FLOWERS ... a bouquet and potted plants

Just for you .... a pink bouquet grown by me for YOU! I wish you could smell them ... bottled perfume!
check out the invader inside of the calililly? He can stay. I love this color. I have 2 pots of these.
Another arrangement ... I like these colors. I'm wondering how it will do in this climate.
and last but not least, a cup of kindness. The purple and orange are this years choice!! Happy gardening ... enjoy the cut ones and potted ones too.

my town .... Meridian, IDAHO

How does one solve dry skin due to hard water and living in a mountainous desert? Here! Great location, excellent facility and the hydration station (steam bath) is the best!

Not to mention these darlin' ladies ... I still can't figure out why the boys
haven't "pursued" one of these hotties?!! They are sweet like tea, the facility is superbly clean and I so enjoy this pleasure of life. Besides, there is always a promo going on ... so go in and get a massage, steam or tan for FREE!!
My town .... Meridian, Idaho ..... it has sooooooooo grown. These weren't even here 3 years ago. Can you believe it? I've lived here for 3 years this weekend. Just a year ago Paul graduated HS! Anywho, this is NOT far from the house ... so come visit and we'll hit the town.





And just across the street ... all of this! and more to be built. Mind you, Boise is the 4th bestest city to live in the USA!!! Open invitation for all of you out-of-staters!!!

YARDWORK!! my joy

Tis' true ...... I am devoted and so enjoy yardwork. Now, if the rain would just stop a bit. Some things are already blooming. (yea!!) And my colors this year are deep purple and orange. I love it! A bit of whimsical in the yard too. Still looking for an old typewriter (any of you out there that can help me ... let me know!). And, it's something Doug and I can do together. He's created an Anniversary Garden for me. That's right 25 roses for each year of being married. Come by and visit .. we'll stroll through the yard or even have a cup of tea ~ or even, how 'bout some S'mores too! Maybe I should have titled this "an invitation to you ALL!" have a great day.

~ m

probably my LAST DAY substituting!!

How cool is this ..... I was in 5th grade today (and it will probably be my LAST DAY substituting), I was at a school I'd never been to before, and this great young teacher listens to AIR ONE! what a blessing and a smile it brought to my heart! Air One around here is the rock Christian radio station. So ......... great day ......... and more than likely my last b/c teachers NEVER EVER take off the last 3 days of school. So, farewell to the school year for me.

the end in sight! ..... SCHOOL

This is my daily summary sheet for all my teachers. I thoroughly enjoy working for the teachers and totally enjoy the students. I over heard a teacher saying "how in the world could any one in their right mind be a substitute teacher?" Well, I guess that's why I am who I am! I have enjoyed this year more than I can tell you. Every day a newness (some days I'm in the same class and I can really get to know the students) ..... but YES! I have enjoyed teaching/learning everyday .... and being a substitute teacher. And, after the 4-day week will be another 4-day week and school WILL BE OVER!! So soon I tell you .... can it be ~ 'tis is true.
S U M M E R!! onto more adventures for me.

Memorial Day ... HAPPY!

What a nation! What a country! Thank you Thank you Thank you ... to all the men and women who honorably serve my country! My dad is one of them. I know so many families have paid the ultimate sacrifice for this duty to country ... there are no words to express to you all that have lost loved ones, words that come to my mind are: loyalty, countrymen, honor, integrity, hard-work, sacrifice, training ..... Memorial Day!

pray for the Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman and family

Several believers out of respect and condolences are deciding to go quiet/dark for 3 days .... I too will do the same for the Steven Curtis Chapman family ..... 3 days representation of silent mourners sitting beside Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman and their children. We pray that this small effort will serve as a reminder to those who visit here to go face down and intercede for this dear and loving family at this terrible time of loss.

We have chosen three days as a symbol of resurrection as we plead with God to comfort them, tend deeply to each one of them, and raise them in the months and years to come from this place of unimaginable grief. Faithful family of God, our deepest thoughts, love, and prayers are with you and will remain with you for many months to come.

