Happy Memorial Day everyone! What a great holiday. I always love Memorial Day because it is the kick off to summer. I have many great memories of time spent during this long weekend every year. This year was no different. I have a cousin who is stationed in Germany in the Air Force and he crossed my mind several times today. Another thing that is always on my mind when I think of people fighting for our country is not only the sacrifice they make, but the sacrifice their family makes. I couldn't imagine my husband being gone for months at a time. They are much better women than I am for sure! So thankful for this country we live in and the people who sacrifice everyday to keep it that day!
Today we got up and Lucas packed his bag and said his goodbyes and we headed to the airport. I didn't want to watch him say goodbye to Layla because I didn't want to get emotional. I didn't watch but I did get emotional anyway! Can I still blame it on the hormones?? Then I told him I teared up because he would have been diappointed if I didn't, since I ALWAYS do when saying goodbye to him. After an hour delay in Nashville because of storms in Chicago, and the running to catch his next flight, he finally arrived in NYC. He said the place he is staying is kind of like a studio apartment and they are both sleeping on air mattresses (not the same one). :) You can't complain about free and I assume he will be so tired at night that he won't care what he is sleeping on. If you know my husband, you know that he can sleep anywhere. He "talked" to Layla on the phone tonight and she was waving to the air. SO cute. She loves her daddy!
After taking Lucas to the airport, we spent the afternoon at some good friends house, watching the kids play in the baby pool and slip and slide and eat some GREAT food! It was a beautiful day spent with great friends! As I said yesterday I hope to have some pics of our activities up as soon as I get my computer set up.
BTW, Layla is standing more and more each day and even ventured out and took a few more steps on her own today. She is getting more brave and I expect her to take off anyday. Did I mention she will be 1 tomorrow?? Crazy.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
The party is over and I am tired!!
We celebrated Layla's first birthday party today. It was a couple of day's early because her daddy leaves tomorrow for NYC. I had planned a pool party at my parent's house. We just had immediate family and our closest friends. As I kept checking the radar throughout the afternoon it appeared that we were going to get a little wet. Fortunately, we set everything up under a sheltered area so atleast EVERYTHING wouldn't get wet. Just about the time everyone got their food and sat down the bottom dropped out!!! I was trying hard not to get upset. When you picture your child's first birthday you just don't picture everything soaking wet :) Anyway, much thanks to our family and friends who survived the brief down pour! The rain was gone after we finished presents and were able to all get in the pool with the kiddos anyway.
Layla was such a trooper. She got a little ansy when we were all crammed together trying to stay dry, but she chilled out and really enjoyed her cupcake! It was all over her face and I believe that she would have eaten the whole thing if I would have let her sit there long enough! She also really anjoyed seeing all her new presents. SO crazy how only 6 months ago at Christmas she could have cared less about her presents, but she was really checking them out today! She also stood for quite a long time and took a couple steps in front of everyone. Everbody got excited and started cheering for her so then she got startled and dropped to the ground. After presents, we got in the pool. She was diving into bed by 8:00! What a great day with many memories. Layla is so blessed to have so many people that LOVE her so much. Hopefully pictures are to come as soon as I can get somewhere to upload them!
Layla was such a trooper. She got a little ansy when we were all crammed together trying to stay dry, but she chilled out and really enjoyed her cupcake! It was all over her face and I believe that she would have eaten the whole thing if I would have let her sit there long enough! She also really anjoyed seeing all her new presents. SO crazy how only 6 months ago at Christmas she could have cared less about her presents, but she was really checking them out today! She also stood for quite a long time and took a couple steps in front of everyone. Everbody got excited and started cheering for her so then she got startled and dropped to the ground. After presents, we got in the pool. She was diving into bed by 8:00! What a great day with many memories. Layla is so blessed to have so many people that LOVE her so much. Hopefully pictures are to come as soon as I can get somewhere to upload them!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Self Employed!
