Unsatisfied. That would be the word I would use to describe a fifteen year career in a prison. Work. That’s all it was. I was twenty-four years old when I started as a New York State correctional officer. I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting myself into as I am not one to make quick, rash decisions. Still, I didn’t expect to run into what I did ten years into it. When I was in the training academy, everyone was told to have a hobby outside of work. They warned us that you will get no job satisfaction from working in a prison. They said that every day is almost like the next day. Not much changes. They were right. At first, it was new, scary, and exciting. The job itself was pretty boring, but that didn’t really bother me. The officers had ways to make it fun like having potlucks, raffles, and enjoying good conversations. Still, every day was the same thing. Watch over inmates and run the programs for them. Sometimes there were fights, drug overdoses and medical emergencies, but for the most part your days didn’t change. The best part for me was shift swapping. I would work my own shift and then another persons back to back for a period of two to four days. Then the person whose shift I worked for would do the same for me. During the years that I did this, combined with vacation time, I would only work half of the year. What I never thought about early on was doing something with meaning. In my mind, I had a career where I only had to work for twenty five years and then at 49 years old I could retire with a pension. I thought I would be financially set and then I could live the life that I wanted. At eight years, things in the prison were starting to change for the worse. Governmental policies altered the way that the prison and officers had to operate. As a result, the morale among the officers dropped dramatically. We were able to put in bids for different jobs and I saw a tower along the wall was open. Though jobs like that typically went for officers that had twenty to twenty-five years on the job, I put in for it. I was shocked when I received word that I had won the bid with only eight and a half years. God clearly had His hand in it. I was grateful to be out of the mess that was developing inside the prison walls. I also was thankful that I didn’t have to work around inmates anymore. I had about sixteen years to go till retirement and I was going to spend them in a tower alone. Even though I rarely read anything other than magazines, Courtney started to buy me books. I was reading more than I had ever read in my life and I was actually enjoying it. I would read fiction, non-fiction, my Bible, self improvement books, and books on real estate. Little did I know that after ten years into my career would I really start to dislike going to work. The days just repeated like in the film “Ground hogs day” with Bill Murray. I would tell myself that I just had to go to work, deal with it, and keep it up for my twenty-five years of service. As days turned into years it got harder to keep up that pace. Courtney could see it and suggested that we start to pray about it. So we did. Shortly after starting to pray together, Courtney said to me, “I think God is moving you out of your job.” Even though she was more than OK with me leaving it, I wasn’t. She is the risk-taker and I am the comfort-keeper. This went on for five years. Knowing that I wasn’t going to walk away from my stable income with a wife and two children at the time to support, Courtney encouraged me to pursue things that I would enjoy outside of this job to help me feel more satisfied and content for when I was stuck there. It was in reading the real estate books that got my mind really going. I started to re-evaluate the direction my life was going. I would constantly read and share with Courtney what I was learning. All the while, the prayers together about what to do continued. I either contemplated, half-heartedly did, or started to execute the following in order: Help Courtney build her photography business, personal training, get my Federal Firearms License to sell and work on firearms, get my real estate license to acquire investment properties, purchased a grinder, and started a knife making business. With every venture, what I concluded was that it would have been a failed effort. I simply didn’t have enough time in my day to do any of them. My priority was always to spend as much time as I could with Courtney and our boys, work on or maintain our house, and handle the typical responsibilities that come with being the man of the house. I was reading books on financial freedom wanting to acquire that. Some of the books were written by twenty something year olds which in turn made me think about how much time I wasted when I was younger. While Courtney was trying to build up her business, I was playing video games sometimes till 3 am, or worse, 8 hours in a day. Looking back it was a bad way to spend my time! It never occurred to me in my late 20’s that I should be doing something different. The things I could have accomplished, built or done in that time would be crazy. Unfortunately I can’t change the past, but I can help our three boys not make the same mistakes that I made. I went through phases of being depressed, then excited, and then depressed again. I felt like I had made so many poor choices and was stuck with the consequences. Yet, Courtney and I continued to pray and trusting that God had a plan . We knew He was up to something, but we didn’t know what that was yet. And so we waited. 2/28/23 Update: The sequel to this can be found in this link: https://www.simplycampbell.com/post/the-journey-part-two

