the weirdest news story i've ever read!!!

A woman in Kansas refused to get off her boyfriend's toilet...for two years! Her skin was growing around the toilet seat, and her legs atrophied. Her boyfriend would bring her food and water, and would ask everyday if she wanted to come out. Her response was..."Maybe tomorrow". Talk about stubborn! Read the entire story here.

i think i know how annoyed God probably gets...

Tonight, I stopped on the way home to get some nutritious, delicious dinner for my girls...at Sonic Drive In. After ordering the "food", I decided to head home and just feed the girls there (the food was entirely too hot and no sippy cup, etc). Sweet Olivia yelled at me the entire way home...as if I was going to make her starve. She wanted her food, and she wanted it now. I found myself saying, "Baby, I'll feed you, I promise. Just not right now." I had exactly what she needed, but couldn't give it to her because I was protecting her. It was as if she didn't trust me to wait...

So, how annoying it must be when I do this to God. I yell and complain. I too often don't trust him...to wait.

Sure, she's a 1 year old with an ego-centric worldview and no real sense of time...but I'm, unfortunately, not really that much different.

i so had this idea one time...

I would always feel a little jealous when my girls were tiny, all snuggled up in their bouncer, napping through noise that would shake a building. "They should totally make those for adults!"...well they have:


The adult sized Bjorn Babysitter Balance. They actually just made one for a show so adults could see how comfortable they are. So, I had the thought. They should make giant, adult size versions of all baby apparatus', so we can see just how much our child will enjoy it. Imagine, the Adult Bumbo Seat, Adult Exersaucer, and the Adult Johnny Jump Up (steel reinforced door frame required). I'm thinkin' I would dig this!

...it was October 18th, 1978

...the Yankees had just won the World Series. President Jimmy Carter had just passed a law that allowed people to brew their own beer at home...and a ginormous baby boy was born to a poor woman in Eugene, Or (10 lbs 9 oz!). World meet Michael Wayne Lee...so today, the hubby is the big 3-0! He started the day out with his fav...orange rolls and coffee in bed...


Then he opened the first of his 30 presents. He opened 1 present every 30 minutes until all 30 presents were opened...


...we had a yummy breakfast and headed off to the pumpkin patch...






...then he ended the day watching the season opener for the Steelheads. They lost in a shoot-out. But the Red Sox won! Love ya babe, hope you were blessed by your girls today!

this is where i want to be today

Sometimes, living in the desert of southwestern Idaho in a new construction house with baby trees, makes me long for a backyard full of luscious trees, where I could have a tree house like this...


{Point Click Home}

...and just hide away for a few hours and read a good book.

Or a walkway like this...

{Brown Design}
...where I could take a really long stroll and dream about life.



Where do you want to be today?

the dinner table...

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table."-Ronald Reagan

What's happening at your dinner table tonight?

how many of you are there?

go to this website to find out...

saturday morning finds

There's one thing my family rallies around, themed birthday parties. And if you're thinking of a zoo-themed bday party, this cake....well, takes the cake!

It's a poo flinging monkey cake, complete with retractable arm that flings Raisenets! Genius!
Found at ohdeedoh.

If you're like me, you might be desperate for a pedicure after a long summer wearing flip flops and being barefoot. Why not consider having tiny little carp eat all the dead skin off your feet? What in the world?????? Actually, this procedure is under question...hmmmm, wonder why. Read the article here.

Found at Rocks In My Dryer.

And last but not least...yesterday proved to be a "rough nap" day at my girls preschool. Four out of the five preschoolers (including my little "nap protester" herself) refused to take naps. So, here's a suggestion to Miss Kate & Miss Kristi (Lord bless 'em for their patience!)...maybe you could hand-cuff them and threaten taking them to jail! Seriously?? Well, turns out this really happened, and what do ya know, the parents are suing.

it's noon...are you praying?

In honesty, this is the first day I've remembered to pray right at noon. I usually remember around 3pm or 8pm...but today Ellie and I dropped our plastic fruit, took off our silly chef hats, and sat down and prayed for our nation right there in her playroom. It was powerful! So, I urge you, join with people all over the nation...and even in some other nations, and pray for our country & our leaders at noon (or as close to it as you can remember). Here are some points from Pastor Ken's blog on the significance of this noon time prayer:

Noon prayer

1. This is a commitment to prayer at noon for at least five minutes each day of the week.
2. Noon prayer was a vital element of every major revival and awakening since 1727.
3. Great Britain under the leadership of Winston Churchill called for noon prayer during World War II to stave off the German air assault on London and England.
4. The Naval Academy has had noon prayer since 1864.

Also, join in the conversation at Pastor Ken's Blog on the creative ways you are finding to insert prayer for our nation into your busy schedules. Go and comment on his post, "Prayer Strategies"...and let us know what works for you!

shout out to JB!