As of today, Lucas is officially self employed! He went into the office this morning to turn in his phone, keys, and credit card. I asked if he was sad to leave and he said no not really, everyone else is sad though! His business partner has been in NYC already working for about 2 weeks now. Lucas flies out at 12:00pm Monday and will be gone for 2 weeks and then home for a week. God is already opening up doors for more new work. Very exciting!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Life of a Nomad
This morning, I packed up everything that Layla and I would need for the next few months and loaded up the car. We hit the road about 11:30am and arrived at my parents house about 3:30pm (WE had a pit stop in Jackson for lunch). As I was packing up our things, preparing to leave, I begin to have a few sentimal thoughts. The past year of our lives in Memphis have been life changing. No exaggeration. God has taught us so much about where we have been in life with Him and where he was going to take us in the future. It has probably been one of the most monumental "seasons" of my life with my Father. I can't put in one post about all the things He has spoken to me and my family this last year, but for the first time in my life I get butterflies when I think of my Jesus because of the new love that I have for Him. As I was leaving behind our nice house, and all of our stuff, God just spoke to me and told me that I was taking along everything that I need for happiness. I have my husband and my daughter and Him! I am thankful for this season of simplicity and looking forward to what is to come.
So now I am at my parents. Layla and I (Lucas is coming tomorrow)spent the afternoon riding around on the Gator and looking at the cows. If you now ask Layla what a cow says she will Moo. Then after we got nice and sweaty we put on our bathing suits and hopped in the pool. Layla is a little fish! She LOVES the water! She was even dunking her face into the water and then laughing about it. Crazy kid. I am going to have to watch her for sure.
We are officailly done nursing. I was interested to see how she would act this morning after the episode that we had yesterday. I got her out of her crib and she was loving on me. But she was not trying to undress me like she normally is. I usually cannot set her down until she has nursed. So, I just sat her in the highchair, gave her some milk in her sippy cup and her yogurt. She was just happy as can be! Talking about a child weaning herself, Layla has for sure. Next to go is the paci. She only gets it in the bed and the car right now but I am thinking about cutting the tip around 13 months. Any thoughts on this moms?
Since I am at my parents, the only connection I have to the internet is a Verizon Air card. I am going to do the best I can to keep my blog up to date but sometimes it might be challening.
Everyone have a great night!
So now I am at my parents. Layla and I (Lucas is coming tomorrow)spent the afternoon riding around on the Gator and looking at the cows. If you now ask Layla what a cow says she will Moo. Then after we got nice and sweaty we put on our bathing suits and hopped in the pool. Layla is a little fish! She LOVES the water! She was even dunking her face into the water and then laughing about it. Crazy kid. I am going to have to watch her for sure.
We are officailly done nursing. I was interested to see how she would act this morning after the episode that we had yesterday. I got her out of her crib and she was loving on me. But she was not trying to undress me like she normally is. I usually cannot set her down until she has nursed. So, I just sat her in the highchair, gave her some milk in her sippy cup and her yogurt. She was just happy as can be! Talking about a child weaning herself, Layla has for sure. Next to go is the paci. She only gets it in the bed and the car right now but I am thinking about cutting the tip around 13 months. Any thoughts on this moms?
Since I am at my parents, the only connection I have to the internet is a Verizon Air card. I am going to do the best I can to keep my blog up to date but sometimes it might be challening.
Everyone have a great night!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
I have to be honest..
Well before our fun birthday party, Layla and I had quite a morning. First of all she woke up about an hour earlier that usually screaming instead of playing in her bed. So, since Lucas was still home I sent him in to get her while I was trying to finish getting ready. For almost a year now, the first thing Layla has done every morning is nurse. Since I have been weaning her, the only nursing that we had left was the first one of the day. Well, I sat down with Layla today and she kinda bit down and I said Ow! Well, she had a melt down! She refused to nurse. Never in her life has she done that! Well, after she calmed down I tried to nurse her again and she was still screaming when she saw it. By this point I was in tears too!! After she calmed down and ate some banana, I tried one more time and she had another meltdown. So today, was the first day that she hasn't nursed! Maybe this was her way of telling me she was done. To be honest, when I started nursing, I thought this was going to be the LONGEST year of my life. After a lot of work, Layla and I worked out all the kinks and now i am definitely am an advocate for breastfeeding if at all possible. Layla has not been sick at all, not even a fever the whole first year of her life. I know this is because of God's protection but breastfeeding definitely helps. I was surprised by my reaction of tears today when she didn't want to nurse. I knew this process what inevitable, but this was the only cuddle time I got during the day with Layla. She is NEVER still. So I will see how tomorrow goes and if she wants to nurse again. Not sure if i will let her, but we will see how the morning goes!
Early 1st Birthday Party!