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.'" Revelation 21:1-4

tragically and respectfully submitted ....
Maria Sue Chapman (2003-2008)
Maria Sue Chapman, adopted and youngest daughter to Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed Wednesday night in a tragic accident in the family driveway on Wednesday evening. She was LifeFlighted to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital but for only reasons God can explain she went home to Him... not to Franklin as we all so desperately wanted.
Your prayers are needed for all in the Chapman family. This is a family who has so generously loved and given to so many. Just hours before this close knit family was celebrating the engagement of the oldest daughter Emily Chapman, and were just hours away from a graduation party marking Caleb Chapman's completion of high school. Now, they are preparing to bury a child who blew out 5 candles on a birthday cake less than 10 days ago. These words are unthinkable to type. And yet we trust in a God who was not surprised by this and because of Jesus I am certain through faith in Him we will see Maria again. - Jim Houser (Manager)

who knows ... I just might be!!

Isn't this just the greatest? Do I scare any of you? I might be someone's worst nightmare! I know ... I should ask my 5th graders. What if they said "yes?!!" Oh, I don't think they would. I just loved this page ... and could NOT resist. It's about that time ... the end of another school year. Wow ...those 5th graders will graduate and be middle schoolers. I can't decide ~~~~ whether to move up or stay in elementary. I'll take advice from the blogsters and the ever loving blog world.
Well, all of this to say ... I hope you all smile and dance even!

~ m

Bible Study Fellowship International

Today ended my year study of Matthew through Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) .... BSF is international prgram ... and when you are doing lesson #13 so are the people in Ohio, Texas, Idaho ect. ~ how cool is that!! There are classes in Greece, China, Hong Kong, Zambia ~ all over the place. Now, I know some of you know about this ministry ... but I would be so remiss if I didn't give tribute. They have womens, mens, school age classes, middle school, high school, single adult, even an awesome preschool program that teaches your darlin' God's true Word!!
Weekly study, a lecture, personal studying, applications .... life building lessons. This year was Matthew and next year with be Life of Moses ........ doesn't that just sound great. If your in the local area ... grab me and we'll go together ~ every Wednesday morning. It's something you just crave, you learn so much and you realize "this" is what you've needed all along!! Check out the ministry at BSF (they are headquartered in San Antonio, TX) http://www.bsfinternational.org

Let me know what you think ....

A wandering dog ...

Wonderfully, how God can speak to us (all four of us were home today ... and we just "happened" to be in the garage) .... in the garage no less! This is what happened. It is HOT here today, 93 degrees! So, Doug, Ryan, Paul and myself were in the garage ..... re-arranging stuff, getting out gardening stuff ~ Ryan, was hitting the speed bag ..... and then IT happened. This big (about 70 pounds) blondish dog wandered into the garage. I know ... this may seem silly to most of you ... but IT was a simple blessing that Doug and I believe truly was from God ... as we are missing Sandy Dog so much. We quickly grabbed a bowl of cool water (with ice cubes in it!) for the doggy, and read its collar (please be sure your animal can be identified if it ever wanders off!) and we dialed the telephone number. The owner came promptly .... I told her that darlin' Winston had been a blessing to our day!

~ God showed up today! and blessed me!!

Beth Moore Conference, Boise ID May 16 & 17

This is the teams of ladies I was privileged to work with both days! Thank you Life Way Bookstore & Ministries for partnering with Living Proof Ministries!!

Beth, incredibly gifted and empowered by the Holy Spirit in her teachings! Thank you for coming to Boise IDAHO! Blessings upon blessings ... I heard miracles and glory stories both days!!

Where to begin ... just grab one of your girlfriends that attended and she won't know where to begin. Thank you for bringing God's true word to Boise!!

teeeeeeeth!!

okay, a few weeks ago ... literally ... I had dental work done on my upper back tooth. Military issue from the 70's ... and I guess b/c dental technology has changed soooooooo much my teeth are falling out of my head. They are literally cracking. For the most part, I have healthy teeth. However, I HATE DENTISTS. Not that I have anything against them, it's just ... shall we say not natural ... to get all numbed up ~ shots in da mouth ~ drilling, exploring, pulling, pricking and whatever they do all so technical and stuff .... and thank goodness there are great dentist in the world. But, back in the days (1970's) it was said (and not every agreed with it!) that military dentists were NOT the best of the best and weren't up to the latest and the greatest ....... (I have horror stories to tell you ... I am living proof!)

all this to say ........... I'm headed back to the dentist tomorrow AM to have work done on the opposite side lower tooth ..... it's not my favO'rite thing to do ... heck, I'd rather get ready for the bigO' bigO' yard sale any day .... maybe even clean a toilet or two (did I just say that -- don't tell my boys!) .... or call my friends, or ~ you know what I mean!! I do NOT like it Sam I Am!!

so .... here's hoping my teeeeeeeeeeeeth are better as the days go bye!!

