Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Mary Poppins on Broadway...
I have no idea why this is on my mind right now, but I just want you all to know that if you have children you MUST take them to the New Amsterdam Theatre, New York City (42nd and Broadway) to see the BEST musical on Broadway I have ever seen (and, trust me, I have seen quite a few!). I had the chance to go see this amazing 2 hour 45 minute show on my last 3 day trip to New York City. I got my ticket from the hotel concierge, so it was indeed a spendy venture, but WORTH IT!
In 2006 Disney took a chance on New York, and spent $34million to renovate the crumbling New Amsterdam Theatre, located on 42nd St. -- the first street of a decaying Theatre District. People avoided the area as they passed through this once-great section of New York, but Disney was the first to help bring it back.
This show was awesome. It follows the books closer than the Disney movie, so some songs are gone, some added and some have new verses. The characters were played well. Bert is great, he even dances on the ceiling! Mary Poppins flies and George Banks' old nanny steals the show with her bottle of medicine!
The sets, as you would expect, are imaginative and complicated, an engineering feat to be sure, the choreography inventive and spirited, and the music. . . well . . . supercalifragilistic -- you know.
When my girls are old enough, AUNTIE will be buckling them in to their seats to fly across the US to enjoy the wonderfully imaginative musical. You can take this promise to the bank!

On the road again...

Well, one of these days, when I'm stuck on a very long flight somewhere and am not in the mood to do the real work at hand, I'm going to make a list of the best and worst hotels in the northwest as it seems I've been to nearly all of them. :) Tonight I sit in one of the worst...much more to come on this little adventure another time, but I really want to share with you what I took away from the Beth Moore conference. It always takes me a couple of days to let things soak in and settle when it comes to what I've learned from something or someone.

As some of you know, I have been in a bit of a battle in my heart and soul lately. It has nothing to do with my belief in God, but it certainly has caused me to need Him more than ever before. It has also taken a toll on my physical body and certainly, my emotional being as well. One thing I really felt I needed to do for the weekend was to forget about the problems and issues going on in my life and just elevate God to the highest place - right where He belongs. In focusing ONLY on Him, everything else is able to be faded out and it's much easier to "see" what is important to our Creator's heart for me. God was very good to make me recognize just how important I am to His heart. It was a great weekend of worship, of teaching and of feeding my soul on the TRUTH of who JESUS is and how much He has done to prove HE IS TRUSTWORTHY!

Beth spoke primarily out of 1 Timothy 1. Some of my favorite bits that I took away from this weekend include the definition of GIFT. The greek word for gift is charisma. charis means grace and ma means the result of. It says in verse 6 that we have been entrusted with an extraordinary gift. In other words, we are graced of God to fulfill a holy purpose. We are prepared to fulfill this giftedness through not only our physical line (our family), but also our family of faith. Every single bit of pain in my life will help my purpose and gift come out. (YAY!!! What a great reminder!) Our sufferings are part of the trust that serve the gift. God is guarding the TRUST (what we've given Him) and my suffering never leaves my God's brain. He is wearing my pain for me and is guarding me even in the midst of this trial in my life. If we are willing to entrust God with everything, he promises that He will be a jealous guard over His cherished gift.

I know most of you who read this are Christians, but I know when I'm in a hard place it's hard to remember that I am wanted by my Savior and He has made me worthy to receive ALL the good things He has in store for me. Isn't it nice to know it has very little to do with us and so much to do about Him?! :) His grace really is sufficient.

Another good reminder that Beth shared about was having a "sure foundation." I know He is my constant source of stability.

None of this is earth-shattering or new information, but just what I needed to hear again in this moment. One thing for sure, I met with Jesus and He was faithful to renew and restore and remind my soul of who HE is, and who HE is is enough.

this is where you can find me....

Beth Moore is coming to Boise!May 16th (7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.) & May 17th (8:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.)All seats are general admission: $55 for 2-eay event.
If you're in need of divine refreshment, want to delve deeper into the Word of God, or just looking for fun and uplifting getaway with "the girls," Beth Moore's Living Proof Live is the place for you!

