Stand up straighter and lean into your toes!!

Jim: 72 years old, total hip, and total knee replacement. God knew just what I needed in a ski instructor. I tend to get very frustrated trying new skills that I cannot easily perfect. Jim was beyond patient and a great listener.

Let's start from the beginning.
Like I mentioned earlier, we have a ski in ski out cabin which means we can literally walk right off our back porch onto the ski slopes. What a great idea... That is unless you are not skilled enough to make it down! I got all geared up ( high today was 20 something) put on my skis and got onto the slopes. Then I froze, not because of the cold but because of fear. Natalie and I had ski school scheduled for 9:30 this morning and our plan was just to ski there. As soon as I got on this mountain, I quickly realized it was a BAD idea and I was driving to ski school! So that is exactly what happened.

Then I met Jim. Because I had been on skis before we got straight to work and down the mountain we went. Needless to say, my technique needed/needs ALOT of work. During my 3 hours of school we went up and down the mountain countless times. Of course we were on the green slopes. (they go in difficulty from green, blue, then black) I fell twice but Jim was always there to help me back up. By the end of our session, I was beginning to look more like a skier but I am still quite intimidated by the steepness of the mountains. Plan is to go back out with Jim for 3 more hours and hope I survive tomorrow. My goal by the end of the week is too be good enough so that I can be comfortable enough to enjoy it and not stress.

I must add that they start the kids on skis here at 3 years old! They went speeding past me with their ski instructor all day. They have NO fear! It amazes me to watch them. I can hardly imagine Layla zipping down the mountain. That is the exact reason I must become a better skier. I want to be able to enjoy this awesome experience with our children :).

Stayed tuned for an update on day 2 on the slopes!

Mountain Time

We left Atlanta at 6am this morning, flew into Denver, had a 45 Minute flight delay and 2 hour time change. We arrived in Bozeman Montana at about 10:30am then drove an hour to our cabin in Moonlight Basin. The farthest west I have been (besides Hawaii) is Oklahoma so the only mountains I have seen is east Tennesee and North Carolina. Let me just say WOW! No words can describe what these mountains look like in person. They are truly breathtaking!

After getting settled in, the boys hit the slopes while the girls relaxed in the hot tub. I am feeling the effects of the altitude with just a lingering headache but that could be because of the long day of travel too! Tonight we are taking a snow cat (not yet sure what that is) to the top of a mountain where there will be a bonfire and sledding. Then we will be heading inside for a hot meal! Then, tomorrow SNOW SCHOOL DAY ONE. I wish I had a secret camera because I know it will be very entertaining!

More update on my first day on the slopes tomorrow.

I miss Layla like CRAZY and have already shed a couple of tears. I am just trying to remember how good this is for the both of us. Plus, she is having a blast! Boy will she be bored when she gets back to Atlanta!

Say a prayer for me on the slopes tomorrow that I don't break any limbs and don't make too big of a fool of myself:)

A few new pictures!

Just wanted to share a few random snapshots of what Layla has been up too lately! The weather has been yucky for about a good week now so we have had to get creative with things to do at home. I feel like the new of the toys she got for Christmas has already worn off. We cannot wait for warmer weather!

This is Layla's "sick" face. Her eyes were swollen and everything!


Chillaxin in her chair Grammy got her for Christmas


I think I paid $7.99 for this sticker book at a consignment store in Murfreesboro. It has provided us hours of entertainment!


We had the heat on...she just wanted to wear her hat:)


Layla's BFFS: Monkey and Minnie


Her idea of helping me fold laundry


Sticking Minnie and Monkey up her shirt...her newest way of playing "where did it go??"


trying to put the "necklace" on Minnie


One of her favorite things...helping daddy play the guitar! She points to it and says her best "guitar" so he will play it

And lastly, to all my professional Blogger friends...how do I put words under my pics and make it show up as if it is a caption?

