tomorrow ... tomorrow = AUGUST

Where did July go? Wow .... it's already (almost) AUGUST. This is what teamAFRICA has planned for fundraisers in last month O' summer

cinnamon rolls after both services (why not come join us!!) AUG 10 (so delicious!!)
entertainment books for sale $20 each preorders begin AUG 7 (great deal!!!!)
homeschool book sale saturday AUG 16 (excellent deals!!!!!!)
haircut opportunity at Cutting Edge in Nampa AUG 24 & 25 (back to school!!)
KING OF KINGS (skateboarding expo) and hotdoggedy dogs!!! AUG 24

.... consider checking some or all of these events out. Thanks for your support.
m

To Do ~ the list is long!!

I had anticipated getting a looooooooooooong list of To Do's done ... but I didn't! and the list is getting longer. Whew!! multi-tasking, priorities, again and again!! Well, there's always tomorrow. m

reFOCUS & dedication ... A F R I C A

not that you won't know what's going on with me, da' boys, happenings in Meridian IDAHO, but as of MONDAY (August 4) I will be concentrating, reFOCUSING & dedication much of this blog to my trip to Lesotho! So, please stop by often ...... leave some well wishes, thoughts and encouragment along the way. Many photos I promise, and much more stories too!! see you all soon, m

Mondays ..... weigh ins!

first week went well .... I almost cried over mashed potatoes and rolls being served to my men!! survived through that! .... I am beginning to enjoy oatmeal (this in the past has always and only been used for medicinal purposes .... ) and the H20 is flowing!! SURVIVAL means I lost 7 pounds. And now, the journey begins. You do know that first week is just a catapult (sp?) into real life and so it's time to put the nose to the grindstone (sounds harmful) ... and kick it into gear! and BTW, let me remind you all out there in blogland this weight"game" is for my health ... to be stronger and get off meds (I ain't gettin' any younger!!) ... so ~ here's to another week!!

Let me know how you are doing!!

tell me a STORY ......

do you have a SHORT STORY, a TALL TALE, a SWEET NARRATION, a BIGGER THAN LIFE STORY, a GLORY STORY, a LEGACY, one CHAPTER closes and another BEGINS, ...... tell me your story!!! I tend to think in this mode with my camera. And won't you just shuck my corn ... I forgot my camera today for the Benefit sale for TEAM AFRICA. So ... I'll be waiting .... a good story is hard to beat!

Pasta Feed

Wow .... it went well. We had plenty of helpers. We had fun. The church family had fun. Met some people that all I knew were their names and now I have a face to the name. Clean-up went great.!!! And LOOK da' ladies are all smilin' ...... more to come!!!!

DIET ... day 4

where to begin? It's only been 4 days and ~~~ I've been cranky/irritable, weening off sugar (ugh!) and salt (gotta love the PMSing = Pass More Sugar & Salt!!!) .... bad breath (that's a winner!) and ..... drum roll please ..... I have lost some weight but it ain't falling off! and I know it won't .... drinking the water and BTW, I am enjoying it (that was my weekly goal)!!! and now to continue, I must be ADD/HDD and HGTV!!! Give a shout out to help all the dieters out there. And have a great day ... a healthier day and talk to ya soon.

E V E R Y T H I N G ... lyrics by Tim Hughes

We sing this song in church .... and every ounce (and pound) vibrates in my body. It's powerful ... it's everything .... check it out on Itunes. Playlist has only 29 seconds of it (not good!) It can be found on the HOLD NOTHING BACK cd (2007). I so enjoy this song. And now let me tell you why .... tough day for me. We've had some fatal motorcycle accidents around the area and it's been devastating ..... EVERYTHING ~ let me know what you think of the song!

Everything Lyrics
God in my living
There in my breathing
God in my waking
God in my sleeping
God in my resting
There in my working
God in my thinking
God in my speaking
Be my everything Be my everything Be my everything Be my everything
God in my hoping
There in my dreaming
God in my watching
God in my waiting
God in my laughing
There in my weeping
God in my hurting
God in my healing
Christ in me Christ in me Christ in me the hope of glory You are everything
Christ in me Christ in me Christ in me the hope of glory Be my everything

