Big, Chocolate Fatty ...

... BCF for short ... she's our couch ... and we love her! It's the most comfortable couch you'll ever rest your buns on ... no, seriously. Over nine fabulous feet of pure yumminess!!! It's like a big, chocolate hug at the end of the day ... Ahhhh ...

Our House ...

And here's the little house ... it was built sometime around 1910 ... it's in GREAT shape, and has some really fun features like built-in cupboards for closets, hardwood floors ... and a pull-out ironing board in the kitchen - that works like a champ! And some other fun little odd things ... we really love it. To open the old windows and feel the breeze blow through the house is a really fun thing. The house is mostly in shade, so we get to listen to the leaves rustle ... it's awesome. Come and visit ANY TIME! Okay, those of you who've been here - you know that the bathroom leaves much to be desired ... but we're working on it! Ha ha ha ... it has a removable shower head that you have to hold the entire time you shower ... Jim just LOVES it.

Tree Huggin' ...

So ... just for fun, and for those who haven't seen our house (Renny!) ... I thought I'd post some! Here's a pic of the trees in the front yard - we're so lucky to have such huge trees over our hard. There are 300 yr-old Nowegian Maples on the left and two HUGE pine trees on the right ... check out the pics of the pines. The tree that Jim's 'hugging' is the tree in the forefront of the other photo... just to give you an idea of how big they are ...

Hailey's Here!

... beautiful little Hailey was born just YESTERDAY, May 9th, to Rod and Kimbery! She's 6 lbs. 5 oz. and is 20" long (I'm sure most of her length will be legs - just like her big sisters and brother!) She's got some gorgeous dark hair ... I'm sure that Kamri, Koby and Kenzi are so excited to bring their new sissy home. I'm so happy for them! (Thanks for the photo Renny!)

Ashley Ann ...

Our family is being extremely blessed! Sweet little Ashley Ann was born to Eric and Melissa on March 29th ... Ashley's already been blessed and has taken her first road trip up to Spokane to visit the Gibby clan (checkout some fun photos on Eric & Melissa's blog) ... here's one of the first family photos taken while still in the hospital ... What a beautiful family! Jesse's going to be a GREAT big brother!

The Great Outdoors ...

Well, Jim headed up to Montana on Sunday and I miss him already! I've talked to him a few times on the phone, and he's sent some really fun e-mails. He's having a great time ... he says that it's beautiful up where they are and that the people he'll be working with are pretty awesome. I'm so excited for him! He said that today, he may try and figure out how to make a reed basket out of some cattails. Might be a fun project for his new 12 year-old friend ... good times! I'll keep ya posted!

Lake Couer d'Alene

... so these beautiful views of Lake Coeur d'Alene are about 1/2 mile from our house ... it's pretty spectacular! It's my favorite part of early morning or early afternoon walks ... it's on a more secluded side of the lake, called Sanders Beach ... it's away from the public beaches, so it's pretty serene. When taking it all in, it's easy to remember how much Heavenly Father loves us ... we're pretty blessed to have such amazing creation all around us... it makes this life a little more beautiful along the way ... if we stop and take time to notice.

... hot tip!

Hey, if you ever do any online shopping ... here's a a GREAT website I just found! www.retailmenot.com (click on sidebar for a shortcut) ... all you do is type in the website you're shopping on and it'll tell you if there are any promotional codes or specials offered - Sometimes it's 'free shipping' ... sometimes it's a free item or $10 off - either way, you're saving money, right? I've probably saved $70 in the past few weeks - totally worth a few extra key strokes. Happy saving!

Wilderness Survival ...

So, Jim leaves this Sunday for what we hope to be an amazing summer job! He's pretty excited. He'll be a Wilderness Instructor for an at-risk youth camp/boarding school. It's for kids ages 13 to 18 who are having a bit of trouble at home. They'll be able to spend a couple of weeks in the Montana wilderness - working together and learning how to trust each other, how to better communicate with their peers and hopefully have the time of their lives! I'm sure he'll have many stories to tell over the next few months - so I promise to keep you posted!

While I'm excited for him - I'll miss him dearly! He'll be gone from May 7th until August 13th. He will have SOME time off throughout the duration ... (thankfully, he'll be able to come home when his parents come to visit May 15th through the 22nd) ... but other than that, I think it'll be a few emails and phone calls when he checks in at base camp and takes another group of kids out ... I'm sure there will be lots of stories to tell! To check out Explorations, check out "Jim's Favorites" - to the left in the side bar ...

... and there she goes ...

So I'm a self-admitted shoe-aholic. Not just 'shoes' but obnoxious, high-heeled, over-the-top shoes. It's a sickness and I'm dealing with it one day at a time. With the support of my family and friends, I hope to someday be able to wear sensible (albeit ugly) shoes.

Living in Northern Idaho has helped curtail my shoe buying sprees (the selection is pretty lame) ... instead of a new pair a week, I'm down to one pair every three or four months. So sad, er, I mean - isn't it great?!?! So last weekend I'd purchased what I thought to be a really great pair of fun, 'summery' shoes - a wedged, black espadrille with a closed toe ... perfect for the office. I got dressed on Monday morning in a black skirt and t-shirt and a tan jacket ... I was excited to wear my fabulous, new footwear. I looked good ... I walked out the front door of our house, waved to the bus across the street (a bus that comes to pick up my neighbor EVERY morning) ... and made my way down our front walk. As I approached the curbside grass that runs between the sidewalk and the street, the front of my shoe (I must not have accounted for the 1" platform on the front), caught the soft dirt and ... BOOM! Down I went. No, not just a little stumble, a full-on flailing of the arms, grab anything stationary, deer-in-the-headlights, Oh Crap! kinda fall. Nice. I landed on both of my knees ... when the dust finally settled, I had my arms outstretched on the side of my car ... purse and keys had taken flight and landed about five feet away. Are you kidding me? I hadn't fallen down in years ... and now, of course, I had to do it in full view of a bus full of people. I quickly gathered myself, got up and carefully shuffled to the driver side of the car. I couldn't even look at the bus. I was so embarrassed. I waited until I opened the door to look down at my skirt and survey the damage. Amazingly enough - there wasn't any! Hallelujah! I got in and shut the door - started her up and drove away ... oh my gosh. I can only imagine what I must've looked like. As soon as I made it past the bus, I started laughing uncontrollably ... it WAS funny - but humiliating all at the same time. I had to tell someone! But it was only 7:30 in the morning ... so I called Jim (who I'd just left and who was still in bed) ... and as soon as he knew I wasn't hurt, he wanted to go back to sleep. He didn't find it nearly as funny as I did! So I called my sweet sister Erin and woke her up... oops! She humored me and let me recount what had happened and got a good belly laugh out of it. She's been telling me for years that my shoes would finally do me in ... ha ha ha ... Needless to say, I haven't worn the 'ladykillers' again ... so if you're into forced humility and happen to wear a size 8-1/2 shoe ... they're ALL yours.

Just the two of us ...

So for now, it's just the two of us ... but we're working on it. We're loving springtime in Coeur d'Alene ... the beauty of the landscape is truly something to behold. We feel very lucky to live in such a great place. We're about five blocks from Lake Coeur d'Alene and we're loving it. It makes a nice end to the day when you can look at the water and the mountains and see how much Heavenly Father loves us ... I'll work on getting pictures of the lake and of the house, etc ... and give you a little peek into our every day ... stay tuned!