LK

2nd haircut

Layla got her second hair cut today. We went to this cute little place that is a salon for kids! The have firetruck barber chairs for kids each with its own tv screen to watch a movie of choice. Of course, Layla would not sit in it. We had to sit in a regular chair with her in my lap. She was not crazy about the lady touching her but was soon easily distracted when the other lady started blowing bubbles in our direction. The haircut was nothing special. Her curl has fallen out some with the dry weather and I could really tell that it was uneven. It was bothering me, so maybe the cut was to make me feel better:). The lady believed that the curl would return. Her hair has also got surprisingly light. I have seen pictures of Lucas at the age Layla is now and his hair was almost blonde. It sure would be cute if Layla's got blonder this summer with the big brown eyes she has:)

That was about the excitement of our Saturday. After a crazy week of air travel for Lucas this week, he got back in Atlanta about 8:30 last night so it was nice to relax at home! We will be heading out to church in the morning. It is our fourth week at the Buckhead Church and we are looking forward to it more and more each week. Then we will be heading home to watch the NFL playoffs. I would like to see a Green Bay vs. Jets Super Bowl, for no reason in particular.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.
BTW: this time next week, I will be in the hot tub on our snow covered deck in Montana!

Breaking out of her shell

Today was Layla's 14th week of music class. Every class the teacher (Mrs. Laurie) offers for kids to take turns coming to sit in her lap and repeat different notes after her. Layla has always been a participate but never went for out of reach from me. Today when the teacher took volunteers, a couple of boys went and then out of know where, Layla popped up from my lap and went and plopped down in her teachers lap! I was so proud I could have cried. For those of you who have not spent much time with my child, let me just tell you that when I am around she usually goes to no one else. Today, she seemed like such a big girl! My eyes did get a little watery. Having a child has done this too me, I can totally cry at the drop of a hat! Anyway, when she sat down in her teacher's lap, the teacher looked at my wide eyed with a huge smile because she was just as shocked as I was! Layla did not repeat any of the notes after the teacher, although she listened very closely and repeated them to me when other children were taking their turn. THEN, three more times Layla wanted to join her teacher throughout the class. At the end, when all the children are hugging Mrs. Laurie goodbye, Layla walked up to her, held up her hands so that she would pick her up. She spent a few minutes in her arms, until I went to get her to leave.

WOW, what a huge deal for my little girl. Maybe the mornings in the nursery are paying off and she is learning that others can love on her almost as good as her momma. I am so proud of my baby and what a sweet spirited little girl she is becoming.

24 Memory Verses in 2011

I am a follower of Beth Moore's blog. I am one of many women who are huge fans of hers. I did her Breaking Free study last year when I was living in Memphis with a group of ladies from the church we were attending. It was a life changing study for me. I am not sure whether the study was life changing or if it was just exactly what I needed at that time in my life. Either way, I have been following her blog ever since. She is a great teacher with a sense of humor in which I can totally relate!

Anyway, Beth is huge on scripture memory, for obvious reasons. Her challenge for her blog followers in 2011 is to memorize 2 scriptures a month, one on the 1st and the 15th. She even sent us all (8,007 of us) a cute little spiral notebook to record all of these in and carry with us to meditate on them. Our memory verse can be ANYTHING. She recommends for us to find a scripture that relates with whatever we are dealing with at this particular time in our life. So, I thought I would share with you my two scriptures for the month of January. I would also like to invite you to join me in this challenge and watch how God uses the power of his word to change your heart and mind!

Jan. 1st verse:
You crown the year with your good blessings, and you leave abundance in your wake.
Psalm 65:11

Jan 15th verse:
(29) And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. (30) Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.
Acts 4:29,30

Here is Beth Moore's blog:
http://blog.lproof.org

Creative at the dinner table!

I mentioned earlier in the week how Layla's favorite game these days is "where did it go?". Well, tonight at the dinner table she kept saying where did it go? I kept looking at her trying to figure out what she was hiding. Then I noticed she had taken the sleeve of her shirt and pulled it over her hand. So what she was asking is where did her hand go? Lucas and I totally cracked up! We thought that was pretty smart! After she noticed our enthusiasm she then struggled trying to get both sleeves over both hands at the same time. It was quite entertaining! I am sure at some point she has seen me pull my sleeve over my hand but we both thought it was pretty creative.