Song Description:
Reading a Christian poetry book, I stumbled across an old Celtic prayer. The first verse really struck me, "God to enfold me, God to surround me, God in my speaking, God in my thinking." This longing for God to be at the centre of all that we are, and all that we do, really challenged me. So often we de-compartmentalise our faith, sometimes leaving our thoughts of God to Church, reading the bible, praying - this however is so narrow-minded. We need to learn to put God at the centre of our breathing, thinking, resting, working, waking, sleeping, hurting and healing. There's nothing however seemingly small that we should exclude God from. We need to keep Him as our everything. The verse and Chorus melody came quickly, followed by a bridge melody. Lyrically it felt like the 'Christ in me the hope of glory,' perfectly captured everything the song was trying to say. Musically though, it felt like the song needed a section to explode. One time, worshipping with the song in my room, I began to sing the Chorus an octave up. From a vocal point of view, to sing it out that high required commitment and passion. Personally I love the fact that you can't sing this final Chorus half-heartedly. It's all or nothing. Much like our faith needs to be. ------Tim Hughes

DIETERS unite .... let's get this done together

dearest ones .... I have sucessfully lost 60ish pounds over the last year! BUT, (I hate that word b/c it means there is going to be a TO DO after it!) it is FINALLY time to get the rest of this fat off of my body. I do realize I am a motivator/encourager .... so I am asking any of you DIETERS out there in blogworld to join me. A few rules ~~~> 1. you must weigh yourself weekly 2. you need to be using a healthful way of dieting (that rules out the potato/vodka diet, the cabbage diet etc.) 3. we need to check in ideally EOW (every other week) ... but MONTHLY works and lastly, 4. journal and charting your success is a MUST ... weight loss is hard work! I had an astronaut tell me years ago that the hardest job he ever did was to lose weight!! Imagine that! So, dear dieters ~~~ here we go ~~~~~ anytakers? I've begun today, as we unite .... we become more successful b/c of your knowledge and strength (and humor) together. Setting small goals is IMPORTANT.
My goal this week is to eat well (5 minis a day) and drink and enjoy my water daily.
MY PERSONAL GOAL IS TO LOSE 33 pounds. Here's to a thinner more healthier all of us!!!

and "it" BEGINS ....

You know those times when someone asks you, "so, what are strengths, gifts and/or talents?" I usually get a dazed looked on my face and begin to think ... what are my strengths, gifts and/or talents. I know that I know that I know (you know what I mean!) that I love people, and I so enjoy conversing about anything, anywhere with anyone! and I know I can fund-raise. I've done this all throughout the boys schooldays (shout out to the Lafayette High School Parents!) ~ so .... now my fund-raising for Lesotho, S. Africa BEGINS .... oh, it was a long day ~ fun day ~ met some people so now I have a face with a name .... we began to work as a team. Wow! it went well! Of course, I did my simple debrief as how to tweak it and make it better for the next time ~ which reminds me, YOU ALL NEED TO COME OUT FOR THE NEXT PASTA FEED! The fellowship time was great too!! Thank you to all .... Doug became the chef in the house and browned/seasoned 10 pounds of ground beef. It was yummy .... then he loaded ... shelped a car load of pots & pans, pasta water, etc. etc. etc. to the church by 8:30 this AM and blessed his heart didn't get home until almost 2:30PM. What a man ... and he's my man! (bragging rights allowed) STOP BY OFTEN, as I will continue to update about S. Africa and other dailyness with me! And, BTW we did sell African jewelry made by the children .... I didn't get to buy one piece!! next time I'm first in line! xoxOxo m

STAMPEDE ... Snake River celebrates 93 years

High flying (horses) .... cowboys ... the colors!! (IDAHO & USA flags) .... da bad boys (bulls!!) my grandmother ~ Grandie hates, I mean HATES bulls! .... clowns (COFFEY retired after 27 years) .... cowgirls! (local Star, ID barrel racer WINS! first) .... horses running and the spirit moves 'em ....... that would all equal the Snake River STAMPEDE. I had fun ~ got to hang out with my PIC (partner in crime!) ... so we laughed, enjoyed the event and had fun. I highly recommend it!!

BIG DECISION ... yea God!