Terrific Tuesday ... it is Tuesday right?!!

Thank you all for sharing my sorrow over Sandy Dog.
As if God knew (and you know He did!) I had the most incredible time today. TERRIFC TUESDAY!! Understanding that being alone isn't bad/wrong .. but a treasured gift. Also, because my community is having a yard sale Friday and Saturday, Doug and I decided to participate .... what's was I thinking? ... I had forgotten how much work it is to set up ... go through everything ... put it all back correctly, you know! .... price it all ... is it really worth 10 cents?! .... get tables .... set it all out ... get change .... get bags ~ you know what I am talking about! And to top it all of "being busy" could be one of my many middle names, yet, God in His splendor is "talkin'" to me ~ of which, I am thankful. A dear neighbor came by and said "let's do this together" ~ now, you are all thinkin' I thought you said being alone ain't that bad ... well, I DID! and when I finally surrender it all ... God goes ahead a blesses me ~ go figure!!! What a treat it was to work with my neighbor. Dear neighbor you are a blessing (she doesn't read blogs .. so, she'll never ever know I'm talking about her!) I felt kinda guilty b/c she only had maybe 6 items ... to my 600 items ~ and she, bless her heart, helped me price all my junk! One persons junk is someone elses treasure ~~~~> it better be true!! Cause my garage is full already .... I'm wondering what else there is to sell????

xoxox, m

Sandy Dog .. aka Sanders

where to begin .... our beloved family pet ~ had to be put down on Saturday. I have no words to describe her laying in my lap and saying "good~bye" .... animals love unconditionally you know! When I'm angry, sad, happy, confused, ... there she is! Sandy Dog aka Sanders, truly did life with all of us!! She died peacefully and with dignity. I have treasured memories, photos and I kept her collar. If ever you have a chance to DONATE to the animal shelter, I ask that you do.

Happy Day!

To all mother's ... Happy Mother's Day. To my mother ~ Mimi and grandmother ~ Grandie .... Happy Day to YOU!!

much love, m

GARDENING .. I can't wait !!!

I love to garden. Actually darlin' hubby and I landscape together. He's the workhorse of the two of us ... I tend to be the more whimsical ~ dreamer type. Oh and he let's me do quirky things in the yard. That's where this blog is headed ... I have dreams of finding an old typewriter ... planting it strategically and growing something from within it! And b/c Sunday is Mother's Day ... we plant, dig, rearrange, plant some more, dream of colors, and all that kind of stuff!! Oh, I can't wait!! I can barely contain myself. Are you planting anything unusual that I should try?? Or do you know of a great little shop that I could find a typewriter inexpensively? What else can I display? ........ the ideas are endless!!

Pain into Power!!

TURNING PAIN INTO POWER
Some of the world's greatest men and women have been saddled with disabilities and adversities but have managed to overcome them...
Cripple him, and you have Sir Walter Scott. Lock him in a prison cell and you have John Bunyan. Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge and you have George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty and you will have Abraham Lincoln. Strike him down with infantile paralysis and he becomes Franklin D. Roosevelt. Burn him so severely in a schoolhouse fire that the doctors say he will never walk again, and you will have a Glen Cunningham, who set the world record in 1934 for running a mile in 4minutes and 6.7 seconds. Deafen a genius composer and you will have Ludwig van Beethoven. Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination and you will have a Booker T. Washington, a Harriet Tubman, a Marian Anderson, a George Washington Carver, or a Martin Luther King, Jr. Make him the first child to survive in a poor Italian family of 18 children Enrico Caruso. Have him born of parents who survived a Nazi concentration camp, paralyze him at the age of four from the waist down, and you will have an incomparable violinist Itzhak Perlman. Call him a slow learner, "retarded" and write him off as uneducatable and you will have Albert Einstein."

This was my QT today ..... does this speak volumes to anyone else!! And as a society we want to sedate, numb, ease our pains. LISTEN TO ME ... we all have "pains" .... I dare you to turn it into power. As a personal question ~ you never have to answer me .... but if you do care to share, I would love to learn how you have taken your pains and courageously turned them into POWER.