Just a shout out to my good friend, JB...who designed the awesomeness known as my new blog header. If you don't know her, you should! She is an incredible wife and mom, and her devotion to God is inspiring. She has taught me so much, and challenged me to know God more, lead my family with intentional compassion...and not to use bad plastics to store and heat food, and not to eat lunch meat with bad nitrates...among other nutritional wisdom! And she also removed my stitches one time, no joke...she is just a women of many talents! Love ya, friend! Thanks for believing in me...

more tissue please...

Here's two more posts that made me tear up today...from two of my favorite people!

The Hubby writing about a special moment he had last night with Ellie. He is seriously the coolest dad!

Good friend, Tracy (the Abbreviator), writing about perspective.

tissue required monday

So, I'm starting a weekly tradition here at CIMB. Mondays, in general, sometimes require tissue, but I thought I'd start your week off with an inspiring and likely tear jerking story (see previous blog posts "Cardboard Testimonies" and "Audrey Caroline's Story" to triple your tissue requirements for today).

Today's installment comes from one of my fav blogs, 6 Year Med. Read her recent post, "Woven and Spun"...it's worth it.

the sarah palin-name-game

Did anybody else say "Huh?" when you first heard the names of Todd and Sarah Palin's 5 children? Since reading her biography, "Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down", (which made me realize how many similarities I share with Gov. Palin...but that's for a different blog post), I finally found out the reason behind their names:

Track: because he was born during track and field season (Sarah was a track athlete and her dad was a track and cross country coach). The book says,

Sarah's father jokingly asked what they would have named their son if he had been born during basketball season. Without hesitation, Sarah answered 'Hoop'.

Bristol: after the ocean bay where they fished

Willow: after Alaska's state bird, the willow ptarmigan

Piper Indy: after the Piper Cub airplane that Todd flies and the Polaris Indy snowmobile he drove when he won the Iron Dog snowmobile race

Trig Paxson: Trig in Norse means "true" and "brave victory" and Paxson after an Interior lake popular among snowmachiners



So, with this in mind, I've come up with the "Gov. Sarah Palin Name Game"...use the following formula to come up with what you should name your next child:

fav. sport+fav. fishing hole+your state's bird+the kind of car you drive+fav lake

This is what we will be naming our next child:

"Golf Meathole Mounty (Mountain Bluebird) Mitsy (Mitsubishi) Payette"

I think we'll just call him/her Jr. for short.

What will your next child's name be?

pimp my pony

Here's a trip down memory lane...it was 1985 and my neighbor and I spent hours with our "My Little Ponies"...combing the mane and tail, braiding the mane and tail, making them go swimming in our hot tub...for hours.

So, you can imagine my excitement when Hasbro brings 'em back...for my daughters to enjoy! Man, those toy companies are smart. Of course we'll buy stuff for our kids that we played with when we were kids. But why make them have the big googly eyes?

Anywho, this is pretty cool. For the 25th Anniversary of My Little Pony, they decided to invite 25 designers, celebrities, and artists to design and one-of-a-kind pony, all blinged out. They will be auctioned off to be given to the charity, Give Kids the World Village.



So, what favorite toy from your childhood do you wish they'd bring back?

crayons in my bathtub

I can't get away from them!


I probably enjoy these bathtub crayons more than the girls...the bathtub is a blank canvas and brings out the artist in me!

mrs. potts (and the economy) take a spill

Here are some lessons we can learn from poor mrs. potts about loosing our footing:

1. Even though you might fall down, the show goes on...
2. It seems as though you are powerless when you loose your footing, but the reality is, there are people who really care all around that will help you get back on your feet.
3. It's not the falling down that matters, but the strength and passion that you exhibit when you get back up that will carry you and define you.
4. People will cheer for you and support you when you get back on your feet!

Ok, maybe I'm reading a little too much into this video...but with the economy taking a spill, and many people loosing their footing in their personal lives during these hard economic times, I hope this speaks volumes.

Pray, people, pray...when that's all there is left to do. It might seem like we are powerless since we're not raising our hand in the Senate to vote...but our God is all powerful. Go to Pastor Ken's blog for updated information on how to pray for our nation.

how 'bout them apples?

Sorry about the seasonal confusion, but back to fall...the girls and I and some good friends went to an apple orchard, in celebration of the warm Indian Summer (86 degrees on the last day of September!). Here are some things we are dreaming of making with the apples we brought home:

Hubby's famous apple pie (disclaimer: not his own recipe)
Apple & Cheese pancakes
Apple & Crab Coleslaw
Apple Noodles
Apple Gumbo...(actually, these all just sounded really interesting. We'll probably really only make pie...I mean Mike will make pie).



UPDATE: For those that are interested, go to this website for a list of apple orchards in the area. There are a few in Emmett that look fun, but we ended up going to Williamson Orchards in Caldwell, just before you get to Marsing. I might try one of the Emmett ones in the future, because you can pick your own apples in the orchard. We wanted that whole experience. They wouldn't let us go into the orchard because of liability reasons at the one we went to...but still fun, nonetheless.