last post was about our photo shoot for our Christmas cards, so I bet you're wondering where I'm gonna get my cards from. No? Well I'm gonna tell you anyway.....Shutterfly!! In years past I have either used Snapfish or some other card company that I probably shouldn't be mentioning in a post dedicated to bragging on Shutterfly. I have noticed that a lot of Christmas cards, birth announcements, and photo cards we have received from friends are from Shutterfly. I've never used them so I thought this year I would give it a try. But being the frugal mama that I am, I decided I would create a shopping cart with this year's Christmas cards on both Shutterfly's AND Snapfish's website, to see who had the better deal. Because if there's a better deal out there, I'm gonna make sure I get it.

So I spent an hour or so uploading pics and designing our Christmas card on each website. I had my husband pick which cards he liked best and shockingly he picked the two cards I had created on Shutterfly! I actually liked their selection better too. And honestly, it took me less than half the time to create the cards on Shutterfly than Snapfish. Their website was much more user friendly, and even though I had never used their website before, I found myself clicking and uploading and editing MUCH faster than on Snapfish. I'm not even lying.

So Shutterfly's cards were prettier, the website was easier and faster, AND whadya know when I went to check out, they were CHEAPER too! Even after I used my 25% coupon on Snapfish, Shutterfly was still cheaper. So I'm sold, and I think I'm gonna be one happy customer with our cards this year.

I also created a calendar on both websites and was very disappointed with the lack of layouts that Snapfish offered....so I got a calendar from Shutterfly too!

Here's a link to everything I used this year:

Christmas Cards

Holiday Cards

Calendars

Oh and in case you haven't figured it out by now, Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly! Sign up here

Photo Shoot

Mark had a rare day off yesterday so we decided to take advantage of the gorgeous weather and take some pictures for our Christmas card. They turned out pretty good for setting a camera on a table and pressing the 10 second timer :) I really need to invest in a stand.

that's a really big tongue...

Ignore the fact that I look like a cow. I should have picked a more flattering shirt.

So thankful for an entire day with my husband, and for this perfect fall weather we are having!

Halfway

Today is my 20 week mark.

I feel like jumping up and down, I feel not moving so that nothing will go wrong; I feel like rejoicing, I feel like crying; I feel like pinching myself to make sure its not a dream.

Although I am beyond thrilled and grateful that this pregnancy has progressed so well, I can't help but mourn the babies I lost. Because every milestone I reach with this pregnancy, I am reminded that I never got to reach with my other two babies. I never saw their heartbeat on ultrasound, I never felt them kick, I never found out their genders. It makes me miss them, and makes me want to experience all of those things with them. There is a common misconception that when you miscarry, that getting pregnant again will "replace" the baby you lost. Of course anyone who has ever lost a baby knows this is not true, but everyone who hasn't acts like it is. And really at times this pregnancy has made my losses feel all the more real to me.

I want to be clear that my journey through miscarriage is not over. It will never be over until I hold those babies in Heaven, because I am forever their mother. I am so grateful for the outlet this blog has been, and the outpouring of prayers and support I have received from friends, family, and people I've never met. But just because I'm pregnant with a healthy baby girl doesn't mean it's all over and everything's better and I'm not hurting anymore. BUT, I do want to rejoice each milestone of this pregnancy and praise the Lord for His faithfulness in keeping this baby strong and healthy. I guess what I'm saying is, don't be surprised if one day I'm posting ultrasound pictures and gushing about this pregnancy, and the next I'm posting about how I'm hurting and missing the other babies. It's a rollercoaster ride. I'm caught in the middle of these emotions.

I am grateful, amazed, and humbled that the Lord has given us this baby. But I am human, and I still hurt and I still question and I still wonder what those babies would have been like. I am learning that I will never completely recover. It's getting easier every day, and my Heavenly Father has healed me more than I thought possible. But I will always remember them and always long for them.

Halloween

So I'm a terrible mother and completely forgot my camera when we took Lucy trick or treating for the first time. We didn't do anything for Halloween last year because I didn't think she would get it, but she really liked it this year.... except for a few "scary" houses we will NOT be revisiting next year :) We went to my Aunt Traci's house for family dinner and trick or treating and we had so much fun! Unfortunately all I had was my phone to take pics on so these are bad quality, and I didn't even get very many because my phone was dying....basically I failed capturing this event.

Me and Tinkerbelle

Lucy and Abbie

My sweet Tinkerbelle!