Have a great Thursday.

Beth Moore Conference

girlfriends........... if you ever get a chance to sit at Beth's feet and learn DO IT! God had a word for everyone! Matt. 16!
Travis Cotterell was an God-inspired talent artist! I'd love to get my hands on his new CD "Found!" He sings Psalms 145! I know .... incredible. I took notes of course, and I tell you what ....nuggets to digest, concepts to study .... and life changing event. And I got to celebrate it all with BB. Imagine! I am a blessed woman ... that I know for sure. And, BTW I don't know how, but we were approximately 5 rows back ..... I didn't care where we sat .... just to be a sponge and absorb was all I needed.

AF Academy ... CO Springs, CO

These are the statues right outside of the chapel. Very impressive! and in awe I am/was. Thank you dear soldiers for all you do for this country O' mine.


The ever impressive Chapel. 17 spires in total ... no reason just it worked out that way!
These darlin' deers were watchin' us and we were watchin' them. I think they were discussing the view! b/c that's what we were doing. I had to call my dad and tell him where I was .... he got a kick out of it and so did I! BB came along for the ride because I was the driver and she was the navigator. We did excellently all 4 days!

Golden Bee on Derby Day!

This Irish pub is located near the Broadmoor Hotel. Incredibly enough, BB & me (I know incorrect English, but it looks better than BB & I) were able to get out of the Beth Moore Conference parking lot in less than 5 minutes (really!) with 10,000 women in attendance! And this was where we dined for lunch. Too much fun! I think I drank enough ice tea to float a battle ship ... but wait we weren't visiting Annapolis ~ we were heading off to the view of the Big Blue Boys ~ the AF Academy!
This was a delicacy! and it was my lunch. Yes, I let BB taste it! She enjoyed the famous fish & chips. Oh, this is the restuarant that throws bees (material ones thank you very much!) and they stick on you jacket. fun fun fun!! BTW, Big Brown won the Derby in Louisville at Churchill Downs. He was the favored, you know! Maybe the CLGW should do the Derby one year!

Garden of the gods .. CO Springs, CO

This is incredible! I love the red clay colors, the blue sky, the white nubulous clouds .... creation indeed! BB & me did the tourist thing ... and we had a blast. The second photo shows you how mammoth the stones are ... b/c we look like dressed up ants going to a party. I think I was reconnecting with my indian heritage.

Sisters of another mother!

This is a beloved "saying" created for the CLGW in 2007 ...and it lives on. BB & me standing outside of the Cheyenne Mountain Resort ... beginning our weekend! Now, the reason for the name of the hotel is that the gorgeous mountain range behind us the Cheyenne Mountains. We drove up a far ways to explore those mountains .... beauty just glorious beauty!! it was a bit chilly ... but I would NOT be denied ... I wore my flip-flops one day!

back home in Idaho!

well, here I am .... back home in Idaho! BB & me got to Colorado Springs ~ a tad delayed ~ still, what a journey. A God thing you know .... standing, singing, in a holy moment. I know for sure I walked away inspired, educated and knowing I got a word (maybe more than one!) from God. We did the touristy (is that a word? I'll make it a word) things ~ laughed, talked and just hung out. THANK YOU MR. READER...... do you know that it was Christmas in May? Yep! It was my Christmas gift from Douglas. He planned, executed the whole trip and budgetted the whole thing himself ~ so that BB & ME could "play" ..... what a man! That's my man!! I have so many "things" to share .... photos too! Just had to say Good Monday Mornin'.

blizzzzzzzzzard in May ... and I don't mean DQ!!

Here is sit amongst other delayed/stranded travelers in Denver International Airport. I can't upload the photo but visibilty is 20 feet. Seriously! and to think I was going to wear my cute red open-toed shoes. Thank goodness BB and DH talked some sense into this brain O' mine! I have changed gates 3 times already ... and am delayed 1 hours and 15 minutes. Oh my Oh my .... where are my flying monkeys when I need them???? Prayers availeth!!

Rocked to my Core!

This is the pastor in Tennessee .... and his blog and the Angie/Todd Smith story .... it will rock you to your core. http://withoutwax.tv/2008/04/28/rocked-to-my-core
Take the time and view it.


Let me know your reactions!