For every anniversary, we write each other love letters. Instead of writing something new in this post, we’ll let you read a portion from each of our letters from this year. :) Courtney, Happy Anniversary to you on this day that marks fifteen years of marriage! It is hard to believe that it has been that much time already, I find it a little funny that we have moved to Florida yet some how made it back to New York for our anniversary. I will say that it is nice that we have someone to watch the kids so that we can go out on a small date today. Funny how that really never happened in the past. It’s been a pleasure doing life with you up to this point and I expect it will continue for the time we have left on this earth. We work well together most of the time. There will always be little things that annoy us about each other, but for the most part we make a great team. I’m very happy that you and the boys like Florida as that is where God has put us for now. I am happy that we found a church that we all like and that you get to sing again! Happy Anniversary to the Rose of My Heart! I love you deeply. Ralph, I am having a bit of an “oh crap we’re getting older” moment. I can’t believe we are celebrating 15 years. I feel like I say this every year, but that’s because it’s so true for me. I don’t want to waste my life being wrapped up in the things of this world that I can’t take with me when I die. I want to spend as much time with you, my best friend, my other half, the one that completes me. I am not me without you. My prayer is and always will be that we stay united with a firm foundation on Christ. That we are intentional with our time with each other. That our children see the overwhelming love that we have for each other and desire to have the same. That God be glorified through what we do together. Thank you for being so gracious and patient with me. Thank you for encouraging me when I am tired or weary. You know what I need and you do your best to meet them. You do so little for yourself. I already love seeing a much more peace-filled, satisfied Ralph, but I know God’s not done with you yet. Happy 15th anniversary sweetie. What a gift to be married to you for that long. Our wrinkles and grey hairs are increasing, but so is our love. These fun photos were snapped by our sweet friend Donna Domres during our visit back to WNY. #070707 #Happyanniversary #marriage #simplycampbell #love #roseofmyheart

I had this vision of the past this morning about something totally strange. It was in the early 1900’s of an unwelcoming town, but in every other town that was NOT the case. I thought, “what if there was only one person in that time in history that was writing and they had ONLY been in the unwelcoming town? 100 years later, when people are reading this person’s writings, the conclusion would be that all towns were unwelcoming during that time in history, but it wasn’t true.” It’s a rather silly thought, but it got me thinking deeper about how history is written. It’s through the eyes of the people willing to write. We were able to get a more clear look at what it was like to be a jew during WWII thanks to Anne Frank. What will be written about America during the 21st century? And who will write about it? It will go down in history that this country redefined gender, encouraged the murder of unborn babies, praised pedophilia, removed God from the public schools, colleges, science books, and thus their lives. But there is a remnant in this country that doesn’t agree with any of this. They are saddened and concerned as they watch this country crumble before their very eyes. Some are speaking against it boldly and publicly, but it seems that others fear the opposition, retreat, and stay quiet most of the time. That’s often because the people that the remnants disagree with are their spouses, family members, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. The remnant’s allegiance is to a higher power. They still believe in the God of The Bible and hold to His words. No government, corporation, or person will stop them from following it. The powers that be may try to shut the remnant up or down, but they won’t be successful. No one can stand against the Creator of the Universe and the people that follow Him. May it go down in history that I did not conform. Not because I wanted to be rebellious, liked to to be the odd ball in the group, or enjoyed upsetting people that I love, but because I had the same power that rose Jesus Christ from the grave inside of me which prevented me from doing anything otherwise. I simply have no other desire or drive, but to follow God and His word. And I will shout about it from the rooftops in any way possible. Matthew 7:14 says “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” My prayer is that you shut out all of the noises of this world and join me on the road that ultimately leads to life no matter what everyone else around you is saying or doing.

This is the last recording that I have with my dear friend Heaven before our move to Florida. My song choice was very intentional. Ralph had already started his new job five weeks prior so I was single parenting it. We also had back to back covid sweep through the house and I was trying to pack up our entire house. We moved twelve days later. When Heaven came over that night to play the song, she had this great idea of trying to incorporate John 16:33. As always, we worked as best as we could with the limited time we had, and I with my limited physical and emotional strength. Though this isn’t my favorite recording (we are our own worst critics), I will treasure it. This was an extremely hectic time in my life and I am glad that I still paused to do what brought me my greatest peace. And I am grateful that my faithful friend was willing to stay till after 10:30 at night to play!