"well, goats of course..."

So, my brother and Lori are looking to buy a new and BIGGER home for the two darlings to grow up in as they are currently living in a pretty small space. It didn't seem too small until we all pitched in to buy them everything two girls might possibly need/want in their first 7 months of life. Needless to say, the house is full. Anyway, we talked on the phone tonight and he was sharing with me some of the "must haves" and "wants" for the new place. He said he was really wanting to find a BIG lot/house with acreage. I asked him how much acreage and he said it would be great to have like 5 acres. I asked him why he wanted 5 acres and he said, "well, goats! The girls may want goats and I want to have room for those goats in the case they do." So, there it is - one of the most random things I've heard in a long time.
Ange, someday you may be out in a big field taking my girls' pictures with their goats. Who knows!

tHe FrAmEs

As most of you know, I'm completely smitten with my twin nieces (as is the entire family!), so to make their mom Lori's first Mom's Day as special as possible, I had Ange Movius of Ange Movius Photography over for a surprise photo shoot while everyone was working and the grandparents were on a cruise.

We didn't even get caught -well, we almost did because of the cat's water bowl, but my bro soon forgot about it.

Ange was able to get the pics back to me within a couple of days and I made some really fun photo frames and surprised all the family with special shots of our girls.

We did 3 clothes changes and I had fun buying all new clothes for them mostly on my travels where I tend to shop too much for these cuties (but this little cute outfit can be yours at your local Macy's!).

Maddie is on the left and Josie on the right - both sporting pretty traditional facial expressions. They are so sweet and so much fun and are obviously no longer considered "preemies." We love our girls to pieces. My bro and sis-n-law had all of us over for a really yummy shish-kabob BBQ dinner and gave all of us hanging baskets for Mom's Day (why Hallmark doesn't have an AUNTIE Day is beyond me!!!!)

Happy Mother's Day!

So, I have been blessed with an amazing Mom. Some of you who read this know her and know just what I'm talking about. She has been my teacher, my prayer warrior, my sounding-board, my mentor, my personal assistant, but most importantly, my best friend.

This year has brought many difficulties and struggles my way, but the one solid pillar I have here on earth, who continues to lift me up every day to our Creator, is my Mom. She listens to me and hears my heart. She is such a mighty example of a woman of noble character and for that I am very blessed. Happy Mother's Day MOM! I LOVE YOU!

The PARTY!

My dear friend Angie is getting married the end of this month to an amazing guy. So, it was time to celebrate the upcoming nuptials by throwing a party yesterday. I LOVE to do table-scapes and always like to stick with a theme. The invites were fun with bright orange Gerber daisies. I have tons of white dishware and I actually collect the old white milk glass pieces. My gram gave me all of her pieces a few years ago, so I make sure they get used for special occasions like celebrating Angie becoming a bride. Our friend Deb was wonderful to let me throw the party at her house - her view is amazing!

Angie's bridal shower also brought out the "crafter" in me. I made her a recipe box (and asked all the ladies to bring their favorites for her!) and a blessing book for all of us to share our love and wisdom (well...) with her.

The best part of her party was having her mom and sisters come out to surprise her from Indiana. What a great (and beautiful) family!

Working for the College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

So, some of you know that I travel all the time for my job and I think in your mind you may believe that it's all fun and games including really nice hotels (which is often true) and amazing restaurants (which is also true sometimes) and tons of really classy people (another mostly true statement). But, what some of you may not realize is that working for the College of Agriculture also brings alot of agriculturally-related travel and events.

I recently drove to Salmon, Idaho, which is forever and a day away from anything. I was going to drive, but realized it would take me 6 flights to actually get there which would also involve me driving 2.5 hours of it. So, I got in my rental car and started on my way.

Hwy 12 is truly beautiful, but LONG! I then headed south on 93 (I think???) and was told I would see the ranch which was my destination on the left hand side about 2 hours on 93.

Here are some photos from this little business trip. It's not all high-class, but it is indeed always an adventure.