Hope everyone had a great Saturday. Our was quite relaxed. We had to drive to Marietta this morning to get Lucas some good boots. We were amazed that there was a still ice in a couple of spots on the interstate! When we got home we both had to get a 4 mile run in so we rotated while Layla played and napped. Now we are getting ready to cheer for the Falcons in the playoffs and there are cookies in the oven:) Life is Good!

She's Back!

Earlier in the week, I think I said on Facebook " whoever took my sweet child please bring her back ASAP because her replacement in about to drive her daddy and I crazy!". Well the good news is she's back!! Layla did cut a tooth but Lucas and I have also shared a horrible cold and now I believe that Layla caught some of it too. For the past week, everything has been a throw on the ground fit with constant whininess. Lucas actually told her at one point that if she didn't straighten up, she wouldn't get a brother or sister:) It was one of those weeks where you re-evaluate everything and wonder "have I totally screwed up as a parent the last 19 months???".

Today was a NEW day! Our sweet, loving, mild mannered daughter has come back to us and we couldn't be more thankful. I think God uses the hard times to humble us and remind us not to take for granted what good a child we have!

New things Layla is doing this week:
She is hiding things in random places, even between her legs and then holding out her hands and saying, "where did it go?". What a fun game!

She is holding out one hand and waving towards herself as if to say "come here".

She can do the motions to If Your Happy and You Know It. The cutest part is when she throws her fist in the air and yells "Amen!".

She cups her hands around her mouth when she is yelling for something.

She is talking up a storm and sometimes I feel like we are actually having a conversation!

And finally, she has become so polite. She says please and thank you almost all the time without being prompted. Very sweet!

Atlanta Snow 2011

So today is Thursday, and it was Sunday night that Atlanta got a big snow. I would say it was close to 5 inches. As I am typing this I have the morning news on and some parts of the interstate are still icy!! People are STILL having problems getting too work. Too say that the city of Atlanta is not prepared for this weather would be an understatement. It has not been above freezing temperatures since the snow so now everything is ice. We live "intown" and have yet to see a road that has been salted. We were totally not prepared because who believed we were going to get this much snow?? We ventured out to the grocery store yesterday, only to find that all of the shelves were pretty much empty!! They said that they had not had a truck since before the snow. Today could be the day of melting! It is suppose to get 33 degrees! WOW.

Although the city has pretty much shut down to this point, we have had A LOT of fun. It began Sunday night with the boys staying out until after 12 midnight to play in all the fresh snow. They had a blast! Of course the moms had baby duty but I didn't mind too much:) Then Monday we met up with some of neighbors, who happen to be some of our favorite people and went sledding! I can't remember the last time I went sledding but Atlanta is a great place for it. There are hills everywhere! I did take Layla in the snow. She wasn't too much of a fan. She has got too much of her momma in her too like cold weather too much. Her and baby Kyson were both perfectly content to watch along from their strollers where they were bundled up!

Here are a few pics from our snow days. Now we are just ready for it to MELT! Be Careful everyone.

Layla's "Snow Go Away!" Dance

Should I, or should I not???

Although Layla has never really been "crying in the middle of the night" sick, she has had a couple of spells usually following cutting a tooth where I question whether or not I should take her to the dr. Well this week she has cut another tooth, her top left pointy one (cuspid I think it's called). With that tooth came drool and snot and now following the drool and snot we have MORE snot, coughing, swollen eyes, and a little fussiness. She looks today as if she has been totally beat up. Although she was a good sport for the most part, I could just tell she felt horrible. Which makes me wonder am I too conservative when it comes to medicine and going to the doctor? Maybe she has caught my cold? So today Lucas talked me into getting her some medicine. Now I am questioning whether or not I should have taken her to the doctor before the weekend. I just don't think the doctor would be able to do anything for her. She is eating, drinking, sleeping, and has no fever. I just wish there was some black and white guidelines on when you need a doc and when you don't. I guess at this point I will continue to trust my gut!