In a world with so much stuff going on, do you ever stop to enjoy simple things? We are so connected to our phones that never leave our side. Music, talk shows, podcasts, television. We are constantly around noise! It’s healthy to take a break from the noise and just be present in what’s going on around you. If you don’t believe me, try turning all of that stuff off and walk outside. Look around at the creation we live in. There is so much to observe and that can give you new perspectives. A perfect example is sitting in a tree stand during deer season. Waiting on the deer to show up gives you time to reflect and observe. Watching squirrels run around looking for food is actually pretty entertaining. Have a heron fly over the top of you and not realize it was coming in for a landing until it’s in front of you! How can such a big bird be so quiet? God’s world is curious and inspiring. To watch birds fly gives you a good idea of how man came up with planes. The sad part to this technology that we have now is that many don’t take time to take in this beautiful creation we live in. My advice is to go outside. Go for a walk. If you have a family, take them with you. Point out to your kids the cool things in nature. See what happens when you do. Kids can have so much fun with the little things. It’s really amazing. Helpful tip for all: Start looking at the world through the lens of children! Unplug and go outside!

“You’re wearing your ring!” It took me by such surprise. We were in the car and I had looked over at Ralph as he was talking. That’s when I noticed the foreign, shiny object on his hand. I couldn’t hide my joy. He never wore his wedding ring because he worked in a prison. He didn’t want any of the inmates knowing that he was married. I could understand that and appreciated the fact that he wanted to protect me. But, what about when he wasn’t at work? He would say that it was uncomfortable. He was a premie and his fingers are “webbed” as we both like to say. I can count on one hand the amount of times I have seen it on his hand since we got married almost fifteen years ago. And it’s always been brief. An hour here or there on days like our anniversary to appease me. He had even taken it off at our wedding reception. Stinker. It upset me sometimes. Other times I would completely forget that most married people even wore wedding bands. I understood his reasoning with not wearing it at work, but not his other about it feeling uncomfortable. My thought was always, “get over it,” but I chose not to make a big stink about it. He is a grown man and I am not his mother. He knew that I didn’t like that he never wore it, but it wasn’t enough for him to wear it. Perhaps it was the condition of his heart or the circumstances of our lives that prevented it from rarely crossing his mind. Regardless, that was our reality and I wasn’t going to force the man to wear it. A ring is just an outward symbol ultimately. It didn’t change his commitment to me. I knew he was faithful to me through his other actions. I know of enough people who have worn their rings from the day they said, “I do” but their actions have said, “I don’t want to anymore.” I'll just leave it at that. Ralph had mentioned a couple of times since our moving to Florida that he had been looking at buying a silicone ring to wear, but I didn’t give it much thought or attention. Its been brought up before and nothing has ever come of it. So, when I saw his actual wedding band on him, I was pleasantly surprised. Of course he never pointed it out. He probably knew I would just notice. It’s silly and petty, I know, but it made me light up when I saw that ring on his finger on March 23, 2022. I figured that I would see it come off again, but it hasn’t. I guess he got over it. ;) Every day I still can’t help but look at it. It has been worth it to not press him about it all of these years. It’s just more confirmation that his spirits are being lifted. He carried so much while living in NY. To me, it shows that we truly have entered a new chapter in our lives. There’s relief. There’s hope. Life is still hard. That won’t change, but God is at work. We are living again. We are breathing differently. I am so grateful. (My sister snapped this photo as I was intentionally making sure that his ring could be seen in it.)