Today, we celebrated Layla's First Birthday with the moms and babies from my First Time Mom's Group in Memphis. We had a little picnic at Shelby Farms. Another little girl in the group turned 1 yesterday, so her mom and I arranged this little get together with our friends. We had a great time! It wasn't too hot in the beginning but then it started to get warm. We sure are going to miss this group of girls! They have been so sweet and such an encouragement to me through this first year of parenthood. I hope we can stay in touch as our little ones grow up!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Smartest Kid on the Block
I just have to share something that Layla has done a couple of times. We now know that it was not coincidence the first time :)
I have this little toiletry bag that I keep all of her things in. Lotion, Desitin cream, Aquaphor tube, my Lanolin cream, toothpaste, toothbrush, brush, and nose syringe. I told you all those things so that you know that there are a few tubes of things that look very similar.
Every night after her bath I had been getting her toothbrush, putting toothpaste on it and then handing it to her while I lotion her up. Now if I tell Layla to get her toothbrush and toothpaste, she will dig through the whole bag and get the toothbrush (easy) and then she can dig through the bag and pull out the tube of toothpaste! Maybe not that smart, but I thought it was pretty impressive that she was able to distinguish the toothpaste tube from the others just by watching me do it a few times!
I have this little toiletry bag that I keep all of her things in. Lotion, Desitin cream, Aquaphor tube, my Lanolin cream, toothpaste, toothbrush, brush, and nose syringe. I told you all those things so that you know that there are a few tubes of things that look very similar.
Every night after her bath I had been getting her toothbrush, putting toothpaste on it and then handing it to her while I lotion her up. Now if I tell Layla to get her toothbrush and toothpaste, she will dig through the whole bag and get the toothbrush (easy) and then she can dig through the bag and pull out the tube of toothpaste! Maybe not that smart, but I thought it was pretty impressive that she was able to distinguish the toothpaste tube from the others just by watching me do it a few times!
1st Family vacation! (Sorry such a long post)!
Below are just a few pics from our vacation. The site won't let me upload anymore so I guess I reached my limit?
This was our first family vacation with our little family! Last year, Layla and traveled quite a bit with other family members but never with Lucas because of his job. He took time off when she was born and then it just never worked out for him to go with us any other times. This year we flew from Nashville to Orlando and spent 5 days in a little town called Celebration Florida. It is about 10 minutes from Disney. One of my uncles has a condo there that he let us use so that is where we stayed. My sister Natalie and her husband Chris flew from Atlanta and met us there. Our flights arrived within about 10 minutes of each other so that was perfect. Layla did great on the airplane. We were able to take her carseat on and she slept most of the flight. We were at the condo about noon. After getting settled we headed on over to the Wet N Wild water park. We stayed there until it closed. The adults loved all the water slides and Layla enjoyed the wave pool, lazy river, and kids area. This was such a kid friendly place. If you have any young kids that LOVE water this is a great place for kids and adults. Sunday, we spent the day at Epcot Disney. Natalie had never been to any of the Disney parks at the age of 27 so we thought that we should atleast go to one while we were so close! There were some cool things there and it was a beautiful day and not too crowded. Monday, we went back to the water park from open to close. We could use our same ticket within 14 days and go back for free so we thought we would take advantage of it. Since it was a Monday there were hardly any lines. Layla did excellent and at one point fell asleep in my arms for about 45 minutes and then was ready to go again. For a child that loves to sleep, she did great on very little! Tuesday, we went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. On the way into the park, Layla dropped her pacifier and we did not know it and unfortunately we did not have a back up. I thought, GREAT, this is going to be a fun day... but again she surprised us and was perfect! She fell asleep from pure exhaustion without her paci about 2:00pm. Since this was the last night of our time in Florida we wanted to celebrate with a good dinner. We went back to the little town we were staying in and found a local Columbian restaurant. It was very authentic and some of the best food I have eaten in a long time! Our flight put us back in Nashville about lunch time on Wednesday. We met family for lunch, then we all took a nap and left for the drive to Atlanta about 4pm that afternoon.
We spent Thursday- Saturday in Atlanta. We always enjoy our time there with Natalie and Chris. We ate at some yummy local restaurants and looked at Apartments in the area. We did not find any apartments that we loved, but really what is there to love about an apartment anyway? We are hoping that we can find a decent house to rent for awhile for about the same price as an apartment. Saturday morning we went to the Kirkwood neighborhood festival. I love these festivals because there are a lot of vendors who make their own stuff...jewelry, artwork, ect... We finally arrived back in Memphis about 10:30pm Sunday night. It was a long time away from home with a lot of traveling but we had a GREAT time!! Can't wait to do it again. Layla was so well behaved and even after being off her schedule for so long she went right back into her 2 full naps on Monday and hasn't missed a beat since!