Here's to hoping I have a well child tomorrow!

What did she say??

To say that Layla is speaking a lot of gibberish these days would be an understatement. It is one of my favorite things about this age. I love listening to her when she doesn't know. She is just telling whatever stuffed animal or toy what life is really all about and it is just adorable. She is such a little momma already.

BUT.... There has been more than one time when Lucas and I have looked at each other and said, "what did she say"??? What I am talking about is "bad words". Let me just say that Lucas and I have pretty clean language but we do get excited sometimes. (Don't we all?). The word that we use most is "crap". Well, guess what we have heard Layla say? "Oh Crap!". So now my now my mouth is on super sensor. There have been other phrases that Layla will say that sound like a lot worse words than crap. Although she most definitely has NOT heard any of those from me :). Her aunt Natalie has been teaching her to say to the dogs, "Scout sit". But after we heard her repeat it once, we all decided that would be a phrase we would teach later when her words were a little more clear.

Kids (even 19 month olds) sure do pick up on everything, words and actions. I love teaching Layla knew words. What a fun age this is!!

Prayer for 2011

As I sat in church Sunday morning, the preacher gave us a challenge for 2011: Do for ONE what you wish you could do for EVERYONE. This was so in touch with what I had been thinking about in my heart lately. I feel like in 2010, God really did a work in our family in so many ways. When God is so gracious in his love for me it compells me to be even more gracious in my love for others. With so many issues in the world it becomes overwhelming as to what our role is and how we wonder if what we do really even matters. Naturally, I tend to just withdraw and go about my life as if those issues don't exist. I don't think that my attitude is that "I don't care" but more like "where do I start"?

So my prayer for 2011 is that God would bring a person, whatever the circumstance into my life so that I can do for them what I wish I could do for everyone. I am not talking about some random act of kindness...I am talking about some kind of circumstance that affects my life for a long time.

These were the specifics of the challenge:
* Go deep, rather than wide
* Go long term, rather than short term
* Go time, not just money

So you can pray for my family and I. It is definitely a family issues because any circumstance that involves the three things above from me is most certainly a family matter.

Happy Monday!
LK

Wonderful Sunday

Today it was so nice to have a Sunday to be at home and do "normal things"! As I have mentioned, we have been visiting churches in the Atlanta area. There was one church that we kept coming back around too but were really avoiding it because it falls into the "mega church" category. For my Murfreesboro friends, it is comparable to World Outreach...probably bigger. The name of the church is Buckhead Church and the pastor is Andy Stanley, the son of the famous Charles Stanley. It is a non-denominational church. The Buckhead campus, which is about 10 miles from our house, is a satellite of the main campus in Alpharetta, Ga called North Pointe Church. After we visited this church, my list of places to visit was over. Let me just say, as hesitant as we were, WOW we were blessed!! The music was top notch with some original songs, the speaking was fantastic, and the Children's area rated in the 10s!

Although Layla did cry when we left her, we were never called to the nursery. We haven't sat through a complete service since we attended our church in Memphis. When we picked her up they said she calmed down some and played independently for a bit but she was crying again when we went to get her. I know it was because she saw all the other parents and wondered where hers were. The crying doesn't bother me and I was so thankfully for the nursery workers and their handwork in tolerating my child.

So for this phase of our life, we might just be "mega church" goers. I know when we get involved in smaller groups, we will love it. I just can't be a pop in pop out church member and it would be so easy to do in a church this size.

I am looking forward to spiritual growth in 2011. God knows exactly what we need and he always supplies it.

A look back at 2010

2010 was a great year full of God's faithfulness, favor, healing, and just plain old love! I'm not sure how 2011 can top it but I know that God has great things in store!!

Here's a look back!

January: Our family watched as the Univeristy of Alabama win the National Championship. We celebrated with our friends in Memphis and I remember going to wake Layla up at the end of the game so that we could share the moment with her and capture a couple of pictures.