Note: All of the photos that I usually put in my blog posts can be seen in the link below. Just to keep this website live is $200 per year. I opted not to pay $800 in order to add the photos. Wix has changed how they run their website and I simply cannot afford to do more than this right now. My photography website however, has the same article, but with wedding photos and one's taken today. Click link below to see them. Or just read and use your imagination. :) https://www.courtneycampbell.net/post/eighteen-years If I had to choose between the Ralph and Courtney on July 7, 2007 or the Ralph and Courtney today, I wouldn't take more than a split second to choose us today. I'll take the gray hair and wrinkles. There's no way I'd want to go back to who we were then. "Healthy things grow and growing things change" is what one of our pastor's, Don Cousins says. It is so well put. I would be concerned if I were to reflect on who Ralph and I were eighteen years ago on July 7, 2007, and not see a dramatic change. What hasn't changed is our commitment and faithfulness to each other. That day I confidently walked down the aisle with my eyes locked into his. I didn't want to see anyone else. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the man that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. Ralph and I made a choice that day to stay true to what our vows said: for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, as long as we both shall live. "Divorce is not an option" has been our mentality from day one. Just like I say often to mom's that "motherhood is easy to start well, but not to finish," marriage is the same way. Ralph and I come from two divorced families. Ralph's parents separated when he was in elementary school, mine when I was fifteen and again within the first year of our marriage. The emotional pain is hard to describe. The impact those divorces have made on us still to this day....The broken pieces we have had to pick up for each other... No  one intends to divorce. They just feel as though there is no other way to fix it. Staying committed through the physical, mental, and spiritual lows is not easy, and that's putting it simply. But, if you wait. Oh, if you can just wait... If you can just trust. Trust that God is sovereign. That He sees you in your deepest moments of despair. If you can just surrender your every emotion, as real and justified as some of them might be... If you could just have faith that God can restore what's been broken, but in His timing, not yours. There is a reward for those that wait. I know there are exceptions. Please do not think I am being insensitive or that I am telling anyone to remain in a verbal or physically abusive situation. I do, however believe that God is capable of fully restoring any marriage that has even one willing participant in it. One that chooses to die to themselves, surrender their spouse, and have a softened heart to change, even if they don't see themselves as the problem. Some day, in God's timing, I will release our story. Many new things have transpired since I first started writing my book. I am holding it all very loosely, wanting nothing, but God to have His way through it. Lastly, as I so often emphasize, our faith in Jesus is ultimately why we are still together. It is impossible to wait, trust, surrender, or forgive over and over and over and over again without Him. The fact that we aren't who we were on July 7, 2007 and how our marriage has remained steady for eighteen years, is a testament to His work in us. He gets all the glory and admiration.

Note: All of the photos that I usually put in my blog posts can be seen in the link below. Just to keep this website live is $200 per year. I opted not to pay $800 in order to add the photos. Wix has changed how they run their website and I simply cannot afford to do more than this right now. My photography website however, has the same article, but with all the cute photos. Click below to see them. Or just read and use your imagination. :) https://www.courtneycampbell.net/post/kitty-therapy Writing: If I am being honest, I regret bringing many of the things into our home that I did in order to keep my three boys occupied every day. It created unnecessary chaos, but I digress. There is one object, however that I look at daily and think, “I am so thankful this was brought into our home.” I am referring to our living, breathing, and oh so soft kitty named Hunter. Hunter draws a different kind of joy out of my boys that I don’t see elsewhere. He and I share the important job of comforting in moments of frustration, anger, sadness, or fear. Yes, our faithful furry friend, Hunter is a gift to us. After losing our other cat when we moved twelve hundred miles from home, we waited three years for a new cat with a similar temperament. Thanks to Hunter, this mom has the perfect example for when her boys hit their teenage years, as to why waiting for other pleasurable things that are going to be much more…ahem…challenging, will be worth it. Of course, there is always the age old pet debate of dogs versus cats. In our current situation, the thought of bringing a dog into the house to train and care for, feels ludicrous to me. Training my boys to make their beds, get dressed, brush their teeth, and do the dishes every morning, without having to be prompted, is challenging enough. No, a cat is perfect for our current family dynamic. We decided it would be best for Hunter to be an indoor and outdoor kitty for many good reasons. One, he loves it out there because he was created to be there. Being outside also gives him breaks from the humans that love to cuddle him inside. I am also delighted to see his claws sinking into the bark of trees instead of our couch. Finally, the world is his litter box so there is no smelly or expensive set up. Cats are therapeutic by their presence alone. I can’t think of a single cat that isn’t cute- even a hairless sphynx. My boys constantly look at him and say, “mom isn’t he the cutest kitty ever?” I personally like to use the word, “handsome,” which I call him more often than I call my own children sometimes, but they find it funny. They delight in seeing me love on what they refer to as our “fourth boy.” Ralph was not quite as keen on the idea of bringing a cat into our lives for practical reasons. A pet falls under the category that we often refer to as, “rich people stuff.” They are not a need, but a want. I strongly advocated for one, not because I wanted to see unnecessary money being spent, but because I saw the advantages that a cat, with the right temperament would have in our home. My boys needed to learn to care for something outside of themselves. I often utter the words, “Hunter needs more than just your hugs. Go feed him and give him fresh water. A dead kitty is not nearly as fun.” We do our best to keep his expenses low. We had to get him fixed, chipped, and the standard rabies shot because of the more populated area we live in. Because he goes outside, he needs a monthly flea treatment. We’ve tried going without it and that was a foolish, itchy choice. We attempted to avoid buying him cat food, like our last cat, and just let him eat what we make, like eggs and chicken, but we quickly learned that he was Mr. Picky. He preferred to still come in to eat dry food in addition to his outdoor snacks of birds, lizards, and mice. Yes, Ralph, whom Hunter now loves the most, agrees that bringing a cat back into our family has been beneficial. It has not been financially advantageous, but it has been a better investment in our children’s lives than a new play set in the backyard, a power wheels, or a 1,000 piece lego set that loses it’s shininess in a few months. A silky, purring kitty nestled into my children’s arms hasn’t gotten old and I do not anticipate that ever being the case. There’s no therapy quite like kitty therapy.