This was our first family vacation with our little family! Last year, Layla and traveled quite a bit with other family members but never with Lucas because of his job. He took time off when she was born and then it just never worked out for him to go with us any other times. This year we flew from Nashville to Orlando and spent 5 days in a little town called Celebration Florida. It is about 10 minutes from Disney. One of my uncles has a condo there that he let us use so that is where we stayed. My sister Natalie and her husband Chris flew from Atlanta and met us there. Our flights arrived within about 10 minutes of each other so that was perfect. Layla did great on the airplane. We were able to take her carseat on and she slept most of the flight. We were at the condo about noon. After getting settled we headed on over to the Wet N Wild water park. We stayed there until it closed. The adults loved all the water slides and Layla enjoyed the wave pool, lazy river, and kids area. This was such a kid friendly place. If you have any young kids that LOVE water this is a great place for kids and adults. Sunday, we spent the day at Epcot Disney. Natalie had never been to any of the Disney parks at the age of 27 so we thought that we should atleast go to one while we were so close! There were some cool things there and it was a beautiful day and not too crowded. Monday, we went back to the water park from open to close. We could use our same ticket within 14 days and go back for free so we thought we would take advantage of it. Since it was a Monday there were hardly any lines. Layla did excellent and at one point fell asleep in my arms for about 45 minutes and then was ready to go again. For a child that loves to sleep, she did great on very little! Tuesday, we went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. On the way into the park, Layla dropped her pacifier and we did not know it and unfortunately we did not have a back up. I thought, GREAT, this is going to be a fun day... but again she surprised us and was perfect! She fell asleep from pure exhaustion without her paci about 2:00pm. Since this was the last night of our time in Florida we wanted to celebrate with a good dinner. We went back to the little town we were staying in and found a local Columbian restaurant. It was very authentic and some of the best food I have eaten in a long time! Our flight put us back in Nashville about lunch time on Wednesday. We met family for lunch, then we all took a nap and left for the drive to Atlanta about 4pm that afternoon.
We spent Thursday- Saturday in Atlanta. We always enjoy our time there with Natalie and Chris. We ate at some yummy local restaurants and looked at Apartments in the area. We did not find any apartments that we loved, but really what is there to love about an apartment anyway? We are hoping that we can find a decent house to rent for awhile for about the same price as an apartment. Saturday morning we went to the Kirkwood neighborhood festival. I love these festivals because there are a lot of vendors who make their own stuff...jewelry, artwork, ect... We finally arrived back in Memphis about 10:30pm Sunday night. It was a long time away from home with a lot of traveling but we had a GREAT time!! Can't wait to do it again. Layla was so well behaved and even after being off her schedule for so long she went right back into her 2 full naps on Monday and hasn't missed a beat since!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Pictures from the busy weekend!
The party was Mexican Fiesta theme. That is the reason for the flowers and mustache :) No, that is not our everyday attire!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
STOP and enjoy the moment :)
First, I want to say that a post about our vacation along with pictures are coming soon! I just have to find a minute to upload pictures. Life is always crazy busy after you return home from a vacation.
This weekend my Uncle Keith (uncle here in Bartlett) is graduating with his bachelor's degree from Union University. This is very humorous because he has been working as a Nurse of Anesthesia for about 25 years. When he got his RN back in the day you were just required an Associate degree and now you have to have a Bachelors degree. So in order for him to advance anymore in school (Master's or PHD) he had to go back and get his Bachelors degree. So that is what he has done and has finished. To say all of that, his dad and wife (My granddad) are in town visiting and they are staying with us. Granddad will be 88 in August and is retired from the Air Force where he was a Chief Master Sergeant (VERY high rank). They live in Smyrna, about 15 minutes from Murfreesboro, so we get to see them occasionally but not enough. So their stay has been very enjoyable and he has great stories to tell. It is a joy watching him enjoy Layla. Not many people get to spend time with their great grandparents. What a blessing. We are celebrating the graduation with a big party tomorrow so I am sure that there will be pictures to follow.