February: I celebrated my 26th birthday on the 7th. I have come to realize that getting older isn't so bad. With every year comes wisdom and it means more memories with my family. Layla also celebrated her first Valentine's Day. At our mom's group we made a Valentine for daddy.


March: This month was pretty low key for our family last year. The great thing about living in Memphis was that it got warmer there a little earlier. We took a couple trips to the zoo and to the botanic gardens. Noah, Ashly, and Abram also came to visit but Abram came down with a high fever so their trip was cut short. He got home and had double ear infections. Poor guy! We also became much busier parents during this month because Layla perfected the crawl!

April: We took a trip back to Murfreesboro. I don't think that we had been back since Christmas. Layla celebrated her first Easter at her Papa's church. She wore a dress that was made for her by Nancy Burton and was given to me at one of my showers before she was born.


May: WOW, May was a big month for us last year. Where to start?? We took our first "family vacation" to Orlando. It was the 3 of us along with my sister and her husband. We had a great time. We visited the water park, Universal Studios and Disney. Poor Layla was pretty much stuck in her stroller the whole trip because she was only 11 months old but she was such a trooper!
Next we had a visit at our home in Memphis from Layla's great grandfather. It was such a precious time with family for the weekend. This is the month that Lucas was certain he had heard from God on whether to start his own company or not. So we listed our house on the market and moved out of Memphis to Murfreesboro for a bit. Most of you know the story...

June: Our baby girl celebrated her first birthday! We had a pool party that got rained on but was great anyway. The day after we celebrated her birthday, Lucas left to begin his time of work in NYC. Layla also began walking during this month and got her first haircut! Then the big news was, according to God's perfect plan, we sold our house in Memphis, and moved into a house in Atlanta. Still gives me chills to think about how perfect the timing was for everything!

July: This month was pretty uneventful as far as big things go... We were doing a lot of back and forth between TN & GA trying to get everything settled. Lucas was still going back and forth to NYC as well. OH YEA! We celebrated my mom turning 60 by throwing her a surprise party:)

August: Whew! What a HOT month we had. Layla and I spent a lot of the time at the pool. At the end of this month, Lucas was able to come to Atlanta from NY and he hasn't had to return since. I was also doing a lot of running trying to train for a half marathon.


September: This was a great month! I was so happy to have my husband home full time and Layla was so glad to see her daddy everyday! We took a few trips to the lake. Lucas continued to work hard while Layla and I did a lot of playing:)


October: Mid month, we made a trip to Middle Tn where I ran in the Middle Tennessee Half Marathon. Then, later at the end of the month, we participated in Layla's 2nd Halloween and she was the cutest ballerina EVER! We also finished Layla's first semester of The Music Class and was sure to sign up for the winter term because she loved it!


November: This month was a calm one until Thanksgiving rolled around. We spent about a week in Murfreesboro to celebrate Papa's 50th Birthday and then was Thanksgiving! It was definitely probably one of the warmest Thanksgivings that I remember having. After that, we traveled back to Atlanta and decorated for Christmas with our REAL Christmas tree!!

December: Another whirlwind of a month! We were in Atlanta for a couple of weeks and then had to return back to middle TN for the holidays. We began by celebrating my sister's college graduation (YAY!) and then of course Christmas followed! This year was a lot more enjoyable for Layla but we didn't even attempt a visit with Santa because I knew that would be a waste of everyone's time. She doesn't go to strangers, much less ones dressed like Santa. We did make a trip to Opryland Hotel to see the lights and she really enjoyed that. After Christmas, we braved the traffic and headed back home to Atlanta where we brought in 2011. We spent New Year's Eve with Chris and Natalie by eating dinner at Tin Lizzies and then headed back to their house and sat outside by the fire! What a perfect relaxing evening!


Happy New Year Everyone! May God's blessings and favor be upon you in 2011!
Love,
The Kairdolfs
Lucas, Lori, and Layla