Stephanie Radcliffe was one of the first women I met when we moved down to Orlando, Florida in the winter of 2022. We clicked instantly. It was because of Stephanie that I learned of a homeschool group called Wild and Free that met every week to go on hikes. This was my kind of group so I joined. It was through this group that I met many of mine and my children's closest friends. These sorts of relationships are what make places feel like home sooner. I am deeply grateful that Stephanie told me about it. Fast forward two years and we are learning more and more how similar the two of us are. We are both creatives in the trenches of parenting. We feel the constant tug of war between parenting and creating. We love teaching our kids in more naturally occurring ways versus through textbooks. This past May, Stephanie reached out to me about something "crazy" she did. She reached out to the Wild and Free organization and asked if they could use any writers for their monthly bundles to help encourage other homeschool families. They said, "yes!" She asked if I would be interested in doing the photos for it and I said, "yes," too! We committed to doing three articles to see how it would go. After the first one was released in August, they reached out to Stephanie and asked if she wanted to do two more. Apparently we were a good team. They loved Stephanie's captivating, detailed, and delightful writing paired with my photos! I am honored to be a part of this organization and to have an opportunity to have my work shared in a public way such as this. It is humbling. It is surreal. It is encouraging. I am looking forward to seeing what God does with it. To check out this fun women's homeschooling group and how to access their articles,, go to: https://www.bewildandfree.org/ . This was our first article: Here are my fav photos from it:

Stephanie Radcliffe, the writer of our second article published in Wild and Free's September bundle, love how this turned out!! Again, the photos that I took in her beautiful home paired so well with her eloquent words. May its encourage homeschooling, unschooling, and every other kind of schooling moms to not overthink how to teach their children math. One of my favorite quotes from it: By integrating math into everyday life, children become confident and capable in utilizing math in the real world. Math isn't just about equations and formulas. It's a way of thinking, a tool for navigating the world and learning to see it as a lost art. Head   to   www.bewildandfree.org   to see more of Wild and Free's encouraging homeschooling resources! Here are a couple other favs from this session that weren't included in the article!

Stephanie Radcliffe, the writer of our third article published in Wild and Free's October bundle, did it again! This time, she was sweet enough to make mention of my children and I. We went off on a small adventure for this one. Again, the photos that I took paired so well with her eloquent words. May this encourage homeschooling, unschooling, and every other kind of schooling moms to not overthink how to teach our children. Fav quote from the article: "How do we not give into our fears that often tell us that allowing our children to learn freely is too risky, too far off the beaten path?...Cue the dramatic entrance of reverse planning! Like a superhero in disguise, reverse planning (otherwise known as planning from behind) swoops in to save the day, cape optional." For more info about Wild and Free for homeschooling moms, or to read the articles, go to: https://www.bewildandfree.org/ One of my fav images from that day!

What is hygge? I had no idea until I had to photograph Stephanie Radcliffe and her children for an article she was writing for Wild and Free's December bundle . Stephanie explains it in the article! One of my favorite things Stephanie said in it was, "Messy floors with crumbs, drops of glue, and dried up balls of play dough is not the sign of our failure. Our greatest laid plans may crumble, but like broken ornaments, they can reveal a beautiful mosaic of real life, learning, and growth that we yearned for all along." To read more articles, sign up at https://www.bewildandfree.org/bundles . They not only release about 20 beautifully designed articles to download every month, but you receive their magazine.