This weekend reminds me of how important family is and how much we can learn if we will listen. Yes, the times back then were VERY different but we still need to value advice and knowledge that our elders share. I am grateful for my Godly heritage, and what I will get to pass on to my children. I pray that my parenting will be so that my children wish to pass some of my wisdom on to their children. What pressure to know that the example that I am will affect my family generations to come, in a positive or negative way. When I am living in eternity all people are going to remember are those sort of things anyway! I pray everyday that God would give me guidance in these things.
Hope everyone is having a refreshing weekend. This is the last weekend that we will be "living" in Memphis. We are leaving Thursday or Friday to head to Murfreesboro for Memorial Day and Lucas flies out to NYC at 12:00pm on Monday. Definitely, bittersweet but the road ahead is SO EXCITING! Pray for us :)
This weekend my Uncle Keith (uncle here in Bartlett) is graduating with his bachelor's degree from Union University. This is very humorous because he has been working as a Nurse of Anesthesia for about 25 years. When he got his RN back in the day you were just required an Associate degree and now you have to have a Bachelors degree. So in order for him to advance anymore in school (Master's or PHD) he had to go back and get his Bachelors degree. So that is what he has done and has finished. To say all of that, his dad and wife (My granddad) are in town visiting and they are staying with us. Granddad will be 88 in August and is retired from the Air Force where he was a Chief Master Sergeant (VERY high rank). They live in Smyrna, about 15 minutes from Murfreesboro, so we get to see them occasionally but not enough. So their stay has been very enjoyable and he has great stories to tell. It is a joy watching him enjoy Layla. Not many people get to spend time with their great grandparents. What a blessing. We are celebrating the graduation with a big party tomorrow so I am sure that there will be pictures to follow.
This weekend reminds me of how important family is and how much we can learn if we will listen. Yes, the times back then were VERY different but we still need to value advice and knowledge that our elders share. I am grateful for my Godly heritage, and what I will get to pass on to my children. I pray that my parenting will be so that my children wish to pass some of my wisdom on to their children. What pressure to know that the example that I am will affect my family generations to come, in a positive or negative way. When I am living in eternity all people are going to remember are those sort of things anyway! I pray everyday that God would give me guidance in these things.
Hope everyone is having a refreshing weekend. This is the last weekend that we will be "living" in Memphis. We are leaving Thursday or Friday to head to Murfreesboro for Memorial Day and Lucas flies out to NYC at 12:00pm on Monday. Definitely, bittersweet but the road ahead is SO EXCITING! Pray for us :)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Mid way through vacation update
I have missed you guys!! I have gotten so used to my daily blogging that I just feel like I am forgetting something, so I decided to take a minute tonight to say hello. We are half way through our vacation. We arrived in Atlanta about 8pm eastern Wednesday night after spending 5 days in Orlando. Layla has been such a trooper through all of our travels. I know that she has a lot of catching up on sleep to do when we get home. Oh well, sleep is for the weak right?? Today, Lucas and I made a big move... we joined to 404 area code! We both have Atlanta numbers now. If you don't have my new number, message me and I will be more than happy to give it to you. We also spent all afternoon looking at apartments here in Atlanta. Going from owning a house to renting an apartment is going to be such an adjustment. I just have a hard time giving that much money away in rent! I have to remember that renting is only temporary for us. I am just believing that God will lead us to the perfect place where we can get the most for our money.
As we were driving into Atlanta on Wednesday, I just felt such a peace and excitement about the things to come. I am very excited to be a resident of this city for the next phase of our lives and I have no doubt that this is where God wants us to be for a little while. We had dinner tonight at a restaurant in Decatur. We ate outside as the weather was absolutely perfect. I just love the small town feel in the big city. More updates later on what we did during the rest of our vacation. Just wanted to touch base with everyone! Hope you are having a great week!!
As we were driving into Atlanta on Wednesday, I just felt such a peace and excitement about the things to come. I am very excited to be a resident of this city for the next phase of our lives and I have no doubt that this is where God wants us to be for a little while. We had dinner tonight at a restaurant in Decatur. We ate outside as the weather was absolutely perfect. I just love the small town feel in the big city. More updates later on what we did during the rest of our vacation. Just wanted to touch base with everyone! Hope you are having a great week!!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Forgot what it was like!!
