I had this picture on my teacher desk at school every single year for NINE years. It’s circa 1989, my first day of second grade. And that purple outfit was brand new and the coolest thing I had to wear. My students always laughed when I told them the story of this picture…and a few of them even asked me, “why is that BOY wearing purple?” I smiled and told them, “That’s not a boy, guys. That’s ME with my hair in a braid. It was the 80’s, OK!?” Smiles.

Today is the first day back to school for students in Atlanta. It’s also the very first year ever that I won’t enter a public school classroom as either a teacher or a student. And I am sentimental!

My students were always my favorite thing about being a teacher. I just love getting to know their burgeoning personalities and guiding them along in their discoveries. Planning intriguing lessons that crossed the various subjects was my second favorite part of being an educator. I loved tying everything together at the end of the day, and I approached this with almost obnoxious excitement. But the kids loved it. And of course that is all that matters!

For those of you coming to Green Drink Diaries for health and non-toxic cancer information, don’t worry- there will be plenty more of that coming in my next posts. As I prepare to move forward into full-time motherhood, work as a health educator, private tutor, and into the world of non-profit work, I wanted to share some teaching memories and lessons along the way that are dearest to my heart.

I had a moment to sit down and write today. That’s right, A moment. The royal tea party went a little later than expected… (:

Writing publicly about non-toxic cancer therapies and healthy living isn’t so simple. You want to make double sure you are sharing 1000% accurate information or you will certainly hear it from someone who’s looking to find mistakes in your research. There’s also the importance of wording your thoughts sensitively since your true emotion doesn’t always shine through in text. Oh, and then there’s the utmost importance of being thorough enough for the people who are using your story to inspire their own healing. Because of this, one blog post can become extremely time-consuming!

So…my point in saying all of this is: I WANT YOUR FEEDBACK. What do YOU want to read about? What will help YOU? I have a LONG list of ideas written down as I think of them, and I want to prioritize based on your feedback. Expect to see a few of them this Fall after the Healing Strong Conference and Retreat is over in September. (By the way- we are very close to selling out! Register now if you are planning on going HERE.)

Here are my ideas for this Fall on Green Drink Diaries….

Blessings are abundant in the Campbell household! In April we welcomed our newest sweet girl, Annabel Michelle, weighing 9 lbs 3 oz, 3 days after her due date! After my first child, Ruby-Claire was born weighing 9 pounds and being 10 days “overdue,” I thought that maybe it was the 850 calorie, cancer-fighting Cottage Cheese/ Flaxseed Oil I ate almost everyday that made such a big baby. So, while pregnant with Annabel, I cut down to eating it only twice a week (for the last month) and she ended up weighing even more! I guess my reasoning didn’t quite work out there.

I have to say though, the biggest shocker when Annabel was born was her RED HAIR. Genetics are amazingly puzzling, but we sure do love her and her fuzzy baby locks like crazy!

We feel so incredibly blessed to share the news of her birth, seeing that the desire to have children was what triggered our research into holistic and alternative cancer therapies. God has a beautiful way of working things out.

Stay tuned for a new season of Green Drink Diaries, as I will be pursuing GDD and the Healing Strong Conference and Retreat FULL TIME (alongside motherhood as my number one priority!) After 9 years of teaching elementary school, God really laid it on me over the past year to take a leap of faith in resigning from what is safe and comfortable for me and wait for what is NEXT. I have some ideas, but I am prayerfully waiting for His cue.

I am so glad to be alongside you on this new journey!  Stay tuned….