saturday mornings...

...there's nothin' like them. when i was a kid, they included sleeping in, soaking up as much tv as possible, and likely watching "Jem" or "Fraggle Rock" with my sisters. so, naturally, i still enjoy watching saturday morning kids shows with the girls...but can only handle so much dora, diego, mickey mouse clubhouse, etc...so here's a few suggestions that are quite the fresh breath of couch potato air:

Jitterbug is a website with lots of unique music videos for kids. This is what they say..."Discover great independent music for kids. We hand pick the good stuff...you won't find Barney here." This is one of my favorite videos (and Ellie's:):



Yes, that is Lisa Loeb and yes, she is threatening to buy a a fol-de-rol-dy, til-de-tol-dy, seek-a-double, use-a-cause-a, roll...whatever that may be.

And, you must head on over to Jelly Telly for some hilarious puppetry by Phil Vischer (the original creator of the Veggie Tales). You can watch a new episode every day and a movie each week, for free!

she needs to hear from you

there's a young mom that got no sleep last night, partly because she has has a hungry newborn but mostly because she doesn't think she's a good enough mom....SHE NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU

there's a neighbor that just lost her job, and thinks she also lost her value...SHE NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU

there's a grandmother sitting in a nursing home, wondering what the day won't bring...SHE NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU

there's a young girl who is playing alone on the playground and feeling alone in the world...SHE NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU

there's a college student that wonders if she's on the right path for her life...SHE NEEDS TO HEAR FROM YOU

this is the hour for a company of women to throw aside generational differences, jealousy, selfishness, and pride...and look up from our busy lives to search out the ones that need to be nurtured...you have something to offer, your voice needs to be heard.

WHO'S GOING TO HEAR YOUR VOICE TODAY?

watch this discussion of Lisa Bevere's book "Nurture" that we shared last night with the ladies of our church, and be encouraged to find someone to nurture today


Nurture from Marcus Hackler on Vimeo.

lazy blogging...

this is where i just steal things off other people's blogs that i find interesting...so here's today's installment:

"playing in the white house" (so good, please watch!)

via Ragamuffin Soul



...now for a good laugh, thanks "Flint"

Flint from Marcus Hackler on Vimeo.
via marcushackler.com

that Annie is a liar....

to all my fellow boise valley peeps that have endured this nasty, no good, colorless inversion for the last two weeks, join with me in taking your anger out on little, annoyingly charming, curly haired Annie....she said "the sun would come out, tomorrow"

well, i'm not betting my bottom dollar...i thought of something fun to help rekindle the warm thoughts of those vitamin D prolific days. make yourself a mix tap...er, a mix cd with all the songs you can find about sun. my mix would include these:

"here comes the sun"-the beatles (doo n doo doo, i'm a closet beatles fan)

"the shadow proves the sunshine"-switchfoot

"pocketful of sunshine"-natasha bedingfield (dedicated to my besties, JB and Kirst)

"soak up the sun"-sheryl crow

"seasons in the sun"-terry jacks (we had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun)

"sunshine on my shoulder"-john denver

"walking on sunshine"-katrina & the waves

"summer sunshine"-the corrs

"sunshine girl"-britt nicole

did i miss any?

my current favorite olive-isms...

for those of you that know olivia, our little comedian, how could you not just love her! here are my favorite current "olive-isms"...

"i want loco" (I want lotion or I want yogurt)

"happy to you" (anytime she sees a candle of any kind, she wants to sing "happy bday")

"mama, are you?" (anytime she's feeling a little insecure and needs to know my location, even when i'm right in front of her sometimes)

"oh, happy day you wash my sin away" (clear as a bell, her favorite song)

anytime she hears music of any kind (yes, even the occasional hip hop) she throws her hands in the air and worships

"ya you" (holding up a fist, trying to sign "i love you")

when you ask her "how old are you", she says "two" and holds up her thumb and pointer finger (she's only 1 and a half, by the way)

when you ask her "what's my name" she usually says "Meggy"...but if she sees you, she will most likely say your name...she is crazy good at knowing people's names

anytime she pretends to talk on a cell phone, she always talks to Papa

watch out, she'll randomly grab your cheek really hard and say "kickle, kickle" (tickle, tickle)

she does what we call "silly bappy" (silly pacifier), and puts her pacifier in backwards

what's your favorite olive-ism?

some day...

...i'll live on one of these (at least that's always been my dream).



but for now i'll savor moments like these...

that's my mom!


me and my dad, sailing Icy Passages near Glacier Bay, Alaska last summer

...and keep looking on craig's list for a smokin' hot deal on a starter sailboat. Thanks Marcus for the link of breathtaking sailing pictures.

a holiday recap

in spite of an economic downturn, bleak news reports, and gloomy grey weather, our holidays were simply amazing and forever memorable! as i pray yours were. here are a few highlights...

1. thanks to my mischievous nephew Jon, we will always have an octopus on our christmas tree



2. i abandoned the idea of an "eye candy" tree and trendy christmas color palette, and embraced a super fun, whimsical, bright color scheme...complete with homeade salt dough ornaments by ellie, and semi-homeade stockings by me




3. celebrating friends christmas with our besties...we all made handmade presents for each other (the boys went all out, their gifts had to be hauled in trucks and included sharp objects) and the kids all got new pj's! the new tradition "friends talent show" was so entertaining...from ellie's impressive hula hooping skills to Mike Barth's super creative and hilarious rendition of "The Night Before Christmas" poem.



4. baking experiments like a peppermint roll cake and oreo truffles that ellie helped with...both pretty successful!


5. an exhilarating presentation of the real meaning of Christmas with our church family at Capital Christian Center, complete with real candles!


6. soaking up every moment spent with family...watching bows and paper fly, exhausting ourselves getting the bazillion twisty ties off each strapped in toy, creating all of our mii characters (thanks Papa for the wii!), seeing ellie so blessed by all her girly gifts and olivia blessed by all her puppy stuff.


7. watching ellie launch her makeover business (she only charges "one bucks"), and seeing the transformation of her happy clients (such good sports...aunt ooch, aunt lissa, grandma midge, nana, and of course, PAPA!)




8. traveling to Oregon to see Mike's family, watching the girls bond and build special relationships with aunts & uncles, cousins, and grandmas they don't get to see very often
ellie & cousin genesis...two peas in a pod


grandma june teaching the girls out to play the guitar


ellie consoles grandma mabel after her loss at "old maid"


your turn, what was your favorite holiday memory this year?