Today was probably the longest that I had been away from Layla during the day since she was born. Sad I know but that is how things are when you are breastfeeding. Layla has been taking or leaving the lunch time nursing so I didn't think she would miss me if I wasn't there. I left her about 11:00 and her grammy fed her lunch at 12:00. She then went to bed about 1 and slept till about 4 which was about the time I got back home. I had several things to do in preparation for our vacation and I also had a Mother's Day present to buy since we aren't going to be in town for that.
It was so nice to be able to jump in and out of the car and run from one store to the next. Layla is not necessarily a bad shopper but it is just different toting along a baby. I took my time looking at make up and trying on as many pairs of sunglasses that I wanted :)(Didn't buy either but it was fun to look). We were both happy to see each other when I got home. Living in a different city as grandparents has it positives and negatives. Not having someone to watch your kid while you can have "me time" is definitely a negative. I took every advantage of the opportunity today and enjoyed every minute!
It was so nice to be able to jump in and out of the car and run from one store to the next. Layla is not necessarily a bad shopper but it is just different toting along a baby. I took my time looking at make up and trying on as many pairs of sunglasses that I wanted :)(Didn't buy either but it was fun to look). We were both happy to see each other when I got home. Living in a different city as grandparents has it positives and negatives. Not having someone to watch your kid while you can have "me time" is definitely a negative. I took every advantage of the opportunity today and enjoyed every minute!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
BIG CHANGES for the Kairdolf Family!!
I am finally able to share this information with you and it makes me SOO excited. Lucas is starting his own company (Summit Elevator Company) and we are moving to Atlanta!! I know all of you are reading this and thinking whoa... where did that come from? Trust me, there has been much planning and prayers that have led us to this decision so I will share with you some of the journey...
Let me start by saying that if you know my husband well at all you knowthat he has an entrepreneur spirit. He has had many life experiences that have taught him leadership skills and the attitude to take charge and make things happen. He also has a father that taught him excellent work ethic and how to work with his hands. (This benefits me when the toilet breaks). So after about 7 months at Otis he started talking about the possibility of running his own company, I knew that this was something that was pretty much inevitable. He would come home everyday and tell me all these details so one day I just looked at him and asked what he was waiting for?? Also if you know my husband you know that he is not big on taking chances or risks so he had to know that he knows that this is the future that God has for us.
So at the beginning of the month of April, we made a list of specifics that we were praying about. With #1 being that we would know for sure if this was God's will or was it just something that we were trying to put together. Our biggest prayer was from Revelation 3, that God would open doors that no man could shut, and that He would shut doors that no man could open. After many open doors were presented, we decided that this was a God thing and that we would walk through those doors. Sparing a lot of details, let my just say that by April 28th , Summit Elevator already had a 15 week job in contract and Lucas was turning in his notice at work.
Why Atlanta? There are a few reasons that we are going to Atlanta. The work potential there is a lot better than it is in Memphis, we really don't want to be in Memphis forever so why establish a business here, we have immediate family that we will be close too, and probably the main reason is because Lucas did not want to burn any bridges with Otis and be immediate direct competition. He has made a lot of business contacts while being in Memphis and it would just not be right to stay and do that.
So what is the next immediate step? Lucas's last day with Otis is the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. On the Tuesday after Memorial Day, he will be headed to New York City with his business partner. They will be going back and forth for hopefully about 6 months. They have immediate connections there to earn money so that they can get some money in the bank and avoid a loan before we head to Atlanta. Our house in Oakland is already on the market. As for Layla and I, we will be spending the summer in Murfreesboro and then just kind of see how things are going then. Our hope is to have residence in Atlanta by August or September.
Obviously, this has been a faith journey for us and will continue to be every step of the way. Now is the time in our lives to take a risk like this and really depend on God as our Provider to meet our everyday needs. Here are a few ways you can pray for us along the way:
Pray that our house sells quickly in Oakland
Pray that God will continue to open up doors for more work
Pray that the transition from city to city will be as smooth as possible, especially for Layla
Pray that our faith will be increased daily and that no matter what happens God will be glorified!
Let me start by saying that if you know my husband well at all you knowthat he has an entrepreneur spirit. He has had many life experiences that have taught him leadership skills and the attitude to take charge and make things happen. He also has a father that taught him excellent work ethic and how to work with his hands. (This benefits me when the toilet breaks). So after about 7 months at Otis he started talking about the possibility of running his own company, I knew that this was something that was pretty much inevitable. He would come home everyday and tell me all these details so one day I just looked at him and asked what he was waiting for?? Also if you know my husband you know that he is not big on taking chances or risks so he had to know that he knows that this is the future that God has for us.
