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!