Well, God is allowing me to travel to Lesotho S. Africa! YES, sweet ones you did read that right. So the preparations begin! I'll be traveling with 31 others, we will leave Boise IDAHO December 28th and return January 11th. So .... it begins. FYI ... the UN Office/Humanitarian Affairs reports that at least ONE in 10 people is HIV-positive in South Africa. Social tensions and economic strain related to the disease are felt by EVERYONE in this country and not just those living with the disease. THAT'S WHERE I COME IN .... I will be working with 2 orphanages. ALL OF THESE CHILDREN have lost their parents to HIV Aids. The team will be assisting in finishing their housing buildings, hopefully purchasing each child their own bed ~ and maybe a teddy bear, and
hosting a Christmas/New Years celebration. Can you imagine it? Can you see their faces!!! Oh and to think I can hold/care for them and EVEN BLOW SOME BUBBLES WITH ALL OF THEM. My heart races everytime I think of it!!! I love you all ... and I will be sending out assitance letters ~~~~ please DO NOT feel obligated to donate, BUT YOUR PRAYERS SURE WOULD BE AWESOME beginning now! And I'll keep you updated ... I promise!!

fruitfulness of gardening!

One can grow fruits, flowers, roses ...... but the simplicity and beauty of DAISYS! Wow ... doug cut 134 daisy off 1 bush and brought them to me. Stunning ..... I created 4 large bouquets with them. Such a simple yet elegant flower the daisy is .... enjoy this B&W photo of them. m

summary ... of my JUNE

This is my favO'rite photo of Doug and me ... his nickname is MOSV = man of steel and man of velvet! Tis' so true.
and I love this photo b/c we don't eat out when we are in Maui. This be boy meets grill, but wait ... I love to grill to ..... so that would be grill girl!!! and we have fun cooking together too.
I commented that I thought and even believe that God's zipcode is this ....96753. I feel "closer" to Him when I am here ... being near the ocean, being just in "tune" .... if that makes sense! Where do you feel closest to your Creator? What joys do you enjoy being with Him?
and then there are these. I love to buy Old Navy flip-flops because they are good quality and the price is right and then I bling 'em out or decorate with ribbons .... and then I can toss 'em when they get guncky from the seawater and seasalt! I love this photo .... I took it myself! have a great weekend.

m

Friday! ..... Saturdays!!

it's Friday ..... and I still have a ton of things to get done! and I love Saturdays b/c that's the day D & I usually just "hang out" ..... he's been traveling some and will travel some more next week, so .... SATURDAYS!! is our day. I have many "projects" that need work ... so ~ one day at a time! I did have the privilege of reading many books on vacation. What are you reading these days? I just want to encourage you to take time for YOURSELF. It's hard .... but we really do need "down time!" Have a great weekend.

F O O T P R I N T S ...

I know you all know the story of 'FOOTPRINTS' ... I just had to share this photo! where are you heading? where do you want to go?? where would you like to go? "Just because you wander, doesn't mean you are lost!" Have an awesome Thursday. xoxox, m

goofyness with Michelle ...

what does darlin' hubby do with a camera and I'm being goofy?
He captures it on FILM!!
to think I can't get any goofyier .... I can and I do!! what about YOU???

no worries, no hurries .... just love, laughter and livin'!!!!


me being real and a bit authentic ~~ wouldn't you agree???

let the CROPPING begin ....

I took way too many photos!! had too much fun with my camera .... got some great shots! so, the dilemna now ~ what to do ... A = let the cropping (scrapbooking) begin!! I'm open to traveling to do this, staying home and have a GNO (girls night out) .... FIRST, I have to find my desk! Oh, and printing those photos .... I can't decide: to print all of them (500+) or just a few at a time that I know I'll be using on pages ~~~ such decisions! Have a great day xoxox, m

New Hope Chapel

I saw this t-shirt at the New Hope Chapel. I so enjoyed worship there. I thought I'd share it with all of you.
Still praying God finds my Bible!

hello .... is this thing on? Is it even working? Well, I'm home!! Celebrated the 4th ~ great concert God & Country ... incredible fireworks. What a great nation ... one nation under God ~ freedom comes with a price. Thank you all who serve our country with honor and pride. IT truly IS WHAT IT IS .... here's my prayer request .... I have never ever ever never ever checked my BIBLE with the airlines, but I figured after all these years, heading home etc. ~~~~> you know what I'm going to say don't you????? My bag never made it to Boise. It's been a week already .... and no signs of it ~ as Doug has said "your bag is somewhere, just someONE has to find it! Well, I've put it in God's hands .... I'm heart-broken losing all my notes and prayer requests with dates and you names within my BIBLE. Maybe it WILL show up, maybe someone has it and needs it more than me (however, they will never be able to understand my symbols and notes to myself!) .... and maybe, it's time for me to move forward. Hope you all will help me with that one!! Sorry for the delay in blogging .... my 'puter was deathly gravely ill and I think I'm up and running again. bye m'