So at the beginning of the month of April, we made a list of specifics that we were praying about. With #1 being that we would know for sure if this was God's will or was it just something that we were trying to put together. Our biggest prayer was from Revelation 3, that God would open doors that no man could shut, and that He would shut doors that no man could open. After many open doors were presented, we decided that this was a God thing and that we would walk through those doors. Sparing a lot of details, let my just say that by April 28th , Summit Elevator already had a 15 week job in contract and Lucas was turning in his notice at work.
Why Atlanta? There are a few reasons that we are going to Atlanta. The work potential there is a lot better than it is in Memphis, we really don't want to be in Memphis forever so why establish a business here, we have immediate family that we will be close too, and probably the main reason is because Lucas did not want to burn any bridges with Otis and be immediate direct competition. He has made a lot of business contacts while being in Memphis and it would just not be right to stay and do that.
So what is the next immediate step? Lucas's last day with Otis is the Friday before Memorial Day weekend. On the Tuesday after Memorial Day, he will be headed to New York City with his business partner. They will be going back and forth for hopefully about 6 months. They have immediate connections there to earn money so that they can get some money in the bank and avoid a loan before we head to Atlanta. Our house in Oakland is already on the market. As for Layla and I, we will be spending the summer in Murfreesboro and then just kind of see how things are going then. Our hope is to have residence in Atlanta by August or September.
Obviously, this has been a faith journey for us and will continue to be every step of the way. Now is the time in our lives to take a risk like this and really depend on God as our Provider to meet our everyday needs. Here are a few ways you can pray for us along the way:
Pray that our house sells quickly in Oakland
Pray that God will continue to open up doors for more work
Pray that the transition from city to city will be as smooth as possible, especially for Layla
Pray that our faith will be increased daily and that no matter what happens God will be glorified!
Nashville Flood of 2010
We left for Murfreesboro on Friday night to take our dog Lilly to live with my parents. After much going back and forth about what to do with Duke, I just never felt comfortable with him anywhere around children so we took him to a rescue where they will find him a suitable home. My parents live on 55 acres with cows, horses, another dog, cat and a ton of rabbits to chase. So Lilly should have a great time.
The rain came in Nashville on Saturday and never really stopped. The news coverage was unbelievable. There were houses and cars literally floating down I-24. At one point I heard that there was about 30,000 people without power and they were worried about the eventul condition of the drinking water. After all the rain finally stopped sometime Sunday evening, many parts of Nashville were devasted. Opryland Hotel even had to be evacuated and ended up with 6 ft of water in it. There is a lot of work to be done and many prayers to be said with people who have lost everything in an area where most do not have flood insurance. Memphis also got rain but not near the downpour that Nashville received. I think on Saturday alone in Nashville, it rained 10 inches.
We have a somewhat busy week ahead of us getting ready for our first family vacation. We will be spending 5 days in Orlando and then 3/4 days in Atlanta. Leaving to go anywhere with an 11 month old is a packing challenge, but when packing to fly on an airplane it is somewhat more of a challenge because you are limited on what you can bring. Hope all that are reading survived the rainy weekend without any significant damage and are enjoying this beautiful week full of sunshine!!
The rain came in Nashville on Saturday and never really stopped. The news coverage was unbelievable. There were houses and cars literally floating down I-24. At one point I heard that there was about 30,000 people without power and they were worried about the eventul condition of the drinking water. After all the rain finally stopped sometime Sunday evening, many parts of Nashville were devasted. Opryland Hotel even had to be evacuated and ended up with 6 ft of water in it. There is a lot of work to be done and many prayers to be said with people who have lost everything in an area where most do not have flood insurance. Memphis also got rain but not near the downpour that Nashville received. I think on Saturday alone in Nashville, it rained 10 inches.
We have a somewhat busy week ahead of us getting ready for our first family vacation. We will be spending 5 days in Orlando and then 3/4 days in Atlanta. Leaving to go anywhere with an 11 month old is a packing challenge, but when packing to fly on an airplane it is somewhat more of a challenge because you are limited on what you can bring. Hope all that are reading survived the rainy weekend without any significant damage and are enjoying this beautiful week full of sunshine!!
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